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Daily Reflection on Scripture Week of November 17 167 +1 Week 3 Begin with the End in Mind Sunday November 17 Scripture: I Timothy 6:6-8 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. Morning Prayer: God, I have to confess that I don’t always live contented. And yet when I look at my life, I have to ask myself what am I really lacking? I have everything I need to make it through my 167+1 hours this week. I have shelter, food, clothing, and friends. So what am I really lacking? Contentment. So my prayer is for You to help me be content. Help me to know in my heart that I have all I need. And then may my heart direct my mind to a deeper wealth of contentment. True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. I want to be rich with contentment. May it be so. Morning Focus: Make contentment of heart your aim today. Contentment is priceless. Remember you came empty-handed into this world and you will leave it the same way. But in the in-between time, you have enough to be content. Live today as if it were your last day. Noon Text: Finding contentment in simple things can help you deal with the more complex things. Simplicity is a gift to be free from always wanting more than you have. Evening Text: God, today I found contentment in simple things like, ___________. May I hold onto those simple things so that I can simply rest tonight and rise up contented. Monday November 18 Scripture: Matthew 6:21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Morning Prayer: God, because of the pace and demands of my life I find that I do not always invest all of my emotional and tangible resources in the places where my heart would call me to invest. It is really difficult to juggle practical day to day responsibilities with the many areas where my values and my truest desires would lead me. My true intention during the upcoming holiday season and the year ahead is to find more ways to invest my life, my real “treasure”, where my true heart leads me. I will need Your strength and gentle guidance to make the many wise choices that will be necessary to lead me to that result. May it be so. Morning Focus: What is your heart’s greatest desire? How can you invest the “treasures” of your time, financial resources, and your emotional energy in that direction today? Noon Text: Be open to every opportunity to “invest” in acts of love, kindness, and hope today. When you are open to seeing them they will appear. Evening Text: Have you invested your “treasures” in ways that bring lasting meaning and value to the world and to you today? There is still time for one more meaningful act. Tuesday November 19 Scripture: Matthew 19:24 In fact, it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God’s kingdom. Morning Prayer: God, this scripture serves as a reminder. Too often I don’t recognize just how rich I really am; I compare my financial resources with those who have so much more. I need to remind myself that while I may not be as financially well off as my immediate neighbors, I am so very rich compared to many parts of the world where people struggle to have food on their tables or a roof over their heads. I have both. It is easy to get caught up in the idea that I need more ‘stuff’ when in reality I have all that I need. Then I have to remind myself that my riches aren’t just financial. I am rich in the opportunities I have and the community of friends I have. It’s not about how rich I am, be it financially or in circumstance; it is what I do with what I have. How am I sharing? How am I using my own riches to enrich someone else’s life? God, remind me that what I have is more than enough for myself. Help me to not be stingy, with my time, my money, my experiences or my talents. May it be so. Morning Focus: Take stock of what you have. Now think about how you can be generous by sharing – your money, your skills and your time. Start the day with the intention of sharing what you have with those who don’t. Noon Text: As we move into the season of Christmas advertising don’t get caught up in the messaging that you need more. Pause to offer words of gratitude for all you have. Evening Text: God, I take this moment before sleep to reflect on the many blessings, the riches that I have. But the greatest blessing is resting in Your love and grace. Wednesday November 20 Scripture: Hebrews 13:5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you, I will never abandon you.” Morning Prayer: God, I would never want to confess that I love money because that sounds so greedy, so selfish.. And yet I do have to confess that I love what money can do for me. So does that mean I really love money and just don’t want to say it? God help me. Help me to be satisfied with what I have. Help me to trust in You more than I trust in my resources. Help me to see my resources as a blessing and a gift to be shared so others can be blessed. Help me to be honest and say that I love money. And that is why I need You to help me love and trust You more than my money. Money comes and goes, but You never leave me. Help me to be satisfied with what I have, for it is enough; it’s more than enough to share with others. May it be so. Morning Focus: Live today with the belief that you have enough for this day. Every time you start to disbelieve this, pause and be grateful for what you do have, and then say the words, “There is enough”. Noon Text: Tis a gift to be simple, a gift to be free. Tis a gift to be loved and that love to return. Tis a gift to have friends and a true friend to be. Live the gift. Evening Text: God, today has been a gift. And now You give the gift of rest. Help me to release those things that keep me from resting and renewing so I may sleep well. Thursday November 21 Scripture: Micah 6:8 God has already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love. And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously. Morning Prayer: God, I know the saying do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is a truth of how we should always be kind and compassionate to others. At the core, I understand that I should not take myself so seriously that I judge myself harshly and thus judge others the same. I ask that You help me to know that kindness and compassion begin in me for myself. Show me how to be fair and just to myself first so I understand that I can only give that which I have. Thank you for Your limitless love and compassion. Help me to live my life today with the joy of the child that is still inside of me. May it be so. Morning Focus: I will start my day with positivity and wonder for the possibilities that lay before me. I will bring light and joy to the best of my ability to all I encounter in this day. I will know that God’s love and compassion is what I am sharing when I treat others as I have been treated by God. Noon Text: Have I kept it simple? Am I being fair and just with people so far today? I will take a moment to adjust my perspective or appreciate my progress. Evening Text: God, thank you for this day and I now rest in the knowledge that I have done my best to show the fullness of Your love to myself and my neighbors. Friday November 22 Scripture: Galatians 6:10a Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone. Morning Prayer: God, this scripture doesn’t say do good to those you like, or do good to those you think deserve it, or do good to people who are nice to me. It says do good to everyone. I’ll confess that is not always easy. It’s not easy to do good to someone I think has harmed me. Sometimes I get so caught up in the busyness of my own life that I don’t even take the few moments it might take to do good to a stranger – simply by opening a door or offering a smile or kind word.

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