A woman teaches Jesus

LENT_real_rest_FRONTPAGE

For Even a Crumb is Enough

Mark 7:24-30

Prayer for the day:
I come before You needing healing –not just for myself but for those I love. I have tried everything and asked so many people for help. Now, I come with a need greater than my faith, greater than my patience, and greater than my hope. I come because others have said I must turn to God, must return to faith, and must believe. I come with thanksgiving in my heart, because you will not turn me away. Amen.

Question for reflection:
Syrophoenician – I can barely even say it. I certainly can’t point to Syrophenicia on a map. Yet, the Syrophoenician woman is my sister. Her daughter, frightening in the fits that held her, is beloved to my heart as my family. When I read this story, I am with her, barely tolerated, before another tribe’s leader. I am frightened Jesus will turn her away for her impertinence. Instead, her daughter is healed and I am as grateful as if it were my daughter.

The Syrophoenician woman is you sister too, for this is how we all come to Jesus, not by birth or by family, but by faith. And by desperation, needing to be healed, wanting to save our families, and finally ready to believe.

  • When have you asked God impossible, impertinent questions out frustration and fear?
  • When have you come to God needing a miracle?
  • Do you return, as if with an untested faith, again and again?

 

~ Gimbiya Kettering, Intercultural Ministries Coordinator

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Learning to wait

LENT_real_rest_FRONTPAGE

Luke 4:1-13


Prayer for the day:

God, we have found in you a dwelling place. Your faithfulness gives us hope and confidence.

Question for reflection:
What experiences have taught you about waiting, including challenging times and less dramatic experiences? How might you help others learn patience and trust in God’s faithfulness?

 

~ Stan Dueck – Director, Transforming Practices

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lenten Devotional written by Duane Grady, pastor of Cedar Lake Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Duane’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.