Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
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Prayer Practice for the Week
Make Time
Make time. This exploration of Jesus will only be as meaningful as you make it. So make the time. Make the time to read the material. Make the time to do the activities. And, make time for silence, for uninterrupted, unfilled space. Thomas Keating reminds us: “Silence is God’s first language; everything else is a poor translation.” Set yourself a goal of 5 minutes each day to sit and listen.
Daily Devotion

Scripture of the Day
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage. ( Psalm 16:6)

Reflection
Maybe because I teach “Boundary Awareness Training” to clergy and other ministry professionals, but I love this reminder that boundaries are pleasant. In America’s idolatry of freedom we, on occasion, sacrifice two important truths. First, our need for community, to be wedded to and bound up with concerns of the whole and not just our individual fantasy. Second, our need for limits, to know where I begin and where I end, where I can go and beyond which I should not explore. Freedom from tyranny is well and good; freedom for freedom’s sake is pointless. Freedom is not the goal; it is the methodology toward a greater harmony and a dignified compassion.

Prayer
God, which limits are of your design and which are of my own making? Differentiate for me the borders that give me definition and those that restrict my development. I do not want to be limited by my own fear or my hesitation to put in hard work. But I also do not want to be so unbounded that I trample on my neighbor’s garden unaware that I have stomped out life itself. Amen.
Spiritual Exercise

Borg suggests that “the Christian life is about entering into a relationship.” (17) This six-week adventure will be equally about entering into a relationship. Borg also suggests that a relationship with Jesus is “a journey of transformation.” Are you ready to become someone, something new? If you do not yet have a buddy, reach out to someone who you can discuss these questions and share these experiences with.