by Ukirk International | Dec 10, 2023 | Advent, Daily Prayer
Read Psalm 27:1-14. As I read the ancient words of the psalmist, “whom shall I fear and of whom shall I be afraid,” the news announced horrific terrorism in Israel on October 7, of daily bombings in Gaza, and a mass shooting in Maine. Honestly, the fear is very real....
by Ukirk International | Dec 9, 2023 | Daily Prayer
Read Isaiah 40:1-11. This Isaiah text is one that flows around me during Advent. Just seeing the citation brings the old hymn to mind, and I am sure the text really reads “Comfort, comfort ye my people!” When things are hard, as they’re bound to be, when staying awake...
by Ukirk International | Dec 8, 2023 | Daily Prayer
Read Mark 11:27-33. The problem, as I see it, is one of a very small imagination. I began volunteering at my children’s elementary school and somehow got myself in charge of the costumes for the school play. The dragon had to head butt the hero, thus stabbing her in...
by Ukirk International | Dec 7, 2023 | Daily Prayer
Read Jeremiah 1:4-10. It is both a terrifying and wonderful thing to be known. For someone to see the capital-A-All of us. For another to peer at our insides – the things we cannot change or control. It is through this knowing that we are able to be loved. To pull...
by Ukirk International | Dec 6, 2023 | Daily Prayer
Read 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10. There’s power in “the work of faith and the labor of love” about which Paul writes, but it’s the words “steadfastness of hope” that are grabbing my attention. I’ve always considered myself a hopeful person, even amid inevitable...
by Ukirk International | Dec 5, 2023 | Daily Prayer
Read Luke 21:34-38. Our reading for today actually marks the end of Jesus’ public ministry in Luke, and it is part of a larger apocalyptic discourse. In the preceding verses, Jesus describes earth- shattering events that will bring forth the promised kingdom of God....
