Ordinary Time 
Pause
Hold up. What’s on your mind? Is something bugging you? I know it’s easier said than done, but put it aside for a second. Don’t worry, it will still be there later.
Now is the time to have a moment with God. I know… God is always there, but this moment is for just you and God — not the 10 million other things that always seem to interfere.
All the other cares of this world are just that, cares of this world. Put them away and take this moment. Hold it. Cherish it.
Use it to breathe, slow down, and chat with your God — the God of words and wonders.
Listen
This is why I kneel before the Father. Every ethnic group in heaven or on earth is recognized by him. I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God.
Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21
Think
Korean culture values the symbol of the rice plant: an empty plant stands tall, but a plant full of rice will be bowed over. Those whose heads are empty stand proudly; those who know much are humble.
We bow before our God because we know that our God is greater than every nation from every time. We know that our God is bigger than us. Try to imagine how big God’s reach is — how it extends to the far reaches of our world, our solar system, our galaxy, our cosmos…
If you try to fit that in your head, you’ll certainly end up dizzy. Your head might feel full, spinning with the expanse of God’s creation, God’s power. It’s huge!
Like the rice plant, we are humble when we are filled with knowledge of God. And with that knowledge comes love — when you realize that the God whose power fills the universe has room to care for little old you.
Chris Suehr
Pray
Hey God — it’s me! You know me. You hold the secrets of the universe, and you still care about me. Give me the knowledge and courage to show others that you care about them too. Amen.
Go
“God, whose almighty word,
chaos and darkness heard,
and took their flight:
hear us, we humbly pray,
and where the gospel-day
sheds not its glorious ray,
let there be light!”
From “Thou, Whose Almighty Word,” 1813, by John Marriott
