[Membersandfriends] Friday, August 13, 2004

Thu Aug 12 22:02:09 PDT 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Friday, August 13, 2004

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How Did We Meet?

As Upper Room Ministries prepares to celebrate 70 years of ministry (1935-2005), we want to know "How Did We Meet?" When did you first come in contact with THE UPPER ROOOM daily devotional guide? Tell us your stories:
http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/stories.asp

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MORE THAN WE ASK
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Acts 3:1-10 (NRSV)

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon. And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, "I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

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To him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory.
- Ephesians 3:20-21 (NRSV)
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EVERY day the lame man observed the same miserable routine.  He was carried to the gate of the temple where he spent the day begging for coins.  His job was to beg.  It was all he could do.  One day Peter and John walked near the lame man on their way to the temple.  The lame man asked Peter and John for alms.  Peter and John said to the lame man, "Look at us."

"I have no silver or gold," Peter said.  The beggar probably disliked hearing that.  Peter continued, "But what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk."

And the beggar was healed.  A single life-changing experience broke the bonds of powerlessness and misery.  Now he had the opportunity for a new life.

The power of Jesus Christ brings life in abundance.  When we come to the risen Christ, he has the power to save and to make us "stand up and walk," to do more than we even know to ask for.

Prayer:  Lord, by your grace, lead each of us to fullness of life.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Coming to Christ is just the beginning.

-- Juan Damian (Montevideo, Uruguay)

PRAYER FOCUS: Those without access to medical care

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RELATED READING ...

Based on Greg Clapper's experience as a National Guard chaplain who ministered to the survivors of an airline crash, WHEN THE WORLD BREAKS YOUR HEART offers readers hope for living with the tragedies that inevitably come to us all and helps us see God's presence in the midst of them.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=12647

PLEASE SHARE THIS MINISTRY with a friend. Invite them to sign up for the free E-Mail Devotional by visiting: http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/email/.

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The scripture quotation is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright (c) 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.