[Membersandfriends] Saturday, August 21, 2004

Fri Aug 20 22:01:51 PDT 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Saturday, August 21, 2004

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Writers' Workshops Led by UPPER ROOM Editors

Looking for ways to sharpen your writing skills? Workshops led by editors from THE UPPER ROOM magazine will be offered at a number of regional writers' conferences in 2004. Follow the URL below for additional information.
http://www.upperroom.org/ur_home_viewer.asp?item_id=141429
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VERY GOOD
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Genesis 28:10-17 (NRSV)

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the LORD stood beside him and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place--and I did not know it!" And he was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

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God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
- Genesis 1:31 (NRSV)
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IT was just a normal day and a normal lunch.  I peeled my orange and was not expecting anything out of the ordinary.  I took the first bite of the orange and was surprised.  The orange was wonderful!  It had an unusually sweet taste and lots of juice - for me, an ideal, perfect orange.  As I continued to eat lunch, I had a renewed appreciation for the goodness of the food that I eat every day.

These thoughts reminded me that God's goodness is around me in everyday places and in everyday actions.  Sometimes I miss the extraordinary because I expect only the ordinary.  Then I wondered, How many times have I missed something good or exciting because I wasn't looking for it or because I refused to see it when it was right in front of me?

How many blessings have we refused to see or missed because we have forgotten that, as God said, creation is "very good"?

Prayer:  Dear God, help us to be aware of and thankful for your wondrous gifts that surround us all the time.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The goodness of God's creation surrounds us daily.

-- Roland Harkleroad (Illinois, U.S.A.)

PRAYER FOCUS: Those who don't have enough to eat

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RELATED READING ...

Are you yearning to make a difference in the world today, but don't know where to start? YOURS ARE THE HANDS OF CHRIST helps you find ways to actively express your faith in daily life and make your commitment to Christ evident in today's world.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=12642

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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.