[Membersandfriends] Friday, December 03, 2004

Thu Dec 2 22:02:11 PST 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Friday, December 03, 2004

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Nurture a Child

Nurture the spiritual life of a child -- send them a subscription to POCKETS, a devotional magazine for children, ages 6-12.  http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?item_id=12897&ep_id=246
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HUMAN APPROVAL
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Luke 11:37-54 (NRSV)

While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.

"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it."

One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too." And he said, "Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,' so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering." When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward him and to cross-examine him about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

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Jesus said, "I do not accept glory from human beings."
-- John 5:41 (NRSV)
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HOW important is earning human approval to you?  Personally, I have to admit that the need for it sometimes dominates my life.  But in the Bible we have Jesus' example of being free of the need for human approval.

I buy clothes wondering what my daughters will say: "Too dorky," "too young," "too old" for me!  I wait anxiously for approval at the dinner table before I can enjoy the meal I prepared.  More seriously, I test the waters very carefully before uttering a controversial word in a group.  What will "they" think?

Jesus, however, did not look for human approval.  He spoke the truth -- always.  He looked only for God's approval.  He was invited to dinner at a pharisee's house and then began speaking the truth about the scribes and pharisees, insulting as it was.  He was not even polite in the host's home, as we define politeness.  Truth took precedence.  If Jesus had made choices that earned human approval, he would never have been hated.  He would never have given anyone a reason to crucify him.  But Jesus would have failed God, and that was unthinkable for him.

Prayer:   Source of truth and salvation, change us from depending on humans to depending on your approval alone.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
It's not what people think but what God thinks that matters.

-- Thea J. Bohannon (Virginia, U.S.A.)

PRAYER FOCUS: Parents of teenagers

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RELATED READING ...

GROWING COMPASSIONATE KIDS features practical everyday ways for parents to help their children care about people in need.  Jan Johnson, a well-known author who deals with Christian spirituality, helps parents learn to incorporate social outreach and mission into the often-hectic everyday realities of family life.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=12707

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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.