[Membersandfriends] Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Mon Dec 6 22:02:02 PST 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Tuesday, December 07, 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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HUMBLE STEPS
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Isaiah 55:6-13 (NRSV)

Seek the LORD while he may be found,
     call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
     and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them,
     and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
     nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
     so are my ways higher than your ways
     and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
     and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
     giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
     it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
     and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

For you shall go out in joy,
     and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
     shall burst into song,
     and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
     instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial,
     for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

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Our steps are made firm by the LORD, when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand.
-- Psalm 37:23-24 (NRSV)
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THE heavy doors to the dementia unit are kept locked to protect the residents from wandering and getting lost in the community.  One day I was asked to take one of the residents, whom I will call Rachel, for a walk outside the ward.  We took each other by the hand and began to walk.  Suddenly Rachel's legs locked.  Knowing this might be a panic attack, I spoke to her and touched her arm.  Gradually she recovered, and her confidence and charming smile returned.

Later in my daily meditation I read from Psalm 37 with Rachel still on my mind.  The words of the psalm reminded me that God is with us even when we feel overwhelmed by a particular event.

I took pleasure in Rachel's ability to overcome panic and continue our walk.  How much more does God, who understands all perfectly, love us and delight when we take humble steps spiritually?  When we do, we can be sure that God is with us --cheering us on, teaching us, and loving us deeply.

Prayer:   Holy Spirit, when we feel overwhelmed, help us to keep moving toward God.  Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
God delights in our spiritual progress.

-- Malcolm Simpson (Australian Capital Territory, Australia)

PRAYER FOCUS: Those with dementia

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RELATED READING ...

In THE SPIRITUAL HEART OF YOUR HEALTH, James K. Wagner teaches us that Jesus helped each person he met to be whole and healthy in body, mind, spirit, and relationships.  Wagner looks at thirty healing encounters with Jesus from the Gospels, and offers us a process to pray for healing as we read and study these passages.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=75476

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.