[Membersandfriends] Thursday, November 11, 2004

Wed Nov 10 22:01:16 PST 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Thursday, November 11, 2004

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FREEDOM AND HOPE
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Colossians 2:6-19 (NRSV)

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it. 

Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.

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As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against one another, forgive each other.
- Colossians 3:12-13 (NRSV)
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WHY did you do it that way?" my father demanded, eyeing my latest do-it-yourself project.  I sighed.  For 40 years, he has found fault with everything I do.  It doesn't matter how big or small it is or whether I actually did something wrong. 

Later that day I tried to listen for the Lord's leading.  My dad won't be around forever, and I want a good relationship with him.  That's when it hit me:  I could choose to forgive my dad, whether he actually stopped his behavior or not!  At that very moment, a huge weight lifted from my shoulders.  I hadn't realized what a burden I carried.  The whole day I felt lighter.

When someone close to us continually criticizes, we have choices.  We can accept the criticism, taking it in and allowing it to cloud our thinking about ourselves and the world.  We can tell them that their way of interacting hurts us, and then avoid the person or end the relationship if the criticism continues.  Or we can choose to forgive in order to keep the relationship.  With my father, I choose forgiveness.  And that choice has offered me freedom and hope.

Prayer:  Dear God, thank you for the forgiveness you offer.  Help us to be forgiving in the way that you are.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Whom do I need to forgive?

-- Tanya Davis (Tennessee, U.S.A.)

PRAYER FOCUS: Those wounded by criticism

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RELATED READING ...

A HARD-FOUGHT HOPE: Journeying with Job Through Mystery joins the handful of books that not only successfully explicate the difficult text of Job but also provide genuine solace and healing for those who have suffered periods of darkness in their lives.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=193994

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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.