[Membersandfriends] Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Tue Nov 16 22:02:05 PST 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Wednesday, November 17, 2004

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The Upper Room Living Prayer Center

The Upper Room Living Prayer Center is a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week intercessory prayer ministry staffed by Christian volunteers. Submit prayer requests online or call and speak to one of our volunteers at 1-800-251-2468 (U.S. and Canada) or 615-327-4673 (International).
http://www.upperroom.org/prayer_center
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GOD'S FLOWERS
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Galatians 3:23-28 (NRSV)

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

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The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
- Isaiah 11:6 (NRSV)
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DURING spring, my young granddaughter and I go for nature walks.  Her greatest joy is discovering the first dandelions.  On one of our walks, she smiled when she noticed the bright yellow flowers at our feet.  "Look, Grandma!  Aren't they beautiful?"  She was quiet for a moment.  Then she frowned and said, "I wish people didn't call them weeds!  They're God's flowers too!"

Her words caused me to stop and think about people as God's flowers.  We often turn away from people who look different or speak a different language.  We may look at entire nations in a negative way.  Sometimes we think of those we consider "outsiders" as weeds.

But differences are not a reason to label, reject, or ignore.  All of us want to be heard, to be respected, to be understood, to be loved.  We are all "God's flowers."  My granddaughter causes me to want to overcome prejudices and work toward unity with others.

Prayer:  Loving Creator, give us a new understanding of your commandment to love our neighbors.  Help us to honor each one as one of your "flowers."  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
With people, God sees no weeds -- only flowers.

-- Lois L. Poe (Oklahoma, U.S.A.)

PRAYER FOCUS: World peace

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RELATED READING ...

Taking readers through the chaos and confusion often felt in our lives, ABUNDANCE: Joyful Living in Christ shifts the focus from living a life of scarcity to a life of abundance. Marilyn Oden offers faith and inspiration to help deal with difficult issues and move us onward in the spiritual journey.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=85256

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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.