[Membersandfriends] Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Mon Oct 11 22:01:56 PDT 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Tuesday, October 12, 2004

_________________________

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
_________________________

ONLY THE BEGINNING
_________________________

Acts 16:16-31 (NRSV)

One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour.

But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe." The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

_________________________

The one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
-- Philippians 1:6 (NRSV)
_________________________

ALL eyes were on two new girls who shyly entered the classroom.  Blond and dressed in school uniforms, the twins looked around uncertainly.  At break we bombarded them with questions: "Where are you from?"  "What are you doing here?"  We learned that their parents were missionaries.  "What's a missionary?"  I remember asking Anne and Elizabeth.

Their parents had come to Northern Rhodesia (now called Zambia) to tell people about Jesus.  There, in Lukasa, they began children's meetings in their home and invited me to attend.  They talked to me about Jesus and how he had come to earth to save people.  I wasn't quite sure what it all meant.

I also wasn't sure of the meaning of a verse that the twins' mother showed me in her Bible.  It says, "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9).

I knew that being "saved" meant that God would forgive my sins.  Even though I understood little else at that point, I told God that I did believe and thanked God for saving me.  In the years since, as my understanding has deepened, God has continued to draw me toward the wholeness that is included in the salvation Christ brings.

Prayer:  Thank you, loving God, for your saving grace.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Being saved by grace is a continuing process.

-- Beryl Adamsbaum (Gaillard, France)

PRAYER FOCUS: The people of Zambia

_________________________

RELATED READING ...

THE WAY OF GRACE is a nine-week study in the Companions in Christ series. It explores the Gospel of John and, specifically, how divine grace is at work in our lives today, just as it was in the lives of biblical characters 2000 years ago.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=178192

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/.

_________________________

QUESTIONS?  If you reply to this e-mail, you'll receive an automated message answering our readers' most frequently asked questions.  If your question remains unanswered, please write to us at the special "help" e-mail address you'll find in the automated message.

TO UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.upperroom.org/unsubscribe/

TO CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS: Visit the My Account page: http://www.upperroom.org/myaccount/. Log in, using your current e-mail address and password. Once logged in your account, click on the "Edit Personal Information" link. Edit your e-mail address and any other information, and click "Update" to complete the change.

FORGOTTEN YOUR PASSWORD? Visit the My Account page: http://www.upperroom.org/myaccount/. Click on "Forgot My Password." Enter your e-mail address, and if there is a password associated with it, the password will be e-mailed to you immediately.
_________________________

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.