[Membersandfriends] Thursday, October 28, 2004

Wed Oct 27 22:01:51 PDT 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Thursday, October 28, 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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SWEET PEAS
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2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (NRSV)

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written,

"He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; 
his righteousness endures forever." 

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

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Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.
-- Luke 6:38 (NRSV)
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AT the time of year when the temperatures drop to freezing, I look out the window each morning to see if my flowers have survived one more day.  What a joy to see orange and red geraniums, purple and pink petunias, beautiful begonias still upright and green!

My sweet peas have been a delight.  I have taken small, fragrant bouquets to friends and taken flowers to church each Sunday to give away.  The more sweet peas we cut and give away, the more they grow.  If the flowers are not cut, the plants "go to seed" -- they produce seedpods and stop blooming.

As in our situation with the sweet peas, spiritually we produce more as we give more.  If we try to save our love, joy, and possessions for some time in the future, we wither and dry up.  However, when we give to others, we blossom with God's love, joy, and peace.

A smile begets more smiles.  Loving and caring for others brings inner happiness and satisfaction.  Giving and receiving go together.

Prayer:  O God, you gave us Jesus, who gave his life that we might give ourselves to others.  Open our eyes to the needs of other people and to the ways we can show them your love.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
As we give, so do we receive.

-- Norma Kossler (Idaho, U.S.A.)

PRAYER FOCUS: To give more generously

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RELATED READING ...

Take your faith deeper in understanding and in action with THE COST OF LIVING.  A challenging and encouraging exploration of John 11-21, this book looks at the difficult decisions Jesus faced in order to explore the cost of Christian discipleship.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=68122

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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.