[Membersandfriends] Saturday, September 04, 2004

Fri Sep 3 22:01:44 PDT 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Saturday, September 04, 2004

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PUMPKIN PEOPLE
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2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (NRSV)

Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

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>From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
- John 1:16 (NIV)
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EVERY year the youth of our church order a truckload of pumpkins and then sell them as a fund-raiser for the youth program.  We are known all over the area as the "pumpkin church."  During the month of October, our church lawn is covered with thousands of orange pumpkins.  But by the time the sale is over many of the pumpkins begin to go bad, and our volunteers pick them up and dispose of them.

After picking out rotting pumpkins one afternoon, one volunteer decided to take one home.  Marsha then carved away the rotting portions of the pumpkin and cooked the rest of it.  She made us a beautiful pumpkin pie that tasted wonderful.  With her culinary skills, Marsha redeemed that pumpkin - that is, it became what pumpkins can be.

In a sense, this can happen in people too.  Christ loves "pumpkin" people.  He can discard the rotting portions of our lives and make something wonderful of us.  He's always cooking up something great in those who follow him.

Prayer:  Thank you, O God, for finding us, cleaning us up, and sending us forth to nourish the world with the message of your grace.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
God can make something wonderful of anyone.

-- James W. Kemp (Kentucky, U.S.A.)

PRAYER FOCUS: The youth of my church

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RELATED READING ...

See what makes living the Christian life real to teens. In WAY TO LIVE: Christian Practices for Teens, 18 teens and 18 adults share their views and stories to help other teens on their spiritual journey. Learn more about or purchase this book online.
http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=88439

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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.