[Membersandfriends] Thursday, September 23, 2004

Wed Sep 22 22:02:13 PDT 2004

The Upper Room Daily Devotional -- E-mail Edition
Brought to You by Upper Room Ministries
Thursday, September 23, 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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CLEANING HOUSE
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Matthew 6:19-21 (NRSV)

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

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Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
-- Luke 17:33 (NIV)
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ONE night, my husband went down to the basement to reset the circuit breaker after a thunderstorm.  When he couldn't get to the electric box because of all the junk blocking the way, we both decided it was time for a garage sale.

It took weeks to get everything out of the basement and sorted and cleaned up.  The worst part was realizing that things we had deliberately saved to use again, at least in an emergency, were of no value at all.  The walnut speakers that went with our first stereo were covered with mold and had to be thrown away.  The kids' doll buggy was coated in rust.  If we had given away these items years earlier, new owners could have given them new life.  In trying to save our possessions, we had, in fact, ruined them.

Jesus said that those of us who lose our lives and die to ourselves will actually save our lives and that those of us who try to keep our lives will lose them.  As we allow God to help us let go of what we do not need, we will discover the fullness of life that God offers.

Prayer:  God, forgive us for trying to hang on to habits and things that clutter our lives and hold us back.  Help us die to our old ways so that we may live freely and fully.  Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
What possessions or habits limit my freedom to respond to Christ?

-- Sally V. Steinmiller (New York, U.S.A.)

PRAYER FOCUS: Those with too much "stuff"

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RELATED READING ...

SPIRITUAL GUIDES FOR THE 21st CENTURY lets you enter the Protestant Reformation through the spiritual stories of the individuals who led the reform movements.  In making history come alive, K. James Stein shows that the spiritual issues of that day are equally contemporary and relevant today.  Stein devotes one chapter each to Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Menno Simons, and Thomas Cranmer.

http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/desc.asp?ep_id=30&item_id=12705

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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.