Upper Room Daily Reflections - daily
words of wisdom and faith “Encourage One Another” Monday, 25 November 2013
Today’s Reflection:
“Therefore encourage one another and
build up each other, as indeed you are doing.”(1 Thessalonians 5:11)
THIS WEEK a card arrived in the mail for
Bob [my husband, who is in ill health] from two women in our church family. A
printed poem conveyed wishes for a lightened heart and peaceful moments and
conveyed loving thoughts. As lovely as the sentiments printed on the card were,
it was the handwritten note that tugged vigorously at my husband’s psyche and
brought a smile to his heart.Dear Bob,
Hope this card finds you in minimal pain
today. Take care and know that you are a great witness to others of a strong
Christian faith.
Bob looked up over his reading glasses
and asked, “Do people really think about me that way? We go to church every
Sunday, but I didn’t know anyone noticed an old man in a wheelchair. I feel
humbled.”
Everyone craves a pat on the back, an
“Attaboy” for good work or special behavior. Heartfelt, authentic praise,
without ulterior motive, brightens faces and lifts hearts. We all go through
life wondering if we’re good enough or have value, and I suspect the
chronically ill need genuine affirmations more than anyone. Their self-esteem
is tied into what they can do and accomplish and now their debilitation makes
them think they are useless, dispensable. …
Our words of sincere esteem may seem
insignificant, but they can touch someone deeply. Bob’s reaction reminded me I,
too, could send cards and e-mail or phone people with expressions of admiration
and care.(Nell E. Noonan-Not Alone)
From pages 104-105 of Not Alone:
Encouragement for Caregivers by Nell E. Noonan. Copyright 2009 by Nell E.
Noonan. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books.
http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Make an effort to sincerely praise
someone this week.
Today’s Scripture:
Many peoples shall come and say, “Come,
let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of
Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.(Isaiah
2:3, NRSV)
This Week: pray for those whose hope is
waning.
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Saints, Inc.:
This week we remember: Narcissa Whitman (November 29)
Narcissa Prentiss was born in 1808 in New
York. When she was eleven Narcissa had a conversion and joined the
Congregational Church. At sixteen, inspired by a female missionary to India,
Narcissa decided she wanted to be a missionary. She was trained and worked as a
teacher before offering herself as a missionary in 1834. Another would-be
missionary, Dr. Marcus Whitman, proposed marriage so they could work as a team.
The day after their wedding in 1836,
Narcissa and Marcus began the arduous journey west to present-day Washington.
They built the Waiilatpu Mission where Narcissa taught Native American children
and Marcus served as doctor and taught farming. After their daughter drowned,
the Whitmans opened their home to a family of seven Oregon Trail orphans and
other children.
Narcissa's inspiring letters from her
journey and the mission were widely published and inspired countless others As
a strong, articulate Christian and one of the first two white woman to cross
the continental United States, she influenced a generation of Oregon Trail
immigrants.
After eleven years serving the native
peoples of the Walla Walla area, Narcissa, Marcus, and twelve others were
massacred on November 29, 1847.
If Narcissa Whitman had taken the
Spiritual Types Test she probably would have been a Sage. Narcissa Whitman is
remembered on November 29.
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Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Isaiah 2: Climb
God’s Mountain 1-5 The Message Isaiah got regarding Judah and Jerusalem:
There’s a day coming
when the mountain of God’s House
Will be The Mountain—
solid, towering over all mountains.
All nations will river toward it,
people from all over set out for it.
They’ll say, “Come,
let’s climb God’s Mountain,
go to the House of the God of Jacob.
He’ll show us the way he works
so we can live the way we’re made.”
Zion’s the source of the revelation.
God’s Message comes from Jerusalem.
He’ll settle things fairly between
nations.
He’ll make things right between many peoples.
They’ll turn their swords into shovels,
their spears into hoes.
No more will nation fight nation;
they won’t play war anymore.
Come, family of Jacob,
let’s live in the light of God.(The Message)
Psalm 122: A
Pilgrim Song of David 1-2 When they said, “Let’s go to the house of God,”
my heart leaped for joy.
And now we’re here, O Jerusalem,
inside Jerusalem’s walls!
3-5 Jerusalem, well-built city,
built as a place for worship!
The city to which the tribes ascend,
all God’s tribes go up to worship,
To give thanks to the name of God—
this is what it means to be Israel.
Thrones for righteous judgment
are set there, famous David-thrones.
6-9 Pray for Jerusalem’s peace!
Prosperity to all you Jerusalem-lovers!
Friendly insiders, get along!
Hostile outsiders, keep your distance!
For the sake of my family and friends,
I say it again: live in peace!
For the sake of the house of our God,
God,
I’ll do my very best for you.(The Message)
Romans 13: 11-14
But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of
all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off,
oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and
awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the
salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a
minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and
indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing
everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger,
waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and
about!(The Message)
Matthew 24: 36 “But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s
angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.
37-39 “The Arrival of the Son of Man will
take place in times like Noah’s. Before the great flood everyone was carrying
on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They
knew nothing—until the flood hit and swept everything away.
39-44 “The Son of Man’s Arrival will be
like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left
behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left
behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show
up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of
night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to
prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son
of Man is going to show up.(The Message)
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Upper Room Ministries
a
ministry of GBODPO Box 340004
Nashville, TN 37203-0004 USA
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