The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “One Simple Prayer" for Wednesday, 11 February 2015 - Scripture: Romans 8: A Wonderful Future for God’s People18 I am sure that what we are suffering now cannot compare with the glory that will be shown to us. 19 In fact, all creation is eagerly waiting for God to show who his children are. 20 Meanwhile, creation is confused, but not because it wants to be confused. God made it this way in the hope 21 that creation would be set free from decay and would share in the glorious freedom of his children. 22 We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain, like a woman about to give birth.
23 The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children.[a] This means that our bodies will also be set free. 24 And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping. 25 However, we hope for something we have not yet seen, and we patiently wait for it.
26 In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. 27 All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people. 28 We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him.[b] They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose,[Footnotes:
8.23 to show that we are his children: These words are not in some manuscripts. The translation of the remainder of the verse would then read, “while we wait for God to set our bodies free.”
8.28 God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him: Or “All things work for the good of everyone who loves God” or “God’s Spirit always works for the good of everyone who loves God.”]
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.[Romans 8:28 (NRSV)]
My husband had returned from visiting his father who was in intensive care at a hospital three hours away. Sick for 18 years, my father-in-law seemed finally to be dying. After my family went to bed, I sat down to reflect on the stressful events of the day.
I prayed for my husband and then for other family members who had stayed behind at the hospital. But when I tried to pray for my father-in-law, I realized that I did not know how to pray for him. I couldn’t think of what to say, so I prayed for God’s will for him. I thanked God that I could pray that simple prayer in all situations and trust that God would work all things for good.
I picked up The Upper Room and turned to that day’s meditation. The first words I read were: Jesus prayed, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done . . .” (Matt. 6:10, kjv). The verse was exactly what I needed to confirm that God heard my prayer. I immediately felt peace and a renewed connection with God. I knew that God understood and had received my prayer.
Read more from the author, here.
"Another Devotional Published"
I live near the Everglades, and this photo of an alligator was taken from my backyard. I enjoy watching the birds and alligators that visit the lake next to my home.This devotional on February 11, 2015 is the second time that something I've written has been published in The Upper Room. (Thanks so much, Upper Room!) The first time was on March 3 in the March/April 2007 edition. The title was "Lunch with Jesus" based on Mark 6:30-34. The verse highlighted was Mark 6:31, "Jesus said to his disciples, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'" (NIV). The prayer focus was for those struggling to find time with God. At the time, my daughter was three years old and my husband was away traveling for his work. Our home was full of plumbers due to a difficult repair and the verse about a quiet place resonated with me. I still find myself struggling to find time to pray although my daughter is 13 now. The devotional for today is about a time when I could not figure out how to pray, but I was still able to connect with God and experience peace.[Cathy Taylor]
The Author: Cathy Lee Taylor (Florida, USA)
Thought for the Day: God hears our prayers, even when we have no words.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for Jesus’ example of a perfect prayer. Help us to come before you with our burdens and concerns as we pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:9-13, NIV). Amen.
Prayer focus: Those with family in the hospital
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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “Leaving by Another Door" for Thursday, 12 February 2015 - Scripture: John 8:1 1 but Jesus walked out to the Mount of Olives. 2 Then early the next morning he went to the temple. The people came to him, and he sat down[a] and started teaching them.3 The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses brought in a woman who had been caught in bed with a man who wasn’t her husband. They made her stand in the middle of the crowd. 4 Then they said, “Teacher, this woman was caught sleeping with a man who isn’t her husband. 5 The Law of Moses teaches that a woman like this should be stoned to death! What do you say?”
6 They asked Jesus this question, because they wanted to test him and bring some charge against him. But Jesus simply bent over and started writing on the ground with his finger.
7 They kept on asking Jesus about the woman. Finally, he stood up and said, “If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first stone at her!” 8 Once again he bent over and began writing on the ground. 9 The people left one by one, beginning with the oldest. Finally, Jesus and the woman were there alone.
10 Jesus stood up and asked her, “Where is everyone? Isn’t there anyone left to accuse you?”
11 “No sir,” the woman answered.
Then Jesus told her, “I am not going to accuse you either. You may go now, but don’t sin anymore.”[b][Footnotes:
8.2 sat down: See the note at 6.3,4.
8.11 don’t sin anymore: Verses 1-11 are not in some manuscripts. In other manuscripts these verses are placed after 7.36 or after 21.25 or after Luke 21.38, with some differences in the text.]
Jesus said, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”[John 8:7 (NIV)]
The costume party was enjoyed by all. Everyone, from the tiniest baby to the oldest grandfather, donned a disguise. There were games, food, and lots of fun. Toward the end of the evening, the organizer thanked everyone, especially those of us who had helped with the event. We waited to clean up as the boys and girls and their mums filed out in high spirits. The dads left by another door to return to their prison cells.
We volunteers are members of the local community; most of us are members of Christian churches. Sad to say, not all members of our local community approve of what we are doing. In fact, some are quite hostile toward the prisoners because of the wrong they have done. However, as the Bible reminds us, none of us is free from sin. Through Christ, we know that we have been forgiven, and we want to extend that love and acceptance to others. We hope and pray that we can help to convince the prisoners and their families of God’s love for them.
The Author: William Findlay (Glasgow, Scotland)
Thought for the Day: How can I share God’s love with others?
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to help other people in kind and non-judgmental ways. Amen.
Prayer focus: Children of those in prison
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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Loving Relationships" Friday, 13 February 2014 - Scripture: Matthew 22:34 but when the P’rushim learned that he had silenced the Tz’dukim, they got together, 35 and one of them who was a Torah expert asked a sh’eilah to trap him: 36 “Rabbi, which of the mitzvot in the Torah is the most important?” 37 He told him, “‘You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.’[a] 38 This is the greatest and most important mitzvah. 39 And a second is similar to it, ‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All of the Torah and the Prophets are dependent on these two mitzvot.”[Footnotes:Matthew 22:37 Deuteronomy 6:5
Matthew 22:39 Leviticus 19:18]
Jesus said to the lawyer, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. . . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[Matthew 22:37-39 (NRSV)]
As a retired scientist, I am enjoying taking a course on the history of science. I was intrigued by the instructor’s statement that one of the most important scientific ideas to emerge in the 20th century showed that all reality — from the atom to the universe — can be understood in terms of relationships. As a Christian, I was fascinated to learn that a concept that runs throughout the Old and New Testaments has a parallel in the latest scientific thinking.
Humans are spiritual and physical beings. Our relationship with God is our primary concern, and our relationships with other humans second only to that. Cultivating both these kinds of relationships is a lifelong challenge, requiring our constant attention.
How thankful we can be that God through Christ graciously offers us forgiveness when we fail to maintain our relationships with God and others! Only in God’s commandments do we find our ultimate reality in this life and in the life to come.
Read more from the author, here.
"Scripture Speaks to Anxiety"
As an adjunct professor, I am continuing to develop relationships as faculty sponsor for the campus chapter of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (www.cmda.org). Last week I led a discussion on anxiety, a familiar topic for medical students. Together we studied Luke 12:22-31 and considered how to apply this and other scripture to life as a health professional. I asked my students many questions including the following: Do you experience anxiety or worry? Is that sinful? What physical symptoms may indicate anxiety rather than disease? What did Jesus' disciples have to be worried about? What things in life are out of our control? Do our goals, expectations, and self-assessments cause us anxiety? How can we cope with anxiety? How does God the Father, Son, and Spirit help us through our anxiety and worry? Have you memorized scriptures to meditate on? How should your stress tolerance influence your career choices?
Regarding our relationship with Christ, James Martin in his book Jesus: a Pilgrimage tells of his visits to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and reflects on the Crucifixion and Resurrection (as we all will be doing during the Lent and Easter season). He asks, "What does Jesus mean when he says, in the Synoptics, 'Take up your cross daily'? Martin offers these answers. Don't look for crosses. "Life gives them to you." God invited Jesus and us to accept our crosses. That means knowing that suffering is part of life and at some time we all will feel "shock, frustration, sadness and even rage." When it comes, will we accept it as Jesus and eventually the disciples accepted their crosses? Or will we become bitter and take our distress out on family members and coworkers? Will we graciously accept the help we need as Jesus allowed Simon of Cyrene to carry his cross? Will we lose our lives to save them by dying to sin like pride, envy, greed, and lust to live for God? Will we wait for our resurrection and the surprises God has in store, believing that nothing is impossible for God? I pray my students and all of us will.[Richard Gillum]
The Author: Richard Gillum (Maryland, USA)
Thought for the Day: How will I make time for my relationship with God and with others today?
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, help us to obey your commandments of love and remain in right relationship with you and others. Amen.
Prayer focus: Those who lack loving relationships
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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States "God Sees, Hears, Loves" Saturday, 14 February 2015 - Scripture: James 5:13 Is someone among you in trouble? He should pray. Is someone feeling good? He should sing songs of praise.14 Is someone among you ill? He should call for the elders of the congregation. They will pray for him and rub olive oil on him in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer offered with trust will heal the one who is ill — the Lord will restore his health; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, openly acknowledge your sins to one another, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Eliyahu was only a human being like us; yet he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and no rain fell on the Land for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the Land produced its crops.
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.[James 5:13 (NRSV)]
I confess that prayer is not the strongest of my spiritual disciplines. I am comfortable leading prayers in worship or praying for someone who is ill. But making a disciplined effort to spend a good amount of time in prayer is very difficult for me. I get anxious when I sit still; my mind is not one that easily goes quiet.
But that day was important. My husband had a big job interview, and we were both anxious. From the time he left the house until the time he returned, I prayed for him. I prayed through my morning routine of showering and dressing. I prayed while I brewed my coffee, and then I sat on the couch for an hour and poured my heart out to the Lord in intercession for my husband. It was an emotionally draining experience, but I believe it was the very best way I could have cared for my spouse.
It isn’t necessarily the way we pray that matters or whether we sit, kneel, or stand. It isn’t about whether we speak out loud in narrative or make lists, or say one-word prayers throughout the day. What matters most is that we do pray, intentionally and faithfully, pouring out all our joys and fears to God, who sees all, hears all, loves all.
The Author: Loren Tate Mitchell (Virginia, USA)
Thought for the Day: What matters most is not how, when, or where we pray but that we pray.
Prayer: Friend and Redeemer, thank you for the opportunity to communicate with you through prayer. Help us to find ways throughout the day to be in authentic relationship with you. Amen.
Prayer focus: Those looking for a job
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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Hand-Me-Downs" Sunday, 15 February 2015 - Scripture: Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive.14 Above all these, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly; 15 and let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart’s decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body.
And be thankful — 16 let the Word of the Messiah, in all its richness, live in you, as you teach and counsel each other in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your hearts. 17 That is, everything you do or say, do in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Renew the thinking in your mind by the Spirit and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness.[Ephesians 4:23-24 (CEB)]
When I was growing up, children wore hand-me-downs: clothes, often darned or patched and passed down from older brothers and sisters. Except at school, at church, and for special occasions, I often wore clothing that no longer fit my brother. I wore what my parents provided. Some hand-me-downs were better than others.
I also wore attitudes, behavior, beliefs, and responses that were handed down — received from my parents and other role models. Some were good and acceptable; others were not.
When I grew up and started to earn a living, I cast off my drab hand-me-downs, bought new clothes, and took responsibility for what I wore.
On the glorious day when I asked Jesus into my life, I prayerfully sorted through my spiritual and behavioral hand-me-downs and asked God to take away my soiled, broken, and destructive behavior, beliefs, and attitudes and to clothe me anew in the Spirit.
Read more from the author, here.
"And God Made Us"
The other night we babysat my 11-month-old granddaughter, Thea. The next morning Thea was crawling around on the living-room carpet, playing with the TV remote while we chatted. Waving it in the air, she accidently bumped her forehead and looked so surprised that we laughed spontaneously. She immediately copied us and laughed, which caused us to laugh again and she again echoed our action. Supposing that she had done something clever or amusing, she bumped her head with the remote, on purpose this time, and chuckled gaily—and of course we copied her.
I have heard other speak of someone beingconverted when they accepted Christ; notpurified, polished or refined. One definition of conversion implies “to change into a different form”.
When Val bakes a cake she buys the best ingredients that are available and mixes them carefully (according to a recipepassed down from mother to daughter for several generations) and produces a bowl of what can best be described as gunge.Because she has purchased the best and mixed carefully, it might be the best gungeon the planet but it is still gunge. It is only when these ingredients are subjected to the vital additional element of the controlled heat of the oven that the gunge is converted and a magnificent cake is produced. This cake might be further improved by icing and decoration.
Following a similar line of thought it might be that we, the best ingredients, were subjected to the vital “life-giving breath” as Genesis 2:7. and only then became human in God’s image. We have been further “beautified” by the Laws, Prophets and Christ’s Spirit and Teachings.
Those, who by God’s Grace alone, have received “life-giving breath” should strive to be last; to be least proud; to be the slave of one Master; be pure in heart; peacemakers; to build our riches in heaven. We should strive to be happy when we are persecuted for God’s Kingdom.
I pray for Thea and have faith that she is a child of God. Her family are of God’s people; she has beenbaptized into God’s care and, learning by example, will, in God’s time, kneel before the cross and consciously confirm her Faith.
I have faith that we will all spend eternity in the presence of God.[Keith Honeyman]The Author: Keith Honeyman (Western Cape, South Africa)
Thought for the Day: Today I will take time to think before I speak or act.
Prayer: Dear Lord, please grant us forgiveness, strength, and grace to put aside hurtful attitudes, speech, and actions. Adorn us with the bright clothing of faith and love. Amen.
Prayer focus: For a willingness to change my attitudes
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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States "No Source Signal" Monday, 16 February 2015 - Scripture: Isaiah 9:1 (2) The people living in darknesshave seen a great light;
upon those living in the land that lies
in the shadow of death, light has dawned.
2 (3) You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice in your presence
as if rejoicing at harvest time,
the way men rejoice
when dividing up the spoil.
3 (4) For the yoke that weighed them down,
the bar across their shoulders,
and their driver’s goad
you have broken as on the day of Midyan[’s defeat].
4 (5) For all the boots of soldiers marching
and every cloak rolled in blood
is destined for burning,
fuel for the fire.
5 (6) For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us;
dominion will rest on his shoulders,
and he will be given the name
Pele-Yo‘etz El Gibbor
Avi-‘Ad Sar-Shalom
[Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God,
Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace],
6 (7) in order to extend the dominion
and perpetuate the peace
of the throne and kingdom of David,
to secure it and sustain it
through justice and righteousness
henceforth and forever.
The zeal of Adonai-Tzva’ot
will accomplish this.
7 (8) Adonai sent a word to Ya‘akov,
and it has fallen on Isra’el.
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.[Isaiah 12:2 (NIV)]
I was going through a difficult time. My husband and I had divorced after 15 years of marriage. Then a year later he was killed in a motorcycle accident. I was struggling to keep myself and our teenage son on track. My faith in God was strong; but the day-to-day challenges of single parenthood, financial insecurity, and grief were taking their toll. Spending time with God had moved further down my to-do list.
A friend asked me to join her women’s Bible study group. Studying Isaiah 30:15 taught me the importance of listening for God’s direction: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” I found comfort and strength as I renewed my relationship with God. How immediate and accessible is our God! Joining a Bible study helped to correct my priorities and to connect me with our all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present Lord.
The Author: Sara S. Orellana (Florida, USA)
Thought for the Day: How am I connecting to God, my source of strength, today?
Prayer: Dear God, forgive us when the demands of daily life become our idols. Help us always to put you first and to listen closely and quietly for your guidance. Amen.
Prayer focus: Single parents
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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States "The Father’s Loving Touch" Tuesday, 17 February 2015 - Scripture: Ephesians 3:13 So I ask you not to be discouraged by the troubles I endure on your behalf — it is all for your glory.14 For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character. 16 I pray that from the treasures of his glory he will empower you with inner strength by his Spirit, 17 so that the Messiah may live in your hearts through your trusting. Also I pray that you will be rooted and founded in love, 18 so that you, with all God’s people, will be given strength to grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of the Messiah’s love, 19 yes, to know it, even though it is beyond all knowing, so that you will be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who by his power working in us is able to do far beyond anything we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be glory in the Messianic Community and in the Messiah Yeshua from generation to generation forever. Amen.
The psalmist wrote, “My lips praise you because your faithful love is better than life itself!”[Psalm 63:3 (CEB)]
Yesterday in church I observed the family sitting in front of me. The son sat in a wheelchair beside the parents. He was throwing his head back and forth intensely, incessantly. As soon as they sat down, the father stretched out his arm, leaned his elbow against the wheelchair handle, and held the back of the boy’s head to calm the spasms. Throughout the sermon, I saw how the father’s hand held and caressed the boy’s head. Finally, the boy was pacified by his father’s touch; his head became still.
For me, the image of this father and son was a sermon in itself. The love that the father expressed was so patient, so enduring, and so great that I’m sure it came from God, transported through the father to his son. It seemed to me that the father realized that God had given him so much love for his son that it overcame the hardships of having a child with special needs. In that moment, the father opened up his heart for God’s love to flow through him.
The Author: Agneta Johansson (Jönköping, Sweden)
Thought for the Day: Today I will clear my heart of anything that stands in the way of God’s love.
Prayer: God of all comfort, help us to be a conduit for your love. Amen.
Prayer focus: Families of children with special needs
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Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Ash Wednesday" Ash Wednesday, 18 February 2015 - Scripture: Isaiah 58:1 Shout out loud! Don’t hold back!Raise your voice like a shofar!
Proclaim to my people what rebels they are,
to the house of Ya‘akov their sins.
2 “Oh yes, they seek me day after day
and [claim to] delight in knowing my ways.
As if they were an upright nation
that had not abandoned the rulings of their God,
they ask me for just rulings
and [claim] to take pleasure in closeness to God,
3 [asking,] ‘Why should we fast, if you don’t see?
Why mortify ourselves, if you don’t notice?’
“Here is my answer: when you fast,
you go about doing whatever you like,
while keeping your laborers hard at work.
4 Your fasts lead to quarreling and fighting,
to lashing out with violent blows.
On a day like today, fasting like yours
will not make your voice heard on high.
5 “Is this the sort of fast I want,
a day when a person mortifies himself?
Is the object to hang your head like a reed
and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself?
Is this what you call a fast,
a day that pleases Adonai?
6 “Here is the sort of fast I want —
releasing those unjustly bound,
untying the thongs of the yoke,
letting the oppressed go free,
breaking every yoke,
7 sharing your food with the hungry,
taking the homeless poor into your house,
clothing the naked when you see them,
fulfilling your duty to your kinsmen!”
8 Then your light will burst forth like the morning,
your new skin will quickly grow over your wound;
your righteousness will precede you,
and Adonai’s glory will follow you.
9 Then you will call, and Adonai will answer;
you will cry, and he will say, “Here I am.”
If you will remove the yoke from among you,
stop false accusation and slander,
10 generously offer food to the hungry
and meet the needs of the person in trouble;
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your gloom become like noon.
11 Adonai will always guide you;
he will satisfy your needs in the desert,
he will renew the strength in your limbs;
so that you will be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
12 You will rebuild the ancient ruins,
raise foundations from ages past,
and be called “Repairer of broken walls,
Restorer of streets to live in.”
God said, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice . . .? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house?”[Isaiah 58:6-7 (NRSV)]
I have always thought of Lent as a time of fasting in the sense of “giving up” something, either a lunch or some daily treat such as candy or coffee. The customary question in my faith community is, “What are you giving up for Lent?” I had never thought about doing anything else as a Lenten practice until one morning when I read the passage above from Isaiah, then later that same morning encountered a divine example of that passage.
While I was driving to work I noticed a drably dressed, bearded man standing at a busy intersection. He held a sign that read: “Homeless Veteran, need help!” Instantly, I recalled the words of Isaiah about what kind of fast God desires: “to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house.” I gave what help I could to that man.
My Lenten practice changed that very day. Now during Lent, my practice is not to give up something but to give something to someone in need.
The Author: Edward L. Kelly, Jr. (Iowa, USA)
Thought for the Day: When we fast, God helps us to identify with — and reach out to — those in need.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us during this Lenten season to look beyond ourselves and give to those in need. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Prayer focus: The homeless in my community
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