Thursday Devotional - Beautiful Feet

As a continuation from last week, the good news of Jesus Christ providing salvation and forgiveness of sins and His righteousness is available to all who call on Him. For those of us who have already called on Him (believed, placed our trust), we have the privilege and obligation to share the good news with others. We can be beautiful feet! 

Romans 10:14-15           “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”         Romans 10:14-15

Has the Lord shown you individuals in your life (even here at work) that need to hear the good news? 

Have you and I prayed for them and an opportunity to share?

How have you and I prepared for the opportunity?

How have you and I trusted God for the boldness and confidence needed?

What a blessing it is to be able to see the Lord working in someone’s life as they hear, believe, and call on His name! It's been a huge blessing to see James place his trust in Jesus as his Savior and to watch his faith grow this past year and a half. At 5 years old, he is unashamed to talk to others about his Savior, which is a great encouragement and motivation to us! He has beautiful feet! Do you and I?

Alice 

Putting In The Work

 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?  Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.  James 2:14-17

When my wife and me starting dating, I used to buy her things to make her happy.   The silliest thing that I used to do was when she was mad at me, I would buy her Haagen Daas Ice Cream.  Chocolate Chocolate Chip was my ‘go to’ flavor, and whenever she got it, she would let out a little smile letting me know that all was forgiven.

As we grew in our relationship, I would still do things for her, but something changed.  More often, I found myself doing things for her not because there was a motive or something to gain out of it.  It became more about how good it would make me feel inside.  For example the other day, she invited me into the store where she worked, and said, “I want you to smell this fragrance.  It’s smells so good!”  So, I wandered over to the perfume section, and she sprays a sample for me.  “Don’t you just love it,” she asked.  “Yes, honey,” I replied, and before I knew what hit me, I was walking out the door with the gift package for that fragrance in hand.  As I looked back at the smile on her face, it did not bother me one bit as I loved allowing her to sucker me into this, but more importantly, I loved doing it for her.  This is what faith by works is about.  It is never about the act itself.  It is about the ‘why’ behind the act.  It is as if you enjoy ‘putting in the work’ because it’s not like work at all.

God wants our work to be out of love for Him.  The verses today are one of the most debated verses in scripture.  Some faiths are founded on these verses noting that we are called to put in the work to show our love for Christ.  This is backward in my opinion.  As I spoke about the love for my wife, the things I do for her are not to earn her love.  Instead, the things I do are because of the love I have for her.  It is unconditional.  There are neither expectations nor am I looking for something in return.  I simply do it out of the joy inside my heart, and the fact that she loves me, while making it even better, is not relevant.  Our love for God should be similar.  We do for Him and others unconditionally because we have fully experienced His love for and grace given to us.  We cannot help but show it to others because like God’s gift, it was given freely without expectation.

God’s love for us is infinite and beyond our understanding.  Like scripture, our goal is not to just absorb its words.  It is to allow it to breathe life into our heart and spirit to make it indeed living.  This is the true depth behind the words of James; to know God on such a level that our faith is filled with an abundant love where our works are not just proof of our faith.  It is the end result of it.  So as Paul says, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:19)  What is God’s love inspiring you to do today?  How can you make your faith be more unconditional?  My prayer is that our love of Jesus Christ motivates us to put in the work.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Yield sign

Proverbs 16:2-3 “All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weights the motives. Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.” (NASB)

Hello,

I was thinking last night and this morning about how we tend to put our heads down and plow through any obstacle possible once we have made up our mind about something. We feel so set that the outcome is right or a good idea or needed, that we ignore any signs as we get underway. It brought to mind yield signs while driving – the road may not be closed, but we need to use caution and watch for other factors.

I love the verses in Proverbs 16. Verse 2 talks about motives – before we even start we think we are pure in motivation, but have we really let God sort that out? Once the motive is checked, what about the plan? Are we trying to just do everything our way, or will we yield to the manner in which God wants to do it? (Side note – ‘commit your works’ is not just about praying for success as you start, but about being committed before to put them before the Lord and let Him direct things).

None of this is about inaction, but rather about good action that is placed before God and yielding to His ways.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

The Lord is with you

Deuteronomy 31:8

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

This weekend I read this verse in a post pointed toward graduates.  With it was a quote from Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh, “You are BRAVER than you believe, STRONGER than you seem, and SMARTER than you think.”  While this was all pointed toward the graduate, I felt it was good for each and every one of us as we navigate the various seasons of life that we face. 

For me, I’ve been in a season of trying to figure out what my next move is.  At times, I question where I am going and may even get discouraged however I always find myself going back to the Lord is always with me and I have no reason to be discouraged.  No matter what way the path takes me, he will always be with me.

My prayer today is that you will feel the Lord near you in everything that you do.