Daily Devotional: Thursday, Jan 21
Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Reset Me
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Today is the Day by Lincoln Brewster; The Time Has Come by Hillsong United; How Can I Keep From Singing by Chris Tomlin; How He Loves by David Crowder Band.
Read: I Chronicles 16:7-9; Proverbs 12:25; I John 5:1-3
Think: I got a chance to speak with our youngest son this evening. Tonight we were set to have dinner together. Just the two of us. Dinner didn't happen, as we both had our plans interrupted, but maybe a more important conversation ensued.
I wrote in an earlier devotional this week about remembering the joys of Christmas and not letting go of them quite so quickly. I remembered how much fun it was to spend time with one of our sons and his long term girlfriend. I noticed how much they both had matured, how gentle and kind they were to each other, and how much they really liked one another - how joyful that was to see! Thinking about it was joy returned.
I had limited time to speak with him and talking about the football games this weekend just seemed like I was filling the space with emptiness. So tonight I took a risk...I told him what I saw and observed. His reaction brings tears to my eyes as I write this. He simply thanked me and told me how much that meant to him. His thanks was deeply conveyed and I knew it was from his heart.
That thank you and my tears of joy this evening must be much like our Heavenly Father when we talk to him and tell him how much we love him, and thank him for his care and concern for us. It is hard to fathom how much our Father loves us, and how much he wants to have a relationship with us. Think of the joy he experiences when we come into his presence.
Pastor Ben used the term Determined Worth - that God chose you and he chose me in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes even before the world began... This is what he wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. (Ephesians 1:4-5 - NLT) My hope and my prayer this evening is that our son felt and understood his determined worth - the pleasure I take in knowing him, observing him, loving him. Think of our Heavenly Father and know that each and every new morning your worth in his eyes has not wavered. Simply thank him; my guess is that tears of joy are shed in heaven when we do.
Do: Take time to today to speak to God and find something you have observed about Him... thank him from the heart.
Pray: Heavenly Father, I want to tell you something today - Something wonderful about you. Something I have observed about you. (Now tell him!) Something I am thankful for. (Now thank him from your heart.) I know you are listening to me. You love me as I am - you loved me before the world began. Thank you for your love for me, your forgiveness of me through your Son. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church. |
