Daily Devotional: Friday, Feb 19
Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Goodness & Faithfulness
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Just the Same by Northwest College; Run by Hillsong United; To the Ends of the Earth by Hillsong United; From the Inside Out by Hillsong United; Love Never Fails by Brandon Heath.
Read: Ephesians 3:20-21; Galatians 5:22-23; Luke 7:36-50
Think: Often loving someone involves making yourself vulnerable to them, giving them opportunities to either hurt you or show their love. In our passage today the sinful woman risked being vulnerable, being stoned, ridiculed and shamed... though it might be painful to walk into the room and risk those things, she trusted God and His heart and faithfulness. When I think that each of her sins was carried by Christ and caused Him pain I'm amazed by the love, gentleness and compassion she was shown. What a wonderful example of how we should be with each other.
A close friend has just started dating and they are at the stage where they are slowly becoming more open and emotionally vulnerable with each other. It is an exciting but scary time! To some extent its a stage we all go through in our relationships - trying to open up enough that we grow closer to someone while not allowing it to leave us too vulnerable. Thankfully with God we can be assured that whatever we go through, whatever we tell him, He is there for us and always will be. He'll never leave us or forsake us.
Throughout this series we have been learning about the kind of love we are all looking for "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control." Galatians 5:22-23. As we read the Bible and learn more about God we see in action this love and faithfulness and learn what they mean. Ghandi once said "Be the change you want to see in the world" It seems we can also apply that to relationships by following God's pattern and example of love we can learn to give the love we wish to receive.
Do: Show someone the love today that you would like to receive. It may be a small gesture or even unseen, perhaps by buying someone a coffee (especially if Pastor Ben is in the queue!) or by letting someone in in traffic. It may be a larger gesture towards someone you find ‘hard' to love or who has hurt or disappointed you.
Pray: Lord, thank you that you love me even when it hurts; I ask that you would give me more of the fruit of your Spirit and give me the strength and opportunity to show that love to others. Please guide me as I reach out to others and show Your love in action. Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church. |
