Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
March 16, 2023
Read Ephesians 1:3-10
3 Bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing that comes from heaven. 4 God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless in God’s presence before the creation of the world. 5 God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan 6 and to honor his glorious grace that he has given to us freely through the Son whom he loves. 7 We have been ransomed through his Son’s blood, and we have forgiveness for our failures based on his overflowing grace, 8 which he poured over us with wisdom and understanding. 9 God revealed his hidden design to us, which is according to his goodwill and the plan that he intended to accomplish through his Son. 10 This is what God planned for the climax of all times: to bring all things together in Christ, the things in heaven along with the things on earth.
Good Morning, In the bulb, there is a flower that God reveals in its season!
I love working on a good jigsaw puzzle. Lately, I do most of my jigsaw puzzles online, but there is something engaging about picking up a piece and twisting it around in my hand as I try to decide where it goes. When examining a single piece, I consider the color and the shape with its knobs and loops.
For my online jigsaw puzzles, I don’t look at the image prior to solving the puzzle, so I have to focus solely on finding things that go together. In typical fashion, I work on finding my edge pieces first. I then gather pieces that share colors that I found in the edge pieces. Sometimes I encounter random pieces that seem to have no place in my jigsaw puzzle. My excitement builds as I connect pieces and see an image appear. Finally, as I near the end of constructing the puzzle, I begin to see the image clearly. Sometimes, even when most of the puzzle is done, an unexpected part is revealed as those last few pieces fall into place.
I think that our lives often resemble one of these puzzles. Perhaps we focus too much on what is on the outside first (those edges and corner pieces). As we walk along our journey, we pick up things that seem to belong, but we have difficulty deciding how to make them fit or which way to turn them. We might even be tempted to discard the random piece altogether.
I believe God has a big-picture plan, and even those seemingly random parts have a part to play. God reveals our purpose when we are ready to receive it. This is not a one-time event. It takes a lifetime of moving, twisting, and turning the pieces to finally see the clear picture of God’s plan for us. The Holy Spirit within us shapes, molds, and smoothes the rough edges as we are transformed into new beings in Christ.
Do not focus on what you do not know, but believe that God makes all things beautiful. God’s time and God’s ways are not our ways. Focus on what is good, what is lovely, and what is holy. God will handle the rest. Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.
Knowing God, Thank You for being with us. Thank you! Help us let the Holy Spirit work within us so that Your plan will be revealed. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: I am blessed to be part of God’s family.
Walk in faith! Pastor Liz
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