Morning Devotion: Masterpiece

If you’ve accepted Christ, you are a divine masterpiece.

Your status is not based on your physical appearance or your ancestral line.

And it’s not based on your personal flawlessness.

Instead, it’s based on the loving grace of God the Father and the flawless blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:10 in the New Living Translation says that one united with Christ is God’s “masterpiece.”

I am so grateful that God considers me as His masterpiece, His ultimate expression of redeemed love.

And I’m so grateful that He considers you as the same.

Dictionary.com defines “masterpiece” in this way — “a person’s greatest piece of work.”

Walk in confidence today, my friend.

God thinks very highly of you.

So much so that He gave His only begotten Son for you.

That makes you even more valuable.

Let’s bring greater value to God by allowing His Word and His Spirit to refine us even more with each passing day.

For until we leave this life, our responsibility is to grow more valuable every day.

As always, I love you
Martin

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Morning Devotion: For the best

Waiting is usually no fun.

But life is better when we learn how to wait with the right attitude.

When we don’t have the right perspective on waiting, we sometimes make bad decisions.

Or at least we wait with griping.

And then we have to wait even longer to have the outcomes we really want.

Let’s keep this verse in mind and we’ll be better off in all sorts of ways.

“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him.” (Psalm 62:1)

I always need to remember and practice this display of trust in the Lord.

I encourage you to do the same.

We’ll have better lives and fewer headaches as we do.

As always, I love you
Martin

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Morning Devotion: Some glad morning

I love the old hymn “I’ll Fly Away.”

It’s so good to know that my body’s death will put my soul on a first-class flight to heaven.

I was reminded of this again during my devotional reading this morning.

“…those who die in the Lord will live; their bodies will rise again!” (Isaiah 26:19)

Please make sure to have your boarding pass of a soul washed by the blood of Jesus. For John 14:6 tells us that only with that pass will we rise again.

As always, I love you
Martin

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Morning Devotion: Grunting?

“Do you love me with all your heart and soul?” a wife asked her husband one morning as he read the newspaper.

“Mmm hmm,” he grunted as he turned the page.

“And do you think I’m the most beautiful woman on the planet?” she asked.

“Mmm hmm.”

“And do you think my lips are as delicate as rose petals?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Oh honey,” gushed the wife, “You say the most beautiful things!”

I’m so glad that I don’t have to embellish the grunts of others in order to feel loved.

We all enjoy hearing family members or close friends say they loves us.

It’ even better, though, when we read in scripture and experience through blessings just how much God loves us.

Haven’t we all drawn great encouragement and emotional strengthening by the words of John 3:16? Or Romans 5:8? Or I Peter 5:7? Or I John 1:9?

I am SO glad that God’s love isn’t shown to us with a grunt.

Our God shows His love for us with the cross, with the gift of His Holy Spirit to guide us and with the opportunity to become part of a caring congregation.

Because He so clearly communicates His love for us, let’s make sure that the overflow of that love is clearly communicated to the people in our lives.

Yes, we all have to do “grunt work” sometimes in life.

Let’s make sure that how we communicate love to others is displayed with grace and devotion, not with a grunt.

As always, I love you
Martin

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Morning Devotion: Sing!

God has given us every reason in the world to sing.

And every day should be an occasion to sing of His glory and gracious provision.

“Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love.”

Psalm 59:16 sums it up, doesn’t it? A love that never abandons us is more than enough reason for singing to the Lord today.

So sing to Him, even if the only Christian song you can remember is “Jesus Loves Me.”

God will love it.

And so will you.

As always, I love you
Martin

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