Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
January 13, 2023
Read John 11:17-27
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was a little less than two miles from Jerusalem. 19 Many Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary after their brother’s death. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary remained in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, the one who is coming into the world.”
Good Morning, Jesus is the resurrection and the life!
The birth of a child is a great time of celebration. We praise God for the miracle through which we are blessed. As the child grows, we take time each year to celebrate another year on this earth. This is a good and reasonable thing to do. After all, each day that God grants to us is a gift and when you add 365 of these gifts together a celebration is in order.
Every day is also an opportunity to serve our Lord and Savior. It is a chance to be better than we were yesterday. A day to love God and to love one another. We should never take even one day for granted. We do not know if our path will lead us this way again, so we must take action and serve as we are led.
It is a part of our innate being to be curious about what our future will hold. We want to know who we will become and what we will do, but we must accept that God will reveal His plan for our lives as we are ready. When we accept Christ, the Holy Spirit begins our amazing transformation. Sometimes we resist change, but in God’s time our rough edges are smoothed and our broken pieces are molded together into the being that God created before we were born.
Along our journey, we seek peace. Peace comes when we turn our worry and anxiety over to God. 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:27 Let Go and Let God take care of you! When we embrace the peace of God, we are free to serve the needs of others who are also seeking God’s peace.
Lord make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
And where there is sadness, joy.
O divine master, grant that I may
not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love
For it is in giving that we receive-
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it’s in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen
The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Loving God, Thank You for being with us. We have so much for which to be thankful. Help us accept your gifts so that we might find your peace. Thank you! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Jesus’ resurrection offers me the greatest sense of peace.
Accept God’s peace! Pastor Liz