Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
June 27, 2021
Read Romans 12:1-8
1 So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. 2 Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature. 3 Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. 4 We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. 5 In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other. 6 We have different gifts that are consistent with God’s grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. 7 If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. 8 If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached. The leader should lead with passion. The one showing mercy should be cheerful.
Good Morning! Rejoice! Rejoice! Again I say rejoice!
As I begin another trip around the sun (borrowed from Jimmy Buffet), I thank God. God is love! God is merciful! Hallelujah!
Gifts! We all love to receive gifts, and I would say that the majority of us also like to give gifts. For a moment, let’s revert back to thinking like a child. Each gift that we receive as a child is so appreciated, so unexpected because we do not yet understand that as humans we expect gifts on birthdays, Christmas, and many other occasions. I remember when Kenneth, my oldest grandson, was about 3. We were gathered for Christmas and he was handed a gift to open. Opening gifts for children is all about the experience. Again, there are no preconceived expectations of what the gift might be or that we would even receive a gift. So we the adults were eagerly anticipating the reaction to the gift, Kenneth was embracing in the act of removing the paper at a painfully slow rate. Finally, he finishes with the ceremonial removal of the paper and he says, “it’s a . . . it’s a . . . it’s a box.” As if this were the gift, and he was authentically excited. I remember all of this vividly, but I don’t have any recollection of what was inside that box. What does that tell us?
God blessed each of us with special gifts as Paul shares in the passage from Romans. As we begin to experience and accept God’s grace in our lives (justifying grace), we begin to recognize and accept our gifts. Should we keep that gift on a shelf, packed away and protect like a fine piece of Grandma’s china, or should we use our gift? God calls us to accept and share our gifts with the love and mercy through which they were given. Whatever your gift, share it with the world: sing, teach, heal, repair, listen, cook, sew, and plant . . . all in the name of Christ without grumbling but with a grateful heart. Remember, we need all the gifts working together to grow in our community of faith.
Creator God, Thank You for loving us. Sometimes we fail to understand that the best way to enjoy our gifts is to share those gifts with others. Thank you for the music in my life. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Thought for the day: My community is a gift from God.
Share your gifts with love and mercy! Pastor Liz