Morning Devotional:
I can think of a few things I would like to give up for something better.
One day, a woman by the name of Demi Skipper embarked on a project. Inspired by a talk she heard online, she began a project called a trade-up – a series of exchanges where she would take an item that she owned and arrange a trade with someone else for something greater in value. No money would be
exchanged in these transactions.
Demi set her goal on getting a house. She started her trade-up with a single hairpin, posting a photo of her, the pin and an outline of her mission on social media. That’s where things got interesting. She traded the hairpin for a pair of earrings, and the earrings for a set of drinking glasses. The glasses were traded for a vacuum cleaner, which was traded up for a snowboard, and then a TV. Over the course of her experiment, she has exchanged cell phones, laptops, collector sneakers, four vehicles, a diamond necklace, and a tiny cabin. No money exchanged, except for the cost of shipping.
It hasn’t been a perfect process, though – the vehicles have broken down, the diamond necklace lost thousands of dollars in resale value, and she has yet to score that house she has been hoping for.
For the person who trusts in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, there is a set of trades the Lord offers us. He details the transaction in Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of
mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
Jesus himself traded His life for ours. I would call that the best trade ever.
– Beth
Burning Question:
When did you realize you were turning into your parents?
Bible Quiz:
Question: What man of Bethany was raised from his tomb by Jesus?
Answer: Lazarus (John 11)
Storytime: Korban beat his Parents!