Morning Devotional:
I rarely wear jewelry. Necklaces bother me and earrings don’t work well when I wear headphones all the time for work. I’ve never owned a wedding or an engagement ring. But there was one time in college when I wore a ring that got a reaction I wasn’t expecting.
A male friend of mine bought me a ring from a candy machine – a huge, very fake rhinestone ring worth far less than the 25 cents it cost him to get it out of the gumball machine. As a joke, I wore it to a lesson I had scheduled with my voice professor the next day. When it was time to rehearse a piece I was working on, I casually laid my hand on the piano in front of her, gracefully displaying the new “rock” on my ring finger. It took her several seconds to see what was on my hand but when she did, she practically screamed! Her eyes were like saucers as she saw this ring and tried to piece together how I had not only landed such a fine piece of jewelry but also a man to propose to me. When she finally saw it and said, “Beth, what a beautiful ring!” I turned around and said, “I know! And look, it’s even adjustable,” as I turned my hand over to reveal the split in the band and tell-tale cheap construction of my candy store gem.
My ring was definitely not the real thing – it was not fine gold or a precious gem but there are times when things in this life try to pass themselves off as the real thing. We can’t afford to be fooled by imitations. Even John the Baptist had to ask to be sure Jesus was who He said He was. Jesus’ reply was the proof he needed. “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” (Matthew 11:5) Accept no fakes. Jesus is the real thing.
– Beth
Burning Question:
I’m forever grateful to God for ________.
Bible Quiz:
Question: Who said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God?”
Answer: Gabriel (Luke 1:26-30)
Storytime:
Just One More Thing