Burning Question:
It’s National Name Yourself Day! What adjective would you like to add to your name this year?
Morning Devotional:
I love to journal, and if you were to dig through my house, you would find all kinds of notebooks detailing things I have learned in life. Most of the notebooks are filled with sermon notes, Bible studies or notes from Christian conferences I have attended. If I am going to retain new knowledge, I have to write it down.
I was digging through my desk looking for an empty notebook yesterday afternoon when I came upon a small notebook I had acquired from a conference a few years ago. Thinking I could use it, I opened it up to find it was already full of notes, including notes from an exercise I was a part of at this conference.
The journal entry was a list, and the first entry started with the words, “I am thankful for.” Following those words was a list, several pages long, of things I was thankful for at that time. I was thankful for prayers answered, grace and mercy received, and on one line, I was thankful for the ability to take in breath. I remembered where that entry came from – the instructor had asked us to answer the question, “What blessing did I receive today?”
We have a tendency to take God’s blessings for granted. We think God isn’t doing anything for us but forget that we have the ability to take in air to breathe and use that air to speak His praises. We can breathe, we can move, and we can think all because of our God. His blessings are all around us – a fact that is not lost on characters all throughout the Word.
In Psalm 23, David shares this revelation: “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” He knew God’s goodness was with him every day, even when his days were full of troubles. The same holds true today. God is with us always, blessing us in many ways. Let’s be looking for those blessings and thanking God for them.
– Beth
Bible Quiz:
Question: Which two brothers does Paul use to illustrate God’s sovereign plan – one loved, one hated – before they were even born?
Answer: Jacob and Esau (Romans 9:13)
Storytime: ABCDEFG