Scripture of the Day: John 1 (The Message)
But whoever did want him,
who believed he was who he claimed
and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
not blood-begotten,
not flesh-begotten...
Who are we? Really...we are children of God. Every day we need to remember this!
I typically fail miserably! But this is what I would like to do: Each day I need to pause before I get out of bed and put on my "child-of-God self." Or better put, I need to pray that God helps me to act/speak through the Holy Spirit instead of simply me! This typically doesn't happen. Instead, the first thing I put on is my "mother-of-Nathan II self," or my "wife-of-Nathan Sr self." Or worse, I put on my "I-can-do-it-myself self." When I do these other "selves" first, days are hard. My patience is lacking, as is the grace I extend to others (including myself).
But if first and foremost every day, I look at myself as a child-of-God, and start the day with the Word and prayer, I see the world through a different lens. There is more hope. There is more light. There is more patience. There is more teaching and more learning. There is more laughter. There is more love because I feel the unconditional love of my heavenly father. There is more dependence on God and less dependence on those who are part of the other roles in my life. I don't want to say the other roles/people are not important. I am saying they should not define me and how I feel as much as I let them!
I have a challenge for you. Will you join me in purposefully putting on your "child-of-God" self every day for a week? Then comment on here or FaceBook with the changes you have noticed in your daily lives. I think they could be massive. But they could also be small. Regardless of the enormity, I am confident they will be positive :)
Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father God, today I come you to earnestly seeking You. Help me put on my child-of-God self so close to my heart that every other "self" I need to be today gets wrapped under that first, most important role. Help the Holy Spirit work in me today. Let me look at life through Your lens and let my words and actions to others first go through your filter. Fill my cup. Let me not seek to be filled by the others in my life, but just through you. In doing so, spill Your love on me. Help me to then send the overflow to those in my life.
But whoever did want him,
who believed he was who he claimed
and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
not blood-begotten,
not flesh-begotten...
Who are we? Really...we are children of God. Every day we need to remember this!
I typically fail miserably! But this is what I would like to do: Each day I need to pause before I get out of bed and put on my "child-of-God self." Or better put, I need to pray that God helps me to act/speak through the Holy Spirit instead of simply me! This typically doesn't happen. Instead, the first thing I put on is my "mother-of-Nathan II self," or my "wife-of-Nathan Sr self." Or worse, I put on my "I-can-do-it-myself self." When I do these other "selves" first, days are hard. My patience is lacking, as is the grace I extend to others (including myself).
But if first and foremost every day, I look at myself as a child-of-God, and start the day with the Word and prayer, I see the world through a different lens. There is more hope. There is more light. There is more patience. There is more teaching and more learning. There is more laughter. There is more love because I feel the unconditional love of my heavenly father. There is more dependence on God and less dependence on those who are part of the other roles in my life. I don't want to say the other roles/people are not important. I am saying they should not define me and how I feel as much as I let them!
I have a challenge for you. Will you join me in purposefully putting on your "child-of-God" self every day for a week? Then comment on here or FaceBook with the changes you have noticed in your daily lives. I think they could be massive. But they could also be small. Regardless of the enormity, I am confident they will be positive :)
Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father God, today I come you to earnestly seeking You. Help me put on my child-of-God self so close to my heart that every other "self" I need to be today gets wrapped under that first, most important role. Help the Holy Spirit work in me today. Let me look at life through Your lens and let my words and actions to others first go through your filter. Fill my cup. Let me not seek to be filled by the others in my life, but just through you. In doing so, spill Your love on me. Help me to then send the overflow to those in my life.
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