Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines" (1 Samuel 7:3)
Scripture: 1 Samuel 7:2-6
Song: "Father, Whate'er of Earthly Bliss"
Marcy enjoyed running, and she was good at it. Every Saturday she would compete in local and regional races and usually bring home a first-place trophy. Soon running became a great love of her life; it was sheer bliss.
No doubt Marcy would second what Eric Liddell (the great 1924 Olympic runner) one said: "I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."
How wonderful to know deep joy in any pursuit-and to recognize it as gift from God! Perhaps that is the essence of the difference between praising the creator and somehow idolizing an aspect of His creation. Surely it's what the ancient Israelites often failed to recognize. If only they would take their deep desire to worship-a good thing-and turn it toward the only one who deserved it. Then they would feel His pleasure as well.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I'm thrilled with everything I'm involved in today by Your grace. All good things come from You, and I can only return my thanksfulness. Please help me never to forget the source of my joy-You alone! Through Jesus, my deliverer, I pray Amen.
- taken from 365 Devotions by Standard (Pocket Edition)
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6 comments:
personally, I like the quote from Eric Liddell. It really brings to light, that no only does God have a purpose for us, but also he has blessed us with soo many gifts.
And when we fully/humbly use those gifts for Him, we can feel His pleasure/presence.
One of the things I'm not 100% sure which we can discuss about, is the relevance of the verse. I'm assuming that, when we commit ourselves with those gifts, even if we're faced with challenges... if it's for His will He will be with us and carry us through.
- Brian Yee
The passage didn't really talk about gifts. So yes you're right, it's kind of weird to mention it like so. I found the devo kind of weird until the end, but now I can kind of see what the author is trying to get at.
First post!
-Richard
It's very cool to know what you're good at, and know that it's a God given talent. You may be good at video games but I don't know if that's a God given gift.
Myself I love just worshiping, and it's so awesome to just worship God thru music, knowing it's what He delights in, and even moreso, it's what I delight in doing as well.
God is awesome.
- Jono
yea the passage is a bit unclear how ti ties with the devo, but it is still very meaningful. We do need to remember that everything is from God. The good things in life, the amazing things, from God. Sometimes I really am thankful to God for all the amazing things that happen. The enjoyable times, the only things that really come to mind is anything involving music. Playing music, listening to music, i'm thankful for Gods grace in creating such wonderful things. Oh yea that and stuff like the things I appreciate about nature and the beauty of the world.
-drew
the devo i still think.. after reading a couple times... is a lil abstract.
In a sense it kinda relates to how when you are using, and seeking God with the talents He gave you, it would be easy and because of that ease.. it causes joy..... or something like that.
But yea.. sometimes i find it hard to know .. what gift did God give me? Like worship and music.. yea i guess thats a "gift" that God gave me.. but if I don't use that gift, then God will take it away (References: Matt 25: 14-30).
Worshiping God does make me feel happy, and I do feel a certain joy when serving God that way, but I find that I often get distracted by other things like.. if we're playing right, or if we sound right and so on. So yea.. i guess i need to worry less about that.. and just leave that up to God.
-Jon
talking about gifts, i was just thinking here studying at SHE...
what IS something Jacky is good at?
i racked my brain, and i couldn't find something i excelled at. I couldn't think of something i am good at. haha. Perhaps i'm looking too shallow, but I know God has given me gifts. I just hope i discover it in time before he takes it away from me.
- Jacky
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