By: Emma Schmidt-Swartz
Please prepare your hears and minds for devotion. The theme for the month of January is the 'Whatever is lovely' portion of our main theme of the year which is, Phllippians 4:8-9.What do we normally think about when we think about the things we do to try to make ourselves 'lovely'? We normally spend entirely too much time thinking about what clothes we put on in the morning, or in front of the mirror doing our hair and make-up. If you think about it, these things have no influence in the big picture. If we don't look perfect every second of our lives, our life won't change for the worse. If the boy or girl you might be trying to impress doesn't like you because you're not lovely enough, they're not worth your time anyways!
We might as well focus our energy on trying to fit Jesus' idea of lovely. John13:3-5 . tells us the story of Jesus washing his disciples feet. ' Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; 4 He rises from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 5 After that he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded' Now, picture how dirty the disciples feet must have been after walking along all those dirt roads! Jesus did this not thinking about what was lovely on the outside, but rather how they deserved something nice and this was something not many people would be willing to do. Now, if we're the person that pushes someone's book down in the hallway, or turns someone away when they want to sit with us at lunch , we're not half as lovely as the girl who stops to help the person whose books are all over the floor, or the boy who asks the person sitting alone at lunch to come sit with them. We should be living every day thinking about what God wants us to do, and trying to live up to God's idea of lovely, instead of wasting our time making sure not one strand of our hair is out of place. We need to always remember there is more to lovely then meets the eye. Please Pray with me.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for this day. Thank You for blessing us to learn in a place where we can grow in our relationships with You, as well as with our peers. Please help us all to remember Your idea of lovely is the true idea of lovely. Please help all of us who are going through tough times right now, those who are sick, or those whose family members are sick. We would like to pray especially for Mrs. Wolf, we pray that You watch over her and keep her in good health. We also thank You for the birth of Mr. Charpentier's new baby, we thank You that he/she was brought into the world safely and we ask You to bless him/her as he/she grow and learn in Your Name. All this we ask in Your Name,
Amen. |
