Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Lauryn Hill and Tanya Blount singing … His Eye Is On the Sparrow … poignantly singing of the reality of the value God places on all who know Him as Lord and Savior.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 10:29-31 [NKJV] …
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
… Jesus teaches on the value of all who believe on Him as Lord, no matter what we may be going thru as God’s children here on earth.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 10:28-33 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… In God’s eyes, our value is as strong as our faith in Him who made us.
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Psalm 116:15 [NKJV] …
16 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
… Even in the indignity of death our value to God shines forth brightly … at least to Him.
Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … John 11:25-26 [NKJV] …
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
… Jesus confirms the value of all who love and serve Him, no matter what their circumstances may be in this life. And to answer His question, … YES I BELIEVE THIS!!
Reference Passage #3 [NKJV] : … 1st Corinthians 15:54-58 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Even the indignity of death has no victory over me - or anyone who is in Christ.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Tim Gustafson, teaches on the seeming indignity of death; but in the face of death, the author emphasizes our value as children of God to our Savior. The ODB author wrote: My mother, so dignified and proper her entire life, now lay in a hospice bed, held captive by debilitating age. Struggling for breath, her declining condition contradicted the gorgeous spring day that danced invitingly on the other side of the windowpane.
All the emotional preparation in the world cannot sufficiently brace us for the stark reality of goodbye. Death is such an indignity! I thought.
I diverted my gaze to the birdfeeder outside the window. A grosbeak flitted close to help itself to some seed. Instantly a familiar phrase popped into my mind: “Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it” (Matt. 10:29 nlt). Jesus had said that to His disciples as He gave them marching orders for a mission to Judea, but the principle applies to all of us. “You are worth more than many sparrows,” He told them (v. 31).
Yes, death can many times seemingly rob our human dignity and can even, at times, seem cruel, even as it was for the small sparrow depicted in the attached photo. But when death seems to rob mankind of our dignity, we need to remember what Jesus taught His disciples about death, … that it was just a stepping stone to be with Him in heaven; and He values the lives of His saints so much that He was willing to give up His life for us.
I remember my mother waking from a coma, just hours before she died, and telling me at her hospital bedside the last words we ever heard from her, … “Oh, I’m so tired, … I just want to go be with Jesus.” And not having known whether my mom was saved, those words, as she fell back into her coma, I believe, was God’s way of telling me, … “Don’t worry, Bill, I’ve got this; … she’s mine!” And in that moment I realized what Jesus was teaching His disciples about our value to Him, even in the indignity of death.
Yes, my friends, as the linked song conveys, “His eye is on the sparrow, but I know He watches me.”
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … Lord, … thank You for what even a sparrow means to You, … and with me, here today, knowing how much I mean to You today and forever. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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