Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with song and lyrics from Matt Redman singing … Fearfully and Wonderfully Made … Poignantly singing of the reality of how God made us as His wondrous workmanship to His purposes and for His glory.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 139:13-14 [NLT] … 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my bod and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous— how well I know it.
… Seeing ourselves as God’s masterpiece, … uniquely created for His glory.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 139:11-18 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… David declares himself to be a masterpiece of God’s creation.
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Reference Passage [NLT] : … Ephesians 2:10 [NLT] … 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
… He made us in such a special way for Himself.
Reference Passage [NLT] : … 2nd Corinthians 5:17 [NLT] … 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
... And because I have surrendered myself to my Savior as my Lord, He is remaking me into a new man in His image.
Reference Passage [NLT] : … Philippians 1:6 [NLT] … 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
... God, thru Paul, promises that He will complete us in His image when we are with Him in glory.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Xochitl Dixon, used a personal word picture to show how we should cherish the reality of how we were created for God’s glory and for His workmanship. The ODB author wrote: My father creates custom quivers designed for archers to carry their arrows. [See photo] He carves elaborate pictures into pieces of genuine leather, before stitching the material together.
During a visit, I watched him construct one of his works of art. His careful hands applied just the right pressure as he pressed a sharp blade into the supple leather, creating various textures. Then he dipped a rag into crimson dye and covered the leather with even strokes, magnifying the beauty of his creation.
As I admired my dad’s confident craftsmanship, I realized how often I fail to acknowledge and appreciate my heavenly Father’s creativity manifested in others and even in myself.
Let me cut right to the questions raised by this author and by the poignant song linked above [at least for me!]: #1 Do we see ourselves as masterpieces, planned by God before we were in our mother’s womb, and created for His purposes and glory? … #2 Do we know that, in Christ, our God is making us over into His own image? … #3 Are we using His sanctifying grace for His glory … EVERY DAY?!
I, for one, struggle at times to see myself as God’s “masterpiece;” … but you find me here daily, diligently seeking to use His word and my prayers to become more of how my Lord desires to use me for His glory. And I would hope (and pray) that you’re here for the same purpose.
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Help any of us here, Lord, to become more of the “masterpiece” You created in us for Your glory. … 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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