December 3, 2020 7:00 pm
Heidi and Jeff came home from an overseas work assignment and settled for several months near family in the state of Michigan—just in time for winter. They were coming from a hot climate and this would be the first time many of their ten children had seen the natural beauty of snow.
But winter weather requires a lot of warm outerwear, including coats, mittens, and boots. For a large family, it was quite an undertaking just to outfit them for the bitterly cold months ahead. But God provided. First, a neighbor brought over footwear, then snow pants, then hats and gloves. Then, a friend urged others at her church to collect a variety of warm clothes in all twelve sizes for each member of the family. By the time the snow arrived, the family had exactly what they needed.
One of the ways we serve God is by serving those in need. First John 3:16–18 encourages us to help others from the abundance of our own possessions (v. 17). Serving helps us to be more like Jesus as we begin to love and see people as He does.
God often uses His children to fulfill needs and to answer prayers. And serving others will encourage our own hearts as we encourage those we serve. As a result, as we move into action, our own faith will grow as God equips us in new ways (v. 18).
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Welcome to another daily reading from the Our Daily Bread devotional.
Today's encouragement is titled, Relentless Love, and it was written by Cindy Casper. Heidi and Jeff came home from an overseas work assignment in a hot climate and settled for several months near family in the state of Michigan, just in time for winter. This would be the first time many of their 10 children had seen the natural beauty of snow. But winter weather in Michigan requires a lot of warm outerwear, including coats, mittens, and boots. For a large family, it would be quite an expensive undertaking just to outfit them for the bitterly cold months ahead. But God provided. First, a neighbor brought over footwear, then snow pants, then hats and gloves. Then a friend urged others at her church to collect a variety of warm clothes in all 12 sizes for each member of the family.
By the time the snow arrived, the family had exactly what they needed. One of the ways we serve God is by serving those in need. 1 John chapter 3 verses 16 through 18 encourages us to help others from the abundance of our own possessions. Serving helps us to be more like Jesus as we begin to love and see people as He does. God often uses His children to fulfill needs and to answer prayers. And as we serve others, our own hearts are encouraged as we encourage those we serve. As a result, our own faith will grow as God equips us for service in new ways.
Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 1 John chapter 3 verses 16 through 18. This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. Let's pray. Father, the world is full of need and You have equipped each of us with the ability to help, whether in big or small ways. We pray that You would fill our hearts with compassion for others and show us how we can make a practical difference in someone's life. Help us to give joyfully, knowing that it brings You joy. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-01-19 12:27:57 / 2024-01-19 12:29:22 / 1
