Mission and Vision Part 5: BECOME
Before you jump into the devotions this week, be sure you listen carefully to the teaching from Sunday. You can access those back on the HOME page to NHGROUPS.ORG.
Now, to begin, make sure that you are in a quiet spot with 10 minutes to focus.
Take 3 deep breaths and declare: “God made me, he loves me and has good plans for me.”
Read this out loud:
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…”
Genesis 1:26a
Say it out loud again: “God made me, he loves me and has good plans for me.”
Our transformation process begins, well, at the beginning. God created the heavens and the earth, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, the animals of the mountains and forests and then he created humans. In his own image. On Sunday I quoted from Saint Teresa of Avila. In 1577 she wrote:
“…the very fact that His Majesty says it is made in His image means that we can hardly form any conception of the soul’s great dignity and beauty.”
—The Interior Castle
It is difficult for us to imagine God. And, because of that, it is an incredible stretch for us to imagine the beauty and dignity we are created with.
Say it again: “God made me, he loves me and has good plans for me.”
So much of what we experience informs us differently from what is intrinsically true about us. We are told we are ugly, don’t matter, are worthless. Or, we live in systems that don’t affirm our inherent dignity, but teach us to perform for a sense of worth.
Read these words of Jesus out loud:
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
John 15:4 (NLT)
All week long we are focusing on training ourselves to abide (remain) with Jesus. And, it begins at the beginning. We are loved. We are accepted and have tremendous beautiful potential.
Evaluate your own thoughts and emotions:
- Do you feel that you have to earn dignity before God?
- Do you feel loved by God?
- When you think about hearing from God, do you hear an angry voice, a condemning voice or a gentle voice?
As you go about your day, stop yourself and dwell on Jesus. Ask him to speak to you. Become aware of his love for you. And, allow yourself to experience his love for you.
Make this prayer your own:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I pray that you would help me to remain in you today. Wrap me up in your love. Show me how I reject your craftsmanship by putting myself down. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for creating me. Thank you for life. Help me to honor you today.
