birthdays [+] Tuesday E-Devotion

Proverbs 10:22 (nlt) --- The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich,and he adds no sorrow with it.

Proverbs 20:7 (nlt) --- The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them.

Birthdays are everywhere I look. Our oldest daughter's is today (see this blog post). Yesterday was my dad's. This week is one of my nephews and a cousin and a church leader and another precious kid at church and another guy...the list keeps going on and on.

Whats the deal? Kind of like that old commercial of "I want to buy the world a coke" if we tried to buy them all a gift or take them all out to eat it would never end, but I love making people feel special. That is not always easy, but it is always right. Think about it. God has made us special in so, so many ways.

Since it is my little girl's birthday, we have been talking about how to make this day special...how to let her know that she is special to us. Therefore, we go out of our way to share, spend time and do special stuff. I like that. I love my kids.

Has God done that for us? YES. He has gone the extra, and I mean the EXTRA, mile in declaring His love for us, in giving us big blessings and in leading our lives every day.

When it is your birthday, you don't have to open gifts or do special stuff. But that would be strange. You don't have to acknowledge what God has done or that He loves you. But that would be wrong.

A couple things:

Proverbs 3:27 (nlt) --- Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them.

Go out of your way to make people feel special. Tell those close to you what they mean to you. Watch for those around you that need a hug or an encouraging word and give it to them. Just do it. This ought to be second nature for Christians.

Romans 8:38 (nlt) --- And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.

And another thing, let God's thoughts about you become real to you. Confess it...God loves me! God has forgiven me! God has blessed me! I praise you, God!!!

Those two things may change your life. Wait a minute. Those two things will change the people around you if you live that way. It ought to be second nature for Christians. You and me.

Another reason to make birthdays special...people matter to God more than anything else!

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you ...

wash feet, sharing hope

John 13:4-5,14 NLT So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him… 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. Jesus set the example we follow. He served. He valued and gave value to others. That is why we choose to serve. For 18 years our church has shared an outreach called back2school, and for 16 of those years we have chosen to give students brand new shoes and socks as well as washing their feet. It is one of the most important parts of this event. Washing feet is a humbling experience where both the give and the receiver learn how to share some moments that might change their lives. Jesus said we should do this. See the verse above. Follow His example, do what He did, and give far more than you will ever know....

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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