Daily Bread Devotional for Today 3rd January 2023 Tuesday Message. As you study today’s devotional, remember this; “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT)
TOPIC: Chosen
SCRIPTURE READING: Ephesians 1:3-5
KEY VERSE: He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. . . . — Ephesians 1:5
Daily Bread Devotional for Today 3rd January 2023 MESSAGE
My daughter and son-in-law are in the process of choosing a therapy dog for one of our grandsons. They have been discussing and studying about which breed is best and which size is right. During this time, their other son has been helping to walk the neighbor’s dog to get a sense of how this addition to the family will work. The family is invested together to make a good choice.
Even more important is understanding that God has decided that he wants us to join his family. Does it inspire you that God has been pleased to create us for fellowship with him? God knew that through the sacrifice of Jesus we would become sons and daughters of God. His plan for our lives is to include us in his story. It wasn’t enough that God created us and made us his imagebearers; he also loves us and wants to live in relationship with us.
When our lives reflect the realization of all this, we display God’s glory and his love, and something changes in us. We carry ourselves with the knowledge that we belong and are part of God’s family.
What does it mean to be part of this family? It means we are responsible for one another. Because of the love God has given us, we have the ability to live in unity together, sharing in the story that God has indeed chosen us.
PRAYER FOR TODAY: Thank you, Father, that you have created us and have chosen us. Help us to see what it means to be in your family and to treat others with the same love you have shown us. Amen.
About the author — Beth Fellinger
Beth Fellinger is the pastor of Destination Church in St. Thomas, Ontario. She and her husband have been involved in ministry in large urban centers and small rural communities. Beth has served in three church plants and a church rebirth as well as in established churches. She loves her children, their spouses, and grandchildren. She is a cancer survivor twice over and celebrates life every day. She believes strongly in the local church and what a church committed to Christ, missions, and its community can accomplish. She has an enthusiastic vision of how the church can reach out and share the good news of Jesus with others.
