Good morning!
Welcome to your morning coffee! May our Heavenly Father remind us today of how blessed we are. Father, of all the blessings you have given us, you are the greatest! Together with your Son and the Holy Spirit, you are our God, our beautiful, promised inheritance. May our precious present relationship with you and our perfect promised relationship with you be the foundation of how we view ourselves. Father, we too easily struggle and too easily avoid turning to you. In the name of your Son Jesus and by the power of your Spirit within us, turn our eyes towards you. Help us to daily find ourselves, who we are, in who you are. Amen!
Your Morning Song: "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" by Chris Rice
Your Morning Scripture: Psalm 16:5-11
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
...
"You should know better." I find myself saying this phrase to my children more often than I would like. And I'm sure I'm not the only parent who feels this way. But as God often likes to do, because He has a divine sense of humor, He turns my words to my children back to me.
You should know better.
I am so easily and so often influenced to deeply by what is and is not happening in my life. I want something, but don't get it. A personal conflict with someone else. Not enough sleep. Forgot to eat lunch. Something hard to do. Too many small things to keep track of. The check engine light is on, again. Someone forgot something, so I have to do it. I forgot something, so someone else has to do it.
With your help, we could probably make a list that goes on forever.
But we shouldn't. We should know better. Even if we often don't.
Our Heavenly Father has promised Himself to be our both present and future rest and reward. He is in control of all things. He has measured out the fullness of our doings and days. And He has given Himself to us, by the blood of Jesus on the cross, as our Father. He is our beautiful inheritance.
We already live in this beautiful inheritance, this deep and abiding relationship with our God who gives us our very breath. And still there is a "not yet" piece to this. And so, as we rejoice in these momentary days that our Father has made, we also look eagerly forward to the forever days in which we will be with Him and see His Son face to face.
We're God's kids because of Jesus. He loves us. He teaches us. He holds us steady. He fills us up with contented gladness. We can trust Him with our bodies. He will never abandon us. He shows us clearly and kindly how to live.
And in His presence is a joy that cannot be found anywhere else, with anyone else. And as with live with Him and walk with Him, He will satisfy us beyond any other thing or person in the world.
When the things of this life and the people in it tempt us to despair, to be bitter, to be angry, to be discouraged, let's remind ourselves of who God is. He is our beautiful inheritance. One that He has already given us this day, that we might be steady and firm and sound. One that He will someday give us, that our lives might be lived full of deep-rooted, satisfied hope.
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