Devotions from Judy’s heart
How does God’s presence manifest in our lives each day? Do we pray and then do as we please, or do we live our prayers and bring His presence to others? Sometimes just a smile or word of encouragement can change the day for someone when we respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. I was reading about Thomas Edison who was the greatest inventor of all with 1,093 patents including electric light and power, phonographs, telegraph and telephone etc. He didn’t question if something could be done but always sought to see how it was done. One would have thought he excelled in school and was in a gifted class. But that is not the case. He was the 7th child in the family and had a hearing problem, which made it difficult for him in school. In fact, when he was 12 years old, his teacher sent home a note for his mom that said, “Your son is addled (mentally ill) and we will not let him attend our institution any longer.” Young Thomas was told not to look at the note but to give it to his mom. When she opened it up, she began weeping and told her son that the school felt he was so smart that there weren’t teachers good enough to teach him and he should learn at home. And that is what his mom did; she began teaching him and encouraging him each day. Thomas felt she was so sure of Him that he didn’t want to disappoint her. Rather than his mom seeing him as one who was dumb and psychotic, she chose to see him as a gifted child and he was. Later in life when she died Thomas found the teacher’s note buried in her closet and read what it really said. He sobbed as he realized what his mom had done for him. Now that is an extraordinary example of how our lives affect others, but each of us can express God’s love to others each day in numerous ways when we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. The beloved disciple said in I John 4:12 & 16 (God’s Word), “If we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us… We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them.”  Love is a choice and an action, and not just a feeling we get. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love and display God’s love to others. May we live out His love in our lives and reflect it to the world around us. The choice is ours!
Challenge for today: Thank the Lord for His love for you, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you share  that love with others.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy