Dear Ones,
Hope you wake to a wonderful day. I have exercise class, crafts and then packing the car as we plan to get up around 3 am to head to Olathe, KS. We plan to stop in Des Moines to see a friend for lunch and then get to Kurt’s in time for us to join them in going to K State for Lily’s last soccer game of the season. We plan to stay at Kurt’s until Sunday morning in time to get to Redeemer in D.M for their service. Prayers for our safety in traveling.
The question for this week is Have you given the broken parts of your life to the Lord and seen God’s light shine through the cracks?
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Have you ever felt like you need to try harder to get closer to God, but find after trying in your own energy it doesn’t seem to bring you closer at all? In fact, you feel like you are just spinning your wheels and getting nowhere! How much better to simply stop striving and live a holy life by surrendering to God’s love.

We often mistake drawing closer as getting the rules right, like the Pharisees who seemed to focus on the outward behavior. But it’s about what is happening inside, for Jesus offered grace to the prostitutes, tax collectors, thieves, etc. Jesus invites each of us to live anchored in His love and union with Him. We either obey God or we rebel against Him. Every day we make choices of drawing closer or moving away from God, and also with others and ourselves.

But it is good to remember that God in His holiness shows His love to us in so many ways, and His desire is that we abide in Him. He loves us as much as His Son. Jesus said in John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love.” We are branches, and when we are attached to the Vine we are secure and experience His love and wholeness. He even welcomes our broken parts as He desires to transform them and restore us. When our Intern pastor preached, he broke a clay pot with a hammer and then put the pieces back together. When he put a light inside, it was beautiful shining out through the veins of the cracks.  Some use metal like gold or silver to restore and mend a pot. What a picture that is of God’s holiness:  gold that unites our many broken parts into wholeness.

It’s wonderful we don’t have to hide our broken parts, but know that God can integrate them into wholeness, bringing glory to Him. Rather than trying harder and hiding our brokenness, let us surrender all our broken parts into His hands, let Him bond them with gold and make us more like Him.

Challenge for today: Make a daily choice of abiding in the Vine and letting His holy nature flow into you.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy