Prayer – Lord, I worship and adore You. Open my eyes and
heart to understanding You more and building a deeper relationship with You this
year.
You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose
very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. Exodus
34:14
Meditate about a relationship bridge with the Lord.
Relationship is of upmost importance in all our lives. The
Lord wants a relationship with each of us—He wants to be our God…and for us to
worship no other gods. That is how God begins the Ten Commandments:
"You must not
have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind
or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must
not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD yoBridgeur God, am a jealous
God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of
the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected--even children
in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish
unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my
commands. You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not
let you go unpunished if you misuse his name." Exodus 20:3-7
God is a jealous god. To please Him, we must focus our love and attention on Him—not on things or people we idolize and certainly not on money. Jesus taught that we can’t serve God and money (Matthew 6:24). The scripture in Exodus 34 specifies that God desires a relationship with us—as a jealous or a protective creator and savior—our God. I see this relationship that God desires as a bond of acceptance and respect. That is what God wants…and what we should desire, too. Connection—to God—and with God.
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| Bridge at the Japanese Garden Spokane, Washington Reflect on bridging your relationship with God. |
Seek Him first and above all else. Seek
the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you
everything you need. Matthew 6:33
Devotion—which is putting that “seeking”
into action over time. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and
sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness,
and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when
the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. Titus
2:12-13
Service – putting that devotion to work. He
gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us
his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. - Titus 2:14
So I have reason to be enthusiastic
about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God. Romans
15:17
Building a relationship can be challenging with people we see
every day…so likewise we have to be committed in our devotion to God, seeking
Him continually every day to build a relationship with Him. What can you do to
build a better connection with our God?
Verse of Salvation ~ "My wayward children,"
says the LORD, "come back to me, and I will heal your wayward
hearts." "Yes, we're coming," the people reply, "for you
are the LORD our God. Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious
orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the LORD our God will Israel
ever find salvation. From childhood we have watched as everything our ancestors
worked for—their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters—was squandered on a
delusion. Jeremiah 3:22-24
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation. That is of
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
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Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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