No assigned reading for today. Use this “free” day to catch up on your reading plan, read a Psalm or Proverb, or just pray and ask God to direct your reading for today. The important thing is to read the Word.
Daily Devotion
By: Kathy Johnson
For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as also certain of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring. Acts 17:28
For (Because) in (in, by, and with) Him we live (breathe, not lifeless, active) and move (to stir, set in motion, to excite) and have our being (we exist, we have hope);
Starting with nothing, He made the human race and made the earth with a sustaining environment with time for living so we can seek after God, and find him. He doesn’t hide from us. He’s not distant; he is right here.
Without Him we have no life. We do not exist and cannot continue to exist without Him. We are constantly dependent upon his providence for the very breath in our body and the air we breathe. It is not only due to his patience and mercy that our lives continue, but it is because of his power, and goodness, and care, that we live.
Without Him we would have no motion. It is by his care and design that our souls move, that our mind jumps quickly from one thing to another, and our feelings and emotions are extended toward others. God set us in motion from the very beginning and was also one of his last instructions given to us before His ascension.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:19-20
In him we have our being. It is due to his continued care and goodness, not only that we have a being but also we are capable of knowing and enjoying a relationship with God. This gives us hope of eternal life with Him. We choose how close to God that relationship is by the amount of effort we put into it and prioritization we give it; just like other relationships. It takes time, communication, trust, commitment, and most of all love.
We are not meant to merely exist. Our lives were created with a purpose. (See Matthew 28:19-20 above) We are meant to teach others about Him. We can share with others the same hope we have. We are meant to show God’s love to others so they might have a relationship with Him also. We do this by how we live, how we conduct ourselves, and the fruit we bear.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:22-25 NLT