The Upper Room 22nd January 2024 Devotional || Works of Art
Read and Study Today’s The Upper Room Daily Devotional for January 22, 2024 Message written by Tim Southern (Massachusetts, USA). God bless you as you study today! Please share with your friends and loved ones.
TODAY’S READING
Ephesians 2:1-10
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
I am God’s work of art.
We are what [God] has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10 (NRSVUE)
One day at lunch, I went with a friend from work to the nearby Institute of Contemporary Art in the Boston Seaport District. I confess my tastes lean more toward the masters, and I sometimes struggle with contemporary works of art. But that day, I saw several pieces that intrigued me. They were created from repurposed materials like scrap metal, old paper, and cardboard. Without having read the exhibit label on the composition, it would not have been obvious what medium was used. The old materials had been made into something new.
Something like this happens when we come to Christ. God turns all the stuff we bring into our relationship into something new. This transformation will likely be a gradual process; for although God can picture the final result, often the material needs to be reworked in the creation process. As God’s finished creation, we will find all that was once there — our addictions, brokenness, heartache, and selfishness — is being shaped into God’s masterpiece.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Artist God, we give thanks for your transformation. Help us to be patient and to accept that change is not instantaneous. Open our hearts to the new possibilities of who we may become. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
PRAYER FOCUS
To be open to God’s transformative power
READ MORE DAILY DEVOTIONAL MESSAGES
