The Upper Room Devotional for 19th December 2022
Welcome!!! The word of God is food to the spirit man. As you read The Upper Room Devotional Today, may the word of the Lord powerfully impact on you.
Topic: A God Who Forgives
Savannah Yokel (Alabama, USA)
TODAY’S READING
Ephesians 1:3-10
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Thanks to the grace of Christ, my mistakes do not define me.
The Upper Room Devotional For 19th December 2022
If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! – 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
My little sister and I love to roughhouse. Even though our rowdiness can annoy our family, it’s all in good fun and no one gets seriously hurt — usually. This pattern broke recently when my sister’s heel collided with the top of my pointer finger as we were wrestling. By the next morning, my finger was swollen, purple, and stiff. I saw this as an opportunity to make my sister feel guilty. Throughout the day, I jokingly told my sister, “You have to do what I ask you to do, because you broke my finger.”
My sister knew I was just teasing her, but my actions made me think about how differently Jesus responds to our mistakes. Jesus doesn’t use our mistakes against us to make us feel guilty. Rather, his love overcomes our failures. Because he died on the cross, we all have a clean slate. Jesus forgives us.
God will never hold our shortcomings against us. In Christ, we are free from guilt. In Christ, we are holy, good, and redeemed.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Jesus, thank you for the way you love us. Help us to live into our new identity in you. Amen.
PRAYER FOCUS
Sisters
