First15 is a great daily devitional, designed to reach millennials. I highly recommend it to all of my Blog family.
The Weekly Overview
In response to knowing the heart of God we are called to share the wonders of his invisible nature with a world in desperate need of him. God has chosen to use us to reveal himself. He’s filled us with the Spirit and empowered us to proclaim the good news of salvation and restored relationship with our Creator. May you discover this week that you were made to share God’s heart. And may you find joy and passion in God’s longing to use you in powerful and unique ways.
The Scripture
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
The Worship Experience
Artist: Housefires feat. Pat Barrett
Song: Build My Life
The Devotional
Ephesians 2:8-10 says:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
God’s grace is meant to be our catalyst to living passionate lives that bear fruit of eternal value. You aren’t meant to go through the motions. You weren’t created to live a normal life whose impact only lasts for this life. God in his grace and love has called you to more. You were made for a life of deep and lasting impact. You were made to share God’s heart with the world.
It can be difficult to understand God’s heart in wanting to use us. For some, we write ourselves off as too sinful, weak, selfish, or inept to be used by God. For others, we view God as a taskmaster who wants to use us solely for his motives. Still others of us believe that serving God is less fun, less fulfilling, and far stranger than anything we’d like to do. We’re fine with a God who would give us a “get out of hell free card,” but that’s about as far as we’d like him to go in relationship with him.
The truth is that your life will never be fulfilling until you allow God to use you. Ephesians 2:9 is clear that you were “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” You won’t find fulfillment in anything besides the work of God because it’s not what you were made for. Material possessions apart from the provision of God become more like weights tying us down to the cares and ways of the world than sources of satisfaction. Spending your life working to become successful, appreciated, and loved in the world’s eyes is more like a treadmill than a path to abundant life. If you want to live an abundant life you have to allow God to use you.
God longs to use you because he loves you. He’s not selfish. He doesn’t need your help. He wants to work with you. He wants your life to matter. He wants you to have eternal reward for the things you do here on earth because he’s a good Father who longs to give good gifts to his children. He wants you to stop segregating your life into “God time” and “me time” and start living in continual communion with him. He wants your time at work, with friends, at church, driving, resting, relaxing, and having fun to be filled with the fullness of life that comes from doing life with him.
Take time in guided prayer to discover God’s heart to use you. May your time in prayer be filled with a revelation of God’s goodness, grace, and loving desire to co-labor with you.
The Prayer
1. Meditate on God’s desire to use you. Find your true identity, not in the way you’ve lived up to this point, but in the unshakable truth of Scripture.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10
“[Jesus] gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Titus 2:14
2. How do you feel about being used by God? What in your heart needs to come into alignment with the truth that you were made for good works of eternal value? Lay down any hindrances at the feet of Jesus in confession.
3. Ask God how he wants to use you today. Ask him for a specific way you can reveal his heart to others. Journal his response. Take time to rest in his presence that you would find courage and faith in the reality of God’s nearness.
Learning to do good works is a lifelong pursuit. God has grace for you today. He has love and compassion for you in these moments. But he longs to meet you where you are that he might lead you to a more fruitful and abundant life. Allow God to transform your heart. Let him into every part of you that your life would be flooded with his grace and mercy. Allow him to discipline you, change you, and speak new identity into you. May you find joy and passion today as you allow God to use you in powerful, eternal ways.
Extended Reading: Ephesians 2
CRAIG DENISON is the author and founder of First15, a daily devotional guiding tens of thousands of believers into a fresh experience with God’s presence every day. He writes, speaks, and he and his wife, Rachel, lead worship to help believers establish a more tangible, meaningful connection with God.
Lisa’s Daily Inspirations 