The imprint of Christ's love
Grand Sweep Daily Reading: I Kings 1, 2, 3
I Kings 3:8-9 (NIV)
8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?
James 1:5 (NIV)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)
12 Not that I have already obtained this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and pressing toward what is ahead. 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Good morning!
Have you ever made thumbprint cookies? These tasty morsels are one of my favorite sweet treats. There is a personal touch to every thumbprint cookie, because each one bears the unique thumbprint of the master chef. Select your favorite sugar cookie dough recipe, and knead the dough into quarter size balls. Crush slivered almonds into tiny morsels with a rolling pin. Roll each of the sugar cookie balls in the crushed almond mixture, placing each dough ball approximately two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Pressing their thumb firmly into each dough ball, the baker creates a hollow boat-like shape that can be filled with chocolate kisses or raspberry jam. Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes, and a personalized sweet treat is ready to share with family and friends. Be careful not to over bake this fragile confection; for the bottom will burn and stick to the cookie sheet. The dough will crack and be crunchy to the taste.
Like a thumbprint, our hearts have a unique shape and design, lovingly formed by the master artist. Every heart is precious to our Heavenly Father. He created you in His image, with gifting and attributes that only you can share with the world around you. His will for your life is revealed as you seek His wisdom and learn of His love. The Lord has carefully sculpted your heart with the capacity to love and be loved. Hearts of stone can become softened in the master designer’s hand. You have been given an extraordinary gift. You bear the unique and precious thumbprint of your Savior.
When the Lord Jesus Christ took hold of my heart, I had absolutely nothing else to offer Him. My heart was about as imperfect as any human heart could be. Like a burned thumbprint cookie, my heart was cracked and blackened by the hard exterior shell. The interior of my heart was charred from sins committed and lack of spiritual discernment. Right and wrong seemed gray and cloudy. I got burned in the fire. There was nothing I could do to fix my heart except to hand it back to the one who gave it to me. What Jesus did is nothing less than miraculous. He took that stinky, burned smell away, removed the ashes and melted my hard shell. He held my broken heart in the palm of his nail-scarred hand and healed it with His blood. His thumbprint became my priceless treasure, and I thank Him for restoring my life and granting me intimate fellowship with the master designer. He is the sculptor of my soul.
When we ask, the Lord gives us discernment and wisdom to hear His still, small voice. Like the imprint of the Father’s thumb, we can press on toward perfection, as He continues to mold the masterpiece He has created in each of us. His portion is more than generous. His love is all you will everneed. Won’t you leave that which is behind, and press on toward the perfect thumbprint He has designed just for you? Press Him for His gift of discernment today. If you ask Him, Jesus will heal your heart, wash away your sin, and leave His mark upon your life.
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
www.songofdeborah.com
Pray for: wisdom to move toward perfection through Christ Jesus the King. He has created an amazing masterpiece in you, and like the thumbprint He leaves on your heart, God can use your life to reach the people who are broken and burned. Won’t you share the sweet gift of salvation today with someone who desperately needs the Lord?
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© Copyright 2007, Deb Spaulding
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