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NASB | Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 2:1 And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, |
Subject: Storing Up Treasure |
Bible Note: Part 2 (this won't make sense unless you read Part 1 FIRST!) When the time came for me to give the devotional, I asked my daughter to go and get a piece of crystal from the table. I watched as she went all the way around and then doubling back, she chose a crystal rabbit. I was amazed, for if I could have directed her selections, this would have been one - as it was Baccarat, the "crystal of kings!" (but of course Lizzy had no idea what it was or what it was worth! - to my knowledge, it was irreplaceable too). Truly, this was fit for THE King! In preparation for the object lesson that God had prepared, I placed a piece of marble tile in the bottom of a plastic container and covered it with a gold cloth (this would insure that the crystal struck a solid, hard surface rather than the plastic container and the cloth would contain the crystal as the piece shattered.) When I got to the point in the devotional about Jesus exchanging His life for ours and Christ's body being broken for us, I dropped the crystal rabbit - a couple of women let out a small shriek; others responded with stunned silence. But what I saw was truly a divine intervention in the evening, for in the bottom of the container, I saw an unbroken rabbit - it was not even chipped! And to further add to my awe, when I removed the cloth, the marble was shattered! God indeed uses the weak things of the world (even the things that are "fragile") to demonstrate HIS power - when we are weak, HE is strong! I realize that I cannot re-capture the drama of this event, but it was a very clear demonstration to those women of the awesome power of God and His great desire for them to trust Him with "their" brokenness." Of course I may never know what eternal impact this evening had on my friends, but I KNOW that God will use it according to HIS purposes in their lives. As for me, God led me step by step. I'm so glad that I listened and OBEYED! How I long for the day when I will be able to respond at the first prompting of His voice! I am SO thankful that He's patient with me, He knows my frame, He remembers I am but dust! Blessings! mommapbs PS: The "icing on the cake" for me came after the party. During our clean up time together my daughter exclaimed, "Mommy, God used me tonight!" How wonderful for her to know the reality of God at work in her life! |