Doing What He Says September 4, 2016

Read: Deuteronomy 5:28-33 Bible in a Year: Psalms 143-145; 1 Corinthians 14:21-40 Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you.—Deuteronomy 5:33 I needed an underground water tank and knew precisely how I wanted it constructed, so I gave clear instructions to the builder. The next day when I inspected the project, I was annoyed when I realized that he had failed to carry out my instructions. He had changed the plan and therefore the effect. The excuse he gave was as irritating as his failure to follow my directives. As I watched him redo the concrete work, and as my frustration diminished, a guilty conviction swept over me: How many times have I needed to redo things in my life in obedience to the Lord? Like the ancient Israelites who frequently failed to do what God asked them to do, we too often go our own way. Yet obedience is a desired result of our deepening relationship with God. Moses told the people, “Be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you . . . . Walk in obedience to all that [he] has commanded you” (Deut. 5:32–33). Long after Moses, Jesus urged His disciples to trust Him and to love one another. This is still the kind of surrender of our hearts that leads to our well-being. As the Spirit helps us to obey, it is good to remember that He “works in [us] to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Phil. 2:13). —Lawrence Darmani Lord, thank You for second and third chances. Please help us to want to follow Your ways and to follow through in obedience. The closer we walk with God, the clearer we see His guidance. INSIGHT: The Bible’s overarching story is the loving God reaching down to rescue His broken, rebellious creation and His ultimate expression of love in His Son, Jesus. Jesus Christ came to rescue and restore us to the relationship with the Father we lost in the fall. Deuteronomy, which is part of that story, is the final book of the Pentateuch, the opening five books of the Bible. These books form the platform for the entire Bible, which is God’s instruction to us. They are also known as “the five scrolls” and, in Judaism, as the Torah (the “instruction” of Moses). They cover both a long and short period of human history. Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Day 309 - Your Diet

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Your Diet Day 309 What you eat affects your day more than you may realize. A balanced diet increases your energy, strength, concentration, and your ability to ward off illnesses. It also makes you feel better about yourself, because your diet affects your thoughts and your emotions. "You need to think through your diet," suggests Dr. Jim Conway, whose wife died. "Typically, people going through grief eat very poorly. During the early days of my grieving, I would open up a can and eat out of it, while standing at the kitchen counter!" A balanced diet is not only an important tool in healing from grief, but it is also a way to glorify God. It honors God when you take care of your body, His creation. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). Glorious God, eating healthy is hard enough to do when I'm not grieving. Maybe now is a good time to change my ways. Please help me in this. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Good Imitation September 3, 2016

Read: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Bible in a Year: Psalms 140-142; 1 Corinthians 14:1-20 You became imitators of us and of the Lord.—1 Thessalonians 1:6 “Today we’re going to play a game called Imitation,” our children’s minister told the kids gathered around him for the children’s sermon. “I’ll name something and you act out what it does. Ready? Chicken!” The kids flapped their arms, cackled, and crowed. Next it was elephant, then football player, and then ballerina. The last one was Jesus. While many of the children hesitated, one six-year-old with a big smile on his face immediately threw his arms wide open in welcome. The congregation applauded. How easily we forget that our calling is to be like Jesus in the everyday situations of life. “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1–2). The apostle Paul commended the followers of Jesus in Thessalonica for the outward demonstration of their faith in difficult circumstances. “You became imitators of us and of the Lord,” Paul wrote. “And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (1 Thess. 1:6–7). It is the life of Jesus in us that encourages and enables us to walk through this world as He did—with the good news of God’s love and with arms open wide in welcome to all. —David McCasland Lord Jesus, may Your words of invitation and welcome, “Come to Me,” be lived out through our lives today. Jesus’s arms of welcome are always open. INSIGHT: The church at Thessalonica was comprised of Gentiles who had been caught up in pagan idolatry before they came to faith in Christ. They were zealous in their witness and extended the gospel of Christ to neighboring regions. Paul applauds these believers for their lives of committed discipleship and effective witness to others: “You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” (1 Thess. 1:9-10). This congregation exemplified what it means to follow Christ. Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Day 308 - Exercise Brings Healing

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Exercise Brings Healing Day 308 "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well" (3 John 1:2). You have probably not paid too much attention to your exercise habits (or lack thereof!). Regular exercise is an important part of your healing. Exercise contributes not only to your physical wellness, but also to your mental and spiritual health. Choose an exercise that you are likely to stick with. Keep in mind that it is good for you to get out of the house. You might enjoy walking, swimming, dancing, or basketball. Find out what sports activities are available in your community. "I've gone into an exercise program," says Kay, whose brother died, "and I feel much better. I walk every day, three miles a day. I walk early in the morning, right at daylight. It gives me time to think and time to pray." God has entrusted you with your body to care for it. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own" (1 Corinthians 6:19). Holy Spirit, exercising regularly seems like an impossible feat sometimes. Help me to start an exercise plan and remain faithful to it. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

How to Carve a Duck September 2, 2016

Read: Psalm 138:7-8; Ephesians 2:6-10 Bible in a Year: Psalms 137-139; 1 Corinthians 13 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.—Romans 8:29 My wife, Carolyn, and I met Phipps Festus Bourne in 1995 in his shop in Mabry Hill, Virginia. Bourne, who died in 2002, was a master wood carver whose carvings are almost exact replicas of real objects. “Carving a duck is simple,” he said. “You just look at a piece of wood, get in your head what a duck looks like, and then cut off everything that doesn’t look like it.” So it is with God. He looks at you and me—blocks of rough wood—envisions the Christlike woman or man hidden beneath the bark, knots, and twigs and then begins to carve away everything that does not fit that image. We would be amazed if we could see how beautiful we are as finished “ducks.” But first we must accept that we are a block of wood and allow the Artist to cut, shape, and sand us where He will. This means viewing our circumstances—pleasant or unpleasant—as God’s tools that shape us. He forms us, one part at a time, into the beautiful creature He envisioned in our ungainly lump of wood. Sometimes the process is wonderful; sometimes it is painful. But in the end, all of God’s tools conform us “to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29). Do you long for that likeness? Put yourself in the Master Carver’s hands. —David Roper Father, You are the craftsman who shapes me. You are the one who knows what shape my life should take. Thank You for carving me into the image You have planned. Help me to trust that the pieces and parts that You shave from me are the right ones. Growing in Christ comes from a deepening relationship with Him. INSIGHT: We are God’s handiwork, and our Father will not abandon the work of His hands. Ephesians 2:6-10 provides further insight into the theme of God’s handiwork. After Christ’s atoning death, God raised Him from the dead “and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms” (v. 20). Those who believe in Him have been given new life by God’s grace. Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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