Sheridan Lutheran Church
Live Like You Were Dying™
Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional Wednesday, April 9

Psalm 19:14

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditationof my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." (New Revised Standard Version of the Bible)

Pastor Greg urged us in his sermon this weekend to let this verse from the Psalms go to work on our lives. He pressed us to think about the words that we use and if they would be acceptable to God. How are you doing with speaking sweeter?

Upon further reflection of this passage, I recalled an old 'rule' about how often one should say 'I love you' to someone else. The rule goes something like this, "I don't want to say I love you too many times - because then love might lose it's meaning." What do you think about that? Is this a rule that you practice?

I did research on how many times the word 'love' appears in the Bible. Did you know that the word 'love' appears almost 600 times in the Bible? And this number doesn't even include the words 'loves' or 'loved.' And when the word love appears, it is predominantly refering to GOD LOVING US! Think about how generous God is with telling us how much he loves us.

When I visited Haiti in January, we spent a few nights at a home for boys who had been abandoned on the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Every night, the boys would sit together in a circle before supper and affirm one another. One by one, each boy would be affirmed five times by five different brothers from the home, after each affirmation, they would clap and cheer. There were 20 boys in the home. That's 100 affirmations that would be echoed every day in that home. Think about that for a moment. Is this a way of speaking sweeter? Yes! Are these words that would be acceptable to our Lord? Yes!

Go back to that 'rule' on saying I love you. If God would withhold his "I love yous" from us, would his promise of love be more meaningful? Hear the word of God from the prophet Isaiah 43:4 "...you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you." What sweet words of love and affirmation do you need to speak as you live like you were dying?
 
-Pastor Rhonda

Weekly Faith Talk Starters

  • Is it easy for you to give compliments?
  • How influenced are you by negative people who are near to you?
  • Will you try to surround yourself with those things that please the Lord?

Prayer of the Week
Gracious and loving God, by the power of your Spirit help us to be intentional about the words we speak.  Grant us the wisdom to understand that all we see, hear and experience does have influence over us.  Guide our choices, so that all that we say and do will be pleasing to you.  We want to make you smile by our choices.  Help us to do just that.  We pray these things in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Join a Small Group
Small Groups are encouraged to meet weekly throughout this series.   We are offering an opportunity for everyone to be involved in a small group by holding round table discussions at 9:45 and 11:00 each Sunday in both the Chapel and the Music Room and at 6:30 each Wednesday in the Family Life Center.  These sessions will be facilitated by Sheridan's pastoral staff.   If you have never been in a small group before this is an easy way to meet people in a non threatening way.   If you are interested in joining a small group that meets regularly at another time please contact Kathy Paisley at k.paisley@sheridanlutheran.org.
Sunday's Message
Missed all or part of the Sunday Message?  Stay tuned, Pastor Greg's Message "Speak Sweeter" will be available online later this week.
Key Verse
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT)
 
Weekly Blessing
Make the sign of the cross on the forehead of each member of your family as you bless them and say: "May your thoughts, words and deeds always reflect the love you have for Jesus."
 
Round Table Discussions
Wednesdays at 6:30 PM
in the Family Life Center
 
Saturdays at 6:30 PM in the Music Room
 
Sundays at 9:45 and 11:00 AM
in the Chapel and Music Room