Bird Struck! Sparrow

Family Devotional 

Day Three

“What is the price of two sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them.” Luke 12:6

Sparrows are small, fluttering, drab-colored birds and in ancient times their name was used to name any other bird with that appearance.

In 1935 an ornithologist printed a paper stating that the number of feathers on a sparrow varied from 1,359 to 3,352 according to the season. And this count did not include the under-feathers. A different similar bird that was falsely called "sparrows" only had nine feathers.

Jesus said that no matter how small these birds were, God knew everything about them. He already knew the number of their feathers before anyone counted them. Nothing happened to them apart from God’s knowledge (Luke 12:7).

And that is how God sees us too. All the hairs on our head, all the thoughts in our mind, and all the desires of our heart are known by Him. No one else knows us as thoroughly and loves us with such compassion.

Our world tends to only notice if something or someone is strong or vivid or extraordinary. But God sees all of us, whether tiny and fluttery or not. It’s not the outside that matters to God but the heart. He once told His servant Samuel, “The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16: 7).

Samuel had started looking for Israel’s next king based on physical appearance. However it was David, the youngest and smallest in his family, that God chose because he was, “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:2).

Action

 1. Watch for the things that catch your attention.

 2. What attitudes stand out to you?

 3. Pay attention to the quietest person in your family or friends. What do you like the most about them?

Read More

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Psalm 84:3

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Inheritance: Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Inheritance

To see beyond

blackened terrain

bone statue trees

bearing new seeds

buried deep within.

To see heart

brings hope’s vision.

Reflection Riches: Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Riches: Reflection Questions

1.     Do you see hope as present now in the face of great disappointment, or only as later in time? Why?

2.     What do you consider to be our present day riches that cannot be taken away?

3.     Do you tend to react to situations from your mind or heart first? How do you put them in balance?

4.     Why do you think “seeing” with our heart needs to come first?

Share: What is one way you have found to see with your heart?

Faith Seeds: Prayers and Poetry

Hebrews 11:34, “quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign enemies to flight.”

Sometimes it seems that we see our faith as our last hope. Something we cling to when all else appears helpless.  How passive and anemic.

Instead the Bible links faith to heroic feats of common ordinary men and women. The difference? They started from a faith stand—regardless of the consequences.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego held high official positions under Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Yet their whole heart belonged to God. When the king’s edict demanded worship of a false idol, they never even hesitated in their reply.

“If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.” Daniel 3: 17-18

Their courage and commitment to the Lord grounded them before they ever had to make life and death decisions. Their faith and relationship were the foundations of all their choices—large or small—life or death. They accepted both yes and no answers to their prayers with gratitude and obedience.

Lord, please help us to step into the world each day with the same armor, knowing that You will be our strength when we are weak. Keep our hearts in Your care.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 27:2

“When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,

My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.”