Friday's Devotion

"Recycling Your Relationship with God"
By Kent Klundt

Pray! Before you get started, take a few moments to be still and let God speak to your heart. Read: II Cor. 5:17 - This is what being "recycled" is all about. What does it mean to be a new creature?

Devotional Thought:

Roget's College Thesaurus says the synonyms for “recycle” are restart, reuse and re-begin. (I know all of you probably know what it means to recycle. That's a refresher.) Our culture must think recycling is a great idea, because we can recycle virtually everything. From cans to bottles to plastic to glass to newspapers...you name it! Even Starbucks have bags (I don't know where that came from, Starbucks is a little too pricey for me) that say, “REUSE, REUSE, REUSE, REUSE, RECYCLE.” Okay! We get the idea! They want us to use the bag as much as we can, then recycle it. That way it doesn't get wasted.

Keeping material things from waste, I think is a good idea. But, what's even more important is making sure people’s lives are not wasted. That's you and me. It's easier for us to feel "used" over and over again in life. We need some spiritual recycling. There's school (I know, not now.), activities, jobs, sports, relationships, choices, future, etc. In all of this, as Christians, we're expected to stand up for truth, love others, resist temptation and love Jesus. After a while of living in this world (The world, by the way, will one day also be recycled.), we can all feel pretty beaten up… sort of like a crushed can or a crumpled Starbucks bag. God does want to use us to serve Him and show His love to the world.

But, He knows that we get tired, discouraged, corrupted and frustrated with this life. We never want to wait until we're totally used up before we go to God. He actually wants to spend time with us every day; recycling us into the image of Christ seen in the Bible. An image recycled through the Holy Spirit, Christian friends and Mission Lake Camp. We all have a long way to go before we become what God wants us to be. But, don't worry! He's real patient and He's real good at making something new out of something old and beaten up by the world. God's in the recycling, restarting and reusing business. It's called salvation. It's the story of the Bible and the story of your new life...in Christ.

Read the following verses about those who were "recycled" by God. What changes occurred as a result? What would you say are the areas you need to be recycled?

Read: John 3:1-17; 19:38-42; Luke 19:1-10; Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-22
Here are some great "recycle" verses that teach us how to renew our relationship with God;

Read: Psalm 63:1-8; Matt 22:37-40; Luke 10:38-42; Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 12:1-2

Reflect: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." II Cor. 4:16

Pray: Thank and praise God that He is willing, despite your mess-ups and failures to remake you into someone new. If it wasn't for His mercy, we would be consumed. Great is His faithfulness. Amen!