A Porch Portrait I'd Like to See

Happy Friday! I recorded the Facebook Live video devotional for our church this morning - we pastors take turns doing it about every 3 weeks. Today was my turn and to change it up (and escape the baby noise inside) I took it outside. Unfortunately there was a terrible wifi signal and the video is a little glitchy. But here it is.

And here's what I said.

Taking family Porch Portraits have become a popular activity during the pandemic. But do we really want who we really are during this time immortalized for all time?

I am finding that this time of having external trappings stripped away is really challenging - it is showing me who I really am. And I don't always like seeing who I am in these moments. But what this brutal honesty does is show me my own need of God. So today let's spend time with Jesus meditating on who he made us to be, and the mercy, grace and forgiveness.

Start by breathing in and out slowly. As you breathe in, pray, "Jesus." As you breathe out, pray, "Here I am."

Read carefully through this scripture. Read it through a few times. Consider God's mercy and forgiveness. Ask him for it. Thank him for it.

Ephesians 1:2-9
³ Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer. ⁴ Before the creation of the world, he chose us through Christ to be holy and perfect in his presence. ⁵ Because of his love he had already decided to adopt us through Jesus Christ. He freely chose to do this ⁶ so that the kindness^[c] he had given us in his dear Son would be praised and given glory.
⁷ Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness. ⁸ He poured out his kindness by giving us every kind of wisdom and insight ⁹ when he revealed the mystery of his plan to us. He had decided to do this through Christ.