Weekend Music links on iTunes: All Over the World by Matt Redman; My Savior Lives by New Life Worship; You'll Come by Hillsong United; To the Ends of the Earth by Hillsong.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

4505 236th Ave. NE • Redmond, WA 98053 • 425-869-4400 • info@timberlakeonline.org

Daily Devotional: Friday, April 2

Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme: Failing Forward

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Salvation is Here by Hillsong United; Hosanna by Paul Baloche; Cannons by Phil Wickham; Lead Me to the Cross by Hillsong United.

Read: Isaiah 53

Bible Challenge: Luke 12; Sat. Luke 13; Sun. Luke 14

Think: Good Friday is here, this most awful and wonderful day. Last weekend Pastor Ben shared the myths that our failures leave us unlovable... unforgiveable... unacceptable. The absolute falsehood of that comes into crystal clear focus on this day as we recall the Son of God giving his life on a cross because He loved us enough to make all things right.

Jesus Himself took the weight of our failure and sin - all our condemnation upon Himself and in His death on the cross. Isaiah 53:5, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."

Truly incredible that the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died to make things right for a sinful and lost world! He was wounded for our transgressions. "All we like sheep have gone astray," but praise God, "the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6).

In one sense, Good Friday was the darkest day in human history. But because of Jesus' sacrifice for us, the cross was actually the greatest victory of all time!

Do and Pray: Not so long ago there was a worship song we would sing called Amazing Love. Make it your prayer and your worship this morning:

 I'm forgiven because You were forsaken,
I'm accepted, You were condemned.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me,
Because You died and rose again.

Amazing love,
How can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love,
I know it's true.
It's my joy to honor You,
In all I do, I honor You.

I'm forgiven because You were forsaken,
I'm accepted, You were condemned.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me,
Because You died and rose again.

You are my King
Jesus You are my King

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

4505 236th Ave. NE • Redmond, WA 98053 • 425-869-4400 • info@timberlakeonline.org

Daily Devotional: Thursday, April 1

Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme: Failing Forward

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Salvation is Here by Hillsong United; Hosanna by Paul Baloche; Cannons by Phil Wickham; Lead Me to the Cross by Hillsong United.

Read: Philippians 3:12-14; Psalm 103:12

Bible Challenge: Luke 11 

Think: As Pastor Ben talked about the idea of failing forward it got me thinking about God's forgiveness and how it is focused forward...

As we recall the times we've failed ourselves or the people we care about, the part that hurts the worst is that at the same time we have failed the Lord, too. I know the One I want to disappoint the least is my Heavenly Father.

When we see the character of God through the Bible we get to know Him, we see that He is the Perfect Father - our true Abba Father (Daddy!). And as such, He loves us in spite of our failings. His goal is to keep moving us forward to spiritual maturity - to the place where we become more and more a reflection of Him... But until that process is complete, He travels alongside us, guiding and forgiving us when we need it. The Apostle Paul captures the attitude and mindset we are to have in his letter to the Philippian Church:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

So often we look back with regret on things we shouldn't have done, the sin and difficulty we've caused. But sin is one thing we should never need to look back on with feelings of failure IF we have confessed our sins and asked God's forgiveness. When we do so, He promises to take that sin and remove it "as far as the east is from the west"! Our job is to keep a forward focus toward the goal of pleasing Christ!

Do: Follow the words of Paul - press on with everything you have in pursuit of God!

Pray: God, I get swallowed up sometimes in regret over the past. Help me to know that once I've confessed my sin to You, Your Word says you remove it from me! Thank you! Father, help me to continue to press on toward the goal - becoming like You! Amen. 

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

4505 236th Ave. NE • Redmond, WA 98053 • 425-869-4400 • info@timberlakeonline.org

Daily Devotional: Wednesday, March 31

Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme: Failing Forward

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Salvation is Here by Hillsong United; Hosanna by Paul Baloche; Cannons by Phil Wickham; Lead Me to the Cross by Hillsong United.

Read: Isaiah 6:1-8

Bible Challenge: Luke 10

Think: Television shows like American Idol have become huge. Millions of us wait each week to find out who will be the next performer to get cut. We watch as Ryan Seacrest tortures them one by one, dragging out the decision as painfully long as possible. For those of us who've been around for awhile we know this kind of show isn't exactly a new idea - there was the The Gong Show in the 70s (weird as it was), and Star Search in the 80s (which gave us Brittany Spears and Christina Aguilera).

As we hear their background stories though we often hear about the doors of opportunity that were slammed along the way, the big flubs they'd made, the failures and missed opportunities..... Yet they kept trying, pushing ahead and remained open to what would bring them their heart's desire!

In much the same way, we as followers of Christ must do the same. Just as Pastor Ben pointed out, we need to remain available, keep moving forward in our faith with God EVEN after we've blown it.

God seems to value the heart that is open to Him above all else... In Isaiah, the Lord asks: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" And then we read Isaiah's quick response: "Here am I! Send me" (6:8). It's a lot like the challenge Ben put out to all of us a few months ago - are we willing to tell God YES even before we know the question?  In spite of our failures, in spite of what we have or haven't done - are we open and available to God?

He isn't looking for the most qualified or talented but He is seeking hearts that are surrendered to Him. If that's you then you can fully trust God will show Himself strong, and He will be glorified through you!

Do: Are you available?  Are you open to what God would ask of you? If not figure out what's holding you back and take care of it today!

Pray: Thank You Lord that my sin and my failure don't disqualify me from being used by You. Father, today I say (again) Here I am Lord send me! In Jesus' name, Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

4505 236th Ave. NE • Redmond, WA 98053 • 425-869-4400 • info@timberlakeonline.org

Daily Devotional: Tuesday, March 30

Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme: Failing Forward

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Salvation is Hereby Hillsong United; Hosannaby Paul Baloche; Cannons by Phil Wickham; Lead Me to the Crossby Hillsong United.

Read: Philemon 1:8-20; Acts 9: 26-28

Bible Challenge: Luke 9

Think: One of the lies the enemy of our soul likes to whisper to us is that our flaws and failures make us completely unacceptable to God. As Pastor Ben talked about failure, he told us what God truly desires for us is to submit those places in our lives to Him. It's in the Master's hands we can see Him transform and mold us and make us more and more like Jesus! It reminds me a bit of a story that you may have heard but I'll share again because it is so appropriate.

For almost 100 years, a huge piece of flawed marble lay in the courtyard of a cathedral in Florence, Italy. In the early 1500s a young sculptor was asked to do something with it. He measured the block and noted its imperfections. In his mind, he envisioned a young shepherd boy.

For three years he chiseled and shaped the marble bringing to life the vision he imagined. When the 18-foot towering figure of David was unveiled, his student exclaimed to Michelangelo, "Master, it lacks only one thing-speech!"

From our Bible reading today we learn about Onesimus who was a lot like that flawed marble. He was an unfaithful, useless servant when he ran away from his master Philemon. But while on the run he came to know the Master Sculptor - Jesus. As a changed man, he served God faithfully and was invaluable to the Apostle Paul's ministry. When Paul sent him back to Philemon, he asked Philemon to see the changes in Onesimus and to receive him back as a brother in Christ.

Paul himself knew what it meant to be given another chance after past wrongs (Remember his days as Saul? Acts 9:26-28). He knew personally the transformation God can accomplish. And he saw it in the life of Onesimus. The Lord can chisel His image on our flawed lives and make us beautiful and useful too.

Do: Is there a sin or failure you think is too big or too awful for God and leaves you unacceptable in His sight? Trust God at His word, let him chisel away that flaw. Allow Him to use His Divine artistry and shape you into His image!

Pray: God thank you that you love me just as I am but You don't leave me this way. I ask Lord for You to continue to chisel away those pieces of me and those places in my life that are ugly - sinful - flawed. I submit to You, please do the work that I need done to become more like You Jesus! Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

4505 236th Ave. NE • Redmond, WA 98053 • 425-869-4400 • info@timberlakeonline.org

Daily Devotional: Monday, March 29

Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme: Failing Forward

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Salvation is Hereby Hillsong United; Hosannaby Paul Baloche; Cannons by Phil Wickham; Lead Me to the Crossby Hillsong United.

Read: Psalm 42

Bible Challenge: Luke 8

Think: I was standing in the church lobby this morning before service talking with a friend about how the people who have the most vital walk with the Lord seem to be the ones who have been through some of the toughest challenges. We went into hear Pastor Ben and the message this weekend was about just that -making the most out of tough situations! Amazing how the Holy Spirit works sometimes!

I remember reading once about a high school commencement speaker who was the president of some large corporation - successful, respected, worked hard and earned his way to the top. He was known to be a pretty inspirational guy so it made sense they would ask him to speak to the graduating seniors - however, his message wasn't quite what they'd expected...

The speaker told the students this: "If I could have one hope for you as you go out into the world, it would be this: I hope you fail. And I hope that you fail at something that is important to you." (Not quite the words of encouragement and inspiration usually heard at those moments, hmmm?!) He went on to say how his younger years especially included one failure after the other, until he learned to see failure as an effective teacher.

That wisdom holds true doesn't it? God seems to do some of His best work through those seasons of our lives. (Whether the failure is simply from circumstance OR when it is of our own making!) In fact we see God's people sharing that same experience throughout Scripture - many of the Psalms were born in seasons of failure. Out of desperation came their cry, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." (Psalm 42:1-2).

A recurring story of the Bible is that deep abiding faith rises from the dark difficult places of failure. It there that often we are finally able to grab a hold of the love, wisdom, and guidance of our God. Failure is definitely an effective teacher when we allow it to be used by the Great Teacher!

Do: Look at the difficulties you're facing or failures you've experienced. Have you seen God  teach you through those? Have they made you better or driven you away from Him? Cooperate with what the Lord wants to do in your heart and life through those hard times.

Pray: Father, I don't want anything I go through to be wasted... Use the good the bad and the ugly things I go through to teach me how to be who You want me to be. Show me how to live in a way that brings You honor and glory. As I go through struggles I choose today to look for the good that You will bring out of those situations. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

4505 236th Ave. NE • Redmond, WA 98053 • 425-869-4400 • info@timberlakeonline.org