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: Wednesday, Feb 24

Speaker: Rick Enloe

Theme: The Roman Flower and Garden Show

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Yesterday, Today and Foreverby Vicky Beeching, Let the Praises Ring by Lincoln Brewster; Cannonsby Phil Wickham; You'll Comeby Hillsong.

Think: As we have been looking at Romans 11 this week we find the Apostle Paul teaching some Christians who had fallen into some wrong thinking and had become prideful. We get the sense that somehow these early followers of Christ were operating as if their position and their status as Children of God was somehow because they earned it. And Paul gives a much needed spiritual kick in the pants: In v. 23 and 24 he says "don't get to feeling superior...Just be glad you're in the tree". I love that!

Spiritual pride is so easy to fall into - just look around! Paul's admonition should serve as a warning for us who can tend toward pride... Don't fall into the false thinking that somehow our favor with God is something we deserve or are due. God has shown us favor beyond our ability to earn - and has allowed us to be grafted to His tree NOT because we've earned it, but because He loves us.

The branches (you and me) draw life from the root and the tree (God). It's not the other way around. We are completely dependent on Him for all our needs. We are totally at His mercy for our next breath and heartbeat. When we remember His gift of grace then we can keep a heart of humility.

Do: Check your spiritual attitudes and disposition - Do you see any signs of spiritual pride? 

Pray: God, I know there is nothing I can do to earn your favor or to deserve salvation. Thank you Jesus that when I placed my faith and trust in You I received the right to become a Your child. I come humbly and so grateful for your mercy and grace. 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, Feb 22

Speaker: Rick Enloe

Theme: The Roman Flower and Garden Show

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Yesterday, Today and Forever by Vicky Beeching, Let the Praises Ring by Lincoln Brewster; Cannons by Phil Wickham; You'll Come by Hillsong.

Read: Romans 11: 11-18; Romans 5: 6-8

Think: I'm kind of a medical show junkie. I love the real ER stories and the Discovery Health Channel programs on the oddities and amazing things that happen to the physical body. My family can't stand to watch with me because they feel queasy just seeing the commercials. But for me, watching reminds me of just how amazing the human body is!!!

Not too long ago I watched a show about the process surgeons go through to reattach a severed limb... What blew my mind was that they were actually able to reconnect all the tiny vessels, muscles, ligaments, and tissues. And even more, many times the patient would actually get sensation and function back in that once detached body part. Fascinating! Amazing! Miraculous!

Pastor Rick talked about another amazing reconnection, another grafting process that is even more miraculous... the re-attachment of the human heart to the Almighty God!

The Bible teaches us that God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners (cut off from the tree, dead, rotten to the core), Christ died for us and made it possible for us to be grafted onto the living root - Jesus Himself (Romans 5:8, Romans 11:17). At the very moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we receive a new living spirit to replace our old dead spirit. God performs a spiritual reconnection in an instant - in the time it takes for us to say, "I believe."

Now that's a miracle.

Do: If you've never taken the opportunity to connect to Christ, today's the day! It really is as simple as a heartfelt "I believe". If you have put your faith and trust in Jesus at some point, remember what a miracle that is. Don't allow that spiritual grafting to become mundane. Remember again the price that was paid and celebrate the connection you have with the Father.

Pray: God you do not want any of us to live apart from You. Thank you for the great lengths you have gone - to the point of sacrificing your own Son - so that we can be connected to you. Lord don't let me ever take it for granted or allow my relationship with you to grow stale. In Jesus' name I pray, 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