This past Sunday, we began the series God’s Ink. The worship team was awesome. From the opening declaration of “Let The Praises Ring” to the closing “The Story of My Life”. I love the way Pastor Abbye and her team draw us in to worship each week. If you were not able to be with us yesterday, you missed the new set design, t-shirts and kick-off. Don’t worry, we’ll be back next Sunday picking right back up with the series as we look at our life stories. So, what’s your story?
With this new series, we will be sending out an accompanying devotional each week for you to use in your studies. Feel free to forward them on to a friend.

So, with that, here is our devotional for week one.

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DEVOTIONAL: WHY ME?
Why do I have to be a role model? Why can’t someone else do it?
In II Corinthians 3:2-6, Paul commends the believers in Corinth by saying
2 You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you.
3 Christ himself wrote it - not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives - and we publish it.
4 We couldn’t be more sure of ourselves in this = that you, written by Christ himself for God, are our letter of recommendation.
5 We wouldn’t think of writing this kind of letter about ourselves. Only God can write such a letter.
6 His letter authorizes us to help carry out this new plan of action. The plan wasn’t written out with ink on paper, with pages and pages of legal footnotes, killing your spirit. It’s written with Spirit on spirit, his life on our lives!” (Message Bible)
Whether we like it or not, people are watching our lives. Our actions speak louder than the words we say. In fact, I believe it is more important to walk the walk than it is to talk the talk. If the story of our lives does not honor God, there is a good chance we are writing our story without Him.
In elementary school, I loved “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. At various crossroads in the story, the reader is given multiple options that determine the outcome of the story. For each option, you turn to a specific page in the story. I liked these books because I was a participant in the story and not merely an observer. The author determined the outcome of each choice but allowed me the opportunity to make the decision myself. If I made a good choice, the story had a happy ending. If I made an unwise choice, the ending was not so favorable.
Take a moment to reflect on the story of your life. Does it accurately reflect what is in your heart? Are you happy with this chapter of your life? At the crossroads of decision, have you made good choices? It could be that this chapter of your life is filled with God’s blessing, health, wisdom and prosperity. If so, congratulations! God is writing the story of your life with you. Isn”t it exciting?
I remember trying to write a “Choose Your Own Adventure” story myself once. It did not end well. I found myself writing in circles and struggling to make any sense at all. My teacher tried to help but I wanted to do it myself. After all, it was my story. It was a story that was confusing, lacking direction and dull and it was all my doing.
Perhaps, this chapter of your life is a result of poor choices and bad decisions. Do you feel like you have been in this chapter before and your story is going in circles? If you find yourself in the midst of an unfulfilling chapter, maybe it is time to put down your pencil and let God pick up the permanent ink pen of His living Spirit and rewrite your story with you. He only needs one shot to get your story right and He never gets writer’s block.
I promise you that His story for your life is more exciting, rewarding and fulfilling than any story you could write on your own. God does not want to take away the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4 tells us to “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” God does not want to run our lives like puppets either. He wants to guide and direct us. We get to choose our own adventure in life. God wants to write our story with us. The Living Bible tells us in Proverbs 16:9 that “We should make plans counting on God to direct us.”
This week, allow God to show you His story for your life. He is waiting for you and me to say, “What next? How do You want this chapter of my life to read?” If you ask, He will begin to write a story that you will never want to put down.
Pray this prayer:
Father, I give you my life’s story and ask you rewrite any chapter, paragraph or sentence that you desire. I want my life’s story to be written by Your living Spirit. What adventure do You have for me this week?

Now, just be still and quite and let Him speak to you.

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This coming Sunday we will ask the question, “What’s Your Story?”

If your life is a story that anyone can read, what is your story? We will take out all of the insider, Christian lingo so we can tell our story in a way people can understand. We will explore how we make our faith, our story, accessible to everyone who watches our life.

I love my church and I love you!