In Touch Daily Devotional 9th September 2023, Saturday
In Touch Daily Devotional 9th September 2023 – Saturday Daily Devotional Message Written Dr. Charles Stanley
TOPIC: Benefits of Intimacy With God
SCRIPTURE: John 15:15
“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
Yesterday we mentioned we all want to be loved—in other words, to be fully known by another person yet still cherished and accepted on both our good days and bad. This kind of bond is hard to break since both people feel safe. Do you enjoy any relationships like this?
Research shows that this level of love and acceptance is lacking in many instances. For one thing, it’s hard to love someone else unconditionally, much less multiple “someones.” And we might naturally fear others can’t love us that way, either. So perhaps we hold back, afraid to fully expose our heart, lest we be judged or rejected.
But God invites us—and longs for us—to experience that kind of intimacy with Him. In today’s passage, He calls us His friends. If we are completely open with Him and fully trust that He loves us unconditionally, we can love others better. The Lord will also give us spiritual sensitivity and teach us to see people the way He does—as beloved children. We will then become more understanding and be able to extend the grace and mercy we ourselves have received (John 13:34).
What’s one way you can give this type of love to someone else? More importantly, what’s one step you can take to cultivate a more intimate relationship with the Lord? After all, that’s the foundation for everything else.
Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 40-42
THOUGHT: Experiencing God’s love enables us to extend His grace and mercy to others.
In Touch Daily Devotional 9th September 2023. Charles Stanley is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries, both located in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Stanley’s heart’s desire is to get the gospel to “as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as irresistibly as possible, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.