A Good Work

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. The reading for today titled good work was written by Kenneth Peterson as a teenager.

Charles Spurgeon wrestled with God he'd grown up going to church.

But what was preached seemed bland and meaningless.

It was a struggle for him to believe in God and Charles in his own words rebelled and revolted one night fierce snowstorm force the 16-year-old Spurgeon to seek shelter in a tiny Methodist church. The pastor's sermon seem directed at him personally. In that moment, God won the wrestling match, and Charles gave his heart to Jesus.

Spurgeon later wrote long before I began with Christ. He began with me. In fact, our life with God doesn't begin with the moment of salvation. The psalmist notes that God created our inmost being knitting us together in our mother's womb. The apostle Paul writes in Galatians, even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace in Philippians 16 tells us that God doesn't stop working with us when were saved saying he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. We are all works in progress in the hands of a loving God. He leads us through our rebellious wrestling and into his warm embrace, but his purpose with us, then, is only beginning.

Philippians 213 says God is working in you giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Rest assured, we are his good work regardless of how old we are. One stage of life were today's Our Daily Bread devotional Scripture reading is from Psalm 139 verses 13 through 24, for you created my inmost being you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth your eyes saw my unformed body all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts God. How fast is the sum of them were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand when I awake I am still with you. If only you God would slay the wicked away from me, you who are bloodthirsty, they speak of you with evil intent. Your adversaries miss use your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you.

I have nothing but hatred for them. I count them my enemies search me, God, and know my heart test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and leave me in the way everlasting.

Let's pray.

Loving God your loving care for us from the moment of our birth overwhelms us with gratitude. Would you help us to respond to your ongoing work in our lives and remember that you are doing the same in the lives of others who seem to be beyond your reach.

It's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening. My name is Wes Ward and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread ministries