A devotional by Glynis Becker
“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.” –Colossians 3:16 NLT
Have you seen the movie Casablanca? The movie is old. Not just a “classic” from the 1970s, when I was a child, but pure “Golden Age of Hollywood” old.
As much as I love those old-fashioned, glamorous movies, I know they aren’t very popular these days, so you may not have actually seen the film. But even if you haven’t or don’t even really know what the plot of the story is, you’ve probably heard the line, “Play it again, Sam,” and I bet you would tell me that’s the movie it’s from.
But did you know that no one says that line in that film? During the many years since the movie Casablanca came out, the story, the characters, and the dialogue have been copied, quoted, and parodied enough times that even if you don’t know the movie, you might think you do. That movie has become so famous in our culture that we often assume things about it, even when we don’t really know what we’re talking about firsthand.
So the next question I ask myself is this: Are there things about Jesus Christ that I think I know but are really only things others have said about Him? Have I become so familiar with what I think I already know, that I am no longer seeking to find something new in my relationship with Him? Am I reading the Bible with the expectation that these old words—words I’ve heard and read before—will find a new home in my heart and in my life?
I admit that over the last few years my Bible reading has been less about connection and more about checking things off a list. I know that I need to be spending time not just reading the words, but praying over them, allowing Jesus to speak into me what those living words need to be for me at each moment in my life. These words should never lose their power to teach me something new even when I think I already know them.
We are moving headlong into the holiday season, which brings with it well-worn traditions, well-known songs, and Bible stories we have heard since we were children. This year I want to go into that time with a fresh eye, looking to be swept away again by the wonder of a God who would send Himself into His own creation to experience life as we do, all so He could bring us back from where we’d gone astray.
Let’s Pray: Lord, may the familiar words we hear in scripture, sermons, stories, and songs feel brand-new to us, as we grow closer to You, the Source of Life. Give us fresh eyes to know You and desire a closer walk with You during this season and every day to come. We love You and praise You, in Jesus’s name. Amen.
Song of Reflection: “Just A Closer Walk with Thee” (hymn). Listen to it here.
~*~
Author Bio:
Glynis Becker writes devotions and inspirational fiction, hoping someday to have a published novel on her resume.
She has co-written several screenplays, including the film Sinking Sand, available on DVD and digital streaming.
Glynis, whose childhood was spent all over the country as an Air Force brat, has called South Dakota home for many years, along with her husband and two college-age children.
When she’s not writing or reading, she is watching more television than she should and crocheting.
~*~
Connect with Glynis:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beckerglynis/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlynisBecker7
But did you know that no one says that line in that film? During the many years since the movie Casablanca came out, the story, the characters, and the dialogue have been copied, quoted, and parodied enough times that even if you don’t know the movie, you might think you do. That movie has become so famous in our culture that we often assume things about it, even when we don’t really know what we’re talking about firsthand.
So the next question I ask myself is this: Are there things about Jesus Christ that I think I know but are really only things others have said about Him? Have I become so familiar with what I think I already know, that I am no longer seeking to find something new in my relationship with Him? Am I reading the Bible with the expectation that these old words—words I’ve heard and read before—will find a new home in my heart and in my life?
I admit that over the last few years my Bible reading has been less about connection and more about checking things off a list. I know that I need to be spending time not just reading the words, but praying over them, allowing Jesus to speak into me what those living words need to be for me at each moment in my life. These words should never lose their power to teach me something new even when I think I already know them.
We are moving headlong into the holiday season, which brings with it well-worn traditions, well-known songs, and Bible stories we have heard since we were children. This year I want to go into that time with a fresh eye, looking to be swept away again by the wonder of a God who would send Himself into His own creation to experience life as we do, all so He could bring us back from where we’d gone astray.
Let’s Pray: Lord, may the familiar words we hear in scripture, sermons, stories, and songs feel brand-new to us, as we grow closer to You, the Source of Life. Give us fresh eyes to know You and desire a closer walk with You during this season and every day to come. We love You and praise You, in Jesus’s name. Amen.
Song of Reflection: “Just A Closer Walk with Thee” (hymn). Listen to it here.
~*~
Author Bio:
Glynis Becker writes devotions and inspirational fiction, hoping someday to have a published novel on her resume.
Glynis, whose childhood was spent all over the country as an Air Force brat, has called South Dakota home for many years, along with her husband and two college-age children.
When she’s not writing or reading, she is watching more television than she should and crocheting.
~*~
Connect with Glynis:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beckerglynis/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlynisBecker7
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