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David Shepherd Devotional

Read the biblical text: 1 Samuel 16:6-13

Practical

Pour flour into one paper bag and stones or gravel into another. Without them knowing what’s inside, ask a family member to guess what it is. Finally open one bag at a time and describe its contents.

Reflexion

Both bags have the same exterior appearance, but the content of one is flexible and the content of the other is hard. People are like these bags, we can’t always tell what’s inside. In 1 Samuel 16:7, one reads that “People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God knows that we can use our external appearance, how we act and what we say, to hide what is really inside. Just like the bags that hide their contents. We can act kind and gentle but have bad attitudes or nasty thoughts. Although God wants us to be gentle on the outside, He also wants our hearts to be tender. When our hearts are tender, God can use us to bless others.

Questions

• Do you know anyone with a tender heart? What do you like about that person?
• Do you know anyone with a hard heart? How does this person treat you?
• What can make your heart hard?
• How can you keep your heart tender?

Prayer

God, help me keep a tender heart. I am sorry if sometimes my heart has hardened.