FIRST IMPRESSIONS - All Our Daily Bread Daily Devotionals for 2026

Our Daily Bread - Sunday, November 29, 2015
by RBC Ministries

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS

READ:

For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
-1 Samuel 16:7

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Ezekiel 35-36
2 Peter 1

As I shopped for groceries one day, I was perceived as a thief by one person and a hero by another.
As I exited the supermarket, an employee said, "Excuse me, Sir. There are too many unbagged items in your cart." This is evidently a strategy used by shoplifters. When he saw that they were products too big to be bagged, he apologised and sent me on my way.
In the parking lot, a woman glanced at my embroidered sportsman's cap. Mistaking it for a military hat, she said "Thank you for defending our country!". Then she walked away.
The supermarket employee and the woman in the parking lot had each formed hasty conclusions about me. It's easy to form opinions of others based on first impressions.
When Samuel was to select the next king of Israel from the sons of Jesse, he too made a judgment based on first impression. However, God's chosen was not any of the older sons. The Spirit told Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature" (1 Samuel 6:7). God chose David, the youngest, who looked least like a king.
God can help us view people through His eyes, for "the Lord does not see as man sees;...the Lord looks at the heart"(v.7). - Dennis Fisher
If we could view through eyes of faith
The people we meet each day
We'd quickly see God's gracious hand
In all who come our way. - D.DeHaan

First impressions can often lead to wrong conclusions.

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