Devotion
From The Ashes, Beauty
David Jacobs
I have met people that have told me nightmarish stories of their past; horrible things that have happened to them and even sadder things, horrible things that they did. Many of these people would be nearly unrecognizable from their past selves, myself included. All of them, and I, went through hard times and were all comforted by God, in times of morning and heaviness. What was it that got us to where we are today? Forgiveness. Some verses to consider:
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 3:23-26 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God
2 Chronicles 7:14 - If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 - Pray without ceasing.
1 John 5:14-15 - And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
Prayer
If you ask for forgiveness, if you ask for anything, God will hear you. Confess your sins and be forgiven. This is often the hardest step, however, especially if some of the sins that we have committed are too hard to look back on. Looking back and asking for forgiveness is the first step in moving forward. Only God can mend a broken life, one that is a pile of ashes, and replace it with beauty. Only God can comfort those who mourn and replace it with the oil of joy. Turn to the Lord when your life is darkest, seek forgiveness, and He will transform it, no matter how tangled and broken it may be, into something beautiful.
Devotion
His Loving Kindness Endures Forever
Frances Taylor
Psalm 136 is a list of all the wonders that God had done for the Israelites from creation through the deliverance from Egypt and into the land promised to them, providing them with all that they need. I challenge you to write a psalm listing all the things that God has done for you using the same format. Several years ago, I did this myself and it was a wonderful reminder of all that God had done for me. "I give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his mercy endures forever; he has provided me with a family that loved me, his mercy endures forever; he hears me when I call to him, his mercy endures forever; when I was in trouble he rescued me, his mercy endures forever." I listed all the gifts he has given me and continues to give me and I thanked him for all the times that I was in pain and he healed me, and the times when I needed to be rescued. I'm sure if you take up my challenge and compose your own psalm, you will discover ...
Morning Prayer
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Inspiration
To reject the truths taught in God's Word, spoken by his prophets and apostles and by Jesus Christ his Son, is a grave offense. In the days when Hebrews was written, there were still true prophets in the Church, speaking from God. Today, we have his written Word as our "prophet. " If a preacher preaches truly according to the Book, we are in a grave sin if we reject it.
Prayer
Help me, O Lord, to discern when your Word is being taught correctly and when it is not. Teach me to embrace your truths and love them. Help me to walk in them and meditate on them. Let me not sin in rejecting the plain teachings of the Bible. Amen.
