Devotion
Call on Him
Chipo Biti
God's guidance is always with us, every step of the way. The reason why God chose to be omnipresent, through the Holy Spirit, was to ensure that we would always have access to His instructions no matter what. Every day we are faced with a set of choices that we have to make. We are often unable to make the right decisions on our own - especially if they have to do with the direction in which our lives are headed. When it comes to decisions like this, we have to be conscious of what God is trying to say to us. If we don't pay attention to God's instructions we will end up making a series of unnecessary mistakes.
God is always there to guide us no matter what we face. In times of confusion we should not try to rely on ourselves or the counsel of other the people. We should first turn to God and pay attention to what He is trying to tell us. God will always answer you if you ask Him. He is not a wicked Father, sitting in silence and watching you wonder around aimlessly. That is actually the last thing God would want for your life.
Prayer
God desires to see you walking confidently in the path that He has set out for you. He takes no joy in seeing you make mistakes. It's not that He becomes angry with you, no. No Father enjoys seeing their child end up in despair. God is concerned about you. He is concerned about every aspect of your life. That is why He has made such a great effort to give you as much access to Him.
You don't have to tremble on your way to communing with God. You can boldly call upon Him, knowing that He will respond to you - giving you the direction you need to walk in.
Devotion
Culpability
Frances Taylor
This is an interesting passage because, among other things, it talks about sin and who is considered guilty of sin. Paul is talking about how he has been forgiven, how God has been merciful to him because his actions were committed in unbelief. In order for sin to be committed, one needs to know he is committing it. No one can commit sin in retrospect. Sin is always a deliberate act. This can be hard for some to understand. Actions can be considered sinful, even though the person committing them may not be culpable. For example, lying is a sin. However, is the two year old hiding behind the curtains sinning when he or she claims not to have broken the vase? No, because the child has no understanding of the difference between truth and lie. Those who do not have a relationship with God, who do not know the commandments, who have never heard of Jesus, may commit sinful actions, but are not guilty of sin. This is what Paul claims is his situation. Paul ...
Morning Prayer
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.
Inspiration
When the Lord sent his only Son, he sent also his word. For his body was this very word made flesh. Importantly this was not simply a manifestation of God's word, but also rather an 'animation' of it (meant here in the original Latin as 'animare' –'to instill with life or spirit'), an instance of God's love and divine grace in action, among us.
Prayer
Lord, I am grateful for your mercy in showing us your word made flesh so that we may be redeemed. Further, I am grateful to you for showing us your love and grace through your only begotten son. Let his body not have been torn and broken for no avail, but feed us now in the Eucharist. Let not his blood have...
