Devotion
Fly like an Eagle
David Jacobs
What do you do right before you go to sleep? In this day and age, I think most of us worry about the day or days ahead, probably checking our phones or computers to see what to expect. We are tethered to these electronic devices because they make our lives "easier." Much of modern technology and infrastructure was developed to make our lives easier, faster, and simpler. Does your life feel easier? Think about ways that we can actually make it easier and simpler.
Consider the verses selected: people have had similar anxieties and pressures for all of our existence. Worry and anxiety are biological responses to our desire to survive, but do they make our lives easier? How can we improve?
Have faith in God. Trust that the Lord will take care of you. What comes tomorrow is going to come regardless. Detach yourself for a moment from the hustle and bustle of modern society. Take a moment to contemplate what matters to you and what matters to God. Notice birds flying, singing, and eating. God takes care of them; He will take care of you.
Prayer
I trust in you, Abba Father, but my confidence often wavers. Strengthen my faith so that I may grow closer to you. Help me care for myself and for all of your creations, the birds in the sky and the animals on the ground, as you so generously care for us. Thank you, almighty God, my father, my love. Amen.
Devotion
Misrepresenting God
Frances Taylor
This passage is one I try very hard to take to heart. For over forty years, I have worked to bring the gospel message to children and adults alike. That is what I'm doing as I write this. It is so important that we don't misrepresent God to others. When someone tells me they don't believe in God, I wonder whose image of God they have been taught. When I was a child, it was common to hear that God was some policeman in the sky that was going to punish me for everything I did wrong. The idea of a loving, forgiving God was not taught as the norm. Ministers and other teachers of religion often spoke more of hellfire and damnation. It's no wonder that there are those who claim that God doesn't exist. On the other hand, there are those who taught that God was like Santa Claus, keeping track of our good deeds and rewarding us accordingly, or tracking our misdeeds and punishing us accordingly. Neither of these images of God are accurate. God is loving ...
Morning Prayer
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
Inspiration
Those in ancient Israel, as today and in all lands, who prey upon the poor and vulnerable, who pervert justice against them and deny them their rights, sin against God. His eyes see, his eyelids try the children of men, and nothing is done in secret where he does not know.
Prayer
Give me a heart of compassion, O Lord, for the weak and helpless, for the poverty stricken, for widows and orphans. And give me a righteous indignation against those who oppress them, pervert their justice, or deny their rights. Amen.
