Devotion
You are not an exception to God’s love
David Jacobs
It's often a challenge to imagine that God forgives us, especially when we can't seem to truly forgive ourselves. Any time you hear it being preached that God loves all His children and has a purpose for their lives, you can be sure that someone hearing it is having trouble believing it.
The truth is that none of us deserve care and protection from the Father, but thankfully, deserving is not the basis for God's love. In fact, God's very nature is love, which He demonstrated through the death of Christ. He cares so much for us that He gave each of us a place in His plan for the world.
What is happening when Christians can't see this? When they consider themselves exempt from God's love? This happens when we simply aren't looking for the opportunities He sends, and become distracted by the lying voice of Satan.
Satan might actually use our knowledge of God against us! Having come to know the will of God as Christians and how important it is, and then realizing that we have broken it, we become convinced that God could not forgive us. Satan has tried to blind us from God's love! When we study the scriptures to understand not only God's will, but also God's love, then we can come to understand the forgiving nature of the Lord.
Prayer
Lord, I have come to know your will. I acknowledge that I have wavered in my faith and strayed from your will. I have sinned. In the name of your son, I pray for your forgiveness, as I forgive those who hurt me. I pray that you would show me your love and your mercy so that I cannot deny how great your love is, and may love in turn pour from me to my brothers and sisters. Amen.
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...
