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
Abraham is Father of All
Frances Taylor
There are questions in every age about the importance of the Old Testament for Christians. Abraham is considered to be the Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims. We forget that it was Abraham who believed in the doctrine of only one God. It is through him and his descendants that this tradition comes down to us. Another fact that we can overlook is that Jesus was Jewish. He was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, died, rose and ascended into heaven as a Jew. Because we believe that he was the Messiah, the Christ, and we follow him, we are called Christian. Without the Old Testament, we wouldn't understand the promise of salvation; we wouldn't understand why it was important for Jesus to be of the family of King David. We would not understand his teaching either, because Jesus quoted from Scripture – the Old Testament – frequently. He told us that he came to fulfill the Scriptures, not to abolish them. In the same way, we can ...
Morning Prayer
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Inspiration
We have a responsibility, as Christians, to abstain from the sinful practices we partook in before we became saved. While it may be a gradual process of change, we should ensure that we are putting in our best to play our part in resisting temptation. God enables us to resist temptation, but it is up to us to actually resist.
Prayer
Dear God, I pray that I will always be a person of action. Father, I take delight in my new life in you and I do not desire otherwise. I pray that in times of temptation, may I act on the strength you have given me to flee and/or resist. May I never rely on excuses or procrastination, Lord. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Night Prayer
Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
Inspiration
We have chosen to surrender our lives and serve the Lord. We serve Him by witnessing, completing missionary projects, and ministering to those in need. There is always work to do and a world full of people to help. We will look for opportunities to provide for our brothers and sisters in Christ by any means necessary. We are servants to one another as a service to the Lord; He will never forsake us.
Prayer
Dear God, Help us see the world through Your eyes. We desire to serve those around us by reflecting Your love through our actions. You will never forsake us, and we will continually lift praises of thanksgiving to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
