Devotion
The mighty will fall; the Lord lasts forever
David Jacobs
This passage reminds me of a story that saddened me recently: I bought a couple houseplants a while ago and they were thriving. These plants brightened my home and mood every time I glanced at them. Sitting on the windowsill, they kept growing larger and more towards the sun with each passing day. If I cared for them properly, they would keep growing in this way, seemingly forever, and even the pieces that fell off of the plants started to grow new plants. I planned to move them outside when the weather turned warmer so that they could keep growing and spawning new plants.
I went away from home for a few days and watered the plants before leaving.
Apparently, I watered them too much, because when I returned the plants were dying. I was upset at myself, thinking about what I could have done differently, questioning why I did what I did in the first place.
These plants could have gone outside and outlasted me. They could have grown for centuries if only I had watered them too much. How can I possibly predict what will happen? What happens to this plant, to me, to everything is not for me to decide.
Only one thing is permanent: the word of God. I felt sad about these plants, far more than I should have. I happened to see this passage a few days later and thought instead about how lucky those plants were, how lucky I am to have heard the word of the Lord. Plants, people, and all things come and go. The Lord lasts forever.
Prayer
Almighty Father, I thank you for the eternal salvation you have given me with your everlasting word. Help guide me in spreading the seeds of your gospel, and not focusing on the suffering that I encounter. Grant me the wisdom to walk the righteous path to bliss, where your love and truth for mankind remains forever and ever. 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.
