Devotion
Send Us!
David Jacobs
Reading this verse made me think back to my days in school. I was a decent student; not the best, not the worst. For anyone that has been to school, we can all probably remember moments when the teacher was asking for volunteers. If you remember this situation, I am sure you can also remember when nobody wanted to volunteer. Every student in the class heard what the teacher was saying but nobody wanted to step up and volunteer. Usually the teacher would then select someone, typically a good student who would be capable of completing the activity or a troublemaker that was talking at the time.
I think that basically every student in the class would be capable in those situations to complete the task at hand, but nobody wants to stand out or be wrong. In many ways, our relationship with our faith is similar.
If you are reading this, you have, at one time or another, heard God's calling. We respond to the call in different ways, sometimes not responding at all. Like the frightened school children, we do not want to stand out. We do not want to be wrong. As this passage in Isaiah says, if we respond, we cannot be wrong. Our sins have been purged. Knowing that our sins have been forgiven, knowing that we have heard the call, the only wrong response is silence. I am reminded of the famous quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
God, like a teacher to children, is calling for volunteers. We are looking around at each other, wondering who will be brave enough to heed His call. Be like Isaiah. Realize we cannot be wrong if we answer. When the Lord asks, stand up and volunteer. "Send me."
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I have heard your call my entire life. Forgive me, for I know that I have trembled and ignored your call due to fear. I humbly ask that you strengthen my resolve, O Lord, so that I may be more confident to share your word with others, and help others to volunteer. Lord I pray that I will not disappoint you any more. I will not keep silent. I shall loudly declare for all to hear of my love and trust in you. I pray all of this in your holy name. 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 ...
