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
The One Who Said Thanks
Frances Taylor
Leprosy was a terrible disease in ancient days. There was no cure and anyone who had been diagnosed with leprosy was an outcast and had to stay away from any populated place and call out "unclean, unclean" when people came near. The ten lepers approached Jesus in hopes that he would heal them, and he did. Why is it that only the Samaritan returned to give thanks? I've given this some thought over the years and the only answer I could come up with is that he didn't take Jesus' healing for granted. After all, he was an outsider, and worse, he was hated by the Jews and had no reason to expect that Jesus, a Jew, would take pity on him. The other nine, presumably, were Jewish. Did they take for granted that Jesus would heal his own? It made me think about what I take for granted. I was born into a stable family that loved me, provided for me, and gave me a good education. We weren't well off by any standard, but we had what we needed.
I was ...
