Devotion
Light overcomes all darkness
David Jacobs
Recently the light in my closet began flickering, making it almost impossible to see anything. Thinking that it would be a fairly easy job, I took off the light and replaced it with another only to see, much to my dismay, the new light bulb also flickered. I remained proactive, and removed the entire fixture and had to eventually replace the transformer (which I admit I did not know existed). After multiple days, voila! The light was back on in my closet, so now I was able to notice the state of complete disarray that my clothes were in. Do we neglect to illuminate our own light in our lives?
Jesus is the light of the world and knows that he must shine so that we may see him. Should we not also hold ourselves to the same standard? Luke 8:16-17 discusses the importance of where a light is used. We would not light a candle and put it under a pot or under a bed (and unfortunately not in my closet). We should hold the light high so that we, and others, can see it. Jesus shined brightly for us, a gleaming example to which we should aspire, and his light was not extinguished even when pressed by the Pharisees. No, he remained confident, knowing full well that he was the truth and the light.
Many Christians do not shine bright enough in their daily lives. Much of society frowns upon it but is accepting of public displays of sex, greed, and violence. We should not put our faith under a vessel! We owe it to God and his son, who is our light in the darkness! We owe it to all those around us, to help lead them when they cannot see. Last, we owe it to ourselves, to surround ourselves with light and drive away darkness. Everything else, we leave to God.
Thought: If you notice darkness around you, do not be afraid to step up and shine, even in public. As Jesus stood up when pressed by the Pharisees, we too, can stand up and shine when we know we are right.
Prayer
Dearest Father, help listen to the words of your Son and my savior. He is your light and mine, my guide, strength, and redeemer. Humble me in thy sight, O Lord, so that I realize that I am lost without your guidance, a lamb without a shepherd. In times of darkness, help me to stand for what I know is good, and shine as an example to others. In your holy name I pray, Amen.
Night Prayer
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Inspiration
Sin rules our lives until we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. When we invite Him into our lives, our old sinful heart dies, and God creates within us a new one, where sin no longer rules our life; God does! Our thoughts and actions begin to change because we no longer desire a sinful lifestyle. We joyfully devote our lives to serving Him and inviting others to understand His promise of salvation.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we are sinners born again and recreated to live according to Your will. We are grateful for Your love and the peace we experience by abolishing our old sinful self. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Devotion
Satan Has Been Defeated
Frances Taylor
Salvation and power have come with Christ and Satan has been defeated. Sin and death have been conquered by the actions of one man, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, both human and divine who came into the world to bring the Good News of salvation by living, dying and rising for us. As Christians we claim to believe this but our actions sometimes deny it. Unfortunately, people seem to resurrect Satan all the time. We allow him to lead us away from God, forgetting the way to the Father that is love, and giving in to Satan's path of hatred, anger, pride, lust, chaos and destruction.
Satan, of course, doesn't present these as bad things, he makes them seem attractive. He presents sin as goods to be desired, as things to make us happy or give us pleasure. It can be hard to stay on the path that leads to God when the world seems to be crowding us and pushing us off of it. How easy it is to forget the sacrifice that bought our freedom! Which of us ...
Morning Prayer
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Inspiration
It is right for us to defer to others and to rejoice with others when they have cause to rejoice over some blessing in their life, instead of sorrowing before them over some problem in our life. It is right also to weep with those who weep, showing compassion and feeling for them in their grief instead of "dancing joyfully before those who mourn" as if insensitive to their sorrow.
Prayer
Give me a discerning spirit, Lord, to know when to rejoice and when to weep. Let me show concern for others and their situation and life events instead of just focusing only on my own. Let me show true compassion and genuine joy in the right way and time to others. Amen.
