Devotion
What would you do with a second chance at life?
David Jacobs
It is in our nature to be fearful of death: it is in our biological programming. Coping with missed opportunities and regretful actions is also a part of life. When you reach the end of your life, how do you think you will feel about your time alive? Loves lost, missed encounters, job and financial woes, parenting decisions...the list of impactful decisions that one might reflect on and feel guilty about is long. We often take for granted the most important factor of all: Christ has already given us a second chance.
Christ resurrected, presents one of the most miraculous events in Biblical history. All Christians were given a second chance and shown the path; life towards death, death followed by eternal life. Do you believe in Christ? If you can say yes to that, read these verses again. You shall never die! Life on Earth is not the end. It can be filled with mistakes, regrets, and pain but it is a brief moment before everlasting peace and glory. If you have heard the good news, how did you react? Was it like Mary, immediately rising and going to Christ? Or was it a decision that you would like to do differently? It is not too late my friends! Go forth to love the Lord, to love people, and leave everything else, to God!
Prayer
Glory to God! Glorious Father, we thank you. Through your Son, who paid our debt through his suffering, helped to absolve my sins, to purge and clean my soul of all fear and malice, so that I may one day join you in Heaven. May the words and deeds of my soul be acceptable in thy sight, a constant reminder to the second chance that I have been granted. 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 ...
