Morning Prayer
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Inspiration
Though we're all aware of the potentially positive aspects of education, of work, and of being proactive, with these words Jesus does two things: He reminds us of how important we are to God, and He invites us to acquire a different perspective of our work. He's not saying to stop working, but He is literally saying that if we think our job success is fundamentally equivalent to securing the payment of our bills each month, then we have the 'cart before the horse'. Our job is not synonymous with security, nor does it prove God's love. God’s promise to provide for us does! Truth.
Prayer
Lord, it must sadden You to see us sometimes trust more in our education and employment than we do in You. I am trying to understand the balance between my responsibility and Your provision. Give me wisdom, I pray, and the mindset of depending on Your love for me above all. Thank you. 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 ...
