Devotion
A house united
David Jacobs
When my son was a teenager he was constantly getting into trouble. He was acting out in school, getting in trouble with the police, and generally ignoring all of the things that he had been taught by his mother and I. We were befuddled: where was the good, sensitive, and generous boy that we had known all our lives? We knew that he was there, but he was unwilling to show himself all the time. No matter what we tried to do, he had to figure it out on his own.
In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he realizes that he is talking to early Christians or non-believers, and offers to thank the Lord on their behalf. He does it in a way that does not mock or condemn the Corinthians, which my wife and I probably had done too much of with our son. Paul, in his wisdom and generosity, is not blind to their good qualities, in their potential for redemption, and the early church's need for new believers. He patiently extends his hand, asking all who will take it to follow him to spiritual enrichment through Christ. Does God not love atheists, Buddhists, Muslims, and Jews? He does! God is the one that will judge who is worthy or not to join Him in the Heavenly Kingdom. My impatience with my own son drove him to misbehave; if only I had been like Paul! It is not up to us to condemn non-believers; it is up to us to offer our prayers, our thanks, and our hand to them, as Paul did, so that each and everyone has an opportunity to be saved.
Prayer
Patient and loving Lord, give me the strength to stretch out my hand for those that do not know you. Grant them the courage to take my hand, with your word a lamp at our feet as we walk the path towards salvation. Help me to not condemn them for what they do, and instead spread tolerance and kindness. Give me all of this, Lord, and the voices of your believers will grow as we shout our praises to Heaven. 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.
