Devotion
The Great Crowd
David Jacobs
Have you ever met someone who recently converted to Christianity? When I attend church, I am often very interested in the stories of people who are new to the faith, and what led to them to eventually follow Christ. Revelation 7:9-17 shows us how really no matter what country we come from, what language we speak, or what our economic status is, we all share a love and belief in Christ which unites us. Even if we do not know those who stand in the crowd with us, we need to accept their pledge to Christ as valid as our own. "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them." (Revelation 7:13-15).
There are those who have followed Christ their whole lives, and there are those who have only recently been cleansed in Christ's blood. No matter what our past holds, if we fully accept God, we will be salvaged.
Prayer
When we encounter people who have recently started practicing their faith in God, it is up to us to accept and share our experiences with them. Remind them that it is never too late to embrace Christ and as we learn from Revelation 7:9-17, when we do, "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat." (Revelation 7:16).
Devotion
Misrepresenting God
Frances Taylor
This passage is one I try very hard to take to heart. For over forty years, I have worked to bring the gospel message to children and adults alike. That is what I'm doing as I write this. It is so important that we don't misrepresent God to others. When someone tells me they don't believe in God, I wonder whose image of God they have been taught. When I was a child, it was common to hear that God was some policeman in the sky that was going to punish me for everything I did wrong. The idea of a loving, forgiving God was not taught as the norm. Ministers and other teachers of religion often spoke more of hellfire and damnation. It's no wonder that there are those who claim that God doesn't exist. On the other hand, there are those who taught that God was like Santa Claus, keeping track of our good deeds and rewarding us accordingly, or tracking our misdeeds and punishing us accordingly. Neither of these images of God are accurate. God is loving ...
Morning Prayer
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
Inspiration
Those in ancient Israel, as today and in all lands, who prey upon the poor and vulnerable, who pervert justice against them and deny them their rights, sin against God. His eyes see, his eyelids try the children of men, and nothing is done in secret where he does not know.
Prayer
Give me a heart of compassion, O Lord, for the weak and helpless, for the poverty stricken, for widows and orphans. And give me a righteous indignation against those who oppress them, pervert their justice, or deny their rights. Amen.
