Devotion
Home is where God is
David Jacobs
The new city of Jerusalem serves as a metaphor for each and every one of us. Outside of ourselves, there is a world full of sin (similar to outside the city of Jerusalem), and it is through our belief and trust in Christ that we are able to combat the temptations around us. When I was younger, I found myself amongst the "dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie" (Revelation 22:15). It takes great strength and faith in God to turn to him in times of uncertainty and avoid the persuasions of sin.
In the Book of Revelation 22:13-21, we find that God repeats His promise that He is "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (Revelation 22:13). These words are emphasized by appearing twice in the same passage. We should feel confident that God is all-powerful and that through Him, we can feel safe and free of temptation.
Prayer
During times in my youth, I was not living my life in a way that would have allowed me to stay in the new city of Jerusalem. I was easily tempted and often found myself giving into things that I knew were wrong. It was only through the guidance of Christ that I was able to find my way back and live my life in a way that would allow me to find a place in the new city of Jerusalem. Instead of listening to those that were guiding me wrong, I turned to Revelation 22:17: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." If we find ourselves thirsty, we need only to follow the word of Christ to quench it.
Devotion
Don’t Judge
Frances Taylor
This is a pretty consistent theme in the New Testament. Jesus certainly makes it clear that judging is unacceptable. In more than one Gospel the message is clear: don't judge. We humans do it though! We judge for lots of reasons. One of the not so nice reasons is to make ourselves feel better. If we can judge someone to be worse than ourselves, it can make us feel superior. Often people caught doing something will turn and say that it's not as bad as what "so and so" does. Other times, we make a judgment and spread whatever we think we know about another's behavior as gossip. It gives us a sense of power to act like we "know" everything. And often we are wrong in our judgments. Spreading gossip can ruin a person's reputation often without any substance behind it. We also tend to make judgments based on color, race, gender, age, ethnicity, all sorts of things that bias us. If you were sick in a foreign country, would you trust the doctors? If you see...
Morning Prayer
Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
Inspiration
Our victory, as believers, is not by our might or by the height of our intellect. Nothing in our own power can ever make us righteous. We are where we are, as children of God, as a result of the Spirit of God residing in us. The Spirit of God is able to reside in us so easily because Jesus Christ justified and sanctified us by his blood. Isn't that glorious?
Prayer
Dear God, I thank you that it is never by my might or power that I am saved and victorious in you. It is because of your son, Jesus Christ, that I am able to have access to the Holy Spirit who enables me to function as your child. Lord, may I always take heed to the guidance of your Spirit. In Jesus' name, I pray. ...
