Devotion
If God wanted to start all over, would you be spared?
David Jacobs
My son loves to play video games. In some games, he would make a character that he uses throughout the entire game, and as he progresses, the character gets better. Whenever he makes a mistake or if he dies, he can go back to a point in the game where he saved it, so that he doesn't have to start over from scratch. It saves him a lot of time, and it makes me wonder how humans' behaviors would change if we had a similar "save game" feature. We would be more willing to make mistakes, hurt ourselves and others, and to die. We only have one chance to start over, one chance at a life eternal, so we need to make this one life count.
It may feel that we are surrounded by evil in today's world: violence, greed, and lust are obvious in nearly every part of society. Earth in Noah's time was similar, and God had seen enough. Like my son's video games, God has the ability to start over whenever he wants. Unfortunately for anyone living in Noah's time, they do not have the same luxury. God decided to wipe the corruption, evil, and violence from the world and start anew with his one player.
Noah was devoted to God, so God established an agreement with him. As we all know, God tasked Noah with the responsibility of making an ark as well as gathering two of every living thing on it. Noah obeys, and his devotion leads to his life and his families live being spared. I ask you, believers of the word of Christ: is today's society so different from society during Noah's time? Does corruption, evil, and violence not permeate every facet of our lives? We know that a day of reckoning is coming for the wicked. God will come to judge them. We cannot just hit the reset button, we cannot load from a save point. We have one chance to establish a covenant with God. As Christians, we should be eternally grateful to have this chance at all.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, deliver me from evil. Forgive me, merciful God, for I know I have not been free of sin. With every fibre of my being, I long to be like Noah: to establish a covenant with you, and to foster a loving relationship between you and my family. Thank you, Abba Father, my alpha and omega. I will not squander my life. Amen.
Night Prayer
The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
Inspiration
When a king rules with fairness and justice, his kingdom will flourish. If the same king accepts gifts or bribes, his kingdom will fall. We've all observed a person in a leadership position who acted wrongfully. Perhaps a boss did not discipline employees fairly, or a political leader accepted kickbacks for legislation decisions. These corrupt actions lead to their demise. Scripture advises leaders to maintain justice with fair decision-making. As leaders, we must reflect on the mercy and grace God shows to us and lead others in the same fashion.
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for coaching us in our leadership endeavors. We have faith in Your Words and will lead Your people accordingly. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Devotion
The Widow of Naim
Frances Taylor
This story of Jesus' raising the son of the widow of Naim gives us some information that lets us know just how important it was for this widow. At that time, women had no way to earn a living. They were property of their parents until they became property of their husbands, and actually moved into the home of the husband. Now that this widow's son had died, she had no one to take care of her. The compassion that Jesus showed meant life to that widow. I'm sure the leaders weren't too happy that the power of God to raise someone from the dead rested in Jesus. There must also have been those who were saying, "Why her and not me?" We all will die and we will all lose someone we love including those of us who have and will lose children. We can easily read this passage and question. It can be difficult to understand God's plan for us, even though we keep trying. It is better to concentrate on the positive than the negative. A priest I once knew lost ...
