Devotion
Serve the Lord your God and be blessed
David Jacobs
I enjoy reading about psychology, especially social psychology, in my free time. One subject that has been studied closely is obedience. How can people follow along when a group is telling them to do something they know is not right? The answer is simple: people generally do what they are told. The more people or higher the authority, the more likely it is that they will obey.
Perhaps the most famous study on obedience was conducted by Stanley Milgram. In his study, subjects are told that they are the "teacher" and another group is the "learner." Learners are asked a series of questions and teachers are told to punish them by administering an electric shock if the answer is wrong. The learners are part of the experiment group and are not actually being shocked, nor can the teachers see them. The learners intentionally answer many questions wrong, and the teachers are told to increase the power of the electric shock to 450 volts, a potentially lethal amount. Surely people would not kill a person that they do not know simply for the sake of an experiment, right? Wrong. More than 65% of subjects were willing to go that high, and all of them were willing to go to 300 volts (a dangerous shock level). What does this tell us about people and how does it relate to God?
People will generally do what they are told. If they are told to do bad things, like in the Holocaust, they will commit atrocities. If they are told to do good things, like in the verses above, they will do good things. They will fight to not bear false witness, to uphold justice, and not follow a multitude to do evil. Humans are obedient in general, so these commandments from God are necessary and important.
Prayer
If He had told us to do evil things, we would probably do them! Conforming and being obedient is often viewed as a bad thing by society, but conforming and being obedient to God and Christianity is certainly not. Follow God's word closely and you will make the world a better place and enjoy your just reward in Heaven.
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 ...
Morning Prayer
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Inspiration
We have a responsibility, as Christians, to abstain from the sinful practices we partook in before we became saved. While it may be a gradual process of change, we should ensure that we are putting in our best to play our part in resisting temptation. God enables us to resist temptation, but it is up to us to actually resist.
Prayer
Dear God, I pray that I will always be a person of action. Father, I take delight in my new life in you and I do not desire otherwise. I pray that in times of temptation, may I act on the strength you have given me to flee and/or resist. May I never rely on excuses or procrastination, Lord. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Night Prayer
Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
Inspiration
We have chosen to surrender our lives and serve the Lord. We serve Him by witnessing, completing missionary projects, and ministering to those in need. There is always work to do and a world full of people to help. We will look for opportunities to provide for our brothers and sisters in Christ by any means necessary. We are servants to one another as a service to the Lord; He will never forsake us.
Prayer
Dear God, Help us see the world through Your eyes. We desire to serve those around us by reflecting Your love through our actions. You will never forsake us, and we will continually lift praises of thanksgiving to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
