Devotion
Pour out your soul before the Lord
David Jacobs
One of my best friends' growing up had a series of tragedies occur to him: his father died in a plane crash, one year later his mother died of cancer, and a few months after that his mother-in-law committed suicide, unable to bear with the grief. My friend was plunged into the harsh waters of reality, and he coped with it by drinking and doing drugs. After a few years, he realized that his actions were only making him feel worse, and started going to church again. Within a few months, he turned back into one of the most positive people I've ever met. He told me that for years he felt that he was drowning, but he soon realized that it was his own actions that held him underwater. Once he went to God, he felt that he could swim again.
Hannah is unable to bear children, which is a hardship made her sad and perhaps feel inadequate. The inability to have children at that time also made your life far more difficult, because you did not have anyone to take care of you or your property as you grew older. Her sorrow was holding her back just like the example of my friend. She refused to eat, which probably made her less healthy and less able to get pregnant, and in turn, more sad.
After talking with Eli, some of the sadness is lifted. She leaves Eli feeling more positive, eating, and shedding her sad disposition. Not long after, she finally gets pregnant, with a son named Samuel.
Life can sometimes make you feel hopeless: death, disease, misfortune. No matter what happens in your life, there is hope. God is there, and if you do as Hannah did, pouring out your soul for the Lord, God will hear your prayers. He heard Hannah's; He heard my friend's.
Prayer
Patient Shepherd, loving Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. Lord, I know that I have strayed from you when times have been difficult for me. I pray today hoping that you will remind me, O Lord, that it is in these times that I most need your loving embrace. Remind me also to hug those around me that are at their low points. I will go from this place to love you, love people, serve you, and serve people. Amen.
Night Prayer
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Inspiration
God commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, which is easier said than done. God loves us although we are challenging to love, and He extends mercy to us for actions that seem impossible to forgive. His love is available to everyone, and we must make our lives a reflection of His character. We trust the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts and teach us to act as commanded.
Prayer
Dear God, we trust Your Spirit to help us love each other as You love us. We desire to be a reflection of Your character to everyone we meet. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Devotion
Do We See and Hear?
Frances Taylor
Jesus spoke in parables to the people of his time as well as to us. Do we hear and understand what he is trying to tell us? We have heard and read the parable of the sower and the seed many times, and we have read the meaning of the parable as well so we understand what Jesus was saying. However, there are other parables such as the Workers in the Vineyard where everyone gets the same pay for very different amounts of work that sometimes make us shake our heads and wonder. The parables often speak of things we just don't have any experience with such as sowing seed, taking care of sheep, pruning vines, etc. Yes, those who live on farms understand, but those of us who are city-dwellers don't. However, we are meant to pay attention to the underlining truths. We learn from the sower, that we need to prepare our hearts to welcome God's word and continue to nurture it if we are to grow in our faith. From the workers, God is generous and sometimes we ...
