Devotion
When jealousy rears it’s ugly head
David Jacobs
I have been a musician for most of my life, playing the piano and violin and even composing some of my own music. I always enjoyed playing in front of people and sharing what I had learned. Playing with other people can get competitive, and I remember playing for an orchestra in my youth. I was the concertmaster, meaning I was one of if not the best violinist in the orchestra, when a young girl, maybe 11 years old, joined the orchestra. "She can't possibly play with us," I thought, but then I heard her play. She was incredible, probably better than me, and instead of being happy to have such a young and talented musician in the orchestra, I became jealous and insecure. Eventually I grew to really love that young girl, because she was sweet, innocent, and talented, but I vividly remember the embarrassment I felt when I first heard her playing better than me.
Saul and David's story occurs in the reverse order of my orchestra story. Saul's eldest son, Jonathan, becomes close friends with David. Saul initially loves David like a son, and every task that Saul gives to David he achieves with amazing results. He felt like I should have felt when the young girl joined my orchestra: lucky to have such a valuable member on our side.
Things change when Saul hears women singing the praises of David, saying that Saul has killed thousands and David his tens of thousands. This flips Saul's opinion. He thought they were allies, but hearing others compare him with David leads him to make the same comparison. He feels insecure and cautious, wary of every move that David makes thereafter.
Prayer
God has blessed us all with so much, including Saul and David. Don't make the mistakes that Saul and I made: view other people positively. Everyone can leave a positive impression on you, especially if you try to make a positive impression on them. God would want it no other way.
Devotion
His Loving Kindness Endures Forever
Frances Taylor
Psalm 136 is a list of all the wonders that God had done for the Israelites from creation through the deliverance from Egypt and into the land promised to them, providing them with all that they need. I challenge you to write a psalm listing all the things that God has done for you using the same format. Several years ago, I did this myself and it was a wonderful reminder of all that God had done for me. "I give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his mercy endures forever; he has provided me with a family that loved me, his mercy endures forever; he hears me when I call to him, his mercy endures forever; when I was in trouble he rescued me, his mercy endures forever." I listed all the gifts he has given me and continues to give me and I thanked him for all the times that I was in pain and he healed me, and the times when I needed to be rescued. I'm sure if you take up my challenge and compose your own psalm, you will discover ...
Morning Prayer
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Inspiration
To reject the truths taught in God's Word, spoken by his prophets and apostles and by Jesus Christ his Son, is a grave offense. In the days when Hebrews was written, there were still true prophets in the Church, speaking from God. Today, we have his written Word as our "prophet. " If a preacher preaches truly according to the Book, we are in a grave sin if we reject it.
Prayer
Help me, O Lord, to discern when your Word is being taught correctly and when it is not. Teach me to embrace your truths and love them. Help me to walk in them and meditate on them. Let me not sin in rejecting the plain teachings of the Bible. Amen.
Night Prayer
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Inspiration
Sin rules our lives until we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. When we invite Him into our lives, our old sinful heart dies, and God creates within us a new one, where sin no longer rules our life; God does! Our thoughts and actions begin to change because we no longer desire a sinful lifestyle. We joyfully devote our lives to serving Him and inviting others to understand His promise of salvation.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we are sinners born again and recreated to live according to Your will. We are grateful for Your love and the peace we experience by abolishing our old sinful self. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
