Devotion
Lions, bears, and Goliath are no match
David Jacobs
No story in the Bible is more important to me than the story of David and Goliath. As a child, I would go to church with my parents and be forced to sit and listen to adults read the scriptures and give sermons that I could hardly focus on. I would take the Bible from the pew and read my favorite Old Testament passages: Moses calling down plagues on Egypt, Jonah and the whale, and most of all the story of a young King David. I would put myself in his shoes (or sandals) and think that I, too, could do anything if I believed it. If he, a young boy with the same name as me, can kill lions, bears, and Goliath, surely, I can do great things.
More important than the result of this battle to me is that David volunteered. He had no doubt what the outcome would be. His faith was so strong that he seemed to view the battle that nobody else wanted to fight was almost a foregone conclusion. It was not always easy for me to empathize with other characters in the Bible, but David was so human to me in many ways, but his confidence and faith in God never seemed to waver. His faith leads him to glory in his lifetime and his family to more glory than he could ever imagine. If he can do it, so can we!
Prayer
Almighty Father, your Heavenly Kingdom awaits all that have faith in you. Strengthen my faith, O Lord, for I, like David, hope to be a shining example to all that know me, an example of how strong faith is rewarded during this life and the next. You are my alpha and omega, you have delivered me from my trials, and you will deliver me through the next. In your holy name, I pray, Amen.
Night Prayer
A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
Inspiration
Often, we speak before we have to opportunity to think about our words. In the heat of the moment, we immediately express negative feelings without analyzing the situation first. We jump to conclusions when directing meetings and speak in haste with our children before evaluating all sides. As leaders in any setting, we must be tactful and make decisions by weighing all details. Instead of expressing emotions with our authority, we must seek to mediate justly and reflect the mercy of God with our decision-making.
Prayer
Dear Lord, Please forgive us when we jump to conclusions and fail to lead with mercy and grace. Guide us to reflect Your character when You place us in a position of authority. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Devotion
A Simple Creed
Frances Taylor
Although the last verse of this passage is considered to be a portion of a hymn prayed by the people in the communities around Ephesus, I think of it as a creed, a simple statement of beliefs. It lets us know that they believed that Jesus was God, coming in the flesh, who was justified, or vindicated as another translation has it, by the Holy Spirit, seen by the angels, which could mean actual angels in heaven, or that he was seen by the disciples and others considered to be holy, preached by those disciples to reach out to a world that believed in the message of the Good News and was received by the Father into heaven where he would reign. Of course, I could be wrong about the actual meaning of the hymn, but it really doesn't make any difference. It makes me think about creeds, or statements of belief. I know there are a few formal ones such as the Apostles' Creed, or Baptismal Creed, and the Nicene Creed which expands a little on the first. But ...
Morning Prayer
For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
Inspiration
It may seem that the lives of some non-believers are often much easier and carefree than our own. Unshackled to principle, they may float free between pleasures with no particular conscience. But this 'freedom' is not true freedom, and one shouldn't mistake it for what it really is; being lost in the wilderness. This 'freedom' of the non-believer does not extend into the afterlife, and is in fact, shackled only to this, our material world. Since they have not had to endure the call of their consciences, they will not find our God's eternal peace.
Prayer
Lord God our Creator and Father, let me endure all that is sacred, just and fair in this world. Help us understand in facing our sufferings that we are doing so for you sake, in your glory. Thus, give us grace and show us mercy, for in answering to our consciences, we know we are doing your work. Help us stay pure ...
