Devotion
Wasting no time
David Jacobs
In university, I had 4 roommates. I got along very well with 2 of them, but none of us got along very well with the fourth. He was dirty, loud, obnoxious, and generally didn't consider the feelings of others. However, his family was very powerful and well-known, so we felt that we were not really able to say anything. It made all of us feel helpless, because if we had not known who his family was, we would have certainly dealt with him differently. Alas, we did know his family, so we acted meek, scared, and oppressed, letting him bully and dirty the apartment.
It is not easy for the oppressed to stand up for themselves. If you have ever seen a wild dog roaming the streets, you may have seen some of them that have been kicked one too many times. They are unable to think about humans the same way as before. They associate humans with the negative actions that have occurred to them so many times.
Think about the downtrodden and unfortunate in history: the slaves in Egypt and the Americas, the Holocaust, or the plight of women in some parts of the world. It is difficult to hear their voices because they have no power. Nobody is listening. It is our duty, according to Isaiah, to listen. Do not contribute to the problem, be a part of the solution.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, fill me and each and every one of your followers with the desire to help give the voiceless a voice, to alleviate the suffering of mankind wherever they may be. Without your help and ours, they will continue to suffer, as your son, Jesus Christ, was forced to suffer for our sins. In his name I pray, Amen.
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 ...
