Devotion
From every mountain sing
David Jacobs
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on earth. It is also one of the most dangerous. Many people have gone to Everest, seeking to climb the tallest peak and claim to have conquered it. Many have not lived to reach the top or the bottom again. Some of the bodies of those that did not make were left on the peak as a warning and also because getting the bodies down in their frozen state is far too difficult. The higher that you venture up, the more difficult and deadly your journey has become.
God will live forever, but the time that man can spend on earth is limited. No matter how high your achievements, how important you think you are, you will die. For those of us that can claim to be true believers of Christ, there is a way to live like God; follow His ways, love each other as Christ has loved us, and we can be redeemed. For those of us that choose to refuse God's welcoming embrace: the world is filled with their wasted bodies, a warning for any others that choose to go that path.
Prayer
Lord of life, creator of heaven and earth, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Help us all to remember those words, so that we can work together to build a kingdom on earth that is in the image of your heavenly kingdom. Our time on earth is fleeting, but you have given us a chance of life eternal. I am so grateful, O Lord, and shall waste no breath on doing anything but praising your name. 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 ...
