Devotion
At the right hand of God
David Jacobs
Have you ever played the game 'telephone'? The game basically goes like this: I tell the person next to me a sentence that only they can hear. They then have to tell the person next to them so only they can hear. It goes on and on until it comes back to me, and then I relay what the final sentence sounds like. By the time it reaches the original person, what you end up with is usually completely inaccurate, with perhaps a lot of the same phonetic sounds but the meaning completely changed.
The reason I bring up this game is because of the gospels themselves: each gospel was written at different times and by different people. The style of each gospel is unique; Mark is more simple, John more fantastic and supernatural, Matthew more poetic, and Luke more detailed. Like the game of telephone, the more people that are playing, the farther that the message has to go, the more distorted it will become.
This is why Mark, in my opinion, is the most accurate depiction of the life of Christ. Christ is still the son of God; he performs miracles, healing the sick and preaching about love for all mankind; and finally, in these verses, he dies and rejoins his Father, and ours, sitting beside God.
Prayer
If you read the final chapter of each gospel, you will get a more clear idea of the style of each writer. The more fantastic the story, perhaps the more likely it was embellished due to the distance that the story had to travel. Mark's gospel lacks a lot of the flair and poetic beauty of the other gospels. That is why I feel it is the most accurate.
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 ...
Morning Prayer
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Inspiration
We have a responsibility, as Christians, to abstain from the sinful practices we partook in before we became saved. While it may be a gradual process of change, we should ensure that we are putting in our best to play our part in resisting temptation. God enables us to resist temptation, but it is up to us to actually resist.
Prayer
Dear God, I pray that I will always be a person of action. Father, I take delight in my new life in you and I do not desire otherwise. I pray that in times of temptation, may I act on the strength you have given me to flee and/or resist. May I never rely on excuses or procrastination, Lord. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Night Prayer
Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
Inspiration
We have chosen to surrender our lives and serve the Lord. We serve Him by witnessing, completing missionary projects, and ministering to those in need. There is always work to do and a world full of people to help. We will look for opportunities to provide for our brothers and sisters in Christ by any means necessary. We are servants to one another as a service to the Lord; He will never forsake us.
Prayer
Dear God, Help us see the world through Your eyes. We desire to serve those around us by reflecting Your love through our actions. You will never forsake us, and we will continually lift praises of thanksgiving to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
