Devotion
Where is the mystery?
David Jacobs
The Lord works in mysterious ways. We have all probably heard this phrase before. I have always thought that it was nonsensical: how much evidence and scripture must there be for us to have a clear understanding of how the Lord works? There are some things that we do not have much understanding of, certainly. There are great mysteries that we have only begun to unravel. But there is a mountain of evidence and scholars that have spent their entire lives writing about the Lord's "ways." Mysterious is not the word that I would use, and it is also not the word that Paul would use in his letter to Timothy.
In fact, Paul states the exact opposite: there can be no controversy to how God works. Paul then lists exactly what the Lord claimed He would do and did! God lived amongst men as Christ, justified by the Holy Spirit, seen by angels at the time of his birth, preached during his lifetime to all that would hear him, believed by those that would hear him including by us, and then died and went to heaven. Where is the mystery? There can be no dispute that Christ's life was truly extraordinary. Praise his name and glory today and every day, for in him was the word and the truth resolved, made manifest in his flesh.
Prayer
Blessed are those that come in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest. May we forever sing your praises my God. There is no mystery surrounding your goodness. I thank you with every breath, every fiber of my being, every ounce of my love. I love you as you have loved me. 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.
Devotion
Satan Has Been Defeated
Frances Taylor
Salvation and power have come with Christ and Satan has been defeated. Sin and death have been conquered by the actions of one man, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, both human and divine who came into the world to bring the Good News of salvation by living, dying and rising for us. As Christians we claim to believe this but our actions sometimes deny it. Unfortunately, people seem to resurrect Satan all the time. We allow him to lead us away from God, forgetting the way to the Father that is love, and giving in to Satan's path of hatred, anger, pride, lust, chaos and destruction.
Satan, of course, doesn't present these as bad things, he makes them seem attractive. He presents sin as goods to be desired, as things to make us happy or give us pleasure. It can be hard to stay on the path that leads to God when the world seems to be crowding us and pushing us off of it. How easy it is to forget the sacrifice that bought our freedom! Which of us ...
Morning Prayer
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Inspiration
It is right for us to defer to others and to rejoice with others when they have cause to rejoice over some blessing in their life, instead of sorrowing before them over some problem in our life. It is right also to weep with those who weep, showing compassion and feeling for them in their grief instead of "dancing joyfully before those who mourn" as if insensitive to their sorrow.
Prayer
Give me a discerning spirit, Lord, to know when to rejoice and when to weep. Let me show concern for others and their situation and life events instead of just focusing only on my own. Let me show true compassion and genuine joy in the right way and time to others. Amen.
