Devotion
All things came into being through Him
David Jacobs
These verses remind me very much of a scripture lesson that I read in front of my congregation on Christmas as a child. John 1:3 is this:
1 In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 The same was in the beginning with God.3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
My parents were so proud of me for reading these verses, and I obviously was too considering I can still remember the exact verses that I had to read decades ago. It gave me a thrill to read the Lord's word in front of so many admiring eyes. It also made me think about what these words really meant.
Without God, there would be nothing. We know that in the first few verses of the Bible. He created everything. There is a new caveat in these verses, talking about the church itself. Christ is the head of the body, and God is happy that Christ is in the head of the body of the church. God's covenant with humanity was completed by the blood of Christ on the cross. Jesus contains the many within him: we owe him a debt for taking our sins, transgressions, fears and anxieties, placing them all on his shoulders when he carried that cross. For us, he was willing to spill his own blood, so that we may all be reconciled. He did not have to do this for us, because he created all things.
Prayer
He wanted to do it. God wanted to do it because he loved us so much. Loving us so much that He gave us His only son. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Night Prayer
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Inspiration
God commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, which is easier said than done. God loves us although we are challenging to love, and He extends mercy to us for actions that seem impossible to forgive. His love is available to everyone, and we must make our lives a reflection of His character. We trust the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts and teach us to act as commanded.
Prayer
Dear God, we trust Your Spirit to help us love each other as You love us. We desire to be a reflection of Your character to everyone we meet. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Devotion
Do We See and Hear?
Frances Taylor
Jesus spoke in parables to the people of his time as well as to us. Do we hear and understand what he is trying to tell us? We have heard and read the parable of the sower and the seed many times, and we have read the meaning of the parable as well so we understand what Jesus was saying. However, there are other parables such as the Workers in the Vineyard where everyone gets the same pay for very different amounts of work that sometimes make us shake our heads and wonder. The parables often speak of things we just don't have any experience with such as sowing seed, taking care of sheep, pruning vines, etc. Yes, those who live on farms understand, but those of us who are city-dwellers don't. However, we are meant to pay attention to the underlining truths. We learn from the sower, that we need to prepare our hearts to welcome God's word and continue to nurture it if we are to grow in our faith. From the workers, God is generous and sometimes we ...
