Devotion
Is the end nigh? Who cares?
David Jacobs
In 70 A.D., the Jews saw their revolt against the Romans as the Battle of Armageddon. 300 years later, the Bishop of Tours claimed that the end times were going to be arriving any day now. 1,000 years later, The Black Plague was making its way around Europe, as the world proclaimed that this was certainly the end! 500 years down the line, hundreds of thousands of American Christians lined up for an event that would later be known as 'The Great Disappointment'.
Had they read 2 Peter 3, they would have realized that God takes no joy in destroying His creation, and is certainly not as fickle as the false prophecies like to imply.
Many have lived in their idea of 'end times', and have been convinced theirs will be the last. Yet God has stated that only He knows. Our job is not to be obsessed with Mayan calendars or British star maps. God has reserved the difficult task of judgment for Himself. All that is asked of us is that we come to repent. Everything else is but an egotistical distraction.
Prayer
Only God decides when this day will come; it could be tomorrow; it could be a thousand years later. But He has made His promise, and so He waits. 'For what?' We might ask. We do not know. We do not need to. But we know it will come, and we know God does not delight in denying His own children into His Kingdom, so make the Lord happy; repent! Repent while you still have today.
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.
