Devotion
Toothpaste and Talking
David Jacobs
I remember my school principal proudly performing a demonstration on the destructive nature that words can have on one another. This example has been performed in the west for generations. It is very simple. The leader presents a crowd with a tube of toothpaste. He deliberately squeezes the tube clean, spewing forth striped minty foam into the hand of a willing participant. Once he is satisfied that everyone can see the volume of toothpaste on the participant's hand, he asks them to put the toothpaste back in the tube. It is impossible. The participant may successfully put some of the toothpaste back in, but certainly not all of it. It is a mess that takes a whole lot of work to clean up. This is to demonstrate how hard it is to take back something once we have said it. Perhaps we can take back some of it, but not all of it. It is messy and unpleasant.
'Watch your mouth!' is often something you may hear of one who speaks out of turn. Whilst this may arise in some heated argument, David here asks this of God himself, to stand guard at our mouths, which are like gateways to our hearts. We can injure or heal, spread joy or confusion with simple words. But what God seeks is clear communication with him, for we often lose our own selves in Him and become immersed rather in the message of the Lord.
Prayer
When we entrust the Lord with our lips, we think before we speak.
Night Prayer
And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
Inspiration
The Jews were desperate to extinguish Paul's life and vowed their death to accomplish the deed. Paul was imprisoned, beaten, and rejected multiple times, yet he continued the Lord's ministry because he had faith in God's plan. How important is sharing the Gospel today? We often become comfortable and fail to venture out into our local community to share the way to salvation. We are shy or may not be confident about our evangelical skills. We have faith in God's plan; He extends salvation to all, and we are crucial in His ministry.
Prayer
Dear God, we are crucial to Your ministry. Please help us overcome our weaknesses, so we may continue sharing the Gospel. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Devotion
The Barrier is Removed
Frances Taylor
Moses had brought the Israelites out of Egypt and now they were wondering if they were any better off! They had reached the Red Sea, and couldn't see any way around this barrier that had been placed before them. But God knew what he was doing and Moses followed his instructions and the sea parted so that the Israelites could pass through on dry ground. A question sometimes asked at a job interview is, "What do you do when you face an obstacle?" How would you answer? Would you try to go around it, through it, or perhaps over it? Moses could not go around his obstacle and knew that without help, he could never bring all the people, animals and supplies through it. So, he asked God for help. Was that the first thing you thought of? There is a saying, "If God brings you to it, he will bring you through it." The key here is to ask God to bring us through it.
We often face challenges in our lives, especially when we are trying to live as Jesus wants...
