Devotion
Have you ever been hungry and seen what looked like a delicious piece of fruit only to take a bite and...eww! Even good-looking fruit can sometimes taste bad, and fruit that has not been taken care of well will be rotten. I think you can probably see where I am going with this metaphor!
We are the fruits of our labor. The effort that we put into our faith journey is what we will get out. If you didn't study for a test at all or, better yet, studied a book filled with all the wrong answers, you wouldn't expect to do very well. The same is true of life.
In these verses in Matthew, we are told that men do not gather thorns and thistles, we gather grapes and figs. We don't want the bad and painful, we want the delicious and healthy. The way we care for the plants and trees that the fruit grows on is important to the quality of the fruit. The same is obviously true of our spiritual journey and the quality of our relationship with Christ. How do you tend your plants?
Prayer
Dearest Father, patient shepherd, help me to tend my spiritual plant. My fruit is ready, ripe, but I know that I must continue to care for it with you as my guide. I pray that you send me to your scriptures, with enthusiasm and diligence, to learn the ways of your son, whose blood was shed so that I may live with you, together in heaven. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
Devotion
We will Do It
Why do you obey
Frances Taylor
Moses came down from the mountain and told the people what the Lord had commanded. They all said, Okay! No problem! As we shall see in a few days, that didn't last long. The Israelites said yes over and over to God, and then said, no, over and over again. So much like us! It's a good thing God forgives us over and over again. It is always interesting to read the full account of the commandments and their amplified meaning in Exodus, because it gives an idea of what the civilization was like in those days. The commandments were not all totally new as many of them were based on the code of Hammurabi. The first three commandments were new as they listed the proper behavior towards God. The other seven concerned social behavior and social structure. So, what's the difference between Hammurabi's code and the Ten Commandments other than the first three? The difference is in the why. We don't obey the commandments because they promote civility...
Morning Prayer
Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.
Inspiration
Our mouths may be filled with all sorts; idle chatter, gossip, news, profanities or slander. Yet it would be best of all to fill it with praise and love. God gave us our voices to not only communicate, but to choose our words wisely. Don't use it to injure or babble, but to spread his gospel and praise.
Prayer
Lord Almighty I exalt your name on earth as in Heaven. Grant me the wisdom and the will to spread your name and deeds, to use my voice for beauty and truth rather than lies and disparagement. Grant me this Lord, in your holy name I pray, Amen.
