Devotion
Stay on the Right Path
Frances Taylor
Okay, we have just celebrated Christmas and are still in the Christmas season. Are the decorations down? Are the good feelings still there? It is just so once we have accepted Christ into our lives. It can be difficult to maintain the joy and peace of being a follower of Christ. Sometimes we want to pick and choose the commandments we take seriously, the people we choose to love and treat kindly. Just as the Israelites in the dessert turned on Moses and complained against the God who saved him, we can decide that the road to salvation is too difficult. What does Jesus mean when he asks us to love our enemies or forgive those who have hurt us? Do we really have to do that? What about telling the truth or not gossiping and ruining someone's reputation? This quote from Hebrews includes a quote from Psalm 95. The Israelites tested the Lord who saved them. We can think that just saying we believe in Jesus, being Baptized, going to church, saying our prayers is enough. But we, too, often harden our hearts and test God with holding on to grudges, failing to forgive, acting out in anger or jealousy, closing our minds or hearts to people who disagree with us. Just as we try to hold on the those feelings of Christmas we need to hold onto our love of Christ and his commandment to love others as he has loved us – especially in those situations and with those people who are the most difficult.
Prayer
Lord, help us to follow your path of love. Keep us from hardening our hearts and straying from your laws. We do not want to be those who stubbornly test the Lord's patience with our refusal to bend our will to yours. Help us to remain faithful to your way. Amen.
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.
