Devotion
I Am The Lord Your God
Frances Taylor
When you consider the commandments, which do you think are the easiest to keep? I wouldn't be surprised if you name to first two. However, I think they can be the most difficult. Let's look at the first commandment. Do we put God first? I don't know where it is elsewhere, but in the United States .ministers of every denomination complain that families are not going to church on Sunday because of sports. The children play sports on Sunday mornings because the adults who coach them want to watch sports on television in the afternoon. Sports has become a god. What about companies that require their workers to sacrifice time with their families if they intend to move up in the ranks? Ambition has become a god. With the media telling us that anything that feels good must be good, whether doing so breaks another commandment or not, pleasure has become a god. I could go on, but you get the picture. Have you made anything or anyone a god in your life? On to the second one. Where can you go where you do NOT hear the name of the Lord taken in vain? Where can you go and not hear cursing? Music, movies, television, the man or woman in the supermarket, children in school, all seem to have no problem with any of these. Do you use "hell, damn" or the Lord's name in your conversation? We complain about foul language, but that's only offensive, not forbidden by the commandments but called sinful by Paul. Let's think again about how we live these two important commandments and promise to do a better job.
Prayer
Lord, may we truly put you first in our lives, not just in our words but also in our action. May we think before we take your name in vain and eliminate curse words from our speech. 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.
