Devotion
God Pardons Us
Frances Taylor
We all know that forgiveness can be difficult. Maybe we wonder if God feels the same. We know Jesus told Peter, and therefore us, to forgive seventy times seven times, meaning forever, but did he really mean it? This passage from Micah tells us that God really does pardon our sins and buries them in the depth of the sea, in other words, out of memory. What we have trouble with is not only forgiving the sin, but forgiving the person who sinned against us. What do I mean by that? God wipes the slate clean and lets us start over, but we want the person who sinned against us to prove himself worthy of our trust.
Now, I'm not talking about sins that have caused severe damage to a person or their reputation, these sins may be forgiven but we don't put ourselves into a situation where the damage may happen again. Forgive and forget might sound nice, but some situations should not be forgotten. However, forgiveness is important. Lack of forgiveness can hold us bound in ways that can destroy us physically or spiritually. Holding on to grudges and anger can cause physical damage such as high blood pressure or ulcers, it can keep us from enjoying life because we refuse to be in the presence of the person who sinned against us, or we can become hardened and be unwilling to trust anyone. Let us make time this Lent to see if we are holding a grudge against anyone in the past who might have hurt us. God forgives us, and calls us to forgive others.
Prayer
Compassionate and forgiving God, help us to let go of hurts of the past and be there with us giving us the strength we need to forgive when it is hard. 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.
