Devotion
The Prodigal son
Frances Taylor
We all know the story of the Prodigal Son. When you hear it, who do you compare yourself to? Are you the forgiving father, the sinful son, or the jealous brother? Or maybe you're the mother we don't hear about praying that her son will come home. If we're honest, we could be any one of them, depending on the day. If we have children, we know what it's like for a child to hurt us by his or her actions. Sometimes this can be very serious. There are parents who have children in prison. It takes a lot of courage and forgiveness to visit them and make sure they still know of a parent's love. At other times a child turns his or her back on the parent's beliefs. How do we react? There are times when we are the prodigal who turned their back on their parent, rejecting their values, getting involved in drugs or worse. Do we have the courage of the prodigal in this parable to admit that we are wrong and return home admitting our failures and begging our parent for forgiveness? And maybe we're the jealous brother or sister who doesn't understand how the father or mother can forgive this brother again and again. Most likely, if you are a parent, you pray every day that God will protect this child of yours and bring them back unharmed.
God is truly a "prodigal" father whose love is poured out to us in immeasurable ways. When we have lost our way, God is ready with open arms welcoming us back with open arms as the precious son or daughter he loves.
Prayer
Lord, let me be an example of your love in my life and not be jealous of the love you offer others. Amen.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
