Devotion
Spy Wednesday
Frances Taylor
What price do I place on Jesus' head? For Judas it was thirty pieces of silver. I know you're thinking, "Not me!" Stop and think: when was the last time you chose your needs over that of your family? I'm sure you know people just as I do, whose pay check is not always spent on food, rent or mortgage. These are people who gamble, drink, use drugs, of other forms of entertainment and waste the monies that should be used for their families. This is the price that they place on Jesus' head.
For some, money is the god, as it was for Judas. For others, it's fame or pleasure. For others, it's just indifference or apathy. No one sits down and says that their actions, or non-actions, are betrayals of Jesus. But they are. There are other times when we make a choice that goes against everything we say we believe. Whatever the reason for doing this, we suffer the same sense of guilt that Judas felt when he fully realized the consequences of his behavior. Judas tried to return the money, but it didn't stop the crucifixion. Sometimes we are unable to undo the damage we have caused.
On a very minor and non-sinful way, I still carry some guilt feelings because my daughter's roommate didn't make it to her wedding because I didn't make sure she had a ride. Now, I understand that this was an oversight and completely unintentional, but she wasn't able to celebrate a once in a lifetime event. I have listened often to people telling me their regrets. Some were sinful, others not, but they were things they couldn't undo. Today, we take stock of the prices we have put on Jesus' head and commit to doing better.
Prayer
Compassionate and forgiving God, I'm sure you listened to Judas' and Peter's confessions of sorrow as you have listened to mine. Thank you for your love and patience with me and help me be a better person in the future. Amen.
Devotion
His Loving Kindness Endures Forever
Frances Taylor
Psalm 136 is a list of all the wonders that God had done for the Israelites from creation through the deliverance from Egypt and into the land promised to them, providing them with all that they need. I challenge you to write a psalm listing all the things that God has done for you using the same format. Several years ago, I did this myself and it was a wonderful reminder of all that God had done for me. "I give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his mercy endures forever; he has provided me with a family that loved me, his mercy endures forever; he hears me when I call to him, his mercy endures forever; when I was in trouble he rescued me, his mercy endures forever." I listed all the gifts he has given me and continues to give me and I thanked him for all the times that I was in pain and he healed me, and the times when I needed to be rescued. I'm sure if you take up my challenge and compose your own psalm, you will discover ...
Morning Prayer
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Inspiration
To reject the truths taught in God's Word, spoken by his prophets and apostles and by Jesus Christ his Son, is a grave offense. In the days when Hebrews was written, there were still true prophets in the Church, speaking from God. Today, we have his written Word as our "prophet. " If a preacher preaches truly according to the Book, we are in a grave sin if we reject it.
Prayer
Help me, O Lord, to discern when your Word is being taught correctly and when it is not. Teach me to embrace your truths and love them. Help me to walk in them and meditate on them. Let me not sin in rejecting the plain teachings of the Bible. Amen.
Night Prayer
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Inspiration
Sin rules our lives until we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. When we invite Him into our lives, our old sinful heart dies, and God creates within us a new one, where sin no longer rules our life; God does! Our thoughts and actions begin to change because we no longer desire a sinful lifestyle. We joyfully devote our lives to serving Him and inviting others to understand His promise of salvation.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we are sinners born again and recreated to live according to Your will. We are grateful for Your love and the peace we experience by abolishing our old sinful self. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
