Devotion
Christ Our King
Frances Taylor
This phrase is both a statement and a question. Is Christ my king, or your king, and what does it mean to say yes? Today's gospel is a very familiar one. How often we hear the story of the "good thief" and take comfort in it. But what about the other criminal? Both men seem to think that Jesus just might be the Christ, the Messiah, but they have very different attitudes about that. The first is thinking only of himself; and tells Jesus to save himself and them while the second is aware of his sinfulness and only asks Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom. Each time I have reflected on this one of the last words of Jesus on the cross, it makes me think. Is just acknowledging Jesus as Messiah enough, or do we need to put that knowledge into action? I once heard it said that the one who knows Jesus best is Satan. So I would guess that just knowing isn't enough! If we truly accept Jesus as King, then our actions must follow. We bow to the will of God and not our own. We follow in the footsteps of Jesus; we call upon the Holy Spirit for guidance and we beg forgiveness when we fail. Perhaps a renewed commitment to having our lives bear witness to our faith is in order. And then we, too, might hear at the hour of our death, "Today, you will be with me in Paradise."
Prayer
Dearest Lord, today we remember the sacrifice you made so that we might be saved. Help us to live each day with gratitude letting our actions as well as our words testify to the gift of salvation won for us because of your great love. 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.
