Morning Prayer
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Inspiration
How blessed, how happy, the man who endures and resists temptation! The trying of his faith will end in life. No temptation or trial seems at the time to be pleasant, but is a cause of distress and discomfort. But God uses even the temptations of the Devil to our ultimate advantage if we are among those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). When we fall into sin, our weakness is revealed to us, leading us to rely on God instead of on our flesh to uphold us in the future; when we successfully resist evil, God reveals to us the strength he has wrought in us to his own glory.
Prayer
Lord, we know we should never choose to seek out temptation or place ourselves needlessly in a tempting situation. We should pray you would "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the Evil One (Satan). " But when you choose to allow temptation to come into our lives, we pray we would overcome it. And if we should fall, we pray we would learn from it and you would work it (as all things) to our ultimate good. Amen.
Devotion
Culpability
Frances Taylor
This is an interesting passage because, among other things, it talks about sin and who is considered guilty of sin. Paul is talking about how he has been forgiven, how God has been merciful to him because his actions were committed in unbelief. In order for sin to be committed, one needs to know he is committing it. No one can commit sin in retrospect. Sin is always a deliberate act. This can be hard for some to understand. Actions can be considered sinful, even though the person committing them may not be culpable. For example, lying is a sin. However, is the two year old hiding behind the curtains sinning when he or she claims not to have broken the vase? No, because the child has no understanding of the difference between truth and lie. Those who do not have a relationship with God, who do not know the commandments, who have never heard of Jesus, may commit sinful actions, but are not guilty of sin. This is what Paul claims is his situation. Paul ...
Morning Prayer
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full of grace and truth.
Inspiration
When the Lord sent his only Son, he sent also his word. For his body was this very word made flesh. Importantly this was not simply a manifestation of God's word, but also rather an 'animation' of it (meant here in the original Latin as 'animare' –'to instill with life or spirit'), an instance of God's love and divine grace in action, among us.
Prayer
Lord, I am grateful for your mercy in showing us your word made flesh so that we may be redeemed. Further, I am grateful to you for showing us your love and grace through your only begotten son. Let his body not have been torn and broken for no avail, but feed us now in the Eucharist. Let not his blood have...
