Devotion
God So Loved The World
Frances Taylor
This passage from John's Gospel is probably the best known by chapter and verse. It is posted on billboards, on signs in ball parks, but I'm not sure Jesus meant it to be a free ticket to paradise. People forget the part about believing and what that means. It's not just lip service. As this Easter season has progressed, we keep hearing about the way to follow Jesus that witnesses to what we believe. As Baptism isn't a one day affair, and neither is just saying that we are believers enough. "Actions speak louder than words" is a phrase that reaches into many areas of life. Jesus expects more of his disciples than mere words. We are called to live our faith. That's not always easy but it's what Jesus wants. And just as Jesus wasn't sent to judge, neither are we to judge. Our job is to spread the message of God's saving love. If he came to save the world, then that means salvation is for all. In Isaiah, we hear, "how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news." It is still true that we need messengers of peace and salvation and we have so much more to proclaim than those in Isaiah's time. We have the good news that salvation has come. God has sent his Son so that all may be saved. He needs you and me to bring the good news to those who may not have heard it.
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for sending your Son Jesus to bring salvation to the world. Give me the courage I need to be a worthy messenger of the good news. 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.
