Morning Prayer
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Inspiration
It is through Christ that we have access to the Father. Jesus Christ made us one with God again when He cleansed us of our sins and justified us and made us righteous. We have been reconciled to the Father, because of our Lord, Jesus Christ. With salvation, we adopted the spirit of adoption, the Holy Spirit, which has enabled us to call God, Father. This gift is eternal; never to end, and never to change.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for this new life I live because of your Son, Jesus Christ. I am no longer identified as a sinner, or a fallen man or woman; because of what your Son did for me, I can now boldly say I am your child, O God. Thank you, Lord, for setting me free from the sin power had over my life. I have chosen to be in Christ and I will abide in Him. In Jesus' name, I pray. 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...
