Devotion
Keep the Commandments
Frances Taylor
We who believe that Jesus is the Christ and loves him, loves God the Father as well and the way we show this love is by keeping the commandments. It all goes back to that. Jesus told us he did not come to abolish the commandments, in fact he summed them up in his command to love. No matter where we turn in Scripture the commandments come up. The Israelites kept breaking them and the prophets kept reminding them to turn back to God. The psalms ask forgiveness for breaking them and thanks for God's forgiveness. John the Baptist calls people to repent because they had forgotten the commandments. Jesus reminds us of their importance and yet we still ignore them. We lie, cheat, steal, covet and basically do what we want and don't worry about the consequences. I guess we have to decide what loving Jesus and his Father means to us. We know what John says, but! To love like that today is so counter-cultural, we are mocked and scorned as being too pious, or old-fashioned. We're told to get with it and be like everyone else. Sin is nothing but an out of date concept, so why are we in just as much trouble as those who came before us. Where are today's prophets? What will make us wise up? When will we begin to live a life of love?
Prayer
Loving and forgiving God, we say we love you, we say we want to follow your Son, but we keep failing. Give us the grace and strength to love as we should. 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.
