Devotion
The message and The World
Frances Taylor
It's impossible to please everyone and that's especially true when you're trying to change things. The message of Jesus called for change. When we bring the same message to the world, we can expect problems. We might wonder why anyone would be against justice and love, or compassion and forgiveness, but we see evidence all the time of people who try to resist. It's because we all have ideas about who should have justice or mercy or who should be forgiven. There is a need for some people to see punishment that seems more like revenge than justice. And it seems that no one is interested in mercy! Jesus talked about forgiveness, going the extra mile, not returning violence with violence. Does that look like the community you live in? If so, I want to move there because it doesn't look like mine. When we try to turn this around, we are not met with encouragement. I guess we shouldn't be surprised when people turn against the prophets of our time. And it also shouldn't surprise us that people don't want to get involved and keep their heads low because they don't want to get hurt. To spread the good news takes courage, but if we persevere, eventually there will be people who will listen and the world will become a more loving place.
Prayer
Lord, give me the courage to work for change and bring more of the kingdom alive in our world. 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.