Devotion
The Foolishness of God
Frances Taylor
Many people cannot get past the idea of a God who would send his son into the world to die. It seems like foolishness. They say that if there is a God, why does he allow such bad things to happen. There's probably nothing after death so why bother doing anything that you don't want to do. Besides, if we needed saving, couldn't God have done it in another way. As Paul writes, however, the foolishness of God is wiser than men. God gave us the gift of free will that has often led to the majority of the violence and pain that we suffer as well as the need of a Savior in the first place. While it is true that salvation could have happened another way, how would we know of it? How would we know of God's plan for us? How would we know of God's goodness? There is so much that we have to thank God for in sending Jesus to us, to know how God wants us to live, how to be happy in this world as well as in the next. We know that we are saved so that we can live without fear, that death has no power over us. As this Easter season comes closer to an end, let rejoice that God is foolish.
Prayer
Gracious and omnipotent God, it is in your strength that we take comfort. You are our strength and our shield against the power of Satan, who still tries to turn us towards him and away from you. We give you thanks and praise. 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.
Devotion
Satan Has Been Defeated
Frances Taylor
Salvation and power have come with Christ and Satan has been defeated. Sin and death have been conquered by the actions of one man, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, both human and divine who came into the world to bring the Good News of salvation by living, dying and rising for us. As Christians we claim to believe this but our actions sometimes deny it. Unfortunately, people seem to resurrect Satan all the time. We allow him to lead us away from God, forgetting the way to the Father that is love, and giving in to Satan's path of hatred, anger, pride, lust, chaos and destruction.
Satan, of course, doesn't present these as bad things, he makes them seem attractive. He presents sin as goods to be desired, as things to make us happy or give us pleasure. It can be hard to stay on the path that leads to God when the world seems to be crowding us and pushing us off of it. How easy it is to forget the sacrifice that bought our freedom! Which of us ...
Morning Prayer
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Inspiration
It is right for us to defer to others and to rejoice with others when they have cause to rejoice over some blessing in their life, instead of sorrowing before them over some problem in our life. It is right also to weep with those who weep, showing compassion and feeling for them in their grief instead of "dancing joyfully before those who mourn" as if insensitive to their sorrow.
Prayer
Give me a discerning spirit, Lord, to know when to rejoice and when to weep. Let me show concern for others and their situation and life events instead of just focusing only on my own. Let me show true compassion and genuine joy in the right way and time to others. Amen.
