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
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.
