Devotion
A Sign
Frances Taylor
This passage from 1Kings refers to the question of who was God – Yahweh or Baal. There had been a severe drought and the prophets of Baal set up a test with Elijah as to whether the God of Israel or Baal could end the drought. No matter how the prophets of Baal tried to bring fire to their sacrifice, they failed. As we see, when Elijah prayed, God brought fire down that consumed everything and the people believed. We have just ended the Easter Season and celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost but are we still looking for a sign?
We are given signs all the time but we need eyes of faith to see them. They're not as dramatic as with Elijah, but no less powerful. We hear all about the disasters that happen and don't quickly forget, but we don't always hear of the miracles that occur. We know about plane crashes when all die, but there have also been those when all lived. A mine collapses in Chile and all are rescued. A hurricane or tornado or other natural disaster occurs and millions of people work to put things right with money or volunteering their expertise, whatever it takes. All of these are signs that God is working in our world. What kind of sign do we need? There will never be an end to tragedy. So much of what is wrong in our world is a direct result of the action of people using their free will. There's not much we can do about that, but we can look for the little miracles that happen every day instead of the tragedies. The cancer that is caught in time, the donor match that means a person will live, the couple that has tried for years to have a child and now are pregnant, the day you were late for work and missed being involved in a terrible accident, all these are daily miracles. If we look, we'll see the signs.
Prayer
Lord, we do believe, help our unbelief. 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.
