Devotion
Thou Shalt Not Kill
Frances Taylor
Okay, who of us hasn't called someone a fool? Jesus gives us a whole different understanding of the commandments than we get from taking them literally. This is only one of the commandments that he delves further into. Most people don't resort to murder and most of those that do don't usually start that way. If you were never angry, you wouldn't get to the level of murder and if you didn't call people names, you might not get angry. Violence often begins with the mouth. Jesus understood that there is a certain progression to sin. If we have a quick temper, we are more apt to strike out first with the mouth and then physically, then with greater violence. This applies to most of the commandments. In another place, Jesus mentions how lust is the first step toward breaking the commandment concerning adultery. It is not a surprise that the 7 deadly sins are at the root of most evil. We all know them: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, and sloth. We need to take a better look at all the commandments and see what bad habits we might have developed and work to change them.
Prayer
Lord, you have given us rules to live by that will bring us peace and happiness in our lives if we only are willing to follow them. Help us to be faithful to your word. Amen.
Devotion
We Will Serve the Lord
Frances Taylor
Joshua has brought the Israelites into the Promised Land and conquered the land. Now he is about to die and gives the people the choice as to whether they will follow the Lord or follow the false gods of the land. He declares that he and his household will serve the Lord. They will have to choose every day to follow God just as we do, and sometimes we make the wrong choice, just as they did.
Deciding to be a Christian is not a one day or one time decision. We are tempted every day to go in the wrong direction. The Israelites promised to give up their false gods in order to follow the one God. The false gods of that time were pretty easy to identify with Baal being the most prominent. The false gods of today are a little harder to identify and can be different for each person. We all have our demons that we need to be rid of. For some, it can be the need for money, and I don't mean for survival, I mean for itself. For others it can be the best ...
