Devotion
Nothing Is New
Frances Taylor
Ecclesiastes is a fun book to read. About the only thing people recognize is in chapter three where we read about a season for everything – a time to live, a time to die, etc. – but we have much to learn from this book. I'm sure you have heard the phrase, "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." This brief passage expresses the same idea. Just like the Israelites made the same mistakes over and over again, so do we. Yes, there are inventions today that we take for granted today that would never have entered into the imagination of peoples of earlier times, but they repeated the cycle of obeying God, enjoying prosperity, forgetting about God, doing their own thing, falling into the hands of the enemy, begging God for forgiveness, promising to do better, being forgiven by God and obeying – for a while, and so it went. How many times do we promise God that we will do better, we will treat people better, we will be more honest in our dealings with others, work better with our communities for justice - if God will just give us what we need now. How long did the promise last once our prayers were answered? We fall into the same cycle as the Israelites, we do the right thing or say the promised prayers, or whatever we promised for a while and then fall into bad habits and wonder what went wrong. Ecclesiastes is a short book, take some time and read it through. There's a lot to learn here.
Prayer
Lord, we fall into patterns and can't seem to remember the problems we get ourselves into when we don't follow you. Help us to do better to learn from our mistakes. Amen.
Night Prayer
The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
Inspiration
Do you ever think that if you become rich, all of your problems would go away? From today’s verse, we learn that wealth brings its own set of anxieties. Fear of theft and loss can rob a rich person of sleep and peace. But the one who is sustained with daily bread from the Lord rests in comfort, knowing that God meets all of his needs.
Prayer
Gracious God, each day You sustain me and my family. Thank You for Your provision, which is always enough. I take comfort in Your faithfulness, and it is with gratitude that I take shelter in the shadow of Your wing. Grow me in contentment, so that You and Your grace may always be sufficient for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Morning Prayer
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Inspiration
The Bible is filled with numerous moments of assurance for our lives. God loved us so much, and desired our salvation so much, that he gave up his Son so that we could be saved. This one act is enough to convince us that nothing can ever stand against us. We can do all things through Christ – so long as it is to the glory of God. We can face all kinds of rulers of darkness and principalities, boldly, because God is always with us and that will never change.
Prayer
Dear God, I thank you that I find my confidence in you. Lord, time and time again you have given us every reason to trust in you and never doubt you. No dark power or force can ever prosper against us because we are backed you, the Almighty God. Father, I pray that if there is ever a time when ...
Night Prayer
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Inspiration
Do you do good works because you believe they will save you, or because you trusted in God to save you? It is the path of faith,—and not of works—that makes us righteous. Our works could never earn us righteousness, so we must rely on the One who has paid the price for us. So we go forth in His grace, doing the works that testify to what He has already done for us.
Prayer
Lord God, I come before You relying on Your mercy and grace. I know that I could never earn Your forgiveness and be made righteous on my own. So thank You for saving me by Your grace, and making me righteous by the blood of Jesus. Please give me the humility to do good for You without boasting so others may know Your grace, too. In Jesus’ name, amen.
