Devotion
Who Is My Neighbor?
Frances Taylor
Several years ago, I was in Copenhagen, Denmark on a remarkable vacation and heard a story that gives new meaning to the answer to this question. We have all heard of the atrocities of the holocaust and its tragedies, but I had never heard the remarkable story of this nation. There is a little fishing village which is a suburb of Copenhagen that opened its arms to the Danish Jews during this terrible time. The fishermen let it be known that if you showed up in the village at the appointed time you would be evacuated to safety. In this way, 95% of Danish Jews escaped deportation and execution. This in itself is enough to show their concern for their neighbors, but there was more.
After the war, when the people returned home to Denmark, they returned to their jobs, their homes, their properties which had been cared for and kept safe by their Christian neighbors. It made me consider how often I go out of my way for a friend, let alone others I may not know. It makes me ponder how well I live out the command to love my neighbor as myself. Would I have been as generous as the Danes under those extreme circumstances? Could I be that generous today? Do I know my neighbors well enough to tell when they might be in trouble? These are questions that I will ponder long after the pictures are looked at, the vacation stories have been told, the souvenirs given away. I hope that having the experiences I encountered on vacation will make me a better person, one who doesn't pass by, or look the other way, when a neighbor is in need.
Prayer
Lord, I confess that I have not always been a good neighbor to those around me. Too often, my priorities and preferences have kept me from sharing Your love. Give me eyes to see others through Your love, so that I may be prepared to offer help where it is needed. In Jesus name, amen.
Night Prayer
A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
Inspiration
Often, we speak before we have to opportunity to think about our words. In the heat of the moment, we immediately express negative feelings without analyzing the situation first. We jump to conclusions when directing meetings and speak in haste with our children before evaluating all sides. As leaders in any setting, we must be tactful and make decisions by weighing all details. Instead of expressing emotions with our authority, we must seek to mediate justly and reflect the mercy of God with our decision-making.
Prayer
Dear Lord, Please forgive us when we jump to conclusions and fail to lead with mercy and grace. Guide us to reflect Your character when You place us in a position of authority. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Devotion
A Simple Creed
Frances Taylor
Although the last verse of this passage is considered to be a portion of a hymn prayed by the people in the communities around Ephesus, I think of it as a creed, a simple statement of beliefs. It lets us know that they believed that Jesus was God, coming in the flesh, who was justified, or vindicated as another translation has it, by the Holy Spirit, seen by the angels, which could mean actual angels in heaven, or that he was seen by the disciples and others considered to be holy, preached by those disciples to reach out to a world that believed in the message of the Good News and was received by the Father into heaven where he would reign. Of course, I could be wrong about the actual meaning of the hymn, but it really doesn't make any difference. It makes me think about creeds, or statements of belief. I know there are a few formal ones such as the Apostles' Creed, or Baptismal Creed, and the Nicene Creed which expands a little on the first. But ...
Morning Prayer
For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
Inspiration
It may seem that the lives of some non-believers are often much easier and carefree than our own. Unshackled to principle, they may float free between pleasures with no particular conscience. But this 'freedom' is not true freedom, and one shouldn't mistake it for what it really is; being lost in the wilderness. This 'freedom' of the non-believer does not extend into the afterlife, and is in fact, shackled only to this, our material world. Since they have not had to endure the call of their consciences, they will not find our God's eternal peace.
Prayer
Lord God our Creator and Father, let me endure all that is sacred, just and fair in this world. Help us understand in facing our sufferings that we are doing so for you sake, in your glory. Thus, give us grace and show us mercy, for in answering to our consciences, we know we are doing your work. Help us stay pure ...
