Devotion
Do We See and Hear?
Frances Taylor
Jesus spoke in parables to the people of his time as well as to us. Do we hear and understand what he is trying to tell us? We have heard and read the parable of the sower and the seed many times, and we have read the meaning of the parable as well so we understand what Jesus was saying. However, there are other parables such as the Workers in the Vineyard where everyone gets the same pay for very different amounts of work that sometimes make us shake our heads and wonder. The parables often speak of things we just don't have any experience with such as sowing seed, taking care of sheep, pruning vines, etc. Yes, those who live on farms understand, but those of us who are city-dwellers don't. However, we are meant to pay attention to the underlining truths. We learn from the sower, that we need to prepare our hearts to welcome God's word and continue to nurture it if we are to grow in our faith. From the workers, God is generous and sometimes we are not! I'm sure that each time we read the parables we learn something new, and that's what we're supposed to do. The important thing is to read and hear with eyes and ears of faith.
Prayer
Lord, you have given us the ears to hear your word and understand your message. Sometimes you challenge us so that we might grow in our faith. Please send your Holy Spirit to be with us as we listen to your Word. Amen.
Night Prayer
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Inspiration
Sin rules our lives until we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. When we invite Him into our lives, our old sinful heart dies, and God creates within us a new one, where sin no longer rules our life; God does! Our thoughts and actions begin to change because we no longer desire a sinful lifestyle. We joyfully devote our lives to serving Him and inviting others to understand His promise of salvation.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we are sinners born again and recreated to live according to Your will. We are grateful for Your love and the peace we experience by abolishing our old sinful self. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Devotion
Satan Has Been Defeated
Frances Taylor
Salvation and power have come with Christ and Satan has been defeated. Sin and death have been conquered by the actions of one man, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, both human and divine who came into the world to bring the Good News of salvation by living, dying and rising for us. As Christians we claim to believe this but our actions sometimes deny it. Unfortunately, people seem to resurrect Satan all the time. We allow him to lead us away from God, forgetting the way to the Father that is love, and giving in to Satan's path of hatred, anger, pride, lust, chaos and destruction.
Satan, of course, doesn't present these as bad things, he makes them seem attractive. He presents sin as goods to be desired, as things to make us happy or give us pleasure. It can be hard to stay on the path that leads to God when the world seems to be crowding us and pushing us off of it. How easy it is to forget the sacrifice that bought our freedom! Which of us ...
Morning Prayer
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Inspiration
It is right for us to defer to others and to rejoice with others when they have cause to rejoice over some blessing in their life, instead of sorrowing before them over some problem in our life. It is right also to weep with those who weep, showing compassion and feeling for them in their grief instead of "dancing joyfully before those who mourn" as if insensitive to their sorrow.
Prayer
Give me a discerning spirit, Lord, to know when to rejoice and when to weep. Let me show concern for others and their situation and life events instead of just focusing only on my own. Let me show true compassion and genuine joy in the right way and time to others. Amen.
