Devotion
The Wicked or the Righteous
Frances Taylor
Which would you be? Which would I be? We all would like to think we would be among the righteous, but can we really be sure? You see, we're not the ones doing the judging! That's both a good thing and not so good. It's a good thing because we would probably throw away a lot of good people just because we didn't like them, were envious of their success, thought in a different way, or we considered them part of some enemy group. It's also a good thing because people who don't like us or are afraid of us can't throw us away. It's a bad thing because God knows everything including our thoughts and the opportunities to do good that we ignored. He knows our prejudices, our lack of forgiveness, the times we lied or failed to tell the truth when someone else took the blame for something we did. God knows the real us that lives beneath the surface. Our private face as well as our public face. The reality is that we don't need to wait for the end of the world for judgment. We will be judged at the end of our world, when we die. I'm pretty sure that all of us reading this will be waiting for the end of the world from the other side. Actually, I hope so. I'm not sure I want to live through the chaos and turbulence of the end of the world as described in Scripture. Let us make sure that our private face is as righteous as we try to make our public face so that we may enjoy eternity with all the saints.
Prayer
Loving and merciful God, you keep reminding us that you have shown us the way to happiness in this world and the next. Please give us the graces we need to stay on the path to righteousness. 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 ...
