Devotion
Getting to the Top
Frances Taylor
What is so important that we ignore all that Jesus has taught us? Is getting the promotion worth climbing all over others, perhaps stealing their ideas and claiming them as our own? Cheating, lying, and falsifying records! These aren't the only sins committed just to get to the top. In the long run, is it worth it? So many people have gotten a job on false credentials, but when found out they fall from the top to the bottom and have problems getting another job. We make jokes about politicians, but it's no joke when those who want to be our leaders take money for their campaigns from organizations or companies and promise to support their agendas if elected, or if they lie about their opponents.
Fame is another thing that people have been known to want to the detriment of others. There have been assassins who just wanted their name to go down in infamy and had no compassion for those they killed. Whether it's fame, fortune, or power, there will always be people who will do anything to get it. I don't know how people justify bad behavior so easily, but considering the scandals revealed practically every day, there are those who don't seem to worry about it. I'm afraid we can easily encourage some bad behavior by treating scandals as entertainment.
This passage is a good reminder of what is truly important – eternal life. We have been given all we need to achieve that goal, and nothing is worth having that could make us lose it.
Prayer
Loving God, may we always keep our eyes on what is most important and that is spending eternity with you. May we follow the path that leads to you and ignore the temptation of the world. 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 ...
