Devotion
We Are Invited
Frances Taylor
The Kingdom of Heaven is ready and we are invited. But are we like the original guests to the king's wedding, putting off the invitation and finding something else to do that they consider more important. We might also be like those invited to fill the hall when no one else would come, and grateful to be invited. And some of us respond gladly to the invitation and then just don't show up. Again, this is directed first at the Jewish listeners who were promised a Messiah and saved from Egypt and then had better things to do than to keep God's commands and even ignored or killed the prophets who kept trying to bring them back. The highways and the byways include those the Jewish leaders considered unworthy, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the maimed, the lepers, the Samaritans and the Gentiles. The thing we have to remember is that all are invited to the banquet in the Kingdom. This includes those we consider worthy of the invitation and those we do not. In God's eyes, we are all equal, all God's children, all invited to the family gathering. Just like all families, there can be a little dysfunction, a few wayward children, but in the end families come together. We need to decide to answer the invitation, save the date, plan for the wedding and show up every day so that when the servants come to let us know that the banquet is ready, we will be ready to come.
Prayer
Loving and forgiving God, thank you for all the times you send us reminders that the Kingdom is waiting for us. All we need to do is follow Jesus who not only knows the way to you but is the way. Amen.
Devotion
Abraham is Father of All
Frances Taylor
There are questions in every age about the importance of the Old Testament for Christians. Abraham is considered to be the Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims. We forget that it was Abraham who believed in the doctrine of only one God. It is through him and his descendants that this tradition comes down to us. Another fact that we can overlook is that Jesus was Jewish. He was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, died, rose and ascended into heaven as a Jew. Because we believe that he was the Messiah, the Christ, and we follow him, we are called Christian. Without the Old Testament, we wouldn't understand the promise of salvation; we wouldn't understand why it was important for Jesus to be of the family of King David. We would not understand his teaching either, because Jesus quoted from Scripture – the Old Testament – frequently. He told us that he came to fulfill the Scriptures, not to abolish them. In the same way, we can ...
Morning Prayer
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Inspiration
We have a responsibility, as Christians, to abstain from the sinful practices we partook in before we became saved. While it may be a gradual process of change, we should ensure that we are putting in our best to play our part in resisting temptation. God enables us to resist temptation, but it is up to us to actually resist.
Prayer
Dear God, I pray that I will always be a person of action. Father, I take delight in my new life in you and I do not desire otherwise. I pray that in times of temptation, may I act on the strength you have given me to flee and/or resist. May I never rely on excuses or procrastination, Lord. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Night Prayer
Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
Inspiration
We have chosen to surrender our lives and serve the Lord. We serve Him by witnessing, completing missionary projects, and ministering to those in need. There is always work to do and a world full of people to help. We will look for opportunities to provide for our brothers and sisters in Christ by any means necessary. We are servants to one another as a service to the Lord; He will never forsake us.
Prayer
Dear God, Help us see the world through Your eyes. We desire to serve those around us by reflecting Your love through our actions. You will never forsake us, and we will continually lift praises of thanksgiving to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
