DEVOTIONS

Monday, May 9 – “Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:14) If God’s only goal was for you to go to heaven, you would have died the moment that you first believed in Jesus.  Well, since you didn’t die in that moment, there must be something more that God desires for your life here on earth.  Part of that something more is for you to do good.  For you to make the world a better place to live for all people.  For you to add flavor to life and to shine the light of grace, forgiveness and possibility to everyone. 

Tuesday, May 10 – “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12) Don’t focus so much on the fact that God’s eyes and ears are tuned into the righteous, but that God is against all those who do evil.  Notice that this is about doing evil; not about being evil.  The focus is on your actions.  Yes, you aren’t saved by what you do, but you can surely be condemned by what you do.  Take notice of what you do today.  Do your actions, your decisions, your attitudes and your relationships depict righteousness or evil? 

Wednesday, May 11 – “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.  Anyone who does what is good is from God.  Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.” (3 John 1:11) Everything you do in your life is an imitation of someone else.  You learn by example.  You learn how to walk, how to talk, how to do evil and how to do good by imitating others.  God knows this about all of us.  This is precisely why God came and dwelt among us as Jesus.  In order to give us all an example to imitate.  An example of what is good. 

Thursday, May 12 – “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? (Romans 8:35) There is nothing outside of you that could ever separate you from the love of Christ.  Right now you might be struggling in your life – financially, relationally, physically, mentally, personally, legally – but none of that can or will ever separate you from the love of Christ.  The love of Christ is like oxygen.  It’s all around you.  But you do need to breathe it in in order to experience all of its benefits.  The only thing that can separate you from the love of Christ is you.

Friday, May 13 – “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10) You are going to be persecuted in this life for something.  Some are persecuted because of their sex, their age, their orientation, their socio-economic status, the color of their skin, their name, a handicap or their political affiliation.  Why not make the choice today to be persecuted because of righteousness?  Make it your goal to be persecuted because you are good, forgiving, compassionate, honest and generous.       

Saturday, May 14 – “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.” (Isaiah 8:12) Remember, everything you do in your life is an imitation of someone else.  So, be careful who you are imitating.  It’s the cult of personality.  Do you tend to believe in conspiracy theories that a person you respect believes?  Do you tend to fear what the person you respect fears?  Of course, you do.  We all do this.  Now the question for you to ponder this weekend is this: Are you imitating the right person?