Devotion.al

Feed Your Soul

  • New Year’s Prayers

    Psalm 8, Galatians 4:4-7, Numbers 6:22-27

    “What is a being that you him, a of man that you look after him?” [Psalm 8:4]

    “So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.” [Galatians 4:7]

    There are some important concepts shared in our first two passages today. God created everything, including us. Despite us being created, God still set humankind in God’s own image. Created from dust we are still bearers of God’s very image.

    takes it even further and calls us heirs. We are inheritors of God’s and will. We are no longer mere creations with God’s stamp. We are his children! The awesomeness of this is that we get all of God! We, despite our nature, are given something beyond our comprehension.

    There is a flip side to this. One of the roles of an inheritor (in Paul’s and Jewish custom and culture) is to preserve and expand what was inheritor. In other words, the inheritance is not to stay the same, but to ! We get it all. We are also responsible for it all.

    Let that sink in. We are responsible for all of Creation because has given it to us as our inheritance. There will and are arguments for how that is supposed to work out. That isn’t the point. The point is why. Why are we doing what we are doing? Are we doing it for ourselves? Are we doing it for ? Are we doing it because it’s the right thing to do? Are we doing it to bring glory to God?

    Creation, including people, is our responsibility. We are responsible for others, and we are responsible to others. This past year has been filled with people banging their drums, sometimes for reasons, other times for self-righteous reasons. As we enter the new year, pray for those who offend you. Pray for those who hurt you. You are responsible to them. Bring them to the throne in , not so that they will be like you, but so that they will be like .

    May the LORD bless you and protect you; 
may the LORD make his face shine on you 
    and be gracious to you; 
may the LORD look with favor on you 
    and give you peace.

[Numbers 6:24-26]

    HAPPY NEW YEAR!

  • The Shepherd’s Care

    The Shepherd’s Care

    Psalm 100; 2 Samuel 5:1–12; Luke 15:1–7 In case you haven’t noticed, the theme for the week (Thursday through today, plus tomorrow) is sheep. Almost all the Scriptures reference sheep in some form or another. Without question, the sheep are the People of God. Even in Luke, Jesus is still using the sheep as a…

  • In The Fold

    In The Fold

    Psalm 100; Zechariah 9:14–10:2; Acts 20:17–38 Psalm 100 is used in some churches as a call to worship. There have been a number of songs that have pulled their chorus and even the lyrics from this Psalm. It sounds so straightforward, but is it really? We are God’s people and his sheep. While we really…

  • Not Quite Yet

    Not Quite Yet

    Psalm 100; Jeremiah 50:1–7; Hebrews 13:17–25 Babylon was the enemy of Jerusalem and Jews at the time of Jeremiah. It makes sense, as Babylon had destroyed much of Jerusalem, and taken a majority of the population into exile. It was the big nation with the biggest might. For the Jews, there was no bigger enemy.…

  • Undivide

    Psalm 23; Jeremiah 23:1–6; Ephesians 2:11–22; Mark 6:30–34, 53–56 The words from Jeremiah were primarily aimed at the priests and religious leaders. They are hard words for we clergy, as they should be. Yet, they are no longer words solely for the clergy. As a part of the priesthood of believers, they are for you,…