Today's writing by Jan Andersen is entitled "LAST ENEMY: DEATH" where she talks about Memorial Day and how Christ's story is similar. She writes, "While we often see Jesus only as a Prince of Peace, he is also a conqueror."
May you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.
Blessings,
Jan and Corinne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Devotional:
"LAST ENEMY: DEATH
by
Jan Andersen
In the U.S. this is a three-day holiday weekend for Memorial Day, the last Monday of May. It was originally established as Decoration Day after the American Civil War in 1868, a day to decorate with flowers the graves of Union soldiers who had died in that war. It was later changed to Memorial Day, a day to honor all Americans in the military who had died while serving. Now many of the graves are decorated with small American flags.
Other things also have changed about this weekend. There are many who don't do anything to honor those who died in service to the country. Some don't even know the history of the day, and simply look at it as a day off or a long weekend to take a trip to celebrate the start of summer. Unfortunately, this three day weekend tends to cause deaths of another kind - from accidents on the roads to drownings in lakes, etc. The total national deaths this year is estimated to be around 409 people. It is sad to think that a day to honor our military members who have died in service leads to so many deaths of those they died to protect.
There are many similarities to Christ in this chronicle. Christ came to serve and to give his life for us. He did this to protect us from God's wrath by paying the price for our sins. While we often see Jesus only as a Prince of Peace, he is also a conqueror. In his death on the cross he defeated Satan. In his resurrection he has conquered the grave. Our Lord and Savior died for all people, even those who hate him or don't even know him. Jesus has saved us from the ultimate enemy, from separation from God. He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power that are enemies of God. Christ reigns in our lives and has destroyed the last enemy, death!
1 Corinthians 15:24-26 (NIV) Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: we thank you for being our conqueror of all evil things, especially for defeating Satan and death when you paid the price for our sins on the cross. Help us by your Spirit to show our thanks to you by following your Father’s commandments and your example of love in all that we do to the best of our ability. When we fail, no matter how big or how many times, you are there to forgive us over and over again and to help us through all the wars of our lives. May we witness to others of your great love and mercy. In your name we pray, Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Song: Mighty to Save by Hillsong
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayers are lifted up daily for
you by the Devotional Writers
and the Monthly Writing Staff
of Women's Focus Ministries.
~~~~~~~~~~~
No comments:
Post a Comment