29th. April. 2021. Daily Devotion.
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.
James 1:17-18
More thoughts from C J Sproul
“God never changes. With him there is “no shadow of turning.” This suggests not only that God is immaterial and therefore incapable of casting a shadow, but also that there is no “shadow side,” in a figurative or moral sense, to God. Shadows suggest darkness, and in spiritual terms darkness suggests evil. Since there is no evil in God, there is no hint of darkness in Him either. He is the Father of lights.
One of the most popular New Testament verses is Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” This text on divine providence is as difficult to comprehend as it is popular. If God is able to make everything that happens to us work together for our good, then ultimately everything that happens to us is good.
We must be careful to stress here the word ultimately. On the earthly plane things that happen to us may indeed be evil. (We must be careful not to call good, evil or evil, good.) We encounter affliction, misery, injustice, and a host of other evils. Yet God in His goodness transcends all of these things and works them to our good. For the Christian there are no tragedies. Ultimately, the providence of God works all these proximate evils for our final benefit.”
Lord, let me always remember your perfect goodness. Amen.
Prayer for Mercy
I confess with faith and adore You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, uncreated and immortal essence, creator of angels, of humans, and of all that exists. Have mercy upon Your Creatures and upon me, a great sinner. Amen.
~ St. Nersess, 4th century Armenian.
Meditation
“I would rather stand with God and be judged by the world, than stand with the world and be judged by God.”
~ John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople, 5th century.
Dedication to Service
Now, O heavenly Father, I ask to be called as a witness to your love by the love I extend to others; a precursor of your justice by my unfailing commitment to what is right and good; a lamp set on a hill, reflecting the light of Christ in my forgiveness, mercy and compassion; and a harvester of souls through my humble and dedicated servanthood. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Pandemic Prayer
We come to you, Healer and Friend; You who understand us so much better than we understand ourselves; You come to permeate our human condition; to walk with the bruised peoples and places of our time; to enfold the wounded and the weary; to offer us an inner springtime.
Your song pierces even our darkest days, and you accompany us, when our bodies are racked with pain, when our minds are in confusion, when our self-esteem is lost, when our failures overwhelm, when our faith falters, when our relationships break down, when in our loneliness we move beyond our tears and know the agony of abandonment.
~ Peter Millar.
