7th. February. 2022. Daily Devotion.
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1:13-14
Screwtape: The Christians describe the Enemy (God) as one ‘without whom Nothing is strong’. And Nothing is very strong: strong enough to steal away a man’s best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why, in the gratification of curiosities so feeble that the man is only half aware of them, in drumming of fingers and kicking of heels, in whistling tunes that he does not like, or in the long, dim labyrinth of reveries that have not even lust or ambition to give them a relish, but which, once chance association has started them, the creature is too weak and fuddled to shake off.
You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy.
It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. ~ from “The Screwtape Letters” by C. S. Lewis
Lord, let me see and repent every spot of sin, no matter how small. Amen.
For Forgiveness
Almighty Father, I enter your presence confessing the things I try to conceal from you and the things I try to conceal from others. I confess the heartbreak, worry, and sorrow I have caused, that make it difficult for others to forgive me; the times I have made it easy for others to do wrong; and the harm I have done that makes it hard for me to forgive myself. Lord have mercy on me and forgive me for all my sins against you and against others. And teach the grace to forgive others to all who ask for it, through the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Covenant Prayer
I am no longer my own, but yours.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will, put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, exalted for you or brought low for you. Let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing: I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen. ~ John Wesley (1755)
A Prayer for Compassion
Lord, it is right and proper that those with hot tempers be cooled. Such is the case with many world leaders whose nations sit at the brink of war. For fear of escalating tensions, I ask that You send Your spirit of peace and compassion to facilitate the cooling of hostilities. Let love and forgiveness reign in the hearts of all, that the spirit of hate and strife would find no foothold in all the world through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
