THU 8/10

A DEN OF ROBBERS

"It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers." (Luke 19:46) "No matter how beautiful the architecture of a church may be, no matter how pious the parishioners may seem, & no matter how many good works a church may do, it is a den of robbers if the Word of God is not present . . . Christianity is about the Word of God. It always has been & always will be. Where we find the Word of God, we find Jesus. And where we find Jesus, we find the Word of God . . . We should cry a thousand tears when the Word of God leaves a church. Our blood should boil when the Word of God is replaced in churches with foolish, empty chatter that disguises itself as the word of God. Houses of worship & prayer are about forgiveness, life, & salvation; a den of robbers is about sin, death, & the devil. Lord, protect my church from losing the Word & becoming a den of robbers. Keep me in the Word. Lord, in Your mercy, hear my prayer. Amen." Matthew Richard, Minute Messages

SUFFERING

"God called you to endure suffering because Christ suffered for you. He left you an example so that you could follow in His footsteps." (1 Peter 2:21) "Suffering might seem impossible to handle, but in the grand scheme of things it's only temporary. And wen you live through it with faith that God will use it all for good, you learn more than you could ever learn in the good times. You, God Guy, should not fear suffering but should know that it is far better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Think about the life of Christ:  He suffered beyond belief on the day they hung Him on that cross, yet He never fought back or resisted the trial. He never argued His case but did the very thing He now asks us to do:  endure hardship in faith, knowing that God can be trusted." Michael DiMarco, Devotions for the God Guy