Daily Devotion, October 14, 2020

 

Devotion: Read Ephesians 2:1-9.

During October, our Lutheran brothers and sisters will celebrate the life of Martin Luther (1483-1546). These verses in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith---and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God---not by works so that no one can boast,” were life-changing for Martin Luther, and as a result changed the course of the Christian church’s history.

Being reconciled to God is completely God’s gift. We continue to wrestle with this. Some like to believe that we are reconciled to God by our good works. Some like to believe that we are reconciled to God by having enough faith. Instead, these verses remind us that it is completely God’s gift to us. We can’t earn it, deserve it, do enough good works for it, be good enough for it, or even grovel enough for it. It is not we who are able to make peace with God, but God who makes peace with us through God’s own gift of Christ. There is nothing we can do but simply receive this gift offered by the grace of God.

I was taught in Greek classes to read Paul’s writings sometimes in reverse order. So now let’s see what a difference this gift of being reconciled to God can make in our lives! Before this gift, the scriptures tell us, “You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived…but God made us alive with Christ…and raised us up with Christ…” We have been brought from death unto life and not only life, but eternal life!!!

Our God, who initially breathed the very breath of life into us, is broken-hearted when we live in ways which lead to death, death of our bodies, souls, minds and hearts. Our God, “who is rich in mercy” is forever desiring to bring us to life again! Our part is to receive this gift of life!!!

Our good works then, are no longer works to earn salvation. Our good works are our “thank-you’s” to God for giving us this marvelous gift of grace through Christ!!! The purpose of our lives begins going in a new direction to live everyday in thanksgiving to God!!! Personal Worship Option: Thank you God for this marvelous gift you have given unto us to have life and life eternal! Help us to live lives in daily thanksgiving unto you by loving and serving others. Amen.

Daily Devotion, October 13, 2020

 

Devotion: Read John 8:1-11.

Jesus sits down at the temple mount to teach the crowds, when he is rudely interrupted by some teachers of the law and Pharisees trying hard to trap him, again. This time it’s a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. First of all, were they spying, or was this a set-up to catch the woman? Secondly, where’s the man? If they caught her in adultery, didn’t they catch him too? The whole thing doesn’t pass the smell test. So, they humiliate the woman and have her stand in the middle of the group. They ask if Jesus approves of stoning her. If he says no, he’s disobedient to the Law of Moses. If he says yes, he comes across as cruel, and no friend of sinners. They are testing whether he is loving or just. Finally Jesus stands to speak, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one they leave the scene, unable to take the position of judge. “I don’t judge you today either,” says Jesus to the woman. “But return home, and leave your life of sin.” With a master-stroke he is both loving and just. He is fair but not weak. He chooses to extend grace and mercy. Personal Worship Option: Do you treat those who have offended you with grace or fairness? We humans usually want God to deal with us in grace and our enemies with justice. But the Lord is reminding us to treat others as he has treated us, with grace and mercy. And that is not always what we would call fair. Ask God today to show you how to extend grace.

Daily Devotion, October 12, 2020

 

Devotion: Read Romans 5:1-11.

This letter from Paul to the house churches in Rome provides some of the most essential elements of Christian theology or doctrine, especially on the subject of our salvation. In the first three chapters, Paul makes the case that human beings sin and need to be saved. Then Paul proceeds to show that we cannot save ourselves. For that, we need God’s grace. Our part is simply to have faith and to accept the gift of grace. We think correctly of God as always acting and judging justly, treating us fairly and without bias, punishing the guilty and rewarding the innocent. The problem is that none of us are innocent!

While God indeed is just, an even more defining attribute is that God is love! Grace is God’s love poured out to us without our earning, meriting, or deserving it. That grace came in the form of God’s one and only Son, coming into the world to die for our sins. By Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we are counted or treated as righteous. Wow, that is Grace with a capital G! We remember this awesome grace in our liturgy for Holy Communion when we hear the words of confession and pardon that “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (verse 8) ... that proves God’s love for us!” Personal Worship Option: Pray with me, “Thank you, Almighty God, that you love me so deeply that you would send your Son to die for me, yes for me! Help me to believe more strongly each day in his death and resurrection. I do not deserve your love, but I accept it as grace and desire to walk in your ways by following the teachings of Christ. Amen” 

Daily Devotion, October 11, 2020

 

Devotion: Read Matthew 13:24-30.

If you have spent any time on a farm, out in a field or in a garden, you have seen the weeds. (Hey, I’ve got more than a few in my yard!) In certain crops or in a garden, the plants are spread out enough that you can pull up, or chop out, the weeds without doing damage to the plant you want to keep growing. But after a wheat field is far along in the growing season, you can’t pull up any of the weeds without damaging the wheat around it as well. It is another great image of everyday life that Jesus used to illustrate life in the kingdom.

In his Gospel, Matthew includes several stories and images about judgment. He was apparently dealing with a church that had grown lax in their service and faithfulness to God. But he also includes this story from Jesus, reminding Christians (then and now) who tend to want to do some judging of other people’s standing with God.  Making those kinds of judgments are not for any of us to do. Don’t worry about the weeds. God will deal with them when the time comes to do so. Personal Worship Option: Rather than judging others, including enemies, Jesus taught us to love them. What needs to change in your life so that you can better live that teaching?

Daily Devotion, October 10, 2020

 

Devotion: Read Revelation 21:1-8.

Judgment of every person who ever lived will be done at the end of time by God. “The Revelation” is part of the group of literature in the Bible known as “apocalyptic” meaning they deal with end times. John is given a vision of what is coming and writes it in coded language that only the people of God will understand. You see, much of what he writes about refers to powers and places of that time, as well as what will happen at the end of all time. One of the points of emphasis throughout is there are consequences to how we live our life and who we let guide our life. If we let God guide our life, we get to experience what the first seven verses of this passage offer; but if we have not placed our life in God’s hands, we will find ourselves among the list of verse eight and suffer grave consequences because of our choice.

There is another message we can glean from this book that relates to our focus in worship this Sunday: since God is going to take care of judging everyone in the end, we need not concern ourselves with doing so. None of us get to choose who is in or out with God, whether now or at the end of time. Our job is to live and share the love of Christ and let God do the judging. Personal Worship Option: What person or group are you most tempted to judge? Pray that God will help you overcome that temptation and give you the opportunity and power to offer them Christ’s love instead.

Daily Devotion, October 9, 2020

 

Devotion: Read Luke 9:51-56.

This passage gives us a glimpse into a potential clash of culture, prejudice, and pride. Just a little background: the Assyrians invaded Israel (the Northern kingdom) and resettled it with its own people. The mixed race that developed became known as the Samaritans. The “purebred” Jews hated these people and the Samaritans in turn hated the Jews. So many tensions arose between the two people groups that Jewish travelers between Galilee and Judea often walked around rather than through Samaritan territory, even though this lengthened the trip considerably. Jesus held no such prejudices and so planned his trip through Samaria. But the village refused to welcome these Jewish travelers. James and John were so incensed by this rejection they wanted to send down fire from heaven to consume all the people. Jesus rebuked them and moved on to another place.

When others reject or scorn us, we too may feel like retaliating. We must remember that judgement belongs to God, and we must not expect him to use his power to carry out our personal vendettas. Personal Worship Option: Are you quick to judge? Is retaliation the first thing that comes to mind when you experience rejection? How does loving God and loving others affect your view of personal slight/rejection?

Daily Devotion, October 8, 2020

 

Devotion: Read Matthew 25:31-46.

Those who claim to carry the name of Christ are held accountable in how they live their lives. Claiming to live for Christ and not actually exemplifying that in our actions can question our commitment. This passage points to a crucial point that is part of the Christian life, which is when we treat people with love, kindness and grace we are actually showing love and obedience to Christ because that is what He has called us to do. Christ calls His children to live in a way that sets an example of who He is.

 

One more point that this passage makes is that there will come a day in which we are all held accountable by our actions. The day when Jesus calls us into His presence to give an account for how we have lived our lives. However, if we truly are followers of Christ then He will recognize us as His children. It is critical to realize that when Jesus returns He will be judging people based on the fruit they produced with their time on the earth. He will not be quizzing them on their theology. He will not be asking people if they read the KJV or the NIV. He will not be asking people if they believed the 5 points of Calvinism or if they went to a church that had a drum kit. None of these things will be of concern. What Jesus will be looking for are the ones who served Him faithfully by walking in the Spirit and producing good fruit. Personal Worship Option: We must all ask ourselves, what kind of Christian am I? Do I love others? Do I show my faith through actions or do I just talk about it? Am I using my influence for good or for self-importance? In the end it will be our way of living that reflects the state of our hearts.