Daily Devotions

Friday, November 21

Every Christian a Leader

Matthew 23:11 - He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

It is well to remember that those who are let by the Spirit of God will often be considered "losers" by the world-at-large.  This is because they follow Jesus Christ, and His leadership is synonymous with servanthood.  It is because they, rather than resolving the conflicts and problems of the world, point to the new kingdom and to their God who alone can resolve the conflicts and struggles of humanity.  Rather than promoting themselves and their own glory, they lead people in glorifying God.  Instead of promising people success, they challenge them to make sacrifices; instead of comforting them in their self-centeredness and apathy, they provoke them into accepting responsibility for the poor and the less fortunate about them.  Instead of being leaders of people, they take the lead in being servants to people, seeking to lead them into spiritual fulfillment, as well as responding to their physical needs.  This is because they are lovers of people rather than masters over people, and they dedicate themselves to communicating and demonstrating, in word and deed, God's saving love and grace to His creatures about them.

All this refers not only to leaders, but to every one of us, for we are all called to be servants of our heavenly Father and of our fellow beings among whom we live and work.  In a very real sense we are all leaders of one sort or another, at least in the measure that we seek to "lead" others to Christ.  We can't drive people to the Lord; we must lead them.  We can do this only through servanthood, not through domination or mastery.

I thank You, my Lord, for the many who have influenced my

life and living and for those who have led me to the Living

Waters of your love and grace.  I thank You for those who

continue to provoke and challenge me as I walk in Your ways

and commit myself to Your purposes in seeking to lead others

to Your saving grace.  Amen.

Saturday, November 22

A Prayer about a Gospel Tattoo

Titus 3:4-7 - But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Heavenly Father, if I were into tattoos and this Scripture weren't so long, I might consider having it inked onto my body.  I need to have this amazing summary of the gospel ever before my eyes.  I just too easily forget.  Much better than getting a tattoo, however, is knowing you've already written this truth on my heart with indelible ink.

You're succh an outrageously generous God.  Your kindness and love appeared to me out of nowhere, like a giant full moon on the horizon of a very dreary night.  I wasn't seeking you, Father, but you were seeking me - running to me, running after me, not to harm but to rescue me from both paralyzing guilt and foolish pride.  I praise you for you multiplied mercies.

And what a "bath" in the gospel you gave me - washing me, once and for all, through the new birth.  Now you continue to renew, revive, and refresh me through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, poured forth like a healing waterfall.  All of these blessings come so freely because you've give Jesus so fully.

Now that you've justified me by your grace, the rest of my life is defined by heirship and hope.  Though I sometimes feel and act like a fatherless, futureless orphan, nothing could be further from the truth.  The saints in heaven are happier but no more secure than I am.  You will bring to completion the good work you've begun in us and in the entire universe.  I pray in Jesus' glorious name.  Amen.

Sunday, November 23

Christ, The Blessed One, who Does Not Change

Matthew 11:29-30 - Take my yoke upon you . . .For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 28:18 - Jesus came and spoke unto them . . .All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

I feel great sorrow for those who read the Sermon on the Mount and then conclude that Jesus was providing a word picture of men and women comprising the human race.  In this world, we find nothing approaching the virtues of which Jesus spoke in the Beatitudes.

Instead of poverty of spirit, we find the rankest kind of pride.  Instead of mourners, we find pleasure seekers.  Instead of meekness, we find only arrogance, and instead of hunger after righteousness, we hear men saying, "I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing!"  Instead of mercy, we find cruelty.  Instead of purity of heart, we encounter corrupt imaginings.  Instead of peacemakers, we find me quarrelsome and resentful, fighting back with every weapon at their command.

Jesus said He came to release us from our sad heritage of sin.  Blessed is the sinner who finds that Christ's words are the Truth itself; that He is the Blessed One who came from above to confer blessedness upon mankind!

You will have to prove it to me if you are among those who claim that Jesus Christ refuses to do for you something that He has done for any other of His disciples!  I address this to all those who insist that the gifts of the Spirit ended when the last apostle died.  They have never furnished chapter and verse for their position.

When some men beat the cover off their Bible to demonstrate how they stand for the Word of God, they should be reminded that they are only standing by their own interpretation!  

I find nothing in the Bible that says the Lord has changed.  He has the same love, the same grace, the same mercy, the same power, the same desires for the blessings of His children. We can claim all that God has promised us as Christians of the Church of the mighty Redeemer and Deliverer, who is eternally the Victor, the Rock of Ages.  Let us never forget that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Monday, November 24

Reading the Psalms with Luther

Psalm 110

The 110th psalm is a prophecy of Christ, that He shall be an eternal king and priest, indeed true God, sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and that He would be glorified and recognized.  In the entire Scripture there is nothing like this psalm.  It would be right to acknowledge it as the chief confirmation of the Christian faith.  For nowhere else is Christ prophesied with such clear, plain words as a priest and an eternal priest.  It is prophesied as well that the priesthood of Aaron would be abolished.  This psalm is yet again and more splendidly extolled in the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is indeed a shame that such a psalm is not more richly extolled by Christians.

Psalm 110

Sit at My Right Hand

1 The Lord says to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”

2 The Lord sends forth from Zion
    your mighty scepter.
    Rule in the midst of your enemies!
3 Your people will offer themselves freely
    on the day of your power,
    in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning,
    the dew of your youth will be yours.
4 The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
    after the order of Melchizedek.”

5 The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
    filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
    over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
    therefore he will lift up his head.

Prayer

Praise and honor belong to You, everlasting Word, because You were made flesh and sacrificed Yourself upon the cross as the offering for sin.  Govern us according to Your wisdom; defend us against our enemies; speak for us with Your Father, and let us live under You in Your kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.  Amen.

Tuesday, November 25

Luther's Small Catechism

The Apostles' Creed - The Forgiveness of Sins

Why do you say, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins"?

I believe in the forgiveness of sins because through Christ God has declared pardon and forgiveness to all sinful humanity

Psalm 130:3-4 - If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.

2 Cor. 5:19 - In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.

What moves God to forgive us?

God forgives sin because He is merciful and because of Christ's atoning sacrifice for sinners.

Psalm 86:15 - You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

John 3:16 - God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Eph. 1:7 - In [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of [God's] grace.

1 John 2:2 - He is the propitiation of our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

How is it possible for a just and holy God to declares sinners righteous (justification)?

God declares sinners righteous for Christ's sake; that is, our sins have been imputed or charged to Christ, the Savior, and Christ's righteousness has been imputed or credited to us.

2 Cor. 5:21 - [God] made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Rom. 3:22-24 - There is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Rom. 4:25 - [He] was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Where does God offer the forgiveness of sins?

God offers the forgiveness of sins in the Gospel.

Luke 24:47 - Repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations.

Rom. 1:16 - I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

2 Cor. 5:19 - [He has entrusted] to us the message of reconciliation.

How do you receive this forgiveness of sins?

I receive this forgiveness through faith, that is, by believing the Gospel.

Gen. 15:6 - [Abram] believed the Lord, and He counted it to his as righteousness.

Rom. 3:28 - One is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Rom 4:5 - To the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

Why can and should I be sure of the forgiveness of my sins?

I can and should be sure of the forgiveness of my sins because God keeps His promises in Christ.

Rom. 8:38-39 - I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Tim. 1:12 - I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.

Why must we firmly hold to this teaching of justification by grace, for Christ's sake, through faith?

We must firmly hold to this teaching because

A. it is the most important doctrine of the Christian religion;

Acts 4:12 - There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Acts 10:43 - To Him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.

B. it distinguishes the Christian religion form false religions, all of which teach salvation by works;

Gal. 5:4-5 - You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.  For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

C. it gives enduring comfort to the penitent sinner;

Acts 16:30-31, 34 - "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household" . . .He rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Matt. 9:2 - Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven.

D. it gives all glory to God for His grace and mercy in Christ.

Rev. 1:5-6 - To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and has made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Wednesday, November 26

Persistent Prayer

Luke 18:1 - Men always ought to pray and not lose heart.

A friend of mine has been a woman of prayer for many years.  She has received countless answers form God, but sometimes she is disheartened because certain prayers for loved ones remain unanswered.  Yet she keeps on praying, encouraged by the parable in Luke 18. This story features a widow who badgered a heartless judge for help and finally got it.

Jesus ended His parable with a question: If an unrighteous and disrespectful judge finally answers a pestering widow's pleas for help, shall not God answer His own children who cry to Him day and night? (v. 7-8). The expected answer: "Of course He will!"

George Muller (1805-1898), pastor and orphanage director, was known for his faith and persistent prayer.  Whenever he prayed for specific needs for his orphanage, God sent exactly what was required.  Yet for more than forty years he also prayed for the conversion of a friend and his friend's son.  When Muller died, these men were still unconverted.  God answered those prayers however, in His own time.  The friend was converted while attending Muller's funeral, and the son a week later!

Do you have a special burden or request?  Keep on praying! Trust your loving heavenly Father to answer according to His wisdom and timing.  God honors persistent prayer!

Don't think that you are finished,

Just trust God's love and care;

Delays are not denials;

Persist in faith and prayer.

Thursday, November 27

He Always Answers

Daniel 9:21 - While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel . . .reached me.

Daniel was determined to pray regularly, and it got him thrown into the lion's den (Daniel 6).  But have you ever noticed how God answered his prayers?

In Daniel 9, we learn that Daniel had been reading Jeremiah's prophecy that the exile of the Israelites was supposed to end after seventy years.  So Daniel prayed that God would not delay the end of the captivity.  He confessed Israel's sin and asked for God's intervention.

Then, while Daniel was praying, God not only sent an answer but He also sent His angel Gabriel to deliver it.  Daniel said, "While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel . . . being caused to fly swiftly, reached me" (v. 21).  In other words, before Daniel had even finished his prayer, God heard it and immediately sent Gabriel with the answer (vv. 22-23).

Yet, on another occasion when Daniel prayed, Scripture tells us that the messenger God sent with the answer took three weeks to arrive (10:12-13).

We can learn important lessons from Daniel about how God answers our prayers today.  Sometimes God sends the answer immediately.  Sometimes the answer is delayed.  Either way, He always answers.

It matters no what tongue we speak,

Nor where life's pathway leads;

God hears the cries His children raise

And always meets our needs.

Friday, November 28

Portraits of Devotion

Acts 28:15 - The believers from there had heard the news about us and had come to meet us . . .When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

Many people believe in Christ as Savior yet never sense a brotherhood or sisterhood with other Christians.  In Paul's life, however, I see three strands that formed the cord of brotherhood he felt with other believers.

1. Paul believed in the power of prayer and in our spiritual poverty without it.  Over and over in his letters, Paul assured churches of his prayers. He didn't just ask God to bless them.  Paul jealously sought God's best for them.  He asked big things of God because he knew God had big things to give. Paul had experienced the riches of an intimate relationship with Christ.  He wanted other believers to experience those same riches.
2. Paul believed that part of his calling was to share his gifts and faith with other Christians.  He truly believed that Christians has an obligation to one another as well as to the lost.  In 1 Corinthians 12:12 he said, "The body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body".  Without apology, Paul instructed believer, as "parts" of the a "body" of Christ, to recognize their obligation to one another - and their need for one another.  Generally speaking, my spiritual gifts were given for your edification, your spiritual gifts were give for mine.
3. Paul desired to see all people come to Christ.  He preached to anyone who would listen, and he considered any convert a brother or sister.  All were equally in need of salvation, and all were equally loved by God.  At fist consideration we may fully believe we share his attitude, but sometimes we struggle with the equality of all believers.  We may desire to see all people saved regardless of their race and position, but we don't necessarily want them to attend church with us.

Paul was greatly encouraged by the brothers who met him in Rome.  Their faces were unfamiliar, but they each had been washed in the bloode of Jesus Christ.  They were family.  God used prayer, a sense of mutual obligation, and a sense of equality to bind their hearts.  Paul's example teaches us that a sense of community is not derived from the actions and attitudes of others towards us, but from our actions  and attitudes toward them.  As we imitate his approach to other believers, we will form cords of love not quickly broken.

Saturday, November 29

Keeping Away The Elephants

Philippians 4:6 - Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer . . .let your requests be made known to God.

A man was sitting on a park bench shredding old newspapers and spreading them around.  "What are you doing?" asked a bystander.  "I'm spreading this paper around to keep the elephants away."  The visitor looked around the well-kept city park. "I don't see any elephants," he said.  The man smiled. "Works pretty good, doesn't it," he replied.

Worry is like that.  We expend a lot of energy on problems that don't exist.  Yes, I know we all face real problems, but we often create additional ones by thinking of all the bad things that might happen but never do.

One of the great challenges for worriers is to turn every care into a prayer and then to stop there, leaving it with God.  Some people find this difficult to do, perhaps because they are pessimistic or sensitive by nature.  But there is hope!

Paul's counsel in Phillippians 4:6 is not a mechanical formula but a tested reality.  He had found peace and contentment (v. 7-11).  Yet, notice the phrase in verse 12: "I have learned." Learning takes time.  It is a process marked by trial and error, and by perseverance.  Aren't you glad that our teacher, the Lord Jesus, is patient with us - even when we tear up papers and spread them around?

Help me, Lord, to place my worries

At Your feet in prayer,

Then to trust Your love and goodness

As I leave them there.

Sunday, November 30

Five Things to Say To A Friend Today

Romans 12:12-13 - Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

I remember sitting in the smelly middle school gym like it was yesterday.  I'd survived the awkward and much-dreaded moments of changing into my PE uniform in the girl's locker room. And now I sat on the hard bleachers listening to the squeak of tennis shoes, the uneven cadence of bouncing balls, the teacher's sharp whistle, and the girls laughing behind me.

They weren't laughing "with" me. That would have mean I was accepted, wanted, and invited in to be a part of their group. No, they were laughing "at" me.  I was the subject of their gossip.  I was the punchline of their jokes. And it hurt.

I imagine you know that hurt too.  Change the scenery and people, and this same hurt can be found in most of our lives:

• When your coworkers all make plans to go to lunch, but you weren't invited.
• When that other preschool mom says, "Several of us moms are concerned with how aggressive your child seems on the playground."
• When everyone else's social media makes marriage look dreamy and uber-romantic as you're crying yourself to sleep.

But on the other hand, there are also those beautiful moments when a friend steps in with a gentle smile and a few simple words of encouragement, and suddenly you're not alone.

I want to be that friend for you today.  Through this devotional, we've spent a lot of time diving into our stories so we can move forward as healthy and whole people.  But there's another step.  We can use our healing perspective to create healing opportunities for others.

Can I challenge you with what I believe are the five best things one can say to a friend?  And then might you give the gift of saying these things to a friend today?

" You're Wonderful" 

(Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope."

The world is quick to tell us all the ways we fall short.  We are hyper-aware of our faults and frailties.  So what a precious gift to remind a friend of specific ways she's a wonderful friend, a wonderful mom, a wonderful wife, a wonderful coworker, a wonderful person.  This will be more than just a compliment.  This is helping infuse a little joy into her hope.

"Me Too."

(Romans 12:12 "patient in affliction")

What a blessing to remind a friend we all have afflictions, hurts, faults, and tender places.  We all get sick both emotionally and physically.  The patient friend freely gives grace because she so desperately needs it herself. "Me too" acknowledges I'm no better than you, but together we are stronger.  It's such a loving and disarming admission that we're all in this together.

"I'll Pray."

(Romans 12:12 "faithful in prayer")

Wouldn't it be wonderful to tell a friend every time you see a specific color, object, or number, you'll use it as a reminder to pray for her?  And when you do, shoot her a quick text letting her know.

"I'll Share."

(Romans 12:13 "Share with the Lord's people who are in need.")

When we notice a need in friends' life, might we be willing to step in be part of the solution? Recently, I had a friend whose wedding plans to elope were canceled due to illness.  My family pulled our resources together and has a small wedding planned for them in eight hours.  It wasn't the perfect day they envisioned, but we showed up for them in the best way we could to make their day beautiful.  And us just simply seeing the need, and sharing what we had to make her day special, made the sweetest memories for her.  She even later wrote in a post on her social media, "It was the most magical day."

"Come Over."

(Romans 12:13 "Practice hospitality.")

Welcoming a friend inside the sacred space of our home is such a needed gesture.  There's just something about relationships that are less pixelated when we get eye to eye, voice to voice, and talk.  Really talk.  Over broken bread we share broken hearts.  And then we celebrate the parts of us that are still intact.  We reach across the table and across our differences to grab hold of the glorious bond of friendship.

I've found as we purposefully ease the loneliness ache in others, we will see it is beautifully eased in us.

Dear Lord, thank Your for the gift of friendship I have 

with the women I get to do life with.  I pray today that 

You would show me how to uplift, encourage, and 

meet a need in those around me in my community.

Put someone on my heart today who needs a touch of

love and encouragement.  In Jesus' name, Amen.