This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. (NIV)
TO PONDER
I was recently watching the 2005 movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” when a question suddenly occurred to me, who do I relate to most in the movie? Or to take it a step further, who am I in the story, which character most represents me?
That’s when I was struck with a bit of a revelation, not one of those ‘joyful’ revelations that instantly builds you up but rather one of those revelations which knocks you down a bit when the truth hits you! I was in fact Edmund, the spoilt, spiteful, mean-spirited Edmund.
Paul reminds us in Romans 3 that we are all, in fact Edmund-esque. In Romans 3:9-26 he reminds us that we are useless, unrighteous, foul-mouthed, liars, and bitter just to paraphrase a few verses from this uplifting section of Paul’s letter… See Edmund-esque! But, that’s not how God sees us on the other-side of grace.
In the movie we see how Aslan the lion steps in to give his life for Edmund. Edmund who didn’t deserve forgiveness; Edmund who was the epitome of all the negatives described in Romans 3. Aslan the Jesus-esque character in C.S. Lewis’s novels knew who Edmund was on the other-side of grace. Today’s verse is not a reminder of a prosperity gospel, a ‘name-it-and-claim-it’ theology but rather it’s a reminder of our identity on the other-side of grace. To remind us that what Jesus already did for us allows us to speak boldly to God despite of what we've done.
It’s all about grace.
PRAYER: Saviour Jesus, I thank you that we can confidently, in boldness bring our asking to God not because of what we did but because of what you did for us on the cross. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
TO PONDER
What’s your ‘go-to” excuse for not sharing your faith to your friends, for not telling people about Jesus?
"I don’t know enough of the Bible to tell people about God!", "I’m not paid to share the Gospel, that’s for the pastors to do", "I wouldn’t know what to say", or maybe even "we’re Lutherans we don’t do that type of thing"…
I was reading a book recently called “Righteous Brood” by Hugh Halter (If you’re reading this post I would encourage you to order this book from www.shopacr.com.au) where he talked about an excuse often used by good church going Christians to not go out on our mission; “We talk and pray about things, but we don’t go.”
This is what Jesus was talking about in today’s verses, He was telling the religious leaders that their religion was the very thing that was stopping them from discovering who their religion was talking about and what His mission was. The religious leaders were spending all their time at church, talking, praying and reading about God and were in fact missing Him as He had moved into the neighbourhood and was walking on mission amongst them.
So to paraphrase today’s verses, “Do we perhaps spend all our time at church making excuses why we can’t go on mission, instead of inviting our neighbours over for dinner, speaking the gospel boldly through hospitality?” …
PRAYER: Almighty God, I repent for all my excuses and the religion I use to stop me from speaking boldly and share your grace to those around me. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
“All people are like grass, and their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever”.
TO PONDER
VDMA - Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum – The Word of the Lord Endures Forever. That was the motto of the Lutheran Reformation as they defended their new understanding of grace against the German princes. Maybe we don’t need to engrave it on our swords and shields these days, but it wouldn’t hurt to tattoo it over our hearts, to wear it on our sleeves, to make it as much a part of us as routinely getting up every morning. Realistically, our lives are so short, temporary as a flower that blooms one morning and is spent and withered in a couple of days. Jesus is the Word became human, humanly temporary like the flowers of the field for a short time here on earth, but enduring forever as Word, Son of God, with God from the very beginning, with us forever in his Spirit.
May we and all people see and bend the knee to his power, may we recognise our frailty and his majesty, and give thanks that we are part of his-story, the story of creation from the beginning of time, and that we are part of His eternity.
Prayer: Jesus, reside in my heart, from each day, through death into the adventures you have waiting for me in eternity, when I shall see you face to face and gasp in wonder at the story fully revealed. Amen
Today's devotion written by Barb Niczynski, LifeWay Illawarra.
“The LORD is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation”.
TO PONDER
This is the first part of a song that Moses and the Israelites sang after the parting of the Red Sea by God. They escaped the Egyptians soldiers who perished as the Red Sea closed and drowned them. This song is full of past tense, recalling what God has done for them, present tense, as they declare Gods victory, and future tense as they declare their trust that God will continue to lead them to the promised land of Canaan. In reality, the next 40 years in the wilderness were full of wavering between joy in Gods provision and complaining and distrust that it was never enough. I look back on my life (as an older person now), and see the bigger picture of God’s provision, leadership, and grace despite my bouts of complaining and distrust. Life is full of ups and downs, but we live in the present tense of God’s IS, and the future tense of God’s WILL BE, as we remember and appreciate the past tense of God’s DID.
Prayer: Jesus, what do you want to do for me today, for myself or for others, this week, this month? May I be receptive to hear and see it, experience it with joy, and place it in the memory box of what you have done for me, to look back on, and revisit in dark days that may come. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Barb Niczynski, LifeWay Illawarra.
“Through him we received grace and were given the work of being an emissary on his behalf promoting trust-grounded obedience among all the Gentiles”. CJSB
TO PONDER
Gentiles here can be translated as nations, ethnic groups, non-Jews, pagans, or heathens. Doesn’t that old word ‘heathens’ conjure up old missionary preachers banging on the pulpit, threatening weeping, and gnashing of teeth for those who won’t accept the gospel. Before we get on our self-righteous high horse and reach out to others, we must admit that we ourselves are also Gentiles, and see the ‘heathen’ within our hearts, the outsider in ourselves, or our own sinful nature, our shadow side, whatever you want to call it. We are saved only by the grace of God. Today, followers of Jesus are of diminishing importance and value in our society. But from a place of honest vulnerability, we can reach out to others offering the grace of Jesus, the fellowship of the Spirit, the gentle hand of the Father. For how can we recognise grace unless we have known it, how can we see grace in others unless we see it in Gods work within us, how can they live in obedience to Jesus if we don’t let them see our broken pieces and show them Jesus fully alive in us?
Prayer: Jesus, as we see our own lack, remind us that in your grace we lack nothing, and so we have everything to give to others, your grace, your mercy, your love. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Barb Niczynski, LifeWay Illawarra.
“Her [wisdom's] ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace”. CJSB (Complete Jewish Study Bible)
TO PONDER
My NIV bible heads this chapter “Wisdom bestows Well-Being”, but I also like what I read in my Jewish Study Bible Intro to Proverbs: “Wisdom is not an inborn trait, temperament, or intellectual acumen, but rather an experiential relationship to the Creator.” Sometimes we refer to the Holy Spirit as Wisdom, or even Lady Wisdom. Today’s verse is about peace, and it says, “all her paths are peace”, not just some days, some moments, some situations. It reminds us that all her paths are peace, not just the good days, but the tough days, the unsettling days, the terrible days, or for me the dry barren days. These are the very days we rest in the peace of the Spirit, whether we feel it or not. With absolute trust we place ourselves at the centre of the Spirit of God within our own spirit, our own soul, our own mind, and own body. Then I am part of something larger, better, safer, and more peaceful than I can ever accomplish in my own ways.
Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, Wisdom of God, bring your peace to our hearts, souls, minds, and spirit today and centre us in your presence. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Barb Niczynski, LifeWay Illawarra.
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” NIV
TO PONDER
Do we live knowing that we are not just forgiven, but accepted and loved in our state of brokenness, despite out failings and mishaps as we ‘miss the mark’?
If we live in that state of acceptance, there is a freedom to continue in the day, to turn around from the mishap, living in the grace of Jesus, growing, and learning in the guidance of the Spirit, gaining strength and wisdom as we walk in the Truth. If we don’t, we live rejecting that grace, negating the work of the Jesus and the cross, ruled by our guilt and shame, succumbing to a smaller and rigid containment of our own spirit as we try to live in our own righteousness, instead of God’s righteousness; our being right with God through Jesus.
PRAYER: Jesus, we cry out to you as the parent seeking healing for his child. “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief!” Let me walk in your righteousness today. (Mark 9:24).
Today's devotion written by Barb Niczynski, LifeWay Illawarra
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” NIV
TO PONDER
Truth is a tricky business. The Pharisees had their truth: Jesus declared himself to be the Truth. The believing Jews came to see the Truth and found him; the Pharisees could not see past their own truth or accept those who questioned their truth, especially Jesus who declared himself the I AM.
Maybe the world has not changed that much after all in this regard. What truth do I live by? To be honest, most of us probably live with convenient bits of Jesus’ Truth mish-mashed with our own concept of truth into something that is palatable for our psyche, lifestyle or even denomination. There is not much freedom in that kind of control over Truth. But the verse starts with “then” so the previous verse must be important for it to make sense. Verse 31 says to believe Jesus, hold to his teachings and really be his disciples….ahh, then… I will know the truth, Jesus, and he will set me free.
PRAYER: Jesus, help me to understand that freedom is not the end reward, but the journey itself, freedom to believe, freedom to understand your teachings, freedom to be discipled by you, finding freedom in experience, whether good or bad, that leads me to you, the Truth. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Barb Niczynski, LifeWay Illawarra
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
TO PONDER
When did you last read Ephesians in one sitting? I love the flow of Ephesians. Chapter 1 has Paul’s famous prayer for enlightenment, hope and power, chapter 2 has Luther's cornerstone “saved by grace, created to do good works”, chapter 3 has Paul’s prayer for insight and understanding, chapter 4 focuses on unity and maturity, leading into chapter 5, being filled with the Spirit. The first verses of chapter 6 are about relationships with others and God, and then verse 10 starts with “Finally”. This word pulls together the previous chapters into a conclusive “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”. It is followed by the how and why – the famous armour of God passage that names our enemy and prepares us for battle, just as Jesus battled in the desert with the Enemy. May our future direction always come from our Triune God as we move forward in his power.
PRAYER: Our blessed Trinity of Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, may we all be strong in Jesus and live in his power, courage and daring. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Barb Niczynski, LifeWay Illawarra