Verse for the week: God has made him both Lord and
Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Acts 2.36
Bible reading for the day: Judges 6.1-27(In the 12th-11th
century BC, the Lord raised up temporary leaders – judges – for his people. A
cycle repeated itself: “the people did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,”
the Lord gives them over to the consequences of their evil, then raises up a
judge to restore his people and bring them to repentance, to turn his beloved,
rebellious children back to him. Gideon was one such judge).
The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of
the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian
seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian overpowered
Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens
that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For
whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites
and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They
would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as
Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For
they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would
come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be
counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6 And
Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried
out for help to the Lord.
7 When the people of Israel
cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8 the Lord sent
a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says
the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you
out of the house of slavery. 9 And I delivered you
from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you,
and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 And
I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the
gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my
voice.”
11 Now the angel of
the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged
to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in
the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the
angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to
him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13 And
Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why
then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful
deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not
the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has
forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 And
the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and
save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15 And
he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan
is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” 16 And
the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall
strike the Midianites as one man.” 17 And he said
to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign
that it is you who speak with me. 18 Please do
not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it
before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”
19 So Gideon went into his
house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of
flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought
them to him under the terebinth and presented them. 20 And
the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put
them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did
so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord reached
out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the
unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat
and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his
sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that he was the
angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I
have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 But
the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall
not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to
the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day
it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
25 That night
the Lord said to him, “Take your father's bull, and the second bull
seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut
down the Asherah that is beside it 26 and
build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold
here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as
a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.” 27 So
Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him.
But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by
day, he did it by night.
Prayer (based on
T.R.I.P. method**): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for
your discipline of us, thank you for ultimately returning evil-doers like us to
you through Jesus Christ. Thank you! Deliver me and my congregation from
disobedience to you and from the worldly fear that keeps us from following you.
Speak Lord, pour out your Spirit upon us, raise up me and my congregation with
the valor to pull down the altars we make to false gods… and to lead us in
following you. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Hymn: follow this
link to a new hymn that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the
Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LvoE1vCeT8
“I believe in Jesus Christ…
What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ — true God, begotten of the
Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary — is my Lord.
He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, and has freed me from sin,
death, and the power of the devil, not with silver and gold, but with his holy
and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this
in order that I might be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him
in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as he is risen
from the dead and lives and reigns for all eternity. This is most certainly
true! (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther, ©Reclaim Resources,
Sola Publishing, 2011)
Benediction: The
peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Phil 4.7
*There are many patterns for devotions. This pattern has been followed by God’s
people for centuries.
**The T.R.I.P. approach to
prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray. It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid
Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria , MN
T:
thanksgiving
R: regret
(repentance)
I:
intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P:
plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and
then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s
prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on
God’s Word and talk to God.
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