Verse
for the week: “For God alone my
soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.” Psalm 62.5
Prayer for this week: “Lord, open our ears and hearts, that we may heed
your hidden wisdom and let your word be a light to our path. Speak to us through your living word, that we
may obey your call and follow him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ our Savior,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
(K.B. Ritter, Gebete für das jahr
der Kirche, 2nd ed.
Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1948, p.180 )
Bible reading for the day: I Corinthians
12.12-20
For just as the body is
one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one
body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized
into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one
Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of
many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not
belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16
And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to
the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If
the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole
body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it
is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19
If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it
is, there are many parts, yet one body.
Prayer (based on TRIP** method): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for redeeming
us by your Son’s blood and sending us into the world as your body. Interdependence is healthy for your body… and
quite difficult for human sinners like us.
Repent us of arrogance and of loving the sound of our own voice. It’s your church, not ours, Lord. So, pour out the excellent, transforming love
of Christ upon us… build up your body under him who is the head, Jesus Christ,
and send us into the world as witnesses to you, our one and only Lord. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“I believe in the Holy Spirit…”
What does this mean?
I believe that I cannot by my
own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him; but the
Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts,
and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith. In the same way, he calls,
gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and
preserves it in unity with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this
Christian church, he daily forgives abundantly all my sins and the sins of all
believers. At the last day, he will raise me and all the dead and will grant
everlasting life to me and to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly
true! (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources,
Sola Publishing, 2011)
Benediction: Now to him who by the power at work within us is
able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him
be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and
ever. Amen. (Eph 3:20-21)
*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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