Verse for the week: For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you
are light. Live as children of light— Ephesians 5.8
Prayer for the week: “Lord God, whose strength is sufficient for all who lay hold on it,
grant us in you to comfort our hearts and be strong. Humility, meekness, temperance, purity,
largeheartedness, sympathy, zeal – grant us these evidences of faith, servants
of hope, fruits of love; for the sake of Jesus Christ, our strength, our
righteousness, and our hope of glory.
Amen. (Christina Rossetti, quoted in Fox, A Chain of Prayer, p.161).
Bible reading for the day: Colossians
1.15-23
15He
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For
by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created
through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him
all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the
church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he
might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased
to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And
you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he
has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you
holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you
continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the
gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under
heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and
in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's
afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of
which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was
given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the
mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To
them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches
of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and
teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present
everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I
toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within
me.
prayer(based on
the TRIP** method): Gracious and almighty
Father, thank you for Jesus: in him all things hold together, even for sinners
like us. Deliver us from the trap of searching for any other glue, any other
foundation, any other head… because that’s when everything falls apart. By your
sheer grace, present us holy and blameless… keep us stable and steadfast in
Christ… and use us daily as your ministers... that we may present everyone
mature in Christ. I ask this in his name, amen.
“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 Lord will keep you from all
evil; he will keep your life.
The
Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
From
this time on and forevermore. Ps 121.7-8
*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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