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: Matthew 15.7-20
(note: Using dietary laws like a ladder to climb toward heaven, the religious
leaders of Jesus’ day said that eating “unclean” foods and not washing your
hands defiles you. Jesus tells what
really defiles you.)
7So
for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of
God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of
you, when he said:
8 “‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
10 And he called the people to him and said to
them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what
goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth;
this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came
and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they
heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every
plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let
them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the
blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said
to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he
said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do
you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and
is expelled into the latrine? 18 But what
comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a
person. 19 For out of the heart come evil
thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false
witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a
person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
Prayer(based on TRIP** method): Gracious and almighty Father thank you for planting
me and my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Repent us of just talking religious talk… such only lands us in a pit.
Now and every hour Lord, create in me a clean heart… one that honors you from
the inside out, one that walks the walk of faith; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
“Thy kingdom come…”
What does this mean?
The kingdom of God comes
indeed by itself, without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may
also come to us.
How is this done?
God's kingdom comes when our
heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit, so that by his grace we believe his
holy Word and live a godly life now and in eternity. (from The Small
Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)
benediction:
And after you have suffered for a
little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in
Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you this
day. To him be the power forever and
ever. Amen. (I
Pet 5:10)
*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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