Verse for the week:
How great is your goodness, O Lord…which you have done in the sight
of all who put their trust in you. Psalm 31.19
Prayer for the week: “Merciful
God, you resist the proud but give grace to the humble. Help us to trust you utterly, to rest our
hope and confidence in you, and to serve you with pure hearts; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen” (K.B. Ritter, Gebete
fur das jahr der Kirche, 2nd ed. Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1948, p. 193).
Bible reading for the day: Ezekiel 33.7-11 (note: Ezekiel
was the Lord’s priest and preacher to our forebears from 593-571 BC; just
before and during their Exile to Babylon. He proclaims a warning and mercy from
the Lord.)
7 “So you, son of man, I have made a
watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth,
you shall give them warning from me. 8 If I say to
the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to
warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his
iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 But
if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his
way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have
delivered your soul.
10 “And you, son of
man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions
and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then
can we live?’ 11 Say to them, As I live,
declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from
your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Prayer (based on
T.R.I.P. method**): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for sending
watchmen with your word for us…and thank you for taking our transgressions and
sin upon yourself in Jesus Christ.
Repent me and your church of continuing in our old sin and of passively
tolerating the same in those around us… such only leads us to rot. Lord, you
take pleasure in delivering sinners from death to new life…so keep at it…and
use even me as one of your watchmen. I
ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Hymn: follow this link to a beloved, classic hymn
that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I
“I believe in Jesus
Christ, his only son, our Lord…
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
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the
Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. II
Cor 13.14
*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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