Priceless treasure now already yours

...you needn't displace your heart😊

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 unshaken.  Humility, 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: Luke 12.22-34

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁶ If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. ³⁰ For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

³² “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

prayer(based on the TRIP** method):  Gracious and almighty Father, you have given me in Christ Jesus truest treasure: the forgiveness of my sins, life, and salvation. Thank you! I cannot nor need not add a single bit more, I can only diminish your gift by my little, doubting faith… so repent me and my congregation of any anxiety about this life. You have already given us the kingdom… so again today, each hour, rest my heart in Christ rather than in myself; in Jesus’ name I ask this. Amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord (it is worth it to slow down and sing along😊): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c14lOXIwOwI

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only son…

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:  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 www.dailytext.com).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:                                                                                        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.