fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!” Psalm 37.7
Prayer for the week: Almighty God, make me to know your ways, even as it means the death of my
will, lead me in your truth and teach me; for you are the God of my salvation,
for you my soul waits all the day long; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our
Lord. Amen.
Bible reading for the day: Deuteronomy 10.12-21
(After the Exodus, the Lord instructs the remnant of his people how to live as
his people. God’s choice of us results not merely in a circumcision made with
hands, but his circumcision of our hearts.)
12 “And
now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you,
but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his
ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep
the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you
today for your good? 14 Behold, to
the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the
earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet the Lord set
his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you
above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise
therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no
longer stubborn. 17 For
the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of
lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial
and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the
fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and
clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you
were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall
fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to
him, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is
your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and
terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 22 Your
fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now
the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of
heaven.
Prayer of the Day: Gracious and Almighty Father, thank you for setting your heart in love on
our fathers and choosing me in Christ. This is the only way you will have me
all in, heart and soul, love and service. Day after day, keep cutting me right
to the heart… that your commandments may be not my project list but simply the
good works which you prepared beforehand to be may way of life. I ask this in
Jesus’ name, amen.
Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives
further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBjM47zICos&ab_channel=MartijndeGroot
“What does baptism mean for daily life?”
It means that my sinful self, with all its evil deeds and
desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a
new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.
As St. Paul writes in Romans 6: “We were buried therefore
with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from
the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of
life.” (from The Small Catechism, by
Martin Luther)
Benediction: For the Lord takes pleasure
in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation. Psalm 149.4
*This is now
our congregation’s 99th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading
from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.
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