Just what your impatient self needs

Verse for the week: “Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
    be not envious of wrongdoers!
² For they will soon fade like the grass
    and wither like the green herb.” Psalm 37.1-2

Prayer for the week: Dear Father, by your gracious choosing I am indeed your child and you are truly my Father, so I call on you now with complete confidence, through your Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: Psalm 37.34-40

³⁴ Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
    you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
    spreading himself like a green laurel tree.
³⁶ But he passed away,  and behold, he was no more;
    though I sought him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
    for there is a future for the man of peace.
³⁸ But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
    the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him.

Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: my salvation is not from myself, it is from you; in time of trouble you are my stronghold. Thank you. Rather than fret myself over the wicked, I am free to wait for you and keep your way while I wait, in Jesus’ name I pray. 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=kMf69QqS5r0

“Thy kingdom come…”

What does this mean? God’s kingdom comes indeed without our prayer, but we ask in this petition that it may also to us.

When does this happen?  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 on earth now and in heaven forever. (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 99^th year in the Word. In 2025, we are reading from Genesis to Revelation, with a few interludes along the way.