will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91.1-2
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: Jude (writing circa
68 AD, Jude warns fellow Christians about the false teachers who creep into
congregations and pervert the grace of God. He cites several events from the
Old Testament as a catechism for believers.)
11
For Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father
and kept for (and by) Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy, peace,
and love be multiplied to you.
3 Beloved, although I was
very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it
necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once
for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain
people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this
condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sexual
licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I want to remind
you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people
out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not
believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay
within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has
kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great
day— 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the
surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality
and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a
punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in like manner these
people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority,
and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But
when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was
disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a
blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But
these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed
by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe
to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for
the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's
rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs[e] at your love
feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding
themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees
in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild
waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering
stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about these
that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the
Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to
execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of
ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of
all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These
are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they
are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
17 But you
must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last
time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It
is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But
you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith
and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep
yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have
mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others
by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with
fear, hating even the garment[g] stained by
the flesh.
24 Now to him who is
able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless
before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the
only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty,
dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Prayer of the Day: Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for the faith delivered once for
all to your beloved ones. Guard me and your whole church from perverting your
grace into sexual licentiousness… guard us also from the impatient arrogance
that fails to have mercy on those who doubt. Use us to contend for the
apostolic faith. To you the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and
forever. 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=92D8K6Mkmzo
“I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son…”
What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ –
true God, Son of the Father from eternity, and true man, born of the virgin
Mary – is my Lord.
At great cost he has saved and redeemed me, a lost and
condemned person. He 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.
All this he has done that I may be his own, live under him
in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and
blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally.
This is most certainly true. (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.
No comments:
Post a Comment