Who became your sin?

 ...and now what?

Verse for the week: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43.1

Prayer for the week: “O most loving Father, you want us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing except losing you, and to lay all our cares on you, knowing that you care for us.  Protect us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds in this mortal life may hide from us the light of your immortal love shown to us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.”  (Prayer for Trust, LBW #204, Minister’s Ed., p. 111). 

Bible reading for the day: II Corinthians 5.6-21(Writing in 55-56 A.D. during his third missionary journey, Paul declares that Christ Jesus has made us into a new creation: we are people who walk NOT by what we see, but by faith… not people of the eye, but people with God’s promise in our ears.)

⁶ So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

¹¹ Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. ¹² We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. ¹³ For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; ¹⁵ and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Prayer (based on the TRIP* method): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for your judgment and mercy: thank you for making Christ into my sin to make me righteous.  Repent me and your whole church of living for ourselves, our emotions, our agendas, our distractions.  Make us hourly into your new creation…that we may regard our neighbor as someone whom we are helping either toward heaven or toward hell.  I ask this in his name, amen.

“What does baptism mean for daily life?

It means that our old self – our old Adam or old Eve –  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 before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Where is this written?

Saint Paul says in Romans, “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” (Romans 6:4 ESV).  (from "The Small Catechism" by Martin Luther)

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) 

 

 

*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).  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. 

 

The Divine Lumberjack sets to work on us

Verse for the week: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43.1

Prayer for the week: “O most loving Father, you want us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing except losing you, and to lay all our cares on you, knowing that you care for us.  Protect us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds in this mortal life may hide from us the light of your immortal love shown to us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.”  (Prayer for Trust, LBW #204, Minister’s Ed., p. 111). 

Bible reading for the day: Ezekiel 17.22-24 ((Ezekiel has already announced the word from the Lord that God will use King Nebuchadnezzar to prune Israel and send her into exile in Babylon. Here the Lord extends the parable to announce what he himself will do with the cedar tree that is his people. What the Lord speaks, he will do in Christ.)

Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, you are the Boss – the one who brings high trees low and who makes the low tree high.  Thank you for making Christ’s cross the tree of life for me and for your church.  Repent us of wanting to be our own lords and wanting to live by our proud strength. You have planted us in Christ, so break us off from our will and grow our congregation as a noble cedar… full of living branches where all kinds of neighbors may come to nest and have life in Christ; I ask this through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic hymn which gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTKIqmdfHSk

“What does baptism mean for daily life?

It means that our old self – our old Adam or old Eve –  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 before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Where is this written?

Saint Paul says in Romans, “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” (Romans 6:4 ESV).  (from "The Small Catechism" by Martin Luther)

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) 

  

*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).  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. 
 

Here comes your righteousness

Verse for the week: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43.1

Prayer for the week: “O most loving Father, you want us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing except losing you, and to lay all our cares on you, knowing that you care for us.  Protect us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds in this mortal life may hide from us the light of your immortal love shown to us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.”  (Prayer for Trust, LBW #204, Minister’s Ed., p. 111). 

Bible reading for the day: Psalm 1 (Psalm 1 serves as a preamble to the entire collection of 150 songs. It contrasts the way of the righteous and of the wicked. There is not a single prescriptive or imperative verb in the entire psalm. Every verb is indicative, every verse is descriptive.)

Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴ The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶ for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

Prayer (based on the TRIP* method): Gracious and almighty Father, there is indeed a river whose streams make glad and enliven; this river is Christ Jesus himself. Christ alone is the way of the righteous. Thank you that it is your will to plant us in him. In season and out, deliver me and my congregation from claiming a righteousness of our own… keep us planted in him who is our righteousness; through the same, Jesus Christ our Lord. 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=ZyavAoOlsIo

“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: 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) 

 

 

*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).  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. 

Lonely yet hopeful watchmen

Verse for the week: God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.  Acts 2.36

Prayer for the week: “Almighty, everlasting God, you have given us the promise of your divine life.  Bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, that, quickened by your word, we may lay hold on eternal life by strong faith in your Son, and in him be saved; through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.  Amen. (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 2^nd ed. (Kassel: Johannes Stauda-Verllag, 1948), p.170)

Bible reading for the day:  Psalm 130 (note: The whole psalm is a confession of waiting, waiting for the Lord’s plentiful redemption. In Christ, all our waiting is finally over.)

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
²     O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,
    that you may be feared.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
⁶ my soul waits for the Lord
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption.
⁸ And he will redeem Israel
    from all her iniquities.

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, indeed out of the depths - or sometimes just the shallows - we cry to and wait for you. Like lonely yet hopeful watchmen in the dark dead of night, we wait for Christ’s return. In the meantime, thank you for taking the marks of our iniquities into his flesh; by his stripes we are indeed healed. Vouchsafe unto us that we may fear, love and trust you above all else all our days unto eternity; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic hymn which gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV7aDDiZJtI  “Lost in the night do the people yet languish, longing for morning the darkness to vanquish, plaintively heaving a sigh full of anguish. Will not day come soon, will not day come soon?”

“I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.  Phil 4.7

 

 

*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).  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. 

  

Binding the strong man

Verse for the week: God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.  Acts 2.36

Prayer for the week: “Almighty, everlasting God, you have given us the promise of your divine life.  Bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, that, quickened by your word, we may lay hold on eternal life by faith in your Son, and in him be saved; through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.  Amen. (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 2^nd ed. (Kassel: Johannes Stauda-Verllag, 1948), p.170)

Bible reading for the day:  Mark 3.20-35  (It is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He has called his 12 apostles and now he announces that he is coming to bind that strong enemy Satan and plunder his goods, rescuing us who would otherwise be held in Satan’s thrall.)

 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. ²¹ And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ²³ And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

²⁸ “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

³¹ And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers^[c] are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for sending the only one of sound spirit and mind – Jesus – for sending him to bind the strong evil foe and rescue us beloved sinners from the devil’s basement. Thank you! Especially in my own family, teach us to appropriately retain and abundantly forgive sin… that we may do your will rather than our own. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to the beloved, classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MimsQtU-ccQ

“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church…”

What does this mean?

I believe that I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.  In this Christian church day after day he fully forgives my sins and the sins of all believers. On the last day he will raise me and all the dead and give me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true. (from “The Small Catechism” by Martin Luther)

Benediction:  The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.  Phil 4.7

  

*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).  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. 

  

I believe and so I speak

Verse for the week: God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.  Acts 2.36

Prayer for the week: “Almighty, everlasting God, you have given us the promise of your divine life.  Bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, that, quickened by your word, we may lay hold on eternal life by faith in your Son, and in him be saved; through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.  Amen. (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 2^nd ed. (Kassel: Johannes Stauda-Verllag, 1948), p.170)

Bible reading for the day:  II Corinthians 4.13-5.1

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴ knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵ For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for the solid, weighty promise that is ours in Christ: eternal life in glory with you. Thank you! While we waste away in this earthly tent and this life takes its toll on us, repent me and my congregation of a momentary faith that looks only at what is seen, that lives by our own eye instead of by your promise in our ear. Open our mouths to speak Jesus to all… that grace may extend to more and more people increasing thanksgiving, to your glory. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to the beloved, classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g_5CFv35ho

“I believe in Jesus Christ…”

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 peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.  Phil 4.7

 

 

*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).  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. 

 

The voice of truth

Verse for the week: God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.  Acts 2.36

Prayer for the week: “Almighty, everlasting God, you have given us the promise of your divine life.  Bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, that, quickened by your word, we may lay hold on eternal life by faith in your Son, and in him be saved; through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.  Amen. (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 2^nd ed. (Kassel: Johannes Stauda-Verllag, 1948), p.170)

Bible reading for the day:  Genesis 3.8-15

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

¹⁴ The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall crush your head,
    and you shall strike his heel.”

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: through your Son’s death and resurrection you crushed Satan’s head and revealed his deception. Repent me and my congregation of listening to that Deceiver’s slick, subtle spiel. Every hour, speak and give us the faith that trusts your voice rather than his so that we hide nothing from you… so that we are free to enjoy daily life in the garden and welcome your presence with us. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.

Hymn: I searched for a rendition of the old Swedish hymn “Day by Day,” but every one I found was wussified. So, follow this link to the beloved, classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSqlaMYexcQ

“I believe in Jesus Christ…”

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 peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.  Phil 4.7

 

  

*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).  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.