“For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands. How great are Your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep.” (Psalm 92:2-3)

Too many live life thinking that everything they learned in Sunday School is enough. Then again, many families are in shambles, marriage ruined and life a mess. Being a disciple means being a student. Being a student means studying. God shares His knowledge in Scripture. Those who seek to be wise will spend time in the Word to begin understanding the wisdom of the Lord.

Lord, I live in a time where people want instant fixes without effort or difficulty. Life is difficult in this age. Help me to see and then act on the truth that there is much I need to learn. Guide me, O Lord, in the way You would have me go and learn what You would have me learn. Lead me to the place where I grow in wisdom and see more clearly Your hand in all things.

Holy Spirit, minister to my mind that I would grow in knowledge and wisdom. Give me a thirst for the righteousness of the Word and then fill me that I may find true satisfaction. Teach me how to meditate and pray. Lead me into deeper thoughts. Guide the thoughts of my mind and the meditation of my heart to seek after Your leading all the day long. Amen.

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night, with the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, with resounding music upon the lyre.” (Psalm 92:1-3)

You have given good gifts, Lord, and give them freely. May I learn from You to give praise and thanksgiving for all of Your goodness. Put praise on my lips and let the gifts You have given be freely used to praise and worship You in and through all things. You are faithful and worthy of all praise and honor. Guide me, O Lord, to learn to worship and praise You at all times.

Lord, I often think of worship as a routine and not as a part of my daily life. Lead me, O Lord, to learn that You have created me to live a life filled with praise and thanksgiving. Teach me to truly worship that I may spend all of my days the way You would have me spend them. Bring me to those places in Your Word where I may learn from You the purpose for which I have been created.

Holy Spirit, come and direct my thoughts and desires that I would live in thanksgiving for all of the goodness You bring. Put praise on my lips and guide kind words to issue from them. Fill my heart with the love You desire I have for all. May my life be a devotion to You and the wonder You have brought forth in creation. Guide me according to the Father’s will now and always. Amen.

“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. “With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.” (Psalm 91:15-16)

The salvation of the Lord is promised to those who turn to Him and accept the invitation to walk in His ways. Come into the Lord’s presence and walk with the One who made you. Know the goodness which He created from the beginning and see how life is to be lived. In Him alone will you find satisfaction, purpose, and the hope which is in your heart. He is the source of life.

Lord, I have wrestled all the days of my life seeking meaning and hope. Guide me, O Lord, in Your ways, for You are the creator of all things. Guide me along the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake; that I may live into the life to which You have called me. Keep me close to You that I may walk with You all the days of my life and see the salvation You have prepared for those who believe.

Lord Jesus, You are the Savior who has come into the world. You have invited all who hear to come and walk with You along the journey which leads to salvation. Guide me, O Lord, that I may walk in Your ways and know the goodness that has been prepared from the beginning. Abide with me that I may be taught by You this day the way of life which is forever. Amen.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  (Ephesians 6:11)

When cleaning my grandfather’s home, my family and I came across a pair of wooden shoes that he had carved for himself as a young man in Norway.  Undoubtedly many such pairs of shoes could be found across the world, carved by different hands in different cultures.  But the connection between these shoes and my grandfather set them apart for us, and we’ve kept them to this day.

When St. Paul speaks of “the armor of God,” he speaks about something similar.  The armor of God (the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the readiness of the gospel, etc.) is not simply armor that God has given us; it is armor that He wore Himself!  He wore it when He came to this earth to preach good news, die, and rise again.  He clothed Himself in truth, righteousness, peace, and the Spirit, and now we have inherited this armor and may wear it also.

Taking up that armor confirms for us our intimate union with Jesus.  Defended by His truth, wielding His word, and covered by prayer in His name, we are assured all the more that He is ours, and we are His, as sure as the shoes on our feet.

LET US PRAY:  Lord of great might: I cannot fill Your shoes or measure up to Your stature.  Yet You have kindly honored me by numbering me among Your ranks and calling me to serve Your kingdom.  Grant that I may do so faithfully and to Your glory.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen

Pr. Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down. “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.” (Psalm 91:13-14)

Those who trust in the Lord are trusting in the only One who can save. He will not disappoint you because He knows what is needed. Come to the Lord and be under His protection. Know that the Lord will provide for every time of need and in just the right amount. Be guided by the Lord and His goodness and see that the Lord, Who watches over you, does provide in every circumstance.

Lord, in the ups and downs of this world, I often focus upon the immediate circumstance. Guide me, O Lord, to see in You the hope for all people. Lead me to humbly walk in Your ways all the days of my life. Lead me according to Your goodness that I would now and always live with You as the center of my being. Lift me up to be with You always and in every situation.

Lord, You have come to rescue those who come to You. Lead me, O Lord, according to Your goodness that I would trust in what You have accomplished. Prepare me according to Your will to go where You send me that I would learn from You how to be faithful. Open my eyes to see the hope of glory You have given through grace that my life would be one of praise of You. Amen.

JESUS HEALS TODAY
Devotional for September 9, 2018 based upon Mark 7: 24-37

Our Gospel reading for this morning tells of a time when a group of people whom Mark calls “they” brought to Jesus a man who was both deaf and had an impediment in his speech.

The first thing this passage does for me is to raise the question, WHO ARE THE THEY? Whenever I hear someone say “they,” I always wonder, Who are the “they”? Who are the “they” who are supposedly saying certain things? Who are these unnamed people who are bringing their friend to Jesus?

Mark does not tell us, so they do not get any credit. And yet they still do it. They are among the millions of people who do what needs to be done simply because it needs to be done and because they care. They would never say, “That’s not my job. I’ve already done my share. Let someone else bring this person to Jesus.” They never get thanked during the announcements or in the church newsletter, but they still do it, simply because it needs to be done and because they care. God, may all of us be like them.

The second thing that strikes me is the condition of the man whom “they” brought to Jesus. He was BOTH DEAF AND HAD AN IMPEDIMENT IN HIS SPEECH. I am embarrassed when I think of the times when I have been so deeply focusing on my own, relatively small problems, and then I see someone like the man in our Gospel, who had not just one handicap, but two. At times like those I need to say, Forgive me, Lord. Forgive me for so focusing on my own problems that I have not been attentive and responsive to, in tune with, or even aware of someone else’s problems. Forgive me for being like the man who said, “I grumbled because I had no shoes. Then I met a man who had no feet.”

Third, I am struck with the way in which JESUS TOOK THIS MAN ASIDE IN PRIVATE, away from the crowd. He responded with great sensitivity to all of this man’s needs, including his need for privacy.

And Jesus is sensitive to our feelings and needs. He does not deal with us in front of everybody else, so that we would feel embarrassed and on display. Nor does He relate to us just as part of a crowd. Rather He relates to us individually. He knows our needs, and He cares about our needs – individually. Even though He has everyone else in the whole world to take care of, and even though there are several million other people all talking to Him at the same time as I am talking to Him, He still takes me aside privately and spends time with me individually. There is nothing cold or rushed about the way in which He does it. We all long for attention like that.

Fourth, JESUS PUT HIS FINGERS INTO HIS EARS, AND SPAT AND TOUCHED HIS TONGUE. All of which reminds us of how much we need warm, human touch. We cannot survive and be healthy emotionally without warm, human touch. From the moment we were born, we have had that need. If that need is not met, something goes wrong.

One thing that many people with terminal illnesses like cancer express is the need to be touched. And not just poked with a needle and have their temperature taken. They need to be touched with a warm, loving, human hand.

Jesus does not heal from a safe, aloof distance. Rather He got right up next to him and touched him. The one who came to Him with a crying need, He touched. Even the leper, the untouchable of all untouchables, much to the horror of the crowds He touched. And when we come to Him, He does not remain at a safe, aloof distance. Instead He reaches out to us and touches us.

Fifth, JESUS LOOKED UP TO HEAVEN AND SIGHED. What a beautiful, beautiful statement that is. When Jesus sees a situation of deep human need, He sighs. Like when E. T. saw that Elliot was hurting so he touched his own heart and said, “Ouch,” so when Jesus sees that we are hurting, He looks up to heaven and sighs and then touches His own heart and says, “Ouch.”

Sixth, after putting His fingers into the deaf man’s ears and reaching out and touching the dumb man’s tongue and looking up to heaven and sighing, JESUS SAID, “EPHPHATHA,” which means, “BE OPENED.”

We read in the New Testament of those marvelous times when Jesus opened the eyes of the blind, restored the lame, and cleansed the leper, and we say, “Jesus, why aren’t You doing the same thing today?” We all know people who need healing. And like the unnamed “they” who brought their friend to Jesus, so we would do anything we could if we only knew that our doing so would release God’s power to heal.

First of all, we need to realize that Jesus is healing and that Jesus can heal today. Sometimes He heals in spectacular ways. I am sure we all know people who have been healed in a spectacular way. We all know or have heard of someone who had been diagnosed with some kind of terminal, inoperable disease, and then, after God’s people prayed, was found to be healed of that disease. God made our bodies able to heal from all sorts of injuries, diseases, and infirmities. Sometimes our bodies need help from the medical profession, but all that is, is help. Help for the body to help the body do what God made the body able to do.

We need to remember that during Jesus’ ministry, He did not heal everybody. And everybody that He healed did eventually die of something else. But still, through His ministry of healing, Jesus gave us a foreshadowing of that time when we will be delivered from all sickness, sorrow, pain, and death, through the resurrection from the dead, which is our hope if we have faith in Jesus Christ. In the meantime, during our lifetimes, God will make our bodies able to heal many times. And there are other times when we experience the love and power and ability of God to heal us emotionally and relationally.

And so, in the meantime, our Gospel reading leads us to ask ourselves, WHERE DOES GOD WANT ME TO BE HIS INSTRUMENT OF HEALING? How do the words “Ephphatha,” and “Open up,” also apply to us? To whose cries of hurting do our ears need to be opened? To whose need for words of love do our tongues need to be loosened? Who is the person who is suffering from a lack of love that God wants me to love? Who is that scared, resentful, angry, and/or bitter person into whose life I can help bring God’s peace? With what specific person – where does God want me to be His instrument of healing?

And then, finally, what did all the eyewitnesses do once they had seen that a man had been healed? Jesus ordered them to tell no one, but THE MORE HE ORDERED THEM, THE MORE ZEALOUSLY THEY PROCLAIMED IT. They were astonished beyond measure. They had seen what Jesus can do. The Good News of what they had seen they simply could not keep to themselves. They had to share it. Too amazed to be silent, their tongues were loosened and they told everybody about it.

What a powerful example they have set for us. For we, too, in so many ways, have been or have seen someone else being healed. Like the crowds, may we be astonished beyond measure and then join with 999 other tongues to sing our Great Redeemer’s praise.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

“For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.” (Psalm 91:11-12)

How many times has something not happened because you were being protected? How many calamities did not come your way? We often think in terms of what happened, but do not realize that the Lord is watching over us and there are many things that did not happen because He is watching over us. Give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances, knowing that He cares for His own.

Lord, give me an eye to see more clearly those times when Your protection was over me. Let me have a heart that is thankful in every circumstance, knowing that You are watching over me. Lead me to know that Your promises are forever and that You have provided for our every need. May I grow in thankfulness and steadfastness in faith, knowing that You are watching over all that I do.

Savior of the world, You have given Your Holy Spirit to lead each one of us every step of the way. Your holy angels have charge over us to keep us from evil and lead us in the way of salvation. Guide me, O Lord, in the way You would have me go that I may now and always walk according to Your never-failing love. Lift me up to give You praise in thanksgiving. Amen.

“For you have made the Lord my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.” (Psalm 91:9-10)

The things of this world will still press against you, but the evil of this world will be guarded against by the shield of the Lord. Know the Lord and know His might. Be comforted in the only hope there is; the One who made you. Come into the Lord’s presence and walk in His ways and know His goodness and mercy. The Lord is our Savior and He walks with those who come into His presence.

Lord, You know the difficulties of this world. You know how hard it is to navigate through the evil that is present. Walk with me that I may be guided by You through all this life brings. Keep me in the shelter of Your tent that I would be shielded from the evil of this world. Lift me up to be with You that I may now and always abide in Your goodness. Teach me to dwell with You.

Lord Jesus, You know how hard it is to walk the paths of this world. You have come to rescue those who are downtrodden, the weak and the lowly. Keep me close to You that I would now and always abide in Your grace. Abide in me as I abide in You that I may learn the ways of eternity. Let me see clearly the path You set before me and give me strength to walk that path. Amen.

“A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.” (Psalm 91:7-8)

We all will pass through the gate of death; so this is not speaking of death. What it does speak of is the truth of those who come into the salvation of the Lord. All around are those who fall prey to the wickedness of this age and do not come into the Lord’s presence and walk in His ways. You only have to look to see what that brings. Come into the Lord’s presence and live in Him.

Lord, You created us and the world has rejected You. Help me, O Lord, in this world of wickedness to see through the temptations that lure and pull me away from You. I can see what sin brings. I know no good comes of the wickedness of this age. Help me, Savior, to look to You and see the goodness and mercy You give to those who love You. Lift me up to be with You.

Savior, You have come to do what we cannot that all who believe might be united with You now and forever. Guide my heart, Lord Jesus, to walk in Your grace and live to the glory of the Father. May I stand amidst the crumbling ways of this world and learn from You to be faithful through all that comes. Open my eyes, Lord, to see clearly the recompense of wickedness. Amen.

“You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.” (Psalm 91:5-6)

There are things of the darkness that bring fear. There are the arrows of wickedness that flies around all the day long. There is the wastefulness of this age where people show no respect for the Lord or His creation. You need not fear any of these things, for the Lord is with you always and He knows His plans for You. Trust in the Lord above all things and know that He holds you in the palm of His hand.

Lord, amidst the fear that comes in living in this world, guide me in Your goodness to see through these things to know that You are there. Though things do and will happen, help me live in faith knowing that all things work together for good because of the love You have poured into my heart. Lead me, O Lord, and I will follow wherever You lead. Help me to learn to always abide in You.

Lord, You have provided the way of salvation. In You is the hope of all nations. In Your hands are the goodness and mercy that I need for this day. No matter what comes this day, help me to keep my eyes upon You. In times of trouble, help me trust that all things will work together for good. In You I have my hope and being. Lift me up, O Lord, that I may be faithful. Amen.