“They have said, “The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”  Pay heed, you senseless among the people; and when will you understand, stupid ones?”  (Psalm 94:7-8)

There are many who rail against the Lord wondering where He is.  He does not do as people imagine a god would do things.  The Lord of Hosts has declared His purpose and you have heard of His law.  You and I are not in a position to rail against the Lord, but only to receive the reality He has declared.  When will we learn?  It is as it has always been.  The Lord is God and there is no other.

Lord, help me to ignore those who do not hear and will not listen.  They are speaking to me all the time and I am influenced by their poison.  Guide my heart to see the truth that You alone are God.  Let me not fall prey to those who rail against You.  Let the meditation of my heart be upon You who has made all things that I may walk humbly in Your sight and live according to Your Word.

Lord Jesus, You have come to rescue as many as would listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as we are called out of the rebellion of this world and into the light of Your presence.  Guide me this day to walk humbly in Your sight and see the truth of Your grace  as it shines forth in my life.  You are the Savior and I need to be saved.  The stupid ones will always be here in this age.  Help me to not be one of them.  Amen.

WHAT WERE YOU ARGUING ABOUT?
Devotional for September 23, 2018 based upon Mark 9: 30-37

It seems to me that there are two kinds of arguments. There are worthwhile arguments, and there are worthless arguments. Some things are worth arguing about, while other things are not worth arguing about. I am sure that Jesus – in our Bible story for this morning – was very disappointed with His disciples and what they were arguing about.

Jesus had just finished telling them that He would soon be handed over to evil people and be killed and on the third day would rise from the dead. But His disciples did not understand what He was saying. But rather than ask Him about it, they began arguing over which one of them was the greatest.

There will be times – even in the church – when we will disagree with one another. But Jesus is saying, Don’t go through life arguing about things that are not worth arguing about. If you are going to have an argument, make sure it is about something worth arguing about.

You can tell a lot about a person by the kinds of things he or she argues about. I think of some of the things that I have gotten into arguments about. As I remember and think about them, I am really embarrassed over them. And so Jesus, in our Bible story for this morning, asked His disciples, after they had arrived in Capernaum, “What were you arguing about on the way?” The Gospel writer Mark tells us, They would not tell Him. “They were silent,” because they had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest.

They had been caught red-handed, discussing a subject that only revealed how self-centered and petty they were. They had been carrying on an argument over who was the greatest in the presence of Him who is the greatest. In the presence of total self-lessness, they had blatantly revealed their self-ishness. In the presence of Jesus their arguments were pretty small and petty and worthless indeed.

“What were you arguing about on the way?” What do we argue about on the way? I think of some of the petty arguments at council meetings and congregational meetings that consumed time, wasted energy, divided people, and hindered the mission of the church during my years of ministry. Are the arguments that you get engaged (or entangled) in worthwhile arguments? Or are they worthless arguments?

Just think of how much it must have hurt Jesus to hear His disciples arguing about who is the greatest. For here is Jesus, trying to alert His closest friends to the gathering storm of suffering and death that He would soon be enduring. But while He was pouring His heart out to them, there they were, not really listening, but instead pursuing their own selfish discussion over who is the greatest. How much Jesus must have suffered over that. And how much He must suffer over the kinds of things that we argue about.

But notice something. Notice how Jesus deals with His arguing disciples. He does not become indignant with them and attack them, even though He certainly had reason and right to. He does not blast them with burning words, even though they certainly deserved it. He does not chastise them or correct them by Himself claiming to be the greatest, even though, with His supreme humility and sacrifice on the cross, He is the greatest. Rather He asked them a simple question, “What were you arguing about on the way?” And He turned that moment into a teaching moment, as He was and is so good at doing. He sat down with them and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

The solution for worthless arguments does not come from stopping talking. For just as bad as a lot of arguing is the silence that can develop between people. The solution for worthless arguing comes from discussing things that are worth discussing, dealing with issues rather than attacking persons, and becoming a servant to other people.

There are some things in the church that are worth fighting for. I firmly believe that the kinds of issues that Lutheran CORE deals with – like the deity of Jesus, the authority of the Bible, salvation by grace alone, Biblical moral values, the priority of mission, and the imperative of evangelism – are worth fighting for. But some of the other things that we can have our biggest battles over – those things are simply not worth fighting over. Let’s make sure that what we argue about is worth arguing about.

I like the way that the New Testament letter writer James, the brother of our Lord and leader of the early church in Jerusalem, put it. “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not produce God’s righteousness.”

Why did God give us twice as many ears as mouths? It must be that He wants us to do twice as much listening as speaking. When it comes to talking, may God give us the courage to speak and the wisdom to say what is worth saying.

Dennis D. Nelson
Director of Lutheran CORE

“They crush Your people, O Lord, and afflict Your heritage.  They slay the widow and the stranger and murder the orphans.”  (Psalm 94:5-6)

The world has always been hostile to the ways of the Lord.  There are those who prey on whomever they can to get for themselves what they will.  Can not the Lord stop them?  Of course, but He has a plan that is far superior to our ability to even begin to comprehend.  Rather than trusting in your understanding, trust in the One through whom all things have their being.

Lord, this world is often difficult and I do not understand.  Why are the wicked able to prey upon the weak?  Why do things happen as they do?  Help me stop seeking answers that I may learn to trust You above my own reasoning.  Guide me to see that everything is in Your hands and that You will work all things together for good as You teach us to love as You love.

Love Incarnate,You have come that we may not be trapped in this body of sin, but freed to live into the life to which we have been called.  Guide me, my Savior, to walk humbly in Your sight.  Lead me according to Your purposes to be the child of the Heavenly Father that You died to enable me to become.  May I spend this and every day in praise of You who alone is able to save me from this wicked world.  Amen.

“How long shall the wicked, O Lord, how long shall the wicked exult?  They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly; all who do wickedness vaunt themselves.”  (Psalm 94:3-4)

The wicked of this age seem to rule.  It will be so until the Lord returns and this age is brought to an end.  One falls and another rises to take their place.  You know this, for you have experienced it.  Be guided not by the wickedness of this age, but by the call to grace and mercy through our Lord who saves us from the wickedness of this age.  Look up to the Lord and live into His promises.

Lord, I am often distracted by the wickedness of this age.  It makes no sense to me.  Lead me by Your Word to see things more clearly.  Guide me according to Your goodness to be one who lives by faith and not by the things I see around me.  Help through all the difficulties of this age to be faithful.  You have given me the hope of eternity.  Help me to live into that hope.

Incarnate Hope, Who has come to rescue the downtrodden, lead me this day through the mess of this world to be faithful to the call You have given me.  Guide me by Your grace to live into the life of one who is faithful.  Help me now and always to see the truth that You are the Savior and that the Father is worthy of all honor and praise.  Lead me Lord Jesus.  Amen.

“O Lord, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth!  Rise up, O Judge of the earth, render recompense to the proud.”  (Psalm 94:1-2)

The proud stand before the Lord and boast of their greatness.  They seek their own ends and use the children of the Lord for their own purposes.  Generations come and call upon the Lord to stop the proud from their destruction.  They who seek the Lord only need to look to see that the proud go to the grave and are remembered no more.  Look to the Lord and live humbly in His sight and by His provision.

It is hard Lord to live in an age that is so filled with contention.  There are many who seek their own will and do not live according to Your Word.  Help me to see that this is but a short age that will come to nothing.  You have a purpose for everything; so help me to understand that if I walk in the way You have established for me, I will be uplifted and strengthened according to Your purpose.

Lord Jesus, You have come to save all who turn to You.  By grace, You lift all who believe out of the pit to walk upright before the Father.  Guide me this day to walk humbly with You knowing that no matter what comes in this life it is but for a short time.  Prepare me in the way You have established that I may walk by faith and do what You give me to do all the day long.  Amen.

“The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their pounding waves. More than the sounds of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty. Your testimonies are fully confirmed; holiness befits Your house, O Lord, forevermore.” (Psalm 93:3-5)

Who can move the heavens and the earth? Who is able to set the earth in its course and bring up from the deep those things that shake and move continents? The Lord, who created all things, is mighty. But greater still, He has provided salvation for those who come to Him in faith. He calls all who believe to come into holiness and walk before Him in the righteousness He gives.

Lord, I am not righteous and unworthy of Your presence. Yet, You have provided the way by which all who come to You may know Your goodness and mercy. Lead me in the way You have established that I may now and always walk in the way of the upright. Set my heart on a new course that I would learn from You the way of righteousness. May I lean not on my own understanding, but upon You.

Savior, You have come that we might be set free from sin, death and the devil. Guide me, O Lord, to walk according to the Father’s will. Break my heart of rebellion and give me Your heart of obedience and willing submission. Lead me all the days of this life that I may prepare for the eternal life You have promised through Your grace. Guide me, Lord Jesus, now and always. Amen.

“The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.” (Psalm 93:1-2)

The Lord God created all things. They are His and we are His. Look to the One through which all things have their being and see that He has wonderfully made all things. Know the Lord and discover the purpose for which You have been made. His throne is everlasting and He will bring to fruition all that He has planned. In Him alone is the hope of eternity. He is our strength.

Lord, teach me the things I need to know that I may come to the place where I see more clearly the truth of creation. Guide me according to Your goodness that I may walk in the paths You have established. You are God and King and there is nothing nor no one that can take Your place. Bring my heart to the place where I live this reality knowing that in You is life and liberty.

Thank You, Lord, for paving the way that all who believe and live according to Your promises will know life everlasting. Lead me this day to walk according to Your Word, knowing that in You and by Your leading I will come to the place You have planned for me. You are my Savior and my God. May I now and always bow to Your goodness and live in Your presence. Amen.

“They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” (Psalm 92:14-15)

The one who walks in the ways of the Lord matures and the evidence of the Lord’s ways in their lives becomes apparent. The way of the Lord is eternal and the way of the world is destruction. Many walk in the way of the world, but you have been called to walk in the way of the Lord. Come into His presence and see that walking with the Lord is the way of eternal life. It brings peace.

Lord, it is hard to go against the tide of this world. I am often overwhelmed by the temptation to give in and go with the flow of this world’s ways. Hold me up to walk with You the whole distance in order that I may simply stand before You as one who has walked with You all the days of my life. Lead me in the right way that I may see at life’s end the joy of being in Your presence.

Lord Jesus, You have come to save us from this world’s tugs and pulls. Guide me in the way You have established that I may now and always live according to the Father’s will. Lift me up to see in You the hope of glory that is promised by Your grace. Now and always may I walk in the way and truth You have established from the beginning. Lead me, Lord, and help me to follow. Amen.

“And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’” (Mark 7:27)

Today’s devotion isn’t for learning.  It’s for praising.

“He has done all things well.”  Here is the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He has done all things well!  With His Father, He made the heavens and the earth and that is in them (seen and unseen!); He delivered Israel from her enemies and established her in a beautiful land; and by the Spirit He came to the prophets to prepare the world for His blessed Advent.  Those great acts alone win Him our eternal praise.

Yet there is more.  The “all things” that Jesus did “well” were not just things like making a sculpture or delivering a speech in fine style.  They were things He did for the sake of His neighbors!  He did them “well” because they were merciful, like the acts of creation and prophecy.  He healed, forgave, comforted, and freed people—and He is the same Lord who knows you by name and loves you.

What has He done well for you?  Make a list, and praise Him!

LET US PRAY:  Dear Father, what a good Son You have!  You must be very proud.  He has done all things well!  For me, He has . . . [fill in the blank!] . . . I am so thankful for His mercy and love, a mercy and love that He shares with You and Your Spirit, one God forever.  Amen

Pr. Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.” (Psalm 92:12-13)

Even in times of drought, the righteous man will grow. The ways of the Lord are eternal. Blessed is the one who walks in the ways of the Lord. Blessed is the one who seeks righteousness all the days of his life. The Lord has created us to be eternal and in Him is light and life. Be planted in the courts of the Lord and know His righteousness and live with Him forever.

No matter the circumstances, the Lord has promised His goodness and mercy to all who believe. Walk in the way of the Lord and know His goodness. Be comforted that through all things, He will work together for good and for His glory His righteousness in all the faithful. Know that in Him alone is life and liberty. Be guided by His Spirit that You may walk humbly with Your God.

God in the flesh who has appeared once for all, guide me according to the will of the Father. Lead me to learn faithfulness from You. Help me now and always to walk in the way You have established that I may be faithful. Grant that I would know clearly today what You would have me do that I may be strengthened by the faithfulness You have given me. Amen.