“The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth.  They have venom like the venom of a serpent; like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear, so that it does not hear the voice of charmers, or a skillful caster of spells.”  (Psalm 58:3-5)

The Lord knows those who are His.  From the womb I knew you, says the Lord.  In the mystery of why some and yet not others, there is the truth that there are those who are estranged and will remain so their whole life.  Yes, we may ponder, but heed the warning.  Look only to the Lord and walk with Him all the days of Your life.  He alone is fully trustworthy.

Lord, grant that I may recognize those who would lead me astray.  Guide me in the way of truth that You have established from the beginning.  Help me at all times to be aware that I need Your grace and mercy and the ever-present support of Your Spirit.  Lead me, O Lord, and grant that I willingly follow where You lead.  Help me now and always to turn to You first in all things.

Lord Jesus, You have fought the good fight for us and although the war is over, the rebellion rages on.  Guide me in Your goodness to walk in Your ways all the days of my life.  Lead me, O Lord, that I may be led where You would have me go.  Help me now and always to look to You as the source of truth and salvation.  Keep me from being deceived by those who lie and use deceit. Amen.

Thursday, November 23, 2017 Devotion

“Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods?  Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?  No, in heart you work unrighteousness; on earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.”  (Psalm 58:1-2)

All of the things we imagine are in our heads.  They are our creations.  They have no life other than what we give them in our minds.  But the Lord is forever.  What can we do that will outshine the Lord?  What can we create but things that are manipulations of what the Lord has already created?  Look to the Lord, the Maker of all things and see that He alone is God.

Lord, we think ourselves clever and manipulate Your creation.  You know all things and have put everything into its order.  Guide the meditation of my heart to see in You the hope of eternity and the marvel of all ages.  Guide my lips to speak Your praise knowing that You alone are worthy of all honor and praise.  By Your guidance, take my heart from where it is to where it needs to be.

Lord Jesus, You know the difficulties of this world.  You also know the marvels of the creation.  You have come to lead the way for as many as would follow You into truth.  Lead me this day to walk humbly with You through all that is around me.  Lead my heart so that it looks to You for all things.  Guide me, my Savior, in the way of Your salvation that I would become like You.  Amen.

FIRST WORDS AND FINAL WORDS

Devotional for Christ the King Sunday, November 26, 2017 based upon Matthew 25: 31-46

I retired on June 30, 2014, after serving as pastor of the same southern California congregation for forty years.  My final Sunday was June 29.  What I would say during the sermon on my final Sunday was very important to me.  There were certain things I wanted to be sure to say to the congregation, whom I had known and loved and been pastor for for forty years.  I spent a lot of time and prayer thinking through my final words.

Our Gospel lesson for Christ the King Sunday contains Jesus’ final words – His final message before the crucifixion.  I am sure that what He said during this final message was very important to Him.  What did He say?

In Jesus’ final message before the crucifixion He tells of the day when He will come in His glory.  All the angels will be there, and all the people who have ever lived will be there.  His first act as the newly crowned, rightful King of the universe will be to separate all people into two groups – sheep and goats.  To those on the right – to the sheep – He will say, “Come, you that are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (verse 34)  Then he will give a whole list of human hurts and will describe the response of the sheep to those hurts.  The first act of Christ as the newly crowned King will be to applaud His people’s acts of compassion.  What Jesus makes the biggest deal of in this – His final message before His crucifixion – are the works of compassion of His people, who have received His compassionate work of salvation.  

Now if Matthew 25 contains the last recorded message of Jesus before the crucifixion – the last recorded message of His three-year public ministry – what about His first recorded message?  What did Jesus say during the first time that the Bible says He got up to speak?

To find the answer to that question we turn to Luke 4 – to a time when Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth.  He went to the synagogue – to that community and religious gathering place where He had gone many, many times while growing up.  He went back to the synagogue, where He had studied the books of Moses, the law, and the prophets.  The law He had come to fulfill, and the prophets who spoke of the day of hope when He would be coming.  Luke tells us, “He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him.  He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. . . .” (Luke 4: 16-17)

As best-selling author Max Lucado, speaking on this passage, points out, this is the only time in the Bible where Jesus chooses a place in the Bible.  This is the only time in the Bible where it specifically mentions that someone handed Jesus a Bible and said, “Here, please pick out a passage for us.”  Imagine handing God a Bible and asking Him to pick out a verse.  Just imagine.  If you were to hand God a Bible and ask Him to pick a verse, what verse do you think He would pick?  What one passage from the entire Old Testament do you think He would select?  Luke tells us, “He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. . . .”

You might think that He would have stopped at Isaiah 53 – the song of the suffering servant that speaks of Him so clearly – “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities.” (Isaiah 53: 5)  But instead He kept on going until He got to Isaiah 61, where He read, “The spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.” (Luke 4: 18)

Here we have the first sentence of the first sermon of Jesus recorded in the Bible.  The only time mentioned in the Bible where Jesus selects and reads a passage from the Bible, and whom and what does He read about?  He reads about the poor.  “The spirit of the Lord has anointed Me – has chosen Me – to bring good news to the poor.”  

The only time in the Bible where it is specifically recorded that Jesus reads a passage from the Bible – and a passage which He Himself chooses – and whom does He read about?  It must be those whom He must have a special heart for.  The poor.  And in the rest of verse 18, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed.  

If the first act of our Lord Jesus Christ – after He is crowned as the rightful King of the universe – is to separate the sheep from the goats.  And if the factor that makes sheep sheep and goats goats is the way their faith leads them to respond to the hungry, thirsty, sick, naked, and imprisoned.  And if in the first sermon that Jesus gave He talked about God’s concern for the poor, that must have a lot to say to us today, who live in a world where so many people are living in extreme poverty.      

If in His last recorded sermon and in His first recorded sermon, Jesus talked about God’s heart for the poor, we need to ask ourselves, What kind of heart do I have for the poor?  Do I have God’s kind of heart for the poor?  

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

“For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens and Your truth to the clouds.  Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth.”  (Psalm 57:10-11)

Wherever you look you see the truth of the Lord.  His creation is evident in all of His works.  The detail and intricacy are there.  Deny some will, but the works of God’s creation speak of His goodness and the order He has set into place.  Magnify the Lord and see that He is worthy of all honor and praise.  Know the Lord who makes Himself known and see His goodness always.

Lord, I get caught up in the difficulties of this life and forget to simply step back and see the creation You have made.  Guide my heart to never forget that You are God and so far above my ways that I can only begin to comprehend.  Lead me, O Lord, to walk humbly before You, seeing all that You would have me see and walking according to Your never-changing will which You established in the beginning.

Lord Jesus, come down, You who became one of us, guide me in what You have taught the disciples throughout the ages.  Help me learn from You how best to walk each day through this world, filled both with the creation which You have made and the wickedness that has come because of sin.  Grant that I would have a discerning heart to walk humbly and trust in all of Your provisions.  Amen.

“In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.  What can man do to me?”  (Psalm 56:10-11)

What can anyone do to you in the face of Almighty God who holds all things in His hand.  Yes, there are storms in this world, but learn from Jesus to be calm in the midst of every storm.  Though they kill you, yet will you live.  Trouble is for a time, but being in the truth of the Lord is forever.  Do not be swayed by temporary things, but live in the eternal truth of the Lord.

Lord, You know the times and seasons.  You know all that is needed.  Guide me according to Your never-changing Word to abide in You and You in me that I would walk humbly in all of Your ways.  Help me now and always to seek Your will in all things and know that You alone are to be thanked, praised and worshiped.  Guide me now and always in Your Holy Spirit.

Lord and Savior of all, You have come to lead the way for as many as would follow You.  Help me now and always to seek the Father’s will and walk humbly where You lead.  You have made clear the way I should go and You have given the direction – to hold Your hand – so I need not worry about what any day will bring.  Lead me, O Lord, that I may follow where You lead.  Amen.

“They attack, they lurk, they watch my steps, as they have waited to take my life.  Because of wickedness, cast them forth, in anger put down the peoples, O God!”  (Psalm 56:6-7)

All around are those who mean harm.  Yes, there are wicked people in the guise of everyday normal people.  Do not fear and do not fret over them.  Their time is short but the Word of the Lord is forever.  Look to the Lord, be guided by His Spirit and know the truth He revealed once for all.  The peoples will be put down and the Lord lifted up.  Keep your eyes upon the Lord.

Lord, You know the times and events and the ways of people.  Guide me, O Lord, that I would walk in the ways You have established now and forever.  Keep me from the tangles of the wicked ones who plot to lie, cheat, steal and destroy.  Lead me in the way of life that I would go there.  Help me now and always to be one who studies Your Word to see the simplicity and goodness of Your commands.

Lord Jesus, without You it would be impossible, but with You it is possible.  You are the One who makes my salvation possible.  Lead me away from the foolish thinking of this age and into the truth You have revealed for all.  Grow my faith to become action, firmly witnessing Your goodness in the world and guiding my footsteps to be pleasing to the Father.  Amen.

“Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, and He will hear my voice.  He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, for they are many who strive with me.”  (Psalm 55:17-18)

Let’s face it, we all love to murmur and complain.  Not that this accomplishes anything, but we do it anyway.  Be not one who is constantly complaining, but look to the Lord who knows your need before you ask.  Your soul is in the promise of the Lord if you will but submit to Him in all of your ways.  Turn therefore and be comforted in the promise of the Lord knowing that He knew you before you were born.

These words are so easy to read Lord, but hard for the heart to act upon.  Help my unbelief that I would trust You in all things and for all things knowing that You will bring all things together for glory for those who love You.  Guide me O Lord to walk in all of Your ways now and forever that I would know that my soul has been redeemed in peace and that the battle is Yours alone.

Lord Jesus, You have come and fought the fight and won the war for as many as believe.  Although the battle rages on around us in this generation, open my eyes to see that the war is over.  Grant patience for what must take place and lead me beside the quiet waters that I may have my soul restored.  You are Lord and Master and You know all that is needed.  Guide me in Your ways now and always.  Amen.

“He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence.” (Rev. 7:15)

The old sinner in us doesn’t always like the term “shelter.”  Are we so weak that we need someone to shelter us?  Didn’t we cut the apron strings?  Shouldn’t Christians, in particular, be more questing, advocates in the public square for what is good and right and true?  Away with this mild Lord of shelter! (says the old, proud sinner . . . .)

And then 26 believers end up dead in a pool of blood as babies scream, mothers weep, and a nation goes on fighting.  Sudden illness cuts down beloved friends and family.  Opportunists prey on the young and deceive the poor, and an entertainment industry peddles vile myths to corrupt the soul.  Even churches quake with heresy, pressing the faithful into doubt, frustration, and a love of division.  

Come, O Shelter of the faithful!  What strength it takes to shelter others: resolve, compassion, and the willingness to go and seek the lost.  It takes a Man who would even bear a cross to overcome the power of death.  This Man is God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who knows you by name; whose love for you is stronger than death; and who will bring you, with great joy, to the throne that He shares eternally with His Father.  Have no fear, little flock!

LET US PRAY:  Protect, defend, and deliver us from evil, good Shepherd of the sheep.  By Your two-edged sword, that living word, silence the ancient enemy, curb all evil designs, bring us to repentance, and preserve Your Church in perfect peace until the day of Your appearing; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“Let death come deceitfully upon them; let them go down alive to Sheol, for evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.  As for me, I shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me.”  (Psalm 55:15-16)

The contrast has always been before you.  There is the way of the Lord and there is the way of wickedness.  Do not walk in the ways of this world, but hear and heed the call of the Lord to be transformed by the renewing of Your mind.  Walk humbly before Your God and know the ways He established in the beginning.  Call upon the Lord and He will save You from all the evil of this world.

Lord, I know it is appointed to walk in this world for a time, but the wickedness is often so overwhelming.  Lead me to You to look to You through all that swirls around me that I may not be tempted to walk in any other way than the one You have established in salvation.  Lead me O Lord and help me to trust You for all things, dealing with the wicked and saving those who turn to You.

Lord Jesus, in times of trouble I call out to You.  Help me come to You in all times and places, both good and bad and all the times in between.  Lead me heart to learn from You how to deal with the craziness of this world and hold forever fast to the truth You have revealed.  Lead me O Lord and will follow You all the days of my life.  Grant me grace and strength of Your Spirit to fulfill this vow.  Amen.

“Destruction is in her midst; oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets.  For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him.”  (Psalm 55:11-12)

All around are those who plot and seek to gain what is not theirs for their own sake.  It is hard to live in a world with so many that are deceitful.  Yet, here we are.  How can one hide from the wickedness that is on every side?  Hide in the Lord who knows all things and will not anything come upon You that will separate you from Him.  Come to the Lord and find the only rest in a world gone mad.

Lord, these are words I can hear, but they are so hard to act upon.  Guide the thoughts of my mind and the actions I make to come into conformity with what You are saying.  Lead me by Your Spirit to walk in the ways You have established in spite of all that is going on around me.  Lead me O Lord that I would follow You all the days of my life and walk in Your goodness.

Lord Jesus, for this very reason You have come that as many as turn to You would discover the peace which surpasses all understanding.  Lead me Lord Jesus in the way I should go and then through Your Spirit, give the means to walk in this way.  By Your grace alone am I not like the others who hate You.  In thankfulness, guide my heart ever upward to walk with You alone.  Amen.