Daily Bible Readings:
Monday, November 18. Read 1 Peter 1:3-9. 1) How does Peter begin his prayer in his letter to the exiles? 2) What does he say God is doing for us? 3) Knowing that, how does it change the way we pray and live?
Tuesday, November 19. Read Ephesians 1:3-6. 1) What does Paul say first in this extended pray on behalf of the Ephesian church? 2) What does he say God has done? 3) Read through verse 14. What does Paul attribute to God?
Wednesday, November 20. Read Psalm 50:1-3. 1) What would yous say is the predominate belief about God in this Psalm? 2) What characteristics does the Psalmist attribute to God?
Thursday, November 21. Read Isaiah 7:10-17. 1) What did Isaiah invite Ahaz to do? 2) What sign did Isaiah tell Ahaz God would give him? 3) How does Matthew use this text from Isaiah> See Matthew 1:23.
Friday, November 22. Read Psalm 136:1-3. 1) What does this Psalm call for people to do? 2) On what basis is that request made? 3) What phrase does the Psalmist repeat throughout this Psalm?
Saturday, November 23. Read Psalm 46. This is Sunday’s sermon text.
Prayer of the Week:
Dear Father, May we like Luther sing that “a Mighty Fortress is our God.” May we be ever conscious of the fact that you join us in the chaos of life.
You provide us with all the wisdom, grace and other resources we need to negotiate the fraught times of our lives: when illness strikes, when we lose jobs, when political chaos strikes us with fear.
We thank you for being our Immanuel. In Jesus’ name we pray this. Amen.
Hymn for the Week:
A Mighty Fortress
by Martin Luther, 1529
A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he, amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side,
the Man of God’s own choosing.
You ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth his name,
from age to age the same;
and he must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
That Word above all earthly powers
no thanks to them abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours
through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever!
Devotional Article of the Week:
This Brutal World
Life is a dangerous endeavor.
by Max Lucado
Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul (Matthew 10:28).
Yet again, yet so soon, we struggle to make sense of bloodshed and violence. Bikers mowed down on New York City’s Westside. Sunday, worshippers slaughtered in a small-town South Texas church. Multiple peace officers killed while on duty. A large crowd gathered for a concert have their lives shattered by a gunman. Lives lost during a “routine” traffic stop.
Life is a dangerous endeavor. We pass our days in the shadows of ominous realities. The power to annihilate humanity has, it seems, been placed in the hands of people who are happy to do so.
Contrary to what we’d hope, good people aren’t exempt from violence. Murderers don’t give the godly a pass. Terrorists don’t vet out victims according to spiritual resumes. The bloodthirsty and wicked don’t skip over the heaven-bound. We aren’t insulated. But neither are we intimidated. Jesus has a word or two about this brutal world”
Do not fear those who kill the body…rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28).
His disciples needed this affirmation. Jesus had just told them to expect scourging, trials, death, hatred, and persecution (Matthew 17—23). Not the kind of locker room pep talk that rallies the team. To their credit, none defected. Perhaps they didn’t leave because of the fresh memory of Jesus’ flexed muscles in the graveyard:
[Jesus had taken his disciples to] the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, [where] two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs; they were so exceedingly violent that no one could pass by that road. And behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with You, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:28-29 NASB).These two men were demon-possessed and, consequently, “exceedingly violent.” People walked wide detours around the cemetery to avoid them.
Not Jesus. He marched in like he owned the place. The demons and Jesus needed no introduction. They had battled it out somewhere else, and the demons had no interest in a rematch. They didn’t even put up a fight: “Have you come to punish us before our time?” (Matthew 8:29 CEV).
Backpedaling. Stuttering. Translation? “We know you will put it to us in the end, but do we get double trouble in the meantime?” They crumpled like stringless puppets. Pathetic, their appeal: “please send us into those pigs” (Matthew 8:31 CEV).
Jesus did so. “Move,” he exorcised (Matthew 8:32 CEV). No shout, scream, incantation, dance, incense, or demand, just one small word. We Christians trace the source of violence back to the devil. We place the fault of bloodshed at the feet of the one whose days are numbered; Satan. We find our hope in the sure victory of Jesus.
And though this world with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us:
the prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him,
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure,
one little word shall fell him.[ONE]
This assurance of Jesus’ victory is the balance on which Jesus writes the check of courage: “Do not fear those who kill the body and cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28).
Courage emerges, not from increased police security, but from enhanced spiritual maturity. These days of violence call for people of faith. People of fear make poor decisions. They overreact, lash out and/or retreat. People of courage, on the other hand, keep a cool head. They are not blind to nor bewildered by the evil in the world.
Martin Luther King exemplified this courage. He chose not to fear those who meant him harm. On April 3, 1968, he spent hours in a plane waiting on the tarmac due to bomb threats. When he arrived in Memphis later that day, he was tired and hungry, but not afraid.
“We’ve got some difficult days ahead,” he told the crowd. “But it doesn’t matter to me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
He would be dead in less than twenty-four hours. But the people who meant him harm fell short of their goal. They took his breath, but they never took his soul.
Evildoers have less a chance of hurting you if you aren’t already a victim.
Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but to trust the LORD means safety (Proverbs 29:25 NLT).
Real courage embraces the twin realities of current difficulty and ultimate triumph.
Avoid Pollyanna optimism. We gain nothing by glossing over the brutality of human existence. This is a toxic world. But nor do we join the Chicken Little Chorus of gloom and doom. “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”
Somewhere between Pollyanna and Chicken Little, between blind denial and blatant panic, stands the level-headed, clear-thinking, still-believing person of faith. Wide-eyed, yet unafraid. Unterrified by the terrifying. The calmest kid on the block, not for lack of bullies, but for faith in our heavenly Father. The old people of God knew this peace:
Though a host encamps against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
(Psalm 27:3 RSV).
Do not give in to your fears. Resist the temptation to retreat and hunker down. Now is the time for faith; the season for God-based hope:
Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about the evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes (Psalm 37:7 NLT).
Courage is a choice. Let it be yours.
