God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Christ. Through Christ, God reconciles all things to Himself, both on earth and in heaven, making peace through the blood of Christ’s death on the cross.
TO PONDER
Christ’s power and glory does not come from what we know but from who Jesus Christ is. As Max Lucado has said, man creates the distance – Jesus builds the bridge.
I don’t know about you but I get really worked up when someone has a grievance with me. I feel sick in my stomach. I stress. I can’t sleep. My mind keeps replaying the incident. Could I have made better choices?
Often I’m guilty of taking God’s wonderful relationship with me for granted, but then I imagine if it was God whom I had upset. And I do regularly fall short and upset Him. As I have been writing this devotion, I’ve tried to sit with this thought: the enormity of the chasm that would be ongoing between myself and God. It is unbearably painful. I think I cannot comprehend feeling like that – day after day, year after year. Estranged from God. There would be no peace, no wonderful relationship. My body would be diseased, never having any peace or joy, love or purpose.
Now the enormity of God’s gift of reconciliation hits me like a steam train at full speed. All thanks to Christ’s grace and mercy, through His death and resurrection. Because of Jesus’ suffering and friendship, we have a relationship with our Creator God. And the promises never again need to be severed. This deep and abiding reconciled relationship will follow me always.
How sad that we so easily let the earthly things – the busyness, the human pressures – distract us from God’s undeserved joy and peace and wholeness in relationship with Him.
PRAYER:Heavenly Father,Thank you for the sacrifice that Jesus fulfilled for me. What an unfathomable gift. Through Your Holy Spirit, may I live in this reconciliation more and more. In Your power and glory, I pray. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Jill von Stanke (Pastor Mat's mum) LifeWay Online
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
TO PONDER
This reminds me of a joke that I shared with my grandchildren recently. What is the strangest fish in the ocean...?
The piece of cod that surpasses all understanding!
Billy Graham once said, "Just as iron is attracted to a magnet, so is the soul in its state of hunger, drawn to God." There is something deep down inside of you and I that cannot be satisfied by earthly pleasures. Oh, the joy of experiencing the peace of God.
It only works for those of us who fix our minds on Him and trust His promises. This means having a steadfast mind. One that’s focused and committed to God with confident expectation. It is not a state of perfect peace without any anxiety at all, though it can be.
It’s not God making our life always easy and perfect either.
Isaiah is describing internal peace and God promises to keep us there. What sustains and upholds your mind? We cannot occasionally come to the Lord. Our minds must be stayed on Him and steadfast. Satan loves to get our mind away from God and His love for us. The battle for trust in the Lord begins in our mind. Simple intentional acts of faith give us a daily foundation i.e. prayer, meditating on scripture and surrounding ourselves with a supportive faith community.
God asks us to rely on Him completely with our minds because He is everlasting strength. Not that He has everlasting strength but He is everlasting strength. This goes a long way toward putting my heart and mind in perfect peace. How about yours?
PRAYER:Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of peace that You give to me. Your peace is a gift that transcends understanding and it is a huge comfort in times of trouble. I'm grateful for Your presence in my life, and for the strength, peace and joy that You provide. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Jill von Stanke (Pastor Mat's mum), LiveWay Online
Jesus said to her, “Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace, be healed of your disease”.
TO PONDER
I saw a man being interviewed recently and he was asked if he believed in God 20 years ago. He said, “Oh yes, most definitely!” The interviewer then asked, “What about now?” The man thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t think I believe anymore. I just know.” This women from our Bible text just knew. If she could just touch Jesus’ coat she would be healed – and she was! Jesus affirms that it was her faith that made her well.
The Jews saw her illness as a reaction from God for her sinful ways. Not only is she in pain, but she has been deemed ‘unclean’ – unable to visit the temple or be around other people without ‘infecting’ them. If that wasn’t bad enough, the ‘healers’ also took all her money.
Jesus breaks the mould. He does not shame her or rob her. He calls her ‘Daughter’. She is the only person in the New Testament to be called ‘Daughter’ by Jesus. He commends her faith. It wasn’t perfect, but she saw Jesus, she knew she needed Him, and she had the boldness to claim Him. It’s not our action either, but our faith, that speaks to Jesus. The wonder of it is, Jesus also calls us ‘Sons and Daughters’.
PRAYER: Lord, strengthen my faith in you. Open my heart to the ways of your Holy Spirit. Help me to daily dwell in You more and to trust in You more. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Jill von Stanke (Pastor Mat's mum) LifeWay Online
He heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds.
TO PONDER
It has been my experience that those logs in our eyes that God speaks about in Matthew 7:3-5, are very real. Often, we are unaware of the brokenness of our own hearts.
We caring Christians are often the first to help with someone else’s pain, but God implores us to slow down and to spend dedicated time with Him so that we can receive His healing for our broken hearts and place our trust in His love.
God sees right in there. He knows things about us that we don’t know about ourselves. He sees the confusion and mess of our thoughts; the brokenness and pain from a not-so perfect life.
Having your broken heart bandaged by none other than God Himself - surely that encourages your soul! God longs to comfort and restore us. Remember that log? It’s worth asking God, “Does my heart need help?” With out willingness and trust, and God’s healing, our whole life can be taken to a new and glorious level. Mine has. Ask God to lead you into healing and wholeness today.
PRAYER: Thank you, Lord, that you don’t just heal me. You care enough to bind up my wounds. Heal the wounds of our nation and world; of our churches; our families; and for each of us experiencing broken hearts and deep wounds. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Jill von Stanke (Pastor Mat's mum), LifeWay Online
"A man was lying there who had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw the man and knew he had been sick for such a long time, Jesus asked him, 'Do you want to be well?'"
TO PONDER
38 years. That’s a long time. I’ve experienced debilitating illness for a long time, though not that long. I just know that there is so much more to this story. Jesus would have remained caring and concerned and aware of this man’s journey. He would see to it that he was eased into his new state of wellness; that he was supported by friends; that his mind was not overwhelmed. Whatever need he had would be met. Mine were, and if you look back, so are yours.
We know this because Jesus loves each one of us and is forever faithful. If you haven’t faced this kind of long-term trial, know that when you do, our gentle, loving, faithful Saviour will do the same for you. He is about wholeness of body, mind and spirit. How different from doctors and waiting rooms and endless medications. Sometimes we don’t notice what God is doing for us and sometimes I doubt that we truly do want to get better—because it opens a totally new way of living.
Hold onto your faith and confidence in Jesus because He comes to impart wholeness.
The man in this story didn’t doubt Jesus. He didn’t ask, “What can you possibly do for me?” In faith, he believed and was healed. Further on in verse 15, the man starts sharing his story of healing. When we share our stories, we encourage one another and we shine the light back onto Jesus.
Why not ask your friends if they’ve had an experience of healing with God? Give them permission to share their story. You will hear some wonderfully encouraging things. Maybe God is challenging you to share your stories too.
PRAYER: Lord, I love You. Thank You for the times and all the ways You have healed me. I want to be more aware of Your presence in my life. Help me to find opportunities this week to talk about You with others so that we may encourage one another in our faith journeys. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Jill von Stanke (pastor Mat's Mum), LifeWay Online.
Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’
TO PONDER
I'd be surprised if you haven't heard the expression, 'the only two certainties in life are taxes and death'. As I reflect on this saying, it is my view that it is fairly accurate. I work in reinsurance (a risk management industry – we insure insurers) and I sometimes explain to people that don't understand the concept of reinsurance, that we are sophisticated bookmakers (i.e., we price risk).
I have some friends that are involved in horse racing and if a horse has odds to win of $1.01, they would explain that this is as good as you might get to a certainty to win. If $1 is outlaid on the horse to win, the total return back is $1.01! This for me is still far from certainty.
So what then is certainty? Probably not even the death and taxes expression as whilst we all pay tax (either directly or indirectly) some of us may not die but be here for Christ's second coming.
Certainty is todays reading from Isaiah and in fact our scripture for every day of this past week. What more certainty do we need? Our God is the same God, yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever. That's certainty! (Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever".)
The God that loves you, me and the whole world so much that He sent His son down to earth to die for us on the cross and to defeat death and Satan with His Easter Sunday resurrection. Not anything, in this world or into the future will ever change this. THIS IS CERTAINTY.
Be challenged today, tomorrow and every day to show your certainty in all that you do in God's name. How (and for whom?) can you do this today?
PRAYER: God of Certainty. You are in control of all things. Thank you that you have gone before me to carve out my final destination with You for eternity. Continue to walk with me and help me to live boldly in this certainty every day. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
TO PONDER
As I read our scripture for today the First, Ninth and Tenth Commandments immediately 'jump out at me'. To have a love of money or other material possessions will certainly mean that we are failing in any endeavour to keep the First Commandment as in Luther's Small Catechism we are told that we should "honour, love and trust God more than anything else". Equally, if we covet our neighbours house or we desire someone else's husband, wife or are envious of someone else's assets or possessions then we are in breach of the Ninth and Tenth Commandments.
When our focus is not in the right place or our priorities are in the incorrect order, then our sinful nature as descendants of Adam will bring us into temptation and direct conflict with God's Commandments.
Our scripture tells us to be content with what we have. We should not pursue earthly material possessions when as children of God we have certainty through our risen Lord of the promise to come of eternal life in paradise. The text further underpins this certainty and should be the foundation of our contentment. "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you". We can confidently proclaim our contentment through our trust in God to meet all our needs and security. We can indeed say (and live) in confidence knowing the Lord is walking by our side to assist us and that nothing can impact His love for us.
How often do you revisit Luther's Small Catechism or other biblical tools / references to help you underpin the certainty you have in your risen Lord? Do that today.
PRAYER: Heavenly King. Through your never-ending love for me, You have done everything needed for me to be content now, here on earth and in my Heavenly home that awaits me. Help me to be a living witness of the certainty that I have through your resurrection. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping
The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
TO PONDER
Verse 8 of today's Psalm reminds me vividly of weekly church services as a young boy with my family in the NSW country town of Albury. "The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore" was part of our regular Sunday blessing as worship concluded. A reminder to us as we left worship of God's protection, a blessing that expressed the certainty we have in God's care.
This verse emphasises God's constant and eternal vigilance over all believers, from our daily activities here on earth to our final eternal destiny in Heaven with our Father.
As a disciple of Jesus at LifeWay Lutheran church, I can fully understand why verse 7 and 8 of this Psalm has been selected as a focus for devotion during our current sermon series 'show me your identity' with particular focus for this week on 'showing your certainty'.
You cannot get any more certainty than knowing that our Lord will keep you from all harm, He will watch over your life and continue to watch over your coming and going both now and forever more.
What can you do today (an expression of love, a discussion, showing support or assistance to a neighbour) to display your Christian identity and share the news of our risen Lord?
PRAYER: Dear Lord, todays scripture verses provide me with certainty in your love for me and exactly what this means for me as your child, now and for eternity. Please send me and place me into settings where you can assist me to confidently share this certainty with others. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping
All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away
TO PONDER
As I contemplated the verse above and then did some further reading, I was interested to learn that some of the well-known theologians generally had the view that there is a simple meaning of the word 'come / coming' in the context of our scripture for today. Not simplistic in terms of the rewards and promises we have in coming to Christ, nor that believing in Christ is a simple exercise but how simple and natural the action of 'coming' really is. As Spurgeon stated, coming is a simple action that involves either one coming away from something or coming to something. To have faith in God then, means we have 'come to Him'.
John's scripture is clear that coming to Jesus begins with the work of the Father. As we walk our journey (as sent out by Christ to make disciples of all nations), we too can be confident that the Father (Holy Spirit) will indeed work within us to bring others to know Him.
Today's verse then reinforces for us that Jesus will receive all that come to Him. He will never drive us away. What comfort and certainty this provides us to continue our Christian journey of bringing the good news of the Easter story to all.
Can you identify someone in your life right now that needs to learn about the 'bread of life' in Jesus Christ? Keep talking with them, encouraging them and let the Father (Holy Spirit) work within you.
PRAYER: Our Father in Heaven, sorry when I do not display my Christian identity daily for everyone to see. Walk with me and work within me through your Holy Spirit to bring others to know you so I can share the certainty you provide me and all my Christian brothers and sisters. Amen
Today's devotion written by Shane Burdack, LifeWay Epping