Sunday, September 27

“I hereby command you:
Be strong and courageous;
do not be frightened or dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9

Moses had died. Joshua, his assistant, was to become the leader of all of Israel as they at last entered the promised land. Can you imagine how Joshua felt? No doubt Joshua was still grieving the death of his friend as he began taking on this huge new assignment. God spoke to Joshua to give him the reassurance he needed. “Be strong and courageous.” God wanted Joshua to be a strong leader for the people. “Do not be frightened or dismayed.” It wouldn’t serve Joshua or the Israelites well if their leader was unsteady in this important time. How could Joshua be all of these things? What was the reason? “The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua could be the confident, strong, courageous leader God was calling him to be, because God would walk with him every step of the way. God would be with Joshua wherever he went.

What challenges are you facing? Are there things in your life where you need some strength and courage to deal with them? Are you feeling frightened about something? Are you riddled with dismay? Just as the Lord promised to be with Joshua, the Lord is with you as well! When Jesus gave the Great Commission, sending the disciples out to spread the message, He promised to be with them always. This promise is true for you! God has sent the Holy Spirit to be your constant companion and guide. You can have strength and take courage in this promise.

I like to say these words as a scriptural affirmation over myself when I’m facing tough challenges. Try it out yourself. “I am strong and courageous. I am not frightened or dismayed. The Lord my God is with me wherever I go.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your eternal promises to be with your people. Father, you know the particular difficulties I’m facing right now. I lay them into your hands, trusting you hear my prayer, and believing that you will indeed be with me wherever I go. Help me to be strong and courageous, not frightened or dismayed. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Monday, September 28

“Why are you cast down, O my soul and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”
Psalm 42:11

There are many things to be cast down and disquieted about in life. If you watch the news, it can seem like a long litany of sadness. There is trouble in the world, the economy, the Lutheran church, our families, our workplaces, our relationships – the list is a long one. It is tempting to fall into despair over any number of problems.

One thing we can do in the midst of the temptation to despair is to turn to God in praises. We can sing hymns and pray prayers of praise even in our darkest hours. Sometimes the best time to praise God is when we least feel like it. It is even in those times that God has still provided a Savior for us in Jesus Christ. God has made promises to us about heaven, and those do not change due to the changing circumstances around us.

The next time you start to feel the temptation to despair, try offering up some praise to God. “Hope in God.” Again praise Him, our help and our God.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are marvelous! You have provided so much for each one of us. You’ve given me daily blessings now and the promise of eternal life to come through Jesus Christ. Wow! Let all my praise be Yours! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Tuesday, September 29

“Those who mock the poor insult their Maker;
those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.”
Proverbs 17:5

It is wrong to mock the poor. It insults the God who created them. Perhaps we have made good progress as a society where jokes about the urban poor are no longer as widely accepted. However, it seems to me that it is trendy to mock the rural poor. How often don’t we hear jokes about “rednecks”? Why is it okay to refer to people as “white trash”?

During college I wrote a term paper comparing the portrayals of urban and rural poverty in film. I found that, largely, urban poverty was portrayed as structural poverty, where the poor were unlucky victims of a set of inescapable circumstances. Rural poverty was portrayed as escapable, and the characters usually escaped it by extraordinary means, such as becoming famous musicians. Rural poverty was not taken as seriously as urban poverty.

Our call is to love and cherish all people as God has loved and cherished us so much He even sent Jesus to save us on the cross. We are not to mock the poor, but rather help and honor them. In doing so, we honor their Creator.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray for the poor. I pray for all those who worry about their next meal, their next paycheck, and their next bill. Grant them what they need. Guide me in being an instrument of your love to all, especially the poor. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Wednesday, September 30

“For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you
some spiritual gift to strengthen you –
or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged
by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.”
Romans 1:11-12

This verse from Romans is one of my favorite verses about the importance of Christian community. Paul longed to share spiritually with the Romans and be mutually strengthened in the faith. Our faith is stronger when we surround ourselves with those who share it. We are helped by others, and others are helped by us.

For me it is important to have deep, spiritual friendships. I know that there are certain people I can visit or call, and I will be strengthened in my faith. I have had the same prayer partner since my first year of seminary. He and I have prayed together and had spiritual conversations consistently, usually at least once a week, for the past ten years. I know I am spiritually stronger after speaking with him or praying with him. Spiritual friendships are such a blessing!

Do you have people like that in your life? Who are those people for you?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for my spiritual friends. Thank You for those people who strengthen me in my faith. Thank You for sending them into my life. Help others to be strengthened by my faith as well. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Thursday, October 1

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Romans 11:29

I like the Good News Bible translation of this verse: “For God does not change his mind about whom he chooses and blesses.”

Sometimes you might hit a really crummy patch of life, and it might start to seem like you have lost God’s favor. I know that sometimes it hasn’t been my day, my week, my month, or even my year, like the song says, and I need to remind myself of God’s fidelity to me. I use this verse from Romans.

God does not change His mind about those whom He chooses and blesses. God chose you in your baptism. God chose you in the gift of the Holy Spirit. God blessed you throughout your life in so many ways. God does not change His mind. His commitment to you is solid. Remind yourself of this when things are looking bleak. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable, and they are yours.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that You do not change Your mind. Thank You for Your commitment to me. Guide me in facing difficult circumstances and trying times. Help me to keep Your promises in the forefront of my thoughts. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Friday, October 2

“See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand!”
Galatians 6:11

Do you think anyone else has ever written a devotion on this verse? This is actually one of my favorite verses of scripture. Seriously!

I love this verse, because it reminds me that the Apostle Paul wrote this, and that it was an actual letter to the Galatians. It helps me to imagine St. Paul writing these letters. Apparently, he had some pretty large handwriting!

God used St. Paul to communicate with so many people. God used him to carry the message of Jesus’ love on many journeys and in writings we still read in our churches today. God changed this man’s life around completely. Paul went from a persecutor of the church to a great apostle. Paul’s story reminds me of God’s power at work in me. God can do anything in me. Look what God did in Paul! And look what God did through Paul, too! It stands to reason then that God can do great things through me, too!

What great thing might God be calling you to do?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the witness of St. Paul. You did marvelous work in his life. I am open to your marvelous work in my life, too. Use me, Lord, according to Your will. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Saturday, October 3

“Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.”
Philippians 4:8

This passage follows the direction in Philippians not to worry about anything, but to present all your requests to God with prayer and supplication. For me, worry and thinking are pretty closely intertwined. I notice this especially when I try to fall asleep at night. Sometimes I lie awake for a long, long time.

My brain is full of junk – this seemingly endless chattering of thoughts. Lots of these thoughts are worries. Many are things that will never happen. Some are worries from a long time ago. It is a challenge for me to get rid of worry. If I start thinking about how God says not to worry, I will start worrying about worrying!

What I try to do instead is follow this next bit of advice in scripture. Since my brain is going to keep spinning thoughts, I try to replace the worried thoughts with thinking of whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. Most often, that has a lot to do with God.

The next time you find worries swirling around your mind, see if you can replace them with better thoughts.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, sorry for all the worry. Help me to trust more in Your providential care. Fill my thoughts with true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy ideas that give glory and honor to You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.