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SOULSTRENGTH:
STRONG DEVOTIONS TO
STRENGTHEN CHRISTIANS
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Devotional
Thought For The Day
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What is
“the calling wherewith you were
called?” It is to faith in Jesus Christ,
to the knowledge of God’s great love for us, to be children of our
heavenly
Father, to know the goodness and beauty of a life of love and service
to
others. How often we take this calling for granted, and give it little
consideration in the daily affairs of our lives. We’re
busy, overwrought, burdened, fatigued,
swamped with all the many responsibilities and details of this earthly
life. We just don’t seem to have time to
think about implementing our real calling, our true vocation as
disciples of
Jesus Christ, in our daily lives.
The Lord,
through His Word, urges us to
consider that our true vocation and calling in life is to be His dear
children
of faith. Whatever else we may do - our job, our profession, our
hobbies, our
family, our associations – these are to be fit into our true vocation. Our true vocation is eternal; all of the
earthly details of our lives are temporal.
If we lose our true vocation, we have lost everything of lasting
value.
If we keep our true vocation, then regardless of the changes we
experience in
the temporal affairs of our life, nothing really changes all that much.
How are we
to “walk worthily” in our true
calling, a life of faith and loving service to others?
In these verses Paul lists four things:
lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, and forbearance in love. But none of these things sound particularly
appealing! Our natural reaction to the
sins and weaknesses of others, including the stubborn unbelief of
others around
us, is moral indignation, remonstration, condescending criticism, and
finally
rejection. It is a very painful and
difficult path to walk in lowliness, meekness, longsuffering, and
forbearing
love. Indeed, it seems counterproductive, as if we are actually
abetting people
in their commitment to remain in weakness and sin.
If we
regress into the way of our sinful
flesh, however, we give no witness at all to the regenerative power of
God’s
love in Christ Jesus. If we walk worthily of our calling as believers
in God’s
gracious and merciful love, our witness may be ignored and even
demeaned, but
at least it will remain an enduring witness that God’s love has brushed
against
these people. And the world needs more
and more of this noble and beautiful witness to God’s patient and
enduring
love. And living worthily of the calling we have received is valuable
just in
and of itself. So let us heed the urging of the Holy Spirit, and work
hard at
implementing the things that make our daily lives worthy of the calling
we have
received in Christ Jesus.
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Prayer For
The Day
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Dear Lord
Jesus, I keep thinking that I
would be able to live worthy of my calling, if only others did more of
the
right things, made better decisions, and listened to my advice. Help me
to see
that living worthy of my calling is never dependent upon the actions or
behaviors of others, but is always a matter of my willingness and the
empowerment of Your love. Remind me of the truly important things in
life, and
help me to live worthy of my calling in everything that I do. Amen.
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Prayer
Concerns
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All those
mourning the passing of loved
ones
American
military personnel serving in
harm's way
The displaced and mourning from natural disasters to be given strength of faith
Those
in war-torn areas to be able to trust God and resume normalcy to their
lives
Christians
throughout the world suffering for
Christ
All
Christian missionaries and all missions
of mercy and love to those in need
I will be
paring down our list a bit.
Please renew prayer requests if I have removed a critical prayer
concern!
Rusty Alexy – terminal cancer
Bonnie Ingel – lung cancer
Cara Penkert – hospitalized again, also for her family, for strength and faith
Jo Hampton – more eye surgery, detached retina is threatening vision
Chad
Field – critically wounded in
Richard
Maese- 4th round of chemo, tumors now shrinking
Susan - osteoarthritis
of left hip joint requiring surgery, obesity, depression
Danielle
Carbrey – suffering from Battens disease
Jan
Bailey, and her two daughters, Katie (21) and Kristin (18) – working
through
the grief of divorce and dissolution of their family
Judy
Dann – needs a kidney transplant
Nancy Hire
– beginning a long process of
reconstructive surgery
Pastor
Dwight Schultz – in need of liver
transplant
Connie
Perrigo – in need of kidney transplant
Ashleigh –
for God’s counsel as she weighs
difficult decisions regarding the future of her unborn child
Justin –
to avoid peer pressure, to make
right choices at school, to follow Jesus
Pastor
Gary Trickey - diagnosed with renal
cell carcinoma.
Mary Ann -
becoming crippled from RA
"Pray
continually." [1
Thessalonians 5:17]
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SOULSTRENGTH
IS NOW READ IN NINE
COUNTRIES!!!
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Copyright
2006 SoulStrength
SOULSTRENGTH:
STRONG DEVOTIONS TO
STRENGTHEN CHRISTIANS
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Devotional
Thought For The Day
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All who
have been granted the wondrous
knowledge of God’s forgiveness, mercy, and salvation in Christ Jesus
are eager
to “spread” this knowledge. How can we possibly remain silent about the
greatest gift of love? This doesn’t mean that all of us are great
evangelists,
ready and eager in any circumstance to preach the Gospel to others. But
it does
mean that we would like to tell others of the love with which God has
embraced
us, a love which gives meaning and empowerment to our earthly lives,
and
complete comfort regarding death and the life to come.
When we
speak to some people, however, it
soon becomes apparent that they simply do not have the faculty to
understand,
grasp, and receive this glorious good news.
In fact, given that our sinful nature is dead in trespasses and
sins
[Eph. 2:4-6], there is no natural capacity to grasp the glorious
knowledge of
God’s love in Christ Jesus in any of us. Jesus also warns us about
those who
have no capacity to grasp the pearl of His great love for us [Matt.
7:6]. So, it should not be surprising to
us when
others are incapable of identifying with our joy in Christ, and
embracing God’s
love through faith.
“To
everything there is a season, and a
time for every purpose under heaven,” we read in the book of
Ecclesiastes. There is a time to keep
silence, when a
foolish person cannot grasp God’s love in Christ, and becomes irritable
and
threatening. However, there is also a
time to speak. Let us remember that we
too have come to faith in Christ by “the lips of the wise spreading
knowledge”
to us. The Gospel remains “the power of God unto salvation,” for “faith
comes
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” [Rom.
Let us not
allow rejection of the Gospel,
and the hardness of heart we so often encounter, to deter us from
“spreading
the knowledge” of God’s love and salvation to others.
We understand why they reject the Gospel –
hardened hearts lack the capacity to receive God’s wisdom and believe. But we also know that the only thing that can
break through to our foolish hearts is this very Gospel.
We are to be discriminating, to be sure, but we
cannot help but proclaim the joy that is at the center of our life and
being,
the knowledge of God’s great love for us in Jesus.
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Prayer For
The Day
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Dear Lord
Jesus, thank You for breaking
through my hardened, darkened, and stubborn heart, with the glorious
light of
Your forgiveness and love! Thank You for
making me one of Your own dear children.
Help me to be eager at all times to speak to others the
knowledge and
wisdom of Your love. Help me to be
discriminating, wisely knowing when to speak and when to remain silent.
Have
mercy, and touch the hearts of my friends and relatives who are yet to
grasp
Your wisdom, that as I speak to them they too may come to know Your
love. Amen.
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Scriptures
Cited
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SOULSTRENGTH:
STRONG DEVOTIONS TO
STRENGTHEN CHRISTIANS
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“To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the
day of trouble the LORD delivers him; the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is
called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The LORD
sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.” Psalm 41:1-3
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Devotional
Thought For The Day
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In these
verses the LORD provides us with
great comfort, consolation, and encouragement in our life of faith,
discipleship, and love. Consider the blessings promised to those whose
love,
begotten of their experience of God’s gracious forgiveness, mercy, and
love in
the Savior Jesus Christ, is true and genuine.
1.
God delivers
him in the day of trouble
2.
God protects
him and keeps him alive
3.
He is called
blessed throughout the community
4.
God will
never give him up to the will of his enemies
5.
God sustains
him during time of illness
6.
God restores
him to full health
We need
these kinds of assurances,
especially when we are struggling with illness and when we are facing
days of
trouble and the threats of enemies. The LORD is with us, watching over
all of
our doings, especially when we consider those in need and help them. It
is His
will that we behave as His dear children, those born again through His
Word and
Sacrament, by having mercy, pity, and genuine compassion upon those in
need.
As we live
our lives of faith, convinced of
the all encompassing love of our dear Savior, we have the utmost
confidence in
all times of trouble and difficulty. God is with us to protect us and
deliver
us; we will never fall to the evil will of our enemies.
All things are being worked together for our
great good and blessedness, even daunting challenges and times of
illness and
death itself.
Note that
God’s dearly beloved children are
not immune to the common problems faced by all human beings. But we do
have the
love of God, and His Words and promises, to strengthen and sustain us
in all
the difficulties of this life. This makes a huge difference in how we
experience and endure trials. God’s love gives us a courage and
constancy that
seems truly miraculous to those who are yet to know the LORD, and how
we endure
hardship provides a powerful and poignant witness to the strength of
God’s
love.
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Prayer For
The Day
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Dear Lord
Jesus, thank You for Your
promises, and for all the aid, comfort, strength, and courage that You
provide
us with in the face of the difficulties and trials of life in this
world cursed
by sin. Keep us firm in faith in all times of crisis, and keep us firm
in love
and compassion for others, when we are hearty and healthy. So enable us
to
rejoice in being Your dear children, and living a life consistent with
Your
great love. Amen.