Daily Devotional Thought--Happy Thanksgiving!

Today we pray (from Starck's Prayer Book):

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His mercy endures forever. Thus I say, O my God, I have lived again to see the blessed time of harvest. O gracious God, how great is the goodness You have manifested toward us! You have laid the foundations of the earth that it should be established forever. But into this earth You have placed Your glorious treasures. You make it produce fruits for us in abundance, which serve for sustaining our life, for our food and health.

O living Father, You have especially crowned this year with Your blessing, and Your paths overflow with abundance. You have watered the hills from Your chambers. You have filled the earth with fruits of You creation. You have caused the grass to grow for the cattle and vegetation for the service of humanity, that You might bring forth food from the earth. O faithful Father, this year again You have given food and drink to Your children, though they have been ungrateful. You have protected our harvest. Heaven has heard the cry of the earth, and the earth has yielded grain and wine. You have given us the early and latter rain in due season, causing our fields to bloom and giving us the bounties that spring from Your power. By Your grace our trees have yielded many kinds of beautiful and pleasant fruits, and the wine has made us glad. O loving God and Father, You have spread the wings of Your mercy over all our lands. You have caused the sun to shine in season, thus maturing all our crops. You have protected them from hail, blight, drought, and floods. While we slept, You were awake. You were the watchman and keeper of our fields.

O Lord, how great and manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all, and the earth is full of Your riches All creatures, human and animal, wait on You, that You may give them their food in due season. What You give them, they gather. You open You hand, and they are filled with good. Yes, You have abundantly blessed us this year, O God, with the wealth of You bounties.

For this we thank You with our inmost heart. O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our maker. Let us enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Let us say with grateful hearts: The Lord has done great things for us, and indeed we are glad.

O Lord, let us not misuse the gifts and favors that You have bestowed on us, but let us learn from them your love toward us and Your fatherly faithfulness. O God, if some who are ungrateful should show contempt for Your gifts by using them for gluttony or refusing to thank You for them, do not on that account withdraw Your blessing from us, but preserve them for us according to Your mercy.

O Father, You have loved us with an everlasting love, and You draw us to Yourself also by these earthly blessings, that we may know the giver by the gifts and the benefactor by His glorious presents, grant that Your goodness may lead us to repentance. Whenever we see Your gifts before us on the table, or receive them into our hands or mouth, let us always lift up our eyes to You, O fountain of every blessing! And as You sustain our bodies by Your bounties, let us through the Means of Grace that You have appointed increase also in the inner self, in faith, love, and godliness, that we may grow in all goodness, and be changed from glory to glory, until we are ushered into the enjoyment of Your heavenly blessings in everlasting life through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Old Testament

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I've already mentioned Starck's Prayer Book, and since Wednesday's devotional thought comes from the Old Testament, I thought I'd share this particular exhortation on this Thanksgiving Eve. Enjoy!

Devout Christians Thank God for the Ingathering of the Harvest

"And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal. Therefore I will take back My grain in its time, and My wine in its season, and I will take away My wool and My flax, which were to cover her nakedness" (Hosea 2:8-9).

If we were to look for a glorious and great blessing apparent to all people, we would undoubtedly find it in our annual harvests. It is God who has protected our sowings in the earth during the winter, who caused them to sprout, grow, and bear fruit during the summer, averted hail, winds, and storms, and filled our barns and cellars with His blessings. On the other hand, if there is a favor that seems trifling and contemptible to our world, and for which God is thanked least of all, it is the annual harvest. Ungrateful humanity imagines that these things simply had to happen according to the laws of nature--things have to grow and God has nothing to do with it. Accordingly, God's anger is aroused, and by His just judgment He often causes the crops to fail, reminding everyone that the ground cannot produce anything apart from the Lord's will, and without without his blessing nothing can grow.

Believing Christians view the matter differently. When at harvest they see the full ears of grain and the vines loaded with clusters of grapes, they lift up their eyes to heaven, and praise the almighty Creator, giver, and preserver for the blessings received, and acknowledge that it is because of Him that so many grains come from one seed and such luscious fruit from an ordinary wood. They praise God's preserving providence, which provided throughout the year timely rain, and graciously averted thunderstorms, drought, hail, and floods, and guarded the crops. And when the time had arrived that they see the grains harvested and brought into the barns and the grapes crushed for wine, their hearts is stirred and they receive all these gifts with grateful hands. They also make use of them and enjoy them with thanksgiving. They know that is it God who feeds them, provides for them, and keeps them.

Yes, they let God's goodness lead them to repentance. If we thank a benefactor who gives us a garment or something for our support, and are careful not to offend him, why should we not praise the greatest Benefactor who gives us all things?

Indeed, Starck's words are every bit as helpful in the 21st Century as they were when they were written in the 18th Century. May you all be brought to see the blessings of the LORD, and give thanks to your heavenly Father. For all good gifts come from His hand. Amen.

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Psalms

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today's Psalm from the Treasury (Psalm 41:7-12) is a prophecy and prayer of Christ himself. Here is the text:

7 All who hate me whisper together about me;

they imagine the worst for me.

8 They say, "A deadly thing is poured out on him;

he will not rise again from where he lies."

9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted,

who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

10 But you, O LORD, be gracious to me,

and raise me up, that I may repay them!

11 By this I know that you delight in me:

my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.

12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity,

and set me in your presence forever.

The context of this Psalm is Christ's passion, specifically, his betrayal by Judas Iscariot. Those who hated Christ whispered, plotted and planned, imagining that this "blasphemer" had to be stopped. They imagined the worst for him. They thought that they could snuff out his life, put him to an end, that he would no longer survive to preach and teach the truth. Even his close friend, Judas, who ate the bread of Christ's last will and testament with him, has lifted up his heels, and would seal his betrayal later that night with a kiss.

Everything seemed to be against him. And yet, Christ prays to the Father what he knows to be true. He prays for a resurrection, a victory that is the repayment that his enemies could have never imagined. Because the Father accepts his offering, having fulled the law on behalf of sinful man, the enemies will not have the last word. They will not shout in triumph over him, but the disciples, the apostles, and the whole Christian Church will continue to sing and shout the victorious song of Jesus Christ's resurrection.

And this victory, this psalm, has become your victory and your song, for you have been baptized into the Christ who suffered all, and rose victorious. His death and resurrection are yours, and therefore, so is his prayer and song. Amen.

New Devotional Resource from CPH

I've been ENJOYING this new devotional resource from CPH for about a week now. But even more than enjoying, I've been fed and nourished by through the praying of these old prayers. It is as if they Pastor Starck, who was born in 1680, could see inside my heart and wrote these prayers for me.

Daily morning and evening prayers that apply the Word of God consistently go with a midday devotion and prayer, filling each day with God's Word. For only $13.99 (and free shipping) this outstanding resource can be yours. Follow this link. The only difficulty for my has been deciding which of CPH's fine materials are used each day (in addition to The Lutheran Study Bible, of course): The Treasury of Daily Prayer, Starck's Prayer Book, Meditations on the Gospels, or any other of a number of outstanding resources.

Commemoration of Clement of Rome, Pastor

Today the church commemorates Clement of Rome. From the Treasury of Daily Prayer:

Clement (ca. AD 35-100) is remembered for having established the pattern of apostolic authority that governed the Christian Church during the first and second centuries. He also insisted on keeping Christ at the center of the Church's worship and outreach. In a letter to the Christians at Corinth, he emphasized the centrality of Jesus' death and resurrection: "Let us fix out eyes on the blood of Christ, realizing how precious it is to His Father, since it was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of repentance to the whole world" (1 Clement 6:31). Prior to suffering a martyr's death by drowning, Clement displayed a steadfast, Christlike love for God's redeemed people, serving as an inspiration to future generations to continue to build the Church on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, with Christa s the one and only cornerstone.

And so we pray in his honor:

Almighty God, Your servant Clement of Rome called the Church in Corinth to repentance and faith to unite them in Christian love. Grant that Your Church may be anchored in Your truth by the presence of the Holy Spirit and kept blameless in Your service until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Dailyt Devotional Thought--For the Family

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We all know the story from our Sunday School days: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar even though the penalty for their faithfulness is a red hot fiery furnace. This well-known story is today's Old Testament reading (Daniel 3:1-30).

I continue to be amazed at the trio's faithful response:

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O King. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (16b-18).

Another prophet would remind his readers of the protection God provided these three when he wrote: "when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you" (Isaiah 43:2).

So what does this have to do with the Christian family?

First of all, a faithful response was, and is, possible because of the promised protection of God himself. A family that is grounded in His Word of promise, of comfort, and of a hope yet to come, will be able to stand strong against the difficulties of this age. A Christian family that prays together, studies the word together, and worships together will have God's promises in Christ Jesus on their minds, day and night. And by His Word, God provides a fortress for the Christian family, protecting it from all fronts.

But even more that that, we learn well from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to hope in the final resurrection. The did not know if they would be rescued from the fire, and yet, they knew that they would be rescued. Faithful Christians like them have held on to this hope as well. Job confessed that "I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:25-26).

This is all to say, like the faithful trio that went faithfully into the fiery furnace, the Christian family that hopes in Christ Jesus, has the assurance that no matter what befalls it, they will stand with Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego on the last day, and there too will be Job and all the faithful, beholding Jesus Christ with their very own eyes. For just as Christ was with them in the fiery furnace, so too, he is with the Christian family through thick and thin. Amen.

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Confessions (The Augsburg Confession)

Today we start a new Friday series exploring one of the confessional writings of the Book of Concord: The Augsburg Confession. And why do we start such a series? Because, as the late Rev. Dr. Kurt Marquart wrote, "Lutheran congregations and synods must learn again to treasure the Book of Concord as their best and most authentic 'mission statement,' and to implement its doctrinal and sacramental substance full-strength in the actual shaping of their church-life" (Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics, Volume IX. pg.185). Thank you, Pastor Sullivan, for bringing these wise words to my mind the other day.

You see, the need for truth is as great in our time of post-modern relativism as it was in the 16th Century when Dr. Christian Beyer presented the true confession of faith set forth in The Augsburg Confession. The church and her mission depends upon the pure Gospel being taught and preached and the sacraments being administered according to Christ's institution. For this mission to continue in this 21st Century, in the face of ongoing persecution from worldly and spiritual forces, we must know that confession.

So what exactly is The Augsburg Confession? Well, here is the introduction from Concordia: A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord:

On Saturday, June 25, 1530, at three o'clock in the afternoon, Dr. Christian Beyer stood, walked toward the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles V, and began reading the Augsburg Confession in a loud and distinct voice. Through the open windows a hushed crowd outside in the courtyard hung on his every word, as did the two hundred or so people gathered in the hall. Beside Dr. Beyer stood Dr. Gregory Bruck, holding a copy of the Augsburg Confession in Latin. The German princes around them stood up to indicate their support for the Confession. The emperor motioned for them to sit down.

When Dr. Beyer finished reading, Dr. Bruck took the German copy of the Confession from him, handed both copies to the emperor, and said, "Most gracious Emperor, this is a Confession that will even prevail against the gates of hell, with the grace and help of God." Thus was the Augsburg Confession presented as a unique Confession of the truth of God's holy Word, distinct from Romanism on the one hand, and Reformed, Anabaptists, and radicals on the other. June 25, 1530, is a date every bit as important for Lutherans as is the more familiar date of October 31, 1517--the day on which Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses.

In article I we see plainly that, along with Luther, Philip Melanchthon (who wrote the Augsburg Confession) and the rest of the reformers in Luther's camp, never set out to start a new and different church. Their intention was to identify the true confession of the Christian Church. To make this clear, they highlight their connectedness to the ancient Council of Nicaea and other Fathers that had confessed the faith previously.

Here are a few example from the first of 28 articles:

Article 1--God

• The Augsburg Confession confesses the holy Trinity--That there is one God in three persons--as the Council of Nicaea had done in 325, and as the Scriptures plainly teach (Matthew 28:19). "Our churches teach with common consent that the decree of the Council of Nicaea about the unity of the divine essence and the three persons is true. It is to be believed without doubt. God is one divine essence who is eternal, without a body, without parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness."

• The Augsburg Confession condemns any teaching that is contrary to the holy Trinity, either combining the persons, or dividing their essence. "Our churches condemn all heresies that arose against this article, such as the Manichaeans, who assumed that there are two "principles," one Good and the other Evil. They also condemn the Valentinians, Arians, Eunomians, Muslims, and all heresies such as these. Our churches also condemn the Samosatenes, old and new, who contend that God is but one person."

It is plain to see. There is nothing really "new" here. Simply a confession of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, something that all faithful Christians have confessed from the beginning of the church, and will continue to confess until Christ's return on the Last Day. But it is interesting to note that some of the church's persecutions today are coming from similar sources.

I was at a weekend retreat in 2005 where a "strong Christian" was arguing for a dualistic Christianity, where good and evil were pitted against each other, and the outcome was not already decided with Christ's words, "It is finished." I've spoken with "passionate believers" who speak of God simply working in different "modes" at different points in history. He used to be seen as the Father, and then became the Son, and now is at work as the Holy Spirit. But this denies three eternal persons, and confuses the eternal triune nature of God. And we all know that the Muslim heresy is alive and well, continuing to steal people from the true and saving confession of faith.

All of this is to say...

The Augsburg Confession must not be forgotten, by pastors or laity. We must study it and know it, as it is a true and unadulterated exposition of holy Scripture. What it confesses is the true faith, a truth that is God's truth, a truth that will prevail, as Dr. Beyer boldly proclaimed, "against the gates of hell."

And so we begin our study of The Augsburg Confession so that we continue to be build on the solid rock--Jesus Christ--and His pure Gospel. Amen.

Daily Devotional Thought--From the New Testament (The Cruciform Life)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The words of our Lord: "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." (Matthew 16:24)

These words of our Lord fly in the face of popular "Christian" thinking because in these words the Lord tells you to deny yourself. The world, and what passes as "Christian" preaching and teaching encourages quite the opposite. Maybe it has something to do with the pioneering spirit of American individuality, or maybe not. I don't know. But one thing is for sure. We have been taught that God wants for me, what I want for me, and when life doesn't bring with it what I would expect, well, then, God must be mad at me.

But the Lord's teaches us a different reality. The Lord's teaches us that our life will reflect his life in that it will involve a cross, self-denial, and eventually death. The Christian should not expect to receive the treasures of heaven in this life, for we are to store up treasures in heaven. Quite the contrary, the one who follows Jesus lives by faith, bearing the crosses that the Lord lays upon him, but trusting that on the Last Day, Christ's resurrection would be manifested as our own. What he has already received in His glorious body and His Father's kingdom, will become our eternal inheritance.

Until that day, we cling to God's promises, and trust that our temporal crosses will prepare us for the life that awaits us in eternity. This, my friends, is the cruciform (cross-like) life--the Christan's life. Amen.

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Old Testament

Today's Daily Bible Story from A Congregation at Prayer is from 2 Kings 4:8-37, where Elisha raises the Shunammite's Son. I've included the text below (under the devotion) for your convenience.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Here is another parallel to the work of Elijah, but also to Christ. The upper-room location for the boy's resurrection once more recalls the institution of the Supper which we eat to be raised to eternal life. Like the woman, the Church gives birth to many sons (and daughters) at the font of baptism, but physical death comes upon them. They are taken to die and be buried by their mother, but the Lord will certainly raise them up when He returns to judge the living and the dead. Elisha's first physical contact with the boy portrays the incarnation of Christ who became one with us in the flesh that He might raise us up to life here in time through baptism and open the door for our cold bodies of death to inherit eternal life. The second physical contact symbolizes the final resurrection to eternal life. (Taken from Bible Stories for Daily Prayer, by Rev. Dr. Karl F. Fabrizius)

The text:
ESV 2 Kings 4:8-37 8 One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. 9 And she said to her husband, "Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. 10 Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there." 11 One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. 12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, "Call this Shunammite." When he had called her, she stood before him. 14 And he said, "What then is to be done for her?" Gehazi answered, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is old." 15 He said, "Call her." And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 And he said, "At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son." And she said, "No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant." 17 But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Elisha had said to her. 18 When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, "Oh, my head, my head!" The father said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother." 20 And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died. 21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door behind him and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband and said, "Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again." 23 And he said, "Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath." She said, "All is well." 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, "Look, there is the Shunammite. 26 Run at once to meet her and say to her, 'Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?'"And she answered, "All is well." 27 And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, "Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me." 28 Then she said, "Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, 'Do not deceive me?'" 29 He said to Gehazi, "Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And lay my staff on the face of the child." 30 Then the mother of the child said, "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So he arose and followed her. 31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him and told him, "The child has not awakened." 32 When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. 33 So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. 35 Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 Then he summoned Gehazi and said, "Call this Shunammite." So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, "Pick up your son." 37 She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Psalms

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today's Psalm in the Treasury is Psalm 148:1-6:

1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his hosts!
3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD!
For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.

From Reading the Psalms with Luther:
The 148th psalm is a psalm of thanks that excites and exhorts all creatures in heaven and earth to praise God--especially His saints, the children of Israel, who worship Him, that is, have His Word and worship....Rightfully, all of creation should be nothing but a tongue, always praising this great goodness of God. If you want to know how good a thing is, then take whatever you will and say: "If there were not fire..." or "If there were no sun..."; "If there were no hangman..."; "IF there were no woman..."' and so on. Then you will see why one should thank God.

Nicely put. And so we pray:
Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him!
Yes, I will laud Him until death;
With songs and anthems I come before Him
As long as he allows me breath.
From Him my life and all things came;
Bless, O my soul, His holy name.
Alleluia, alleluia! (LSB 797:1)