‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” (Haggai 2:9 NIV)
And through Jesus Christ the Father has reconciles to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:20 NIV)
“When the Counselor comes… he will testify about me. And you also must testify.” (Joh 15:26-27 NIV)
The reason why the world protests and even hates Christians is because of their testimony about Jesus Christ. Agreed that a Christian can fail in the way he bears witness about his Lord. His own conscience will bother him in this regard and whatever he has to bear in that regard will be his own fault. However insofar he does not fail, but bears himself blameless as his love for Christ motivates him to testify about his Lord and master – there he is in line with the apostles and fathers and saints of the Church and all faithful Christians.
The world despised the apostolic account and their faithful witness. Why should it be different with us? The Holy Spirit himself spoke through the apostles and still the world did not accept their witness. Why should you be surprised if your Christian witness does not break down all opposition? If your witness conforms to that of the apostles, then it is their witness that is despised in yours – and even that of the Holy Spirit. Would you recon that to be a difficult challenge really if you have to suffer with the apostles and even with your Lord himself? No – on the contrary. It is a great comfort to know that you are joining this great cloud of witnesses and you are privileged in your calling to share their fate even if it means suffering along with them. The entire Church prays for such confession Christians, who witness and testify in this faithful way in words, life and suffering. The angels are preparing lauding praises and palm fronds of eternity for such faithful witnesses, who go about their calling to testify about Jesus Christ and give witness to his gospel in good and bad times.
O Lord Jesus Christ! Our witness concerning you and your gospel is often just so weak and poor. All too often it is plagued by our sinfulness and imperfection. Do not count this against us, o great and merciful Saviour. Rather strengthen our weak resolve through the powerful witness of your Holy Spirit and let our confession be sanctified and empowered by him. If suffering and misery come and abound, then comfort us in the trust and confidence, that we are part of your holy Church and that we are suffering its fate here on earth, but will also join in its eternal salvation and celebration in the time to come by your victorious grace and everlasting goodness. Amen.
Lord, grant that I may show how blessed it is to belong to you, to suffer with you, to combat with you, to stand eternally by your side too . (Philipp Melanchton 1497-1560: He prayed this daily at the start of his lectures)
This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for Wednesday after the 6th Sunday after Easter: Exaudi. It is found on Pg. 204 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu! (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.
How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? (Psalm 116:12 NIV)
“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:39 NIV
Here’s a brief workout of under 10 minutes, which should get your heart pumping and your muscles flexed. Stay fit and enjoy!
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1Pe 4:8 NIV)
The words translated here with “love each other deeply” are literally translated “strained and stretched.” The apostle admonishes us Christians to really put an effort into loving each other deeply and especially in covering up even multitudes of sins. That gives us quite something to ponder on as well as to examine ourselves. Most of us Christians are quite good at bearing our own wrongdoings, faults and sins and even if we carry them around with us for a life-time we don’t seriously doubt that they will hinder our salvation really. Yet to bear the sins of others is not so easy for most of us. Some find it outright hard and even too much of a stretch. Whereas they take God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness for themselves for granted and as a matter of course on a daily and regular basis, yet others are judged much more stringently and not graciously at all. Instead of covering up those sins as the apostles admonishes us to do, we take leave of sinners and leave them to their own devices. We easily condemn them even before the Church has excommunicated them. That is wrong and we should guard against such a tendency towards self-righteousness. It has no place in the Church, nor in the congregation or in our personal lives. That is the opposite of what the apostles calls for here when he admonishes us to practice loving each other deeply by covering up even a multitude of sins. Yes, it’s the very opposite to the way our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ went about things in life. He bore the sins of his disciples and even of all the world – without complaining, without giving up or even tiring of this burden.
O Lord Jesus Christ, you are merciful and gracious. Grant that we to become merciful and grant us a outstretched and dedicated love, which is strong and untiring to forgive seventy times seven times and does not loose hope for those, who repent of their sins and are ashamed of them too. O Lord cover up the multitude of our sins and let us rest in the peace of your forgiveness and joyfully awake in the morning through your grace and mercy. Amen.
Your comfort revives our heart and strengthens us to do the utmost as we are no longer afraid as your holy fire kills of all self-centredness. You carry us beyond ourselves. You can awaken daring heroes for your work, who carry on patiently, working in strong faith that you teach, grant and nurture. (Johannes Marx *1889)
This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for Tuesday after the 6th Sunday after Easter: Exaudi. It is found on Pg. 203 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu! (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.
In all that has happened to us, you have been just; you have acted faithfully, while we did wrong. (Nehemia 9:33 NIV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1. John 1:9 NIV)
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1Pe 4:9-10 NIV)
All I have is to serve your praise – o Lord my God! Your gifts I return with the plea that you may lead and guide me to employ them according to your will and liking and thus to your honor and glory. Since everything comes from you and is also destined to return to you – order and regulate its passage according to your omniscient wisdom. I am not worthy of any of your plenteous gifts – and yet you have called and placed me as your steward of good, beautiful and pleasing talents in this world and age. Grant me, o Lord my God, the strong will, but also wisdom and strength to do with yours as you deem right, meet and salutary. Let me willingly go about my daily chores and practice as a pleasing sacrifice to your goodness and mercy. If I go about serving my brothers and sisters amongst your people with the good gifts you have bestowed so richly amongst us let me do it as your priest and servant, who loves your people as yourself. And if I go about washing the feet of your beloved pilgrims and offer hospitality to your wandering, migrating and fleeing people here on earth let me go about it without grumbling, but rather as if I was hosting you – o my beloved Lord and master. Let me do it as a pleasing sacrifice magnifying your grace, love and mercy, which has set us truly free. If I cover up the shortcomings, faults and wounds of your people with love for your sake and if I reveal them solely to my brother while concealing them from others then let me do it all as a praise song and glorification of the unique and all efficient sacrifice you made on the cross to cover all our iniquities and to forgive all our sins once and for all. If I give up all excessive desire and chose rather to live temperate, modest and sober finding pleasure in prayer and worship, then let it be acceptable in your sight and help me to dedicate myself entirely to those things, that please you and serve those, who need this service most. Oh my God, grant me to live a life pleasing in your sight. Let me be yours entirely with all I am and have. That makes me both quite poor, yet very rich – as I have given you all, but have received far more with you. I yours – you mine! O Lord, what a wonderful mystery of our lives – what a world of hidden glory and eternal sweetness.
All my life is yours and without you I’m dead. All my joy is in you, without you its just emptiness. All my peace is with you and without you there’s just strife. All my love is yours for without you nothing stays.
This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for Monday after the 6th Sunday after Easter: Exaudi. It is found on Pg. 202 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu! (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.
Correct me, LORD, but only with justice– not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing. (Jeremiah 10:24 NIV)
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. (1.Corinthians 10:13 NIV)
Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God…so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1Pe 4:7.11 NIV)
All and everything was created to glorify you, o my God. Therefore all creation owes you praise, honor and glory o my Lord. Whoever does not do this, is no better than a thorn bush, which doesn’t bear fruit for him, who created it and continues to preserve him graciously with rain and sunshine. All creatures were created to honor you their creator. Their being, essence and life is fulfilled in worshipping God as source and goal of all. Therefore all that is in me, praise the Lord my God. My soul praise the Lord, who saved me and has called me to eternal life so that I am already blessed and at peace in you, o my Lord and my God. My body praise you my Lord, who will lay me to rest in the ground to return to dust and ashes, but will also awaken me from the dead at his time and bidding. He will bring me to the glorious completion in the final consummation on his last day. All my members are to serve the Lord and praise him with their doings. My tongue shall sing praises to you o Lord, my God and to do this rightly let me speak such words as are instructed by your most holy word and will. Yes, let all I say be spoken as taught by you – o my teacher, instructor and master Jesus Christ.
God Himself is present: Let us now adore Him And with awe appear before Him. God is in His temple; All within keep silence; Humbly kneel in deepest rev’rence. He alone On His throne Is our God and Saviour; Praise His Name forever!
God himself is present: Hear the harps resounding; See the hosts the throne surrounding. “Holy, Holy, Holy!” Hear the hymn ascending, Songs of saints and angels blending. Bow Your ear To us here: Hear, O Christ, the praises That Your church now raises.
Fount of every blessing, Purify my spirit, Trusting only in Your merit. Like the holy angels, Worshiping before You, May I ceaselessly adore You. Let Your will Ever still Rule Your Church terrestrial As the hosts celestial. (Gerhard Tersteegen 1697-1769 tr Frederick W. Foster 1760-1835)
This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for the 6th Sunday after Easter: Exaudi. It is found on Pg. 201 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu! (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.
He (the suffering servant) made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12 NIV)
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals–one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:33-34 NIV)
Wilhelm's space 