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Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalm 30:4,5).
Read Psalm 30
Psalm 30 contains King David’s thanks and praise to God for delivering him from an unidentified life-threatening episode in his life. This episode may be related to some failure on David’s part since he refers to God’s anger. There are a few recorded episodes in the Bible where David’s actions were clearly against God’s will: pride, adultery and murder.
When confronted with the realities of his actions, David entrusted himself to God’s mercy each time. God forgave David, but he didn’t take away the consequences of David’s actions. David had to live with these consequences, but didn’t lose his close relationship with God.
David wants the whole congregation in the temple to join in praising the awesomeness of God for the way he deals with his people in justice and mercy.
God’s aim in dealing with us is not punishment but healing and restoration to a close relationship with him. When we lose our way, God, in his love for us, doesn’t just let us wander off, getting more lost, but he works to help us see our mistakes and lead us back to him. His motivation is his deep love for us. This is something we really struggle to understand – that Jesus would love us so much that he was prepared to suffer a humiliating death to take from us the guilt of our failures and restore us to being his brothers and sisters.
So, of course, we should be thanking and praising our God for what he has done for us – exuberantly.
Heavenly Father, thank you for not letting us get away with wandering away from you. Thank you for drawing us back to you for healing and restoration. We praise you for your awesomeness. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in retirement in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. They have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. He keeps himself busy looking after their pot plants and the community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
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Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness — in the hope of eternal life … (Titus 1:1,2a).
Read Titus 1:1–16
How do we know God’s will and purpose for our lives? God leads us in many different ways, through the circumstances of our daily lives, through the things we hear, see and read and through the message in the pages of God’s revealed truth to us in the Bible. But many things also impact us negatively, encouraging us to concentrate on ourselves and what we can get out of life, sometimes even at the expense of others.
The Apostle Paul had been working with Titus to share the good news in Crete. When he departed, he left Titus behind to complete the work he had been doing. The believers in Crete were being impacted negatively by the views expressed by other people on Crete, often with ulterior motives. Paul’s instructions to Titus in his letter aimed to provide a solid foundation for the believers.
The foundation for how we live our lives is Jesus. He lived a life of perfect obedience to his Father. It helps us to regularly go over his life’s story in the gospels to see how he made clear his Father’s purpose in what he said and did. Jesus also did this amazing swap with us, where he takes on himself the consequences of all our failures to live as he did and allocates the perfection of his own life to us. So, in God’s eyes, we are legally perfect and sinless. All this was done through Jesus’ deep love for us. It is only as we are overwhelmed by the extent of this love that we can surrender our whole lives to God’s will and purpose.
Paul’s letter to Titus then gives lots of practical advice on living a life surrendered to God’s will and purpose for us, living as his children and enjoying the guidance and support provided by the heavenly family we are now part of.
Again, Jesus, we thank you for all you have done to make us your brothers and sisters. Help us more clearly see the vision of ourselves being part of your family, working in your family business and sharing in the blessings of our close relationship with you. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in retirement in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. They have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. He keeps himself busy looking after their pot plants and the community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:6,7).
Read 1 Peter 5:1–14
In researching this passage, I came across a quote attributed to CS Lewis: ‘Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.’ I was also reminded of the Bible passage in Philippians 2:8: ‘he [Jesus] humbled himself by becoming obedient to death …’
The God we trust in and surrender our lives to loves us so much that he was prepared to be humiliated by dying as a criminal in one of the cruellest methods of execution that humans could think up. Might we not try to better understand how to live in a state of humility ourselves?
As you read about the life of Jesus in the New Testament, you never find Jesus letting himself be used by others. He was never anyone’s doormat. He was always in control. You may also notice that a number of times, people were intent on killing him; however, it didn’t happen because Jesus’ Father prevented it.
Peter’s directive to humble ourselves ‘under God’s mighty hand’ is important here. The ‘mighty hand’ is God’s very powerful protective hand, not a threatening hand. As we live and follow the direction of our Heavenly Father, we are also under the protection of the same Heavenly Father. This means we can concentrate on what God is calling us to do and not be concerned about the impact on ourselves.
Peter adds that whatever is worrying us and distracting us from what God is calling us to do, God wants us to hand those concerns over to him so that we can concentrate on the servant tasks he has given us.
Here is a little anecdote. I live in a retirement village and participate in a few servant activities. I take pride in how well I carry out my servant activities and appreciate the acknowledgement of others. Last weekend, in front of more than 100 people, I embarrassed myself twice when carrying out my servant duties. So much for my pride. And I need to hand over my embarrassment to my loving Heavenly Father and get on with serving humbly.
Jesus, thank you for setting an example for living humbly under the protecting and guiding care of you and our Heavenly Father. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in retirement in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. They have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. He keeps himself busy looking after their pot plants and the community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:10).
Read 1 Peter 4:7–19
Many of us would be familiar with the situation in any organisation or group where a gifted person leaves. We wonder how we will continue to operate with the same effectiveness or enjoyment after they have gone.
If we believe God is working personally in the lives of every person on Earth, then God must also have an intimate concern for each group of people. However, it is not about the perpetuation or operation of the group but about the growth and development of the people in the group.
Let’s take an example. Consider the conductor of a community choir. They could have a number of goals in leading the choir. One conductor I knew collected a group of people who liked to sing, and they met regularly to have a fun night of fellowship and singing. People wanted to join this choir. They regularly sang at events and occasionally put on concerts. People enjoyed going along to hear them because of their infectious joy. But nobody raved over how good they were. Then the conductor got sick and died and was replaced by a competent musician who just happened to come along at the right time. Their goal was to lead a very capable choir that people would want to listen to because of the high-quality singing. The choir members found it was less fun and more hard work, and began to drop out. Soon, the choir folded.
One difference between the conductors (obviously, there were many) was that one served the choir to build up the members; the other tried to use the choir to build up their own prestige.
Jesus, while here on Earth, demonstrated over and over again the importance of serving others, even to the point of giving his life so that we could live eternally with him and have the Holy Spirit live with us now.
In the same way, God wants us to use the gifts he has given us to be servants to one another, not to use his gifts to big-note ourselves or to fill some need we have.
When that capable person leaves the group, it is amazing how skills and capabilities are discovered dormant in the group and then released to serve the group. There will be some mistakes and learning, and the group may even change its character and focus; however, if the members are committed to loving each other with that same sacrificial love of Jesus, the group will continue to function and grow.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the abilities you have given us. Please help us use these gifts with the same servant heart as your Son. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in retirement in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. They have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. He keeps himself busy looking after their pot plants and the community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15b,16a).
Read 1 Peter 3:13 – 4:6
I’m sure you share all sorts of information with many different people. We do it naturally when we meet with family, friends and colleagues. In many cases, it is just part of the normal flow of conversation. When wonderful things happen to us, we are usually bursting to share what we have experienced with our friends and family. Similarly, when unpleasant things happen to us, others see the negative impacts on our personalities and want to know the cause.
God wants us to be able to share what he has been doing in our lives in the same relaxed way. Church-related activities are usually not insignificant parts of our lives. Obviously, interesting things do happen there. As part of our everyday conversations with others, we naturally share these episodes of our church lives.
But God is involved in all aspects of our lives, not just when we are involved in church or religious activities. It is just natural to share our experiences of God working in our lives when appropriate and in context. The good thing about this is that we are just sharing our experiences. It is hard for someone else to argue with us about what we have experienced.
The Apostle Peter is not asking us to convert anyone because that is the task of the Holy Spirit. I have seen people get into arguments over religious subjects, where they try to convince the other person that their point of view is correct. And people can get very emotional. Peter warns us against doing this because it destroys the communication channels and relationships.
When we approach others with the love Jesus asked us to show, we become attuned to the emotional cues of these people. We will listen carefully to their questions and remain open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to give us the right words to share.
Heavenly Father, in your relationship with us, it is all about you giving to us and never about you taking from us to fulfil your needs. Please help us have the same attitude towards the people you bring into our lives so that our focus is on blessing them and not using them to fulfil ourselves. Amen.
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Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect … so that nothing will hinder your prayers (1 Peter 3:7).
Read 1 Peter 3:1–12
If you read all 12 verses of today’s reading, you will find:
- six verses on the responsibilities of wives
- one verse on the responsibilities of husbands
- five verses on ‘suffering for doing good’.
My task is to select a verse or two as the basis for my devotion. So, challenge number 1: Am I – a man – going to talk about the duties of wives to their husbands? (That would be brave.) Challenge number 2: Is someone who has had a failed marriage leading to divorce going to give advice on marriage? Or I could take the easy way out and talk about suffering for doing good – but I haven’t had much experience in that.
Well, the God of second chances (and of third, fourth and fifth chances) decided to give my current wife and me a second chance – 34 years ago. But before that, he worked in our individual lives to deal with a whole lot of issues that first needed fixing. Obviously, one of these was growing our trust in his love and guidance. Another was to be in a position where we didn’t need some other human to complete us. Living on our own for six years did help that. But it meant that when we were married, we could concentrate on giving to our partner to grow and fulfil them rather than drawing from them to complete ourselves. Yes, we still had a lot to learn, and, at times, there were hurts and tears, but the security in God’s love for us and his loving guidance helped us through.
God has given us marriage and families to help us understand the relationships he wants to have with us. God doesn’t want a relationship with us to get something from us to fill one of his needs. Instead, the relationships he desires to have with us are all about giving – including giving himself for us. Our relationships with our fellow human beings are to be modelled on God’s relationship with us.
One important comment: If you are in an abusive relationship, there is no way I am suggesting you put up with it out of love for the abuser. However, I am not qualified to give advice and recommend you seek help from those qualified to give it.
Loving Heavenly Father, help us grow in knowing you and your love for us so that we learn how to love the people you placed in our lives with that same love. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in retirement in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. They have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. He keeps himself busy looking after their pot plants and the community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
‘Peace be with you!’ After [Jesus] said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord (John 20:19b,20).
Read John 20:19–31
Try to imagine the scene: The disciples of Jesus had followed him for three years, witnessing some very powerful events in his life. Like the rest of the Jewish population, the disciples would have had expectations that the Messiah would become a great leader.
Jesus’ frequent talk about his coming death would have been very confusing for them, and they definitely didn’t expect him to throw in the towel and let himself be crucified.
Three days later, all sorts of confusing stories are going around. Peter and John had visited the tomb and found it empty. Mary Magdalene claimed to have met a very alive Jesus. They were still scared that the Jewish authorities would be after them next and so had securely locked all the doors. On top of all that, they would have had concerns about their future. All their securities had been destroyed. There was definitely a massive amount of turmoil going on inside them.
Then, suddenly, Jesus is standing right there among them (no locked doors could keep him out). His first action is to speak his shalom over them. We translate the Hebrew word shalom as ‘peace’, but it has a much deeper meaning than our word ‘peace’. Although regularly used as a greeting among Jews, equivalent words are used widely in the Middle East (‘salaam’ in Arabic). Jesus’ greeting implies a blessing for an inward sense of completeness or wholeness.
But Jesus didn’t just wish them peace; he also let the disciples see and touch him. This would have had even more impact on the disciples in bestowing shalom on them than just his words.
You might notice that Jesus didn’t send a message to the disciples to say he was alive and wish them his shalom, he personally went to give his message and his shalom to the disciples. I take this as a big hint to myself (from the Holy Spirit) to be more ready to spend time with those who may be struggling with life’s issues.
Another message I take from Jesus’ actions in this passage is that when my life is in turmoil, I need to come to Jesus and spend time with him for him to bring his shalom into my turmoil.
Dear big brother Jesus, thank you for breaking down all the barriers that separated me from you. Thank you for always being with us (through your Holy Spirit living in us) so that we can know the deep peace and wholeness in your shalom to us. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in retirement in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. They have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. He keeps himself busy looking after their pot plants and the community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you (Psalm 118:28).
Read Psalm 118:14–29
Through our baptism, we become children of God, heirs to his kingdom. God adopts us and owns us as his children, and for this, we humbly come to him in our prayers, entitled to call him ‘Father’.
Our text challenges us to say with the psalmist, ‘You are my God’. This is a reversal of baptism, where God claims ownership of us, and puts the onus of ownership on us.
Are you possessive of God? Do you claim him as your own? We pray, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven …’ It is collective, communal.
But what about you personally? Are you able to say ‘my’ God? Do you have a one-on-one relationship with God? If you attend a worship service, it is often very easy to slip into a mindset of being one with those around us, sharing in a common understanding of our faith and participating together in joint worship and praise. And this is a wondrous thing, and being part of the body of believers is a blessing.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he regularly addressed those gathered to hear him. He also regularly spoke to his disciples as a group as he taught them about the purpose of his life on Earth.
However, the New Testament contains many examples of Jesus speaking with just one person, such as the woman at the well. Jesus also tells many parables about the one who is lost – the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son.
‘There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance’ (Luke 15:7).
Through Jesus’ life and teaching, we know that it is God’s will that we love, praise and worship him, not just collectively but individually. Our text today is a reminder that I will praise God and that I will exalt him.
Holy Spirit, increase my faith so I may praise and exalt you as my God and Lord. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations within Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
by Faye Schmidt
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… by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls (1 Peter 2:24b,25).
Read 1 Peter 2:11–25
If you are wounded, you expect that your wound will heal – your wound. But our text tells us that while Jesus is the wounded one, we are the ones who are healed. We are the beneficiaries of his sufferings: the beatings, mockery, nails, spear and lash … all those wounds, so that we may be healed.
While Jesus’ wounds may have healed, the evidence of them did not go away. We read in John 20:27: ‘Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”’
This healing, which is God’s gift to us, is in the form of freedom from the consequences of our sins and the power that sin holds over us.
As we repent of our sins in the knowledge of God’s forgiveness, we ‘return to the shepherd and overseer of our souls’ (verse 25). We are now equipped through the Holy Spirit to strive to live a life of righteousness – that is, being right with God and living a life worthy of the love and grace given to us through Jesus’ suffering.
While Jesus suffered for us and took our sins to the depths with him, we live in the knowledge of the resurrection that is our hope that as we share in Jesus’ death, we also share in his resurrection and eternal life with him.
Heavenly Father, grant me again your forgiveness. Give me faith to lay hold of your holiness and so rejoice in the righteousness of Christ my Saviour that, resting on his merits rather than my own, I may more and more become like him for his name’s sake. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations within Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.