by Faye Schmidt
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame (1 Peter 2:6b).
Read 1 Peter 2:1–10
A definition of ‘cornerstone’ is ‘the chief foundation on which something is constructed or developed’.
When a building is constructed, a stone is laid at the intersection of two walls. This stone is measured and aligned to the required drawings and forms the base from which the rest of the building is measured. Everything aligns with the cornerstone. It requires the whole building to have been designed to enable the stone to be placed.
For this reason, many buildings incorporate a special stone that has an inscription and is regarded as the ‘foundation’ stone – the stone on which the building has been founded.
Jesus is the cornerstone/foundation of our faith, placed in our world by God to fulfil his plan for our salvation. It is from Jesus that all God’s mercy and blessings are derived.
If it were up to us, we might have made the key feature of a building the roof or a special window feature. Or maybe the main door. Something striking, visible, vibrant and evident.
But it is the same Jesus who was born in a stable who is the cornerstone, located at the bottom of a building, often unmarked and inconspicuous. It is a reminder to us that God’s ways are not our ways.
Being at the base of a building and being the stone on which all others depend means that much trust is placed in this stone, for the accuracy and stability of the building.
How much trust do you have in this cornerstone of your faith? Are you dependent on him for your mercy and salvation? Are you aligning your life with his and following his example?
Thank you for welcoming me into the house you have built with Jesus as the cornerstone, gifting me with your love and mercy. May I be a witness to your mercy and praise and glorify you in my life. 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.
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming (1 Peter 1:13).
Read 1 Peter 1:13–25
Where will we set our hope today, in this life, on this side of eternity? That’s what Peter is addressing in verse 13.
What does it mean to set or fix our hope on something? It’s a question of where we will turn to find meaning in our lives, find relief from suffering and fill up the emptiness that every soul experiences.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labour, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience (Romans 8:22–25).
With what will we occupy our hearts? In what will we invest our thoughts, energy and focus? If all that Peter has told us so far in this letter is true – that we, as Christians, will be resurrected as Christ was, that God guards us and our inheritance with him in eternity and that our salvation is secure – there is only one logical place to set our hope. That is in God’s grace for us at the future coming of Jesus, the moment in which all the longings of our hearts will be fully satisfied.
We must take control of where our thoughts go and what our minds dwell on. If we do not fully engage in intentional hope-setting, we will be easily distracted by the false hope of satisfaction that the world continually offers us.
Heavenly Father, along with faith and love, hope is a gift you give us through the Holy Spirit. I pray that my hope is always in you and that I am not distracted from this gift that promises me eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus, my Saviour. 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.
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy (1 Peter 1:8).
Read 1 Peter 1:1–12
For some time, I have been struggling with my sight, reaching a milestone late last year when my right eye decided that all it would contribute to what I see would be shadows. I solely rely on my left eye to function in a world that requires sight. And then, in February, the specialist advised that my only good eye was now under attack.
Yes, this limits not just what I see but how I need to approach things I need to see – new tools and processes to assist with my safety, not just my sight.
The Bible has so many references to seeing. And our reading today is another of those texts focusing on our ability to see. Peter acknowledges that we no longer see Jesus as a physical being among us, but just because he is not present, it doesn’t diminish our love for him. Many of us will have experienced family members being apart from us, not just interstate but possibly overseas, but such distance or being out of sight does not diminish our love for them.
It could be argued that we still have access to their physical presence because we can still hear them. Can we still hear Jesus? Of course we can. Through his word, his voice is still clear to us. We are not dependent on just one of our senses – sight – we also have our hearing.
‘But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name’ (John 20:31).
It is, therefore, through our continued hearing of God’s word that we can join with Peter and fellow believers and be ‘filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy’ in God’s promises through the life, death and resurrection of the one we can no longer see: Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, I pray that through your word, I may see your Son, Jesus Christ, worship and praise him and give thanks for your great mercy to me. 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
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him (Luke 24:30,31a).
Read Luke 24:13–49
After the bread and wine are consecrated during a holy communion service, we receive an invitation to ‘Come, for all things are ready’. Those distributing the bread and wine have sanitised their hands, the cup has been filled, and the bread lies on the plate. Where there are individual cups, they are in their tray, ready for use. They are waiting for us.
But are we ready? Do we recognise who we are meeting when we come to the table? Do we just see the bread and wine? Are we just concentrating on how we kneel or stand before the altar and who is next to us? In our reading today, we learn that the travellers only recognised Jesus when he broke the bread, just as he had that evening in the upper room with the disciples before going to his death the next day. Do we recognise that it is Jesus coming to us, meeting with us, as we kneel at the altar to receive the bread and wine? Are we ready for that? Are we prepared for that?
It is truly here at the communion rail that we meet with Jesus and receive his gift of grace and mercy. Here we meet you once again, God of mercy, God of grace. Feed us now with this bread and wine as we meet you face to face. (Adapted from ‘Face to Face’, Robin Mann, 1978, no. 71 in All Together Now)
It is truly amazing that our Lord Jesus Christ humbled himself unto death on the cross for our sake and then comes to us in the humble means of the consecrated bread and wine. Do you know it is him?
Through your Holy Spirit, Lord, increase our faith so we may recognise you and your saving grace in the bread and wine laid before us. 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.
Mark 16:1-20 Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” Mark 16:15 (NIV) Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed! Easter Sunday is such a celebration day after the sombre time leading up to this day with Jesus’ suffering and death. Today is a day to break open the chocolate Easter eggs because Jesus also broke out of the tomb. God performed the most miraculous miracle today. He brought His one and only Son back to life after so many witnessed His most gruesome death. He had even laid dead in a grave for three days with a battered, pierced body.
That is truly the most wondrous miracle of all. With this also, God not only raised Jesus, but through Jesus, He assured our relationship with Him. What a blessing for us! We read in the Gospels that Jesus was not only raised but he appeared to over 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). This gave Him many witnesses to God’s amazing miracle that they could testify first-hand. People can be so sceptical. Last year, while travelling through Europe, my husband and myself, went to the city of Trier (the oldest German town) which had Roman ruins from the 170 A.D. There was a Porto Nigra (city gate), amphitheatre and Roman baths from that time period. Even seeing it, it was so hard to believe that these things were built just 150 years after Christ. How is this possible?
We see things, and then we tell others that they too might believe and want to know more. That is what Jesus has commissioned us to do. We have the testimony of all these witnesses to God’s love and His saving actions through Jesus in the Bible. Now we need to go out to the whole world and do the same. As we share the Good News of Easter Sunday to one person, they would hopefully do the same with another, and so on! This is how Christianity spread back in the first century. How about we try it again this year and beyond. Jesus rose for the people back then, also for you and me today. Go out into the world, your neighbourhood, and share this Good News!
Prayer: My risen Lord and Saviour, you rose from the dead and showed yourself to so many witnesses. Help me also to be a witness for you. Amen.
Read: Matthew 27:45-56 “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.” Matthew 27:51-52 (NIV) I do not enjoy horror movies. Scary things give me nightmares. I still have nightmares from when I was a child and went into the TV room when my brothers were watching “The Blob”.
These days with CGI and everything that movie is pretty lame, but to a child, very impacting and I looked under my bed for many nights after. Jesus performed many miracles and healings through His life on earth and to the people of the day (even for us). The people of the day were unsure about who this Jesus was, but if He could help their family, they would believe in Him. Throughout the Old Testament, God performed miracles through the prophets. But at Jesus’ death, God performs a miracle that many times is glossed over. When Jesus took His last breath on the cross, we hear that the temple curtain was torn in two, signifying we now have access to God through Jesus and not through all the Jewish leaders and priests – our access is direct. But in the Gospel of Matthew, we read of another miracle.
Read again the above verse: “The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.” What power and an incredible witness to the people of that time and to us today. Yes, it was scary, but God raised those who believed in Him that they might also be witnesses to the power of Jesus and His Father God. These raised people were not zombies but restored people of God. After Jesus’ resurrection (not before), they went out into Jerusalem and appeared to many. What an amazing gift of life God gave to the people of that time and also to us today. This is proof that Jesus has now conquered death. We can be confident through the death and rising of our Saviour Jesus, that we too will be raised on the last day to live for eternity in heaven. Through Jesus our eternity is assured!
Prayer: Thank you for assuring me of my eternal life in Heaven in your conquering death itself. I welcome seeing you and experiencing this joy one day with you. Amen.
Read: Isaiah 50:5-8; Isaiah 52:14 “Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ And they struck Him with their hands.” John 19:1-3 (NKJV) If Jesus was innocent, He should have been set free. If Jesus was guilty, He should have just been crucified; but to scourge Jesus was unlawful, and Pilate ordered this to please the Jews. It seems that the soldiers took this opportunity to then have fun with Jesus before He was crucified as He had caused them so much trouble during His ministry. ‘A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type made of leather, used to inflict severe corporal punishment.’ [Wikipedia] A scourging of the prisoner’s back usually means that much of the flesh is removed by the thrashing of the whip and sometimes metal ends with barbs are added to the lashings.
This just makes my stomach turn to think of anyone being treated in this sub-human way. In the two verses from Isaiah above, it was prophesied that the coming Messiah would be subject to absolute horror and not a word would he speak. His face and appearance would also be so disfigured that He would no longer look human. Jesus knew of this prophecy and yet He obeyed His Heavenly Father so that the prophesies would come to pass. If I were Jesus, I would have had a good case to argue with God that this wasn’t fair, nor was I prepared to have this done to me.
Fortunately for our salvation I am not Jesus. In Isaiah 53:7 it was prophesised: “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” This was foretold 700 years before Jesus’ birth. God had a plan for our salvation from the very beginning and it was through sending His willing Son to the cross to bear all the pain that our sins hold on us, that we can now come into God’s presence and spend eternity with Him. God’s love for humankind is greater than we could ever imagine!
Prayer: Our loving Saviour, thank you for being prepared to suffer and die for me and all the wrong I do every day. I am sorry for my sins and thank you for your forgiveness. Amen
Read: Luke 22:49-51 “And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear… And [Jesus] touched the man’s ear and healed him.” Luke 22:50, 51b (NIV) Each of the four Gospels record this event happening at the time when Jesus was arrested. But it is only in the Gospel of Luke that it says that Jesus healed the high priest’s servant. This is the last recorded miracle of Jesus as a man… the next is the resurrection of the Son of God. Only in the Gospel of John, is the disciple named as Simon Peter who committed the crime, and Malchus as the name of the high priest servant.
Sometimes I am asked why are there four Gospels telling the same thing? It is only through looking at all four Gospels that we can get a more complete picture of who this Jesus is who performs all these miracles. When an accident happens, police ask as many eyewitnesses as possible to get a greater understanding of what happened. Each person views things through different eyes and opinions. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John looked at Jesus differently. Matthew was writing as a Jew for the Jewish people trying to convince them that Jesus is also their Messiah. Mark was a reporter, evangelist and a friend of Peter and wrote for the Gentiles (Romans). Luke was a doctor, a physician and many of his stories are about healings. He wrote for the Greeks. John is known as the disciple at the foot of the cross who then cared for Jesus’ mother. He wrote for the Christian community sharing what he saw and experienced.
Through these four Gospels we learn about Jesus’ love and compassion for His people. Even as He was arrested, He cared for Malchus by healing his ear. As you learn about Jesus, reading the Gospels gives a fuller understanding of the true man/true God nature of Jesus. None of the Gospels contradict, rather, together they describe Jesus’ birth, His sinless life, His death and resurrection, forgiveness given and that He is God’s only Son, the Saviour of the World and our Messiah and King. Reading the Bible produces a greater understanding of our miraculous Jesus!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, guide me as I read about your life and understand about the miraculous God you are. Help me to also share what I learn with others. All people need to know you! Amen
Read: Luke 22:7-23 “And [Jesus] said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.’” Luke 22:15-16 (NIV) Jesus spoke prophetically and in riddles to His disciples. No wonder these poor fishermen had troubles understanding what Jesus was talking about or trying to teach them. They understood Passover – it had been celebrated since the Israelites were taken from captivity in Egypt by Moses in 1440 B.C. It was here that God told the people to eat a lamb, unleavened bread and put blood on the door of their houses to escape the angel of death (Exodus 12:1-14). Since that time, the Orthodox Jewish community still celebrate God’s deliverance, so it was not unusual to the disciples to celebrate this festival time.
However, Jesus changed the storyline. He changed the meaning. No longer are the disciples or us to celebrate the deliverance from Egypt, rather we as Christians (followers of Christ) are now to celebrate our deliverance from death through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus came to change our way of thinking and set us free from the old laws and introduce us to freedom and salvation. Every time we partake of Holy Communion, we celebrate God’s love and grace for us through the gift He gave of His Son. As Lutherans we partake of Jesus’ death in His body and blood given as bread and wine. Jesus comes to us with love and forgiveness every time we celebrate communion. Traditions and ‘this is the way we always do it’ mind-sets are hard to change.
The Jewish people of Jesus’ time could not understand this new way Jesus was instituting, which is why they put Him to death. The Jewish Passover was commemorating an act of the past. The Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion) is a celebration of the living Jesus in the hearts and lives of all believers until He returns. It is a power that lives in us that is made possible through Jesus’ actions on the cross. It is a promise of God’s presence always! Celebrate God’s gift of love and grace in Holy Communion!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me the gift and promise of your presence every time I take Holy Communion. You gave up so much so that I can live in your forgiveness. Amen