by Carolyn Ehrlich
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Seeing him [Jesus], he [Jairus] fell at his feet … But the woman … came in fear and trembling and fell down before him (Mark 5:22b,33a).
Read Mark 5:21–43
Today, we read about two people with desperate needs and no place to turn but to Jesus. A dying daughter and an unrelenting health condition. A ruler and an outcast. A man and a woman. One is included and respected in society, and the other is excluded and removed from society. One seemingly powerful, the other seemingly powerless. Both were powerless in the face of what was going on in their lives. Two different people, two different sets of life circumstances. Both experience loss – the loss of a beloved family member and the loss of a community. Both have earnest needs that only Jesus can provide. And so, both come to Jesus. Both place their entire trust in him. They have faith – faith that Jesus can and will heal, faith that Jesus will restore their sense of family/community.
At the same time, it seems to me there is a sense of busyness and chaos surrounding Jesus when Jairus and the woman come to him. Crowds jostling. It seems there are competing needs. There would have been a sense of urgency for Jairus, but then Jesus stopped to attend to someone else. For the woman, there would have been a sense of having only one chance. There was an apparent need among the crowds to know more about this Jesus. I wonder how Jairus would have felt when an outcast woman forced her way into the space that he had with Jesus. He had implored Jesus earnestly. He seemed to have Jesus’ attention. But then Jesus’ attention was seemingly diverted to this woman. I wonder how the woman would have felt when his attention was focused solely on her. She was in a place that she shouldn’t have been. Both were desperate. Both had earnest pleas. And Jesus met them both in their desperation, healing and restoring them.
So, what does this say to us? Jesus heals. Yes. And he restores. It says that no matter who we are – respected or outcast, man or woman, powerful or powerless, seeking help for another or ourselves – Jesus sees us and restores us. It says that Jesus is all-powerful and that even when things in our lives seem beyond restoration, Jesus restores. It says we can bring our earnest pleas to Jesus, who will give us his attention. He has a perfect plan, even if we think he is being diverted by things that are of no importance to us. So, today, if you have an earnest plea right now, bring it to Jesus in faith. Today, if you have already brought your plea to Jesus, know that he is walking with you and that his plan is perfect.
Loving Father, you are the great healer and have a perfect plan. Just as Jesus went with Jairus, you are with me. Just as Jesus healed an outcast woman, you see me and you call me your son or daughter. Thank you. No matter what the crowds around me say, whether they laugh, I fall before you and place my faith in you. Amen.
Carolyn Ehrlich lives in retirement with her husband Wayne in Ipswich, Queensland. Prior to retirement, Carolyn worked as a researcher in the fields of disability and rehabilitation. Today, Carolyn is kept busy with hobbies, supporting the Ipswich Lutheran Parish in various leadership roles and supporting her family.
by Pastor Fraser Pearce
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O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever (Psalm 30:12b).
Read Psalm 30
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds his disciples that the Father in heaven makes the sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). This means that even if people never acknowledge that God is the giver of all good gifts, and even if they never thank him for his generous provision of all they need to live, God will not stop showing his love for them.
This does not mean, of course, that people will never face difficulty and suffering. Even God’s people – perhaps especially God’s people – can experience real hardship and even the anger of God over their sins. Today we hear that the psalmist had become complacent after experiencing a blessing from God. He had thought his life was all in order, and he would not experience the chaos that can suddenly erupt in life (verses 6 and 7).
Perhaps you have experienced something like this: all has been going well, and you think God has made things easy for you. But then you lose your job or face health difficulties or a crisis in a relationship, and you feel as if God has turned away from you and is angry with you.
When people of faith experience things like these, they cry out to God. This is what the psalmist did (verses 8–10), and he learnt that although God’s anger can last for a moment, his favour is for a lifetime. From this experience of God’s favour returning, the psalmist moves from complacency to thanksgiving.
God is a loving Heavenly Father and generous to us even if we don’t give him thanks. But as we thank God, we start to live with the joy that comes from God, and as our Lord Jesus leads us in thanking the Father, the Holy Spirit grows as people who become mature in Christian love.
Father, since you have graciously forgiven me all my sins and generously given me new life in Christ Jesus, I will give thanks to you forever! Amen.
Fraser Pearce grew up in Sydney and has served as a pastor in Melbourne, Bendigo and Adelaide. He is married to Margaret, and they have four children, ranging in age from 15 to 24. Fraser enjoys being with family and friends, listening to (and playing) music and reading.
by Pastor Fraser Pearce
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When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31).
Read Acts 4:23–31
Sometimes, we can be tempted to think that God’s church is built up primarily by what we do. Now, it is true that God works through us to spread the good news about Jesus and gives his people the boldness to speak his word. But the Bible shows us how it is God who takes the initiative in bringing people to faith and keeps his people in faith by his Holy Spirit.
We have an example of this in today’s reading. Most of what we read is a prayer by the early Christians to God – it is a prayer about what God has done and will do, rather than what human beings have done and will do to build God’s kingdom. In the prayer, the people raise their voices to God and remember before God what he has said in his word about Jesus – including the way that Jesus would face opposition not just from his people but from people of all nations. After they pray this, they ask God to give his servants boldness in speaking his word, as he does signs and wonders through his disciples in Jesus’ name.
It is then that the place where they are gathered is shaken, and they are filled with the Holy Spirit and speak God’s word with boldness. The people experience that God gives the power to build his kingdom as the word about Jesus transforms people’s lives, and they share in all the good things God has given them.
God gives you the freedom to come to him in prayer. He has given you the Holy Scriptures so that you can hear about all he has done for his people in the past and all that he is doing through Jesus now. As you learn more about who God is, you can ask him to give his church all that is needed so that his people speak about Jesus with boldness.
Heavenly Father, your word tells us about Jesus and your great love. Please give the people of your church boldness in speaking your word while you do your great deeds of healing in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Fraser Pearce grew up in Sydney and has served as a pastor in Melbourne, Bendigo and Adelaide. He is married to Margaret, and they have four children, ranging in age from 15 to 24. Fraser enjoys being with family and friends, listening to (and playing) music and reading.
by Pastor Fraser Pearce
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We cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:20).
Read Acts 4:13–22
Today we hear about the boldness the Holy Spirit gave the apostles.
Of course, the apostles were not always so bold. They fled on the night Jesus was betrayed, and Peter went so far as to deny with an oath that he even knew who Jesus was. But, after the resurrection, the apostles were restored to a right relationship with Jesus; on the day of Pentecost, they were given the gift of the Holy Spirit to tell people about what Jesus had done. The power of their speech came not from their worldly education or outstanding personal gifts. Rather, it came from the Holy Spirit.
In today’s reading, we hear about the opposition that Peter and John face for speaking and teaching in the name of Jesus. The same leaders who wanted to silence Jesus also wanted to silence the apostles. But Peter and John stand firm in the faith that God had given them. Jerusalem, including the leaders, could see the sign of healing done in Jesus’ name. So, the leaders had no choice but to release the apostles, even if they did so with threats. The leaders could command the apostles not to teach or speak in Jesus’ name, but Peter and John could not keep from sharing the Spirit-inspired message of what they had seen and heard Jesus say and do.
You have come to faith because people have told you the good news about Jesus. You have received the Holy Spirit because people have shared the healing word of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name with you. You don’t need a worldly education or special personal gifts to pass on the good things you have received. You can be prepared to speak boldly about Jesus when people want to know about the hope in you (1 Peter 3:5,6).
Thank you, Father, for sending people to tell me about what Jesus has said and done. Please give me your Holy Spirit so that I may be bold in the life of Christian love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Fraser Pearce grew up in Sydney and has served as a pastor in Melbourne, Bendigo and Adelaide. He is married to Margaret, and they have four children, ranging in age from 15 to 24. Fraser enjoys being with family and friends, listening to (and playing) music and reading.
by Pastor Fraser Pearce
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There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Read Acts 4:1–12
Christian people know the goodness of God. They know the good deeds that Christian people do because they have experienced the love of God in Christ Jesus. They also know the joy of hearing and trusting the message that because Jesus lives, we too can live with God and each other.
But not everyone wants to hear about Jesus or the good things done in his name.
Today we hear about the Sadducees and the people with them who did not want to hear that in Jesus, there is the resurrection of the dead. From Luke’s Gospel, we know that the Sadducees denied that there was a resurrection of anyone at all and that they tried to trap Jesus with what they thought was a tricky question about a woman who had seven husbands (Luke 20:27–40). Jesus had then assured the Sadducees that the dead are raised and that God is the God of the living, not the dead.
In our reading from Acts, we hear that the apostles proclaim that there is a resurrection and that Jesus himself had been raised. They are saying that Jesus is like a stone rejected as useless by builders, but one that has then become the most important stone in the whole building. They are saying that God is building the true temple of his church and that Jesus, who was dead but now lives, is the one in whom the whole building comes together.
You are part of this true temple, the church, the body of Christ. Just as God raised Christ from the dead, so he raises you to new life with him. It is in the name of the Lord Jesus that you are being saved and built up with your fellow Christians so that you may know the goodness of God, his love in Christ Jesus, and the life that not even death can conquer.
Lord Jesus, thank you that I can call on your name and be saved by you. Thank you that you make me part of the temple of your body and that you will raise me up on the last day. Amen.
Fraser Pearce grew up in Sydney and has served as a pastor in Melbourne, Bendigo and Adelaide. He is married to Margaret, and they have four children, ranging in age from 15 to 24. Fraser enjoys being with family and friends, listening to (and playing) music and reading.
by Pastor Fraser Pearce
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Repent, therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out (Acts 3:19).
Read Acts 3:11–26
Today we remember that in 1530, at Augsburg in Germany, Christian people made a great confession of their faith. They confidently declared their belief that God saves us not because of anything we can do but because he has shown his goodness by sending Jesus to take away our sins. They confessed that it is by trusting this message, rather than doing good works, that we begin to live a new life with God. They faced opposition for making their confession of faith, but God used their confession to bring people to trust in Jesus.
In today’s reading, we hear the apostles act as witnesses to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. They tell the crowds that they are responsible for Jesus’ death, and they call them to turn away from evil and trust in the forgiveness of sins that come in Jesus’ name. They tell the crowds that God raised Jesus to bless them by turning them away from their wicked ways. In other words, while they tell the crowds what they have done in killing Jesus, they tell the crowds what God is doing by raising Jesus.
Even though the apostles faced opposition for declaring this message (in fact, they were arrested because of it, as we read in Acts 4:1,2), God used their preaching that day to save many people – about 5000 in all (Acts 4:4).
We know that each one of us is responsible for Jesus’ death. It was not the Jews or the Romans who alone bear the guilt – all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and we are now put right with God by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:19,20). So let us also confess our faith and place our trust in the God who shows us such compassion and mercy. God will use our confession about Jesus to turn people from their sins and give them new life in his care.
Father, thank you to all those who have confessed their faith in Jesus. Give us your Spirit so we may have the courage to confess our own faith in Jesus, knowing that you will use our confession to bring others to faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Fraser Pearce grew up in Sydney and has served as a pastor in Melbourne, Bendigo and Adelaide. He is married to Margaret, and they have four children, ranging in age from 15 to 24. Fraser enjoys being with family and friends, listening to (and playing) music and reading.
by Pastor Fraser Pearce
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In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk (Acts 3:6b).
Read Acts 3:1–10
Today we read about a man who was lame from birth and was taken by others to the gate of the temple to beg for money.
Let’s think about what it would be like to be that man. We would not know what it’s like to walk or run – we would not know what it’s like to go where we want when we want. We would also not know what it’s like to earn our own keep – we would be reliant on the charity of others for our daily bread. On top of this, we would have no hope that our situation would ever be any different – we would be resigned to our disability, restricting the freedoms we see enjoyed by others.
This is the situation the apostles come into. The man only expects to receive from the apostles what he has received from kind people in the past – money to help him live. But the apostles give a gift that is greater than silver or gold. They give the gift of standing up and walking – a gift that comes in Jesus’ name. Peter knows the power that is in Jesus’ name, so when he tells the man to rise and walk, he also takes his right hand and raises him up. In this way, we see Jesus at work through his people as they speak his word. It leads to the man walking and leaping and praising God, and it leads to the people being filled with wonder and amazement so that they are open to hearing the message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name (Acts 3:11–4:4).
All of us are beggars before God. We have nothing to give God, only open hands to receive. Our Lord Jesus gives us his word through the people he sends to speak to us – people like our parents, friends or pastors. As they help us in the life of faith – as we receive the word God gives us through them – we are strengthened to live as free people and to praise God.
Lord Jesus, thank you for sending people to speak your word and freeing us to get up and praise our Father. Please give us your Spirit so we may speak your healing word to others. Amen.
Fraser Pearce grew up in Sydney and has served as a pastor in Melbourne, Bendigo and Adelaide. He is married to Margaret, and they have four children, ranging in age from 15 to 24. Fraser enjoys being with family and friends, listening to (and playing) music and reading.
by Pastor Fraser Pearce
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4:41b)
Read Mark 4:35–41
Do you sometimes wonder why Jesus leads you where he does? And do you sometimes wonder if your Lord cares for you in the storms of life? If so, today’s reading is for you. The good news is that Jesus is with you even when the storms of life threaten to overwhelm you: Jesus has the authority to bring his peace into your life.
In our reading, it is Jesus who encourages his disciples to go with him across ‘to the other side’ – it is his idea to bring his disciples over the chaos of the sea and into a land where they will be confronted with the forces of evil (the Gerasene demoniac – Mark 5:1–20). As they travel, a gale arises, and the boat is at the point of being swamped while Jesus is sleeping comfortably in the stern of the ship.
It is hardly surprising that the disciples wake him up. We understand how they feel. Jesus has led them into this situation, and it appears he doesn’t care about the peril they find themselves in. In our lives, Jesus can call us into places where we face real difficulties – in marriage, at work or even in our congregation – and it can seem like he doesn’t care that we feel overwhelmed and at the point of giving up.
The disciples learn who Jesus is as they call out to him. He wakes up and rebukes the wind and sea by speaking his word: ‘Peace! Be still!’ He brings an end to the threatening waves.
Jesus is with you where he has called you. He has authority over all the forces of darkness and chaos. By his word, he brings peace and order. Even the sea and wind obey him, so do not be afraid.
Lord Jesus, thank you for being with me where you call me to be and that the tempests still obey your voice. I trust that even when I enter the darkness of death, you will awaken me to new life with you. Amen.
Fraser Pearce grew up in Sydney and has served as a pastor in Melbourne, Bendigo and Adelaide. He is married to Margaret, and they have four children, ranging in age from 15 to 24. Fraser enjoys being with family and friends, listening to (and playing) music and reading.
by Ruth Olsen
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Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress (Psalm 107:28).
Read Psalm 107:1–3,23–32
On my first reading of these assigned verses for today, I wondered about the connection to the Bible readings this week referring to the kingdom of God being like seeds, and the happenings of Acts 1–2. Then, our focus verse today caught my attention. It’s like a refrain, repeated from verses 6, 13 and 19, together with the regular liturgical call to give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love in verses 1, 8, 15, 21 and 31.
This psalm tells of deliverance for those lost in the trackless desert (verses 4–9), from the punishment of foreign bondage (verses 10–16) or wasting disease (verses 17–22), and now from the perils of the sea in pursuit of trade (verses 23–32). Surely we can identify with their fears?
Yet when we try to do things the way we think best, we can so easily do our own thing instead of following the Lord’s leading. We have the same inclination to rebel, be deaf, not seek the Lord’s leading nor heed the Lord’s voice – often because we do not recognise it. Often, it’s only when we are in trouble and distress that we remember to cry out to the Lord for help. But, as this psalm reminds us, he hears us!
As Jesus promised, and Acts 1–2 reminds us, the Father has sent his Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name to be our Helper (John 14:26). Do we trust Jesus? Do we trust Abba Father? Do we trust the Holy Spirit? They are three persons, one God, as we confess and declare on earth and into the heavens whenever we speak the Nicene Creed.
Yes, things in life will scare us. Sometimes, we will feel the winds and waves of life toss us up and down! When Peter kept his focus on Jesus, he was enabled to do something that surprised him and the other disciples (Matthew 14:22–33). We have been given a Helper, working from the inside out, training us to maintain our focus on Jesus. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
Lord Jesus, Abba Father, help us grow in trusting your Spirit’s leading every day. Amen.
Ruth and her husband Steen have notched up their 50th anniversary this year. By the time you read this devotion, they will be exploring the beauties of creation somewhere in Europe on a long-delayed adventure, trying to use some of the French Ruth has been learning in recent years.