“They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they dug a pit before me; they themselves have fallen into the midst of it.  My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!”  (Psalm 57:6-7)

In the midst of the turmoil of the world, many will lament, curse God and join in the fray.  But will that change the rampant sin that prevails?  No, it will not.  Praise the Lord in all seasons and know that You have His promise that everything will work for His glory.  Know that the Lord is good in the midst of all that is not good.  Let your heart be steadfast and praise the Lord at all times.

Lord I often spend time in laments, but not in praise.  Praise is not an emotion, but an attitude.  Guide me to see in You hope and a future.  Lead me into the life to which You have called me that I would go with hope in You.  No matter what happens in this life, lead me O Lord to walk in Your ways, praising You for all that comes.  Keep my heart steadfast upon You.

Lord Jesus, You know the pain and suffering more than any other, for You took it all upon Yourself.  Help me know that this is true that I may walk with You confidently trusting in all that You have done.  Let me work through every adversity while You are shaping me day by day to be more like You.  Lead me, O Lord, and grant my feet the ability to follow.  Amen

“He will send from heaven and save me; He reproaches him who tramples upon me. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.  My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.  Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth.”  (Psalm 57:3-5)

The Lord’s salvation has come, just as He promised.  It is He who came and became one of us.  He knows our weaknesses and He knows our need.  The Lion of Judah, the One from whom the scepter shall never pass, is the One who offers His hand to each of us.  It is the hand of truth and He shall lead all who follow forever in the presence of the glory of God.

Who fears the Lord but the one who encounters truth.  The Lord is truth and He offers grace and mercy to those who seek Him and humble themselves before Him.  His is the everlasting glory, before all time and forever.  Stand fast in His presence and all else that is passing away will seem of no worth in comparison to what He offers in the way and truth He gives which leads to eternal life.

Lord Jesus, the One who has come to end the warfare for those who believe, lead me this day to rejoice in the true glory of the Father You have revealed.  Guide me not so much to know as to understand that all I need do is follow You all the days of my life.  You are the truth revealed, promised long before and in You is the hope of all generations.  May you be exalted through me this day.  Amen.

“Your vows are binding upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.  For You have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living.”  (Psalm 56:12-13)

In this world of mixed up ideas, the Lord makes promises that only He is able to keep.  Who gives life?  Who can raise the dead?  Whose ability holds all things together?  It is the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  Trust in the Lord with all of your might and let Him make up for any weakness that you have.  He will deliver your soul so that You can walk with Him forever.

Lord, I become confused by all of the promises, words and persuasions bantered about in this world.  Guide me through the morass of this world to stand before You covered in the righteousness You alone give.  Bring my heart to the place where I render thanksgiving for all of Your goodness and know that in You there is hope and a future.  Lead me, O Lord, for You alone know what is needed.

Lord Jesus, You have come to lead the way for as many as would come by grace through faith, trusting that You have given the words of eternal life.  Lead me this day to see in You the hope of glory and the firmness of the promises You have delivered.  Teach me how to praise and worship, knowing that only in You is there hope and a future.  Keep me from stumbling so I may walk with You now and always.  Amen.

“Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:18)

St. Paul didn’t act as though he had more than he really had.  He had words, and they were good words.  Words can open minds, console hearts, and change futures.  Words from God, founded on the acts of God, can do even greater things: they can raise the dead.

Here in central Wisconsin, we can know how words work just by looking at the great hunting season that unfolds this month.  Consider how much talk accompanies hunting; think of the photos that people post of their kill to illustrate the stories that they tell.  That conversation encourages hunters in their hope and accompanies them into the woods.

It’s a reflection of the greater glory of Jesus Christ.  His life has authored a deathless word, the Holy Gospel that not only speaks of forgiveness now but also of the world to come.  This holy Word we must steadily proclaim, more and more, to encourage one another and reveal to this present world that there is a happy future to be had.  In the end, that sacred conversation of the Church is the hope that will accompany souls into the woods, however dark the woods may be.

LET US PRAY: Speak, O Lord, we will hear You, for Your Word alone is life.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“My heart is in anguish within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.  Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me.  I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!  I would fly away and be at rest.”  (Psalm 55:4-6)

The troubles of this world are often overwhelming.  We wonder where the Lord is and why these things are happening.  It has happened before and it will happen again.  Woe to those who bring wickedness, but also, be encouraged and turn to the Lord while He may be found.  Trust in the One who holds all things in His hands and has promised there is a purpose to all things that will bring Him glory.

In times of difficulty O Lord, turn me to You that I would know the comfort Your Spirit provides to those who love You.  Trouble does come and there are difficulties int his world, but greater are You who is in me that the wicked one who stirs trouble in this world.  Guide me into Your goodness that I would forever hold fast to the truth of Your Word and the comfort You give.

Lord Jesus, You knew trouble, for it was constant throughout Your ministry.  Help me see in You the only hope there is not only for this world, but forever.  Lead me through the troubled waters of this world to seek the Father’s will in all things.  Lead me to know the hope of everyday life that comes by walking in faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

“You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking what is right.  You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. But God will break you down forever; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent, and uproot you from the land of the living.”  (Psalm 52:3-5)

The wicked tongue shall not survive.  Why do you cling to that which is already condemned?  Come then into the rest of the Lord and give up the vain ways of this world.  DO not cling to that which is destructive, but come into the hope of glory that comes through grace.  Live into the life into which You have been called through grace by faith.  Let your wicked heart be uprooted and replaced with a heart like Christ’s.

Lord, You know all the complexities of the heart and the ways in which it plays games with me.  Blot out my iniquities and take away those things which hinder me from living life as You have designed it to be lived.  Guide me O Lord into Your grace that I may begin again the journey to which grace calls me.  Help me through all obstacles to live, speak and have my being in You.

Lord Jesus, You have come to forever shatter the wicked and their ways from ruling in life.  Though there remains this season in which the wicked endure, let me not be counted among them.  Instead, guide me by Your grace to come into the life to which You have called me by Your provision to seek the goodness You offer.  Help me now and always to cling to You, the finisher of my faith.  Amen.

“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.”  (Psalm 51:3-4)

Against the Lord have we sinned.  Yes, but what about sins against another?  All sin is ultimately against the Lord, which is why Jesus was able to forgive sins.  He forgave not only what was against others, but because all sin is ultimately against Him, He was able to forgive us.  This is why there was puzzlement that He forgave sins.  Yes, God forgives and His forgiveness is complete.

Lord, I have sinned against You even when I have sinned against my neighbor.  Help me I pray to live life in repentance that I would see that there are no small sins, but only sins against You.  Lead me to see my heart changed to be so intimate with You that I never forget this simple principle.  Lead me to live life righteously and teach me to look to You always and for all things.

Lord Jesus, the magnitude of what You have done is greater than I can begin to imagine.  Help me, I pray, to see in You the hope of glory and the truth of the grace I need.  Lead me in truth so that I may forever hold fast to what You have done from the cross.  Lead me today and always to know that against You only have I sinned, but the by repentance You will restore me to wholeness.  Amen.

“The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken, and summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.  Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth.”  (Psalm 50:1-2)

Look around and what do you see?  All around you is splendor and beauty.  Is this an accident?  Is this mere chance?  The fool says it is.  There is the hand of the Lord in all that you see.  Look plainly and see the magnificence of the Lord’s handiwork.  Be guided by the Holy Spirt and understand more fully the author of all that exists.  Know the Lord and come to know His handiwork.

Lord, the skeptics are all around.  They deride and jeer, mock and make much ado about nothing.  Help me move beyond this foolishness to come into Your presence and walk humbly with You, the One who made all things.  Lead me O Lord that I may follow You wherever You would take me.  Help me see in You the hope of glory and the way of living life now and forever.

Lord Jesus, God who took on flesh, You have come to lead the way of glory for all those who would follow where You lead.  Guide me O Lord today to walk humbly in Your ways.  Teach me O Lord to follow You wherever You would lead me.  May I be faithful to the calling You have given me knowing that only in You is there hope and glory now and for all time and eternity.  Amen.

Monday, October 2, 2017 Devotion

‘Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased; For when he dies he will carry nothing away; His glory will not descend after him.”  (Psalm 49:16-17)

How many in our day look to wealth as the answer to their problems.  It is not, for look to the rich and you will see that they are no better off than the poor.  More comfortable perhaps, but their families have just as many problems.  Everything belongs to the Lord, so what He gives in stewardship is only temporarily ours.  Let your wealth be the relationship you have with the Lord.

Lord, I do see this principle, but this world is so steeped in greed and avarice that I do not see when it grabs hold of me.  Guide me O Lord to look to You knowing that only in You is there hope and an eternal future.  Lead me according to Your never-failing Word to walk with You all the days of this life in preparation for all that is to come.  Guide me by Your Word to walk with You now and always.

Lord Jesus, You have come that we may have life and have it eternally.  Through You and by Your grace, You enable all who walk with You to live into the life to come.  You are the way, truth and life and only in You is there hope.  Lead me Lord Jesus in Your way that I would walk with You every moment of every day as You do what needs to be done in and through me.  Amen.

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (St. Paul, writing in Philippians 2:3)

As our nation faces another shocking set of murders, it’s good to pause and remember why Christians walk a different path.  After all, it’s one thing to know your morals, and quite another to know why they’re your morals.  Why should we reject rivalry and conceit?

We can surely see the danger of both sins.  Rivalry led to the first murder on earth: Cain killing his brother Abel because Abel had the more acceptable sacrifice.  Conceit abetted the worse murder on earth: Jesus on the cross, arrested by those who thought themselves better than him.  The spirit of rivalry and pride—the hatred of our neighbor—lurks beneath every murder.  

But knowing a sin’s potential danger is not enough.  Our sinful hearts can quickly imagine an exception for ourselves, a justification for sin that makes us imagine that we can manage the risk. Better to know the true foundation of our morality: God gave His Son for sinners.   

Because God stands at the center of all reality, that sacrificial love for all people stands there, too.  God counted sinners more significant than Himself, so significant that He gave His life for theirs.  Being His children, and thus desiring to live in harmony with Him, we follow on that same path: no rivalry, no conceit, no murder, but only loving neighbors as our true selves.  

LET US PRAY: Forgive me, Lord.  I’d rather love myself than my neighbor, and so I do, on most days.  I am not You, Lord, as You know full well, and I often forget.  Yet since it is Your glory to have compassion on the sinner, have compassion on me.  By Your Holy Spirit grant that I would learn to find my true self not in myself, but in Your Son, and so also in His neighbors, and thus forgetting myself, love You and neighbor alike; through Christ Your Son.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau