“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27).

When the Psalmist says, “Create in me a clean heart and a right spirit within me,” he was not talking about looking good.  He was talking about what goes on in the heart.  We all have things going on within us that are more wicked than another whom we might accuse, who did some outward act.  A murderer murders once.  One who murders in their heart, is a serial murderer.  Sin inside is just as bad as sin acted out.

Lord, I do have many things that have gone on in my heart which only You and I know about.  You are telling me that my inward life is every bit as important as my outward life.  Lead me  away from pretending to be good in order that I might practice that which is right and true.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to be honest with myself so that the Holy Spirit can make my heart clean.

Lord Jesus, I often say clean me up, but inwardly I am really saying, “but not yet.”  I have a spirit in me that is unchaste and sees things selfishly, looking upon my neighbor as a thing.  Guide me, dear Savior, in Your goodness to live into my life for which You gave Your life in order that I would be able to obtain true life.  Guide me by grace in the upward path of becoming more like You each day.  Thank You, Lord, for confronting me honestly so that I may truly be saved.  Amen.

“Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:11-12)

When things do not go the way we want them to go, we call that Your fury and anger. I suspect You call that the truth. You give a heart of wisdom to those who will come into Your presence and see things as they are. Lead me, O Lord, to see clearly the truth of the life into which You invite those who will come into Your presence. You offer to guide us through these limited days.

Lord, when I was young, I thought in terms of forever. As I get older, I see the foolishness of such thoughts. My days are numbered. Help me to live according to the days You have given me that I may abide in You as You abide in me, doing those things which will grow in me what You have always intended. Help me to be lifted up according to Your will.

Lord Jesus, You have told us that we must be united with You. Saint Paul told us that we must be united in Your death in order to be united in Your resurrection. Help me, O Lord, to overcome the obstacles of the way this age thinks that I might see things as You would have me see them, knowing that all things are in Your hands. Guide me, O Lord, to walk in Your ways now and always. Amen.

“You turn man back into dust and say, “Return, O children of men.” For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night.” (Psalm 90:3-4)

Everlasting is something beyond our ability to comprehend. History flows by You in a moment. Lead me, O Lord, into Your perspective of things that I may dwell in Your mind’s eye and not in my own imagination. Help me to learn to trust You in and through all things. Lift me up according to Your gracious will to be Your humble follower now and always, and to do Your will.

Lord God, You know all things and You know my heart. You have witnessed all who have passed before Your sight. Though I be dust animated for a short while, help me to learn to praise You, the God through whom all things have their being. Lead me in the way You would have me go that I may now and always look to You, the One true God who is in all and through all.

Come, Holy Spirit, and lift up my countenance to praise You for Your goodness which You bring. Lift me up by the grace You have provided, Lord Jesus. In all that I say or do, help me to be faithful according to the call You have given me. Guide me, O Lord, that I may do what is pleasing in Your sight. To You alone belongs all praise, thanks, honor and glory. Amen.

“Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.  Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth.”  (Psalm 67:3-4)

Lord how much better would this world be if they just stopped fighting against the truth, seeking to replace it with their idea of the truth.  Alas, the world continues its battle and I along with them.  Bring me to the place where I praise you in spite of what those around me do.  You are the righteous judge and it shall be as You determine.  Guide me to live in that knowledge always.

Lord, You know the struggle in my heart.  I desire those things which are of no value and flee from Your statutes which are more precious than gold or silver.  Judge my heart that I may be freed of those things which hinder me, and lead me in Your ways now and always to be one who praises You in season and out of season.  Righteous judge, give me Your righteousness.

Righteousness Incarnate, Jesus my Savior, guide me in the way of truth that You have established that I may be guided in Your  way now and always.  Lead me forth from this moment to live in the truth that all things are known and that You are guiding me in the way I should go.  Help me see through the cloud of this age to become and be the person You have created me to be.  Amen.

“If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear; but certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.  Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer nor His lovingkindness from me.”  (Psalm 66:18-20)

It is not that the Lord does not know all of the things that wander through our minds but that the Lord is intolerant of sin.  Yet, He perseveres in seeking after us that we may come into His presence with thanksgiving.  He must create in all of us a clean heart that we would come into His presence as we were made to be and not as we have become.  His lovingkindness is forever,

Lord I have harbored thoughts in my mind that need to be removed.  Guide me in Your ways that Your thoughts would be my thoughts as I learn in order that Your ways become my ways.  Guide me in the way of salvation which You have prepared that I would walk the journey You have planned.  Before me is Your goodness and lovingkindness; and my desire is to be Yours always.

Thank You, Lord, that You have not turned a blind eye to my plight.  Through the salvation You have prepared in the sacrifice of Christ, You have made possible my eternal reconciliation.  Guide me, Lord Jesus, in the way of the cross that I would forever hold fast to the truth You have revealed and the way that has been made straight.  You alone are able to lead me where I need to go.  Take me with You that where You are I will be also.  Amen.

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.  Deliver me from those who do iniquity and save me from men of bloodshed.”  (Psalm 59:1-2)

Sometimes this world is troublesome.  There are difficulties each day.  But the Lord, who knows all things, has us in His hands.  He knows the plans He has for us.  Yes, we have our difficulties, but to Him we should turn in every time of trouble.  It may seem dark at times, but He is mighty to save and will watch over us all.  The Deliverer has come and in Him all who trust will be rescued.

Lord, I hear these words, but in times of trouble I am often overwhelmed in the moment.  Teach my heart to trust.  Teach me to learn from You that I may walk through every moment in trust and confidence in the faith You have given me.  Guide me, O Lord, that I may be led by Your mighty hand to become what you have in mind.  Lead me through every valley of the shadow of death.

Lord Jesus, You know adversity and the plotting of evil doers.  Guide me in the way I need to go each day.  Teach me to lean on You through Your Word and by prayer that I may forever hold fast to the truth You have revealed for the ages.  Lead me, my Savior, today that I may walk humbly with You and know the goodness You have in store for those who walk by faith.  Amen.

“The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.  And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth!”  (Psalm 58:10-11)

In a world filled with wickedness, it is hard to distinguish where justice lies.  The Lord knows, but we do not see His hand of justice at work.  The Lord is patient, but we, in our limited lifetimes want revenge now.  The Lord will judge and He will judge righteously.  Just trust in the Lord in all of His ways and know that He will lead all who turn to Him into the ways of righteousness.

Lord, I am easily led in so many directions by all of the wickedness in this world.  Guide the thoughts of my mind and the attitude of my heart that I would hold fast to the truth You have revealed.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way I should go and then help me walk in this way.  Grant that I would see Your hand upon this world and know that You are working all things together for good to those who love You.

Lord Jesus, in great love You have come to lead as many as would follow You in the way of truth.  The world is already judged and You have come for those who will come through You into light and life.  Guide my heart this day, O Lord, that I would look to You and Your ways and follow in them as You direct and lead.  By Your Holy Spirit, lead me this day.  Amen.

FIRST WORDS AND FINAL WORDS

Devotional for Christ the King Sunday, November 26, 2017 based upon Matthew 25: 31-46

I retired on June 30, 2014, after serving as pastor of the same southern California congregation for forty years.  My final Sunday was June 29.  What I would say during the sermon on my final Sunday was very important to me.  There were certain things I wanted to be sure to say to the congregation, whom I had known and loved and been pastor for for forty years.  I spent a lot of time and prayer thinking through my final words.

Our Gospel lesson for Christ the King Sunday contains Jesus’ final words – His final message before the crucifixion.  I am sure that what He said during this final message was very important to Him.  What did He say?

In Jesus’ final message before the crucifixion He tells of the day when He will come in His glory.  All the angels will be there, and all the people who have ever lived will be there.  His first act as the newly crowned, rightful King of the universe will be to separate all people into two groups – sheep and goats.  To those on the right – to the sheep – He will say, “Come, you that are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (verse 34)  Then he will give a whole list of human hurts and will describe the response of the sheep to those hurts.  The first act of Christ as the newly crowned King will be to applaud His people’s acts of compassion.  What Jesus makes the biggest deal of in this – His final message before His crucifixion – are the works of compassion of His people, who have received His compassionate work of salvation.  

Now if Matthew 25 contains the last recorded message of Jesus before the crucifixion – the last recorded message of His three-year public ministry – what about His first recorded message?  What did Jesus say during the first time that the Bible says He got up to speak?

To find the answer to that question we turn to Luke 4 – to a time when Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth.  He went to the synagogue – to that community and religious gathering place where He had gone many, many times while growing up.  He went back to the synagogue, where He had studied the books of Moses, the law, and the prophets.  The law He had come to fulfill, and the prophets who spoke of the day of hope when He would be coming.  Luke tells us, “He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him.  He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. . . .” (Luke 4: 16-17)

As best-selling author Max Lucado, speaking on this passage, points out, this is the only time in the Bible where Jesus chooses a place in the Bible.  This is the only time in the Bible where it specifically mentions that someone handed Jesus a Bible and said, “Here, please pick out a passage for us.”  Imagine handing God a Bible and asking Him to pick out a verse.  Just imagine.  If you were to hand God a Bible and ask Him to pick a verse, what verse do you think He would pick?  What one passage from the entire Old Testament do you think He would select?  Luke tells us, “He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. . . .”

You might think that He would have stopped at Isaiah 53 – the song of the suffering servant that speaks of Him so clearly – “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities.” (Isaiah 53: 5)  But instead He kept on going until He got to Isaiah 61, where He read, “The spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.” (Luke 4: 18)

Here we have the first sentence of the first sermon of Jesus recorded in the Bible.  The only time mentioned in the Bible where Jesus selects and reads a passage from the Bible, and whom and what does He read about?  He reads about the poor.  “The spirit of the Lord has anointed Me – has chosen Me – to bring good news to the poor.”  

The only time in the Bible where it is specifically recorded that Jesus reads a passage from the Bible – and a passage which He Himself chooses – and whom does He read about?  It must be those whom He must have a special heart for.  The poor.  And in the rest of verse 18, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed.  

If the first act of our Lord Jesus Christ – after He is crowned as the rightful King of the universe – is to separate the sheep from the goats.  And if the factor that makes sheep sheep and goats goats is the way their faith leads them to respond to the hungry, thirsty, sick, naked, and imprisoned.  And if in the first sermon that Jesus gave He talked about God’s concern for the poor, that must have a lot to say to us today, who live in a world where so many people are living in extreme poverty.      

If in His last recorded sermon and in His first recorded sermon, Jesus talked about God’s heart for the poor, we need to ask ourselves, What kind of heart do I have for the poor?  Do I have God’s kind of heart for the poor?  

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

“For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens and Your truth to the clouds.  Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth.”  (Psalm 57:10-11)

Wherever you look you see the truth of the Lord.  His creation is evident in all of His works.  The detail and intricacy are there.  Deny some will, but the works of God’s creation speak of His goodness and the order He has set into place.  Magnify the Lord and see that He is worthy of all honor and praise.  Know the Lord who makes Himself known and see His goodness always.

Lord, I get caught up in the difficulties of this life and forget to simply step back and see the creation You have made.  Guide my heart to never forget that You are God and so far above my ways that I can only begin to comprehend.  Lead me, O Lord, to walk humbly before You, seeing all that You would have me see and walking according to Your never-changing will which You established in the beginning.

Lord Jesus, come down, You who became one of us, guide me in what You have taught the disciples throughout the ages.  Help me learn from You how best to walk each day through this world, filled both with the creation which You have made and the wickedness that has come because of sin.  Grant that I would have a discerning heart to walk humbly and trust in all of Your provisions.  Amen.

“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