“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.

WE ALL HAVE TO GET OUR OWN OIL

Devotional for November 12, 2017 based upon Matthew 25: 1-13

At one point all ten had brightly burning lamps. All ten had oil. But five ran out of oil. So five were not ready when the bridegroom came.

All ten had lights. Which probably were not some kind of small clay vessel with a little wick sticking out. Small clay vessels do not use much oil, but they also would not have been able to put out much light for a wedding party. They probably were torches – long poles with rags soaked in olive oil tied at the top. That kind of a torch produces a lot of light, but it also consumes a lot of oil, so the rags would have to be re-soaked in oil every certain number of minutes.

The oil that enables us to live our Christian lives is abundant. We can all be filled with the Holy Spirit every day. There is no energy shortage in heaven. And the oil is free. It has already all been paid for. But still, if we want our lives to keep on shining, we must receive a daily in-filling of God’s Holy Spirit. And so, in verse 4, “The wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.” The wise had reserve oil. The wise enjoyed a deep, personal experience of the grace of Jesus. The wise had a deeper prayer life – a deeper Bible study life. The wise had a depth to their faith – a depth in their relationship with Jesus – that the five foolish bridesmaids did not have.

Verse 5 tells us, “As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.” All ten had thought that the bridegroom would have been there a lot sooner. But he wasn’t there. So they became drowsy and slept. Preparing for a wedding can wear you out. There’s a lot that goes into getting ready for a wedding. Not just the bride – and the bride’s mother – but also the bridesmaids spend hours and hours getting ready for the wedding. No wonder brides and bridesmaids get all stressed out and tired out. Even the five wise bridesmaids were so tired that they fell asleep because of the delay.

Spiritually are you asleep? Are you asleep even though you know that the King of kings is coming? True, there has been a delay. Jesus the Bridegroom has not come yet. And yet the longer the delay, the closer we are to the time of His coming.

Verse 6 tells us, “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out and meet him!’” When did the bridegroom come? At midnight. Jesus will return at the darkest time of the night. Jesus will come to you in your darkest hour. Sometimes I wonder how much darker it could get than it is right now. The bridegroom will come at midnight. In our hour of deepest need – at a time of greatest spiritual darkness – Jesus Christ will come.

Verse 7 – “Then all the bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.” All ten bridesmaids needed to refill their lamps with oil. But only the wise had brought along spare reserves of oil. What is that extra oil? It is an extra measure of God’s presence and grace in your life. It is the depth and strength of faith that you need to live in those toughest of times.

Christian parents and grandparents may wish that they could just give their faith to their children and grandchildren. And many Christian people wish that they could transfer their Christian faith to their non-believing husband or wife. But each person must go to the source for himself or herself. The Christian faith can neither be transferred nor sold. Each must get the saving oil straight from the source.

No one can be a Christian for you. Your parent or grandparent can’t. Your spouse can’t. Your best friend can’t. And even your pastor can’t. We all have to get our own oil.

In the same way, if you wait until you really need it to get that saving and strengthening relationship with Jesus – if you wait until midnight, you may have waited too long. The Bible says, Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to restock on oil. Today is the day to make your life right with Jesus. If you wait until midnight, you may have waited too long.

What about you? Is your lamp getting dimmer? Is your light beginning to flicker? Is your walk with Jesus lacking or even non-existent? Are you spiritually asleep? Don’t wait too long.

In verse 13 Jesus concludes this parable by saying, “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” I want to be there and ready. And I want you to be there and ready too. I want all of us to be seated at that table that will spread for miles in God’s great heavenly banquet room. Jesus, our Bridegroom and Host, will be there to welcome us. So what should we do? Before your lamp begins to go out – on a regular basis – stop and get a fresh supply. Daily repent of your sins and receive God’s grace. Daily renew your relationship with Jesus. And always remember – we all have to get our own oil.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

WHY DO WE GIVE?

Devotional for October 22, 2017 based upon Matthew 22: 15-22

A young boy wanted a hundred dollars, so he prayed to God for an entire week, but nothing happened.  Finally he decided to write God a letter, requesting the hundred dollars.  When the Post Office got the letter addressed to God, they forwarded it to the White House.  The President was very impressed and touched, so he instructed an aide to send the boy five dollars.  He figured that five dollars would mean a lot to the boy.  Which it did.  So the young boy sat down and wrote a note, which read, “Dear God, Thank you very much for sending me the money.  However, I noticed that for some reason you sent it through Washington.  As always, they kept most of it.”  

In our Gospel reading for this morning Jesus said, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (verse 21)  Most of us accept the fact that we do have to give to Caesar.  What Caesar wants, Caesar gets.  And most of us just kind of accept that.

Giving to Caesar is not a problem for most of us.  But for many, giving to God is a huge problem.   So I would like to ask the question, WHY DO WE GIVE?  Many churches hold their annual stewardship campaign during this time of the year.  Why would we want to tell God in writing what we plan to do in providing financial support for and being involved in the ministry of the Church this next year?

First, we give to God the things that belong to God in RESPONSE to all that He has done for us.  Times are tough.  Money is short.  Maybe financially times are tougher for you than they were a few years ago.  But do you still have your health?  Do you have people who love you?  Do you have food to eat and a warm place to sleep?  Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins?  Do you have a home in heaven?  The truth is that we all have much to be thankful for.  And so we give to God the things that belong to God, first of all, in RESPONSE to all that God has done for us.

Second, we give to God the things that belong to God as a REMEDY to the enslaving power of wealth.  There comes a time for all of us when we have to decide what role money is going to play in our lives.  Will we have money, or will money have us?  It’s really interesting – and tellingly significant – that as people’s income grows, the percentage of their income that they give to charities declines.  The more people earn, the less proportionately they give.  You would think it would work the other way around.  The more I earn, the more discretionary income I have, so the more I should be able to give.  But that’s not the way it works.  

A wealthy TV evangelist was dying in his mansion.  He gathered his followers all around him to hear his one last wish.  “Before I die,” he said, “I would like to take one last ride.”  They asked him what he would need for that one last ride before entering into the Kingdom of Heaven.  He replied, “I would like a very small camel and a very large needle.”

It’s happening to people all around us.  No one of us is immune.  People who used to worship God now worship money. And so we give to God the things that belong to God as a REMEDY to the enslaving power of wealth.

And then third, we give to God the things that belong to God as a REMINDER of who is number one in our lives.  According to Deuteronomy 14, the whole purpose of the tithe is to teach us to always put God first.  It’s simply a matter of priorities.  It is simply a matter of doing what Jesus said – “Give back to God the things that belong to God.”  Seek first His Kingdom, and then trust Him to provide and to take care of you.  

This coming week ask yourself, “Am I truly giving back to God the things that belong to God?”

May the Holy Spirit so live in your life that you will find giving back to God easier, more important, and certainly more enjoyable than giving back to Caesar.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE