Listen here.
Welcome to
Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for
the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Hudson, OH.
Thank you for
being with me today.
I want to
apologize for my inconsistency in posting these devotions. I really enjoy doing
them, but sometimes life gets in the way. I hope I can get back to a consistent
schedule! Please keep me in your prayers!
This Sunday will
be the fourth Sunday after Epiphany. The word Epiphany means to shine light on
something, and this season seeks to shine the light of revelation of Jesus
showing us some of His miracles and ministry so that we can know Him as our
savior and God. The Gospel lesson this week displays Jesus as one with great authority.
He even has authority over the unclean, or demonic, spirits.
The Reading:
Mark 1:21-28
21 And they
went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue
and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he
taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And
immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he
cried out, 24 "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-- the Holy One of God." 25
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" 26
And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came
out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned
among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He
commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." 28 And
at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of
Galilee. (Mk. 1:21-28 ESV)
Comments
When I was in
college I had to take a humanities class. I remember one day that the
professor, Doc Felber, asked me what I thought about something. I don’t
remember what he asked about, but I remember the lesson he taught me that day.
I responded citing an article I had read earlier in the week from Time
Magazine. He stared at me silently for a moment, everyone focused on the two of
us, and he said, “Mr. Tritten, I don’t care what Time Magazine says. I asked
what you
think.”
The rabbis at
Jesus’ time qualified everything they said. They cited this source and that
source as they tried to explain God’s Word to His people. They did not speak
with authority, but held on to the authority of others.
Jesus was very
different. He didn’t cite and qualify. He simply spoke about the Kingdom of
God, called people to repentance and preached the gospel.
To be fair: Jesus
is God, and the rabbis were men. Jesus has genuine authority that the rabbis
did not; even authority to cast out unclean spirits.
Jesus’ authority over
all things extends to us. It is because of His authority that He can say to you
and me, “Your sins are forgiven.” It is also a matter of His authority to call
us to be His witnesses and to make disciples of all nations. That means that
when we speak about Jesus, it is not in our own authority, but in Jesus’
authority. He has authorized us to tell the world what He has done.
Meditate on this
today: Jesus has authoritatively spoken into your life. He has claimed you and
cleansed you of your sin. Now he calls you to be his witness, to share the hope
you have because of His salvation, and He has authorized you to represent Him.
Prayers
Lord Jesus, you
spoke as one with authority because You are our Creator, Redeemer, and our God.
Thank You for making Yourself known to us so that we can believe in You and
live under Your authority. Please forgive us for the times that we have doubted
or, worse, usurped Your authority. Give us Your Holy Spirit to strengthen our
faith so that we boldly follow You and rightly represent You to those people
You bring into our lives. In Your name we pray. Amen.
Memory Verse:
Psalm 111:10 - The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a
good understanding. His praise endures forever! (Ps. 111:10 ESV)
Thank you so much
for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you
and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle
around in your brain – for the rest of the day.
Would you do me a
favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or
share it on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you do social media? That would help
me get the word out, and hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to
others.
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God bless you!
Comments