Good Evening, Lord!
Words of Comfort
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isa. 26:3 ESV)
Prayer of Confession
O God, you are my savior and
defender. You are my shelter in the storm. I pray that you would spread your
protection over me and all my loved ones this evening. Send your holy angels to
guard us while we sleep so that no evil might befall us. In sleep we know our
vulnerability. We recognize that our powers are limited and that we need rest.
Please grant us refreshment and re-energize us for service and acts of love,
mercy, and kindness tomorrow. Please forgive me and my loved ones for the times
that we failed in that service today. Pardon us for neglecting to act from love,
mercy, and kindness toward our neighbors. Let us rest in Christ, clinging to
your forgiveness in him. Amen.
Catechism Reflections
The Second Commandment
You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.
What does this mean? We should fear and love
God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His
name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.
In
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet,
Juliet famously says of Romeo, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
She is saying that it is not the name that matters, but the quality of the
individual. That statement is true enough, but names do matter. This is
especially the case when we are talking about God’s names.
Names
are words, and God’s words do things. God communicates with us through his
names. He tells us about himself. He reveals his character and will through his
names that we might hear that he is the LORD, and by hearing we might believe
in his name … that is believe in him, because the name communicates the person.
Matthew
1 tells us about the naming of Jesus. As you read this, ask, “What is God
telling us about himself?”
Now
the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his
mother Mary had been betrothed[f] to Joseph, before they
came together she was found to be with child from the Holy
Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put
her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these
things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,
“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is
conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from
their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken
by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin
shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which
means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel
of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she
had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
There
are three names here that reveal important details about God to you.
The
first name is Immanuel, which Matthew
tells us means, “God with us.” This is not the God who has abandoned us, the
God who watches from a distance, or even the God who meddles in human affairs.
He is God with us, who dwells among us, and this child, Jesus Christ, is
actually God with us.
The
second name is Jesus. This was not a
terribly uncommon name, but it is a name with uncommon meaning. It literally
means, “The LORD saves.” Knowing Jesus’ purpose even from his birth, this name
tells us that God’s will for us is to save us, not to condemn us.
The
third name is actually not a name, although we treat it as one: Christ. Christ means, “The anointed or
chosen one.” It is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word, Messiah. And God had promised a messiah
who would rescue his people.
Jesus,
the LORD saves, is the chosen One, to save you from sin and death. He is God
with you, declaring his love and forgiveness for you. No wonder we would hold
such names as precious and not misuse them!
Questions for Meditation
What does this reading teach
you?
What does this reading lead you
to be thankful for?
What behavior, thought, or
attitude does this reading challenge? What sin does it lead you to confess?
How might you pray for God to
have a richer impact on your life through this reading?
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily
bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Verse of Benediction
The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. (2 Cor. 13:14 ESV)
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