Good Evening, Lord!
Words of Comfort
May the LORD give strength to
his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace! (Ps. 29:11 ESV)
Prayer of Confession
O eternal God, merciful Father,
as the shadows of evening lengthen, I seek the comfort of Your gracious
presence.
I thank you for all the
blessings that I have enjoyed from Your bountiful goodness, for your protecting
care amid many dangers, for your blessings on my work, for the love of the
members of my family, for everything that has made this day a happy one in my
life.
I am especially grateful for
your love toward me, for the forgiveness of my sins, for the assurance that you
are my heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is my Savior, for the blessings of my
church, and for your grace, which has always been sufficient to sustain me.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and
all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your
diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast
love and mercy, who satisfied you with good as long as you live so that your
youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” In Jesus precious name. Amen.[1]
Catechism Reflections
Yesterday I began this part of
our devotional reflection with the question: If you were going to teach someone everything they need to know about
the Christian faith, where would you begin?
When Martin Luther wrote his
catechism, he began with the Ten Commandments. There was a tradition of writing
catechisms that began with some exploration of sin. The goal was to prepare the
reader for confession. Luther’s catechism has that kind of application, too. It
looks through the Law as the Ten Commandments present it and it shows us where
we fall short of its demands. In this way, it acts like a mirror to show us our
sins.
In another sense, Luther’s
explanation of the Commandments acts as a curb. He begins his explanations with
the familiar phrase, “We should fear and love God so that we do not …” The curb
says, “Stop here!” The catechism acts as a teaching tool to inform us about
what we should not do.
There is a third function of the
Law that the Small Catechism explores for us, and that is what we should, by
God’s command, do. As forgiven and redeemed children of God, living in the
grace Christ won for us, the Law acts as a guide, or as the Psalms would say,
it teaches us God’s ways, guides us in his paths that we might walk in them.
We should make no mistake; the
Law always accuses us. It is also, however, a great gift rooted in God’s love
for us. Like a mirror it shows us our sins that we might confess them and
receive Jesus’ forgiveness. Like a curb it helps to stop our sinful impulses
when we live in faithful obedience. And like a guide it shows us the way to
live as forgiven children of God, loving both God and our neighbors.
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?
Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer
The Fifth Petition: “And forgive
us our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Heavenly Father, do not look at
our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the
things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that You would
give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing
but punishment. But you have given Your Son, our Savior, Jesus to bear our sins
in His body on the cross and given us forgiveness for His sake. For Jesus’ sake
help us to sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us.
Amen.
Verse of Benediction
To the King of the ages,
immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
(1 Tim. 1:17 ESV)
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