I Am
Baptized
And Peter said to them,
"Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 2:38 ESV)
Make the sign of the cross as you say, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
I Believe …
I believe that God has made me
and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all
my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also
gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children,
land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I
need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards
and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine
goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is
my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.
Bible Reading – Psalm 10
Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have
devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for
gain curses and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does
not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet
adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit
and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he lurks in ambush like a
lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see
it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your
hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to
account”?
14 But you do see, for you note mischief and
vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline
your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the
oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror
no more.[1]
Sometimes it is frustrating waiting for God. “Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” Why can’t God be more like the hero in our favorite movies who kicks in the door, knock out the bad guy with single punch, and saves the day before anything too bad can happen to us? Why can’t he be like the sheriff in the old western movies who was always there to break up the fight, arrest the cattle rustlers, and make sure the townsfolk are safe from all kinds of danger?
It is a common experience for Christians to feel abandoned by God. Please notice that I said it is common to feel abandoned, not that God commonly abandons us. Feelings and faith are not the same thing. People will try to explain this sensation away saying you have to have more faith. They will say, “If God feels distant, guess who moved.” Implying that it is because of your sinfulness that God feels far away. And while that is sort of true, remember that Job did no wrong and he suffered and felt abandoned by God, too.
The life of faith is confusing sometimes. We feel God is distant. We see how the wicked and prideful prosper. We begin to wonder, why is God so far away? But by God’s promises we know that he has not forgotten. He notes the mischief and vexation and he will deliver the helpless and be the helper of the most vulnerable. He will even break the arm of the evildoer and call the wicked to account.
Yet we remember that Jesus did not come to condemn the world – the world is already condemned – but he came that the world might be saved through him. How did Jesus save the world? He was abandoned by his Father on the cross. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God hid his face from Jesus as he bore our sin and guilt to death. Jesus was abandoned on the cross so that we will know that God will not abandon us. He makes the exchange – his life for our death, his holiness for our sinfulness – and he leaves us with promises; promises that are bolstered by his action as if he is saying, “I suffered for you. I died for you. I know you feel like I am far away, but if I saved you the way I did at the cross do you think I’m going to abandon you?”
No. God may feel far away, but because of Jesus we have faith that we are not forgotten.
Question for Meditation
What does this reading teach you
about Jesus, what He said and did, or what He wants His followers to believe?
What does it teach you about God’s love and forgiveness?
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
Third Petition: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
O God, Your will is done even
without our prayers, but we pray that it may be done among us also. Please
break and hinder every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful
nature, which do not want us to hallow Your name or let Your kingdom come.
Strengthen and keep us firm in Your Word and faith until we die. Let Your good
and gracious will be done. Amen.
Prayer
Pray
for the government and all who are in authority.
Pray
that God grants wisdom, integrity, courage, and safety to all our leaders, to
police, firefighters, health care professionals, and all who work for the
public good.
Benediction
Now may the God of peace himself
sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5:23 ESV)
[1] English
Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers.
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