Opening prayer: Psalm 17:6-7
6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my words.
7 Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
Read Psalm 17
Quote from Luther: "The 17th psalm is a psalm of prayer. It laments over the false teachers and the scrupulous saints who, by human doctrines and works, lead people away from God's Word. They persecute the true doctrine and hate the cross of Christ." Reading the Psalms with Luther, CPH.
This quote reminds me of one of my favorite hymns, "The Church's One Foundation." A few verses speak to the hardships God's people must endure from within and from without, and then assure us of God will preserve his people:
Though with a scornful wonder The world sees her oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder, By heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping; Their cry goes up "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping Shall be the morn of song.
Through toil and tribulation And tumult of her war
She waits the consummation Of peace forevermore
Till with the vision glorious Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious Shall be the Church at rest.
(LSB 644:2, 3; Public Domain)
Read Genesis 18
Today Sarah laughs. I think this laughing is memorable because of the discussion with the Lord afterwards about whether she really laughed or not. But let us not forget that Abraham himself laughs a chapter earlier. Surely the news was shocking! But yet, here the 3 visitors are, and they bring incredible news.
Abraham quickly shows that he is blameless, upright, and righteous before the world by offering incredible hospitality to the strangers. Not right away, but at some point he realizes that he is visited by the Lord God Himself. In verses 1 and 10 we see the visitor is called LORD. Whenever we see LORD in all capital letters this tells us that in the Hebrew, God's name, Yahweh, was used. Then in verse 14 we see God (the visitor) refer to Himself as the "LORD." We can be sure that at this point Abraham realized who the visitor was, if not sooner.
God renews his promise, and within a year they would have a son. How exciting! The time of waiting is near an end. Soon, in a matter of months, Sarah's barren womb would feel the movement of a new and growing life inside. And more than just another life, this is the one who would be ancestor to the Messiah, who would carry the promise in his bloodline! Salvation is being produced (eventually) through an empty womb - life from death. God is a worker of miracles!
Then we have a switch in the tone of the reading and Abraham and the LORD are left to discuss the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. The 2 angels traveled on to Sodom and Gomorrah to verify that there is terrible wickedness there. We'll hear more about that tomorrow. But now, Abraham petitions the Lord to be merciful.
Here we learn from Abraham that we are to be humble before the Lord, recognizing as Abraham did that we are "dust and ashes." But we know that we can also be bold in prayer. Abraham gets bolder in his requests, even as he is persistent in petitioning the Lord. Oh, that we were that bold and persistent in prayer! Lord, give us faith like Abraham, so that we can approach you with such humility and such boldness!
In the end we will see just how wicked Sodom and Gomorrah are. Not even 10 will be found who are righteous before the Lord - even when counting Lot and his family. But more on that terrible judgment tomorrow. For now, let us be inspired by Abraham's faith, and a gracious and merciful God who renews His promise and even shows up at Abraham's tent to prove His (the Lord's) faithfulness. Thanks be to God!
Ask Yourself:
Where do I see schisms and false teaching in the church today? Am I grieved by it? Do I do what I can to counter it?
Am I humble before the Lord, recognizing that I am nothing on my own and God owes me nothing for my sake?
Am I bold before the Lord, recognizing that I am precious to him because of Jesus, and God gives me wonderful promises by grace through faith in Jesus?
Pray:
Lord Jesus, true Shepherd and Defender of Your people, grant us wisdom, strength, and patience - wisdom to know and to walk in the way everlasting; strength to resist all temptations of error and sin, and to boldly confess Your truth before men; patience to bear the cross without murmuring, and gladly to suffer with You that we may also rule with You. Amen.
Study with me tomorrow,
Pastor Jon
Soli Deo Gloria!
I have found myself in Sarah's situation. No, not in pregnancy, but in laughing at God's timing. Just looking up and saying, after all this time, now...really? I think this is a good reminder to trust God in all things. His timing is best.
ReplyDeleteAs far as false teaching in the church today? Oy! I could probably type on this subject for far too long. Maybe if churches, Lutheran or not, did all things through contemplation and prayer we'd have a much different looking church today.
I often laugh and tell people that when they pray for God's timing, they better hold on tight! I learned that the day Ethan was born (2 weeks early), the day before Call Day at the Seminary! What a terrifying and awesome and incredible week that was! And everything worked out beautifully! We couldn't have asked for better.
ReplyDeleteSo, Chad and everyone, hang on tight! But remember that God is merciful and has your best interests in mind. This helps us to trust, to rejoice in his timing, and yes, even be amused by it.
Abraham was persistant in his prayer. I have trouble in balancing persistance with the thought that maybe God has said "no" and I should stop making my request known to Him. How long should one keep on praying a supposedly unanswered prayer?
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew! In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul reached that point. After God had made it clear to him that he would not remove the "thorn," it certainly would have been a sin for Paul to keep on begging and pleading instead of relying on the grace that was sufficient to help him, strengthen him, and give him peace in the suffering.
ReplyDeleteBut what about us? Well, I'm not sure than any of us has a way to clearly define when that is. But I guess I would say "When in doubt, err on the side of persistence." Our children can certainly wear us out with their pleading, begging, and yes, even whining. But our Heavenly Father is much more patient with us than we are with our children. And if we are constantly pleading him, then we are at least going to the right person.
If, however, God makes it clear that the answer is "no," then we must rely on that grace to get us through, just as Paul had to learn to endure suffering.
Anyone else have any thoughts?
Luke 18
ReplyDeleteThe Parable of the Persistent Widow
1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'
4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "
6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
Be persistent of things that weight on our hearts. Eventually, we'll find peace and those things will no longer weight on our hearts. But be persistent in prayer, in communicating with God.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts. :)
Not sure why I wrote weight, clearly I mean weigh.
ReplyDelete