Grace MEMO ~ Dropped Prayers

A good devotion from Pastor Daron Lindemann:

 

Grace MEMO: No Dropped Prayers

 

Prayer takes place on the most reliable communication network in the universe.

 

When a believer’s prayer life has stalled or even just sputters once in a while it’s probably not because they’re too busy to pray. It’s often because they’re too burdened to pray. Burdened with the fear that God isn’t interested in what they ask because they feel like a whiny little brat who needs to behave better before God will listen.

 

That’s not what Jesus teaches about your prayers, though. Jesus says that you are God’s dearly loved child and he delights to hear about your problems and dreams, your ideas and desires despite any poor behavior.

 

Like parents can see through poor behavior in their child and understand the hurt and pain at the root of the poor behavior, God the Father knows all and sees your hurt and pain, your feelings of guilt, your fears. He doesn’t turn away but embraces you with the sacrificial love that gave up his very own Son, Jesus Christ, to adopt you to be close to him forever. The Bible wonders, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32)?

 

Jesus teaches us about the reliability of prayer in the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father in heaven.” God is not sitting behind a fax machine that runs out of paper, or waiting with cell phone in hand to lock onto a good signal, or at a desk unaware of your e-mail that got filtered into his spam folder.

 

Prayer takes place on the most reliable communication network in the universe. Heaven. It is perfect and that means believers never lose our connection with God, our prayers are never dropped, or lost in space, or returned as undeliverable. Whatever you want God to hear, he hears. Better yet, he listens.

 

PRAYER: Father in heaven, it’s so good to call you Father. Sometimes I don’t realize what a privilege that is, to be in a child relationship with you and to know that you don’t discard me when I fail, when I worry too much, or even when I slip into misbehaving. Have mercy on me and give me your grace, so that I learn to pray with even more faith in you and love for others. Amen.

 

A M essage of E xtraordinary M ercy and O pportunity from Pastor Daron Lindemann, Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI located downtown at Broadway and Juneau
www.gracedowntown.org

Devotion ~ Deuteronomy 7:7-8

⁷ The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. ⁸ But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:7-8 )

What kind of games did you play at recess when you were a kid.  Growing up in Wisconsin, we played kickball, soccer, football, and a host of other team games.  The first few minutes of our recesses were spent picking teams.  As a captain, your primary job was to pick a good team – with the best players you could get so that you would win.  You might pick the kid with the strongest leg that could kick homeruns in kickball, or the kid with the best arm for football.  You would choose your team first on merit or skill, then friendship.

Imagine if that is the way God worked.  Imagine if God picked those people he was going to save by their merit, or what they were able to do.  It would certainly lead to some pride issues – (God chose me because of…).  It was a temptation the Israelites would have been susceptible to, after all they had been chosen by God to be his special people through whom he would send the Savior.

So, Moses reminds them in today’s reading – God didn’t choose you because of who you are – because you were the biggest nation, or because of what you were able to do or what you have done.  No, God chose you simply because he loved you.  God’s reason for choosing the Israelites to be His chosen people was entirely in God.

Nothing has changed with God.  God hasn’t redeemed or saved us because of who we are, what we’ve done, or decisions we’ve made.  No, God saved us simply because he loved us.  Our being saved is entirely God’s work and God’s decision – based entirely on his love for us.  He has set us free from the enemies that had held us hostage (sin, Satan, hell, death), through the his one and only Son.

As one of God’s chosen people, one of his elect, ponder for a moment what that means – how precious and special you are to the Lord.  May the love God has demonstrated towards you change how you look at others, your attitude, your approach to problems, temptations, and challenges, your very purpose for living.

Lord God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Forgive my open sins and my secret sins. Forgive the sins I know and the sins I do not know. Forgive the sins I did to please myself and the sins I did to please others. Forgive them all, gracious Lord, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

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Today’s Light Bible reading:  Deuteronomy 7

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Numbers 29:40 ~ Devotion

⁴⁰ Moses told the Israelites all that the Lord commanded him.  (Numbers 29:40; NIV)

 

An elderly lady waited all afternoon for a plumber to arrive.  Late in the day, she gave up and headed for the grocery store.  Sure enough, the plumber drove up 10 minutes later.  He knocked on the door.  “Who is it?” croaked the lady’s parrot from inside the house.  “It’s the plumber.”

 

“Who is it?” insisted the voice from inside the house.  “It’s the plumber!” hollered the repairman.

 

“Who is it?” insisted the voice again.  The veins stuck out on his neck as he bellowed at the top of his lungs, “It’s the plumber!”  Whereupon he suffered a heart attack and died on the spot.  The lady of the house returned shortly thereafter.  “Who is it?” she wondered aloud, seeing the fallen repairman on her front steps.  “It’s the plumber,” croaked the parrot from the living room.

 

As any teacher can tells us, parrots aren’t the only creatures that learn through repetition.  There is an old adage, “repetitio est mater studiorum” or “repetition is the mother of learning / studies.”  In today’s reading from Numbers, the Lord may seem to repeat Himself once too often, as he has Moses tell the Israelites once again about the sacrifice and festivals that they are to observe.  After all, haven’t we heard most of these worship regulations detail by detail many times by now?

 

Yes.  But our Lord knows how easily we humans forget.  And so He tells the Israelites again and again about their sin and the sacrifices and festivals that pointed forward to the work of their Savior.

 

Think about how many times you have heard about Jesus and what he has done for you.  The temptation is there to think that it is stuff we have heard so many times, we know it well enough.  But our Lord knows how easily we humans forget.  And so He tells us again and again about our sin and the work of our Savior, Jesus.

 

 

Lord, help us to remember that we are Christians only by your grace. We did nothing and can do nothing to deserve your love. Lord, give us courage and zeal every day to tell those in our lives about your love and forgiveness of sins. We praise and thank you Lord for this amazing free gift of grace. Amen.

 

 

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Today’s Light Bible reading:  Numbers 28-30

 

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Today’s Evotion is an adaptation of Jane E. Fryar’s “Sharpen the Focus” for Wednesday, Week 13, in the Today’s Light Bible.

Numbers 26:64-65 ~ Devotion

⁶⁴ Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.  (Numbers 26:64-65; NIV)

 

Have you ever had to bear the consequences of your actions?  I remember when I was growing up, I was told that I couldn’t hang out with a friend of mine.  Instead of listening to my parents, I jumped on my 10-speed bike, rode it on a dirt trail through a nearby woods, so that I could meet up with my friend.  I was hoping to outsmart and fool my parents into thinking I was obeying them, when I wasn’t.  Needless to say, my plan didn’t quite work out – evidently when you are gone for a while, your parents tend to notice.  So, my foolish actions led to some consequences.

 

Normally, consequences are difficult to bear.  We don’t like having to suffer the consequences of our actions.  At the same time, they are beneficial, and not just for the discipline they impart.  Take, for example, the Israelites here in Numbers 26.  Forty years earlier, they had disobeyed God and showed a complete lack of trust in God.  As a results of their sins, God had them wander in the wilderness for 40 years, during which he had all the people who were twenty and older when leaving Egypt die.  Tough consequences to bear. 

 

But also beneficial to the Israelites.  They saw God’s faithfulness.  When God spoke to the Israelites, they knew he would be faithful, both in the blessing and in consequences.  It was a way for the people to have a renewed faith and trust in God.  The Israelites also saw God’s goodness as at the end of the 40 years, the Israelites found themselves in much the same situation they had a generation earlier.  Sitting on the border of the land God had promised.

 

Or, take me, for example.  My parent’s faithfulness taught me that when they said something, they meant it, whether “it” was a specific consequence for my actions, or an assurance that they loved me and would be there for me. 

 

God is still faithful today.  He still hates sin and the sinner.  He still promises to punish those who die in sin.  God is faithful, he keeps his word.  Which is also a reason that we too have a renewed faith and trust in God.  God still promises that through faith in Christ, sins are forgiven.  He still promises a deep and unending love for those who have been made his children through faith.  He still promises to reward those who die in Christ with an eternal inheritance in heaven.  God’s faithfulness points us to God’s goodness.

 

It can be easy to overlook God’s faithfulness to us.  May God continue to strengthen your faith and trust in him as you see and rejoice in God’s faithfulness and goodness in your life.

 

 

Dear Jesus, you are my help and my strength, my love and my forgiveness. You do for me what nobody else can do, helping me out of the pit that I often dig for myself, helping me with your grace, mercy, and power. Strengthen my faith in you to deliver me from trouble and sin better than any security or pleasure on this earth. And help me to then help others, that they too might enjoy your saving love. Amen.

 

 

For an audio version of this devotion, click here.

 

 

Today’s Light Bible reading:  Numbers 26-27

 

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Numbers 23:19 ~ Devotion

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?  (Numbers 23:19, NIV)

 

Have you had a chance to follow any of the political campaigns that are being run for the next presidential election?  All the candidates are busy giving speeches, and stumping for people’s votes.  There are promises being made that if they are elected, that they will change this and that which will make your life better.  Both sides accuse the other of flip-flopping – that the opposing candidate has changed their mind or perspective on some particular issue.  The real interesting thing is to look at all the promises made during an election year, and then see how many are kept.  Often times, candidates say something, but then never act, they promise this and that, but never fulfill those promises.

 

Before we blast the candidates too much, do we do any better?  Do we lie, change our mind, say something, but then never act, or make a promise that we never fulfill?  My guess would be that we do these type of things more often than we would like to admit.  We tell “white” lies that we convince ourselves don’t really hurt anybody, nor will anybody ever find out.  We give people our word, promise one thing, but then fail to act, breaking our promise.

 

What if God was like us fickle humans?  If he would occasionally lie or change his mind about something?  What if he spoke a promise to us, then failed to keep it?  Think of the uncertainty that would bring in our lives.  We wouldn’t be able to trust God’s Word or the promises God has given to us.  Be with us forever?  Guard, protect and provide for our daily needs?  Will he really?

 

In our reading for today, not only do we hear these comforting words that our God is not like us, we see God keeping his promises.  He had promised to be with and bless the Israelites, and now when Balak and Balaam tried to curse the Israelites, God wasn’t going to have it.  He kept his promises, he didn’t change his mind, he didn’t lie to the Israelites – he did what he said he was going to do, in spite of how the Israelites acted.

 

God keeps his word – he does what he says he is going to do.  This can be a terrifying prospect, as God said he will punish sin and sinners for their misdeeds.  At the same time, for believers, it is a great comfort.  We hear God promise a Savior and see him keep that promise in Jesus, who has saved us from sin and the punishment we deserve.  We hear God promise to provide for our needs, and we see how richly God daily continues to bless us.  We hear God promise an eternal home to those who trust in him for salvation, and we eagerly look forward to inheriting what is already ours.  How can we be so sure?  Because… God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?  (Numbers 23:19, NIV)

 

 

When I can’t understand, O God, then help me believe. When I can’t see what good there is in obeying your word and trusting your will, then help me believe. Make my weak faith, my feeble faith, my struggling faith one that relies without condition on your firm and reliable promises. Then I will be free to love you and live for you more courageously. Amen.

 

 

For an audio version of this devotion, click here.

 

 

Today’s Light Bible reading:  Numbers 22-25

 

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Numbers 21:8-9 ~ Devotion

⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.  (Numbers 21:8-9; NIV)

 

My friend and I were having a lively discussion on what it meant to “keep your eye on the ball.”  I said that I had always heard it used in the context of a pitcher and batter, with the batter having to keep his “eye on the ball” in order to hit it.  Harmon usually used it in reference to catching a ball that was being thrown to you – if you didn’t keep your eye on the ball, it would likely hit you in the face.  Regardless of who was right, we did agree that not keeping your eye on the ball spelled disaster.

 

The Israelites had been given a similar command by their God.  After yet another round of grumbling and complaining, the Lord had sent poisonous snakes into the Israelite camp.  The Israelites came to Moses, sorry for their sins against God, and “the Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”  The Israelites were told to keep their eye on the bronze snake, and they would live.  Those that believed the promise of the Lord and looked at the snake when they were bitten were saved!

 

Our God has promised something similar to us.  As we see our sins – whether it is a poor attitude toward the blessings God has showered in our lives, or complaining about blessings we don’t have that we think we need – we turn to our God like the Israelites in confession saying, “I did it.  I was wrong.  I have sinned.  I deserve your wrath and punishment,” and the Lord says to us, “Look at your Savior and live.”  As we keep our eyes on Christ our Savior in faith, we are saved from the spiritual poison of sin.  In fact, Jesus compared himself to the bronze snake in John 3.  And as we fix our eyes on Jesus, God promises us eternal life.

 

While here on earth, we will continue to struggle with sin and the effects it has on our lives, rest assured and live confidently that the poison of sin has been overcome by your Savior.  Keep your eyes focused squarely on him, and live!

 

 

Dear Lord, I come to you and ask for your mercy. No matter how hard I try to do only your will, I fail. There are so many things in this world that call to me. Show me your mercy and strengthen my faith so that you always will come first in my life. I ask for your mercy in Jesus name. Amen.

 

 

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Today’s Light Bible reading:  Numbers 19-20

 

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Saturday’s “Today’s Light Bible” reading:  Numbers 21

 

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