What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24,25
When you hear talk of theology, the word, “personal” probably does not come to mind. Theology often carries the connotation of dry doctrinal statements and sleep-inducing dissertations on obscure bullet points of religious teaching.
Connotations are one thing. Reality, however, is something else. Take the apostle Paul. When he put pen to paper, Paul articulated some of the most eloquent theology in all of the Bible. Seminaries devote entire courses to digesting his inspired words. But as you read Paul, something else becomes clear. To him, the theology he delivers is not some compelling theory, some intellectually stimulating thesis. For Paul, it’s personal.
To know this, look into one of Paul’s masterworks—his letter to the Romans. Here, the Holy Spirit moved Paul to paint both an intricate and sweeping portrait of Christian theology. But as he did, Paul left no doubt as to what this theology meant to him. In chapter 7, for instance, Paul spoke of his own life—his personal life as a Christian who still struggled day by day with his old sinful self. When you read his words, you can hear the tired frustration in his voice. You can hear his grief over all the ways he continued to stumble into sin. The episode reaches a climax when Paul blurts out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
Then comes the answer: “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” You can hear the relief in his voice, knowing that his Lord Jesus had rescued him from his sin and guilt.
Christian theology is also personal for you and me. True, sometimes we forget this. The temptation can often be great to look upon the Bible as a collection of factoids for reference instead of a banquet of spiritual foods to savor. But when we stumble, when we fall, when we recognize all over again our profound need for Christ, the theology of what he has done to wash us clean at the cross and to cover us in his holy life—that beautiful theology becomes personal once more.
Prayer:
Lord, all the truths you have revealed to me in your Word are beautiful, and they are personal. Glory be to you. Amen.
Master and Commander is a movie about a British warship in the early 1800s. In the film, there’s a wordless exchange that takes place between an old seaman and a young recruit whom he has taken under his wing. The ship is going into battle. Men are scurrying everywhere. As they do, the old seaman looks at the young recruit and holds out his fists. Tattooed across the eight knuckles of his two fists are two four-letter words. The words are, “HOLD FAST.”
The scene is not some Hollywood invention. “Hold fast” is a phrase that seamen have tattooed on their knuckles for generations. It appears that their use of the phrase goes back to the early days of sail, when a seaman had to hold onto his assigned rope (or line) during a storm or battle. He knew he had to “hold fast” to his line, or all would be lost. Over the years, the phrase has taken on a wider meaning: Stay focused. Don’t get distracted. Hold on to what matters. Never let go.
The Bible reading for today’s devotion is from a poignant moment. Joshua was the man God had used to bring the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan. After years of hardship and faithful service, Joshua’s work was done. He was an old man. His death was near, and he knew it. He gathered the Israelites’ leaders together one more time to say goodbye. As he did, he told them, “Hold fast to the LORD your God.”
Hold fast to the LORD your God. Stay focused. Don’t get distracted. Hold on to your Savior God for dear life. My mind, of course, has other ideas. It loves distraction. It lives for it. It cannot wait to find some new thing by which it can pull me away from the only Savior I’ve got.
When that happens, however—when I begin to let go—Jesus is there. He’s there, in love, to rattle me as needed. He’s there to bring me to repentance through his Word. He’s there to cleanse me in his forgiveness through his blood from the cross.
And as he does, he empowers me to hold fast all the more.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, through the storms and battle of life, empower me to hold fast to you. Amen.
In his novel, To the Last Man, Jeff Shaara paints a particular scene something like this: New York, 1919. The Great War is over. Roscoe lingers on the deck of the passenger ship. He watches as the other soldiers walk down the gangplank and into the arms of their families. Roscoe waits until he can no longer avoid it. He steps off the ship and descends to the dock. And there he stands. No one is there for him, and he knows it. He is alone. In a sea of people laughing, smiling, crying, Roscoe is alone. And then he hears his name.
At first, he thinks he’s imagined it. But then he hears it again. He follows the voice. It belongs to the face of a smiling old man—a man he does not know. But then the smiling old man introduces himself, “I’m Gino’s father. Gino told us all about you in his letters. Welcome home. Let’s get something to eat.” And in that moment, Roscoe experiences what is, perhaps, the greatest act of kindness in his life. The father of his dead friend wanted to make sure that Roscoe was not alone when he got back from the war. And so he had waited day after day until Roscoe finally arrived. And then the smiling old man had called out his name.
If you’ve ever experienced something even remotely similar to this, you don’t forget it. You’re in a strange place, surrounded by people, and don’t know anyone. No one cares who you are. You feel lost, awkward, out of place, alone. And then you hear someone call you by name.
The Lord assured Moses, “I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” As extraordinary a figure as Moses is, however, this privilege does not belong just to Moses. God, in Christ Jesus, has cleansed you of your sins by the blood of his Son. He has blanketed you with the holiness of Christ. And now, through faith in our risen Savior, he has adopted you into his family. You belong. You are his. He calls you by name.
In a world where loneliness can seem so rampant, this is a sweet truth indeed.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, through your Son, you know me by name. Thank you. Amen.
In the world of country music, Dierks Bentley is a bona fide star. But his talent goes beyond his voice and his performance. Dierks Bentley is a gifted songwriter, known for crafting his lyrics with care.
Of the songs he’s written, one has a twist in how it came to be. The song is distinctive in tone. It is slow, thoughtful, somber. The title of the song is, “Long Trip Alone.” As he began to write, Bentley had his marriage in mind. Picturing the years of his life as a journey, he intended to describe what it meant to have his spouse by his side. As he wrote, however, his perspective changed. By the time it matured into a finished piece, “Long Trip Alone” was no longer about a husband and wife. Rather, “Long Trip Alone” was about the quiet, desperate need each of us has for the presence of the Lord.
Indeed, as Bentley describes it, your life and mine is “A long trip alone, over sand and stone.” You know the hardships. You know the difficulties. You know the crushing disappointments. Left to ourselves, you and I would wander. We’d walk in circles. We’d stumble and fall. And as we did, the suffocating isolation would just grow worse until our pointlessness came to an end in some dark, despairing place.
That’s what sin does—your sin and mine. Not only does it make the journey of life rugged and painful. It isolates us—separates us from God. It forces each of us to walk the long trip alone—a trip that ends in eternal death.
But that’s why Jesus came. God’s Son became one of us. He took the long trip through this broken world, living a perfect life on our behalf. Then he carried our sins to the cross, where he endured an aloneness that will forever defy description—an aloneness he endured in our place. And because he has, you and I, through faith in him, will never have to walk alone again.
In Exodus 33, the Lord promised Moses, “My Presence will go with you.” In Christ, he makes the same promise to you and me.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, my life would be a long trip alone without you. Thank you for being by my side. Amen.
We prepare ourselves to worship the one Savior God by expressing our humble repentance, offering our fervent prayers and singing our thankful hymns of praise.
Please note: Worship Service Restart Plans (Bulletin pages 17, 18.) Due to the recent increase of
COVID-19 virus cases testing positive in our area, worshipers are kindly asked to maintain social distancing, refrain from singing, and wear masks that cover both mouth and nose. Thank you for your consideration.
OPENING HYMN Come unto Me, Ye Weary Sung by cantor. Christian Worship Supplement #336
Please stand
M: The grace of our Lord ✠ Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.
C: And also with you.
CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION
When we confess to God that we have failed to live up to the perfect standards in his law, the pastor announces the perfect forgiveness of sins won for us by Jesus.
M: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and serve him as his dear children. But we have disobeyed him and deserve only his wrath and punishment. Therefore, let us confess our sins to him and plead for his mercy.
C: Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth. In countless ways I have sinned against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my Savior, I pray: Have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my sin, and take away my guilt.
M: God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you strength to live according to his will.
C: Amen.
PRAYER AND PRAISE
M: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.
OH, TASTE AND SEE
PRAYER OF THE DAY
M: Let us pray.
God of all power and might, you are the giver of all that is good. Help us to love you with all our heart, strengthen us in true faith, provide us with all we need, and keep us safe in your care; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Please be seated for the day’s Scripture readings
✠T H E W O R D✠
The Lord Jesus speaks to us in Scripture reading, preaching and song.
FIRST READING Exodus 33:12-23
Summary: The Lord reassured Moses, “I will give you rest.”
Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, `Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, `I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”
The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
PSALM OF THE DAY 145
The cantor sings refrains. Pastor reads the verses.
Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;*
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation will commend your works to another;*
they will tell of your mighty acts.
The LORD upholds all those who fall*
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
Refrain
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.*
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The LORD is near to all who call on him,*
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;*
he hears their cry and saves them.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son*
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,*
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Refrain
SECOND READING Romans 7:15-25
Summary: Our struggle against sin ends when Jesus rescues us for heaven
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do– this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God– through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
VERSE OF THE DAY Luke 8: 15
Alleluia. Happy are they who hear the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience. Alleluia.
Stand.
GOSPEL READING Matthew 11:25-30 (today’s sermon text underlined)
Summary: Jesus invites us to come to him for rest
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Be seated.
HYMN OF THE DAY Day by Day
Sung by cantor.Christian Worship Supplement #765
SERMON Matthew 11: 28-30
“Jesus, the Friend Who Gives…”
…the warmest invitation
…the greatest comfort
Stand after the sermon.
APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Be seated.
✠ O F F E R I N G S O F G I F T S & P R A Y E R S✠
THE OFFERING
Members of this congregation show their thanks to God for all he has done for them by returning a portion of their income to the Lord. Through these free will offerings, this congregation and its ministries are maintained. Please deposit your offering on the plate located near the church entry.
PRAYER FOR PATIENCE AND PEACE AND INTERCESSORY PRAYERS
Read by Pastor. Intercessory Prayers on bulletin page 12.
Stand.
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.
M: O Lord God, our heavenly Father, pour out the Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep us strong in your grace and truth, protect and comfort us in all temptation, and bestow on us your saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
M: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with gladness.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look on you with favor and ✠ give you peace.
CLOSING HYMN I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
Sung by cantor. Christian Worship #338
Announcements
Next week’s theme July 26, 2020 8th Sunday after Pentecost:
“The Seed of the Word”
“PRAYING HANDS” by Albrecht Dürer is a famous ink and pencil sketch drawing that was created in the early 16th century. There are several competing references to the creation of this piece of art.
Description of the Artwork
The drawing is on blue colored paper that the artist made himself. “Praying Hands” is part of a series of sketches that Dürer drew for an altarpiece in 1508. The drawing shows the hands of a man praying with his body out of view on the right. The sleeves of the man are folded and noticeable in the painting.
Origin Theories
The work was originally requested by Jakob Heller and is named after him. It is posited that that sketch is actually modeled after the artist’s own hands. Similar hands are featured in other of Durer’s artworks.
It is also theorized that there is a deeper story connected to “Praying Hands.” A heartwarming story of familial love, sacrifice, and homage.
A Story of Familial Love
The following account is not attributed to an author. However, there is a copyright filed in 1933 by J. Greenwald called “The Legend of the Praying Hands by Albrecht Durer.”
Back in the 16th century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with 18 children. In order to keep food on the table for his brood, Albrecht Durer the Elder, the father and head of the household, was a goldsmith by profession and worked almost 18 hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood
Despite the family strain, two of Durer’s male children, Albrecht the Younger and Albert, had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the academy there.
After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go to work in the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, in four years, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines.
They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht the Younger won the toss and went off to Nuremberg. Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht’s etchings, his woodcuts and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.
When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht’s triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, “And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you.”
All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, “No.”
Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly, “No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother, for me it is too late.”
More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer’s hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with Albrecht Durer’s most famous work, “Praying Hands.”
Some believe that Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother’s abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward in honor of his brother Albert. He called his powerful drawing simply “Hands,” but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love, “Praying Hands.”
Let this work be your reminder, that no one ever makes it alone!
How do you strike up friendships or relationships with other people? Most people attempt to find something that they have in common with another person, and they try to develop a friendship based on those common interests. But how do we strike up a relationship with God. We don’t. Our relationship with God depends on his good pleasure. God is “out of our league” and really shouldn’t have anything to do with us. But miraculously he does! Amazingly he loves us and cares for us. He desires to be our dearest friend! But he always makes “the first move” through the gospel.
First Lesson (Exodus 33:12-23)
What condition did Moses put upon his leading God’s Old Testament people?
How did Moses want God to “seal the deal”?
Second Lesson (Romans 7:15-25a)
What struggle does Paul outline in these verses?
How are we able to overcome our sinful nature?
Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30)
True or false: We make the choice to enter into a relationship with God.
To whom does God choose to reveal the truths of the Gospel?
Answers:
God must go with his people, otherwise Moses was not willing to lead them. Moses recognized the importance of having a close relationship with the Lord and that such a relationship depended on God’s good pleasure.
He wanted the Lord to show him his glory as a seal of God’s presence. The Lord conceded to show Moses his “back side” and proclaim his name (Ex 34:5-7).
The struggle that every Christian has between the sinful flesh and the new person, who is guided by the Holy Spirit. Only the Christian has this struggle.
We aren’t able to overcome the sinful flesh by ourselves. We must rely upon the working of the Holy Spirit through the gospel. This is our Christian life of sanctification. God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
False. By nature, we are enemies of God and objects of his wrath (Eph 2:3). God is the one who wins us over to friendship with his wonderful promises. He’s the one who makes us alive with Christ (Eph 2:5). Our relationship with God depends on his good pleasure.
Jesus says that God reveals the truths of the gospel, not to the “wise and learned,” but to “little children.” In other words, to those who do not persistently reject the working of the Holy Spirit through the gospel. God is the one who wins us to faith. We have no power to choose God as our friend; it’s all God’s doing (Luther’s Small Catechism, Explanation to the Third Article of the Creed).
In 1962 many scholars and academics predicted that, due to better technology, by 1985 people would work just 9 hours a week and would be able to retire at the age of 38. That prediction was just a bit off. It didn’t come true in 1985. And it still hasn’t come true. In fact, despite all our technological advances and time-saving gadgets, we seem to have less free time now. It’s just go, go, go all the time. Newsweek once summed it all up by running a main story about the American workaholic. It was simply titled “Exhausted.”
Perhaps you feel that way. But, perhaps your exhaustion isn’t physical, it’s spiritual. Perhaps the guilt of sin is pressing down upon you, and you don’t know how much longer you can stand up under it.
Listen to the words of Jesus, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus does not say, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you a greater burden.” He says, “I will give you rest.” Jesus takes the weight of sin off our shoulders and frees us from its burden. On the cross, Jesus’ outstretched arms held up the weight of all the sins of all people of all time. Jesus did not promise to give us a hand in carrying the load of our sins. He did not promise to give us the strength to carry it. He took it off of our shoulders and carried it himself.
So, stand up straight. Stretch your spiritual shoulders. Look up and see the face of God now smiling on you. Rather than trying to lift the burden of your sin, lift your arms in praise to the God who removed that burden for you. Rejoice in the rest Jesus has provided!
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, the guilt of my sins often weighs me down when I think of the people I have hurt, and the ways I have disobeyed your commands. Thank you for carrying my sins to the cross. Lift my spirit with the assurance that my sins are forgiven. Amen.
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10,11
I happen to live in a part of the country which hasn’t had much rain. My tomato plants were beginning to wither a bit. But today, we had a quick cloudburst, and now my plants are looking vibrant!
What the rain did for my tomato plants, God’s Word has the power to do for our souls. It has the power to bring love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If God gives us those things through the words of the Bible, wouldn’t it make sense that the Bible would be an important part of our lives?
But how often don’t you and I neglect God’s Word? How often don’t you and I keep the Bible shut, failing to open it up? How often don’t you and I fail to hear it, fail to take it to heart?
Yet, what does God graciously do? He lovingly keeps sending the rain of his Word. As he does so, he assures us that our sins are forgiven, that we are his children, that he’s preparing a home in heaven for us. And, as we hear his promises, again and again, we are filled with love, joy, peace, patience, etc.
So go ahead. Open up your Bible. Let God’s Word “rain down” upon you, showering you with its blessings. Just like my tomatoes, you’ll “perk up!”
Prayer:
O Holy Spirit, lead me into your life-giving Word, that I might be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Amen.
Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him. Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” Exodus 32:25-27
If you grew up going to Sunday School, you are probably familiar with the story of the Israelites worshiping the golden calf. But the part of the story that doesn’t usually make the children’s Bible lesson is the part about the Levites slaughtering their own people to carry out God’s judgment for their idolatry. It may seem strange to us that God would command the Levites to do such a thing. But, it is a powerful reminder that God takes sin seriously. This particular sin was especially dangerous because it had the potential to lead the entire nation of Israel away from the true God. So, he used the Levites to carry out a just punishment as well as protect the people from a dangerous sin.
It is good for us to hear stories like this from time to time, to ponder what false gods might be making their way into our hearts. What are our golden calves? Who or what do we believe will take care of us? Who or what will bring us joy? Will it be our spouse or our children or our career or our new this, that, or the other thing? If we trust any of these people or things more than God, we are setting them up as idols just as surely as the Israelites did the golden calf.
Thankfully, Jesus lived a perfectly idol-free life. Never was there anyone or anything that he trusted or valued more than his heavenly Father. And, what’s more, he gives his followers credit for that perfect life so that God no longer sees our idolatry. He sees Jesus’ perfection.
So, through Jesus, you and I stand forgiven for our idolatry. May we always put this forgiving God first in our lives.
Prayer:
Give me an undivided heart, that I might follow your will. Amen.
[Moses] said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” Exodus 32:21-24
When you look back on your life and recall your most shameful sins, how many of them were done in isolation? What I mean to say is how often has peer pressure led you down a path that you now regret? Why does that happen?
Friends and peers are a good thing. God created us for community and healthy relationships (Genesis 2:18). But, because we are so afraid of being abandoned, we will do almost anything to keep from being rejected, even if that means doing things that go against God’s will.
We see this even with God’s chosen leader Aaron. When Moses was meeting with God on Mount Sinai, Aaron built an idol at the request of the Israelites. He disobeyed God so that he might be welcomed by the crowd.
So how do we learn from Aaron’s mistake?
1. Remember who rescued you. Aaron had forgotten that it was the Lord who rescued him out of Egyptian slavery. It is the Lord Jesus who rescued us out of the slavery of sin. Only he is worthy of our complete allegiance.
2. If God is for you, who can be against you? Aaron worried about being abandoned or persecuted by the people. We might fear the same from our peers. But the Lord will never leave us. And our relationship with him is the most important relationship we will ever experience.
Prayer:
Dear Savior, lead me to treasure your acceptance more than the fleeting approval of my peers. Amen.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17
Sometimes people are hesitant to become a Christian because they think that they will miss out on a fun, enjoyable life. The words from the apostle John seem to validate those fears. He says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world.”
What does it mean to not love the world? Does that mean that if we follow Jesus, we can’t love hiking, biking, eating good food, or playing sports? Well, John himself wrote elsewhere that Jesus is the creator of all things (John 1:1-5). Jesus created the mountains that we hike. He created good food and the taste buds to enjoy it. He designed our bodies to move and compete. So, it is not wrong to enjoy the world that God made and all that is in it.
But John warns against loving the things of this world too much or in the wrong way. That’s what he means by the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” God does not want us to crave those worldly blessings more than God himself. Nor does he want us to use his blessings in ways that are contrary to God’s design.
What’s so dangerous about loving this world too much? Because, he says, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” God doesn’t want us to get so connected to perishable things that die with them. Instead, he wants us to love our relationship with him more than anything—a relationship made possible by the saving work of Jesus. He valued his relationship with us so much that he was willing to die for it. May we value it so much that nothing in this world is worth losing it.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me not to give my ultimate allegiance to the things that are perishing. But lead me to love and cherish you above all else. Amen.
Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
