You Shall Not Steal

“Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” I Corinthians 6:10 NKJV

The loss of property can be a tremendous blow to a person or family. We tend to rely on what we have and if it is taken from us we can feel very lost and afraid. The law tries to define theft by amount lost, but to the one who suffers loss it is still grand larceny. But there is more than possessions that can be stolen. As seen in the commandment against adultery, someone can steal our spouse’s affections. As seen in the commandment against bearing false witness, someone can steal our reputation. There are many types of theft.

God gave another commandment that is not included in the “Big Ten”. He gave the commandment to love our neighbor as our self. When we follow the commandment of love we don’t steal from our neighbor. We do unto them as we would have them do unto us. We seek their welfare and not their harm. We seek their profit and not their loss. This is how we really practice the commandment “You shall not steal”.

Our Lord and God, As You have sought my good, so let me do for my neighbor. Amen.  

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You Shall Not Commit Adultery

 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications” Matt. 15:19 KJV

While we would not think it likely for God to do some things, He can be very surprising. He told the prophet Hosea to take an immoral woman to be his wife and then when she continued in her immorality to go and take her back again. In our minds we might expect God to just send a lightning bolt to amend that woman’s ways, but God acts outside our nature. He first wanted to show that His people were like an adulterous woman in the way they loved the world more than Him. Secondly He wanted to teach His people that repentance would bring restoration.

 James said in his epistle that when we love the world we are practicing adultery against God. That is harsh stuff. Jesus said to the adulterous woman, “Go and sin no more.” He let the harlot bathe His feet with her tears. As much as God condemns sin we must always remember that He is willing to forgive sinners who come to Him as well.  While we uphold the integrity of God’s laws we must also uphold the beauty of God’s grace and love. 

Our Lord and God, Thank You for saving a sinner such as I. Amen. 

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You Shall Not Murder

“Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.” Deut. 19:13 NKJV

While we often learn this commandment as “You shall not kill” it is properly “You shall not murder”. It is a different word and words make a difference. God has not called us as individuals to be judge, jury and executioner. He has clearly reserved that right to the state and made that point clear from Genesis onward. It is all part of God’s order and when we violate God’s order things go awry.

But murder in the eyes of God goes beyond the actual shedding of innocent blood. Jesus said that hatred was like murdering someone in our heart. This makes all the more clear God’s commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. It also clarifies the importance of God’s statement, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” If God is the true judge of all; if He is the only One who knows all the truth of a situation; then we as His children can leave off our own judgments and get about the business of love. He will take care of the rest. While God will not forget His righteous judgments He will always expect us to fulfill the righteous law of love.

Our Lord and God, Thank You that You are in charge. Amen. 

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Honor Your Father and Mother

“A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.” Proverbs 15:20 NKJV

Cards and phone calls on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are nice and greatly appreciated, but they are not the sum of honoring our parents. In my book “Taking Care of Joe” I deal with this commandment a lot. The home is the proving ground of what we truly believe. Scripture says we cannot love the person we cannot see if we don’t love the person we can see. Likewise, honoring God is not possible if we don’t know how to honor our parents. Jesus told the Pharisees that they broke this commandment when they said they donated money to God while ignoring their parents’ needs.

Solomon calls us to act wisely in regard to our parents. He warns us that our public conduct does not just reflect on us but brings either honor or dishonor to those who bore us. Of course we need to keep those cards and phone calls coming, but we also need to remember that truly honoring our parents is an everyday affair that brings glory to God. 

Our Lord and God, Thank You for the parents you gave us. Amen. 

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

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Remember the Sabbath and Keep It Holy

“For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Matt. 12:8 NKJV

When I was a child (don’t you just hate those words) there were blue laws. On Sunday the stores were closed. I once called the local radio station to request a favorite song and was told, “We don’t play those songs on Sunday.” Blue laws, however, only enforced behaviors but not attitudes. We don’t have them anymore because people didn’t want them. Is Sunday even the Sabbath day? The Sabbath was a particular day for the Jews and Paul condemned those who tried to impose it on the church.

In a manner of speaking, Jesus is our Sabbath. He is the rest of God. We cease all labor to please God, which can never succeed, and trust in Christ who has pleased God. While Christ is our Sabbath, the Scriptures still call for us to gather together to give Him our attention and worship. To faithfully and regularly set aside time for corporate worship is very important for our own physical and spiritual well being. The blessings of Word and Sacrament must never be overlooked in their importance to our lives. Giving God special time brings us the refreshment we regularly need.

Our Lord and God, Thank You for calling me to Your rest in Christ and in Your Word each week. Amen.  

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Not Take His Name in Vain

“No wonder the Scriptures say, ‘The world blasphemes the name of God because of you’.” Romans 2:24 NLT

When I was a child my grandmother was exceedingly strict about any possible violation of God’s name in the widest possible view of the commandment. Minor expletives that started with a “G” were banned. Good for her. Today OMG is one of the most common phrases of people under thirty and few even bat an eye. God said quite clearly that He would “not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (Exodus 20:7) In Luther’s comments on this commandment he said that the world is aflame with the judgment of God for abuse of His holy Name.

God amplifies that it is not just the use of His Name, but the way we use His Name in our lives that defiles it. That led to Paul’s comment in Romans 2. His Name is on us when we identify with Him. What we do and say, how we act and where we go all ultimately reflects on His glory. David’s sin with Bathsheba blasphemed God’s Name. That was God’s own comment. I would not dishonor the name of my wife by actions against her purity. We should see our walk with God in the same vein.

Our Lord and God, Help us who bear Your Name do so for Your glory. Amen. 

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No Graven Images

“And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images.” Isaiah 42:8 NKJV

On my desk and on the wall above my desk I have six pictures of my wife from her childhood onward. When I can find two more small frames just the right size, it will be eight pictures. I love my wife. I don’t have pictures of beautiful starlets or glamorous singers on or above my desk. I don’t have a picture of the neighbor lady there either. I took a vow to cleave only unto my wife and she rather expects that I will honor her by keeping that vow.

It should not be strange then that our Savior, who is a jealous God, should desire that we honor Him by keeping or vows of fidelity. The world did not save us. The entertainment industry did not die for our sins. The recreation industry did not call us to eternal life. The commercial industry did not say, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Nature did not rise again from the dead for our justification. Sadly we give them the worship and time that belong to our Espoused Bridegroom. He calls us to fidelity and not to the worship of the world’s graven images.

Our Lord and God, May Your love fill all my vision and desire. Amen. 

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No Other Gods

“I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me.”

Isaiah 45:5 NKJV

As humans we often jealously guard our positions. If we are married we expect that there is no other mate than us. If we are the boss we expect the employee to listen to us and not some other source. As parents we don’t want our children looking to the parents down the street for direction in life. In Exodus 20:5 God says of Himself, “For I, the Lord your God, and a jealous God.” God has a lot invested in His relationship with His people. He is not wrong to be jealous.

God saved His people with a mighty hand. He displayed His power and declared the Israelites to be His people. His Name was on them. At the cross and at the empty tomb He displayed His power and now His Name is on the Church. He calls the Church His bride and devotes His love to her. As a faithful husband He jealously expects a faithful wife.  He expects us to love Him and not another. He expects us to be devoted to Him and not another. As our Beloved He desires that we have but one Lord and God – our Savior Himself.

Our Lord and God, Help us to look only to you with our eyes of love and devotion. Amen.

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The One Goal Servant

“Well done, good and faithful servant” Matthew 25:21 NKJV

The loyal and faithful servants in English novels were not forgotten or unappreciated by their masters. The good master would always leave a bequest for the perpetual care of his lifelong servants. Many times those servants were simply kept in the same house to serve succeeding generations of the family who had come to totally depend on their quality care. In such a case they served until age made it totally impossible to carry on. Then they could live out their lives under the assured provision of their master.

Not all servants received this care, however. If they were indolent, disrespectful or dishonest they would be dismissed and have to fend for themselves. The goal of the good servant, however, was to please his master in all respects and then to hear the final acknowledgment of his lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Jesus used various parables to instruct his hearers concerning this one phrase. He wanted them to fully understand that they would not be forgotten no matter how humble their service had been. Our goal as believers is to hear Christ say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Precious Savior, Help me daily desire to hear You say, “Well done.” Amen. 

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

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The Ever Ready Servant

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'.” Luke 17:7 NKJV

I love English novels. For relaxation they are my first reading choice. A good story needs a wealthy lord and many servants. I am constantly amazed at how long and hard a good servant worked. They were always up before the household and done when the last member of the house went to bed. There was no thought of servanthood being a nine-to-five job. Moreover, servants were always invisible. They were not an object of attention. Their devotion was unquestionable and their readiness simply an expected part of their position.

When Jesus spoke of servanthood He did not speak of being an employee. He spoke to those who understood what it meant to be a servant – tireless, enduring, silent, self-effacing, ever and always at the Master’s call. When Jesus spoke of servanthood He did so in terms of carrying a cross which marked the servant’s death to self. Paul told the Romans “This is your reasonable service.” Jesus is still looking for such servants to labor for Him in His house. May we be ever ready.

Precious Savior, You have been a servant for my salvation, help me to follow in Your path. Amen. 

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The Agendaless Servant

“Thy will be done” Matthew 6:10 KJV

A number of years ago I read a wonderful missionary book A Sus Ordenes, Senior. The theme of the book was simple. Each of the missionaries to Latin America that were discussed in the book had said one simple phrase to God, “Thy will be done.”  This is the perfect picture of the servant. He has no agenda of His own. His life, his activities, his commitment is to the master. Servants don’t go off doing their own thing around the master’s house. They do what they are told to do and don’t say, “But I’d rather do this instead.”

Jesus was this type of servant. He said in the Garden of Gethsemane “Not my will but Thine be done.”  He repeatedly said in the book of John that He did not speak or act of His own will, but He did what the Father showed Him to do and spoke what the Father told Him to say. He humbled Himself and became a servant as Paul said in Philippians chapter 2. A servant dies to themselves and that is what Christ did for us. The servant does this voluntarily out of love. So let us love our Master.

Precious Savior, Help me to better understand servanthood each day. Amen. 

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The Focused Servant

“No one can serve two masters” Matt. 6:24 NKJV

Imagine you are a worker in a plant owned by Mr. Jones. One day Mr. Jones is showing Mr. Smith around his plant. They come to your work station and Mr. Smith says to you, “You shouldn’t be doing it that way. Do it this way instead.” What do you do? The obvious and correct answer would be to look to Mr. Jones for direction. He is the boss. If Mr. Jones says, “Carry on,” then you can ignore Mr. Smith however angry or upset he may appear. You have one master and you obey one master.

The servant of Christ, who has volunteered his devotion, is to hear but one master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan in his many disguises will come by every day and say, “You should be doing things this way.” He will never be quiet or pay attention to only his servants until we die. Still, he is not our master. The wise worker listens to his boss. The wise servant listens only to the voice of the one to whom he has dedicated his service. May we all be faithful servants heeding only one voice.

Precious Savior, Help me each day to discern Your voice and obey it only. Amen. 

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The Voluntary Servant

“But if the servant plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free’.” Exodus 21:5 NKJV

The hardest thing for any organization to recruit is volunteers. The cause may be greatly loved, the work admired, the goals agreed with, but finding volunteers is not an easy job. Many people love the Name of Christ. They applaud His death for sinners. They admire the sacrifices made by those who proclaim Him daily and they agree that all men should know Christ. But, they just don’t want to be on the volunteer list to get those goals met.

Jesus, like any famous person or master, has both followers and volunteers. Many seek to hear the “tweets” of what He is doing. They like to catch up on sermons when they can. Then there are the volunteers. They so love the work of Christ, so love His salvation, so love the family of God that they say, “I will stay and serve”. Like the servant in the Old Testament they want to bear in their body the mark of servanthood to the beloved Master. They volunteer to stay and labor for Him who has blessed them with His care and given them a family to love. Jesus is looking for just such a group of willing volunteers.

Precious Savior, Thank You for volunteering Your death for my salvation. Amen. 

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

 

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Vain Repetitions?

“I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.”        Ps. 143:5 NIV

Do you have a spouse or a child? Are you a child with a parent around? Do you think your loved one ever tires of hearing you say, “I love you?” If you said it once and then said it again, is that a vain repetition. Have you ever been a student and wanted to store something in your memory so that it would always be there? Is repeating it over and over to yourself vain repetition? Of course the answer to all these questions is “No”. Is meditating using the Creed as part of the meditation vain repetition? No.

The psalmist said, “I will meditate on your works.” To reflect on the wonderful things our Triune God has done is a beautiful and encouraging exercise.  Those things are recorded in the Apostles’ Creed. His power, His love, His sacrifice, His hope, His help and our eternal life are all wonderful thoughts. Paul said, “Whatsoever things are pure, just, lovely and virtuous, think on these things.” The Creed is a wonderful item to add to every daily meditation and reflecting on God’s work will never be a vain repetition.

Almighty God, Thank You for all the wonderful things You have done; help me to be mindful of them daily. Amen.

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Be Ready

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1 Peter 3:15 NIV

I drive an Oldsmobile. They aren’t even made anymore. If I am asked why I drive this car I can answer simply, “It is a great road car, gets good mileage and has a bench front seat so that my bride can still sit next to me.” That is a simple and straight forward answer. We can give answers like that for many of the things we do. For our faith we need to have a similar answer.

Therein is the value of the Creed. Each section of the Creed says what we believe and gives testimony to why we believe it. I believe in God because you just have to look around and know that it cannot all be possible by chance. He made it. I believe in Jesus because He has given me new life by His death and resurrection. He is not a myth but a real historical person with countless eyewitnesses who can testify to everything in the Creed. I believe in the Holy Ghost because I believe in the Father and the Son and they both promised Him to me. The Creed is a simple way to be ready to give an answer for faith.

Precious Father, Thank You for giving me truth and the Holy Spirit’s power to tell it. Amen. 

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The Life Everlasting

“And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” John 11:26 KJV

The answer to that question is, “Yes, we do.” We believe in the life everlasting. Jesus promised it at the grave of His friend Lazarus and repeatedly elsewhere in His preaching. It is the promise of one of the most widely known Scripture verses, John 3:16, which concludes triumphantly, “But shall have everlasting life”.  When we properly think of this truth, this precious promise, we are forced to think of the relative insignificance of a life that is briefly lived on earth.

Job calls this life a vapor. It is called a spark flying upward and gone. There is a little plaque on my wall, there since I was a small child. “Only one life ‘twill soon be passed, only what’s done for Christ will last.” We try to gain and acquire all that we can in this world and constantly forget that we cannot take it out of this world. If we live to be a hundred it is only a speck in recorded history and an invisible dot on the timeline of eternity. Believing in the life everlasting means more than just future hope; it means living for eternity and not just today.

Almighty God, Thank You for life everlasting and help me daily to live for it. Amen. 

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The Resurrection of the Body

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”        1 Thess. 4:16 KJV

I remember a really sad Sunday morning about forty years ago. My bride and I were attending her home church on Easter. What joyful songs we would sing. What encouraging words we would hear. No! Two pastors stood on opposite sides of the dais and discussed whether the resurrection of the dead was just an encouraging metaphor or simply a spiritual experience that led to bliss. We left the service neither blissful nor blessed. Our own church’s Easter liturgy has the increasing crescendo of “Christ is risen” by the pastor and “He is risen indeed” by the congregation repeated three times.

That anyone should deny the resurrection is simply to deny Christ. He said that He would rise again and He did – bodily. In Christ’s Revelation to St. John, He clearly stated that there was a physical resurrection. Job believed in the bodily resurrection of the dead. David believed in it. God told Daniel that it was a certain fact. The bodily resurrection of the dead is a truth of God that has been the certain of hope of His children since Adam. Without it there is no Christ, no forgiveness of sins and no hope.

Almighty God, Thank You for the certainty of the bodily resurrection from the dead. Amen. 

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The Forgiveness of Sins

“Then said Jesus, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’.” Luke 23:34 KJV

Your one year old grandchild is just learning to walk and as he staggers into something; he grabs a hold of it so that he doesn’t fall. Unfortunately, that something has a lovely vase on it that falls and breaks. What is your response? Sadly, we find shaken baby cases far too often in the papers to ignore what some people might do. But what about you? Will you clean up the mess and hold your crying grandchild who has been scared by the surprise ending of his stroll? Yes, you will. You will forgive him because he knew not what he did.

Jesus hung on the cross and prayed for forgiveness for those around Him. Who were around Him? There were the Roman soldiers, of course. But there were also Jews who had sought His death. There was John who had run away in the garden. There were you and I standing in the jeering crowd. He said, “Forgive them.” O blessed washing of grace! The forgiveness of sins is assured by His blood which was shed by love for us. I believe in the forgiveness of sins.

Almighty God, Thank You for the forgiveness of sins. Amen. 

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

The Communion of the Saints

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.” Heb. 10:25 NIV

Imagine if when you got up one morning your hand told you it had decided to stay in bed. What would you say to your hand? Would you say, “That’s all right. We don’t need you today.” We can’t imagine such a bizarre scenario being played out in our bedrooms, but it is played out in our sanctuaries week after week. The common confession of the faith says that we believe in fellowshipping together. It says we believe in collectively using our gifts that God has given us for the common good of the body.

Daily we are glad that our feet are willing to walk, our hands are willing to work and our eyes are willing to see. They are part of our body and we just expect them to be there and function as they ought. If they don’t we know we have a problem. If we find that we don’t want to function as part of the body then we know that we have a problem, too. We need the encouragement of word and the sweet love of other saints to walk steadfastly with God in this evil world. We need the communion of the saints.

Almighty God, We thank You for calling us into the community of Your church. Amen. 

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The Holy Christian Church

“And to present her (the Church) to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Eph. 5:27 NIV

A glorious truth full of hope and joy is that Christ loved the church. (Eph. 5:25) He loved the Church, the born again body of believers over the entire world for all time, so much that He was willing to die a torturous death on Calvary’s cross to pay the penalty for their sins. A second glorious truth full of hope and joy is that He is still loving His Church, His bride, and caring for her and supporting her every day. His prayers, intercession, presence and promises are His daily acts of love for his beloved.

Our position before God is one of purity by the grace of Christ. Our position on earth is called to be one of purity as well. Paul says we are to “walk worthy of our calling” or to “walk worthy of the Lord”. We don’t walk worthy in order to be made worthy; Christ made us worthy. We are to walk worthy in order to proclaim our love of our Beloved and to be an ornament of beauty in this world for our Savior Jesus Christ.

Almighty God, Thank You for making us worthy of heaven through Jesus Christ and help us to walk worthy of His Name. Amen. 

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And I Believe in the Holy Ghost

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper.” John 14:16 NKJV

  The Holy Ghost, the eternal third person of the Trinity, does not just make a sudden and grand appearance in the New Testament. He is specifically named at creation, Elihu names Him as the one who forms us in the womb, God told Moses that the Spirit would rest upon the artisans responsible for building the tabernacle and so on many, many times in the Old Testament. The difference in the New Testament is that the Holy Ghost comes upon every believer and stays with us until the day of redemption. 

In the Old Testament we see the Holy Ghost’s creative power. In the New Testament we see His re-creative power. It is by the Holy Ghost that we become children of God. He then dwells in the children of God, who are called the temple of the Holy Ghost, as the Presence of God dwelt in the Old Testament Temple. By His presence we are trained to understand the Scriptures, to witness for our Lord, to obey the will of the Father. He is indeed a precious gift of God the Father and God the Son to the Church of Jesus Christ.

Almighty God, Thank You for sending the Holy Ghost to live with us and strengthen us in this world. Amen.  

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He Shall Come to Judge the Quick and the Dead

“You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matt. 26:64 NKJV

We celebrate Christmas and rejoice in the babe in the manger. But Jesus did not come to be celebrated as a baby and then forgotten. He came to grow into a man and then to die for the sins of the whole world. He came to be crowned with thorns, beaten, abused, rejected and despised. He came to defeat the devil and to rise again from the dead to give hope of eternal life to all who believe in Him.

That was His first advent, but the second one still is coming. Then He will come crowned with His rightful crown as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will not appear as a dusty teacher from a backwater village. He will come in power and glory for all men to see. He will come to judge the world both the living and the dead and to grant eternal life to those who have believed in Him and to consign to eternal death those who have not.  His second coming will restore creation, destroy sin forever and give blessings and peace to those who have loved Him.

Almighty God, We thank You for the certain promise of the second advent of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

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