Daily Outreach Devotions
MONDAY
Grace to you and peace from God our Father through his Son our Lord Jesus Christ. As we continue the sermon series, “God’s Abundant Gifts” we thank God for the gift of His Son. The text is Hebrews 10:5-7. ““When Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’” Thanking God for the gift of his Son let us also (I)Rejoice in the gift of Jesus’ obedience, (2)the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice, and (3)the gift of Jesus’ holiness. We will briefly consider each of these gifts in Jesus the Son of God.
TUESDAY
Charles Fry, a builder and musician in England, was an early follower of William Booth and the Salvation Army. Gospel preachers were often harassed on the city streets so Charles and his three strapping sons decided to assist the local Salvation Army preacher. The weapons they brought were unique and the venture was successful. Their strategy became a hallmark all over the world. Listen to the full story as told by Dr. Robert Morgan.
WEDNESDAY
The Weekly Word
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Psalm 119:18 (KJV)
There is a big difference between seeing something and perceiving it. Seeing is the physical act of detecting something, but perceiving has more to do with understanding or discerning it. And that is what the psalmist is telling us in this verse. When we open our Bibles to read God’s Word, we need to do more than just read the words. It takes a humble, willing heart to recognize the
amazing truths God has written for us and to digest them, making them part of us. Take time to pray before you read the Scriptures, asking the Holy Spirit to help you understand what God is saying to you. He has wondrous things to show us from His Word, but we must first yield our hearts to Him in order to truly “see” them and let them change our lives to God’s glory. Let this
song express your heart today: Open Our Eyes, Lord.
THURSDAY
From the President’s Desk
This Saturday’s email message will initiate a new Bible study series based on
Paul’s letter to the Romans to replace the Psalms which my wife Ann has written for the past five plus years. As discussed in last week’s memo, we are encouraging you all to engage more directly in reading the Bible by providing a direct ESV link each week to a short section of the chapter, followed by a commentary discussing Paul’s message. A direct link will also be provided to a Lutheran commentary in the public domain: The Popular Commentary of the Bible by Pastor Paul E. Kretzmann from 1921.
Whether you are one who does or does not make New Year’s resolutions, make it a commitment to dig deeper into God’s Word in 2025!
As the presidential elections draws near, next Tuesday November 5, 2024, many issues are being hotly debated. One of the most contentious topics is illegal immigration. Millions of Americans fear that our homeland is being invaded by undocumented people from many nations. Some of the illegal immigrants have been involved in serious crimes and there is concern that terrorists may be in their growing numbers. It is not my purpose to tell you how to vote in the election even though I share these concerns. Even apart from security concerns for our sovereign nation there is the matter of fairness since many people who immigrate to the United States do so legally and follow all the rules. Just like people in line at the store or movie theater don’t want people to “cut in line”, so it seems unfair that so many people are deliberately trying to go around our immigration laws.
SATURDAY
Psalm 110 is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. References to it appear in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Peter. The first verse is an opening which labels the next words as God’s direct message in which King David prophetically reveals the words of Yahweh (the LORD) speaking directly to the Messiah, David’s Lord (Adonai). Since Psalm 110 was addressed to the Messiah, this psalm must have given Jesus the Christ much comfort and reassurance. It promised Him that He sits at God’s right hand (verse 1); He will triumph over all His enemies and rule over them (verses 1–2); He will lead a glorious procession of troops (verse 3); He will be “a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (verse 4) which means the Messiah alone can fulfill the office of the Melchizedek priesthood (Hebrews 6:20); He will have divine power to crush kings, judge nations, and slay the wicked (verses 5–6); and He will find refreshment and be exalted (verse 7). In John 5:31-47, Jesus reminded His critics that God the Father showed witness of Him through the Old Testament scriptures and His miraculous works. This psalm reminds us that God’s promised plan of salvation has come to us through the miraculous birth, death, and resurrection of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
Enjoy these daily devotions above from the Lutheran Hour Ministries to enrich your relationship with God and being in His Word. You can also view other devotionals below that may interest you.
