Daily Outreach Devotions
MONDAY
Grace to you and peace from God our Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. Today we continue the sermon series, “Transformational Truth” and look at another verse from the appointed lessons which uses the word truth. The text is from the Psalm for today, reading again Psalm 146:5-7a from the Amplified Bible, “5 Happy (blessed, fortunate) is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, Who keeps truth and is faithful forever, 7 Who executes justice for the oppressed.” With these words we consider the theme, “Trust God, the Guardian of Truth.”
TUESDAY
Annie Sherwood Hawks published her first poetry at just 14 years old. She felt the presence of God at an early age and it continued as she became a devoted wife and mother. This hymn was one of over 400 that God brought to her heart. She stated that it was never more real to her than when she lost her husband of 31 years. Loss and tragedy often make us realize our great need of a loving God.
WEDNESDAY
The Weekly Word
“. . .You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. Joshua 23:14, NIV
Every book of the Bible has a distinctive and unique purpose especially designed to show you how God always keeps His promises. Many times, there is a key verse that drives this home. For example, the underlying purpose and theme of the book of Joshua is today’s verse shown above, which is located near the end of the book. But the purpose of the book of Revelation is stated in verse 1: “To show His servants—things which must shortly take place.”
THURSDAY
From the President’s Desk
Joel, the Old Testament prophet, describes the Judgement Day to come as a devastating, destructive locust invasion, sometimes interpreted as invading foreign armies (Joel 3:17-21) A footnote in the Lutheran Study Bible: Joel promises a final vindication and everlasting abundance for God’s people. Given the inevitability of judgement, dreadful punishment awaits those who reject God and His purposes. Repent daily and strive continually to enter the narrow gate. Receive limitless grace from the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. LSB p.1455.
“Now hear this!” Have you heard the expression before? It’s a military phrase used primarily in the United States Navy to instruct personnel to “give attention to an order or command about to follow”. For example, “Now hear this! Now hear this! All crew are to report to their stations immediately!” Or, “Now hear this! Any citizen caught outside after curfew will be detained indefinitely.” The phrase, “Now hear this!” appeared in the 1945 manual of Naval History and Heritage Command. It may be related to the phrase, “Hear ye! Hear ye!” which originated in England during the 1600’s as an exclamation to call the members of Parliament to order. In any case it is an exclamation primarily used in formal situations that introduces some important announcement or instruction. People are to pay attention to the order or other information which follows.
SATURDAY
Psalm 146 begins a collection of five hallelujah psalms at the end of the Book of Psalms (146-150). This joyful set of psalms—which in the Hebrew word tehillim means praise songs—is a fitting conclusion for the book of Psalms. Each of these psalms begins and ends by urging us to “Praise the LORD!” which is the meaning of the Hebrew phrase hallelu-yah. Psalm 146 reveals an amazing vision of healing, restoration, and wholeness, so read it out loud as a joyful prayer of praise. Although we live in a broken world where disappointment, anger, and injustice are all too common, God assures us that His Kingdom is different. God keeps His promises; dispenses justice; frees prisoners; loves the children He created, and He will reign forever.
Praises to our amazing God forever and ever!
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.
