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Daily Devotions *
—with Pastor Paul Owens
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Invitatory:
“…the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” I Timothy 6:15-16
Greetings
Here comes the Shepherd King with a word for a woolie one like you…”
Morning Prayer:
“O Lord, our most gracious Redeemer and King, dwell and reign within us, take possession of us by your Spirit, and reign where you have a right to reign, and spread your kingdom throughout the world, now and forever. Amen”1
Text for the day — Matthew 25:31-46
“31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.””
Prayer**
Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for putting Jesus on the throne as our Shepherd King and for choosing even a wanderer like me as one of your sheep. Guard me and my fellow sheep from going goat on you. Each day until your return, reign over us in such a way that we may wonderfully lose ourselves in service to our neighbor…and thus by your grace find ourselves in your kingdom. I ask this in the name of the Shepherd King himself, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Reading from Luther's Small Catechism:
““I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son our Lord…”
What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ–true God, Son of the Father from eternity, and true man, born of the Virgin Mary–is my Lord. At great cost he has saved and redeemed me, a lost and condemned person. He has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil–not with silver or gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. All this he has done that I may be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally. This is most certainly true.
(the explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed, from The Small Catechism by Martin Luther)
Benediction:
The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, that we may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Romans 15:13
1 Father John of the Russian Church, nineteenth century, in Fox, A Chain of Prayer, p.104
* There are many patterns for devotions. This pattern has been followed by God’s people for centuries.
**The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray. It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN www.dailytext.com). The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
- T: thanksgiving
- R: repentance
- I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
- P: plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.
Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.