A Devotion and Prayer for Thanksgiving Day

Rev. Johann Friedrich Starck successor to Philipp Jakob Spener – the “Father of Pietism” – in Frankfurt, DE (early 18th Century)

The following devotion and prayer was written by noted devotional author and poet, Rev. Johann Friedrich Starck, of Frankfurt am Mainz, in his mightily influential devotional work, Daily Handbook in Good and Evil Days, first published in 1728, here translated into English by Rev. Joseph A. Stump in 1904, from the posthumous and final edition of 1776. Starck was also a noted pietist, the successor of Philipp Jakob Spener (d. 1705) in Frankfurt, and evidently a preferred devotional author of Rev. Dr. Franz Pieper (LCMS): in 1900, Concordia Publishing House (CPH) – the publishing organ of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) – published a German edition of Starck’s devotional work that had been “Missouri-ized” by Pieper; and in 1921, Concordia subsequently published an English edition in two separate volumes, entitled, Starck’s Prayer-Book and Starck’s Motherhood Prayers. Both can be purchased today in a single volume from Emanuel Press as Stark’s Prayer-Book: Concordia Edition.

Regarding Stump’s translation, the translator of the 1921 Concordia Edition (W.H.T. Dau), had this to say in his Preface: “The translation is made from the German edition of Dr. Pieper of 1900. Comparison was possible to the translator only with the editions published by Kohler and the German Literary Board. Each of these editions has its distinct merit, the latter excelling by its faithful adherence to the original, its apt renderings, and happy paraphrases.” Regarding Starck, his Prayer-Book and Pieper’s endorsement of it, Dau comments further in his Preface, as follows:

“Johann Friedrich Starck, a favorite author of evangelical Germany in the era of Pietism, has more than other writer of devotional literature maintained his hold on the hearts of practising (not merely professing!) Christians. Even Arnd’s True Christianity booksellers assert, does not equal the incluence which Starck still exerts on thousands of Christians by his Prayer-Book...



Rev. Dr. Franz Pieper (LCMS) published a German edition of Starck’s Prayer-Book for LCMS Lutherans

“Starck’s predecessor in Frankfurt had been Spener, ‘the father of Pietism,’ and it fell on Starck’s lot to water what Spener had sowed. For thirty years he conducted ‘private’ devotional exercised on Sunday afternoons. These exercises, which were attended by a number of earnest souls, were private only in as far as they were distinct from the regular publis services at the church. At these exercised Starck endeavored to impress the evangelical truths of Christianity, the priceless privileges of the grace of Christ and the Christian ordinances, and the practical duties of a consistent Christian life on his individual hearerswith true pastoral tact...

“Starck loved nothing sensational, nothing that was for mere display in matters of religion. Christian life, to him, was real and earnest, to be conducted in a sober mind... While he maintained the confessional position of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and rejoiced to be a member of it, his teaching was tinged with the peculiarities of the Pietistic tendency... However, this defect occurs only occasionally, perhaps least in the Prayer-Book, and there are so many sections in Starck’s writings that are entirely free from error that Starck himself supplies the needed correction for his occasional deviations from the straight path of the sound doctrine.

“When Dr. F. Pieper, years ago, examined the Prayer-Book with a view to applying, wherever needed, this self-correction of Starck, this was done with no sacrilegious hand, but really to secure for Starck a fuller reward of his faithful labors for a sincere and zealous Christian life. The revisor really helped Starck to speak his full Christian mind everywhere, and to discard what was of inferior value or even misleading in his presentation of Christian truths...”

Both Stump’s and Dau’s English editions included English hymns. I preferred neither that were included with the following devotion, so concluded it with my own selection from The Lutheran Hymnal.

---

JOHN FREDERICK STARCK’S
“DAILY HAND-BOOK IN GOOD AND EVIL DAYS”

CONTAINING ALL THE MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS OF THE
COMPLETE GERMAN ORIGINAL EDITION
TOGETHER WITH AN APPROPRIATE SELECTION OF STANDARD ENGLISH HYMNS
FOR GENERAL USE, FOR THE AFFLICTED, THE SICK, AND THE DYING

TRANSLATED BY
REV. JOSEPH A. STUMP, A.M.
Pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Phillipsburg, NJ

Burlington, Iowa
German Literary Board

---

THE CHRISTIAN THANKS GOD
AFTER THE HARVEST HAS BEEN GATHERED.

MEDITATION.
For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness (Ho. 2:8-9).

IF there be a striking manifestation of God’s goodness which is apparent to all men, it is undoubtedly the annual harvest, when God, after having guarded the seed throughout the winter in the earth, having let it bloom and grow and bear fruit in the summer, and having warded off hail and damage by storm, fills barn and cellar with His blessings. But if there be a benefit of which the world makes light and for which it is least thankful to God, it is this very harvest. For ungrateful men imagine that it must be so; that according to the course of nature things must grow, and that God has nothing to do with it. For this reason God in just anger sometimes makes the harvest a failure, in order that all men may see that the ground cannot produce if He does not make it do so, and that nothing can grow without His blessing.

A Christian views the matter differently. When he beholds the full ears of grain, and the vines heavily laden with grapes, (1) he lifts his eyes to heaven, and praises the almighty Creator, Giver, and Preserver of these blessings, who from one grain has produced so many grains, and from an insignificant vine has brought forth such precious fruit. (2) He praises God’s Providence, which has sent the early and the latter rains in their seasons, warded off hurtful thunderstorms, drought, hail, and floods, and preserved the harvest. And when he now sees the grain harvested and hauled into the barn, and the grapes crushed in the wine-press, (3) he receives all these gifts with grateful heart and hands. (4) He uses them and enjoys them with thanksgiving. He acknowledges that God nourishes, sustains, and preserves him. (5) He lets the goodness of God lead him to repentance. If men are thankful to their fellow-men for the gift of clothing or food, and avoid offending their benefactors, why should not we give thanks to our greatest Benefactor, who gives us all things?


PRAYER.
O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: and His mercy endureth for ever. Thus I say, O my God, now that I have seen another blessed harvest gathered. O gracious God, how great is Thy mercy to us! Thou hast laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever. And in this earth Thou hast laid Thy glorious treasures, and makest it bring forth the fruits which nourish and sustain us. Thou hast crowned this year abundantly with Thy goodness; and Thy paths drop fatness. Thou hast watered the hills from Thy chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Thy works. Thou hast caused the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that Thou mightest bring forth food out of the earth.

O faithful Father! Thou hast this year again bestowed upon us. Thy unthankful children, food and drink; Thou hast preserved the harvest. Heaven has heard the cry of the earth; and the earth has brought forth corn and wine. Thou hast given us the early and the latter rains in their seasons. And now our fields have bloomed and offered us the bounty with which Thy blessing covered them. Our trees have brought forth all manner of beautiful fruit, and the vine has made us glad. Loving God and Father, Thou hast spread the wings of Thy mercy over all the land: Thou hast let the sunshine ripen the crops, and hast protected them from hail and blight and drought and flood. When we slept. Thou didst wake; Thou wast Guardian and Keeper over our fields. O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches. All creatures, men and beasts, wait upon Thee, that Thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That Thou givest them, they gather; Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good.

Yes, abundantly indeed hast Thou, O God, blessed us this year with Thy gifts. And now we thank Thee from our inmost soul. O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Let us enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Let us say with grateful heart: The Lord hath done great things for us; yea, the Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. O Lord, Lord, grant us grace not to misuse these gifts and benefits which Thou hast bestowed, but to learn from them to appreciate Thy love and faithfulness toward us. And if, O God, some unthankful souls should abuse Thy gifts by gluttony or intoxication, do not on that account withdraw Thy blessing from us, but preserve it unto us according to Thy mercy.

O Father, who hast loved us with an everlasting love, and who through these bodily blessings also hast drawn us with loving-kindness, desiring that in the gifts we may recognize the Giver, and in the benefits the Benefactor; grant, that Thy goodness may lead us to repentance, and that, whenever we see Thy gifts before us on the table or take them into our hands or mouth, we may lift up our eyes to Thee, the Fountain of all blessings. And as by these gifts Thou dost sustain our body, so let us be nourished and strengthened in the inward man, and increase in faith and love and holiness through the means of grace which Thou hast ordained; that we may grow in all goodness, and be changed from glory to glory, till at last we shall be admitted to the enjoyment of the heavenly blessings of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Amen.


HYMN.

O Lord, whose bounteous hand again
     Hath poured Thy gifts in plenty down,
Who all creation dost sustain
     And all the earth with goodness crown,
Lord of the harvest, here we own
Our joy to be Thy gift alone.

Oh, may we ne’er with thankless heart
     Forget from whom our blessings flow!
Still, Lord, Thy heav’nly grace impart;
     Still teach us what to Thee we owe.
Lord, may our lives with fruit divine
Return Thy care and prove us Thine.

Lord, grant that we who so to Thee
     With joy in endless life may reap.
Of ev’ry heart the Guardian be;
     By day and night Thy servants keep
That all to Thee may joy afford
On thy great harvest-day, O Lord.

Amen.

The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), #567
Author: Unknown
Text: Ps. 65:9
Strassburg, 1541

Weekly devotional material

Last week I posted some resources for daily devotional materials. For anyone who is interested, here is a link to the page that will have the weekly updates.

Lenten blessings to all our readers!
+Pastor Rydecki

Daily Prayer and Meditation Resources

Below is a portion of a pastor's newsletter I just delivered to my congregation. In it, I offer some resources for prayer and meditation at home. The suggested devotional format includes the Daily Lectionary from Lutheran Service Book, and since the Bible readings start over on Ash Wednesday, I thought this was the perfect time to introduce it. The suggested Psalms, however, are my own suggestions, based on the Daily Lectionary and the Psalms assigned for the Sundays in the historic lectionary. The portion of the Small Catechism we're beginning with follows our Sunday School plan, so it kind of starts in the middle.

The Treasury of Daily Prayer essentially includes all the same material. Why not just suggest they all purchase a copy of the Treasury of Daily Prayer? Two main reasons. One, this simple format breaks down the Small Catechism into weekly portions and puts the whole devotion onto one 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" card. Two, after using the Treasury for over a year, I think it's a great resource, but I feel disconnected from the Bible as a book when I use it. (Maybe it's just a personal preference.) So I'm distributing three bookmarks with these resources (Old Testament, Psalms, New Testament) with the Bible references printed out on them for three months at a time so that members can continue to use their own Bibles.

I'll include below some links to PDF files of the daily prayer resources for this week and the bookmarks for the next three months. If anyone finds these resources helpful, let me know and I can link the weekly updates that I'll be including in my local service folder.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Quinquagesima 2012

And taking the twelve, [Jesus] said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise” (Luke 18:31-33).

Even with plain words like these before them, Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was telling them. But by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, we do. And because we do, we set aside every year a season called “Lent” in order to slow down from our busy-ness and reflect on the battle our Lord waged for us against sin, death and the devil, a battle that culminated in his crucifixion, his burial, and his resurrection from the dead. His victory is our victory, and the victory of all who trust in him.

Lent begins this Wednesday, February 22nd. It’s a season for reflection, repentance and renewal. It’s a season for reevaluating our walk as Christians and for recommitting ourselves to the message of the cross and to the way of the cross, to the daily self-denial to which our Savior calls everyone who would follow after him.

It’s also a season in which the Church intensifies its emphasis on catechesis – the instruction in the Word that has as its primary goal the creation and sustaining of faith in Christ, and how that faith expresses itself in the Christian life – the baptismal life. Catechesis is not a one-time, learn-this-and-be-done-with-it kind of instruction. It’s lifelong, from baptism to the grave. So catechesis is for children, but it’s not only for children. It’s for all who would be Christians.

In addition to the regular weekly opportunities for catechesis already offered (Sunday morning Bible class and Divine Service), I would like to invite all of our members to participate in two other opportunities for intensified catechesis, one for the church, one for the home.

As usual, we will be offering Wednesday evening prayer services during the Lenten season, beginning with the Divine Service on Ash Wednesday, continuing with Vespers (“Evening”) services on the five Wednesdays between Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday. In these special services, we will be reviewing the Psalms sometimes referred to as the “penitential” Psalms, as well as a portion of Luther’s Small Catechism and Luther’s six catechism hymns.

The other opportunity I want to set before you begins now during Lent, but does not end there. In fact, the idea is that this would be the beginning of a routine that would never end. It’s an opportunity to make prayer and Bible reading a daily part of your family’s schedule. I have not urged this among you as I ought, and I confess that even I, as a pastor, have, until now, failed to implement this properly in my own home, and for that, I am sorry. But since Lent is for reflection, repentance and renewal, I invite you to join me today in reflecting, repenting, and, with the comfort of God’s forgiveness, making a change for the better.

Maybe you and your family have already been using the Meditations booklets put out by Northwestern Publishing House. Maybe you have been using a devotional format from the hymnal. This is good, and I do not want to discourage it in the least. I would simply like to suggest something more comprehensive.

So I offer you the following resources:

• A very short and simple format for morning, mealtime and bedtime prayer, adapted from Martin Luther’s own suggestions in the Small Catechism.


• A pattern for Daily Prayer and Meditation to be used every day in family devotions.

Most of the elements of Daily Prayer and Meditation are set up to be repeated each day for a week, changing every Sunday, so every Sunday the order for Daily Prayer and Meditation will be printed on the back of the service folder (or offered as a separate insert). It will also be available for download on our website. The Scripture readings that make up the Daily Lectionary change daily, so they are printed on three bookmarks (for Old Testament, Psalm, and New Testament) which you can keep in your Bible at home. The references for the Daily Lectionary are from Lutheran Service Book, starting over each year on Ash Wednesday. You can use whichever Bible translation you wish. I recommend the English Standard Version or the New King James Version.

Families that follow this daily routine will read through about 1/3 of the Old Testament and almost all of the New Testament every year, and the Book of Psalms will be prayed through at least twice a year. The entire Small Catechism is relearned each year as well.

Luther says in his Preface to the Large Catechism, “I am a doctor and preacher. Yet I act as a child who is being taught the catechism. Every morning—and whenever I have time—I read and say, word for word, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Psalms, and such. I must still read and study them daily. Yet I cannot master the catechism as I wish. But I must remain a child and pupil of the catechism, and am glad to remain so.”

Let us all remain “children and pupils of the catechism.” The resources I am setting before you are not the only possible Lutheran resources that can be used. They are intended to be a useful discipline for keeping our families constant in prayer and firmly rooted in the Scriptures and in the Small Catechism. Putting this discipline into practice as a congregation can only serve to bring us closer together around the truth of God’s Word. As for me and my house, we will begin using these resources today.

Morning and Bedtime Prayer
Mealtime Prayers and general format for Daily Prayer & Meditation
Daily Lectionary Bookmarks - Lent through Easter 2012



* Additional resources (all from Concordia Publishing House):

• ESV Children’s Bible – Lutheran Edition (Includes the full Bible text, plus several pictures, key doctrinal summaries, and summaries of the Six Chief Parts of Luther’s Small Catechism)


• ESV Deluxe Reference Bible – Concordia Edition (Includes Luther’s Small Catechism)


• The Lutheran Study Bible (ESV)


• Treasury of Daily Prayer (Has the Daily Lectionary readings all printed out in one book, with brief orders for devotions and additional readings from the Church Fathers)


• Lutheran Service Book (Has most of the same hymns as Christian Worship, but fewer gender neutral translations. It also features richer orders of service and, in my opinion, better devotional material.)


• My First Hymnal (a collection of 51 hymns especially suitable for children, accompanied by colorful illustrations for the church year)


• Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions (especially for reading the Athanasian Creed, Large Catechism and Augsburg Confession at home)

Devotions on the Lectionary: Pentecost 13, Gospel

by Michael Schottey

Luke 12:51 Do you think I came to bring peace on Earth? No, I tell you, but division.(NIV)

Love, what is it?

In our postmodern world, love--both worldly love and the love of God--are under attack from a lot of different definitions.

God tells us, in his word, what love is. True love is something that radiates first from God and then is reflected off of his children. True love is something that binds us together under one Lord, one creed. True love faithfully clings to God and his promises and seeks out its brothers and sisters.

True love also divides.

True love wants nothing to do with sin but, like God, desperately wants all men to be saved. So, true love does not shudder at the thought of correcting an erring brother or sister. True love makes the statement, continually, that God comes first--then family, vocation, and friends. True love wants nothing to do with worldly wisdom or priorities.

The world confuses love with acceptance. But, true love does not accept sin, it rebukes it.

Thanks be to God, for loving us with a true love--correcting our wrongs and valuing our eternal salvation over our selfish worldly pride. Thanks be to God that he has taught his people this love--so much more valuable than mere acceptance, which confirms the sinner in unbelief.

Thanks be to God that Jesus came to bring peace between man and God, and not just between men. A peace which lasts forever.

Prayer: Lord God, teach me to love as you have loved me. Grant me patience to love my brothers and sisters unconditionally but courage to love them enough to correct their wrongs. Keep me humble, so that I do not crush those weaker in the faith. Help me lift up, sustain, and support my fellow Christians. Amen.

Hymn
"As surely as I live," God said,
"I would not have the sinner dead
But that he turn from error's ways,
Repent and live through endless days."

To us therefore Christ gave command:
"Go forth and preach in every land;
Bestow on all my pard'ning grace
who will repent of sinful ways."
CW 308:1,2

Devotions on the Lectionary: Pentecost 13, Second Lesson

by Michael Schottey

Hebrews 12:2 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (NIV)

Have you thought about your faith lately?

Are you like some Christians who don't think about their faith at all? Is "church" just something you sit through on Sunday--desperately sitting through sermons which seem too long yet are infinitely shorter than your favorite T.V. show?

Or, perhaps worse yet, do you think about your faith too much?

A ubiquitous strain of Christianity is the introspective strain of Arminian theology that puts far too much emphasis on the strength or power of one's faith. Tune your radio dials to any Christian Rock station and you are sure to come across these ideas. (Note: then tune away as quickly as possible.)

Take this simple faith test: Look around you, are you in heaven? No? Then your faith can get stronger.

Yet, rather than follow the false path of self-help, self-perfection, or introspection..."Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..."

Nothing more is needed: no special hints, tips, or tricks; no special prayers; no special training.

The reason you have faith is Jesus. The promise of the salvation he won for you is the only food your faith needs to survive. He has given you his word and sacraments, true and changeless, as a fitting banquet. This feast of his providence is the one-thing-needful.

The glory he laid aside is yours, that your faith might live and that it may grow.


Prayer: Dear Lord, fix my eyes on you. Avert my eyes from the sinful world around me--those things which would harm my faith and my eternal salvation. Keep my eyes looking upward toward you, not inward at myself. Keep my focus on you and the salvation you have won for me. Guide me on my path to Heaven! Amen!


Hymn
My faith looks up to thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary
Savior divine.
Now hear me while I pray:
Take all my guilt away.
Oh, let me from this day be wholly thine!

May thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart:
My zeal inspire!
As thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love for thee
Pure, warm and changeless be, a living fire!

CW 402:1,2

Devotions on the Lectionary: Pentecost 13, First Lesson

by Michael Schottey

Jeremiah 23:29 "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?" (NIV)

If one lesson is continually needed among God's people. It is this:

The word works.

The Bible is God's own holy word. And that word comes from a God who always keeps all of his promises--both law and gospel--to all people. The promises of God do not change, nor does he.

What does that word do?

It is a fire, a fire that cannot be contained. The message of our resurrected Lord has spread from a locked room on Easter evening to fill all corners of the earth. The words of Jesus that once burned in the hearts of the disciples on the road to Emmaus now ignite among people of all tribes and races. The message of salvation spreads faster than the world or the devil could ever snuff it out.

But, the word is also a hammer which shatters. The law breaks the sinfully proud into pieces and tears down the mighty. The law takes a heart which thinks it can stay afloat on its own power and dashes it against the rocks.

The word does not return to the Lord empty. When the word is planted in rich soil, it enriches the soil further and yields a crop hundredfold. When the hearer rejects God's word altogether, the word hardens that heart all-the-more.

A man who speaks God's word is only the channel for these mighty acts. No ambition of his can improve the power of the word, nor can his faults hinder it. What aid does God need and what shortcoming can he not overcome?

The word is all-sufficient.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, your kingdom come, your will be done. Tame my selfish pride. Let me boast not of what I have done, but what you have done through me. Make me, every day, a vessel more worthy of your holy and effective word. Make me patient when I do not always see the effects of your word. Keep me ever trusting in its effectiveness and its power.

Hymn
Awake O Spirit who inspired The watchmen of the church's youth,
Who faced the foe's envenomed ire, Who witnessed day and night your truth,
Whose voices loud are ringing still And bringing hosts to know your will.

And let your Word have speedy course, Through every land be glorified,
Till all the heathen know its force And fill your churches far and wide.
Oh, spread the conquest of your Word And let your kingdom come, dear Lord!

CW 567:1,4

Devotions on the Lectionary: Pentecost 12, Gospel

by Michael Schottey

Luke 12:34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Where is your heart?

Sadly, too many of us look around at our meager surroundings or our piles of debt and think Jesus wasn't talking to us, but only to the rich when he asked them to give up their possessions and seek more important things above.

Yet, Christ was talking to his disciples when he said these words, and he is now talking to us as well.

In our worldly culture, we have all set our hearts on some sort of possession--the newest gadget, a fully funded IRA, or the biggest toy on our block. What's more, we eat, dress, and live in lavish luxury far above anything those first disciples could have imagined. If it isn't a possession, it's an activity, a hobby a person, a lifestyle, or an attitude.

So often, our heart has not been set on things above, but on things below. Rather than focusing skyward at our ascended Lord, our eyes are fixated around us.

Thankfully, our Savior's eyes have always been focused on his people. The Lord of both Heaven and Earth chose to treasure us above the treasures that were rightfully his so that we might inherit the same.

It is this same loving Lord that invites us to a banquet feast more lavish and luxurious than anything we could imagine.

It is this same loving Lord who died to pay the price for our selfishness.

You are his treasure. You are the desire of his heart.

Fix your eyes on Christ and his cross. No treasure can compare.

Prayer: Almighty God, I thank you for the freedom that your Son has won for me--to set my heart on things above, to true treasures and lasting wealth. Guard my heart and mind from selfishness and worldliness. Grant me patience and endurance as I wait for my heavenly inheritance. In Christ's name I pray, Amen.

Hymn
All depends on our possessing, God's abundant grace and blessing,
Though all Earthly wealth depart.
They who trust with faith unshaken, in their God are not forsaken,
And e'er keep a dauntless heart.

Many spend their lives in fretting, over trifles and in getting,
Things that have no solid ground.
I shall strive to win a treasure, that will bring me lasting pleasure,
And that now is seldom found.

CW 421:1,3

Devotions on the Lectionary: Pentecost 12, Second Lesson

by Michael Schottey

Hebrews 11:9-10 By faith, (Abraham) made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country: he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (NIV)

Chapter 11 of the letter to the Hebrews is often called, "The Heroes of Faith."

As Christians, we focus far too intently on the heroes listed in this section--missing the Holy Spirit's point almost entirely.

This portion of scripture is not simply a Bible History refresher course, but rather an object lesson on a very important topic--Faith.

Abraham did not move from Ur to Canaan on a whim. He did so because of a promise. He did so by faith.

Abraham did not long for greater joys because of a great investment plan or a bountiful harvest. He did so because of a promise. He did so by faith.

It is faith--faith kindled by a promise, faith in God and in his grace--that transforms sinful man. The LORD who justifies also works continually to sanctify.

Only through faith.

Only through the Word and Sacraments.

It is this faith which clings to the promises of God.

The promises of God are not riches, comfort, luxury or security. Rather, God promises Christ with all his benefits, which even include crosses and trials to refine your faith. These trials remove the dross that clings to our Old Adam. These trials drive us back to the God who longs to be with us forever.

The promises of God are life and eternal salvation to all who believe--in a city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.


Prayer: Heavenly Father, increase my faith! Grant me a heroic faith in you and in your promises. Give me a measure of patience and endurance to withstand my own shortcomings. Lord, bring me closer to you each day--my Creator and my Redeemer. Amen.


Hymn
I know my faith is founded, on Jesus Christ my God and Lord,
And this my faith confessing, Unmoved I stand upon his Word.
Man's reason cannot fathom the truth of God profound;
Who trusts in worldly wisdom, relies on shifting ground.
God's Word is all sufficient, it makes divinely sure,
And trusting in its wisdom, my faith shall rest secure.

CW 403

Devotions on the Lectionary: Pentecost 12, First Lesson

by Michael Schottey

Genesis 15:1 "After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: 'Do not be afraid Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.'" (NIV)

Abram – one of the greatest examples of faith in the Bible – would have better days than this.

Aging – with a barren wife, and no heir – the patriarch was worried about his legacy.

God had once said to Abram, "Leave your country...and I will make you into a great nation." Now, Abram feared that his chief servant, Eliezer, would be his heir.

It is to this Abram – this attitude, this fear, this lack of faith – that God says,

"Do not be afraid...I am your shield, your very great reward."

This word of calm, this covenant, said more than can be expressed. It conveyed to Abram, and still to us, that earthly concerns need not trouble us to the point of despair. God is our shield. His Christ, promised to Abram long ago, is our reward – a reward that supersedes any worries our earthly lives could afford.

Since God has given us his Son, what should trouble us?

Christ is yours. Heaven is won.

Do not be afraid.

Prayer: Lord, Father, almighty and everlasting God: give to me this day my daily bread. Grant to your child all that you find needful. Withhold my sinful wants. Calm my fear. Be my shield from all harm and temptation. In Christ, my great reward, I pray. Amen.

Hymn
O Lord of Heaven and earth and sea,
To you all praise and glory be!
How can we thank you properly
who gives us all?

You did not spare your only Son,
but gave him for a world undone,
and freely with that blessed one,
you give us all.

CW 487:1,4