In the Beginning was the Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5, NRSV)

Have you ever been in a dark place and then a light came in?

The darkness is dispersed and light takes over.

That is how Jesus is in our lives. Even when our flesh comes in and sin takes over Jesus pushes it all away.

His life over comes all of our sin and makes us clean.

And remember he loves you and wants you to have the life God has prepared for you.

God Speaks to Us through a Son

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.3He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1-4, NRSV)

Jesus is the son whom God has given us to speak to us and tell us how we should live.

He is higher than everything except the Father and is more excellent than everything.

Jesus came to show us how to live and what it means to be a follower of God’s life plan.

God has a way God wants us to live and Jesus showed us that.

Praise the Lord!

1Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament!
2Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
4Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
5Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
(Psalm 150, NRSV)

It is fitting I’m writing this devotional now as I am at camp and this psalm always reminds me of a fun song we would sing at camp.

Praise the lord with trumpet sounds. And we would mimic a trumpet. Clanging cymbols, a big bass drum, harp and lyre.

But this psalm just shows us that as we go through life we should have an attitude of praise and give praise in every circumstance.

Praise to our trustworthy God

1Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
3Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.
4When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
5Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God,
6who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever;
7who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
9The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!
(Psalm 146, NRSV)

We all have reasons to be upset with God or life and to be in a bad mood.

We can easily justify being mad at the world for the circumstances we are in.

But then again there is someone somewhere who is dealing with worse issues than you are and is deeper in a hole than you are. There are many who are hurting and drowning in life. And we have reason to be happy or blessed.

Today is a day you have breath and God loves you. Remember this when life seems to get you down and pull you away from God. God is always there and loves you and that is a reason to give God praise.

God is with Us

1O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
3You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
4Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.
5You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
8If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,”
12even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
(Psalm 139:1-12, NRSV)

When someone really knows us they get us. They know what is happening even if we don’t tell them. They know our emotions and what we are dealing with even when we don’t talk about it.

They can sense when things are going wrong and will be there to help.

Now imagine someone who knows you better than you know yourself. God knows everything about you and even why you do the things you don’t know you do.

God has searched you and knows you and loves you despite all of that and will always be your greatest cheerleader and always there for you.

Steadfast Love Endures Forever

1Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
2Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing.
3Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.
5For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
(Psalm 100, NRSV)

Be joyful in the Lord’s presence. For He is faithful and just and His steadfast love endures forever.

God is faithful to all generations.

Hold tight to that promise.

Our God of Mercy

11Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.
12For evils have encompassed me without number; my iniquities have overtaken me, until I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.
13Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me.
14Let all be put to shame and confusion who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt.
15Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
16But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.
(Psalm 40:11-17, NRSV)

Be pleased o Lord make haste to deliver me and help me.

No matter what the circumstances are we are facing when we cry out to God, He will be there to help us and pull us up.

If we trust in God we will always have shelter from whatever storm we face.

Ten Lepers are Healed

11On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean.15Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19, NRSV)

The one who turned back was a Samatitan. What were the other 9? We are not told but from the reference that the one was a Samaritan we are led to the understanding that the others were Jewish and therefore should have noticed the transformation and realized the one that did this could have been the Messiah.

But maybe they did notice and actually went to the priest to be restored to community. While the Samaritan didn’t but knew the higher calling.

What do we have to be thankful for in our lives that we don’t give thanks for?

What have you noticed after the fact and returned to give thanks for?

How can we be like the Samaritan and give thanks?

Thanksgiving for Help

1I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
3He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
4Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.
5You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.
6Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
7Then I said, “Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
9I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.
10I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
11Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.
12For evils have encompassed me without number; my iniquities have overtaken me, until I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.
13Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me.
14Let all those be put to shame and confusion who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt.
15Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
16But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.
(Psalm 40, NRSV)

As for me I am poor and needy!

And as I wait for the Lord my cries are heard and the Lord delivers me.

Happy is the one who trusts in the promises of the Lord for the Lord is good and His love will endure through anything we face.

The Lord will not let us down. The Lord hears our cries and sees our anguish and comes to our aid.

Trust in the Lord and live in His life!

The LORD is Righteous

1I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.
2Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
4Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”
5Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.
6The Lord protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.
7Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
(Psalm 116:1-7, NRSV)

Do you love the Lord?

If you do, why do you love the Lord?

This psalmist says they love the Lord because the Lord heard them cry when they were close to death and were encamped all around by enemies and the Lord heard them and saved them.

That is actually where all of us were. Death was knocking and we were sinking down in our sin and God reached in and pulled us out. Not because we were or are worthy but because God made us. The Lord loves us and will not let us fall.

Trust in the promise and love the Lord!