COURAGE

Verse

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life
worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
Ephesians 4:1

Voice

Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world
on fire.
St. Catherine of Siena

Prayer

God, give us the courage to live into our calling. Do not
let us flee the challenges we know we must face. May we,
together, set the world on fire by living as who you meant
us to be. Amen.

ASK A GOOD QUESTION

“In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does
this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD
brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.’”
Exodus 13:14

The Hebrew word for “knowledge” is chochma. Broken down,
that word becomes coach mah, which translates as “the power
of asking what.” The more powerful our questions, the greater
our wisdom. We must teach our children and ourselves to ask
questions. It’s the only way to arrive at the most powerful and
life-changing knowledge. When he was 89, Isidor had an MRI
done, a lifesaving procedure made possible by one of his
inventions — an invention that was the result of all his
questioning.

What good question can you ask today? “How can I make the
world a better place?” “Do things always have to be as they are?”
“What would I try if I wasn’t afraid to fail?” Or simply, “Can I be a
better person today than I was yesterday?”

The more we ask, the more we’ll know, and the better the
questions, the greater the wisdom to follow.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

ALL WHO SERVE

Verse

Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you,
this poor widow has put in more than all those who are
contributing to the treasury.'
Mark 12:43

Voice

People may come to our communities because they want to
serve the poor; they will only stay once they have discovered
that they themselves are poor.
Jean Vanier

Prayer

God, may all who serve the poor do so in humility. May our
service reveal our own poverty. And may we honor the
contribution of the poor widow just as we honor the gifts of
the wealthy. Amen.

HER LAST WORDS

Elizabeth Edwards

On December 6, 2010, the Edwards' family announced that she
had stopped cancer treatment after her doctors advised her that
further treatment would be unproductive, the cancer having
metastasized to her liver. She had been advised she had several
weeks to live. Her family members, including her estranged
husband John, were with her. She posted her last message
on Facebook:

    "You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life
by three saving graces – my family, my friends, and a faith in the
power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me
through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the
good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives,
for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are
certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength
and patience as we would like. It's called being human.

    But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and
in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days
I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for
that I am grateful. It isn't possible to put into words the love and
gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support
and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know."

Elizabeth Edwards died of metastatic breast cancer on
December 7, 2010, at home in Chapel Hill, surrounded by her
family and friends

JUST AS GOLD

Just as gold can’t become gold without going
through a difficult process, so, too, do our
challenges refine us and bring out the value
within us. Don’t be fooled by those who walk
around looking like gold. Many people look
good on the outside, but that doesn’t
necessarily mean that they are good. Most of
the best people in the world have gone through
hard times. They’ve gone through a refinement
process.

So embrace the challenges that come your way.
God is bringing out the gold in you. No matter
how dark and hard life may seem for you today,
God can refine you and make you shine.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

MLK

Verse

Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and
hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together.
Isaiah 40:4-5

Voice

True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is
the presence of justice.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Prayer

God, today we honor your prophet, Martin Luther King Jr.
May his legacy continue to inspire us not simply to the
absence of tension, but to the presence of justice. May
ground that is still uneven continue to be made level.
Amen.

THIS IS THE DAY

Verse

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and
be glad in it.   Psalm 118:24

Voice

"There's so much to be grateful for, words are poor things."
Marilynne Robinson

Prayer

Loving God, your goodness is all around us. But sometimes
it seems overshadowed by pain, death, and suffering.
Assure us in times of doubt that you are the God of
resurrection. May our lips sing you praise, and may our
lives be a living sacrifice to you. Amen.

Common Prayer

HOME AGAIN

Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God
shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him
and does what is right is acceptable to Him." Acts 10:34-35

Today I'd like to tell you about a country church, which was
having an old-fashioned mission festival.

It was -- in the life of the congregation -- a big deal. For a year,
men and women of the parish planned, worked, cooked and
cleaned to make a good impression on the expected influx of
visitors. When the week came, everything went according to
plan. Even the weather seemed to cooperate.

Everything was perfect, except for one fellow who hung around
on the outskirts of the festivities.

His clothing was torn and tattered, his appearance, grimy and
grubby. His face sported a week's worth of stubble. No, this
was not the fashionable, unshaved look of the men's clothing
catalogs, this guy was just grungy.

Now, I wouldn't have you think, not for a moment, that the fellow,
who was not "one of them," was in the least bit intrusive. He
wasn't. He didn't panhandle. He didn't look longingly when the
plates of food were handed out. He didn't bother the children or
the women. He was just there. Of course, most of the time the
outsider was forgotten.

Finally, the last day came. People sang with a greater gusto
than anyone could remember; the choir was dynamic in its
praises. Then from the back of the gathering came the fellow
who was not one of them. Wives whispered to their husbands,
"Somebody ought to stop him." Husbands nodded, but nobody
moved. The fellow reached the front of the congregation, stepped
into the pulpit, and spoke. The man, who was not one of them,
quoted Peter: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,
but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right
is acceptable to Him."

The man continued, "This week, I was physically among you,
but I was never, as so many of you have been saying, 'one of
you.' Nobody included me or invited me to the activities. No one
shared a meal." Then he added, "Most of you averted your eyes
and made me invisible." After that the man preached a wonderful
sermon about how the Lord Jesus came to seek and save sinners
-- all sinners.

This is just this devotion's way of saying, "Be nice to each other
 ... all the others."

When I was The Lutheran Hour Speaker, I visited all types of
congregations: established ones, mission ones, big ones, little
ones, rural and city ones. After a while I discovered why some
churches seemed warm and others not.

Churches that were warm, and growing, made a person feel like
he was a long-lost relative who had returned home. This means,
this Sunday when you are encouraged to say, "Hello" to those
around you, don't just turn to your spouse and children. Be brave
and make everyone feel like he's home.

THE PRAYER:

Dear Lord, even as You have loved and welcomed me into your
family of faith, may I do the same for others. In Jesus' Name.
Amen.

Pastor Klaus
Lutheran Hour Ministries

A COVENANT

Verse

I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for
the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring
out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison
those who sit in darkness.   Isaiah 42:6-7

Voice of the day

The sea is the pitiless social darkness into which
the penal system casts those it has condemned,
an unfathomable waste of misery. The human soul,
lost in those depths, may become a corpse. Who
shall revive it?     Victor Hugo


Prayer

As we closed our doors this morning and walked
freely through the church door, other doors slammed
behind other people, and they do not know if or when
they will open again: doors in prison cells and torture
chambers; doors separating families, doors in labor
camp units. Let us ask Christ, who came to set all
people free, to enable us to experience his freedom
and to bring freedom to others. Amen.

Pax Christi

A MISSION IN LIFE

We all come to the world with a purpose and
mission for our lives. But it’s not the size of the
mission that determines the greatness of the
person. Rather, it’s the size of the person that
determines the greatness of his or her mission.

Some of us were sent here to fulfill huge
missions; others were sent for much smaller
purposes. Some are called to be spiritual
leaders. Others are called to be chimney
sweepers. It doesn’t matter what our job in
this world is. It’s how we do it and how we treat
others in the process that determines our
greatness in God’s eyes.

WHAT'S HOLDING YOU BACK

 “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing
is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).

Moses encountered God at the burning bush. What’s the first
thing that God instructed him? “Take off your sandals, for the
place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).
There are many ways to understand this command, and here
is one of them: God was telling Moses — and all of us — to
remove anything that separates us from Him. We are standing
on holy ground – ground ripe for miracles and holiness. The
only thing it will take to fully activate the holiness of our lives
is to let go of anything holding us back from God.

We all have our hang-ups. We are all born with shortcomings.
Our job is to remove the barriers that separate us from God.
For some of us it might be a tendency to get angry. For
another person, it might be a harmful addiction. For another
person, it might be a false belief or a leftover fear that no
longer serves us. Still, for others, it might be an attachment to
material wealth, honor, power, or any of the other many
obstacles in our walk with God. We need to lift these things
off us and out of our lives. We need to grind them up and
destroy them.

What’s keeping you from God? What’s holding you back from
being your best? Remove the obstacles and break through the
barriers, so that like Moses, you might come close to God and
merit the privilege of doing His work on the holy ground of our
lives. Take away the obstacles between you and God, and
activate your best life yet.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

THE WOLF

Verse

The wolf shall live with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down
with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
Isaiah 11:6

Voice

The social order we seek is not a utopia. It is a world where
political life is understood in terms of active participation by
the governors and the governed in the realization of the
common good.
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

Prayer

God, we yearn for the day you will govern this world. We
yearn for the day when the wolf shall live with the lamb, and
the governors shall work with the governed, and the little child
shall lead them. We pray you would sustain your people as
they seek this common good. Amen.

HOW ABOUT FERGUSON (1)

Michael Brown was a good kid, by accounts of those who
knew him during his short life. But that’s not why his death
is tragic. His death isn’t tragic because he was a sweet kid
on his way to college the next week. His death is tragic
because he was a human being and his life mattered. The
Good Kid narrative might provoke some sympathy but what
it really does is support the lie that as a rule black people,
black men in particular, have a norm of violence or criminal
behavior. The Good Kid narrative says that this kid didn’t
deserve to die because his goodness was the exception to
the rule. This is wrong. This kid didn’t deserve to die
because he was a human being and black lives matter.

This post originally appeared at janeewoods.com. Follow
Janee on Twitter at @janeepwoods.

CELEBRATING A NEW YEAR

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you
not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and
rivers in the desert.   Isaiah 43:19

Voice

For last year's words belong to last year's language and
next year's words await another voice. And to make an
end is to make a beginning.
-T.S. Eliot

Prayer

God, as we celebrate a new year, we celebrate your new
creation that is springing forth. As we give new voice to
the new year's words, give us eyes to perceive your work.
Amen.

HOME AT LAST

Epiphany

Read Matthew 2:9-11.
And going into the house they saw the Child with Mary His
mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. ...
Matthew 2:11A

The end has come. It's the end of our long Advent and
Christmas journey. The Nativity set is finally complete as the
wise men enter the scene and taken their place bowing down
before Jesus in worship.

It was a long journey for the wise men. After having traveled a
great distance from their land and after having met with King
Herod in Jerusalem, they set out for the final leg of their j
ourney. And that's when they saw the star that they had seen
in the East. It led them south to Bethlehem and stopped over
the place where the King of the Jews was to be found.
Matthew captured their great joy at seeing the star again when
he wrote, "And when they saw the star, they rejoiced
exceedingly with great joy" (Matthew 2:10).

Their gifts are precious reminders of the greatness of this Child
before whom they bow in worship. This Child who became one
of us is God's Anointed One. He took our place under the Law
to clothe us in His righteousness so that we might be worthy to
stand in heaven before our perfect Father. It is Jesus the
Messiah who took our guilt upon Himself and suffered and died
for our sins. This He did that we might be saved from damnation
and inherit eternal life with God in heaven.

That is where you and I stand this Epiphany. Our long journey
through life continues, but each day, like the wise men, we draw
nearer to our Father's heavenly home. There we will enter, bow
down, and worship our Savior -- the King of kings.

One day our long journey through this life will end. And when we
see the light of heaven our hearts will be overjoyed just like the
wise men as they saw the star again. Then we will enter paradise
to remain forever. There we will join Mary and Joseph, the
shepherds, the angels, and along with the wise men, we too will
fall down in worship and praise before Jesus Christ our Savior,
God our Father, and the Holy Spirit our Comforter.

THE PRAYER:

 Heavenly Father, thank You for the completion of this Advent and
Christmas journey. Continue to guide me in my life's journey by
Your Word and Sacraments, in company with my brothers and
sisters in faith, until I enter Your home for Your eternal gathering. I
ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ my Savior. Amen

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

A TYRANTS FURY

Advent

Read Matthew 2:7-8; 13-16.
... he became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children
in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under.
Matthew 2:16B

Simeon had warned Mary that Jesus would be a sign spoken
against. Here is the first proof. King Herod is so fearful of this new
King, and so enraged when the wise men do not report back His
location, that he orders the deaths of all male children two years
old and under. He is confident the new King will be caught up and
swept away in the process. Of course, God warned Joseph in a
dream, and Joseph fled in the middle of the night with Mary and
Jesus to find safety in Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15).

It is hard to read this passage without wondering why God would
permit King Herod to have heard the prophecy of Micah, especially
knowing what Herod would do. But in grace and mercy God was
reaching out with the saving Gospel to Herod just as He was
reaching out to the wise men. It is not God's fault. Rather, it is
Herod's fault alone that he chose to abuse his God-given authority
and murder those innocent boys in and around Bethlehem.

Of course, Herod failed to kill the Christ child, and ended up killing
those innocent boys instead. As his soldiers completed their
bloody mission in Bethlehem and its vicinity, Jesus was safely on
His way to Egypt. Jesus survived Herod's murderous attempt
because He did not come into this world to die as a baby. Nor did
He come to become a political ruler or king over the region of Israel.
He came to offer His life as a God-pleasing sacrifice to save the
world from its sin.

God is merciful to you and me too. If you have read each of these
devotions through the Advent and Christmas seasons, then you
have heard the marvelous story of God's love and salvation offered
to you freely through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. God calls
you to faith, trust, and eternal life through His Word. Yet He won't
force you to believe anymore than He forced Herod.

Too often, like Herod, we set our minds on our earthly kingdom and
reject the peace God offers us. But thankfully God continues to
stretch out His hand as He calls us, His own sons and daughters,
to be citizens of His Kingdom. He gives us church homes in which
He gathers us to hear His Word and celebrate the Sacraments. Both
of these He has provided to create and nurture faith within us
throughout our lives. And in the end, He will gather us into His eternal
home.

God grant that we may respond to the news as the wise men did,
rejoicing to find our Savior and offer Him our praise and thanksgiving
eternally.

THE PRAYER:

 Heavenly Father, You have been so merciful to all of us. Cleanse
me from my sins for Jesus' sake, and make me strong to walk before
You and share my Savior's Name with all people. In Jesus' Name.
Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

THE PROPHET'S WORD

Advent Devotions

Read Matthew 2:4-6.
Assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people,
he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
Matthew 2:4

Apparently, Herod was aware of the prophecy of a Messiah --
 a King to be born to the Jews. Since he was not Jewish
himself, but rather a descendant of Jacob's brother Esau, he
consulted the Jewish scholars who would know the prophecy.
The chief priests and scribes quickly revealed the birthplace to
the king and the wise men, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is
written by the prophet, 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of
Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for
from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel'"
(Matthew 2: 5-6).

Up to now, the wise men had simply been following a silent star.
But now they heard the living Word of God. It told them this King
of the Jews was a ruler who would lead God's people as a
Shepherd. He would gently lead His people, protect them from
their enemies, and guide them to safe pasture. Here was God's
invitation for Herod and the wise men to follow Him as well.

Had Herod not closed his heart but responded with Spirit-given
faith as the wise men did, he would have known the peace and
rest His great King Jesus came to bring. He would know his
kingdom was secure, and he would be part of Christ's greater,
eternal Kingdom. But Herod was blinded by his own hunger for
power and prestige. The news of Christ's birth only amplified his
insecurity and doubt. No wonder all of Jerusalem was stirred up
and fearful when they knew Herod was upset by the news.

In reality, King Herod was a model of this world's ruler, Satan. In
desperation and rage Satan uses his forces to try to keep his
tight grasp on his earthly kingdom, but his end is coming rapidly.
On the cross Jesus Christ already delivered a fatal blow, undoing
Satan's devious work in the Garden of Eden. Now the devil awaits
the end of his reign and the beginning of his eternal torment in
hell when Christ comes again on the Last Day.

In the meantime, God sets these two rulers before us-His own
dear Son Jesus Christ and His bitter enemy the devil. We are not
the masters of our own fate, or kings of our own kingdom. You and
I will serve either Jesus or Satan. So would you rather serve a King
who is your loving Shepherd who laid down His life on the cross to
defeat the devil and save you from your enemies? Or would you
prefer submission to Satan the tyrant who engineered your
destruction and seeks your doom?

THE PRAYER:

Lord God, thank You for Your Word, which reveals all I need to
know about Jesus my Savior. Keep me faithfully trusting Your Word.
Defend me against Satan's devious plans and bring me safely to
Your eternal Kingdom. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

FROM THE EAST

"The Mysterious Visitors from the East"

Advent Devotions

Read Matthew 2:1-2.
Behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we
saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him."
Matthew 2:1B-2

Today is the ninth day of Christmas, and it's finally time to turn
our attention toward those wise men who are rounding the
bend and heading for home. One of my favorite Christmas
carols as a kid was "We Three Kings of Orient Are." It
always puzzled me that we never sang it in church until I
later realized the first line has three errors. First, they
weren't kings; they were scholars and astrologers who
advised kings. Second, they weren't from the Orient; they
probably came from Persia, Babylon, or Arabia. And third,
Matthew doesn't tell us there were three. He says there
were three gifts, but the number of wise men is unknown.
So that's a problem with the figures for my Nativity set.
There are three of them and they are all wearing crowns.
Oh, well ...

The intriguing thing about the wise men is that they followed
a star, and somehow they knew that star was indicating the
birth of a great king of the Jews. Perhaps God left them a hint
 through the great Jewish civil leader Daniel, and his friends
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who made a huge impact
on the Babylonian and Persian empires (see the book of Daniel
in the Old Testament). Perhaps it had something to do with a
record Daniel left in the official government records of Babylon
and Persia (see Daniel 2:44-45).

But, however the wise men came to know a king had been born
of the Jews, the wise men doggedly followed that star as God
slowly guided them to His perfect Light.

God guides us today too. Having revealed our Savior through His
Word, Holy Baptism, and the Sacrament of the Altar, God
continues to use His means of grace to guide us through our life's
journey. That is one of the reasons weekly worship is so vitally
important for us. God guides us and protects us from the
distractions of this world, and keeps us in the true faith until we
fall down and worship before Him in heaven.

In the meantime, as we continue on our journey, may God shine
through us and lead many people through the long night of this
sinful world to our heavenly home.

THE PRAYER:

 Lord, let the light of Your Word and Sacraments continue to
guide, strengthen, and sustain us in our faith. And enable all of us,
Your children, to shine the light of Jesus our Savior to the ends of
the world. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

RESOLUTIONS

10 Resolutions for 2015

1.     Love God.
2.     Extend who our neighbors are; whom we are also called to love.
3.     Love hardest those who are the closest.
4.     Build racial bridges
5.     Always Ask, “What does this mean for the poor and vulnerable
6.     Support and empower women and girls.
7.     Stand up for the reality of climate change
8.     Question every act of war..
9.     Practice presence
10.   Embrace hope and joy

Jim Wallis

FIRST BLOOD

"The First Shed Blood"

Advent

Read Luke 2:21.
And at the end of eight days ... He was circumcised.
Luke 2:21A

Today is the eighth day of Christmas. It's the day a Jewish
boy was circumcised. This marked him as a child of the
covenant God gave Abraham. As Jesus undertook
circumcision, He assumed His place as a child of Abraham.
Being placed under the Law He would live His life fulfilling the
Law perfectly for us.

That's all fine and good, but what does Jesus' circumcision
have to do with our New Year's Day celebration today?

Well, one of our New Year's Day customs is to make
resolutions: these are bad habits we will attempt to break, or
good habits we will attempt to put into place in the coming
year. Perhaps resolution-making is one of your New Year's
Day traditions.

Broken New Year's resolutions are pretty common for us.
They are a symbol of our brokenness as sinful creatures.
They also remind us how impossible it is to save ourselves
from our sins. That is why Jesus' circumcision resolution
meant everything. If He had broken this resolution the way
we break New Year's resolutions, we would all be doomed to
God's terrible and eternal wrath. The good news is that Jesus
did not break this resolution. Rather, He kept it perfectly all
 through His life, obeying God in our place.

Jesus even kept His resolution when it hurt. He resolved to
go up to Jerusalem when He knew the Jewish leaders were
seeking His life. He showed that resolve in the Garden of
Gethsemane when He prayed, "My Father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will, but as
You will" (Matthew 26:39b). And He showed this same resolve
again when He stepped forward in the garden to meet those
who had come to arrest Him (John 18:4-11).

Because of Jesus' resolution and His perfect fulfillment of that
resolution through His suffering, death, and resurrection, our
2015 is truly new. We live under God's forgiveness and blessing
and will inherit eternal life when our earthly journey is finished.
This is true whether our Lord returns in the coming year or in
another sometime in the future.

THE PRAYER:

 Lord God, give me the resolve to honor Your Name, to study
Your Word, to gather in Your Church, and to share with others
Your amazing grace. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)