20 Trinity – Monday

Past Devotions

This weeks devotions: Sunday

 

 

 

Daily Devotional Materials

Twentieth Sunday after Trinity

– Monday –

 

Devotion*

Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.  But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven. – Matthew 10:32-33.

With the heart to believe in the Lord Jesus and with the mouth to confess Him before others, these two are as intimately linked together as a light and the brightness it sheds forth.  For because of our “flesh” (Romans 7:18a), which still clings to us Christians, it often is a hard task indeed to confess our Lord Jesus before unbelievers, who mock or threaten or smile in derision. But “the new man” (Ephesians 4:24a) within us ever again comes to the surface and freely confesses, motivated by the Gospel of grace in Christ, his allegiance to his beloved Savior, who has made this sure promise: “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven.” On the other hand, “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit” (Galatians 5:17a), the Apostle Paul teaches us Christians.  This evil flesh may so overpower Christians that they fall into the sin of denying Christ.  But when the look of Jesus, through His Word, brings tears of repentance to them and quickens their faith in the Gospel of Christ once again, a renewed confession will always follow.  And those Christians who thus return to confessing Jesus before others, He, the Lord Jesus, will confess also before His heavenly Father; He will testify that these believers are His own through faith in Him, and will be His in all eternity (John 10:27-28). Blessed are those whom the Savior thus confesses!  But how does such faithful confession of the Savior come about?  St. Paul gave the answer when he said: “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13); “We [the believers] are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).  When the Apostles Peter and John were ordered by the civil government “not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus,” they gave this confession: “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:18 and 20).  Is this our Christian confession concerning the things which we have seen in the Holy Scriptures and have heard preached and taught to us, especially what the angels announced to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem centuries ago, the “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11)?

PRAYER – Grant to me, O my Lord Jesus, continued right and sincere faith in Thee, my only Savior, that I may steadfastly cling to Thee and to Thy vicarious atonement, and ever, by Thy grace and with Thy help, continuing to confess Thee and Thy precious Word, regardless of the consequences of such confession.  Amen.

 

* Adapted and revised from original publication

 

PRINT EDITION

Bible Reading

Weekly Reading Theme: Sanctification

Philippians 3:12-16
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

 

Additional Material

PDF Print Edition. – The print editions can be of benefit to those who are receiving the web page based devotions as a convenient means for sharing in the family circle during home devotional reading, for individual bible study time, or for sharing with friends, co-workers etc.The objective of the print edition is to keep its size to one standard size sheet of paper per day in an abbreviated format, it has also been designed with a wide left hand margin for use in a three ring binder if you choose to retain them for the entire year.

 

 

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