Being Ready to Serve
Saturday’s Verse:
From Luke 10:25 ESV
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
A lawyer asks Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 10:25 shows how quickly our hearts turn faith into a checklist, as if eternal life could be earned by our own effort. Jesus answers by sending the man back to God’s Word, because the Law reveals both God’s will and our need for mercy.
The question behind the question is not only “What must I do?” but “Can I justify myself?” That is where the Law does its work: it leaves us unable to boast and ready to receive grace. In Lutheran terms, this is good news, because Christ does not come to congratulate the self-righteous, but to save sinners.
Today, let the verse lead you to repentance and trust. Love for God and neighbor is not the ladder into heaven; it is the fruit of a life already held by God’s mercy in Christ. Receive that mercy anew, and then go into the weekend ready to serve the people God places before you.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, free me from self-justification and teach me to rest in Your mercy. Shape my heart to love You and my neighbor, not to earn Your favor, but because I already have it in You. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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