Friday’s Verse:
From Malachi 3:7 ESV
Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. But you ask, “How are we to return?”
After reviewing half of Chapter 15 of Jeremiah during our Bible Class on Thursday, I started thinking about my life as a Christian.
Many times we wander away from God and just don't know it. Our lives get busy, and we rush through prayer. We start to rely on ourselves more than on God. God talks about this in the book of Malachi. He tells us we have strayed from him. But his message is more than just telling us that we sinned. "I want you to come back to me."
We may think we have to come back to God with some kind of good deeds. God's grace goes beyond that. God has already searched for us in Jesus Christ. He took our sins on the cross that we could never repair. He rose from the dead and gave us life. We don't repent to earn his forgiveness. We repent when we stop making excuses and allow him to forgive us.
As Christians, we repent every day. We repent of our sins. We trust that Jesus has forgiven us and live out our baptism. We come back to God not because we are perfect Christians. But because our Savior is.
You don't have to come to God tonight with good deeds. Come to him with your tiredness. Your sins. Your needs. He wants you to come back.
Today’s Prayers
Lord, help me come back to You. Forgive me for straying from Your word. Help me trust You more and walk in my baptism. In Jesus name. 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.
Image above was created by Gemini (gemini.google.com).