Friday’s Verses:
From 1 Peter 2:15-16 (ESV)
“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”
Many people define freedom as being able to do whatever you want. However, Peter defines freedom differently: as belonging to God and serving others.
There's an important Lutheran distinction here: we don't do good things so we'll be loved by God. Because of Jesus Christ, God loves us freely. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we're freed from trying to prove we deserve God's love. We don't serve God, so we'll become God's children. We serve God because, through Grace, we are already God's children.
This changes how we approach every day. Rather than asking "What do I get to do?", we can ask "How can I show love to the person God has given me?"
Peter encourages us to respond to misunderstanding with kindness. A kind response, an honest statement, a shared meal, or an offer of forgiveness can be a better demonstration of Christ's love than winning an argument.
No one lives out this freedom perfectly. When we fail, we return to the mercy that originally set us free. The forgiveness of God isn't permission to ignore our neighbor; it's a new opportunity to love them.
In Christ, we are freed from trying to earn our salvation — and we are freed to love others with our lives.
Today’s Prayers
Gracious God, thank You for giving us the freedom that comes from Jesus Christ. Please forgive us if we take advantage of that freedom. Turn our hearts towards our neighbors through Your Holy Spirit, so that our words and actions will reflect Your Mercy. 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.
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