[Dailydevo] Daily Devotion Monday November 14, 2005

[Barry Ludwig]

Daily Devotion Monday November 14, 2005

The Devotions this week are written by Pastor Dave Hendricks

Your kingdom come. In fact, God's kingdom comes on its own without our
prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may also come to us. (Luther's
Small Catechism)

 

Psalm 146: 3-4,10a

Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When
their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans
perish. The Lord will reign forever. 

 

Our God reigns over all of creation.  God has the whole world in his hands.
We sing it and proclaim it.  Do we believe it?  Do we want God to reign over
our hearts and minds?  Do we really want it to come?  Luther in his
explanation of the Second Petition reminds us that the reign of God (kingdom
of God) comes even if we don't ask for it.  We are to pray that the reign of
God might rain upon us.  

 

The other week my twelve year-old daughter was working on a report for
school.  She was writing about the Kyoto Protocol.  She was reading about
how many countries in Europe would experience minimal amounts of economic
growth if the Kyoto Protocol were to actually be introduced fully.  I tried
to explain to her how the economic factors were being weighed against the
benefits of the Kyoto Protocol for each nation-state. She looked at me and
said, "Shouldn't we be more afraid of what will happen to us if we don't do
something?"  Has the reign of God been revealed to me by my daughter?

 

In the water of our baptism God has poured the spirit of Jesus Christ over
us.  The kingdom and reign of God comes to us.  We are empowered through our
baptism to be open to the reign of God each day.   The experience of that
kingdom is redemption and deliverance from the power of the evil one
according to Luther.   This means that Jesus Christ gathers us to himself
and reigns over us with righteousness, life and salvation. It also means
that we are free to live our lives out in God's kingdom.  Such freedom will
mean letting go of the kingdoms we have become accustomed to living under.

 

PRAYER: Let your kingdom come into our lives gracious and merciful God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, you Son, who lives and reigns with you in the
unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever. Amen.

 

 

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