Lutheran Daily Devotional 20th July 2022 || Freely

Lutheran Daily Devotional 20th July 2022 || Wednesday Message By Lutheran Hour Ministries

Read Lutheran Daily Devotional 20th July 2022

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TOPIC: Freely

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Colossians 2:6-10, 12-13a, 14 – Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition … and not according to Christ.

For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him … having been buried with Him in Baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses … God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Lutheran Daily Devotional 20th July 2022 MESSAGE

There’s a silly song from 1929 called “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.” I call it silly because, of course, if you really did try to tiptoe through the tulips, you’d end up smashing the flowers under your feet. Tulips are not strong. You might as well try to walk on noodles.

And yet, isn’t this the way that a lot of us treat our Christian life? Some of us get so tied up in worrying about our sins and mistakes, trying to do everything perfectly, that it looks like we have no benefit from Jesus Christ at all! We are still in jail—still under the Law, still worried and obsessed about getting it right. We are tiptoeing through the tulips, scared to death of the Gardener catching us. And that’s no way to live.

Against this, Paul writes, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” So let’s think about that. How exactly did we receive Christ Jesus the Lord? Well, that’s easy. We received Him freely, by grace, as a wonderful gift from God the Father. We did not earn Him. We did not behave so perfectly that God decided to send us His Son Jesus. Quite the opposite, in fact! God looked at us human beings all tangled up in our sins and mistakes and problems, and He said, “These people need a Savior!” And so He gave us the best gift in the world—Jesus.

If we receive Jesus our Savior as a free gift from God, then that is the way we should live in Him every day of our lives. We don’t have to worry about crushing the tulips anymore! If we sin, Jesus will deal with it. Jesus has already dealt with it—2,000 years ago on a cross outside of Jerusalem. And now that He has risen from the dead, Jesus will continue to wash us clean and to make us more and more into what God has planned for us. Nothing will stop Him.

Let’s live as free people—free and thankful and joyful, walking in Christ forever. Amen.

WE PRAY: Dear Lord, when I start obsessing about things You have already forgiven and dealt with, bring me back to Your freedom. And thank You! Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:

1. Someone once said, “Christ died for everybody—even Christians.” What do you think that means?

2. Are you ever tempted to obsess over your own guilt or shame?

3. How do you get refocused on what Jesus has done and is doing for you?

Today’s Bible Readings: 2 Kings 24-25    Acts 16:1-21

Lutheran Daily Devotional 20th July 2022. Lutheran Hour Ministries is a trusted resource in global media that equips and engages a vibrant volunteer base to passionately proclaim the Gospel to more than 150 million people worldwide each week. Lutheran Daily Devotional 20th July 2022.