Lutheran Daily Devotional 5th August 2023, Saturday
Lutheran Daily Devotional 5th August 2023 Saturday Message. As you study today’s devotional, remember this; “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT)
TOPIC: Our Long-Forgotten Sins
SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 31:31-34 – [Jeremiah said] “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Lutheran Daily Devotional 5th August 2023 MESSAGE:
Jeremiah had his work cut out for him. He was sent to tell the people of his time who God is and what He is like. No small task here. And this is what He is like. He passes judgment, severe, hard, conclusive. He is a God of justice and decision. But at the same time—the Bible persistently reminds us—He is a God of grace and everlasting compassion, always willing to save and ever ready to help.
One look at human nature, and God being a God of judgment makes perfect sense. But, thankfully, God didn’t stop there. He is a God of mercy and grace. In fact, He has demonstrated Himself to be a God of mercy and grace. And how do we know this? Because God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to become a Man and to pay for all the sins of the world, every last one of them, every one you and I have committed.
God is for you whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, whether you listen to Him or not.
But I urge you, my friend, do listen to God, wherever you are today, as He speaks to you in Jesus Christ. In His beloved Son, He offers us a new covenant, full of mercy and grace and complete forgiveness. In Jesus—and because of Jesus—He will forgive our blackest sins. Jesus’ death on the cross and His third-day resurrection from the grave are His eternal guarantee. The new covenant between God and man is now established.
“Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15)
WE PRAY: Heavenly Father, grant us faith through Your Holy Spirit that we may receive Jesus into our hearts and know the forgiveness He has won for us. In His Name we pray. Amen.
From “Demonstrators for God,” a sermon excerpt from Rev. Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, former Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
Reflection Questions:
1. Have you ever had to give someone bad news? How did that go?
2. Why do you think God made a covenant with Israel knowing they would ultimately break it?
3. Was is necessary for Jesus to go to the cross to pay for our sins? Could God have done it differently?
Today’s Bible Readings: Psalms 127-129, Acts 18
God bless you for reading Lutheran Daily Devotional Message. Encourage someone today by sharing this Gospel.
READ MORE TOPICS: OPEN HEAVENS, OUR DAILY BREAD, IN TOUCH, SEEDS OF DESTINY, STREAMS OF JOY, JOEL OSTEEN, MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE, DCLM DAILY MANNA, UCB WORD FOR TODAY