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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion Sunday, June 15, 2003, Fathers Day "Do Whatever He Tells You" |
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Frontline Devotion for Sunday, June 15, 2003 By Don Kress
Text for the Day: John 2:1-11 The Marriage at Cana; Jesus’ First Miracle
Today is Father’s Day. But I am going to focus this devotion on a mother: Mary, the mother of Jesus. The scene is a marriage feast. A Jewish marriage feast at that time lasted seven days, with new guests arriving each day, and wine flowed freely. About the time of the arrival of Jesus and his mother and his friends, the supply of wine ran short, a fact that Mary, with confidence, brought to the attention of her son. This passage presents one of the very few direct quotes attributed to Mary in the scriptures, but it provides us with considerable insight into Mary’s understanding of Jesus. Mary obviously knew a great deal about the powers of her son when she said to Him, “They have no wine.” Despite Jesus’ response to His mother’s statement, she knew He could correct the situation. With confidence, she turned to the servants and said, “Do whatever He tells you.” In effect, Mary was saying, “Don’t worry, my son will take care of it.” We see in this passage Mary’s wholehearted confidence in her son, a pattern that should be closely followed by the rest of us. Because of Mary’s boldness, we have the first documented miracle performed by Jesus, a manifestation of His glory that awakened His disciples’ faith in Him. Mary’s message to the wine stewards two centuries ago is one that is wise for us today: “Do whatever He tells you.” His instructions to us, when followed, bring us a life that is abundant and, like the bewilderment of the wine steward, produces in us astonishment and fullness of joy.
Those of you who know me, know that I enjoy music; and those of you who know me well, know that I enjoy country Gospel music. One of my favorite songs is “Jesus is the Answer Every Time.” The chorus is: “Jesus, Jesus is the answer every time, Jesus is the answer every time. Use the Bible as your rule book, and I think you’re going to find, Jesus is the answer every time.” Doing what Jesus tells us to do leads us to the answers to all of our concerns.
And that brings us to Father’s Day. Scripture tells us (Galatians 3:26 for example) that through faith in Jesus we become children of God. All of us on earth have been created by God, but only through faith in Jesus Christ do we become children of God. God takes those who receive His Son and makes them His adopted children. In doing what Jesus tells us to do, we affirm and demonstrate our faith in Him; and through our faith in Christ, God takes us into His family and elevates us to the same level as His Son, so that we become joint heirs with Christ. Nothing could be more wonderful on Father’s Day than the privilege we have to approach God as “Abba, Father.”
Prayer: Father, how can I ever sufficiently thank you that through faith in your Son Jesus, I have been adopted into your family? Let the wonder of this fact permeate deeper and deeper into my soul, and help me more and more to do whatever He tells me. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry. Pastor Dave welcomes and appreciates feedback. pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org.