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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion March 12, 2006 God Hears |
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Frontline Devotion for Sunday, March 12, 2006 by Don Kress
Over the next three weeks there will be several devotions based on text from Deuteronomy. I have to admit that when I pick up The Bible, Deuteronomy is not a book to which I often turn. Deuteronomy consists of a series of farewell messages by Moses, addressed to the new generation – those who survived the forty years of wandering in the wilderness – who are on the verge of entering Canaan. Deuteronomy contains a lot of legal detail directed to the people to encourage them to believe and obey God if they are to learn from the sad example of previous generations and receive God’s blessings in their new land of promise.
In today’s text, Moses is instructing the people in what’s to become an annual ceremony: the Presentation of First Fruits. This important ceremony is to begin with a confession of God’s acts of salvation and grace in rescuing the nation from Egypt and bringing it to the good land. First Fruits is a great liturgical service framed around the concept of God’s goodness to mankind. It is to be repeated regularly and observed by every Israelite
This great affirmation of faith can be restated as: “I believe in God who brought me to this land. I believe in God who led Jacob my father, a wandering Aramean, in Egypt, who built of him there a mighty nation. I believe in God who saw my affliction and heard my cry and brought me into this land of milk and honey.” It is not just a confession of internal feelings and individual conviction; rather, it is a recitation and acknowledgement of a history of God’s saving acts. God hears the cries of His people and responds with goodness and blessings. That was true on the plains of Moab in 1405 B.C., and it is still true in the hills of Maryland in 2006 A.D.
Sometimes it’s easy to feel like that isn’t so true. Our impatient desires to have it now and have it our way often cloud God’s response. If that’s true for you and you doubt the truth that God always hears the cries of His people and responds with goodness and blessings, I encourage you to use Lent as a time to look for signs of God’s daily activity in your life. Go on a “God hunt” during the remainder of Lent. Concentrate daily on looking for evidence of God’s presence and goodness in your life. It’s there in some form or another every single day; we’re usually just too busy and too caught up in our own worries or desires to see it. But if you make an intentional effort, you’ll be surprised at how many “God sightings” you will make. Go ahead; go on a daily God hunt for the remainder of Lent. If you do, I guarantee that you will be able to join the Israelites of long ago in saying, “I believe in God who saw my affliction and heard my cry.”
In a few weeks we will be called to participate in another great liturgical service framed around the concept of God’s goodness to mankind, a service to be repeated regularly and observed by every Christian: the historic Eucharist. And as part of that service you will be asked to say a creed – a creed that is not just a confession of internal feelings and individual conviction. Rather, it is a recitation and acknowledgement of the history of God’s greatest saving act to mankind, an acknowledgement of the fulfillment of His promise to care for us, protect us, and save us.
Prayer: Father, I believe in You, who sees my affliction and hears my cry and cares for me, protects me, and saves me. Help me clearly see your presence in my life every single day. In Christ’s name, Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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