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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 29, 2008 We Are Eyewitnesses of Jesus Glory |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, January 29, 2008 by Gary Shaffer
2 Peter 1: 16-21
"When we told you about the power and the return of our
Lord Jesus Christ, we were not telling clever stories that someone had made up.
But with our own eyes we saw his true greatness." 2 Peter 1:16
"Because you will tend to find what you are seeking, be very careful what you
choose to look for."
I am fairly certain that I have used this advice as the basis of a previous devotion. It is advice that was shared with me over thirty years ago when I was a high school student and while it seemed so simple to me when I first heard it, I am still learning how complex it really is. I have had several experiences recently that have only served to reinforce the truth and wisdom of that advice given so long ago. I am prone to being very cynical and negative. When I am in that mood it is very easy for me to feed that cynicism by looking for the items in the news or in local, state and national politics that are most negative. When I am upbeat and in a positive mood it is easy for me to find the stories that feed my optimistic outlook. I try to be very careful about how I look at the world in which we live because I become more and more aware that I will find exactly what I am looking for. If I want to support my pessimism, I can find the evidence to support it. Cynical, I can support it. Optimism, yes, I can feed that too when so inclined.
It is also true in my faith life. If I am struggling with doubt, I need to be very careful what I look for. I do not want to simply try and dismiss it, but search for the information that directly deals with the issues that raised the doubts to begin with. In the epistle, 2 Peter, the author is warning about false teachers and prophets who are trying to lead the Lord's followers away from the truth. The passages we read today are a call to remember what the "eyewitnesses", the very people that walked with Christ have preached. "But with our own eyes we saw his true greatness." When we are bombarded with the thousands of messages that are inherent in the media blitz that makes up our daily lives, it is important that we step back and look for the eyewitness accounts of God at work in our world. We must sort through all the messages that call us to action every day- to buy this, to read this, to see this - to find the call that God is making on each of us.
When we want to see the true greatness of God with our own eyes, it is very important to use the help of the witnesses who have gone before us and who surround us to help us find what we are seeking.
Dear Lord, thank you for the eyewitnesses that have shared their accounts of faith and of your true greatness. Guide us as we seek your presence in our own lives. Enrich and strengthen us with faith and love and vision, that we can witness to your presence in this world. 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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