With all the noise in the world, do you hear the voice of God? Your calendar tells you what to do, but do you remember who you are? Being comes before doing. This is a call to put first things first. Return to the Lord with this daily pattern of prayer and devotion. Set aside this time as a sanctuary. Find a space free of distraction and follow this pattern.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation
“You have made us for Yourself. And our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” (Augustine)
Creator of all things, hear my voice, for you have made it. You who live in heaven, hear my prayer from earth. I am one person in one little town in one corner of your vast creation. Of all the people on the planet, hear me also. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Confession
O God, in the beginning you made us good, even “very good.” I admit the many things in my life that are far from your good intent. I try to change, and then find myself in the same place once again. Lord, you know me. Have mercy. Make me right. Forgive my wickedness. Bring me back to good, as you intended from the beginning. Amen.
Word: Hebrews 11:8-10
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country . . . For he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God.”
Meditation: Life is a Journey
Today’s meditation is written by Pastor Paul Cloeter.
The Biblical account of Abraham’s call and life of obedience has a family parallel for me. At the age of 24, my great, great grandfather left home and family in Germany to be a missionary pastor in America. Back in 1849, it wasn’t an easy journey. Neither was the transition from a civilized life in northern Bavaria to the wilds of northern Minnesota, where for 12 years he brought the Gospel to nomadic Native Americans in their own language. There would be sacrifices to endure, like his young family’s harrowing escape and the entire loss of his mission station during the Indian uprising of 1862. Living today in the safe comfort of my 21st century existence, I can’t imagine the courage he needed for the journey, or the hardships and loneliness he endured. By comparison, it would be like traveling on a space mission to colonize Mars, knowing there’s no going back.
This is much like it was for our father in the faith, Abraham. After God plucked him out of obscurity in his pagan homeland and told him to go to a distant land he hadn’t seen before, he went, knowing he would never go back. The journey would be challenging, and at times it appeared God’s mission would fail. Indeed, at those times Abraham wasn’t always the great man of faith we credit him as. He would fail.
But God wouldn’t fail. He promised. His promise to Abraham of land, physical descendants, and a universal Savior from sin and death was certain. And faith in that unqualified covenant promise is what propelled Abraham to obey God’s call and persist on his journey.
It’s often said that life is not the destination, it’s the journey. Every moment is an adventure to be lived, whether it brings joy or sorrow, success or failure. My forefather in the flesh believed that. As baptized children of Abraham, we’ve been called every day to journey with Jesus; to “deny self, take up our cross, and follow [him]” (Mark 8:34). Talk about a challenging adventure!
Jesus, too, experienced life’s journey when he obeyed God’s call, left heaven, “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant . . . and became obedient to death— even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8). Rising from the dead, he did go back home to heaven and is there preparing a place for us in God’s promised land.
So, life is the journey…and the destination!
Jesus, lead Thou on, till our rest is won; and although the way be cheerless, we will follow calm and fearless. Guide us by Thy hand to our fatherland. Amen.
Benediction
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Rom. 11:33,36))