Home > Reading > Daily Reading – December 16, 2018

Complete Your Good Work

 

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

– Philippians 1:6, 9–11 ESV

Contrary to the beliefs of North American culture, our lives are not our own. The deception that we are free to do whatever we want with our lives is utter bondage — bondage to sin, death and the devil.

Once baptized we belong to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now safely in God’s hands, as Paul wrote to the Philippians, He has begun a “good work” in us. His work begins in this old creation, and He will bring it to completion on the day of Christ, His Advent — the arrival of the new creation.

The completed work will be perfect. We will be “pure and blameless,” “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.” All of God’s work is “to the glory and praise of God.”

The good work is not just for the sake of our relationship with the Father, but also for the sake of our relationships with all the saints, and with our family, friends and neighbors. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

Before we were baptized, the Father had plans to use us for good works. His plans are not limited by our age or capacity. He will use us from the moment we are conceived in our mothers’ wombs until we take our last breath in this creation. I am still moved by the wonderful power of God’s words speaking through the nurse who asked me, “Do you want to hold your daughter, Dad?” That was 37 years ago at the birth of my first child, Cecilia.

God will continue to be at work in us at the end of our lives, even on our deathbeds when we are seemingly totally incapacitated. His work will be for the sake of our relationship with Him, our relationship with others and their relationship with God.

A parishioner asked me to visit her mother nearing the end of her life in a nursing home. Her mother was not a church member and had stayed away from churches for many years. The daughter warned me her mother did not like clergy, and might not welcome my visit. Sure enough, when I introduced myself, her mother immediately and with anger in her voice told me to leave her alone.

A couple weeks later, a nurse went into her room early in the morning to check on her and was surprised to see her sitting up in her bed with her hands folded in prayer. The nurse had never seen her praying, and left immediately not wanting to interrupt her. When the nurse checked on her a while later, she found the woman in exactly the same position. The nurse realized the woman had died in the night while she was praying. God kept his promise to that old woman to complete a good work in her, and at the same was looking out for her daughter, and the nurses and aides in the nursing home who were deeply moved by the way she died.

North American culture affirms our plans for life but denies God’s plan for every human life. Advent is our reminder to be wide awake and look forward to the promise that Jesus is coming again. When He comes our Heavenly Father will have completed His good work in us for His glory. Come Lord Jesus!

Prayer: Come Lord Jesus! Complete what you started on the day of my baptism. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Pro-Life Action: Speak with someone you know expecting a child, raising an infant or nearing the end of their life, and share the promise that God will complete the good work He began in them in their baptisms. If they are not baptized, speak God’s promises of abundant life and invite them to seek baptism.

Today’s devotion was written by Rev. Mark Chavez, general secretary of the North American Lutheran Church.

This year’s Advent devotions are written by the members of NALC Life Ministries. The devotional follows the daily Revised Common Lectionary for Advent and includes a Bible reading, commentary, prayer and pro-life action for every day until Christmas Eve.

As we move through the season of Advent, Scripture reveals the anxiety of an unplanned pregnancy, as Mary and Joseph ponder this miracle and seek to understand who this precious child might be. This devotional examines our responsibility to protect all human life in light of Mary and Joseph’s protection of Jesus, the savior of the world.

Our authors include Rev. Dr. David Wendel, Rev. Mark Chavez, Rev. Dr. Dennis Di Mauro, Rev. Dr. Cathi Braasch, Rev. Scott Licht, Rev. Sandra Towberman, Rev. Steve Shipman, Ms. Rebecka Andrae, Rev. Melinda Jones, Rev. David Nelson, Ms. Rosemary Johnson, Rev. Mark Werner and Rev. Steve Bliss.

Learn more about NALC Life Ministries

Judges 1:22–2:5 (ESV)

22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.

Failure to Complete the Conquest

27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Israel’s Disobedience

Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the Lord.

Psalm 137 (ESV)

How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?

137 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.

On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.

For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How shall we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill!

Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!

Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
down to its foundations!”

O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who repays you
with what you have done to us!

Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock!

Acts 10:9–23 (ESV)

Peter’s Vision

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in to be his guests.

The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

[Luther writes]: “The Holy Spirit is the most simple writer and speaker in heaven and earth; therefore His words have only one sense, the most simple one, which we call the literal sense.” … “In order that these word jugglers may be seen in their true light, I ask them, who told them that the fathers are clearer and not more obscure than the Scripture? How would it be if I said that they understand the Fathers as little as I understand the Scriptures? I could just as well stop my ears to the sayings of the Fathers as they do to the Scriptures. But in that way we shall never arrive at the truth. If the Spirit has spoken in the fathers, so much the more has He spoken in His own Scriptures. And if one does not understand the Spirit in His own Scriptures, who will trust him to understand the Spirit in the writings of another? That is truly a carrying of the sword in the scabbard, when we do not take the naked sword by itself but only as it is encased in the words and glosses of men. This dulls its edge and makes it obscurer than it was before, though Emser calls it smiting with the blade. The bare sword makes him tremble from head to foot. Be it known, then, that Scripture without any gloss is the sun and the sole light from which all teachers receive their light, and not the contrary. This is proved by the fact that, when the fathers teach anything, they do not trust their teaching but, fearing it to be too obscure and uncertain, they go to the Scriptures and take a clear passage out of it to shed light on their teaching, just as we place a light in a lantern, and as we read in Ps. 18: ‘Thou wilt light my lamp, O Lord.’” (77–78)

–Johann Michael Reu, Luther on the Scriptures

This daily Bible reading guide, Reading the Word of God, was conceived and prepared as a result of the ongoing discussions between representatives of three church bodies: Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The following individuals have represented their church bodies and approved this introduction and the reading guide: LCC: President Robert Bugbee; NALC: Bishop John Bradosky, Revs. Mark Chavez, James Nestingen, and David Wendel; LCMS: Revs. Albert Collver, Joel Lehenbauer, John Pless, and Larry Vogel.

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