Home > Reading > The Daily Lectionary – January 26, 2016

genesis15-6

Genesis 15:1-11, 17-21; Hebrews 9:1-14; John 5:1-18

It is against the law in Oklahoma to have a sleeping donkey in your bathtub after 7:00PM. Are you aware of laws that could get you in trouble with law enforcement officials? Are you aware of church rules you are required to obey?

Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath and tells him to break the Law by carrying his mat. This was only one of the many rules policed by the Pharisees. Strict obedience to the Law of God is required to be right with God.

Paul writes that we can’t be right with God through the Law, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). No matter how hard we try, we can’t perfectly obey the Law.

That’s why it is God who makes things right with us. It is God who makes Abram right with God. It is God who makes things right in healing the disabled man. He didn’t need the Law to make him right with God. The first covenant was being replaced with a better covenant which was sealed with the blood of Christ. Through Christ alone, we have been made right with God by God.

Prayer: Gracious Father, thank you for clearing the legal obstacles that prevent me from being right with you. Amen.

Today’s devotion was written by Marc Lapointe, Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Sexsmith, Alberta, Canada.

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2 Comments, RSS

  • Grace, unmerited favor is what makes Christianity today. We are incapable to follow the laws of God given to Moses. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.Romans 3:23. We can’t blame society, we can’t blame the church, it lies in our sinful nature dating back to Adam and Eve. Our calling is to live above reproach.