Home > Reading > The Daily Lectionary – May 18, 2016

ezekiel34-11

Ezekiel 34:1–16; 1 John 2:12–17; Matthew 10:5–15

I was gifted with loving and God-fearing parents. We five little children were well cared for in all facets of life, however, we discovered other lifestyles when leaving the homestead and we began to enjoy the fanciful freedoms the world had to offer. Stability and security were gradually eroded in the downpours of secular influences. The glory of God and his love for us all—as evidenced through the church, its members, our parents, the community, even the schools—was washed into the streams of life.

Or was it? The Almighty Father, “who was and is and is to come,” still sang out in a whisper in the darkness. It was all those mornings sitting in pews and choir lofts and steel fold-ups in the basement, hearing the words of forgiveness, of eternal life, and of loving neighbor, words that were dredged up and out of the backwaters of my being and once again exposed in the ever-present light of Christ.

All the temporary fantasies of the world had faded, and the evil one had lost another one. Faith had broken in once again. Routines of old were renewed.

Prayer: Hear us, O Lord, as we cry out to you, our only hope, and save us from ourselves, from the evil one, and from the temptations of the world, and keep us in your tender and loving arms forever. Amen.

Today’s devotion was written by Joel Smeby, Pastor of Joy Lutheran Church, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.