Persistence in prayer
by Faye Schmidt
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And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? (Luke 18:7a)
Read Luke 18:1–8
Luke 18:1–8 is a parable that the Lord uses to encourage his disciples to pray persistently. Prayer is a circular action – faith drives our prayer, and prayer gives steadfastness to our faith.
The parable tells of a judge who initially refuses the request of the poor widow; however, he eventually grants her justice only to stop her incessant demands.
If a corrupt, uncaring judge will grant justice out of weariness, a righteous and loving God in heaven will much more eagerly grant justice to his children who persistently ask him day and night.
Some aids can assist us in a persistent prayer life – a journal or prayer list can support consistency and focus. By keeping a record and praying until the Lord resolves the issue, one cannot help but notice God’s faithfulness in answering our prayers. Also, a record facilitates persistence. As we all understand, the Lord answers some petitions quickly. Others can take months or even years. Remember, we think of time from our own perspective. We pray to God not only with a petition but also with a timetable. God must answer my petition my way, according to my schedule.
The disciples pleaded with Jesus in Luke 11:1–4: ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’
What a comfort! Even the disciples needed help with prayer! Our Father in Heaven wants us to speak to him, and his Son pleads on our behalf so that, as his children, we may be in a relationship with him.
Give me grace, O God, to pray now with purity and sincerity for all around me. Let me remember now my friends with love and my enemies with forgiveness, entrusting them all to your protection, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Victoria–Tasmania District Church Board and the General Church Board, currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations within Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer. She is passionate about new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
Completely under God’s care
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore (Psalm 121:7,8).
Read Psalm 121
Over the past week, we have considered how God is actively involved in our daily lives, whether we are aware of it or not, and how various people responded to God’s involvement.
Firstly, we had 10 lepers healed, but only one wanted to accept the new opportunities the healing offered. Then we had King Saul, blessed with the Holy Spirit living in him to guide him; however, he gave in to peer pressure, ignoring the Spirit’s guidance.
After King Saul lost the guidance of the Holy Spirit due to his disobedience, his refusal to repent further damaged his relationship with God, causing him to drift even farther from the Lord, despite God’s continued efforts to lead him to repentance.
We saw how the jealousy of David’s eldest brother blinded him from seeing God working powerfully in David’s life. And yesterday, we saw how God’s powerful involvement in the life of David completely demoralised the Philistines and finally put some backbone into the fearful Israelites.
Today’s reading is about the confidence the psalmist has that he is entirely under God’s watchful care. The God he trusts in is not some vague spiritual force that inspires people to do great things if they have faith in him. Rather, he is a powerful God who can create a vast cosmos out of nothing (‘My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth’ – verse 2).
Our astrophysicist God created all this to provide a home for his very special creation – human beings – for them to live in a special relationship with him. God’s focus is his relationship with us, proven by his Son taking on our humanity to restore our broken relationship with him. So, our Heavenly family, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is involved in every minute of our lives, to help us see that we cannot live life fully under our own efforts, but in submission to God’s will and purpose for us.
Yes, life will have its challenges. But God has promised to be with us in those challenges. And his purpose in everything that happens to us, everything he is calling us to experience, is for our growth in our relationship with him and for our everlasting good with him in eternity.
He does want us to talk to him about what we are experiencing and struggling with. There are a whole 150 psalms in the Bible that record people struggling with understanding their relationship with God, and then giving praise and thanks when they see the light that God provides.
Heavenly Father, thank you, thank you, thank you for all the ways you care for us, drawing us closer every day into our intimate relationship with you. Thank you for being very close to us as you take us through difficult times. Please help us never stop trusting your love for us. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Inspiring others
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines (1 Samuel 17:51b,52a).
Read 1 Samuel 17:50 – 18:4
So here is the situation: the Philistines are camped on a hill on one side of the valley. They vastly outnumber the Israelite army, and they have the monster, Goliath, on their side. On the other side of the valley are the Israelites, afraid and not knowing what to do. They are busy searching within their ranks for someone brave enough to take on Goliath.
Then God steps in, with the aid of this young lad, a shepherd boy, with no army experience. God guides the stone from the slingshot to land in the middle of Goliath’s skull. When David kills Goliath, both the Philistines and Israelites see this as a miracle from God. God proves to be more powerful than Goliath, and the Philistines, realising that they cannot fight this awesome God of the Israelites, try to get out of there as fast as they can.
On the other hand, the Israelites finally find some backbone and head after the fleeing Philistines with devastating effect.
Many of you reading this may be facing your own ‘Philistines’ at the moment. It might be related to health, finances or relationships. Talk to your Heavenly Father about your struggles. Seek his wisdom on whom the ‘shepherd boy kids’ will be in your life to encourage you and help you see the way forward. They may be medical professionals, counsellors or just friends who have been there before you. Grab your Bible and read some of the psalms and see how others have dealt with the pain they are feeling.
Heavenly Father, when we are in pain of whatever kind, it is hard not to be dominated by it. It saps our strength and the joy of anything in life. Thank you for understanding. We thank you that your Son went through the pain of rescuing us from our self‑centred lives so that we could be restored as your children. Thank you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for being with us in our pain and staying with us all the way through it. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Our capabilities to achieve God’s purpose
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied’ (1 Samuel 17:45).
Read 1 Samuel 17:31–49
Most of us are familiar with the biblical story of David and Goliath. Goliath is a big guy, more than two metres tall and heavily armed – both for offence and defence. Goliath, as a representative of the Philistines, offers a challenge to the Israelites: instead of all the soldiers fighting in a big battle, let one representative from each side fight the other to determine the victor. It would have seemed very unfair, because there was no-one in the Israelite camp with the skills or strength to take on Goliath … until this kid turns up and offers to represent the Israelites.
David’s experience in battle is limited to caring for his flock of sheep. His enemies so far have been wild animals: lions and bears. But he has one more important weapon, and that is the God who is in charge of the whole universe and, at this moment, he is on David’s side.
Before we go on, I would like to spend a little time thinking about the boy David, looking after his flock of sheep out in the meadows by himself. Yes, he had to keep a good eye on the sheep, but he also had a lot of time on his hands. What better time to contemplate the meaning of life and get to know more intimately the God who looked after him?
It seems David was a bit of a poet and spent some of his time writing hymns about his relationship with his God. And then, of course, when he needed a bit of exercise, he could practise with his slingshot to perfect his aim. And, as we acknowledged earlier, he occasionally had to deal with wild animals threatening his flock.
So, when David headed off to confront Goliath, this wasn’t something new for David. He was doing what he always did, using the skills God had given him and trusting that God would guide his use of these skills to achieve God’s purpose.
A lesson we can take from today’s reading is that God is working through all our experiences in life to develop in us the skills he wants to use to achieve his purposes. We are not using these skills on our own, but as we live surrendered to God’s purposes, the way we let God guide us in using these skills results in him achieving what he wants to in our lives and the lives of others.
So, you may think that the job or situation you are currently in is uninteresting, and that you would like to do something more exciting. Have you considered that the skills and attitudes you are developing will be something that God can use to bless others?
Heavenly Father, we don’t always enjoy where you have called us to be or what you have called us to do. Please help us to grow in trusting your love for us so that we can be encouraged by your presence with us to honour you with our attitudes, words and actions. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Jealous of how God works in others
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, ‘Why have you come down here?’ (1 Samuel 17:28a).
Read 1 Samuel 17:17–30
As I write this, our church is doing a series on the life of Joseph, the son of Jacob. It is interesting to note some of the parallels. Joseph, the youngest adult son, was anointed by his father with a special coat and by God with vivid predictive dreams. David, the youngest son of his father, was anointed by Samuel (and God) as the next king of Israel. In both cases, the brothers had strong negative feelings (including jealousy) against their younger brother.
The parallels continue. The older brothers are away from home working, with the youngest still safely at home. In the case of Joseph, the older brothers are tending the flock of sheep – searching for good pastures. For David, the older brothers are away fighting a war against the Philistines. In each case, their father sends the youngest brother to see how the older brothers are faring. In each case, we see the jealousy of the older brother(s) express itself.
Considering these parallels, I was reminded of times I have felt jealousy towards other Christians in whom God was working in powerful ways. Why was God not doing wonderful things through me?
One valid answer was that I was not really surrendering my life to God, giving him full freedom to call me to follow him, with the assurance I would follow (I had lots of excuses for why I couldn’t). However, I would like to pick up on another reason that relates back to St Paul’s description of each of us being a different part of the body of Christ. God really has a different plan and purpose for each one of us. When we surrender to God’s plan and purpose for us, it is to trust that he knows what he is doing and to faithfully follow his leading.
We may not get any glory, honour or even acknowledgement for our efforts, but that is the point. We don’t follow God’s calling for what we will get from it, but because of all that God has already blessed us with. The glory, honour or even acknowledgement all belong to God for what he is doing in and through us.
So, each time we feel the first pangs of jealousy about God working in others, an immediate antidote is to praise God for what he is doing in that person’s life and to thank God for all he is doing in our lives. And to pray to God that he would help you see more clearly how he is working in your life to bring his healing and good news to those in need. Maybe, even to re‑surrender your life to God’s will and purpose for you.
Heavenly Father, thank you for having a unique plan and purpose for my life. Please help me to concentrate on your call and not compare myself with others whom you have called for a different purpose. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
The question of evil forces
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him (1 Samuel 16:14).
Read 1 Samuel 16:14 – 17:11
You may struggle with reading this verse. I did and had to do quite a bit of research to better understand it. Does God really send evil spirits to torment people?
When we first meet Saul and he is anointed as king, the Bible says that ‘… the Spirit of God came powerfully upon [Saul] …’ (1 Samuel 10:10). But as we read yesterday, Saul was not prepared to follow God’s leading in fulfilling his role as king of Israel.
So, God selected a new king, David, and took his Spirit back from Saul. Although God rejected Saul as king, he didn’t reject Saul as a person and kept working in Saul’s life to draw him back to the relationship God wanted to have with Saul. Since God’s Spirit was no longer living in Saul, he was open to being ‘tormented’ by evil forces. It wasn’t that God was calling these evil forces to torment Saul; it was something these evil forces wanted to do anyway. It was that God temporarily removed some of his protection from Saul to help him understand that when we reject God’s purposes for us, the alternative is not a nice place to experience. As we surrender our lives to God, we live under his protection against the powers of evil.
When we go further in our passage for today, we read, ‘Whenever the [evil] spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him’ (1 Samuel 16:23). God had not rejected Saul as a person. God’s Spirit was in David, and when David came to Saul when he was being ‘tormented’, the Holy Spirit in David would drive the evil powers away and bring relief to Saul.
I personally take from this that we should see God working in all situations in our lives to draw us closer to him. When we observe evil in our lives and in the lives of those around us, we should not view this as punishment from God. Instead, we should open our hearts and lives to what God is doing and trust in his promise to be with us wherever he leads us.
I was struggling with a personal issue, something in my life that I knew God was not happy with, but which I seemed unable to deal with alone. Of course, I prayed about it and gave it over to God. Seemingly independently, my life was impacted by external issues that consumed much of my time, and I had to do things I knew I had to do but didn’t enjoy. Sometime later, I realised that the personal issue had lost its hold over me. God knows intimately how we tick and how best to bring about the changes he wants to happen. We just need to keep trusting in his promise that he will never stop loving us.
Awesome and loving Heavenly Father, thank you for the way you are working in my life to change me into the person you want me to be. Please help me to grow in trusting your love so that I can fearlessly follow where you are leading me. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Healing leading to a changed life
by Charles Bertelsmeier
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One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice (Luke 17:15).
Read Luke 17:11–19
Elias lived in Palestine about 2,000 years ago. You could say his life was going quite well. He had a happy family, with a wife and several children who were performing well in school. His grocery store was doing well, and he had plans to expand it. He believed in working hard and even pushing the boundaries of ethics just a little to get ahead. Whenever he wasn’t too busy, he would try to take his family to the synagogue on the Sabbath.
Then, one day, he was diagnosed with an infectious skin disease. This required him to be expelled from the community so that he wouldn’t infect others. What would happen to his grocery store now? Who would look after his family? Where would he live? What would he live on? Eventually, he found a group of men in the same situation and was invited to join them. They were an interesting group of men from diverse religious, political and social backgrounds; however, they were bonded together through their common sufferings.
Then they heard about an itinerant Jewish rabbi travelling around the countryside preaching and healing people. They went as a group to catch him while he was travelling near them and asked to be healed of their infectious skin disease. The rabbi advised them to visit the priest for a certificate that they had been healed, which was surprising since they hadn’t yet been healed, but they went anyway. But on the way, they found that all evidence of their infection had vanished. Elias was so thankful that he couldn’t wait to rush home to his family and his grocery store. He could now return to the life he had before and keep building up his business.
However, one of the members of this ragtag group of infectious men – a foreigner, in fact – was so intrigued by this Jewish rabbi that he went back not only to say thanks but also to find out more of what he was teaching. A new life of possibilities was opening up for him.
If we think about it, we are like this ragtag group of infectious people, deserving to be expelled from God’s family due to the very contagious disease of sin that we suffer from. Now that we have received our healing from this same itinerant Jewish rabbi, what will our response be? Will we return to living for ourselves, or will we leave our old lives behind and follow this itinerant Jewish rabbi, accepting his invitation to be part of his own ragtag group of people now motivated by his love, grace and mercy for all people?
Heavenly brother, Jesus, like the Samaritan in today’s reading, I want to say thank you for the healing you have given me. I also want to follow where you want to lead me as one of your ragtag group of followers. Thank you for the Holy Spirit, working in my life to achieve this. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on communications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Delight in God’s great works
by Janette Lange
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Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them (Psalm 111:2).
Read Psalm 111
When we think of people who study the works of the Lord, scientists might come to mind. Although many today might not acknowledge God as the creating force, they nevertheless marvel at our world and delight in his works as they try to learn more about them. However, many scientists are Christians, and I am sure their scientific studies only serve to deepen their awe and reverence for our Creator God.
But we don’t need to understand the mechanics or the science of it to delight in a beautiful sunset or to enjoy birdsong as a new day dawns. To rejoice in rain falling over parched paddocks. The majesty of snow-capped mountains and clear, running streams. The scent and beauty of the Australian bush. The amazing colours and immensity of Uluru, Kata Tjuta and the surrounding country. Rainforests, cane fields, coral reefs, jarrah forests, station country and windswept, sandy beaches – these all speak to me of God’s great works. What is it for you?
The beauty and intricacy of our world give us an insight into the artistry, creativity, intelligence and sheer brilliance of our loving Creator God. It clearly demonstrates his care and love for us, his children. The earth supplies us with what we need to sustain our day-to-day needs. It provides us with employment and recreation. But God hasn’t given us a monochrome functional response to our needs. God has chosen to create a beautiful, amazing and awe-inspiring world for our enjoyment and our delight.
Praise God for his great work of creation. Drink it in, delight in it because this is one of God’s good gifts to you. Let it remind you of his unwavering, loving care for you and move you to praise him with all your heart.
And as others hear us acknowledge God for the beauty of his creation, it may open the door to conversations with them about God’s other great works: the incarnation of Christ, his saving grace, his redemption of us and his loving provision for us every day.
Wonderful Creator, thank you for your beautiful gift of creation that sustains and delights us. Help us to care for the earth and its creatures and to lovingly protect all human life. We thank you for sending Christ to live among us and for his saving work on the cross. Amen.
Janette is a member of Glynde Zion congregation, a vibrant multicultural faith community in suburban Adelaide. She works as an archivist and translator of German historical documents. In her free time, Janette enjoys reading, solving cryptic crosswords, learning languages, travelling, researching family history and relaxing in her garden. Thanks to her husband’s influence, she now enjoys watching Formula 1 and golf.
Listening to the right voice
by Janette Lange
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I feared the people and obeyed their voice (1 Samuel 15:24b).
Read 1 Samuel 15:24–35
How many times have I been guilty of this? Of fearing people and obeying their voice? Too many times to remember. Perhaps this is an issue for you also. I naturally shy away from conflict and desire to keep the peace. Obviously, it’s good to strive for harmony and peace in our relationships; however, it’s important not to be swayed from what is right by our own desires or what others think. But it can be hard, can’t it? Who wants to ruin a family get-together with difficult conversations? Who wants to risk being ‘cancelled’ by speaking out on moral issues? Who wants to be considered ‘uncool’ by not doing what ‘everyone else’ is?
When we pay attention to the voices of the world or to the desires of our own hearts, we end up compromised or led astray. That was certainly the case for Saul, and it cost him his leadership. That’s because those voices are contrary to what God is saying. We can let them drown out what he is saying to us.
By following their voices instead of God’s, we treat them as more important than him. God is asking us to take him at his word, trust him and follow him. He is asking us to be obedient. Not because he wants to spoil our fun or make our lives hard, but because he wants what is best for us and those around us.
As sinful humans, we don’t find it easy to obey God. The good news is that Christ, the fully obedient one, has saved us from the condemnation of our disobedience. Now, when we strive to be obedient to God, we’re not trying to earn God’s favour. God’s favour is already ours – as a freely given gift. And by his Holy Spirit, he actively helps us to trust and obey him. He empowers us to recognise God’s voice and follow what he says.
As we immerse ourselves in his word and spend time with him in prayer, we learn to hear his voice more clearly. And more and more, we become people after God’s own heart, rather than our own.
Good Shepherd, help me to hear your voice clearly and follow in your path. Help me to stand up for what is right and be a bold witness for you. Thank you for the freedom and new life I have in you, won for me by Christ’s obedience on the cross. Amen.
Janette is a member of Glynde Zion congregation, a vibrant multicultural faith community in suburban Adelaide. She works as an archivist and translator of German historical documents. In her free time, Janette enjoys reading, solving cryptic crosswords, learning languages, travelling, researching family history and relaxing in her garden. Thanks to her husband’s influence, she now enjoys watching Formula 1 and golf.