by Norma Koehne
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May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my rock and my redeemer (Psalm 19:14).
Read Psalm 19:7–14
The psalmist sings a hymn of praise to God for his precious word. God’s word is described as perfect law, trustworthy statutes, right precepts, pure commandments, firm and righteous decrees, and true and righteous promises. It is the truth, something we can trust and know that through it, God has revealed himself in his fullness as our loving and saving God and has revealed to us his good and gracious will for our lives and the world he has created.
In our devotions this week, we have seen many ways that God’s word works in our lives. The word tells us about Christ and his servant-act of salvation for our sakes. We know that when we boldly proclaim this word of salvation, we will cause some to turn away. But we are encouraged to continue to bring the word of salvation into a world that desperately needs to hear it. We have read about God’s powerful, creative word, which has made us his children in baptism and strengthens us through the sacrament and reading the Bible daily. We have seen the devastating consequences of allowing Satan to undermine God’s word. We hear both God’s word of judgement and forgiveness when we sin.
In trying to show how precious the word is, the psalmist compares it to gold and the sweetness of honey. One can’t help but be reminded of Jesus’ parables about the pearl of great price or the treasure found in the field. The word teaches us that to be a member of the kingdom of God is his greatest treasure and gift. How blessed we are to have become members through the word and water of baptism.
As we immerse ourselves in God’s word and treasure it, this makes a profound difference in our lives. Whatever our circumstances are, with the help of the Holy Spirit, God’s word refreshes the soul, makes wise the simple and gives joy to the heart and light to the eyes. It also has a sobering task as it shows us our hidden faults and guards and warns us against committing willful sins so that, through repentance, we are made innocent, blameless and forgiven.
‘The word shall stand despite all foes … for God is with us and bestows his gifts and Holy Spirit … and take they our life, goods, fame, child and wife, though these all be gone, yet have our foes not won; the kingdom ours remaineth’ (Martin Luther LH 195 v4).
Norma grew up in Koonibba SA. She was a teacher at Concordia College in SA and then served in various roles in Papua New Guinea with her husband. Returning to Australia, Norma worked as an International Student Advisor and, after completing a PhD, worked in administration at the University of Divinity. She has been privileged to serve the LCA on the General Church Board, the Seminary Council, and as president of Lutheran Women of Victoria and Lutheran Women of Australia. Currently, she is happily retired.
God’s judgement and compassion
by Norma Koehne
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If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it (Genesis 4:7b).
Read Genesis 4:1–16
This tragic example of jealousy and anger so vividly illustrates what Jesus later said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:22:
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca’, is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
It is illustrated again later in what we read in 1 John 3:15: ‘All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them.’ What festers in the heart has terrible consequences.
We are not told why God rejected Cain’s offering. However, it is evident from God’s response to Cain’s anger and despondency that he saw into Cain’s heart and knew not all was right. Sin was ‘crouching at [his] door’. God gave Cain a chance to repent, take stock and ask for forgiveness. He said, ‘Sin desires to have you, but you must rule over it’ (verse 7).
Sin leads to punishment. In his perfect holiness, God abhors sin and must punish the offender. Cain is cursed, banished from God’s presence and is to wander the earth all his days. When Cain realises the dire consequences of what he has done, especially that he ‘will be hidden from [God’s] presence’ (verse 14). In despair, he says, ‘My punishment is more than I can bear’ (verse 13). God has compassion and marks Cain to wander the earth unmolested.
Each of us knows that sin is crouching at our door, waiting for a chance to destroy us. With the help of the Holy Spirit, as baptised children of God, we do well to heed the advice given to us in our confirmation to daily examine our hearts and repent. Through Christ’s death, we are assured that our sins are forgiven, the slate is wiped clean, and we are clothed in his robes of righteousness.
Lord, forgive those secret sins that fester in our hearts. Lead us to repent and praise you for the forgiveness we receive through the life and death of your Son, Jesus Christ, who paid for those sins. Amen.
Norma grew up in Koonibba SA. She was a teacher at Concordia College in SA and then served in various roles in Papua New Guinea with her husband. Returning to Australia, Norma worked as an International Student Advisor and, after completing a PhD, worked in administration at the University of Divinity. She has been privileged to serve the LCA on the General Church Board, the Seminary Council, and as president of Lutheran Women of Victoria and Lutheran Women of Australia. Currently, she is happily retired.
Disobedience Has Devastating Consequences
by Norma Koehne
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Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say …?’ (Genesis 3:1).
Read Genesis 3:1–24
God created humankind to have free will. Adam and Eve were not robots; they had an amazingly close and loving relationship with God. However, in return, God expected love and obedience. He had very few restrictions, but one he had was that they should not eat of the fruit of one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God knew evil in the fall of the disobedient angel, Lucifer/Satan. He wanted them only to know what is good.
Unfortunately, Eve and later Adam were no match for Satan, ‘the father of lies’. He starts to undermine God’s word with the words, ‘Did God say …?’, and then goes on to suggest that God was meanly limiting their lives and knowledge. Listening to Satan had devastating consequences, which we bear today as the stain of original sin. Although Adam and Eve were sent out from the garden and their close relationship with God, in his love and mercy, God made a promise. One would come who would defeat Satan but at great suffering to himself.
Today, Satan still tries to destroy the people of God and the church with his lies by attacking and undermining God’s words and his good and gracious will for his church and us as his children. ‘Did God actually say?’ In the arrogance and almost worship of knowledge today, people can begin to think they are above God’s word and can change it as they please to fit in with modern hegemonic attitudes.
Thank God that through Christ, he has made a way back to a close, loving relationship with him.
Gracious God, forgive us when we listen to the lies of Satan, especially when he undermines or even negates your word. May your Holy Spirit guide us and help us to obey and honour all you have told us in your word. Amen.
Norma grew up in Koonibba SA. She was a teacher at Concordia College in SA and then served in various roles in Papua New Guinea with her husband. Returning to Australia, Norma worked as an International Student Advisor and, after completing a PhD, worked in administration at the University of Divinity. She has been privileged to serve the LCA on the General Church Board, the Seminary Council, and as president of Lutheran Women of Victoria and Lutheran Women of Australia. Currently, she is happily retired.
by Norma Koehne
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being … the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man and brought her to the man (Genesis 2:7,22).
Read Genesis 2:4–25
God’s creation was not complete. God himself lovingly formed man out of the dust of the earth, breathing ‘into his nostrils the breath of life’. Man was a separate and special creation distinct from all the other animals. ‘God created human beings in his image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them’ (Genesis 1:27).
Then, in loving concern for his creation, he takes a rib from the man and creates a woman to be his ‘helpmeet’, a helper standing beside him. God’s purpose is clear in Genesis 2:24: ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife and they become one flesh.’ Adam’s joy is immediate. ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called “woman”. For she was taken out of man' (verse 23).
In a world consumed by talk of toxic masculinity and domestic violence, let us celebrate the essence of God’s creation of men and women, created to be one, working in harmony and love to care for God’s good creation. What a blessing Christians have in our marriages. A loving Christian marriage is where love – Christ’s love poured into our hearts – truly comes to life. Husbands are urged to strive to show self-sacrificing, selfless love and wives self-giving love, both exemplified by Christ’s love for all humankind (Ephesians 5:22–33). And when we fail, as we will, we are restored through repentance, forgiveness, and healing.
Praise God for his good creation of male and female and for entrusting – even expecting – us to exemplify his love in our relations. May our lives together as Christian husband and wife be that light set on a lampstand (Matthew 5:15) to the world around us.
Loving Father, we praise you for your creation of male and female to be one, made in your image, and made to love and support each other. Help us have such harmony and selfless love in our relationships that we are indeed a light to the world, to the honour and praise of your name. Amen.
Norma grew up in Koonibba SA. She was a teacher at Concordia College in SA and then served in various roles in Papua New Guinea with her husband. Returning to Australia, Norma worked as an International Student Advisor and, after completing a PhD, worked in administration at the University of Divinity. She has been privileged to serve the LCA on the General Church Board, the Seminary Council, and as president of Lutheran Women of Victoria and Lutheran Women of Australia. Currently, she is happily retired.
by Norma Koehne
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said … (Genesis 1:1–3a).
Read Genesis 1:1–2:3
When I think of creation, our world and the universe, I find it truly mind-blowing. I agree with JS Haldane: ‘The universe is not just strange to imagine; it is stranger than we can imagine.’ When the hymn writer wrote, ‘O Lord my God, when I … consider all the worlds your hand has made’, I would suggest he more accurately should have said ‘your word has made’. For, in every instance, ‘God said’, and it was done. Here, we see God’s powerful and creative word.
We have further instances of the creative power of God’s word in the life of Jesus – ‘Your sins are forgiven’, ‘take up your bed and walk’, the blind man regaining sight, casting out demons, and raising Lazarus. Finally, we have the most powerful word from the cross: ‘It is finished.’ All is complete; the sins of the world have been paid for, the devil has been defeated, and salvation for all who believe has been won.
By God’s grace, this powerful, transforming word has entered our lives and made us God’s children. We are born again in the water and word of baptism and, every day, our old sinful self is drowned in the baptismal waters, and we are washed clean. Then, in the word of holy communion, with the bread and wine, we receive the assurance of the forgiveness of sins and God’s love in a tangible way. Every day, we can open God’s precious word and learn more about our loving God, his plan of salvation, and his good and gracious will for our lives.
How blessed are we?
May your word always be a lamp to my feet, a light to my path and an everlasting truth in my life. Amen.
Norma grew up in Koonibba SA. She was a teacher at Concordia College in SA and served in various roles in Papua New Guinea with her husband. Returning to Australia, Norma worked as an International Student Advisor and, after completing a PhD, worked in administration at the University of Divinity. She has been privileged to serve the LCA on the General Church Board, the Seminary Council, and as president of Lutheran Women of Victoria and Lutheran Women of Australia. Currently, she is happily retired.
Pastoral Care - Life Together: A Gift of God
In our final weeks of Preparation and Prayer for the Convention of General Synod, we look forward to our ongoing life together as LCANZ …
- We lament and we repent of the ways we have wrongfully allowed disagreement to disrupt our life together in Christ.
- Gathered around the Word, living in our baptism, and sharing at the Lord's table, we turn toward one another and recognise our brothers and sisters in Christ.
- We celebrate together our hope in Jesus Christ, who continues to guide and bless us.
Preaching with boldness and power
by Norma Koehne
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the law of Moses and from the prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus (Acts 28:23b).
Read Acts 28:17–31
I love those words from the general prayer of the church that say, ‘Give us faithful pastors to preach your word with boldness and power’. In this passage, we have the example of one who was not afraid to do so. Even though his message was rejected by the Jewish church leaders in Jerusalem, and he was arrested and sent to Rome, Paul did not give up on his fellow Jews. He still hoped to bring them to faith in Jesus.
So, in Rome, he invited the Jewish leaders to hear what he had to say. Many others came as they had heard from relatives and friends back home about this new ‘sect’ and were curious to find out more. Paul did not ‘badmouth’ the people in Jerusalem who had had him arrested. Rather, he used the whole of the Old Testament to show them that Jesus was the Messiah who had first been promised to Adam and Eve and had been spoken about by the prophets. By showing how Jesus had fulfilled all the promises in the Old Testament, Paul hoped to persuade them that Jesus was their promised Saviour. Can you imagine today having a preacher so enthralling that you would listen to them as they preached from morning to evening?
When some would not believe, he had the boldness to rebuke them with the words of Isaiah, ‘You will be hearing and never understanding, you will be ever seeing, but not perceiving’ (Isaiah 6:9).
In the church today, we need to be aware that so much of our message is strange, one could say alien, in our society. Sin and grace, God’s wrath and love, Jesus atoning death, living a servant life – all these are difficult concepts. We must beware of ‘dumbing down’ our saving message, but rather, like Paul, preach it with ‘boldness and power’.
Lord, we thank you for those faithful pastors who preach your word with boldness and power. Help us all to be prepared to confess our faith boldly to those around us without fear. Amen.
Norma grew up in Koonibba SA. She was a teacher at Concordia College in SA and then served in various roles in Papua New Guinea with her husband. Returning to Australia, Norma worked as an International Student Advisor and, after completing a PhD, worked in administration at the University of Divinity. She has been privileged to serve the LCA on the General Church Board, the Seminary Council, and as president of Lutheran Women of Victoria and Lutheran Women of Australia. Currently, she is happily retired.
The ultimate/perfect servant
by Norma Koehne
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all (Mark 9:35b).
Read Mark 9:30–37
I often wonder at the meaning of the term ‘public servant’. It should mean people who work for the good of society as a whole. However, it is often characterised by those pushing and back-stabbing to gain the best position, to be the greatest.
Unfortunately, the disciples of Jesus were not immune to this impulse. Jesus gives them a subtle object lesson by taking a small child and telling them that one so small and of no apparent value is to be welcomed just as he is accepted.
Surprisingly, before the disciples argued about who was the greatest, Jesus had told them that he would suffer, die, and be raised after three days. Truly, he, who was the first – the Son of God – became the last, suffering a shameful death and paying for our sins with even greater suffering as he was separated from his Father for our sake. Having done this, he became the greatest of all.
Philippians 2:5–11 shows this most clearly:
Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
God, give me this servant's mind. Amen.
Norma grew up in Koonibba SA. She was a teacher at Concordia College in SA and then served in various roles in Papua New Guinea with her husband. Returning to Australia, Norma worked as an International Student Advisor and, after completing a PhD, worked in administration at the University of Divinity. She has been privileged to serve the LCA on the General Church Board, the Seminary Council, and as president of Lutheran Women of Victoria and Lutheran Women of Australia. Currently, she is happily retired.
by Jonathan Krause
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold (Acts 28:2).
Read Acts 28:1–16
There’s a lady I know who came to Australia as a refugee from Vietnam.
She arrived on a boat, huddled with family members, at a time when Australia open-heartedly welcomed in those who had lost all.
(I know there’s a political conversation these days about that subject, but let’s leave that to the side.)
The lady was resettled in Tasmania. When the plane arrived, she only had light clothes after coming from the tropical heat. As she and her fellow refugees stepped off the plane into their new life, there at the bottom of the steps was a group of volunteers, waiting for them with army blankets to ward off the cold.
The love in that kindness brings me to tears.
It takes me back to a refugee camp I visited in Ethiopia on the border with Somalia. The main building was a corrugated iron hut. On it was taped a sign that said, ‘Welcome’. Then, the first words each refugee heard were: ‘Welcome. You are safe now. This is your new home. We will take care of you.’
In Poland, where church communities welcomed families fleeing as refugees from Ukraine, instead of calling the people refugees, they called them guests.
It can be hard to be kind. Those who need our kindness may not always be neat and tidy or easy to care for. These people may need more than we feel we can give. Perhaps that is why kindness can often seem ‘unusual’.
Yet, as Christians, we are often called to live in a way that is unusual and makes no earthly sense. To unfold an army blanket. To build a fire. To offer shelter. When we do, just like those islanders, we can take heart from what Paul (a survivor of the shipwreck and seated at the fire the islanders built) said:
‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it’ (Hebrews 13:2).
Thank you, Jesus, for your unusual kindness to me and your love that took you to the cross – for me. I am so blessed by the comfort of your grace. Thank you. Amen.
Jonathan lives south of Adelaide with his wife Julie. Blessed by children and grandchildren, Jonathan enjoys reading and writing, walking by the beach, and watching Collingwood win. Author of many devotion books, Jonathan is the Community Action Manager for the Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS).