by Sal Huckel
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Read Matthew 3:1–12
Today’s passage invites us to the banks of the Jordan, where John the Baptist was preparing the way for Jesus’ ministry. His humble lifestyle and calls to repentance were already bringing the people to respond to their sins and be baptised by John in the river. Not surprisingly, also came the conflict with the Pharisees and Sadducees.
John’s reprimand and call to repentance is stark. We might feel that it was well deserved. After all, we do know much about the Pharisees and the Sadducees and their apparent hypocrisy. Paul himself was a Pharisee. While the Pharisees and Sadducees had doctrinal disagreements, they were united in their efforts against Jesus. Here, John’s warning is for them all.
What can we learn here today? We can study the baptism John was bringing, how Jesus’ baptism is the one we need and the meaning it has for us now to be baptised into Jesus’ baptism. We can also ponder what it means to ‘produce fruit in keeping with repentance’. How does that look? What do we need to repent of? We sometimes hear that Jesus simplified the Ten Commandments and that we don’t need to worry about all of those anymore; we are not ‘under the law’. However, Jesus said he did not come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfil them (Matthew 5:17).
Unless we understand God’s law, we cannot properly repent. We may feel the law is less prescriptive and onerous ‘since Jesus’, but if we begin to unpack the Ten Commandments and look at Martin Luther’s explanations – the Small Catechism is very helpful on this – we will see that they go further than we might expect. It’s a misleading idea that ‘Jesus replaced them’. Helpfully, rather like the ways in which it is best to teach children, Luther offers positive instruction to further expand on the negatives.
Start today with commandment number one: ‘You shall have no other gods before me.’ We don’t have to look very far to see the things that compete for our attention, love and trust. How can you fear, love and trust God above all things today? To produce fruit in keeping with repentance, we need to follow through with this.
Father God, help me to more fully understand the law written in our hearts (Romans 2:15) and produce fruit in keeping with repentance. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sal is married to Pastor Matthew Huckel, and they live in Victoria with their six children, enjoying their ministry with Moorabbin–Dandenong Lutheran Church. Their two eldest children are excited to study at undergraduate and postgraduate levels during term time in Sydney. Theology, music, philosophy, literature and history are passions the family shares and explores together. Sal loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at every opportunity.
God’s timely aid
by Faye Schmidt
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But as for me, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; Lord, do not delay (Psalm 70:5).
Read Psalm 70
Psalm 70 is one of those psalms that express longing for God to act. It’s an urgent prayer for help. It expresses a feeling of being short on time and long on need. In a few short words, it describes a plethora of feelings.
There are many moments in every Christian’s life when this psalm sums up our deepest need. We want God to act, and we want it now! Yet we are asked to wait. We feel the need to be vindicated. We want those who have hurt us to be exposed and justice done. In those moments, Psalm 70 provides a scriptural basis for lament, airing our grievances, asking for help and acknowledging that life isn’t always warm and fuzzy.
However, there are moments when our days are easy. We may hear Psalm 70 but not really feel connected to it in our daily routine. We may be more interested in ‘What’s for lunch?’ or the news of the day. Our days may simply not have room for lament.
Yet it is perhaps on those days we might benefit most from hearing Psalm 70. After all, the psalmist’s urgent cry (‘O Lord, make haste to help me!’) is someone’s cry, if not our own. The psalm can serve as a powerful reminder that even when our lives are rolling along as usual, that is not necessarily the case for everyone. Others might be hurting, calling out for help or awaiting deliverance. Others might be crying out but hearing no response.
This psalm calls us to stop and listen. Who around us is living in this psalm’s reality? Who is desperate for help but waiting for God to intervene? Who might be crying, even though there are no visible tears? Who needs our love and reassurance while they wait upon the Lord?
Dear God, our creator and sustainer, help us to turn away from our self-reliance and instead rely on you for everything we need each day. Remind us especially of our need for your forgiveness and grace, and help us to be thankful that you offer this freely in the death and resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations in Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
To God be the glory!
by Faye Schmidt
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… so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith – to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen (Romans 16:26b,27).
Read Romans 16:17–27
Paul thought highly of the church in Rome. He states, ‘Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you’ (verse 19). However, no matter how good a church is, it should never become complacent. In this closing passage, Paul delivers a strong warning about the possibility of false teachers deceiving and damaging the church (verses 17,18). This could happen in any church. It can happen to us. We are not immune. Paul’s advice is clear. He tells the church to ‘watch out for them; avoid them’. He says, ‘I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil’ (verse 19b).
Paul assures us there is an answer to the one who is the author of discord, division and deceit. We are not to be victims of defeat or despair. We are to confidently affirm God’s victory over Satan. Satan has already been decisively defeated at the cross, but he has not yet conceded his defeat. We need to proclaim Christ’s victory over Satan. We need to take the battle up to Satan by believing in God’s word, trusting in God and resisting Satan. Such victories would be impossible, however, apart from grace.
God never meant us to fight the fight of faith alone. We are to assist each other. His will for us is that we should be in a community of faith. Paul was no lone ranger. He always seemed to gather – or seek out – those who could sharpen and help him. In this final greeting, Paul acknowledges some of those who partnered with him in his ministry. He practised what he preached.
We must never forget that in our baptism, God adopts us as his children through Jesus. He abides in us. He sends his Holy Spirit to strengthen us in our faith and to remind us that he will never leave us nor forsake us. To God be the glory!
O God, who has been the refuge of many generations, be my refuge today in every time and circumstance of need. Be my guide through all that is dark and doubtful. Be my guard against all that threatens my spirit’s welfare. Be my strength in time of testing. Gladden my heart with your peace; through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations in Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.
What a difference!
by Faye Schmidt
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He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’ (Luke 18:13b).
Read Luke 18:9–14
Jesus told this parable to help the disciples better understand how to approach God, reaffirm that the Lord sees all and knows our spiritual state, illustrate righteous behaviour and show whom God justifies.
Jesus surprised his listeners by presenting the Pharisee as a self-righteous hypocrite and the typically despised tax collector as a good person who returned home justified.
This parable was shared to show that pleasing God, finding God and being in right standing with God is not about outward or overt piety, but about worshipping God in truth and love, believing in his promises and obeying God’s law as best as possible.
Redemption for transgressing the law is possible. Jesus says that those ‘even like this tax collector’ can leave and return home justified, not by their own goodness or their own righteousness, but by God’s mercy and the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ. Hebrews reminds us: ‘Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need’ (Hebrews 4:16).
Scripture states that God ‘despises the proud’ but ‘lifts the humble’. Self-righteous people may know how to pray eloquently and appear righteous, but God knows our motives and the condition of our hearts. When we live and approach God in humility, we recognise that Jesus is our only hope for salvation.
The divide between a holy God and a sinful humanity is too great for any human to bridge. Therefore, God sent Jesus to be a ‘light’ that leads to heaven and to our right standing before God.
Jesus lived a sinless life and became the final and perfect sacrifice on Calvary. Because Jesus shed his blood on Calvary and rose again on the third day, we, like the unlikely tax collector, can find justification and redemption.
Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for my sin. Help me always to know that my salvation is through your grace, not my doing. Amen.
Faye Schmidt continues her diaconal calling through governance, having served on the Vic–Tas District Church Board, the General Church Board and currently as chair of the Standing Committee on Constitutions and her congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Adelaide. Having lived and worked in many locations in Australia and overseas, Faye has a heart for the stranger and the newcomer and for being open to new ideas, learning from others and responding to needs.