by Maria Rudolph
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Read James 3:1–12
I grew up in Germany, with today being St Nicholas Day. Now, it is my children’s turn to clean their shoes on the eve of 6 December and place them neatly outside their bedroom door. When they awake, they will find small goodies in their shoes - lollies, nuts and gifts. St Nicholas Day is a joyful event of giving and receiving.
Nicholas was the 4th-century bishop of Myra, located in modern-day Türkiye (Turkey). The stories surrounding his generous giving and godly conduct have somehow taken on a life of their own and curiously culminated in the modern-day creation of Santa Claus. While this is a far cry from the original person of Bishop Nicholas, it serves as yet another reminder of God, the giver of all things. St Nicholas is credited with this quote - ‘The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic God’s giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.’
How blessed we are with godly quotes from him and many other faithful Christians throughout the ages. How blessed we are with Scripture verses full of wisdom said and recorded by the people of old. Yet an observation and warning from St James in his epistle is true for all of them and us - ‘Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be’ (James 3:10). Even well-quoted people do not always use their tongues appropriately.
We already focus on giving gifts and sharing kind actions during this Advent season. But let us also focus on our tongues. Martin Luther instructs us in his Small Catechism on the eighth commandment:
Do not give false testimony. What does this mean? We should honour and love God and so we should not tell lies about other people, give their secrets away, talk about them behind their back, or damage their reputation in any way. Instead, we should speak up for them, say only good things about them, and explain their actions in the kindest way.
It takes effort to use our tongues appropriately, but with a focus on the giver of every good and perfect gift, we are on the right track. Let us all challenge ourselves to take note of our tongue and pray daily that we may use it solely for blessing.
Holy Spirit, living water, we need your help and guidance. We do not want to be a spring from which fresh and saltwater flow simultaneously. But we trip up and fail. Fill us with your living water so our cup overflows into our lives and the people around us from the spring of life inside us. Store the fruit of your Spirit in our hearts abundantly, so our mouth speaks of what our hearts are full of. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Maria is overjoyed to be a candidate for ordination as a pastor of the LCANZ while serving the St Johns Perth congregation and supporting the ministry of her pastor husband, Michael, at Concordia Duncraig congregation in Western Australia. They are parents to three children who are busy with primary and secondary schooling. Maria also serves the church as a member of the Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations.
Forgive. Forget. Forever?
by Jonathan Krause
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‘Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ (Matthew 18:33).
Read Matthew 18:21–35
So, this forgiveness thing?
Thinking about verses like today’s reading, I straight away see how much work I need to do to forgive others. Over and over.
And, even harder, to forget and move forward.
Well-meaning friends tell us that forgiving helps free us from the burden of whatever was done against us. Indeed, John Hopkins Medicine states:
Studies have found that the act of forgiveness can reap huge rewards for your health, lowering the risk of heart attack; improving cholesterol levels and sleep; and reducing pain, blood pressure, and levels of anxiety, depression and stress.
I expect all that’s right. But you know what I find even harder than forgiving, and even forgetting? Accepting forgiveness.
Yes, I know that through the sacrifice of Jesus, my sins are forgiven and washed away (Isaiah 1:18) … but surely they can’t be forgotten?
For me, I can’t shake the fear that our Father in Heaven is keeping track of all the times I have let him down, turned away, done wrong. Yes, you and I may be forgiven, but isn’t there always the threat that our ‘forgiven’ sin is still lurking there – ready to be dragged out again and used against us the next time we fail and fall?
That’s where Hebrews 10:17 clubs me over the head and demands I re-read today’s Bible verses in this certainty: ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’
That’s forever. That’s me set free.
God is not holding the stain of my sin against me. Instead, I’m set free to give that same gift of forgiveness and grace to those who wrong me.
Whether it’s seven times, or seventy-seven times, or seventy times seven times.
What a blessing to have so many chances to model the amazing blessing of God’s love, expressed in forgiveness, to those around me.
Forgive. Forget. Forever.
Lord, thank you for forgiving me, even when I fall over and over again. Thank you for your amazing grace that ‘forgets’ my failings. Forever. Now, help me do the same for those who may fail me, so they can see the light of your love in my life. Amen.
Jonathan describes himself as a ‘happy husband, proud dad and grandad, ALWS worker and proud Magpie fan’.
A Psalm worth singing
by Emma Strelan Werner
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love (Psalm 103:8).
Read Psalm 103:8–13
Psalm 103 is one of the most highlighted psalms in my Bible.
I come back to it time and time again because of how beautifully it expresses God’s love and mercy. One author goes so far as to proclaim, ‘It is perhaps the most perfect song of pure praise to be found in the Bible.’ I see why. To me, these are the kind of words you could sing over and over and never get tired of because they contain such beautiful truths about God.
In wonderfully poetic imagery, we’re reminded of a God who is both great and mighty, but also personal and loving. A God whose love is bigger than anything we can imagine: ‘As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him’ (verse 11).
In this same psalm, we are also reminded of God’s intimate, close love – it is like that of a Father who knows all of our weaknesses personally. And in return, we get to know him, too.
What better way to encapsulate both the greatness and goodness of God in just a few verses?
The key theme running through this psalm is God’s great compassion and mercy, which ties in well with the other passages this week, in which we are called to consider the ways we should respond to sin and injustice in our community. We’re now given a chance to reflect on how God acts towards us.
Where we humans struggle to let go of grudges and forgive those who wrong us, our God, who has every right to hold even the ‘small’ things against us, simply says in his endless mercy and grace: ‘It is finished. You are forgiven. Receive all that I offer you in love.’
Heavenly Father, may this psalm be the song of my heart today. May I want to sing it from the car window and whisper it in my bed. May the truths it proclaims go with me into whatever the next week holds. Amen.
Emma works part-time as a content producer at Lutheran Media, where she creates the Messages of Hope radio show and podcast. On her other days, she takes freelance video jobs, filming weddings and all manner of projects that come along. Having gotten married herself in May, she’s enjoying this new season of life with her husband, Tim.
Please give me a job description
by Emma Strelan Werner
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).
Read Ephesians 4:25–32
Allow me to pull out my ‘I learnt a tiny bit of biblical Greek’ card for a moment to point out some cheeky wordplay from Paul in this passage. In verse 32, the Greek word for ‘be kind’ is chrestos – strikingly similar to the Greek for Christ. So, when Paul tells us to ‘be kind’ to one another, perhaps he’s hinting that we ought to also ‘be Christ’ to one another. After all, that is, in fact, what we still call ourselves as Christians – our job is to be little Christs.
But there’s nothing I fear more than being given a job title with no blueprint or direction for what doing that role actually looks like. Perhaps many Christians have found that once they put their faith in Jesus and are told they are a new creation in him, they have no idea what that even means in practice!
Well, thankfully, we get a job description for a ‘new creation’ right here in Ephesians.
A new person in Christ:
- tells the truth (verse 25)
- knows when to let go of anger so it doesn’t lead to sin (verse 26)
- works honestly and gives generously (verse 28)
- speaks for the building up, not tearing down of others (verse 29)
- lives in a way that does not grieve the Holy Spirit (verse 30)
- controls emotions that lead to hurting others (verse 31)
- seeks to show the same kindness that God has shown them (verse 32).
This can be a nice list to spend some time considering: ‘In which area can I be more Christ-like right now?’ But, in all these things, a theme becomes evident: as Christians, the needs of others are to be our first concern, and Christ is the greatest example of that.
There’s one thing even better than a job description: having the person who did that job before you demonstrate what it looks like.
When we struggle to know what ‘being Christ’ looks like in a specific situation and can’t find a Bible verse giving us the answer, we can turn to Christ as our example. I don’t have to forge my own path ahead as a Christian, even in this ever-changing world, because Christ goes before me.
Lord Jesus, thank you for demonstrating love perfectly. Give me a hunger to know you more, so that more and more of you shines out of me. Bring to my attention where I can be living better as your new creation today. Amen.
Emma works part-time as a content producer at Lutheran Media, where she creates the Messages of Hope radio show and podcast. On her other days, she takes freelance video jobs, filming weddings and all manner of projects that come along. Having gotten married herself in May, she’s enjoying this new season of life with her husband, Tim.