SHEPHERD OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH
READINGS, PRAYERS and DEVOTION
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3
NEWS: No new updates as of this writing. Here is an article from The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod website entitle, “Who Is Jesus.” https://www.lcms.org/about/beliefs/who-is-jesus
PRAYERS: Today we especially pray for Victor and Deanna Dille. Prayers are requested for Dee’s sons, especially Doug, as he looks for work. We also keep Victor in our prayers as he has applied for part-time work.
READINGS: Psalm 68; 1 Samuel 17:48-18:9; Acts 27:9-26
DEVOTION:
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
“Faith and Faithfulness”
Hebrews 11:1-2, 13 – Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. … These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Do you remember what it was like learning to swim? Everyone told you that you were safe, that you would float and not drown. But it was so hard to believe! You were learning to trust something invisible—to ignore the evidence of your own reason, and believe what your teacher was telling you.
Or maybe it wasn’t swimming—maybe it was learning to rappel down a cliff. They told you the rope wouldn’t break—but it was really, really hard getting up the courage to lean your whole weight on that rope and go over the edge that first time.
Trusting in Jesus can be a lot like this. He calls us to do things that seem unreasonable—even impossible. Some of these are small things. For example, He may tell us to apologize to someone we’ve wronged. If you’ve never done that before, that can seem harder than flying to the moon! Or, He might ask you to do something bigger—to accept a responsibility that scares you, like taking care of a foster kid or saying yes to a position you’re not sure you can handle. He might even put you in a position where you have the opportunity to talk to someone you love about your faith!
In all of these cases, it can feel like you are learning to trust your weight to an invisible rope—to walk on a glass bridge and look down from 20 stories up, trusting that the bridge will hold. No wonder the author of Hebrews calls faith “the conviction of things not seen!”
I know from my own life that God tends to start small. But of course, the small challenges don’t look small if you are the one learning to trust for the first time! It’s only after many years of trusting in Jesus that you can look back and say, “He has never failed me. He is completely trustworthy.”
This is something we can say after 30-plus years serving the Vietnamese community as a missionary family. We have seen God do things we never would’ve believed possible when He first sent us. And we are still learning, day by day, to lean on that invisible rope—to trust that God is guiding us and will catch us so we don’t fall. Maybe we are slow learners!
But it doesn’t matter, really. Because, however small our faith is, God’s faithfulness is big enough. If we have only a tiny bit of faith, still our faith is in the God who made heaven and earth—the God who came to suffer and die and rise again, all to make us His own children. If He loves us that much, He will never let us fall. Our faith is tiny, but His faithfulness is great.
WE PRAY: Dear Father, help me to trust in You to hold me up. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. Tell about a time when you had to trust someone in order to have a good result.
2. What in your opinion makes Jesus trustworthy?
3. Tell about a challenge, small or great, where you learned to trust in Jesus by obeying Him.
Today’s Bible Readings: Psalms 120-122 2 Thessalonians 2
Luther’s Morning Prayer
In the morning, as soon as you get out of bed, you are to make the Sign of the Cross and say:
“God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.”
Then, kneeling or standing, say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. In addition recite this prayer as well:
“I give thanks to you, my heavenly Father through Jesus Christ your dear son, that you have protected me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you that you would also protect me today from sin and all evil, so that my life and actions may please you completely. For into your hands I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel be with me, so that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.”
After singing a hymn or whatever else may serve your devotion, you can go about your day joyfully!
Luther’s Evening Prayer
In the evening, when you go to bed, you are to make the Sign of the Cross and say:
“God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.”
Then, kneeling or standing, say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. In addition recite this prayer as well:
“I give thanks to you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have graciously protected me today, and I ask you to forgive me all my sins, where I have done wrong, and graciously to protect me tonight. For into your hands I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel be with me, so that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.”
You can now go to bed quickly and cheerfully.
OTHER RESOURCES:
Our church website is: https://www.svlchurch.org/
Below is our Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/shepherdofthevalleyoceanside
Here is the website for Lutherans for Life: https://lutheransforlife.org/
Here is the website for Lutheran Hour Ministries: https://www.lhm.org/
Lutheran Public Radio is listener supported and has two channels, one for sacred music and the other for talk, including news, current issues, politics and spiritual matters from a Lutheran perspective. Hosted by Pastor Todd Wilken, Issues, Etc. airs live Monday thru Friday from 1 to 3 pm Pacific, with the “Best Of” running at other hours: https://lutheranpublicradio.org/
KFUO is the listener supported radio station owned and operated by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Based in St. Louis, their format consists of teaching, preaching, ministry and sacred music: https://www.kfuo.org/
A very blessed Wednesday to everyone! For any needs or prayer requests, please contact us
Pastor Joel at pastor@svlchurch.org
