People Matter: Nations

This weekend, Pastor Chuck wrapped up our series titled People Matter. He looked at how our world matters to God. If you missed the daily devotions, be sure to read the ones relating to Nations Matter.

Interested in going deeper with the sermon? Here are some questions to reflect on this week:

1. How can I have a heart like Jesus?
2. Who in my life needs me to love them by actions as well as words (like Jesus does)?
3. Is there a child in my life who’s needs I can help meet?

Let us know your joys and struggles in response to the sermon in the comments below.

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People Matter Daily Devotional: October 4

A Word From God’s Word
Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.“

Mark 16:14-16 (NIV)

A Word From Pastor Carl
It is amazing to me! The Lord gave the Great Commission, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation”, not to His angels’ bands. He gave it to the Church, to you and me. Such trust calls for a strong response.

Unbelieving people in the nations of the world matter to us. Some of us become long term – career missionaries – like Tim and Rita Nickel. A growing number become short term missionaries. Others travel in mission teams every year like our Haiti groups. And, some women gather in study-prayer-action groups like the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. Marlene Carr is our LWML – First Trinity Leader. More information at www.lwml.org.

Part of our weekend offerings are shared with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod World Mission. And, one is impressed by the Mite Box offerings of the LWML groups. In June in their national convention in Portland, OR, the LWML pledged for 2009 – 2011 a mission goal of: $1,825,000. These mission grants include: Pastoral Training in Tanzania; Body and Soul Care for Children in India; Braille Bibles in Africa; Training Kyrgyzstan Locals for Evangelism; Assisting Disabled Children in the Dominican Republic; Humanitarian Care Outreach in Kazakhstan; and Mission Field in North Korea.

And, we find time to pray for our missions and missionaries. You can download prayer cards at: www.lcmsworldmission.org/prayer cards. One missionary shared recently, “We know when a congregation is praying to the Lord for our work among the Garifuna people of Guatemala. We sense their care and concern.”

What joy to be a part of the vision of First Trinity! It includes the missions for Christ around the world. People of other nations matter to us.

All of our Christian families, back in history, received the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection from other nation missionaries. So we pass the Gospel of Jesus to other clans of the world.

Pastor Carl Streufert is our Spiritual Care Pastor.

A Word With God
Lord of the nations, continue to expand our First Trinity vision to include the unbelieving, needy people of the world. They matter. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

People Matter Daily Devotional: October 3

A Word From God’s Word
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 (ESV)

A Word From Cathi Doebler
One of the first times I had to act in the role of mediator was when I was in graduate school. I had signed up to live in a house with three other female graduate students. None of us met in person until the first day we moved into our house, and we were all in different graduate programs.

As we slowly got to know each other it became clear that two of the women in the house did not get along well with one of the other women. I was able to get along with all three of them, and because of that I became a mediator between them.

Being the mediator was not a fun role to be in. It meant that I had to help them communicate about the simplest things, such as who owed what on the electric bill, and who was responsible for cleaning the bathroom. I took on the role to help maintain a level of peace in our living arrangement.

However, as hard as it was for me to be a mediator in that house, it was nothing compared to what Jesus had to do as our mediator. He gave everything. He gave Himself. He gave His life. Without His connection with God, we were separated from God by our constantly sinful lives.

Jesus acts as our mediator with God. Jesus is the one who connects us to God. When Jesus died for us He became a spiritual bridge between us and God, linking us together through His love for us.

I am so thankful for Jesus building the most important bridge I’ll ever need to take; the bridge that connects us to Our Heavenly Father.

Cathi Brese Doebler is a vocalist in the worship band.

A Word With God
Jesus, thank You for connecting us to God. Thank You for mediating on my behalf; for taking my sin through Your death. Help me to remember my connection to You daily, and to let You lead me over Your bridge of love. Amen.

People Matter Daily Devotional: October 2

A Word From God’s Word
God wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:4 (NIV)

A Word From Laura Ciminelli
We’ve all heard people say, Jesus isn’t for me… but Christ died to save the whole world, which means He wants everyone to experience His amazing grace. God wants us to share His tremendous love with others – “He wants everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned…” (1 Timothy 2:4, TM), because there is enough of His love to go around. Be open about your faith!

Be “…filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and [speak] the Word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31, NIV). Share “God-sightings” with people. Think of those around the world who have never had a chance to see God’s love. You might be called to go on a mission trip, or you can make a difference by praying, like Paul did: “I keep asking that the …Father, may give you the Spirit …so that you may know him better…” (Ephesians 1:17, NIV).

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t feel you’ve transformed people. Remember, it is not our job to convert; the Spirit is the one to change hearts: “…no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3, NIV). We can plant a seed by sharing, and water it by praying. Prayer is powerful because God is powerful.

Remember, “In my Father’s house are many rooms…” (John 14:2, NIV); God has made room in heaven for each of his children, because all God’s people matter.

Laura Ciminelli is a student at Sweet Home High School. She was part of the youth mission team in Nashville this past summer, and was a VBS Crew Leader.

A Word With God
Lord, fill me with Your Spirit so I can share Your great love and works with others. Show Yourself to those who don’t know You, haven’t heard of You, or need to grow closer to You. Use me to plant a seed of faith so You can transform Your children so they can share a room in Your house. Amen.

People Matter Daily Devotional: October 1

A Word From God’s Word
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgivings be offered to God for all people; for kings and all others who are in authority, that we may live a quiet and peaceful life with all reverence toward God and with proper conduct. This is good and it pleases God our Savior.

1 Timothy 2:1-3 (GNB)

A Word From Mary Ann Milak-Young
Have you ever been asked if you were to be granted one wish, what would it be? Sometimes I like to think of wishes as spontaneous prayers. If I had one wish to be granted or one prayer answered, it would be- Dear God, let there be peace on earth. In my heart, I believe that in a peaceful world where people coexist to work to the glory of God much could be accomplished. We could put all of our energies into; finding a cure for cancer and other debilitating illnesses, working towards eliminating poverty in our country and throughout the world, and working to preserve our God given natural resources- I’m sure that you can think of other causes to add to the list.

The heading above 1 Timothy Chapter 2 in my Bible is Church Worship. In these first three verses, we are being urged to pray for all people, and for kings and for all who are in authority. We are not asked to pray only for our nation’s people and leaders, or for those who are our allies, but for all people and leaders of all nations, even those who oppress and despise us- perhaps even more so for those. For as Christians we are taught to love our enemies and that all people matter to God. When we join our hearts in prayer, this is especially pleasing to God.

Mary Ann Milak-Young is the Care Ministry Team Leader Family/Group Support

A Word With God
Dear Lord, we thank and praise You for those who are willing to assume the role of leadership in the nations of the world. We join together in prayer, asking that You would guide them in leading fairly and with the well being of all people in their minds and in their hearts. We pray for our President and for the leaders of the free world. We ask that they be mindful of Your presence in their lives and that they turn to You in prayer for guidance and with thanksgiving. We pray especially for those who are our enemies. We pray that they would come to know You and through knowing You their hearts will be changed and a new peace will descend upon our earth, Your beautiful creation. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

People Matter Daily Devotional: September 30

A Word From God’s Word
Dull their understanding, close their ears and shut their eyes. I don’t want them to see or to hear or to understand, or to turn to me to heal them.

Isaiah 6:10 (TLB)

A Word From Kelsey Trautwein
Various distractions keep you captive in your spiritual life: technology, stress, school, work, sports, and relationships, to name a few. You can spend time reading the Bible and praying, but if you do not fully submit every aspect of your life to God, your Spiritual life will never reach full potential. In fact, God told Isaiah he would not allow Israel to understand Him as long as they allowed themselves to be captive to secular things. He literally said, “I don’t want them to see or to hear or to understand.” (Isaiah 6:10) God refuses to reveal himself to us when we allow ourselves to be captive to the world we live in.

God loves us too much to give up on us. God will put us through situation after situation until we finally realize we are captive by sin and have the sincere desire to change our ways. Unfortunately, it often takes many hardships for us to learn our lesson. Isaiah asked God “Lord, how long will it be before they are ready to listen” and He replied, “Not until their cities are destroyed—without a person left—and the whole country is an utter wasteland and they are all taken away as slaves to other countries far away, and all the land of Israel lies deserted!” (Isaiah 6:11-12) Fortunately, for us, God is never far away. Jeremiah 29:13-14 says “you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, ‘declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.” What is keeping you captive from fully seeking God today?

Kelsey Trautwein served on the High School Mission Team this past summer as well as a Crew Leader for VBS. She is a student at Williamsville North High School.

A Word With God
Lord, give me the sincere desire to turn away from my captivity and the faith to know You will lead me back to Your righteous path. Amen.

People Matter Daily Devotional: September 29

A Word From God’s Word
He said, “Go and tell people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding: Be ever seeing, but never perceiving.”

Isaiah 6:9 (NIV)

A Word From Dick McKie
This verse is Isaiah speaking of his frustration on his inability to make some people listen, much less understand. I spent some time thinking back in my life to times that I was told but did not understand. It took me some period of time before an early recollection came to mind. It actually came to me as I was sitting barefoot the other night and I looked down at the top of my food and saw an old scar.

One day as a young teenager I thought I was pretty smart, especially when it came to listening to my parents. I was flipping a pair of sharp scissors in the air and catching them. I might mention, I was sitting barefoot on a chair in our living room which had new carpet. My mother upon seeing the activity told me to stop being a showoff and put them away. My response was something like, don’t worry I know what I am doing. At which point I dropped them, stuck them through my foot and bled on the new carpet. You can imagine the frustration and anger that my mother felt was similar to Isaiah’s feelings.

Isaiah talked to the people but was angered by the people who continued to rebel and refused to listen. In our current world, even some of us who come to church, might be accused of not listening. Only God knows whether we hear and understand. The consequences of being a person who has heard the word, but not listened is much more severe than piercing one’s foot with scissors, bleeding on a new carpet, and getting thoroughly yelled at by his mother.

The reality is God’s offer of salvation is made to each of us; he is an equal opportunity employer. However, if we choose not to receive him into our heart, and repent, the result is eternity in Hell. Not a joke, not to be taken lightly. We as chosen people have been given a gift that is beyond belief. We just have to accept the Holy Spirit into our lives. I would like each of you to say this prayer today before you turn off the light to sleep.

Dick McKie is the Director of Serve Ministries.

A Word With God
Dear Jesus, thank You for the sacrifice You made on our behalf, we don’t deserve it. Please grant me the peace that can only be received by accepting You into my life. Also, give me eyes to see opportunities to share Your love with others, whether they are family, friends or strangers. Give me the words to speak of Your Love and Grace to others so they can join me in everlasting life with You in Heaven. Please let Your light shine through me so that anyone who knows me wants to know the joy that I have. Amen.

People Matter Daily Devotional: September 28

A Word From God’s Word
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings; with two he covered his face and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’ ”

Isaiah 6:1-6 (ESV)

A Word From Debbie Ferrante
King Uzziah “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord… He set himself to seek God and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper…his fame spread even to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong.” 2 Chronicles 26:4-5, 8

Isaiah grew up in Judah under this powerful king and how highly he must have thought of this great leader. The people lived in tranquility as the king was able to fight and win many battles. Interestingly, not until this earthly idol died did Isaiah see the Lord.

Do our earthly idols prevent us from seeing the glory of God and the power He has for us in our own lives? How easy it is to look to our earthly leaders (our presidents, governors, spiritual leaders) or even ourselves for deliverance from our plights and the plights of our nation. “If only we could put someone into office who would…” Each new president elected brings hope to some and causes others to cringe with fear based on our expectations of their agendas. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me.” Matthew 28:18 Let us look to the author and perfecter of life and salvation to show us the powerless state we are in by ourselves, take away our guilt and send us out to accomplish His Kingdom work. “Here am I! Send me.”

“True: thou art darkness, I thy Light: My ray, Thy Mists and hellish fogs shall pierce. With Me, black soul, with me converse; I make the foul December flowery May. Turn thou thy night to me; I’ll turn thy night to day.” (The Devine Lover by Phineas Fletcher 1582 – 1650)

Debbie Ferrante is the Team Leader for Prayer Ministry, and a First Trinity Preschool Teacher.

A Word With God
Dear Jesus, I understand that I am powerless to change my own life. Please, by Your Holy Spirit change me. Amen.