SAINTJOHNLUTHERAN EMPORIAVA.COM
  • Home
  • What we believe
  • Daily Devotion
  • Media
  • Calendar
  • Sermon Archive
  • Contact us
Picture
​

Thy kingdom come

6/22/2021

0 Comments

 
​6-22-21
Today’s devotion is based on Mark 4:26-29. “[Jesus] said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
Just what is God’s kingdom? And how does it come? In his Small Catechism, Martin Luther explained it this way: “God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives his Holy Spirit so that by his grace we believe his holy Word and lead a godly life now on earth and forever in heaven.”
I know I don’t always live in a way that shows that God is the king of my heart. And while I do believe that Jesus died for me and that my sins are forgiven because of him, I don’t know that I would compare my struggling faith in him to a “kingdom.” All too often, I’ve become frustrated with not seeing enough evidence of spiritual growth—either in my life or the lives of other Christians.
But Jesus helps us to understand the way that God answers our prayer for his kingdom to come. Just as a seed grows after it has been planted, so God’s kingdom comes slowly but surely, almost imperceptibly at times. Just as God works through the laws of nature that he established to give life and maturity to a growing plant, so the Holy Spirit works faith in us through the gospel of Jesus so that over time we produce its fruits in the form of love and good deeds. So have patience with yourself and have confidence in the power of God’s word. Even at this moment, it is quietly at work within you.
Please pray with me the prayer for today: Dear Father, your kingdom comes even without my asking. But I pray that it comes to my loved ones and me also. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    D Rhoads

    Archives

    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019

    Daily Devotions

    All

    RSS Feed

Site powered by Weebly. Managed by SiteGround
  • Home
  • What we believe
  • Daily Devotion
  • Media
  • Calendar
  • Sermon Archive
  • Contact us