February 11, 2020 - THE HEART OF OUR FAITH

Day 42 - (Today’s Bible readings: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 39; John 18:1-18)

THE HEART OF OUR FAITH

“All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6 ESV) 

What is the heart of the Christian faith? In the movie “Amazing Grace,” John Newton shared the answer with these words: “I’m a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior.”

Isaiah had just proclaimed the reason Christ is our great Savior as he penned these words of prophecy:

“Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.” (vv.4-5) 

Every one of us is a sinner. We have failed to live up to God’s righteous expectations. We have disobeyed Him in thought, word and deed. We have all turned to our own way. We deserved to be stricken, smitten and afflicted for all eternity. INSTEAD, Jesus took our place and bore the load of our sin.

Heavenly Father, I, too, am a great sinner. Thank You for making Jesus my great Savior through His bitter suffering and death. Your grace is truly amazing. Amen.

Pastor David Paape 

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105 ), is the theme for this three-year journey through the entire Old Testament once (the Psalms - twice yearly), and the New Testament twice. There will be daily readings from the O.T., Psalms and the N.T. Special days on the church calendar will be highlighted with appropriate readings. This calendar has been compiled by representatives of the Lutheran Church of Canada, the North American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Please click this link for the daily reading calendar:
https://blogs.lcms.org/2017/lcms-lcc-and-nalc-compile-three-year-schedule-of-daily-bible-readings  
Then scroll down to 2019 Bible Reading Calendar and download it if you so wish. The “assigned” daily readings will appear on a daily basis in this blog. May the Lord bless your meditation upon His precious life-giving Word!