Bible Readings and Devotion for September 22, 2020
Here are the references for the readings. Please look these up in your print Bible, your smartphone app Bible, or your online Bible:
Devotion for September 22, 2020
By Pastor David Tinker
Here is my favorite song from Sunday School when I was a child. It is called, “Love, Love, Love”. We sing it every week during chapel at our Martin Luther Lutheran School. It was taught to me when I was about 5 years old, and it has stayed with me ever since.
Love, love, love
That’s what it’s all about
God loves us
We love each other
Mother, father, sister, brother
Everybody sing and shout
Cuz that’s what it’s all about
It’s about Love, Love, Love
It’s about Love, Love, Love
This song is about the greatest love of all. This is the love of God for the whole human race. We read in Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 14: “For the love of Christ urges us on…”
In our reading from 2nd Corinthians we can see at least three specific directions for action. This is like the “Love, Love, Love” of our song.
Let’s look at each of these three directions of action.
1) The love of God urges us to accept his loving sacrifice for us. We are stirred to receive what God promises through his action for us. We are granted life, forgiveness of sin, and restoration to our eternal relationship with the Lord.
2) The love of God urges us toward our goal of honoring and pleasing God. We are called to action which honors Christ. In verse 9 of our reading we hear the following: “So, whether we are at home or way, we make it our aim to please him.” The “him” in this verse is God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We worship and praise God because he has done so much for us. We give of our time and resources in service to others. We offer kindness and fellowship to the lonely in our community, we volunteer with the fire department, and so much more.
3) The power of the self-sacrificing love of God urges us to view others, and life itself, differently than ever before. In response to God’s goodness we are invited to view all of life from a new perspective. St. Paul tells us in verses 16 and 17: “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” As we grow in Christ every relationship in our lives gets transformed. We grow to love and serve others, following the model of Jesus. We grow to live and die in ways which help others to see how God has redirected our lives. We grow to give up much, as needed – including life itself, so that others will see how much we love our God.
Prayer
O God, we thank you for times of refreshment and peace in the course of this busy life. Grant that we may so use our leisure for the renewal of our bodies and minds that our spirits may be opened to the goodness of your creation; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen
Martin Luther Lutheran Church 