Ember Saturday within the Octave of the Feast of Pentecost
Posted on May 25, 2024 by under
Scripture: Ezekiel 20:40-44 (NKJV)
20:40 For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord God, “there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your sacrifices, together with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. 42 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. 43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. 44 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord God.’”
Devotion
The Holy Ghost has established the Church in all corners of the world. In every tribe, people, nation, language, and tongue, the one true Church is found. All the world has been born in sin. The whole world is born in corruption. Much of the world remains in their corruption. They remain in their unbelief, clinging to their will and way, and desiring to satisfy the evil lusts of their own sinful flesh.
But the Holy Ghost has called us out of the world of unbelievers to be a part of the holy Christian Church. This Church is made up of poor, miserable sinners who know their sin, confess their sin, and rejoice that through the absolution they receive the forgiveness of their sins.
This is why our Lord Jesus has sent to us His Holy Ghost. He has sent Him to call us out of the darkness of this world into the light of the Gospel. This He does that He might on the Last Day take us away from the pain and misery of this life to His eternal Kingdom in heaven. There we will be free once and for all from the bonds of sin and shame. There we will join with the saints and angels of heaven, and rejoice in the sacrifice of the Lamb forever. The Holy Ghost has been poured out abundantly among us, so that He might lead us into the eternal, heavenly home.
Collect: O Lord, we beseech Thee, deign to pour forth into our minds the Holy Ghost, by whose wisdom we were created, and by whose providence we are guided, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Collect for the Feast of Pentecost
O God, Who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people, by sending to them the light of Thy Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
