Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Tuesday after the Sixth Sunday after Trinity Sunday

Posted on July 26, 2022 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
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Scripture: St. Mark 16:14-18 (NKJV)
 
14:14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
 
Devotion
 
The Lord Jesus does not leave the Church without a reason to believe. After His resurrection the Lord tells His disciples what signs would follow the Apostles during the building of the Church. These signs are given to show the Apostles have come from Christ Himself, and we see these events fulfilled in the book of Acts.
 
However, those who misunderstand the Scriptures try to rob the Church of joy and they teach that this passage is intended to be applied to all Christians, even after the apostolic age. In this way, the enemy seeks to rob us of the simple truth that these signs and their fulfillment, which followed the Apostles, give us reason to believe the Apostles were sent by Jesus as His ambassadors to the world for the special work of establishing the Christian Church.
 
The simple truth revealed in God’s Word always gives hope and reason to believe. The twisting of Scripture will always lead to confusion. May the Church always trust in the simple truth that the Lord has given in His Word.
 
Prayer: Lord of All Power and Might, Who art the Author and Giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of Thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of Thy great mercy keep us in the same; 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.

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