Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Monday after the Last Sunday after Trinity Sunday

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
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Scripture: St. Mark 13:32-37 (NKJV)
 
13:32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
 
Devotion
 
Jesus’ second coming will take everyone by surprise. That is, no one knows the day He will come. All the foolish people who try to write books or preach that they know the date of Christ’s return try to tell you it’s this date or that date, but they simply haven’t read or have ignored Christ’s own words. We are to watch continually, without ceasing or tiring. We should watch as a constant vigil. We are to be ever ready. We may be surprised by the suddenness of the coming, but we should not be caught unprepared.
 
We should pray all the time that the Lord would keep our hearts stirred up and in expectation of Him. This life of prayerful watching and waiting is not a call to an idle lifestyle, sitting around waiting for something to happen. It is a call to a purposeful lifestyle; a lifestyle that takes the words of Christ seriously. It is a lifestyle that is lived in the presence of God, in the expectation that today my Lord may come. It is easy to forget that. It is easy to get distracted, but our Lord commands us to watch!
 
Prayer: Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy people from their offenses; that from the bonds of our sins which, by reason of our frailty, we have brought upon us, we may be delivered by Thy bountiful goodness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
 
Collect for the End of the Church Year
We thank Thee, Lord God, Heavenly Father, that in the past church Year Thou hast preserved Thy Word among us in purity, and by it sensibly quickened our souls; and we beseech Thee, Thou wouldst graciously forgive us all our neglect, unbelief, and disobedience of Thy Word, and continue unto us this precious treasure with Thy blessing forevermore; 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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