Saturday after the Third Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on June 22, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. John 8:42-47 (NKJV)
8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
Devotion
“He who is of God hears God’s words.” It is easy for us to set aside God’s words and listen to the voices of the world that surrounds us. Every day we are bombarded with the voices of radio, TV, and the internet. We can so easily find ourselves sliding into the abyss of this world, a world from which we can in no wise free ourselves.
That is why it is so important to keep oneself immersed in God’s words, for here is where we hear the truth. We hear the truth about our sin, and the Truth which is Christ our Lord and His gentle voice, pronouncing our forgiveness. The lie of the devil and the world is to draw you away from Jesus by offering those things which are of no lasting value. The devil lies by having you think that whatever that “thing” might be, it will bring you true happiness. But once the thrill of the moment passes, the desire for more of the same comes. Only Christ can break the cycle as He draws you to Himself in order for you to see through the lie, and to once again to see the Truth. As one Baptized into Christ, you belong to Him and He assures you of that by calling you back to Himself, again, and again, and again.
Collect: O God, the Protector of all that trust in Thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us Thy mercy; that Thou being our Ruler and Guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal; 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.
