August 28, 2024
“Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God has good ears. He always listens to the cries of His people and never turns a deaf ear to them. God has a gracious heart prompting Him into action to rescue those who cannot deliver themselves out of their troubles. God told Moses that He heard the cries of His people and would deliver them out of slavery in Egypt, and he did. Jonah cried to the Lord out of the belly of a fish; God heard and answered Jonah by delivering him onto dry land. Jesus heard the cries of two blind men, “Lord, have mercy on us.” He touched their eyes, and immediately, they recovered their sight!
All of these whom God delivered could say with the psalmist, “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free” (Psalm 118:5). We could say the same for us. Like Israel, we were in bondage. We were enslaved to sin without any way out. Like Jonah, we were caught up in our rebellious, self-serving ways only to be headed for Hell. Like the blind men, we were groping around without sight and forever lost in darkness. God has heard; he has listened. His gracious heart compels Him to answer your pleas for help; it pleases Him to do so, and He has delivered you. Jesus is God’s answer for all of our cries of Hosanna, “save us, we pray.” Jesus comes; He seeks, and He saves the lost. “In a favorable day of salvation I have helped you.”
God is extravagantly rich in His grace. It will never run out for you, and He will never tire of handing it over to you. As a matter of fact, He keeps on giving, so you are sure not to miss out! He sends a preacher to proclaim His forgiveness for you; He delivers the forgiveness Christ won for you through the words of Absolution; He attaches His saving and forgiving Word to water in Baptism and to bread and wine in our Lord’s Supper. Let us not neglect so great a salvation; let us not receive the grace of God in vain. Now is the day of salvation, today and every day. God hears; He comes, and He delivers! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
By grace God’s Son, our only Savior, Came down to earth to bear our sin. Was it because of your own merit That Jesus died your soul to win? No, it was grace, and grace alone, that brought Him from His heav’nly throne. (LSB 566:3)
-Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Anaheim, CA.
Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.
The new
Guiding Word series takes you through all the books of the Bible in six volumes. Starting with the
Books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy—you will explore every passage of every chapter of each book with the help of maps, diagrams, links between the testaments, and clarification points.