Devotion Archive

Week of May 31, 2010

I am happy to announce that after a very long orthodontist appointment yesterday morning, the bottom half of my braces has been removed!

But I was caught a little off guard by my “retainer appointment” yesterday afternoon.  It turns out that even though my bottom teeth are now aligned properly and the braces are off, I still need to wear a retainer 24 hours a day for the first month, and 12 hours a day for some time after that.  Even though my bottom teeth are now straight, they will want to revert back to their formerly crooked positions.  The retainer keeps them where they need to be.

My experience reminded me of these words from Paul:  “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12)

If you have known God for a while and think that his Word, worship, devotion, and Bible Study are just nice or trivial little schedule add-ons for your life if you have the time, these words are for you.  If you think that spiritual warfare isn’t real and that you don’t have a sinful nature living inside of you that has the possibility of committing any sin, than these words are for you. 

You see, the devil hates the freedom that you have in knowing that Jesus is your loving Savior.  He hates the confidence and joy you have knowing that all of your sins are forgiven and eternal life is already reserved for you.  He hates the peace that fills your heart from being accepted by God.  He hates the direct line you have to God’s throne in prayer.  He wants to take that all away from you.  He wants to make your life a crooked mess of sin and shame.

You stand as perfect in God’s sight.  You are aligned with him as his child.  But let the Word of God be the spiritual retainer of your life, so that the love of Jesus retains and reigns you in when the devil would have you rebel and return to sinful ways that are not in line with God’s will.  And be confident that God will strengthen you and keep you aligned with His purposes for you.  His Word has the power to keep you where you need to be, 24 hours a day.

Retained in Jesus’ love by the Word, just like you,

Pastor Jon Bergemann

Weekly Devotions are taken from Trinity's“Screenside Chat”, a weekly email devotion and newsletter from Pastor Bergemann designed to give you a spiritual boost from your Savior while keeping you connected to your Trinity family. 

Contact Pastor Jon Bergemann if you are interested in knowing more about Trinity Lutheran Church.

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