Month: March 2016

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PWTE Daily Devotion

The Power of Using Common Language

Lutherstube, The Wartburg, Eisenach, Germany

The Bible speaks of God’s love in a language we understand.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12 New International Version

This is the room of Knight George. That’s the pseudonym that Luther use at the Wartburg when the Elector of Saxony protected him from May of 1521 to March of 1522. He dressed as a knight. He was taught the ways of knight.  He even grew a beard as seen in the Lucas Cranach painting on the wall.

Lutherstube, The Wartburg, Eisenach, Germany
Lutherstube, The Wartburg, Eisenach, Germany

However, what happened in this room over an eleven weeks period of that stay changed the lives of thousands of people, not because he pretended to be a knight but because he put his skills to work.

At a table much like this one Luther translated the Greek New Testament into German, opening the way for anyone to know the word of God.

Imagine what Luther’s translation meant for the people of Germany. For the first time people realized that God spoke their language. God would not be seen as far removed from the merchants and peasants, but near them. The Bible would not be locked up in the cathedrals of Europe, but make its way into homes.

Today, not only is the Bible translated into many languages, but there are many versions of it in the same language, especially in the English language. The problem with this familiarity with the Bible is that we take it for granted. Our Bibles are table decorations, bookends, or dusty old gifts given to us by our parents.

However, the word of God is still “alive and active.”  It reveals God’s love for us in the gift of Jesus. It speaks of God’s longing for us which draws us into his presence. May we hear afresh the message of this love in our common language.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

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PWTE Daily Devotion

Are We Just Animals?

People are more than animals.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Then God said,
“Let us make humans in our image, in our likeness.
Let them rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky,
the domestic animals all over the earth,
and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26 God’s Word to the Nations

Our cat, Cali, is aging, but you wouldn’t know it by her actions and attitude. When I climb into bed, she comes next to my face purring, expecting me to pet her, then she wanders to some point on the bed and falls asleep. She still lets me know when I haven’t pet her enough.

March 03Cali is an indoor/outdoor cat and quite the mouser when she wants to be. One night she brought a live mouse into the house, plopped it on the floor and went up to the bedroom leaving me to chase the mouse with a broom (thankfully, no one captured that scene with their phone). I’ve watched her make friends with one mouse then toy with another until it died of exhaustion. She can be kind and she can be cruel. She’s an animal, that’s how animals act.

But are we animals?

The answer is yes if we’re talking biologically, but if we’re speaking biblically, then the answer is no. We are more than animals if we believe that we are made in the image of God. And as such, we live by a different ethic than animals. We are held accountable for our actions.

However, one of the consequences of the prevailing acceptance of macroevolution and the rejection of God as the Creator is the ethic that we’re only animals, a highest developed species of animals, but animals nonetheless. Therefore, we are encouraged to act like animals.

In the Christian community we cannot embrace an ethic that states that we’re merely animals. It not only denigrates God as the Creator, it also makes a mockery of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Our ethic is based on our God who created us and on Jesus who has redeemed us.  We are slaves to Christ but not enslaved to animal instincts.

Human life, marriage, and creation are sacred because they have their source of being in God and God alone. Jesus has redeemed human life, marriage and creation through his sacrifice. Therefore, we don’t act like animals, but like the created and redeemed children of God that we are.

What a powerful witness we portray to the world when we live to a higher standard than living like animals.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

Handcrafted by God

Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, Germany

Created and redeemed by God, we add beauty to the world he owns.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.
They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock,
all the wild animals on the earth,
and the small animals that scurry along the ground.'” 
Genesis 1:26 New Living Translation

Running through the middle of Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, Germany are two concrete canals. I don’t know how long these canals have run through the city. They might date back to the days when fortress walls protected Wittenberg, but then again, maybe not.

Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, Germany
Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, Germany

The water in these canals suddenly appears on the east end of Wittenberg and then disappears on the west end. On its journey through the town it adds both beauty and function to the city. You will note the beauty of the flowers that line this canal as well as the railing which serves as a bike rack for residents.

Since we are created in the image of God and redeemed by the blood of Christ, we add beauty to this world. We are handcrafted in the heart of God. There is no one like us.

There is no one like you. You are an amazing work of God.

And, since we are created in the image of God and redeemed by the blood of Christ we have a special function in this world. We are uniquely equipped to do God’s work at this time in history.

You are uniquely equipped to do God’s work at this time in history.

You are an amazing work of God.

Did you catch it? You are an amazing work of God.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner