Month: March 2016

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PWTE Daily Devotion

The Music of Faith

Ansbach, Germany

Music has a powerful way of communicating the faith.

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

As I traveled through Germany a couple of summers ago it appeared to me that the second most revered person next to Martin Luther was Johann Sebastian Bach. Of course, I did see things through my Lutheran lens.

Ansbach, Germany
Ansbach, Germany

Every other year a Bach festival is held at four different locations in Ansbach, one of those places is the church of St. Gumbertus in the background of this picture. Ansbach was an early convert to the Reformation under the leadership of George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach.  He was an original signer of the Augsburg Confession in 1530.

Faith uses music to communicate the wonder of God’s activity in human history. What would Christmas be without Christmas Carols? What would Easter be without the songs of Christ’s victory over death?

We love to sing the faith.

“Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the LORD; exult before him!”
Psalm 68:4 English Standard Version

The desert could be a fearful place. Wild beasts roamed the wilderness. Highway robbers preyed upon travelers, yet King David could sing that it was the Lord who road through the desert.

Our lives can be as dry and dangerous as the desert, yet it is the Lord who rides in victory through our wilderness.

We sing about God’s victory, and we’ll continue to sing throughout eternity. New songs will join with the old to form a constant symphony of praise to the Lord.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

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PWTE Daily Devotion

The Bridge of All Bridges

Colorado Springs, Colorado

God has built the bridge that has changed our lives.

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

“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity–
the man Christ Jesus.”
1 Timothy 2:5 New Living Translation

I have crossed many bridges in my life from the eight mile Mackinac bridge to this tiny footbridge across a drainage ditch at Holy Cross. No matter how long these bridges are, they all make it possible to reach destinations that would be difficult or impossible to reach otherwise.

Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Paul acknowledges what we feel, that there is a chasm between God and people. That chasm cannot be crossed by mortals. Our rebellion against God and his claim on our lives has created this chasm.

We would be hopelessly stranded in our sin had God not bridged the gap. God reaches out to humanity. God reaches out to you. You are not hopelessly separated from God.

Yet, there are times in our lives that we feel isolated from God. Our prayers go unanswered.  Our efforts to live godly lives has had few positive results. We feel trapped and experience only God’s silence.

The brokenness of this world still exists. There is sorrow, suffering and sadness, but God’s “bridge” hasn’t move. God still comes to us even in the sadness, suffering and sorrow of life.

We ‘re often mistaken about this bridge. God built this bridge not that we might cross over to him but that he might cross over to us. For that reason this Bridge is named as a man, Christ Jesus. He is still the bridge of God to humanity.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

The Light That Guides to Safety

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Jesus Christ is the light that guides us to safety.

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

“Send out your light and your truth;
let them guide me.
Let them lead me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you live.”
Psalm 43:3 New Living Translation

It’s no wonder that people lose their way in snow and fog. Everything turns white. The sky is white. The ground is white. The world is white. You cannot tell which way is north, south, east or west. Only familiar landmarks will guide a person to safety in these conditions.

Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado

The trees serve as a guide in this picture. These trees lead the eye from left to right, into the distant whiteness. I know these trees and I know where they lead. I will not lose my way if I follow their guidance.

Life can seem much like the whiteout conditions of the fog and snow in this picture. We cannot distinguish the way we ought to walk. It’s hard to know what or whom to follow. Voices tell us to turn to the left and then to the right, and all the time we’re guessing where we’re going.

An enemy attacked the psalmist who wrote these words. He called him a “deceitful and unjust man.” He cried out for God to vindicate him, then the psalmist asked the Lord why he rejected him instead. He begged for the light to lead him to God’s safe haven.

And such is our prayer. We pray for God’s light to lead us among all the voices penetrating our ears. What we need are not the thoughts of others ringing in our ears, but the light of God guiding our eyes. His light can be trusted because that light is Jesus, the light that enlightens our world.

Jesus, the light of the world, leads us to God’s haven of safety. And so we hope in God; in his character, in his word, in his truth.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner