July 3, 2013 Isaiah 5:16-23, “But the LORD of hosts is exalted by justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy by righteousness. Then the lambs shall graze as in their pasture, fatlings and kids shall feed among the ruins. Ah, you who drag iniquity along with cords of falsehood, who drag sin along as with cart ropes, who say, “Let him make haste, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the plan of the Holy One of Israel hasten to fulfillment, that we may know it!” Ah, you who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Ah, you who are wise in your own eyes, and shrewd in your own sight! Ah, you who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant at mixing drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of their rights!” Almighty God we rise and thank you for this day that you didn’t promise us. We give you our deepest thanks for Jesus Christ, your Son our Savior who grants, by his sacrificial love, our eternal life. Father this morning as we again try to make sense of righteousness being cast aside in lieu of evil let us hear and take to heart the words of Isaiah as he reminds us that evil will not triumph in your kingdom; that the mansions of those who say that evil is good and good is evil shall be empty, their fields shall lie fallow and their vineyards shall be soured. Keep us from railing against you for we have failed to hear and prosper in your Word Jesus Christ. Charge us to hear your mighty Word through Isaiah as he points to the salvation offered through Jesus our Savior, ignoring the challenges by the unholy, avaricious and nefarious minions of satan to stop them. We know that their lot has been cast and that ours is with you alone Father. Hear our prayers this day for healing for all of those undergoing surgeries, treatments and rehabilitation; for those who lay near death; for those who struggle against satan’s siren call; for the apostate and wayward who blame you for their spiritual misdeeds and failures; for the traveler; for those who’ve lost loved ones; for our leaders to make the right and courageous decisions for our nation, those bathed in prayer and refined by the fire of your Holy Spirit; for the men and women of the military, police, fire, protective, emergency and medical services both here and abroad – be also with their loved ones as they serve – they have withstood the tests of fire and foe for us. We lift up your Holy Church this morning Father that we have the courage to stare down and beat back the forces of evil and the minions of satan. We pray these and all things in the powerful Name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 13:56:54 +0000