July 7
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“Now that we know what we have — Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God — let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all — all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.” (Hebrews 4:14-16, The Message)

If you believe that asking for help as a sign of weakness, you’re right! It is a sign of weakness.

Knowing our true state, God has provided the example of His Son — tested in every human situation, and having passed each test with a perfect score; and He has provided His own spirit to give us the inspiration and the power to succeed.

Trouble and trial stalk us like prey. “Take the mercy. Accept the help.”  – Luther

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July 6
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“Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.”  (Acts 7:25, NIV)

It surprises us — as it did Moses — that others do not realize our status as God’s rescue agent.  From “the outside looking in,” we see situations differently than those in the crisis.

At such moments — when we are filled with enthusiasm, energy, and ardor — we need to guard against the temptation to become “tactical”; that is, to become more concerned about a particular, single battle than we are the entire war.  Many have lost wars despite having won most of the battles.  They key is to choose, to fight, and to win the right battles.

Above all, it is crucially important that we keep our ego in check. The recognition and praise of others is a poor barometer (as we saw with Jesus on Palm Sunday when he entered Jerusalem to the praise of the people, only to hear many of those same voices call for His crucifixion a few days later).

Instead, work assiduously for the honor and the glory of our heavenly Father.  – Luther

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July 4
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Independence Day

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  (2 Corinthians 3:17, NIV)

Freedom is not for the faint-hearted; nor is freedom for the weak-minded.

It is a double-edged sword: We have freedom from things — such as freedom from tyranny, from fear, and from slavery; and we have freedom to things — such as the freedom to choose, and the freedom to succeed.  This freedom is not known everywhere in our world, which makes our heritage as a country even more special in the family of nations; not only for freedom’s benefits, but for its costs, as well.

Today’s scripture reminds us of a kind of freedom that is not limited by national boundaries or by physical borders. Its declaration is not written on paper or on parchment, but on the human heart.

As we celebrate and ponder today the gift of freedom in all of its manifestations, remember also the freedom purchased for us by the blood of Jesus, validated by His resurrection, and affirmed through the living testimony of faithful men and women.  His Spirit not only reminds us of freedom’s benefits, but gives us the strength to bear its costs!  – Luther

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