Preparing for Worship - August 29, 2021

Moses has just been given a glimpse of the Promised Land to which he had been leading the people of Israel for forty years. He will die before Joshua will lead them into the land; but his work, now, is to prepare Joshua and the people and call them to be faithful to the Lord and His Word and will, as they live in the land that the Lord is giving them. The Old Testament lesson, Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9, summarizes the message of God, delivered through Moses. The people are to listen and follow the Word of God and not add to or subtract from it, or forget it. They are to teach it to their children and future generations. This Word will give them the “wisdom and understanding” that they need and enable them to be a witness to the nations around them, too, of the One True God.

The Psalm is Psalm 119:129-136, part of the longest psalm in the Old Testament, celebrating the greatness of God’s Word. His Word gives “light and understanding” as it is “unfolded” and listened to. The Law “keeps steady our steps” and the Gospel shows God’s gracious redeeming work for us, as His “face shines upon His servants who trust His “promise.”

Jesus reminds us, though, of the difficulty of following God and His will, in the Gospel lesson, Mark 7:14-23. We have a sinful nature, and out of our sinful hearts come many “evil things” that “defile a person.” The problem is not what we eat, but what we are. We need forgiveness and new life and hope that will not come from us and our efforts.

The Epistle lesson, Ephesians 6:10-20, points us away from ourselves and to our Lord and His “strength and might” and the spiritual gifts He provides for us: “truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, (the sword of the Spirit Who fights with and for us), and prayer.” These are pictured as “armor” that will help and protect us, defensively and offensively, as we are battling not only our old sinful nature, but the “spiritual forces of evil” that are more than “flesh and blood.”

Much of the “armor” we need is described in the Old Testament as what God used and uses as the Lord, for our sake, and what His promised Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, our Lord Jesus would use to bring salvation to us. In Him and His power, we can stand firm in faith, even in “evil days.” Paul needed this power from God, too, as he asked the Ephesians to pray for him to be able to speak boldly about his Lord, even while in prison “in chains.” We need and have that power, too, in Christ and His Word.