Dear Friends of MCC,

Martin Luther’s Evening Prayer: I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have graciously kept me this day. Forgive me all my sins, and graciously keep me this night. Into your hands I commend myself, my body, and soul, and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Our lives as Christians are faced with many pitfalls. As Christians, we face unique temptations this unbelieving world does not. As Christians we long for a new heaven and a new earth, while we watch the present heaven and earth pass away. We struggle at times with our own physical bodies all the while looking forward to the new body we will receive in the resurrection.

That can be a lot to worry about, can’t it? And then throw on top of all this a sixteen-month pandemic and we may find ourselves worried about many things. These are stressful times indeed. As Christians, though, we don’t have to react to this world in a way that produces more stress upon ourselves. You have someone who cares and is interceding for you – Christ Jesus our Lord. As we have just celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, let’s not forget that God has not left us to our own devices to solve our problems. God sent Jesus our Lord as our personal Savior, and the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

And God doesn’t abandon you in this world in the midst of pandemics and temptations; God sent Jesus Christ our Lord to you. We can say Luther’s evening prayer daily to remind us that God truly does invite us to cast our cares upon Him.

I appreciate this prayer for many reasons, the greatest may be the underlined portion above which reads, “Into your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things.” How good for us to remember every single day of our lives that all of our worries of body and soul may be “commended”, entrusted, into the very hands of God, because God knows what to do with them.

If it is a temptation, God will strengthen you to stand up to it with His word. If it is a physical ailment, entrust that concern to God who gently reminds us of the resurrection awaiting all the faithful. If it is a long laundry list of worries, and fears, and concerns that build up during a pandemic, quietly release them into the hands of God, entrust them to Him. After all, if He was able to still the wind and the waves, won’t He also do the same for you, someone who matters so much more to Him than the wind and the waves.

Romans 8:28,31: ²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. ³¹ What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Have a Blessed June,

Pastor Greg