1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and shalom from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
4 I thank my God always for you because of God’s love and kindness given to you through the Messiah Yeshua, 5 in that you have been enriched by him in so many ways, particularly in power of speech and depth of knowledge. 6 Indeed, the testimony about the Messiah has become firmly established in you; 7 so that you are not lacking any spiritual gift and are eagerly awaiting the revealing of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 8 He will enable you to hold out until the end and thus be blameless on the Day of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah — 9 God is trustworthy: it was he who called you into fellowship with his Son, Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord.(Complete Jewish Bible)
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Once Thanksgiving Day activities are over, the pressure is on to have the most perfect and prosperous Christmas ever. Merchants use every available avenue of communication to convince us that our Christmas celebrations will be lacking unless we have this product or that gadget. Images of everything from perfect skin to perfect dचcor are displayed to show us our lack, and many individuals go deep into debt to achieve that unachievable perfection.
However, the opening verses of Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth remind us that we lack nothing. As God's imperfect, yet beloved children, we have already received the grace and peace of God. We have been enriched by the presence of Christ and strengthened in Christ until the end of time. And we know and can live in confidence that God is faithful. It is clear, Paul writes, that "you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ." Called to remember the depth of God's mercy for us, we breathe a prayer of thanks.
Loving God, we live and move and have our being in you. So fill our hearts with an awareness of your love so that we live each day with grateful hearts. Amen.
Rachel Mithelman, '83
St Johns Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa
1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus,
5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind--
6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you--
7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.(The Revised Standard Version)---
The Luther Seminary
2481 Como Avenue
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108 United States
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