Being Our Best to Serve God and Our Neighbor
Today’s Verses:
3 John 1:2 ESV
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
Back in December, my health journey began. My regular doctor advised me to reduce my salt intake and eat foods with the least amount of sodium. My blood pressure of 156/99 was a little high. She also kicked me off all fat. In one fell swoop, gone were tortilla chips with salsa, any vegan cheese or meat, and any joy that I could find in food. Then my oncologist told me, on the same day, to stay off caffeine. Me? Mr. “I’ll Drink a Pot of Coffee Before 8 AM Every Day?” Off caffeine? My Christmas time was fun as I tossed out salty snacks, caffeine, and tea and coffee. Recently, after speaking with my dentist, who described my tea drinking as the culprit for horrific stains on my teeth, I was advised to either I should refrain from tea and coffee or drink them through a straw. Have you ever drunk hot coffee through a straw? Not possible. So, gone went decaffeinated tea and coffee from my daily regimen.
And since that fateful December 20th in the year of our Lord 2024, I’ve inadvertently gotten healthier. I’ve lost over 80 pounds. My blood pressure on Sunday morning was 106/72. My total cholesterol has bottomed out at 142 so far. While I don’t eat salsa and tortilla chips anymore, I can’t complain about the results. During this time, I found myself “Bible-ing” more, meaning I’ve read and studied God’s Word more directly. These daily devotions are moving me to be a better student of God and His mission for us.
Today’s verse from John’s third letter expresses something that our Lord desires from each of us. God wants us believers to do things well, focusing as we talked about this weekend in church, in fulfilling the command of Jesus to the lawyer in the Good Samaritan parable. He wants us to go and serve like the Samaritan without question.
He wants us to do this work in good health. He’s not just talking about our ability to be healthy physically, but also spiritually. God wants us in His Word daily, to read and pray over the words He’s given us. And one way to do that is to take time to read a devotional, even this one. Our Father wants us to be our best spiritually and physically, so when the time comes for us to serve others, we can do so with hope and joy in our lives. That’s why being sick with the Western diseases of excess hurts our chances of loving our neighbors to the fullest.
I may have thought all my doctors and dentists were nuts with their advice. It even sounded “extreme.” But as I sit here this Sunday afternoon writing this Monday devotional, it is working!
Martin Luther wrote the following in the Small Catechism on the Fourth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “…everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead … good government, good weather, peace, health …” This shows that Luther clearly believed God cares about our physical well-being alongside our spiritual health - just like John’s prayer in 3 John 1:2.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Gracious Father, thank You for being the source of true happiness and lasting health. Help me to find my joy in You, even when life is hard. Strengthen my body, uplift my spirit, and lead me on the path of life In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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