The Small Catechism – part 260
Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Leviticus 26:11–12
Series: Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
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From the Confessions: The Small Catechism, Table of Duties
Certain passages of Scripture for various holy orders and positions, warning them about their duties and responsibilities:
For Widows
She who is really a widow, alone, hopes in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who is self-indulgent is dead while she lives (1 Timothy 5:5–6).
Pulling It Together: What else is there for anyone to do but to love God and one’s neighbor? This is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36–40). What better way is there for anyone to love God than to spend time with him? What better way is there for one to love her neighbors than to pray for them? No one is really alone when she lives her life with God as he has commanded.
If you keep God’s commandments — ultimately, if you believe in the incarnate God and love your neighbor (1 John 3:23) — then he makes his dwelling with you. God is living with widows, and not only those who are isolated from others, but with all who believe in him.
Therefore, when you are feeling alone, know that you are not really alone. That loneliness is a feeling — not a fact. Open your Bible and listen to God who abides with you. When his Spirit prompts you to pray for someone, do so. Night and day, be assured that you are not alone. For God in whom you hope, walks with you.
Prayer: Open my heart and my lips, Lord, to pray for my neighbor. Amen.
Click here for resources to learn the Ten Commandments.
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Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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