This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: Touched by Grace! (WATCH HERE)
Luke 17:11–13 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
Leprosy did more than damage a person’s body. It separated people from everyone they loved.
The lepers could not live with their families. They could not gather for worship. They could not participate in the life of the community. They stood at a distance, isolated and alone.
When Jesus healed them, He restored much more than their health. He restored relationships.
Isolation has always been one of Satan’s favorite tools. He whispers that we are alone in our struggles, forgotten in our pain, unnoticed in our failures. Yet from the beginning, God has created His people for community.
The Church is one of His greatest gifts of grace.
Through the Gospel, God gathers people who otherwise would have little in common. Young and old. Rich and poor. Different backgrounds, personalities, and life stories. Yet all are united by the same Savior, washed in the same Baptism, nourished by the same body and blood, and strengthened by the same Word.
What a remarkable gift.
As we remember 250 years of our nation’s history, we also remember countless congregations where God’s people have gathered week after week. Churches have stood through wars and peace, prosperity and hardship, baptizing children, comforting the grieving, proclaiming forgiveness, and pointing sinners to Christ. While governments rise and fall, Christ continues building His Church.
That is where lasting hope is found.
The writer to the Hebrews urges us, “Let us not give up meeting together… but encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25). We need one another because we all need Christ. Sometimes He encourages us through a friend’s conversation. Sometimes through a hymn sung by the congregation. Sometimes through a pastor’s sermon or a fellow believer’s quiet prayer.
God rarely intends us to walk alone.
This week, thank God for the people He has placed in your life. Your family. Your congregation. The friends who pray for you. The saints who have gone before you. These relationships are not accidents. They are gifts of His grace.
Reflect: How has God used your church family to strengthen your faith over the years? Is there someone God may be calling you to encourage or reconnect with this week?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for gathering me into Your family through faith. Thank You for my congregation and for fellow believers who encourage me in Your Word. Help me never to take this gift for granted. Use me to encourage others, to bear one another’s burdens, and to reflect Your love within the body of Christ. Amen.