Daily Devotion for 09 October 2026 (20th Friday after Pentecost)

0:00Welcome to the Daily Devotions Podcast from Confident Faith. I am Corey J. Moller, a contributor here at Confident Faith and I will be your reader today. This 20th Friday after Pentecost, 9th October. In the year of our Lord, 2026, in the time of the Church, today we commemorate Abraham. Selected from among the nations and called by God to become the Father of a great nation, Abraham left his home and all that he had ever known, at the age of 75, and moved to the land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and to his descendants, a promise fulfilled under

1:01the reign of Israel's monarchs. At the age of 100, Abraham had Isaac with his wife Sarah, a miraculous birth according to the promise from God. Demonstrating his obedience to and trust in God, in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, a sacrifice God stopped by speaking from heaven and providing a ram. Abraham is commended for his trusting faith in God and his promises. Through the seed of Abraham, that is Jesus Christ, all nations have been blessed. Our readings for today are Psalm 103, Deuteronomy 8 verses 1 through 20, Matthew 10 verses 24 through 42, and Paragraphs 53 through 60, of Article 16 of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. We will close, as always, with the Lord's Prayer. Today's reading from the Psalter is the 103rd Psalm.

2:04Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his requitals, who as well propitious toward all your lawless deeds, who heals all your diseases, who ransoms your life from destruction, who crowns you in mercy and compassion, who fills your desire with good things, your youth will be renewed as in eagles. The Lord does deeds of mercy and judgment for all who are being treated unjustly. He made known his ways to Moses, to the sons of Israel his wishes. Compassionate and merciful is the Lord, long suffering and of much mercy. He will not be angry unto the end, nor unto the age will he nurse, wrath, not according to our sins as he done to us, nor according to our lawless deeds as he requested us. For according to the height of the heaven the Lord has made strong his mercy upon those who fear him. As far as rising's hold off from

3:06settings, he is put far from us our lawless deeds. As a father pit his sons, the Lord has pitied those who fear him, because he himself knew our molded work. Remember that we are earth dust. A human being, as grass are his days, as a flower of the field so he will bloom out. Because a breath went through him and he will not exist and he will not still recognize his place. But the mercy of the Lord is from the age and unto the age, upon those who fear him, and his righteousness upon sons of sons, who guard his covenant, and who remember his commandments to do them. The Lord in the heaven made ready his throne and his kingdom lords over all. Bless the Lord, all his angels, mighty in strength, doing his word to hear the voice of his words. Bless the Lord, all his forces, his serving men, doing his wish. Bless the Lord, all his works in every place of his mastery. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

4:11Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forevermore. Amen. Today's Old Testament reading comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, and we will be reading the eighth chapter, verses 1-20. All the commandments that I command you today, you shall be watchful to perform so that you may live and increase and go in and inherit the land, that the Lord swore to your fathers. And you shall remember all the way that the Lord or God has led you in the wilderness, so that he might distress you and test you and discern the things in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he distressed you and let you hunger and fed you with mana, with which your fathers were not acquainted, in order to announce to you that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that goes out through the mouth of God, man shall live.

5:14Your clothes were not worn off you, your feet did not become hard. Look for 40 years, and you shall know in your heart that as a certain person might discipline his son, so the Lord or God will discipline you, and you shall keep the commandments of the Lord or God, to go in his ways and to fear him. For the Lord or God is bringing you into a good and extensive land, in which there are waddies of waters, springs of underground waters, flowing out through the plains and through the mountains. A land of wheat and barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, a land of olive trees of oil and of honey, a land in which you will eat your bread without poverty, and will not be in need of anything therein, a land whose stones are ironed and from its mountains you will mine copper. And you shall eat and be filled and bless the Lord or God, on the good land that he gave you. Take heed for yourself, lest you forget the Lord or God, so as not to keep his commandments and his judgments and his statutes, which I command you today, lest when you have eaten and been filled

6:19and having built fine houses and lived in them, and when your oxen and sheep have multiplied, and when silver and gold have been multiplied to you, and when all that you own has been multiplied to you, you become exalted in heart and forget the Lord or God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of slavery, who led you through that great and fearsome wilderness, where there was a biting snake and a scorpion and thirst, where there was no water, who brought out for you from Flint Rock a spring of water, who fed you with mana in the wilderness, that your fathers did not know, so that he might distress you and test you, that you might do well at your end. Do not say in your heart, my strength and the mastery of my hand have produced for me this great power. And you shall remember the Lord or God, for it is he who gives you strength to produce power, and so that he may uphold his covenant that he swore to your fathers as today. And it shall be, if by forgetting you forget the Lord or God, and go after other gods and serve

7:23them and do obeisance to them, I call you to witness today that with destruction you shall perish, as also the remaining nations which the Lord is destroying before you, so shall you perish, because you have not heard the voice of the Lord or God. This is the word the Lord. Thanks be to God. Today's New Testament reading comes from the book of Matthew, and we will be reading the 10th chapter, verses 24 through 42. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house balezable, how much more will they malign those of his household? So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered

8:24proclaim on the housetops, and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell, are not two sparrows sold for a penny, and not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father, but even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows, so everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth, I have not come to bring peace but a sword, for I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter in law against her mother in law, and a person's enemies will be those of his own household, whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me, whoever finds his life will

9:28lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me, the one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward, and whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly I say to you, he will buy no means lose his reward. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Today's reading from the book of Concord comes from the apology of the Augsburg confession, and we will be reading Article 16, paragraphs 53 through 60. Article 16, Political Order The adversaries accept Article 16 without exception, in it we have confessed that it is lawful

10:32for the Christian to hold public office, sit in judgment, determine matters by the imperial laws and other laws currently in force. Set just punishments, engage in just wars, act as a soldier, make legal contracts, hold property, take an oath when public officials require it, and contract marriage. Finally, we have confessed that legitimate public ordinances are good creations of God, and divine ordinances, which a Christian can safely use. This entire topic about the distinction between the spiritual kingdom of Christ, and a political kingdom has been explained in the literature of our writers. Christ's kingdom is spiritual. This means that the knowledge of God, the fear of God and faith, eternal righteousness, and eternal life begin in the heart. Meanwhile, Christ's kingdom allows us outwardly to use legitimate political ordinances of every nation in which we live, just as it allows us to use medicine or the art of building, or food, drink, and air. Neither does the gospel offer new laws about the public state, but commands that we obey present laws,

11:37whether they have been framed by heathens or by others. It commands that in this obedience we should exercise love. Carl Stott was crazy to impose on us Moses' judicial laws. Our theologians have written more fully about these subjects. They have done so because the monks spread many deadly opinions in the church. They called holding property in common the governance of the gospel. They said that not holding property or not acquitting one's self-adlaught were evangelical councils. These opinions greatly clout over the gospel and the spiritual kingdom and are dangerous to the commonwealth. For the gospel does not destroy the state or the family, but rather approves them and asks us to obey them as a divine ordinance, not only because of punishment, but also because of conscience. Julie in the apostate, Kelsus, and very many others objected to Christians that the gospel would tear states apart because it forbade legal remedy and taught certain other things. It will suited to political association. Origin, Nazionsis, and others wonderfully worked on these

12:40questions. However, they can be easily explained if we keep this in mind. The gospel does not introduce laws about the public state, but is the forgiveness of sins in the beginning of a new life in the hearts of believers. Besides, the gospel not only approves outward governments, but also subjects us to them, Romans 131. In a similar way, we have been necessarily placed under the laws of seasons the changes of winter and summer as divine ordinances. The gospel forbids private remedy. Christ instills this often so that the apostles do not think they should seize the governments from those who held otherwise, just as the Jewish people dreamed about the kingdom of the Messiah. Christ did this so that the apostles might know they should teach that the spiritual kingdom does not change the public state. Therefore, private remedy is prohibited not by advice, but by a command, Matthew 539, Romans 1219. Public remedy made through the office of the public official is not condemned, but is commanded

13:43and is God's work, according to Paul, Romans 13. Now the different kinds of public remedy are legal decisions, capital punishment, wars and military service. Clearly, many writers have thought wrongly about these matters. They were in the error that the gospel is an outward new and monastic form of government. Also, they did not see that the gospel brings eternal righteousness to hearts, while it outwardly approves the public state. This concludes our reading from the book of Concord. I now invite all of you to join me in reciting the Lord's Prayer, one of the most ancient prayers of the church. I do encourage you to say it aloud if you are somewhere reasonable to do so, but praying it silently is, of course, also fine. The Lord knows what is in your heart. Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

14:50Give 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. Go in peace and grace to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in whatever calling has been given you, or tasks that before you, until tomorrow, God be with you.