While doing some reading in "Treasury of Daily Prayer," I read these words from Acts 19:11: And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul.
These words were an excellent reminder that...
When the words of absolution are spoken during worship, it is the Lord's who is doing the forgiving.
When the water is applied to a person, little or big, in baptism, it is the Lord's baptism.
When the bread and wine are being distributed, it is the Lord's Supper.
God uses people like pastors to proclaim His Word and administer His sacraments. But these are not the pastor's things.
These are the Lord's things and it is He that is doing the miraculous in our lives - calling us to faith, giving us the new birth and new life, enabling us to embrace Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, keeping us in this one, true faith until we called to our heavenly rest.
Praise the Lord that He still does the extraordinary in our lives!
