Daily Devotions
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Acts 20:28
Several years ago a newspaper reported that a truck driver working for the highway system stopped to remove a warning sign that was deemed no longer needed. While he was doing this, he was struck by another truck and killed.
Caution in our spiritual lives is always in place. For one thing, we should not be too hasty to remove danger signs along the highway of the Christian faith. The evils may still prevail. In fact, some danger markers should never be removed. The writer of Proverbs states, “Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers ” (Proverbs 22:28). What pertained to local geography then still applies to Christianity today. Warnings against sin, the temptations of the world, and the wiles of the devil are still needed.
While God’s caretakers in the church look after the welfare of the people committed to their care, they are reminded by Holy Scripture also to be concerned about their own spiritual safety. This is stressed by the apostle Paul. In his meeting with the elders of Ephesus he said, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). And to Timothy he wrote, “Watch your life and doctrine closely” (1 Timothy 4:16).
In the home, fathers and mothers watch over their children, teaching them the meaning of God’s love in Christ Jesus. They also need to look after their own safety as they travel the traffic-stricken highways of life. It would be a real tragedy if they were struck by the vehicles of sin and Satan and they lost their faith.
Years ago it was asked in a popular song, “Who takes care of the caretaker’s daughter while the caretaker is out taking care?” Similarly, who takes care of the church’s caretakers while they are taking care of their charges? The Lord does.
PRAYER: O Lord God, continue Your guardianship over my faith and life. Amen.
(Devotions from “With Jesus Every Day” copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)