If you were surprised by the content of yesterday's Devotion, so was I. One of the joys, frustrations, and surprises of studying the Bible is facing unexpected contradictions that can challenge one's understanding, and sometimes even one's faith. For years I have delved into the Bible, trying for a better understanding of who Jesus was and what his teaching meant. There are still surprises.
After years of thinking that our version of the Lord's Prayer was from the Gospel of Matthew and our Catholic friends used the Gospel of Luke, I actually compared the King James Version [KJV] that formed my faith with the New Revised Standard Version [NRSV] of our pew Bibles. They are not the same! The discrepancy sent me to Westar's The Complete Gospel Parallels which noted that many versions of the prayer included "For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever, amen." Honesty in Bible study required me to acknowledge that this was probably a late addition, and it was too late to scrap the whole series of Devotions based on the prayer we say every Sunday.
To quote a UCC phrase: "God is still speaking." God speaks through us, and there is nothing wrong with adding a sentence of praise to Jesus' words.

Thoughts from Lyn Pickhover

Lenten Devotions
March 7, 2021