Month: June 2021

He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
2 Corinthians 5:15

Self

Daily Devotion – June 30, 2021

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 5:15

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The Twilight Zone was a TV series in the early 1960s. Episodes typically included elements of science fiction or the supernatural. Almost every story ended with a twist in the plot. Many consider it one of the best-written TV shows of all time.

One particular episode featured a hardened criminal who had died but woke up in a pleasant place. A congenial host welcomed him and invited him to enjoy what he knew to be some of the criminal’s favorite amusements—playing cards, playing pool, etc. At first, the criminal had a marvelous time, for he discovered that he won every game he played. Over time, however, the novelty wore off. More time passed. The irritation of always winning had now turned into drudgery. More time passed. Finally, the criminal cried out in misery, “I wish I hadn’t gone to heaven. I wish I were in hell.” In reply, the congenial host laughed a terrible laugh and said, “You are.”

From the Bible, we know that hell is far, far worse than simple boredom. The criminal’s misery, however, highlights a real curse—the curse of an empty, meaningless life that has no other purpose than to revolve around me.

That’s the evil genius of sin, of course—your sin and mine. My sinful self makes a compelling case that the purpose of my life is the fulfillment of my pleasures, my dreams, my comforts, my priorities. All that creates, however, is a vacant, lonely, pointless life. My life has meaning only in connection with the God who made me. Absent that, nothing matters.

And that’s why Jesus came. As my substitute, God the Son lived a life of perfect trust in his heavenly Father’s will. As my substitute, God the Son went to the cross and washed away all my sins of self-absorption. Now, as the risen and ascended Christ, he sends me his Holy Spirit through his gospel, joining me to God through faith in his Son. The curse of my self-absorbed life is over.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you have rescued me from the loneliness of self. Fill me with the joy of living for you. Amen.

Daily Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Proverbs 30:5

Shield

Daily Devotion – June 29, 2021

Devotion based on Proverbs 30:5

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In 2015, archaeologists discovered something very old. It was a wooden shield, rectangular in shape and reinforced with straps. Experts date the shield to several hundred years before the birth of Jesus.

To a soldier in the ancient world, the significance of a good shield was profound. In the universe of battle, when swords, spears, and projectiles were seeking to kill or maim, there was nothing a soldier treasured more than a reliable shield. He cared for it, repaired it, maintained it, and for good reason. To him, the shield he carried was a mobile, personal refuge from harm.

Perhaps you are in a moment of your life when you feel as though there are swords, spears, arrows, and projectiles coming at you from every direction. Some may be coming from your place of work. Others may be coming from your home, family, and finances. Others may be coming from a diagnosis from the doctor. Still, others may be coming from sharp regrets in your past or pointed fears about your future.

Such a feeling, of course, is nothing new. Ever since humanity severed its relationship with God in the Garden of Eden, we have been experiencing the consequences of our own sinful brokenness. One of those consequences is to feel as though we are, at times, in a chaotic, noisy battle.

God saw this. God saw us. He saw the madness, brokenness, and frantic despair. And so God sent his Son. On our behalf, Jesus fought the perfect fight against every sinful temptation. In our place, Jesus gave his life on the cross for our every sinful failure. Then, according to his promise, he rose from death, ascended into heaven, and filled the whole universe.

And because he has, you and I now stand forgiven through faith in him. Heaven is ours. He surrounds us in his presence. He guides all things for our good.

All of which means that, as you and I encounter the battles of life in this old world, we have a shield. We have a personal refuge. His name is Jesus.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, when my battles come, you are my shield. Help me remember this. Amen.

Daily Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?”
Job 38:1,2

Everything for Your Good

Daily Devotion – June 28, 2021

Devotion based on Job 38:1,2

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The event was sold out. The featured speaker was a prominent British writer of television dramas and children’s literature. When a woman by the name of Malorie Blackman tried to get in, the ticket-takers at the door stopped her cold. “Do you have a ticket?” they demanded, with a nasty edge in their voices. “No, I’m afraid I don’t.” “Then you’ll have to leave. It’s sold out. You can’t come in.”

Malorie thought for a moment about this. Then she replied, “Well, if I leave, then so will everyone else. You see, they’ve all paid to hear me speak.” Immediately, according to Malorie, every ticket-taker there was wearing a red face of embarrassment. They simply had no idea to whom they were speaking.

The Old Testament book of Job is the moving account of what happened when a believer in the true God had to endure a titanic amount of severe suffering. Eventually, Job began to question God’s wisdom.

God’s reply? “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?” God made it very clear to Job that Job was out of his depth when it came to challenging God and his wisdom. Job was beginning to lose sight of who his Savior-God really is.

How about you? Is this a period in your life when you’re beginning to forget who your Savior-God really is? Do you perceive him as distant, small, uncaring—perhaps even a bit irrelevant to the frantic urgencies of your life?

Stop. Listen. Listen to the Word of the Lord. Listen as the profound voice of your Savior-God calls you to repentance. As he does, listen further. Listen as he goes on to embrace you, all over again, in the forgiveness purchased by his Son on Calvary’s cross. That is the God who loves you. That is the God who guides everything—everything—for your good.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, forgive my words without knowledge. Forgive me for the sake of your Son. Refresh me in the greatness of who you truly are. Amen.

Daily Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; the old has gone, the new here!
2 Corinthians 5:17

Out With the Old

Daily Devotion – June 27, 2021

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 5:17

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It had become kind of embarrassing. The shoes had served me well, but the scuff marks were getting pretty bad. No matter what I did to clean and polish them they still looked dirty. I had to walk carefully around puddles because a hole had formed in the sole of the left shoe. It didn’t matter how nicely I dressed, with those shoes on my feet I just felt a little grubby.

Finally, after putting it off longer than I should have, I bought a new pair. Ah… they were comfortable, and I didn’t have to worry about my socks getting soaked every time it rained. Now I was confident that I looked decent when I needed to dress up. I actually found myself walking with more of a spring in my step, confident in my brand-new shoes.

If new shoes or new clothes can have that kind of an impact, what would it be like to be a completely new person? Those who know Jesus and trust in him as their only Savior from sin and death don’t have to wonder. The Bible tells us, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; the old has gone, the new here!”

Jesus died to remove your sin forever. Every impure thought, every hurtful action, every regret-producing decision, and shame-inducing failure—all have been washed away by the blood of Jesus. Everything that would make you look dirty and dingy in the eyes of your perfect Creator has been done away with. The old has gone!

Those who are in Christ—who believe that his blood washed away sin—have been made new. You can walk around confident that you look good to God. He sees you as his holy and perfect child, washed in the blood of his Son and made new.

Through faith in Jesus, you are a new creation!

Prayer:
Jesus, my Savior, thank you for removing the old and making me new. Help me to live as the new creation you have made me. In your name I ask it. Amen.

Daily Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

“‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain…Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches . . . I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.’”
Ezekiel 17:22-24

God Will Never Give Up on You

Daily Devotion – June 26, 2021

Devotion based on Ezekiel 17:22-24

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It’s not a great feeling when people give up on us. Maybe it was the coach who decided you were never going to get it, and so he banished you to the bench. Maybe it was the employer who decided you weren’t fast enough to keep up with the job and fired you after only a few weeks of work. Or perhaps it was the spouse who was no longer willing to be patient with you to make some necessary changes and decided it was time to move on without you.

The believers in Ezekiel’s day had the mistaken impression that God had given up on them. They were languishing in captivity in the far-off land of Babylon, far away from home and country, far away from their house of worship. Yes, they had sinned. And now it seemed to them that God had given up on them and moved on.

Through the prophet Ezekiel, God gave his people a wonderful and much-needed reminder that he would never give up on them. He had promised to save them many times and through many generations, and he intended to keep that promise. In beautiful words, Ezekiel records God’s determination to keep his promise to his people. He let them know that a Savior was coming—one who would take away everyone’s sins and provide refuge for all who seek him.

God will never give up on you either, no matter how unlikely that may seem. God has proven that already by keeping his promise in sending Jesus. The cross of Calvary is God’s guarantee that he will never give up on you. He loves you, has saved you, and will always be with you. Wherever you are, whatever your circumstance, God says to you: “I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.”

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for giving yourself in my place and for giving me the gift of heaven. Lead me to trust you and to live as your child. Amen.

Daily Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah 3:10

Full and Free Forgiveness

Daily Devotion – June 25, 2021

Devotion based on Jonah 3:10

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The ancient city of Nineveh was known for its violence. As the capital of the Assyrian empire, Nineveh dominated the region, and its influence was felt in many directions. Many other nations fell under its power, including the Kingdom of Israel. Assyrian armies laid waste to almost everything in their path, subjugating and enslaving many people and cruelly torturing those who dared to resist. As a result, they earned God’s anger, and he sent his prophet Jonah with the message: “In forty days, Nineveh will be destroyed.”

But when Jonah hesitated to heed God’s call, it wasn’t for the reason we might have expected. It wasn’t that he feared for his life or thought that he might be in danger. Once he finally arrived, Jonah seemed to go fearlessly about the city proclaiming God’s message of impending punishment. What Jonah was afraid of was exactly what happened: the people listened to the message and repented of their wicked ways. They understood from the forty-day warning that the holy God of Israel was willing to relent and show them mercy. And that is what happened.

Jonah selfishly disapproved of God’s grace toward these enemies of God’s people. He would rather see them destroyed and punished without warning as their sins deserved. But God’s kingdom comes by grace in this world. In fact, there is no other way to enter it. The Ninevites could not lay claim to God’s kingdom by force, but neither could the Israelites claim it by merit.

Grace is God’s unmerited love for those who deserve his anger instead. Grace is found only in Jesus Christ, who took our many offenses against God upon himself and accepted the punishment that we all deserved. We enter into God’s kingdom, under his almighty protection and inside of his eternal love, only by recognizing that we shouldn’t be there at all. Repenting of our sins and renouncing our selfishness, we find that we have full and free forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I know that I have angered you and deserve your punishment. But ask for your mercy, and I cling to your gracious promises of forgiveness in Jesus. Amen.

Daily Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

For we live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7

Live by Faith

Daily Devotion – June 24, 2021

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 5:7

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Was it any wonder that Pontius Pilate found it hard to believe that Jesus was truly a king? That was the “crime” that Jesus was being accused of by his enemies—a rebel and an upstart who was trying to set up his own kingdom. But who could believe that to look at him? Isaiah described him this way: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). What few disciples Jesus had had all fled, abandoning their rabbi when he was arrested. Now he stood alone before the Roman governor, “despised and rejected by men.” You can hear the incredulity in Pilate’s voice as he asks, “Are you a king?”

We may have the same doubts about those who are followers of this king. Christians around the world are often harassed and persecuted for their faith in the Nazarene Jesus, who was crucified as a criminal. Their lives are full of the same suffering and pain as those around them, despite their allegiance to the God who they believe created the universe. They say that God is their Father and that he loves them, but Christians also get sick and die, just like everyone else.

But Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. And his followers live by faith, not by sight. They know God’s promises are true because they know that he is truthful. They put their faith in him because he is faithful. God kept his promise to send his Son as Savior of mankind, so he will also keep his promise to love us as his dear children for the sake of Jesus. And finally, God will keep his last promises when he comes to take us to live with him forever in heaven. These bodies we live in may be fragile, and the world we live in full of peril, but we live by faith, not by sight. Our king, the Lord Jesus Christ, will never disappoint us.

Prayer:
Lord God, I pray that you would increase my faith to trust your word even when my eyes tell me there is reason to doubt. Keep my faith focused on Jesus, who rose from the dead and who will give me eternal life by his side. Amen.

Daily Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
Colossians 1:6

Growth Through the Gospel

Daily Devotion – June 23, 2021

Devotion based on Colossians 1:6

See series: Devotions

Many missionaries were unable to travel during the worldwide pandemic. Sometimes that meant staying in the mission field for longer than they had planned, putting off trips to visit family back stateside for another year. Others were stuck outside of their field of labor for months at a time while borders were closed to international travel. All of them were grateful for modern technology that allowed them to communicate with people on the other side of the world almost instantaneously. It was only last century that missionaries usually had to wait weeks or even months for correspondence to be delivered either way.

Of course, even today, there are places where Christian missionaries do not always have Internet access. But those sent overseas in the name of Christ know they do not depend primarily on modern communication technology. Their confidence lies not in the speed of the Internet but the power of the gospel. Whether the good news of Jesus is preached over a loudspeaker, hand-written in a letter, shared quietly around a village campfire, or sent as bytes and bits through cyberspace, it has the same power of God to transform human hearts.

This message is for all people everywhere. The Bible tells us, “There is no difference … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24). And all around the world, this gospel message has been bearing fruit and growing, as people of all nations come to know and believe that Jesus Christ has died for the sins of the whole world.

And you are no different. The gospel is also for you and your family. You can read it in a book (or an emailed devotion!), listen to it live at church or a streamed broadcast, or hear it from a friend or a friendly missionary. But no matter the method, the message of forgiveness through Christ is powerful to save.

Prayer:
Lord God, thank you for sending your gospel into the world. May it also remain with me. Amen.

Daily Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.