Month: January 2023

So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Galatians 4:7

A Real Member of the Family

Daily Devotion – January 5, 2023

Devotion based on Galatians 4:7

See series: Devotions

It’s a pretty dramatic story when a person who was hired as a servant or conscripted as a slave becomes a member of the family. You can imagine the complicated emotions of the natural-born children in the drama. Do they welcome the new member of the family with open arms? Or are they jealous because someone who is not natural born will get part of the inheritance?

At one time, we were slaves to sin and the devil, forced to go along with them because their will was all we knew. But God has freed us from that slavery, promising us forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus. And where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also salvation and eternal life.

When God made us his children, true members of his family, there was an only begotten Son who could have been angry that he had to take on flesh, suffer, and die in our place. But Jesus, that Son was not jealous. He played his part in our salvation willingly. He did it out of love.

He was the first to receive the inheritance, a glorified body that will live eternally in heaven. But he is not the last. We have the same promise for our bodies and souls, and there is plenty of the inheritance to go around. We are heirs of eternal life, not just our souls, but our bodies as well—glorified, ageless, and perfect.

It’s an extraordinary privilege to be a member of God’s family, his child, with our brother Jesus Christ. Let’s look forward to the family reunion!

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for dying to put God’s will into effect and earn my inheritance. 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.

Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6

Recognizing Your Father

Daily Devotion – January 4, 2023

Devotion based on Galatians 4:6

See series: Devotions

My son and his wife had a baby last year. I think she already recognizes my son as her father. She reacts differently to him than she does to me, her grandfather. That’s probably because she sees him far more often than she sees me. She has learned to rely on him as a source of comfort. She has learned to recognize his love. She has learned to say his name.

Just as my granddaughter recognizes her earthly father, you can recognize the love of your heavenly Father. He sent his only Son into the world, Jesus Christ, to be your Savior. Jesus laid down his life for you. As a result, you are declared a child of God.

So how do you recognize God the Father, your true spiritual Father, in your life? God sends not only his Son but also his Spirit to prompt you to do that.

The Spirit comes to you through baptism. That’s why his name is one of the words spoken when people are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism puts the Spirit into your heart and causes you to believe in the only true God.

The Spirit comes to you when you read or hear the words of the Bible. Those words are Spirit and truth. Those words go right to your heart, confirming and strengthening your faith.

The Spirit leads you to confess the name of God. You can do that in a very formal way, and you can do that in a more informal, tender way. Our Bible verse for today uses a tender, childlike word for father—the word “Abba.” That’s what the Spirit prompts you to call God the Father, Abba. He takes care of you. He is a source of comfort. You have learned to say his name.

Prayer:
Abba, Father, I love you. Be with me wherever I go. 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.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law.
Galatians 4:4,5

The Reason for the Season

Daily Devotion – January 3, 2023

Devotion based on Galatians 4:4,5

See series: Devotions

People started celebrating Christmas two months ago, and most are tired of it by now. The tree is down, the lights are stored away, and they are back to work. Even though they know the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” they don’t realize that those twelve days start on Christmas day, and we are only on day nine today!

Maybe without all the distractions of celebration, the time has come to concentrate on the reason for the season. People realize that we celebrated the birth of Jesus. Did they realize that the birth was at exactly the right time? It happened at precisely the time God had planned it when he first promised it.

The Savior, Jesus, was the Son of God, begotten from the Father from eternity. That eternal God took on flesh and was actually born as an actual human being. Even though his Father was God, his mother was an actual woman, and he was true man.

That meant that he was under God’s law. He was required to keep it; and he managed to do that perfectly. Then he took the punishment for breaking the law, which was death and hell, and because he did not deserve that punishment, he was able to credit his perfect life to us. He paid the price of shedding his blood, innocently suffering, and dying. Now we have forgiveness as a result. We are redeemed.

Those extraordinary events make Christmas worth celebrating every year. Let the celebration continue!

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 366)
Jesus, guard and guide your members, fill them with your boundless grace,
Hear their prayers in ev’ry place.
Fan to life faith’s glowing embers; grant all Christians far and near,
Holy peace, a glad new year. 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.

I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us.
Isaiah 63:7

Look Back to Gain Confidence for the Future

Daily Devotion – January 2, 2023

Devotion based on Isaiah 63:7

See series: Devotions

On New Year’s Eve, did you look backward or forward?

You may have been tempted not to look back. The past year may have been filled with unkept resolutions, unfinished business, and disappointing results. Looking back might have led to bad feelings, even guilt. Looking forward might have offered the promise of new beginnings, even a fresh start.

But looking backward to what the Lord has done for you is a good idea. When you look at the Lord, you see promises kept, business tended to, and excellent results every time. In the Lord Jesus Christ, you have forgiveness for everything that might cause guilt. You have the promise that even when things didn’t look great, the Lord was working things out for your good.

Now you can look forward in the new year to a blessed life—a life that is lived to the glory of God. That means looking out for your neighbor’s needs since the Lord has met all your needs. That means a quiet confidence that the Lord will carry you through even the hardest things.

When the future looks bleak or daunting, look back to the kindnesses of the Lord in your life. Praise the Lord for his marvelous deeds, and be confident that the same Lord will be with you in the new year.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 367)
Then gracious God, in years to come,
We pray your hand may guide us,
And, onward through our journey home,
Your mercy walk beside us
Until at last our ransomed life
Is safe from peril, toil, and strife
When heav’n itself shall hide us. 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.

“Get up,” [the Lord] said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
Matthew 2:13

Divine Direction

Daily Devotion – January 1, 2023

Devotion based on Matthew 2:13

See series: Devotions

We’ve all heard accounts of people who got stuck in traffic and ended up missing their flight, only to find out later that the flight they were scheduled to be on crashed, leaving few, if any, survivors. And what was it that kept those people out of harm’s way—”Dumb luck” or “God’s direction?”

Even though Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were happy living in Bethlehem, Joseph took Jesus and Mary and left Bethlehem for Egypt. And Joseph did this before Herod came and murdered all the boy babies in Bethlehem two years of age and younger. Again, what was it that kept this family (Jesus’ family) safe—”Dumb luck” or “God’s direction?”

We know it was God’s direction because the Bible tells us that God informed Joseph about what King Herod was going to do, and he instructed Joseph to take his family to Egypt to escape. Although this trip would be difficult, it was part of God’s plan to protect his Son so he could save the world from its sins.

When God’s plan doesn’t match up with ours, let’s remember to give thanks that our heavenly Father lovingly directs every circumstance in our lives with our eternal well-being in mind. Then we’ll be able to look forward to that wonderful something God is accomplishing through his plan.

May God’s promise to guide and direct our lives according to his will and for our good grant a Happy New Year to us all!

Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for being so wise and loving that you often avert many of the problems that could so easily come into my life. When you change the things I’ve planned to be in line with yours, let me rejoice in your divine direction. 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.