Author: Kerry

Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?”
Genesis 18:23

Swept Away

Daily Devotion – August 28, 2021

Devotion based on Genesis 18:23

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When you were a kid, were you ever in a group where one person did something wrong, and everyone was punished for it? The cry of “Not fair!” echoes through the group when that happens. No one likes to be punished for something they didn’t do.

Before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of the mass wickedness in these cities, he talked to Abraham. In their conversation, Abraham pleaded with the Lord that the righteous not be destroyed with the wicked. The difference between the two groups was that the righteous were those who believed that the Lord would save them from their sin; the wicked didn’t. Abraham pleaded that those who had faith not be mixed in with the wicked. The Lord had mercy and saved the righteous from destruction.

We also have to ask the same question of the Lord. Will the righteous be destroyed with the wicked? How glad we are to know that the Lord is merciful! Jesus came to remove the guilt of our sin and give us his righteousness. On the last day when the Lord will judge all people, those who believe in Jesus have the assurance that they will be separated from the wicked who denied him in unbelief. Saved by faith, the righteous ones will not be swept away with unbelievers to everlasting destruction. Instead, they will be gathered up to live with God forever.

Prayer:
Merciful Lord, cover me with the righteous of Jesus so that I am never separated from you and your love for me 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.

[Jesus said to them] “This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
John 6:58

Bread of Life

Daily Devotion – August 27, 2021

Devotion based on John 6:58

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It was the fifteenth-century B.C. The people of Israel were out in the wilderness. The Lord had performed miracles to bring them out of Egypt, where they had been forced into slavery. He told them he would bring them to the land he had promised to their ancestor Abraham.

But between Egypt and the Promised Land was wilderness. There was no market from which to buy food and hardly anything even growing around them in the desert climate. Soon they began to grow hungry. But the Lord would not allow them to starve out there in the desert. He provided miraculous bread that the people called manna. It appeared on the ground each night and kept them alive during their journey through the desert.

Imagine what that must have been like. A loaf of bread or a bag of groceries appears on your front porch each day, keeping you and your family alive. You don’t have to work for it. You just pick it up and eat it. As amazing as that miraculous manna was, God had something better in store.

All of the people who ate the manna eventually died. It didn’t keep them alive forever. But God provided for them, and he provides for us, bread that will keep us alive forever.

Jesus talked about that bread after miraculously feeding 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and fish. He said, “I am the bread of life.” What he meant was this: As people listen to what Jesus says and believe him and trust in him as their Savior, their souls receive life and spiritual nourishment.

Jesus feeds us too. We come to him hungry for love, and he feeds us with the truth that he was willing to lay down his life for us. We come to him hungry for meaning, and he feeds us with the assurance that we are chosen, forgiven children of God, and heirs of heaven. We come to him hungry for hope, and he feeds us with the promise of paradise that he is preparing for us.

Jesus is just the food we need to live forever.

Prayer:
Jesus, Bread of Life, feed me, so that I live forever with 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.

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:20

Always Thankful

Daily Devotion – August 26, 2021

Devotion based on Ephesians 5:20

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The Stevens family had a custom. Every night they went around the dinner table, and everyone shared something from their day for which they were thankful. One day, Josh was not feeling very thankful. It had rained for the third day that week. They couldn’t go out for recess, and in PE class, they had a lesson about health instead of playing soccer. No thanks!

His little brother Nathan spoke up: “I’m thankful it rained again. The plants need the rain to grow, and we need the plants to eat!” In fact, it seemed like Nathan could always find something to be thankful for.

Being thankful can be hard. So many people seem to have so much more than we have. Sometimes, it seems like we are the only ones who are having problems. And those problems just keep coming. How can we be thankful when it seems like nothing is going right. Death, disease, loneliness, loss, pain, violence, health problems, financial setbacks… the list could go on and on.

Today’s bible verse tells us to “always give thanks to God the Father for everything.” Always? For everything? That seems a little extreme, doesn’t it? But notice the words that come after that: “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Talk about extreme! Jesus showed extreme love for us by his willingness to be punished for our ingratitude and discontentment. The punishment he suffered in our place was pretty extreme, too. He was whipped, beaten, and nailed to a cross. Worst of all, he was cut off from God’s love. And he faced it all willingly for us!

If it weren’t for Jesus, even the best things we have would only be temporary, empty, and worthless. Because of Jesus, all of the trials and troubles we face are only temporary. We have God’s love now and the promise of eternal peace in his presence. And the sorrows of this life can’t compare to the joys of the life to come. Meanwhile, God will use even our troubles and trials, our suffering and sadness, for our eternal good.

Because of Jesus, we can always be thankful in everything!

Prayer:
God, thank you for blessing me always. Fill my heart with gratitude for all of your blessings 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.

Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:18,19

Sing and Make Music to the Lord

Daily Devotion – August 25, 2021

Devotion based on Ephesians 5:18,19

See series: Devotions

If you Google “quotes about music,” you will find hundreds of profound statements about music and its ability to move people and communicate in ways that words alone can’t. A well-written song engages our emotions and puts into words what’s in our hearts and on our minds. Joy and sorrow, anger and anticipation, fear and hope are sometimes most clearly expressed in the words of a song.

In fact, that is why music is such an important part of the life of many Christians. Those who hope in the Lord use music to express the deep sorrow we feel for the ways we’ve disobeyed and dishonored our God. We sing about the fears in our hearts and the foes that surround us. We confess our trust in our powerful and loving God and our confidence in his deliverance from physical and spiritual foes in hymns and songs. And, by reflecting on who God is and what he has done, we are moved to praise him with joyful songs.

Music is part of the shared experience of Christians. Whether in psalms and hymns directly from the Bible or in songs that summarize the message that God gave us in the Bible, Christians speak or sing the truths of Scripture to one another when we gather for worship. We sing those truths because we know that through them, the Holy Spirit fills us with faith to trust God’s promises and strength to live for him.

And in the truths we sing, we are reminded that we are not alone. With our fellow Christians, we share guilt and forgiveness, sorrow and joy, hope and peace. Our songs express the faith we share in a loving God whose marvelous mercy and might that no song can ever fully capture.

You may not sing well. You may not play an instrument. But, when you hear and ponder God’s forgiving love and care in Jesus your Savior, may your heart always be tuned to praise God not only in song but in all that you do.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the gift of music. May my heart always be tuned to praise 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.

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise.
Ephesians 5:15

Watch Where You Are Going

Daily Devotion – August 24, 2021

Devotion based on Ephesians 5:15

See series: Devotions

Have you seen the videos on YouTube? Someone is looking down at their phone. They aren’t paying attention to where they are walking. And they run right into something or someone. It’s an important lesson, even if it takes some embarrassment or pain to learn: You need to watch where you are going.

This is not only true when we are walking down the street. It is also true as we walk through life. The truth is the path through life is difficult and dangerous. The Bible says, “The days are evil.” It says that “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The devil’s fingerprints are all over the world. He wants to destroy all people and drag us off to hell with him. Through his evil influence, wickedness is all around us. If we don’t recognize the deadly, destructive power of the devil in our world, we leave ourselves in serious danger.

And so the Bible says, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise.” The problem is, we’ve already been influenced by the devil’s schemes. Our selfish approach to life, our tendency to trip and fall when temptation comes our way show that we can’t escape the devil’s influence on our own. The answer to the foolishness of my sinful heart doesn’t come from in my heart but from the Bible.

With the encouragement to live wisely, the Bible writer adds, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). God’s Spirit works through the Bible to give us the wisdom that we so desperately need to navigate the dangers of this world. In God’s Word, he makes us wise to the path to blessings with him.

That path is through Jesus alone. Jesus came into this world to destroy every enemy that wanted to destroy us—including the devil and death itself. He opened up the path to God by earning forgiveness for every foolish sin that stood in the way. He opened the gate to eternal life by dying and rising from the dead. Be careful how you live! Follow Jesus! He is the way!

Prayer:
Jesus, open my eyes to the dangers that surround me and lead me on your way that leads to eternal life. 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.

“Let all who are simple come to my house!”
Proverbs 9:4

A Feast for Fools

Daily Devotion – August 23, 2021

Devotion based on Proverbs 9:4

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The world’s greatest chefs have prepared the finest of foods and the best wines. The banquet hall has been adorned in beautiful lights, exotic flowers, and fine linens. World-renowned musicians have tuned their instruments, honed their skills, and taken their seats inside. Outside, a red carpet waits to welcome the guests.

This is not a wedding for earthly royalty, a party for Hollywood celebrities, or a political fundraiser. The guests at this banquet are not the rich and famous, the important and influential. To get into this party, it’s not a matter of how much you have or whom you know.

Listen to the invitation: “[Wisdom] has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city. ‘Let all who are simple come to my house!’ To those who have no sense, she says, ‘Come, eat my food.’”

This banquet is for the simple, the naïve, the foolish, those who look at their lives and realize they don’t have the answers and can’t figure it out for themselves. It is for those with needy hearts, the spiritually bankrupt, those who know that whatever good they might have done is worthless and won’t get them anywhere.

The Bible reveals that, by nature, we are all spiritually helpless and needy. If we don’t love others perfectly and love God more than anything, we can’t win God’s favor or get into heaven. If God doesn’t open our eyes, we are blind to the truth of who we are and how gracious God is.

To us, God extends an invitation. “Come in here. Come, listen to what I say.” As we listen, he feeds us a rich spiritual feast. A feast of forgiveness for all of our wrongs. A feast of love for unlovable sinners. A feast of hope standing firmly on all of the promises of God, including his promise that, because Jesus died in our place, we will live forever and feast with God in heaven one day.

So, come to the feast. Come as you are. Feast on the Bible’s message, in which God speaks to fill you with good things and to bless you forever.

Prayer:
God, thank you for inviting me to feast on your promises. Bless me through your Word until I feast with you in heaven. 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.

“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Romans 11:35,36

The One Who Has Everything

Daily Devotion – August 22, 2021

Devotion based on Romans 11:35,36

See series: Devotions

What gift do you give the person who has everything? This question has often been used as an advertisement for various products. This slogan has been used because sometimes we feel obligated to give a gift to someone who seems to have everything already, and no matter what we would give him or her, it couldn’t be better than what they already have.

This is especially true when it comes to God. What could we ever give to the Creator and master of the universe? He already owns everything, even what we call our own and even our own existence. So what could we give him that he should be grateful to us? Nothing! The Bible says, “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” (Romans 11:35).

Does this seem like a depressing thought? Not at all. The fact that we can’t give to God to repay him makes the forgiveness we have in Jesus even more amazing. Since we could never move God to love us because of what we do for him, his free blessing of eternal life through Jesus is all the more remarkable. How much our great God loves us! We are led to give God glory forever.

Prayer:
Thank you, God, for giving me all that I have, especially my Savior Jesus. May the way I live today express how grateful I am. 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.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:1-4

Rest

Daily Devotion – August 21, 2021

Devotion based on Psalm 23:1-4

See series: Devotions

It’s nearly impossible to rest when under stress. We’ve all been there. We think about something we forgot to take care of at work, or we wonder if we locked the front door, or maybe we begin to think about an argument with a family member or friend, and we just can’t rest.

Sheep are kind of the same way. Sheep that are hungry, in pain, or under any type of stress take a long time to lie down. But when the needs of sheep are met, when they are well fed and protected, they quickly lie down and rest.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is our spiritual shepherd. We can rest in our Good Shepherd because he has taken care of our every need. Our biggest problem isn’t just forgetting to do something at work or forgetting to lock the front door. Our biggest problem is that we have often strayed from God. But Jesus assures us: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Our Savior laid down his life to pay for our sins and make us his sheep. We can rest in his love.

Sometimes it’s hard to rest. Sometimes things in this life can cause an enormous amount of stress and anxiety. At those times, we need to remember that the Lord is our Shepherd. He leads us to drink from the refreshing waters of his salvation and promises to take care of us and lead us through this life. No matter what happens, we can rest in the green pastures of our Savior’s forgiving love.

Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, please help me rest in your promises of love, guidance, and protection. Even when life grows dark and I pass through the valley of the shadow of death, lead me to see my Savior Jesus right there beside 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.

[Jesus said] “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”
John 6:44

Spend Time With Jesus

Daily Devotion – August 20, 2021

Devotion based on John 6:44

See series: Devotions

In his younger years, renowned Christian writer C. S. Lewis was an avowed atheist. When he was a young boy, his mother died. Her death so wounded him that it took him down the path of renouncing God. Left to himself, he would have continued in that path throughout his life.

But he was not left to himself. Little by little, the Lord rattled his presumptions and exposed him to the reality of his existence. Little by little, the Lord gave him passing encounters with the message of the good news of what Jesus Christ came to do. One key encounter involved a long walk he took after an evening meal. He took this walk with an old friend, J. R. R. Tolkien (yes, that J. R. R. Tolkien—the man who wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings). As a result of these various encounters with the message of Jesus, C. S. Lewis came to faith in Christ as his Savior from sin.

Later in life, Lewis wrote about his conversion. When he did, his candor about it was disarming. According to his autobiography, Surprised by Joy, Lewis describes himself in his conversion as “the most…reluctant convert in all of England…dragged into the kingdom kicking, struggling, …darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape.”

In his own C. S. Lewis-like way, he made it clear that he could not take the credit for coming to faith in Jesus. On the contrary, he trusted in Jesus as Savior because the Lord had drawn him in through the power of the gospel.

Jesus himself acknowledged the same thing. He said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

Perhaps you are in a period in your life where you don’t know what to make of Christianity. If so, keep spending time learning all that Jesus has done on your behalf. And know this, too. The Lord is at work in your life.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, in those moments when I struggle, fill me with your Spirit. Draw me closer to your Son. 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.

They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
John 6:42

Familiarity

Daily Devotion – August 19, 2021

Devotion based on John 6:42

See series: Devotions

Some early church history suggests that, while Jesus was growing up with Mary and Joseph in Nazareth, he worked with Joseph in his trade as a carpenter. That same early church history also suggests that some of the items they manufactured together were things like yokes and plows.

If that’s the case, put yourself in the place of someone listening to Jesus in John chapter 6. You know that Jesus grew up in nearby Nazareth. You know his family. Perhaps you even have fresh memories of Jesus repairing your plow or selling you a new yoke. But now, as you’re listening to him preach, he’s telling you that he, Jesus, has come down from heaven.

“Heaven?” you might say. “I don’t think so, Jesus. You can’t pull that on us. You’re from Nazareth. You’re Joseph and Mary’s boy. You’re the man who fixed my plow. You’re not from heaven. I know you too well.”

Familiarity with the Christian faith is a blessed, beautiful, powerful, comforting thing. But the evil genius of your old sinful self and mine can also use such familiarity as Jesus’ listeners did here. The evil genius of your old sinful self and mine can also use such familiarity as an excuse for not taking seriously the only Savior you and I are ever going to have. For not taking seriously the reality that the arrival of God the Son in the person of Jesus Christ is THE WAY by which God himself has entered our world to rescue us from the damning curse of our sin.

Thank God that he returns to us again and again in his Word. Thank God that, again and again, he calls us to repentance. Thank God that, when we come to him in repentant hearts, all is washed away, cleansed in the blood of the Lamb, all is made new. And thank God that, in this forgiveness, the Holy Spirit refreshes our eyes to see Jesus for who he truly is.

Prayer:
Forgive me, Lord Jesus, for all the times I have allowed my sense of familiarity to dismiss my desperate need for you. By your Spirit, keep me close. 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.