Author: Kerry

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12

No Other

Daily Devotion – April 19, 2021

Devotion based on Acts 4:12

See series: Devotions

Last month, a couple was driving across a bridge in the western United States. They were riding in their truck, and their truck was pulling a 30-foot trailer. Suddenly, disaster struck. The truck veered out of control and went over the side. It was about to plunge all one hundred feet to the bottom of the gorge. It didn’t, however. Instead, it hung, suspended. There was one reason for this. The trailer was still on the bridge, and between the trailer and the truck was a standard safety chain. That chain—and that chain alone—spared the couple from plummeting to the bottom.

In that moment, as the couple stared straight down into the gorge, it didn’t matter what kind of sound system was in the truck. It didn’t matter how big its engine was. It didn’t matter whether or not the interior of the truck was in pristine condition. What mattered was the chain.

On any given day, you and I encounter many good things that need our attention. Our family, work, and physical health need our attention. So do our home, finances, hobbies, and recreation.

These are all good things. However, none of them is as important as our relationship with Jesus Christ. “Salvation is found in no one else,” the apostle Peter wrote, “for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Jesus alone is the One who came to live a perfect life on behalf of sinful mankind. Jesus alone is the One who took the sins of all people of all time and paid for them in full at the cross. Jesus alone is the One who links us to life eternal and forgiveness full and free.

With so many things pulling at our time and attention, remember to stay connected to the most important One—your Savior, Jesus.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, wash away my sins of misplaced priorities. Renew my bond 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.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:12

There Is No Other

Daily Devotion – April 18, 2021

Devotion based on Acts 4:12

See series: Devotions

Have you been to an electronics store recently? Walk to the back of the store, and you will discover a wall of televisions. Literally, the entire wall will be covered with flat-screen TVs. The challenge is choosing which one to buy. There are different sizes, different features, and different prices. The choices seem endless.

When it comes to our relationship with God, the situation is very different. There are not many different paths to God. There is only one. His name is Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can save us from eternal separation from God because only Jesus did what we needed to have done. He lived a perfect life in our place. He died to make payment for our sins. And he rose from the grave to defeat death and guarantee us eternal life.

The worst that could happen if you walk out of an electronics store with the “wrong” TV is that you won’t get as clear a picture as you could have had. But, walk out of this life with anyone or anything other than Jesus, and you won’t have the eternal life you could have had. Don’t allow this to happen. Trust Jesus—the only name by which we must be saved.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for doing everything necessary to save me. Keep me close to you until I sing your name in the heaven that you are preparing for 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.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Acts 3:19

The Best Kind of Refreshment

Daily Devotion – April 17, 2021

Devotion based on Acts 3:19

See series: Devotions

“Refreshments will be served.” Advertise a meeting by promising refreshments and the meeting attendance will almost always increase, especially if the refreshments are really good. Fresh donuts in the morning and hot pizza at night have a powerful effect on meeting attendance.

The Lord promises the best kind of refreshment. He says that when our feelings of guilt and our record of wrongs are wiped away, that’s lasting refreshment. There is no feeling of relief that compares to the sweet relief of forgiveness, knowing we are spared the condemnation we justly deserve as sinners.

God has done everything necessary to take away the punishment that should be ours. The guilt of our sins was laid upon Jesus, and by his Son’s sacrificial death, the due penalty was paid.

Now God calls us to a meeting where he will serve refreshments that are the best. He comes to meet with us through his Word. In the Bible, the Lord gives us the refreshing message that our sins are wiped out.

We will want to meet with him often by reading and listening to his Word because he gives us the best kind of refreshment—we have the peace of forgiveness for our sins through the Lord Jesus!

Prayer:
Thank you, Lord, for refreshing me with the promises found in your Word. 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 only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:19,20

Christ Is Risen

Daily Devotion – April 16, 2021

Devotion based on 1 Corinthians 15:19,20

See series: Devotions

When was the last time you saw someone rise from the dead? Never. And you have to admit Jesus’ resurrection is one big, difficult pill to swallow. So why is it so important to believe that Christ is risen?

Because faith without fact is a lie, and hope without history is hopelessness. If Jesus’ bones are dust in a tomb, then Christians are the most pitiful people on the planet because they are wasting their lives. They trust in a man who is not the Savior he said he was, who did not rise again as he promised, and who cannot do a thing for their future because he is dead. Even the Bible admits that if Christ is still dead, Christians are dead wrong.

But do you know what else the Bible admits? “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.” Indeed! There is no doubt. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is something that happened in history, unlike any other thing that has happened. But like every other event in history, the resurrection is an historic fact.

And Jesus won’t be the only one who rises from the dead. Our Bible reading for today says that when he rose, he was “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Firstfruits are the very first fruits that you harvest. Christ is the first to rise from the dead, but not the last. Jesus’ resurrection is God’s guarantee that there are more resurrections to come, including everyone who trusts in Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life. May that include you!

Prayer:
Risen Lord, give me confidence in your resurrection and joyful anticipation of my own resurrection. 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 performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:30,31

The Reason the Bible Exists

Daily Devotion – April 15, 2021

Devotion based on John 20:30,31

See series: Devotions

Why did John write his Gospel? For that matter, why does the whole Bible exist? Today’s passage gives this answer: to bring you to faith in Jesus.

John’s Gospel is the eyewitness testimony of John. He didn’t make it up. He saw it with his own eyes. He lived it. Then he wrote down what he saw so that the Holy Spirit would use it to bring you to faith.

Why is this important to know? Many people assume that the Bible is a collection of religious fiction. They say that if you believe that Jesus actually performed miraculous signs and that he factually rose from the dead, then your brain must be mush because those things do not happen.

But the Bible presents itself as a factual book that was written to give people faith. You probably do not realize how much importance you place on eyewitness testimony. In the courtroom, eyewitness testimony is the difference between whether someone is pronounced guilty or innocent. Reporters cover events with eyewitness accounts of what happened. For a claim to be taken seriously—in Bible times or our times—eyewitness testimony is important.

The apostles witnessed Jesus’ miracles. They saw him crucified and risen. They knew he was dead, and then they saw him alive. Their eyewitness testimony has been handed down to you so that you can know who Jesus is and what he has done—that he is God in the flesh who died on the cross to take away your sins and rose from the dead to guarantee your salvation.

And their testimony was written not only to tell you what happened but also so that the Holy Spirit would work through it and you would have eternal life in Jesus’ name. What a blessing! You do not have to guess or try to figure out what God did or when he did it. It is given to you in his Word.

Prayer:
Son of God, I praise you for giving me 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.

Then Jesus told [Thomas], “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:29

Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Seen

Daily Devotion – April 14, 2021

Devotion based on John 20:29

See series: Devotions

Thomas had a problem. He was not with the other disciples on the first Easter. When they told him that the resurrected Jesus had appeared to them, he doubted their report. It was simply too good and amazing to be true.

You weren’t in that room with the disciples on the first Easter either. You did not witness the resurrection. In fact, you have never even seen Jesus.

But don’t let it overcome you. Instead, watch how Jesus dealt with doubt. The second time Jesus appeared to the disciples, Thomas saw him and believed. Then Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus answered Thomas’s doubt by appearing to him. He answers your doubt by blessing you for believing in the Savior you have not seen.

Christianity involves believing in Jesus and believing, is putting your trust in something you do not see. That is the Bible’s definition of faith. The book of Hebrews says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

However, that does not mean that the Christian faith is blind faith. You did not see the risen Christ in that locked room, but the apostle John did. He is the eyewitness, and this passage from his gospel is his testimony.

You don’t need to see Jesus to know that he is real. You can trust that what he promised and what his disciples witnessed is true. He is your Savior who rescued you from your sins and who rose from the dead to assure you of eternal life. Believe it and be blessed!

Prayer:
Blessed Savior, thank you for blessing me, even though I have not seen 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.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
John 20:21

Peace Be With You

Daily Devotion – April 13, 2021

Devotion based on John 20:21

See series: Devotions

“Peace be with you!” Those are wonderful words to hear when you live in a world like ours so filled with turmoil and turbulence. It is Jesus’ promise to all of his followers. It is peace between you and God. It is the certainty that God is not out to get you. He already “got” Jesus for your sin when he punished him for it on the cross. God’s wrath is gone. Where once there was hostility and anger over sin, now there is only peace.

This is the peace that settled on the apostles when they saw the risen Savior, and it is the peace that Jesus sent them to proclaim. Because they took the message of peace to the world, the Christian Church grew, and you are reading this devotion nearly two thousand years later.

This resurrection peace directly affects you. Because Jesus lives, you know that your sins are forgiven, and your guilty conscience is silenced. Because Jesus lives, you have peace of mind and can cast all your cares on the Lord, who cares for you. Finally, because Jesus lives, you have the certainty that there is “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade . . . kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4).

Listen to Jesus. He says, “Peace be with you! Do trials make you miserable? Does death terrify you? Remember me. I died for you, rose for you, and conquered every evil. I give you an eternal inheritance, and nothing can take that from you. Truly, what can harm you?” Peace like that cannot be found anywhere else in this world.

Prayer:
Jesus, help me to cherish your resurrection and your peace. 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.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
John 20:19,20

God Has Shown Himself

Daily Devotion – April 12, 2021

Devotion based on John 20:19,20

See series: Devotions

Let me tell you a story. As two explorers slashed their way through the jungle, they reached a clearing that held a small garden. The garden’s beauty and order suggested that someone was taking care of it, but there were also many weeds. One explorer said, “A gardener must come and tend the garden.” But the other objected, “There’s no gardener here.”

To settle the question, they pitched a tent and watched, but no one came. The first explorer said, “There is a gardener, but maybe he is invisible.” So they set up an electric fence around the garden and patrolled it with bloodhounds, but still, they detected nothing.

Finally, the first explorer said, “There must be a gardener. But he is invisible, insensible to electric shock, has no scent, and comes in secret to take care of the garden.” The other explorer replied, “Okay, but how is that kind of a gardener different from an imaginary gardener or even from no gardener at all”? The end.

That story was developed by two atheists to show the absurdity of believing in a god. They said that claiming there is a god when you cannot see him is as absurd as claiming there is a gardener in that jungle. Why? Because there are too many qualifications, such as him being invisible and undetectable. The qualifications make the claim impossible to verify, so you cannot determine if it is true.

Some people think that is an effective critique of Christianity, but it is not. Christianity teaches that the invisible God took on human flesh and came to earth. In visible ways, he lived for you and died for you. On the evening of that first Easter, Jesus’ disciples saw God in the flesh, risen from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection is rock-solid evidence that God has entered our world!

Prayer:
Lord God, thank you for showing yourself to the world in order to save the world, including 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 replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
John 12:23,24

Matter of Life IN Death

Daily Devotion – April 11, 2021

Devotion based on John 12:23,24

See series: Devotions

I had great plans to plant vegetable seeds in a small garden and enjoy the fruits of my labors. The catchy display at the do-it-yourself store grabbed my attention and gave me the vision. Fresh, home-grown vegetables—what a wonderful treat that would be! I bought eight different packets of seeds. And then the distractions came. Some other “pressing” issue gobbled up my time—the weather wasn’t quite right, or I’m not sure if this would be the right spot, so I better mull it over. The packets remained on the workbench in the garage for two weeks. Then on a cleaning day, they were shoved into a cupboard. And there, they hibernated for three years until they were discovered. They never got buried in the ground. They never had the chance to fulfill their purpose of producing a crop.

A short time before Jesus died and was buried, he talked about the importance of his death. He knew he needed to die. Staying on a throne in heaven or hiding away in an out-of-the-way village where no one could possibly find him just wouldn’t work. He needed to die.

Jesus compared the necessity of his death to a seed. If a seed is not buried in the ground, it can’t produce more seeds. So Jesus’ purpose for coming to be the world’s Savior could only be completed by dying. Through his death, he produced an abundant spiritual harvest. Every person who trusts in his death as the payment for their sins is guaranteed eternal life. Thank God that Jesus’ death gives us life!

Prayer:
Thank you, Jesus, for being willing to die for my sins so that I might have spiritual 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.

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
1 Corinthians 15:19

Christianity as Advice

Daily Devotion – April 10, 2021

Devotion based on 1 Corinthians 15:19

See series: Devotions

If you listen for it, you’ll hear it. You’ll hear it during pleasant conversations at dinner parties. You’ll hear it during low-key banter between cubicles at the office. You’ll hear it during the lunch break on the factory floor, during holidays with relatives, or during block parties with neighbors. What you’ll hear is the well-intentioned comment that Christianity is great for those who find it useful to get through life. “Hey, if it helps you get through the tough times, good for you,” someone will say with a smile.

God disagrees. In fact, the Bible goes so far as to say that if that’s what you’re getting out of Christianity, people should pity you more than they pity anyone else.

You see, if the story of Jesus in the Bible is in the same category as Aesop’s fables—if it turns out that Christianity is just good advice delivered through a made-up story, then Christians are living a pitiful lie.

That’s why the resurrection of Jesus Christ means everything.

On your behalf, Jesus lived a perfect life. On your behalf, Jesus died for your every sin. And his resurrection was real, too. The living Word of the living God has made it a matter of public record.

And so Christianity is not about advice. Christianity is about Jesus. Christianity is about the Savior who lives to keep his promises to you. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for your death, your resurrection, and your living promises to me. Empower me by your gospel to remember that Christianity is not about following some advice; it’s about trusting 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.