Author: Kerry

Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Romans 5:11

In Its Boastfulness

Daily Devotion – July 2, 2020

Devotion based on Romans 5:11

See series: Devotions

Honesty, empathy, maturity, sense of humor. If you google “ideal qualities in a partner” those are some of the results that come up. Boastfulness is nowhere to be found on the list. And that’s no surprise. A boastful person is not a person people like to be around—because they want to call attention to themselves, to their accomplishments, to what they consider to be their admirable qualities.

In Romans 5, Paul says that boasting is what God’s people do. How surprising, how unexpected! But as you might suspect, this is not referring to the type of boasting we usually witness. Typical boasting calls attention to the boaster. Christians, in their boasting, call attention to God, to his accomplishments, to his admirable qualities. We boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

But there’s a secondary, supplemental surprise in this verse. It’s not just that Christians are encouraged to boast. It’s that Christians are able to boast in someone besides themselves. Their natural spiritual condition directs their attention inward, looking for something inside of themselves that might be lovable, praiseworthy, or admirable. So they naturally go to great lengths to trumpet their “good things.” They go to even greater lengths to minimize their “bad things.” The boasting that’s meant to convince people of their greatness only convinces them of their self-absorption.

The Holy Spirit shows us our true worth and how it comes to us! In the Bible, he assures his dear children that in Christ they are loved, valuable, reconciled, and headed for heaven. With that knowledge, it suddenly becomes a lot less important to boast in themselves. There’s no longer pressure to constantly build one’s self up. And that frees up the child of God to build others up and spend our days boasting about our God.

Prayer:
Help me, Lord, to remember my true worth and how it comes from you. Keep boasting far from me, except when it comes to boasting about you and the great things you have done. 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.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:6

Surprising Recipients

Daily Devotion – July 1, 2020

Devotion based on Romans 5:6

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I pray that it doesn’t happen to any of us often, but perhaps you know what it’s like to be so “stomach flu sick” that any sort of movement, whatsoever, is going to make bad things happen. So, the cool bathroom floor becomes your temporary bed, and all you can do is stay put. That’s the picture Paul paints of mankind’s natural spiritual state with the word powerless. Too weak to move, helpless, and pathetic.

But it gets worse. Paul also describes himself, his hearers, and us as “ungodly.” Day after day, time after time, we cross our arms and dig in our heels, turning away from the things God wants, and turning toward all kinds of things that will wreck us. Who would actively seek out people so foolish? Who would patiently and repeatedly welcome back people who’ve acted so selfishly, knowing that their NEXT selfish act is only moments away?

Paul goes on to say that someone might be willing to give up their life for a noble cause, but who dies for a scoundrel? A degenerate? A parasite? Jesus does. So excessive is God’s affection, so unwavering is God’s commitment to save, that Jesus died for the ungodly. How surprising, how unexpected!

And it begs the question, who might be the surprising recipients of the love that we now show to others? It’s pretty easy to love the people who love us (although that’s not always such a cinch either!). When we love them, it’s generally not all that surprising. But it’s when we show kindness to and sacrifice for those who make us clench our teeth, that’s when we are most closely imitating our Savior, and reflecting the surprising love that that continues to be shown to us. Holy Spirit, help us do this!

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you laid down your life for me when I was helpless and ungodly. That is good news, both surprising and welcomed! Send me your Holy Spirit in powerful Word, that I may grow in faith and show genuine love and kindness to friends and enemies alike. I ask it in your name and to your glory. 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.

Moses said to the LORD, “May the LORD, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the LORD‘s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
Numbers 27:15-17

Surprising Compassion

Daily Devotion – June 30, 2020

Devotion based on Numbers 27:15-17

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Moses’ job was not a cushy one. The people of Israel were chronic complainers and as their leader, Moses was the most convenient lightning rod for their angst. One wonders how much stress-related insomnia he suffered, how many ulcers he powered through, over the course of his 40-year tenure. But at last, finally, they stood on the precipice of the Promised Land—at last, finally, he would get to see the fruits of all his labors: Israel marching into their new homeland. Only he wouldn’t get to see that. The people indeed would come to the Promised Land, but Moses himself wouldn’t see the day. He’d glimpse the Promised Land from afar, and then his earthly life would end.

If there were ever a time for lashing out, it seems this would be it. If anyone ever had a reason to be jaded and angry, it would seem to be Moses. But instead of telling Israel, “Good luck living without me!” Moses pleads for the people’s wellbeing; he prays that God would give them a strong leader. How surprising, how unexpected!

But it’s not all that surprising when we remember what the kingdom of God is all about. 1,500 years after Moses died, Jesus also saw a people lacking spiritual direction, helpless, and perhaps not even realizing how desperate a situation they were in. And instead of saying, “You deserve what you get. Good luck trying to make it without me!” Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

That surprising compassion, when jadedness would’ve been completely justified, is what pushed Jesus beyond mere sympathetic feelings and to life sacrificing, sin atoning, world redeeming action. We are the beneficiaries of that selfless compassion. And now we are grateful, joyful imitators of that selfless compassion as well.

Prayer:
How desperately we need you, Good Shepherd! Thank you for looking on your sheep with compassion. Give us hearts like yours, that we may treat others with care and compassion as well. 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 went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
Matthew 9:35

Good News

Daily Devotion – June 29, 2020

Devotion based on Matthew 9:35

See series: Devotions

Recently, actor John Krasinski attracted the attention of millions of Americans with a homemade, self-produced news show that featured only good news in every segment. He called it SGN-Some Good News. And Americans flocked to it, reposting it on their social media feeds, and giving the show’s initial episode 18 million views on YouTube. It’s not hard to understand why. People are desperate for some good news.

It was not all that different 2,000 years ago. People back then faced disease and witnessed oppression. They saw marriages break apart and families disintegrate. They wrestled with hypocrisy and anger in themselves. They experienced disillusionment, and they coped with tragedy. Its manifestations may have changed over the years, but sin was indeed able to mess things up back then, just as it does today. People needed some good news.

And Jesus brought it, going through all the towns and villages, proclaiming the good news. But Jesus’ good news was more than just human-interest stories of kindness and hope. The good news that Jesus brought told people of the kindness of the eternal God, bringing hope of eternal life to people surrounded by sin on every side. He proclaimed the good news of the kingdom!

How surprising, how unexpected! It wouldn’t have been at all shocking if the Son of God had come proclaiming the bad news. It wouldn’t have been at all shocking if Jesus had proclaimed, “You deserve only anger from a holy God.” He would have been exactly right.

But the Son of God came not to destroy us, but to destroy the devil’s work by achieving perfect obedience in his life and by offering a perfect sacrifice in his death. The price has been paid in full, and we didn’t have to do anything to earn it. That’s good news.

In the end, Some Good News lost a bit of its luster as John Krasinski faced popular backlash for selling the rights to the show to CBS. Yes, even the best news that comes from the heart of man can still result in angst and turmoil. But the good news of the kingdom never loses its luster. God has come near and paid for sin. That’s surprisingly good news in a bad news world.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, make your good news a comfort for me in our chaotic world and my hope of a brighter future with you in eternity. 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.

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

Knowing Where to Look

Daily Devotion – June 28, 2020

Devotion based on Romans 5:8

See series: Devotions

Sometimes I forget how powerful the disease of sin truly is in my life. I forget that my sinfulness infects even my thinking, even my sense of logic.

For example, I dictate to God how he can show his love for me. I demand that he demonstrate his love for me by giving me good health, a good job, a stable family, money in the bank, popularity, prestige, a solid retirement plan. But when my health fades, when the good job goes away, when there’s heartbreak in the family, when the money dries up, when I feel like a stranger around my friends, I accuse him of not loving me. I accuse him of not caring. I even wonder if he exists.

Perhaps your line of thinking has often gone the same way.

How blind we can be, you and I. How arrogant and foolish. We question God’s love, even his very existence, all the while ignoring the ultimate demonstration of his love for us: The death of his Son for your sins and mine.

But there’s the beauty, the very way by which God demonstrates his love for us is also the very thing that washes away the stains of our foolish arrogance. It also seals God’s promise that his love will guide even the pain and sorrow of life for our good.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, fix my eyes on the cross, the ultimate demonstration of your love for me. And empower me to see your love at work even in the pain and sorrow of my 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.

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
Matthew 9:1,2

Your Sins are Forgiven

Daily Devotion – June 27, 2020

Devotion based on Matthew 9:1,2

See series: Devotions

Matthew chapter 9 is one of the most rapid-fire chapters of the Bible. In fewer than forty verses, we see Jesus perform at least seven miracles, answer questions and complaints from the teachers of the law, Pharisees, and even followers of John the Baptist. All the while we see him confidently going about his ministry, calling another Apostle, instructing his disciples, and explaining his purpose on earth: to forgive sins and save souls. He raises a girl from the dead. He reads minds. He heals the blind, the paralyzed, the demon-possessed, and a woman with an unknown malady of constant bleeding. Except for time out to eat at Matthew’s house, the text of the chapter suggests that these events happened in a very short period of time during a brief stay in Jesus’ “own town.”

Jesus’ “own town” was Capernaum. This was his base of ministry in Galilee. Often he visited there, but he wasn’t completely welcome there. In Matthew 11:20-24 we read that Jesus warned this city that it would be judged because the people refused to believe in him despite the miracles he performed in their midst.

But therein Capernaum Jesus shows us why he came into the world—he came to forgive sins. He said to the paralyzed man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

When God declares our sins forgiven, we can be assured that they are completely gone because God cannot lie.

If your sins are burdening you, if your guilt is weighing you down, take heart. In Jesus, your sins are forgiven!

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, the forgiveness of sins you freely give assures me that I am free of God’s sentence of condemnation. Clinging to your forgiveness by faith, I am blessed with a close and loving relationship with God forever. With all my grateful heart, I thank 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.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
1 Timothy 1:15

Promise of Salvation

Daily Devotion – June 26, 2020

Devotion based on 1 Timothy 1:15

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Several years ago, a man donated his kidney to save his wife. His wife needed a kidney transplant in order to live. Not wanting to wait for her name to come up on the list, and not wanting his wife to die, he decided to donate his. The transplant was a success. This man saved his wife’s life.

18 months later, the wife began a long-term affair with another man. She cheated on her husband. After several years, her unfaithfulness was discovered, and the man eventually filed the paperwork for a divorce, in which was included a demand that she return the kidney he had donated to save her life. He wanted his kidney back, knowing she would die if that were to happen.

Those who have been the victim of an affair might understand that man’s anger and pain. It’s why what God did for the Apostle Paul is so noteworthy.

Paul called himself “the worst” of sinners. Prior to meeting Jesus, he had made a career of persecuting Christians. But he wasn’t referring to his previous life of unbelief when he called himself “the worst” of sinners. It was when he was a Christian that he said, “I am the worst.”

He knew that compared to the perfection God demands of us, we always fall far short as we carry on our long-term relationship with sin and regularly prove ourselves to be unfaithful to our Creator. How does God respond to such sinners?

He does not want us to die in our sin. And we will not die in our sin, because Christ Jesus already came into the world to save sinners. He gave not just his kidney, but his entire perfect life as a substitutionary payment to save even the worst of sinners.

Whatever your sin is, however great it might be, whatever damage it has already done cannot change the truth that Christ Jesus has already saved you.

Prayer:
Father in heaven, strengthen my faith in you by keeping me focused on your faithfulness to 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.

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”
Exodus 3:14,15

Have Faith in the I AM

Daily Devotion – June 25, 2020

Devotion based on Exodus 3:14,15

See series: Devotions

When Moses asked for God’s name, God replied by calling himself, “I AM.”

That might sound like a strange name to us. But consider how often Jesus, himself, used this name to bring comfort to the hearts of God’s children.

“I AM the Living Bread,” Jesus says to those who have been starving for forgiveness, love, and attention.

“I AM the Light of the World,” he says to all who’ve lost their sense of direction.

“I AM the Good Shepherd,” he says to the vulnerable sheep who are hurting.

“I AM the Way,” he says to all who are searching.

“I AM the Resurrection and the Life,” he says as you cry at the coffin of your friend, your dad, or your mom.

“I AM … with you, always, to the very end” of whatever path you happen to be traveling.

And wherever you are on that path, the job God has given you is exactly the one he gave to Moses. It is to remember that the person you have been doesn’t change who you are through faith in Jesus. You are God’s child. Your job is to remember that, just as God called Moses to be there for Israel, he has called you to be there for your family, friends, and neighbors—not to be the great I AM—but to point them to the great I AM.

Prayer:
Father in heaven, thank you for being consistent in who you are so that I can find regular comfort in who I am in Christ Jesus, my Savior. 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 said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey . . . So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
Exodus 3:7-10

Faith Rests in God

Daily Devotion – June 24, 2020

Devotion based on Exodus 3:7-10

See series: Devotions

No one ever intends to get to the end of the day, look in the mirror, and feel inadequate, guilty, unlovable, or unimportant. But these things still happen. And if they have ever happened to you; if you have ever stood in the middle of life’s demands feeling more scared than assured, more discouraged than confident, more vulnerable than protected, then you have something in common with Moses.

That might surprise you. After all, Moses is the man who parted the Red Sea, saw God, held the Ten Commandments, and set the Israelites free. But, when God called Moses to lead his people out of Egypt, Moses saw himself as entirely inadequate.”Who am I?” Moses asked God; which wasn’t as much a question as it was a declaration that Moses didn’t think he was able to do what God was asking.

And God agreed. That’s why he said, “I have seen their misery … I have heard them crying … I am concerned about their suffering … so I will rescue them.” God wasn’t asking Moses to be their Savior. His job was to remind Israel that they already had one. Just as you do.

You aren’t a slave to the Egyptians. But you are a slave to your sins against God and the guilt that goes with those sins. You aren’t anymore able to free yourself than Moses was able to free the Israelites. But God is. And God has. He sent his Son, Jesus, to free you from your sins by his perfect life and innocent death. May the story of Moses comfort you with the reminder that the Savior-God of Moses is your Savior-God too.

Prayer:
Father in heaven, thank you for the rescue you provide for our souls through the gift of our Savior, 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, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
Matthew 9:12

The Promise of Forgiveness

Daily Devotion – June 23,2020

Devotion based on Matthew 9:12

See series: Devotions

Compared to some of the other disciples, we don’t know a whole lot about Matthew. Other than the story of Jesus calling Matthew to be his disciple, Matthew’s name is only mentioned 4 times in the New Testament, and those 4 times are each a listing of the 12 disciples. He’s typically way down on the list, in the eighth or ninth spot.

What we do know about Matthew is that he had a very bad reputation in his community. You see, he was a tax collector. He collected money from his fellow countrymen on behalf of the hated Roman government. To make it worse, tax collectors were expected to overcharge and keep the extra money for themselves.

Jesus, of course, was well aware of what Matthew did for a living. And, when Jesus was scolded for eating dinner with Matthew, Jesus didn’t excuse Matthew’s sins. Instead, he announced that spiritually sick people like Matthew were precisely the people he had come to save. One wonders how Matthew felt as Jesus publicly described him as a sinner.

While we don’t know what Matthew felt in the moment, we get a glimpse into his relationship with Jesus when we discover that the name Matthew means “gift of God.” You see, when other writers in the Bible write about Matthew, they don’t call him Matthew. They call him Levi, his given name. Only Matthew calls himself Matthew. He realized that Jesus’ willingness to forgive him and associate with a sinner like him was a gift from God.

Whether or not your name is Matthew, this is also God’s gift to you.

God knows all the ways we are sick with sin. This is why he sent Jesus whose blood is the medicine that cures every sin.

Prayer:
Father in heaven, you know my heart and are aware of my every sin. Let me never forget the gift of forgiveness already won for me by your Son, 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.