Category: Daily Devotions

Live your lives as strangers here.
1 Peter 1:17

Stranger

There’s an old theme that runs through a lot of storytelling. The theme is that of the stranger who enters people’s lives, touches their lives, and then moves on. Think of the classic western, Shane, where Shane enters the lives of a farming family, defeats the bad guys on the family’s behalf, and then rides away. Think of the old TV series, The Fugitive, where Dr. Richard Kimble, a wrongly-accused but innocent man, comes across someone in need, helps that person, then departs. You can even see science fiction with this theme. Think of that the next time you watch ET: The Extraterrestrial.

It should probably come as no surprise to us that a lot of ageless themes like this are ageless because they echo themes from the greatest story of all—a story that happens to be true. Jesus Christ came into our world and lived among us. As he did, however, he did not get caught up in the temporary distractions of this world. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on why he was here. He was here to rescue us from the curse of our sin, then go home to prepare a place for us. This he did when he lived a life of perfect love on our behalf. When he suffered and died for our every sin. When he rose from death, and his visible presence ascended into heaven.

And now here we are, fully forgiven through faith in Jesus. Knowing that, through faith in Christ, heaven is our home. With all this in mind, the apostle Peter tells us, “Live your lives as strangers here.” When we live our lives as strangers in this tired, old world, we remember that everything here is temporary and is passing away. When we live our lives as strangers here, we are then free to give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. And when we live our lives as strangers here, we know that the best is yet to come.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, here I am only passing through. Help me to remember this. Amen.

“‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”
Acts 24:21

Easter Consequences

You are standing on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in a park containing the ruins of the ancient city of Caesarea. Even now the ruins are beautiful. But go back 2,000 years and look again. What you see around you is breathtaking. You see a bustling seaport with a superb artificial harbor. Individuals of every background are going to and fro. Vendors are everywhere. For entertainment, there are athletic contests, gladiator competitions, theater performances. And there are lots of people. Caesarea’s population at this time is an impressive 125,000.

It’s also a seat of government for the Roman Empire. Walk over to the hall where the Roman governor is hearing a case. Standing before him is a man who has endured some difficult days. The man’s name is Paul. Paul has been proclaiming the Good News of Jesus back in Jerusalem. But Jerusalem’s religious leaders so detest Paul and his message that they have him arrested. And now here Paul stands, before the Roman governor in Caesarea.

Paul’s accusers have just gotten done talking. They have cobbled together all kinds of accusations against Paul, trying to paint Paul in the worst possible light. But now it’s Paul’s turn. As he speaks before the governor, Paul walks through the accusations against him, neutralizing them one-by-one. But then he touches on the real reason he is in Caesarea today. In so many words, he acknowledges that he is on trial in Caesarea because Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.

2,000 years later, the great Caesarea lies in ruins. But some things remain the same. Christians still encounter pushback for what they proclaim. The Good News of Jesus is still a target, not just from a fallen world, but also from the devil and our own, old, fallen, sinful selves. And that’s all right. It’s all right because, through faith in Jesus, forgiveness is ours. Through faith in Jesus, heaven is ours. Through faith in Jesus, our lives now pulsate with meaning, purpose, joy. And this is so because Jesus has risen from the dead.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, as I encounter consequences to your resurrection, move me to meet them with courage and joy. Amen.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.
Acts 2:39

Far Away

In 1978, a research helicopter was flying low over a remote forest in Siberia. As the pilot made his observations, he saw something he never expected to see. He saw a human settlement. And that’s how the outside world first learned of the Lykov family.

In the 1930s, Karp Lykov and his very young family traveled deep, deep into the Siberian Wilderness to escape the persecution of Joseph Stalin. They were still there in 1978. The Lykov family was so distant from civilization that the family knew nothing about television, the moon landing, or even about World War II.

None of us have ever experienced such physical separation for such a long period of time. Most of us, however, have felt distance of a different kind. Many factors can cause this different kind of felt distance. Perhaps I’ve said some things I never should have said. Perhaps I’ve left undone some things I should have done. Perhaps, for reasons unknown, others have kept me at arms’ length. Perhaps it’s a combination of all these factors and more. Whatever the cause, most of us know what it’s like to feel far away from others. Even more so, most of us know what it’s like to feel far away from God.

This is where Jesus enters the picture. So great is his love for you and me that the Son of God came here to walk among us. In fact, he became one of us. On our behalf, he demonstrated perfect faithfulness in every relationship. Then he carried our sins of unfaithfulness to the cross, where, in our place, he experienced the greatest isolation ever felt in all eternity. And after his death, to assure us that he is here and we are not alone, Jesus rose. Now, through faith in him, we possess his full forgiveness. And he is by our side.

By the way, in the Lykov home there was a well-read Bible. In Jesus’ eyes, they were not far away at all.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, at those times when I feel far away from you, remind me through your word that I’m not. Amen.

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart…
Acts 2:37

Extra Time

Perhaps one upside over these past several weeks is that you’ve had extra time to think and reflect. It could also very well be that a downside over these past several weeks is that you’ve had extra time to think and reflect.

Let’s give ourselves permission to admit something. Busy, hectic lifestyles—moving from one activity to the next, checking one deadline off after another, constant motion, constant music on the car radio—busy, hectic lifestyles can be a big advantage in one respect. They can help keep at bay the things that haunt us. But when the frantic pace stops, when the rapid routine grinds to a halt, when the familiar distractions have vanished—suddenly I may be confronting some hard truths about myself. Hard truths I have managed to avoid until now.

Perhaps it’s an old regret from the past. Perhaps it’s the face and voice of someone I’ve disappointed. Perhaps it’s a sinful weakness in my life that’s been hiding in plain sight for a very long time. Whatever it is, such confrontation with truth can cut me to the heart. It can dissolve my excuses. It can pulverize my denials. And that’s good.

It’s good because God can use these difficult moments. Through them, he can remind me of what he says in his Word. He can remind me that my greatest need is not a frantic schedule. My greatest need is not a hectic lifestyle filled to bursting with enough distractions to keep me from ever thinking about my failures and regrets and the people I’ve let down.

My greatest need is Jesus. In my place, he lived a perfect, regret-free life. On my behalf, he carried my every failure to the cross. And to assure me that he has kept his promise to cover me in his forgiveness, Jesus has risen from the dead.

So, when that extra time comes to think and reflect, let it come. If there’s a confrontation with a hard truth that cuts me to the heart, that’s okay. It just reminds me all the more that real peace—and real life—is in Jesus Christ alone.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, when certain truths about my life cut me to the heart, draw me to yourself all the more. Amen.

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

Stay Positive

Are you finding it hard to be positive and optimistic during these difficult COVID-19 days?

Let me tell you about a remarkably positive man you may have never heard about. Paul Gerhardt was a Lutheran pastor in the mid-1600s in Germany. When he was a child, his family home and church were destroyed in the Thirty Years’ War. As an adult, he lost four children in infancy because of disease. He lost his church when he refused to compromise his beliefs at the demands of the government. He went for a year without a paycheck. A year after that, his wife died, leaving him to raise the one son who had survived the epidemic.

Your life may not be marked by tragedy and hardship as much as Paul Gerhardt’s, but can still be hard, and not just due to the fallout from the coronavirus. Maybe your marriage isn’t great. Maybe your job is mentally, emotionally, or physically draining. Maybe you have serious health problems. Maybe you never seem to catch a break, or your dreams routinely turn into disappointment. Maybe you are disappointed in yourself, and you realize God should be the one disappointed in you and your sins.

Paul Gerhardt realized that his sin was actually his biggest problem because it meant that he had no right to expect anything from God. So, what made him so positive? He knew that God loved him anyway. That in love for him, God had sent Jesus to die for his sins and rise again; all so that Paul could know God loves him, had forgiven him, and would take him to heaven.

God loves you and sent his Son for you and your salvation too. So even in these hard times, find your reason for hope and optimism in Jesus Christ, so you can say with Paul Gerhardt.
Why should cross and trial grieve me?
Christ is near with his cheer; never will he leave me.
Who can rob me of the heaven
That God’s Son for me won When his life was given?
(Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal – 428)

Prayer:
Thank you, Lord, for proving your love for me by sending Jesus to save me from my sins. Use this truth to keep me positive during difficult times. Amen.

People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
Luke 13:29

Foreverland

Do you remember the name of Michael Jackson’s estate? He called it, “Neverland,” after the fictional island in “Peter Pan: It included a lavish home with a huge theater, gardens, fountains, a four-acre pool, and a private amusement park and zoo.

But did it make him happy? A lot of people who knew him described him as troubled. Michael’s dream estate never gave him true peace and contentment. Sadly, the name “Neverland” was fitting.

“Neverland” is a fitting name for the world we live in. It never seems to give us the peace and contentment we are looking for. Things might be going great, and then a pandemic turns our lives upside down. But even before the coronavirus brought upheaval and anxiety into your life, you probably had financial pressures, relationship problems, work stress, illness in your body, or sadness in your heart. Because this life is “Neverland”—never able to give us the life we long for.

But even as we are keenly aware of how this life fails us, here’s what does not fail: God’s love for you. The Bible describes God’s love as “unfailing” no less than 32 times. He loves you so much that he sent his Son to undo the mess you have made in your relationship with him and the mess that human sin has made of life. He sent his Son into our world to suffer on a cross for our sins as if HE was the one who had messed things up. Through that sacrifice, you are forgiven.

Now there is nothing to keep you from going to heaven, a very different kind of “Neverland.” In heaven, there will NEVER be any sin. There will NEVER be any suffering. There will NEVER be any disappointment. There will NEVER be any death.

So, expect this world to be “Neverland” when it comes to being what you long for it to be. But be content and at peace anyway. Because God’s love in Jesus Christ will never fail you. In that love, God will keep forgiving you and giving you what you need until that day when he brings you to perfectly restored life in the “Foreverland” of heaven.

Prayer:
Lord, I know that this life will never be the perfect paradise you intended. But I thank you that, through Jesus, you promise me a perfect paradise in the life to come. Amen.

For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Peter 2:25

Worth it in the End

“Now I see!” Isn’t it a wonderful relief when it finally dawns on you? You could never understand why something so terrible had happened, but now you get it. The suffering begins to make sense. It’s as if the veil has been lifted, and all the darkness has turned to light.

The Old Testament believer Joseph had endured a lifetime’s worth of such darkness. His lousy brothers had sold him into slavery. His Egyptian master’s wife had falsely accused him, prompting his master to throw him into prison. He was separated from his beloved father for years, forced to live in a strange land. One miserable day of suffering, after another.

And then it happened. God filled him in on the why. The whole region was struck by famine. By that time, Joseph was second-in-command in all Egypt, in charge of distributing the stored-up food when who should show up but his hungry brothers. Joseph could hardly contain himself.

But it wasn’t the feeling of revenge that got him choked up. It was his thankfulness. Joseph finally understood the reason for all that suffering. He said to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20). For Joseph, it was worth it in the end.

Joseph’s suffering to save his family from hunger was nothing compared to Jesus’ suffering to save the world from sin and death. But Jesus, too, understood that his suffering would be worth it in the end and for all eternity.

And that goes for our suffering, as well. We might not understand it now, but God has a good reason for it. As Saint Peter reminds us, our suffering has the divine purpose of inducing straying sheep like you and me into the safe and saving arms of our Good Shepherd, Jesus. Saint Peter wrote, “‘…you were like sheep going astray,’ now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25). And one day we will see that this will make our suffering worth it in the end.

Prayer:
Jesus, help me see your loving purposes even in my suffering. Amen.

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
1 Peter 2:24

Eternal Healing

Are you a quick healer, someone who can’t be held down long? If so, count your blessings. It’s a wonderful attribute to have.

Chronic sufferers will tell you: it’s no fun imprisoned by pain. It’s often a Catch-22 situation since the physical activity you need to get better is sometimes the very thing your condition prevents you from getting.

But no matter how quickly you heal, you can’t avoid contracting one chronic condition common to everyone. This disease puts you down and keeps you down. Benjamin Franklin had it right when he said there are only two certain things in life, death and taxes. And this devotion isn’t about taxes.

Yes, death finally gets us, and for a simple reason, too. The Bible tells us that, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). We can’t fix that, no matter how well we take care of ourselves. The doctors of this world can’t either. Every patient they treat will eventually die.

But the Great Physician, Jesus, has. Jesus’ prescription for overcoming death has nothing to do with something we take or something we do. Instead, it involves what he took on himself and did for us. Our Great Physician conquered sin and death forever by carrying our sins and dying our death as our perfect substitute. Quoting the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, Saint Peter writes, “‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross.” Yes, Jesus “is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

Whether you believe it or not, Jesus died for you. He is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He bore your sins. He is your Savior. And why? Because he loves you. “By his wounds you have been healed,” not just for the moment or for a lifetime. Forever.

Imagine. Eternal healing. Our suffering Savior’s gift of love to you!

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, help me revel in the truth that by your suffering and wounds, I am assured of eternal healing. Amen.

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
1 Peter 2:23

A Favorite Teacher

Have you had a favorite teacher in your life? I have.

Why was he my favorite? Not because he was tough, and certainly not because I dreaded entering his classroom. He was my favorite because he was fun, easygoing, and interesting. Best of all, he loved to hand out A’s.

I’ve had other teachers whom I didn’t like so well. Their classes were hard, sometimes confusing. Some were unfair; others boring. In those cases, I was thankful when the school year came to an end. I was finished with them—forever!

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could say that about suffering? “I’m finished with it forever!” But Professor Suffering has a way of dragging us back into his classroom and even keeping us past the bell.

Or didn’t you know that suffering is our divinely-sent teacher?

Martin Luther knew that. He knew it all too well, in fact. He was speaking from experience when he once wrote a grieving friend, “This is the school in which God disciplines us and teaches us to trust in him so that our faith may not always stay in our ears and hover on our lips but may have its true dwelling place in the depth of our hearts.” Luther may not have considered suffering his favorite teacher, but it was one of his best.

Ours, too.

Why? Because suffering teaches patience. Indeed, patience means “longsuffering.” When we suffer, we’re learning how to be patient with God and with others. Peter says that when Jesus suffered, “he did not retaliate . . . he made no threats.” Suffering taught him patience, yes, perfect patience for sinners like you and me.

The other chief lesson that suffering teaches us is trust. When Jesus suffered unjustly, “he entrusted himself to him who judges justly”—his heavenly Father. Rather than taking matters into our own hands, suffering teaches us, as it taught Jesus, to entrust matters to our perfectly just God.

Patience and trust are not easy to learn. But when you’re in Professor Suffering’s classroom, you’re learning from the very best. And through faith in Jesus, we all get an A+.

Prayer:
Father, help me learn the lessons you desire to teach me through suffering. Amen.

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
1 Peter 2:21,22

What is the Point

“Oh, what’s the point? I give up!” Sometimes we just need to throw in the towel because we don’t have what it takes. That’s perfectly understandable if what you’re doing is voluntary, like trying to make 10 out of 10 three-pointers.

But it’s not quite so simple when you’re under an obligation, or you’ve made a promise. God doesn’t allow you to say, “My marriage is difficult; I quit.” Or to conclude, “Raising children involves too many sacrifices. I’ll just leave them on the roadside.” Often the most important things we do aren’t easy. They involve suffering.

We naturally don’t like to suffer, but suffering has an important point and purpose, a divine one. Peter says that suffering is a calling, an assignment that God regularly gives to you and me for a good reason.

What’s the reason? We can’t always know exactly. But we can be certain of this: God is disciplining, that is, he is training us.

True, it’s not fun. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful,” the Bible says. Yet the suffering to which God calls us is not pointless! And if we stick it out, the Bible promises that it, “produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

We might not like it, but God has his reasons. And those reasons result in overwhelming blessings for us and others.

Want proof? Consider Jesus’ suffering. Was it unjust? Absolutely. Peter reminds us that, “he committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” Unlike us, Jesus was a perfect 10 for 10 every time in everything he did. And yet he suffered.

Why? Was it pointless? Not for you and me, because Jesus’ suffering was for you and me. His perfect, painful suffering resulted in our perfect forgiveness. His death grants us eternal life as a gift.

You might not get the point of your suffering but hang in there. God gets it. And he will use it wisely for your good.

Prayer:
Jesus, help me to see and understand that my suffering has a point, and that through it you will bless me. Amen.