Category: Daily Devotions

“Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”
Isaiah 35:4

Do not Fear

Daily Devotion – December 17, 2019

Devotion based on Isaiah 35:4

See series: Devotions

When a man comes with vengeance, it’s pretty much a given that someone will die. When a hero comes with retribution, it’s pretty much a given that the bad guys will pay for what they’ve done. Because when the hero comes with vengeance and retribution, he comes as an unstoppable juggernaut of retaliation.

But what happens when God comes with vengeance? What happens when the retribution isn’t human, it’s divine? You heard what the prophet said: God will come with vengeance and divine retribution. God is the original, unstoppable, almighty juggernaut. The bad guys don’t stand a chance.

But who are the bad guys? God is not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with him the wicked cannot dwell (Psalm 5:4). That means sinners are the bad guys. Sinners like you and me.

In our verse for today, God threatens judgment. Why would he do such a thing? You’re on his side, aren’t you? Not when you sin. Sin means that you are on your side. And, you cannot hide it.

But with God, things are not always what they seem. When God comes with vengeance and retribution, he doesn’t take your life, he saves it. Listen again to what he says: “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come … to save you.” Your Savior Jesus fulfills these words. Christ comes with vengeance into a world destroyed by sin, a world full of people bound by sin, and he rains down holy retaliation on that sin! But not in the way you would expect.

When Jesus died on the cross, he destroyed the bad guy. But the bad guy wasn’t you. It was sin. Jesus took your infirmities and carried your sorrows to the cross, and by his wounds you are healed (Isaiah 53:4,5). That’s why you do not need to fear God’s wrath. All of God’s vengeance and all of his retribution for every sin fell on Jesus, not on you.

Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, thank you for enduring divine retribution for my sins. 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 gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
Job 1:21

Faith During Devastation

Daily Devotion – December 16, 2019

Devotion based on Job 1:21

See series: Devotions

Job was one of the richest men in history. He had thousands of sheep, oxen, donkeys, and camels. He was blessed with seven sons and three daughters. And, best of all, he had tremendous faith in the LORD. Life was very good for Job, until the day when four disasters left him devastated.

It started when a messenger informed him that raiders had stolen all of his oxen and donkeys. Before that report was over, a second messenger arrived to say that fire from the sky had burned up all of his sheep. While he was still speaking, a third messenger came with news that bandits had carried off all of his camels. Before he could finish, a fourth messenger told Job that all of his children were killed when a building collapsed on them.

In grief, Job tore his clothing, shaved his head, and fell to the ground. And this is where you expect Job to curse God. Could you blame him? Whenever life takes a devastating turn, cursing the God who governs life seems like the natural thing to do.

Yet instead of cursing God, Job praised him: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” Only a believer can praise God when trouble comes and it seems like God and his love are gone. Job did not praise God for the loss of his riches and children, but for the blessing God had given to him in his riches and children.

When you endure times when you cannot see God’s love, Job’s response is a necessary reminder that your faith is not based on your health, wealth, and feelings. As Job said, those things come and go. Instead, your faith is fixed on the LORD and his promises that everything he gives is good. It is certain that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Prayer:
Lord God, whether you give or take away, help me to always praise your name. 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.

Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
Genesis 21:1-7

God Always Keeps His Promises

Daily Devotion – December 15, 2019

Devotion based on Genesis 21:1-7

See series: Devotions

What an incredible event! A son was born to Sarah when she was well past child-bearing age. Just as he had done with his son Ishmael, Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, setting him apart from other people as a member of the covenant God had made with Abraham.

Sarah’s laughter is pure joy. And she understands Isaac’s name, which means “laughter.” “Who would have thought?” Sarah muses to herself, in awe of God’s grace, power, and faithfulness.

God is faithful; he always keeps his promises—even if they are too incredible for us to understand. He fulfilled his Word of sending his own Son to pay for our sins, and he has promised that on the Last Day, he will raise the dead and take his believers to live with him forever in heaven. We have a gracious, powerful, and faithful God. He will fulfill his promises. He always does.

Prayer:
Faithful God, forgive me when I fail to trust you in all things. Strengthen my hope and confidence through your Word which will never fail. 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.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

Sharing Joy

Daily Devotion – December 14, 2019

Devotion based on Romans 15:13

See series: Devotions

Anna Mary Robertson was an old woman who had a hard life. She was the third of ten children born to a farmer in the 1860’s. Life on a farm in the 1800s meant hours of manual toil, day after day.

In 1887, Anna married a farmer and the hard work continued. As the years went on, she experienced the unspeakable grief of a mother watching her child die in infancy. Anna, however, went through this not just once, but five times.

Then her husband died from a heart attack. By the time she reached her 70’s, arthritis was taking over her body. She was no longer able to do the things she used to do. It was then that Anna Mary Robertson picked up a brush and began to paint.

She never had any formal training. Nevertheless, her pictures radiated something that everyday people and art critics alike could not resist. They radiated something we might not expect. Her pictures radiated joy.

This is how Anna Mary Robertson Moses—Grandma Moses—got her start as an artist. She picked up her brush and shared her joy. And she kept right on sharing her joy until the age of 101.

Not all of us may experience as difficult a life as Grandma Moses. But we all know that life is often filled with pain, disappointment, and grief. And we know the guilt of all the wrongs we have committed. The guilt and grief of life can rob us of any joy we might hope to have.

But that’s why Jesus came. He came to rescue us from our sins and promise us an eternal life in the heavenly home he is preparing. We have every reason to rejoice.

So, while we may not be able to paint like Grandma Moses, we can share our joy by telling others the story of what Jesus has done for us. Let’s do just that until we are called home to him.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, in those moments when life is hard, remind me of the joy I have in you and your promises. 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 Laugh

Daily Devotion – December 13, 2019

Devotion based on Acts 3:19

See series: Devotions

If you’re a Star Trek fan, you know Patrick Stewart as the captain of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Beyond that, however, Patrick Stewart is a gifted Shakespearean actor with a great love for British literature. In 1999, Stewart created a film version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Many consider it one of the best versions ever made.

Towards the end of the film, there is one especially poignant scene. Ebenezer Scrooge, in his bed, has just awakened. His encounters with the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future are now all behind him. At first, he’s still terrified that his soul is lost as a result of what he now sees as his empty, self-absorbed life. However, soon he realizes not only that he is still alive, but that it is Christmas morning. It dawns on him that he has just received a gift to celebrate Christmas, a gift that frees him from the shackles of his past wrongs, a gift to live an entirely new life.

And then it happens. In that moment when he realizes that all is forgiven and he now has a life before him that is fresh and clean and new, he begins to laugh. It is a laugh, the likes of which he has never laughed. It is not just a laugh of relief. It is a laugh of resurrection and restoration. It is a laugh of pure, simple joy.

This is why the Lord calls us to repentance. Does he want us to look upon our sins with sincere sorrow? Yes. But that is not where it ends. Rather, he longs for our repentant hearts to bask in the full forgiveness that Jesus Christ has purchased for us at the cross. He wants to refresh us in lives that are free and cleansed and clean.

In other words, he wants us to laugh the laugh that only the good news about Jesus can bring.

Prayer:
Refresh me, Lord Jesus, in the full forgiveness I have in 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.

In those days John the Baptist came, . . . saying, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Matthew 3:1,2

Turn

Daily Devotion – December 12, 2019

Devotion based on Matthew 3:1,2

See series: Devotions

In 2008, a caravan of tourists in Utah decided to take the scenic route through a national park. The people in the lead vehicle entered the address of their destination into their GPS and everyone else followed. Over the next several hours, the roads became narrower, rockier, and steeper. The turns became sharper. But not to worry. The GPS told them that they were on the right track. This continued until they reached the edge of a sheer cliff. Now they began to panic. They could not go forward, and they could not find their way back. They stayed there all night. Finally, a search plane discovered where they were and a rescue party came to take them home. Think of the grief they could have avoided if only one person would have said, “This is no good. It’s time to turn around.”

You and I have such a person. His name is John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was quite a sight to see. He lived in the desert. For clothing, he wore camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. For food, he ate locusts and wild honey. And so powerful was his message that crowds of people came out of their cities, towns, and comfortable homes just to hear him preach.

And the message he proclaimed was “Repent.”

To repent means to turn from sin and look to Jesus for forgiveness. But understand this key point. We don’t turn around to God in order to make God turn around to us. Rather, we can turn around because God is already facing us, already holding his arms out to hold us, already waiting to announce that our sins have been forgiven—paid for on the cross by Jesus.

With what sins are you struggling? Whatever they are, let the knowledge of God’s love and forgiveness cause you to turn from them and turn to him.

Prayer:
Lord, use the assurance of your forgiveness to turn me from my sin to 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.

[E]verything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Romans 15:4

Encouraged by the Past

Daily Devotion – December 11, 2019

Devotion based on Romans 15:4

See series: Devotions

One of the most popular history teachers working today is Professor Gary Gallagher. He is so popular with his college students that even his 8 A.M. classes are full. Although they could skip class and simply get the notes from someone later, students show up, even after being out late the night before. They simply don’t want to miss Professor Gallagher’s lectures. Why? Well, as one admirer says, “He makes history come alive.” As a result, students realize that people and events from the past have a great deal to teach us.

This reality is all the more true when it comes to your relationship with God. On the pages of the Bible, the Holy Spirit has chosen to record real events in the real lives of real people. The stories are compelling and dramatic. The stories are true.

These stories are not meant to merely entertain us. They are meant to teach us. In the lives of people who lived long ago, we see ourselves. We see them committing the same sins we commit. We see them suffering the same things we suffer.

But, even more importantly, we see how God loved and cared for those people. We see how he rescued and kept his promises to those people. We see how willing he was to forgive those people. And, when we see this, we are encouraged. It reminds us that the same God loves, cares, rescues, forgives, and keeps his promises to us.

He can do this because of the Savior he sent, the one we know as Jesus. He is the same savior those people in the Bible looked to for forgiveness. Isn’t it marvelous? Isn’t it encouraging?

So, go ahead and open that Bible on your coffee table or on your app. Read again the stories found there. And let God’s goodness to those who have gone before encourage you as you look forward to your future.

Prayer:
Holy Spirit, teach me through your Word. Fill me with endurance, encouragement, and certainty about my future. 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.

[P]raise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Daniel 4:37

The Disease of Pride

Daily Devotion – December 10, 2019

Devotion based on Daniel 4:37

See series: Devotions

The great British writer, G.K. Chesterton, lived his life in the early years of the 20th Century. He was a happy bear of a man. He always had an easy smile, a ready laugh, and an exuberant personality. As a Christian, however, there was one subject he never failed to take seriously. If there was a single sermon he could preach, he once wrote, it would be against the sin of pride.

When a fiery prohibitionist demanded that Chesterton take “The Pledge” to abstain from alcoholic beverages, Chesterton had a ready answer. He would swear off drinking, he said, when the temperance reformer swore off the sins of pride. Then he ended with this. “The wickedest work in this world is symbolized not by a wine glass but by a looking-glass.”

Chesterton was not alone. Shakespeare said, “He that is proud eats up himself.” CS Lewis said, “Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” And Martin Luther wryly observed that pride “is truly a disease that mocks all doctors…[for it] is a diabolical temptation in the spirit which is not [even] felt.” Luther was right. The disease of pride is so pervasive in us that we often don’t even know it’s there.

This is where the Lord steps in. In love, he does what is necessary in our lives to highlight the disease. He helps us to see it because he knows that as long as we are proud, we cannot see our need for Jesus. And without Jesus, we are lost.

May God do whatever is necessary to reveal and destroy the pride in our hearts so that we look less and less at ourselves and more and more at Jesus.

Prayer:
Lord, destroy the disease of pride in my heart so that I see you more clearly. 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.

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
Isaiah 11:1

The Stump

Daily Devotion – December 9, 2019

Devotion based on Isaiah 11:1

See series: Devotions

There was once a mighty tree, strong and wide and beautiful and tall. It was the kind of tree that looked as if it could withstand any trouble, any wind, or any storm.

But then something went wrong. The mighty tree grew weak. The leaves withered. Bugs infested the bark. Finally, one day, that once-mighty tree fell. Someone hauled the wood away. And there, where that giant tree had once stood, all that was left was a stump.

This is the image God used to explain what had happened to his Old Testament people, Israel. He had chosen them to be his own special people. He had blessed them. He had made them into a mighty nation. But they failed to appreciate all he had done. They went their own way rather than his way. Even their kings who ought to have led them toward God, led them instead away from God. So, God allowed Israel’s enemies to overtake them. What had once been a strong, proud people was now nothing more than a stump.

But, in the midst of this misery God gave his people a promise. Out of the stump of Israel, a strong shoot would arise. The shoot’s name was Jesus Christ.

Isaiah’s prophecy promised that the shoot named Jesus would bear fruit. And what remarkable fruit he bears! He gives spiritual life to sinfully dead people like us by forgiving our sins and reuniting us to our heavenly Father.

This time of year, as you prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas, marvel that your good God kept the promise he made through the prophet Isaiah. Be thankful that he did not give up on his people and leave them a worthless stump. Take comfort in knowing that he used them to send the world a Savior—your Savior.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for keeping your promise to send the world a Savior. Comfort me this day knowing that he is 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.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

The Power of Hope

Daily Devotion – December 8, 2019

Devotion based on Romans 15:13

See series: Devotions

It may not strike us as humane today, but many years ago an experiment took place. Researchers placed a set of rats in a large tub of water. Then they placed a second set of rats in another large tub of water. In the first tub, they left the rats alone. But in the second tub, they reached in and pulled one of the rats out of the water for a few moments from time to time and then put it back. The results were dramatic. While the first set of rats quickly gave up swimming and were ready to give in to drowning, the second set of rats kept right on swimming for hours. The reason was clear. The second set of rats had hope. The first set did not.

Have there been times in your life when you’ve felt as hopeless as a laboratory rat swimming around in a tub of water? Sin does that—your sin and mine. It pulls us into bad places from which we cannot escape. It isolates and surrounds us in despair. It makes life look dark and bleak.

But God did not abandon us to swim in the vat of our sins until we could swim no more. In fact, he did far more than pull us out from time to time to give us some desperate sense of hope. Instead, he became one of us. Through his life and death on our behalf, Jesus removed our sins forever. As he did, he destroyed the despair that our sin brings and replaced it with hope as God defines it—a sure, confident certainty based upon what Jesus Christ has already done.

And so there it is. Regardless of what is happening in your life, you are walking on the solid ground of your Savior’s promises. And through faith in him, you possess the sure hope that your journey ends in victory.

Prayer:
Dear Savior, forgive me for all the times I have given in to hopelessness and despair. Wash my sins away. By your Spirit, refresh my eyes to see the sure hope I possess in 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.