St. Johns News

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:13-17

Approval Rating

Daily Devotion – January 8, 2023

Devotion based on Matthew 3:13-17

See series: Devotions

Whether at work, school, or home, we are constantly graded, compared against others, and rated. The boss gives us our annual review. The teacher hands out report cards. The son informs mom that her mac and cheese isn’t as good as what Dylan’s mom makes.

It is interesting how these “ratings” can affect our day, isn’t it? If they’re good, we feel good. If they’re lousy, we feel lousy. If they’re nothing special, then we are tempted to feel that we’re nothing special.

How’s your approval rating with God? How have you been keeping up with those Ten Commandments? Remember, they’re not God’s suggestions; they are his commands. How’s it going between you and your neighbor, all your neighbors? Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

If we’re going to talk comparisons, why not go all the way and, as God says, compare ourselves to him? “Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” Will I ever meet with God’s approval? Will God ever say of me, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased”?

This is what makes Jesus’ baptism, as well as our own baptism, so special. God, in his grace, has connected me to Jesus. God has given me faith in Jesus as my Savior. Jesus has taken away all my sins and gives me his perfection and holiness. When God looks at me, he can say, “This is my son, my daughter, whom I love! With him, with her, I am well pleased.” Approval ratings don’t get any higher than this. God be praised!

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, when doubts of my worth come, drown them in the waters of baptism and remind me of your love for me in Jesus. Amen.

Daily Devotions are brought to you by WELS and www.WhatAboutJesus.com.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.
Galatians 3:26

Our Heavenly Father

Daily Devotion – January 7, 2023

Devotion based on Galatians 3:26

See series: Devotions

There are hundreds of names for God in the Bible. Each teaches us a little something about who God is and how he acts. In some places God is called “Almighty.” Other places God is called “The beginning and end.” He even has some unique names that describe him as the “Root of David” or “launderer’s soap.”

However, when Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he encouraged them to call God “Our Father.”

That name “Father” has a special meaning. Whether we had a good earthly father or not, we know what fathers are supposed to do. Fathers love and care for their children. They want the best for them and strive to teach them all they need to know.

You can’t expect these kinds of things from a stranger. When you need something, you can count on your father.

This is what God wants for you. He is your heavenly Father who loves you so much that there is nothing he wouldn’t do for you. He cares for you so much that he promises to guide all the steps of your life. He wants the best for you so that you may spend all eternity with him. He strives to teach you all the things you need for this life and the next.

How did you arrive at this most special relationship with God? It is only “in Christ Jesus.”

It is because Christ Jesus was willing to give his very life for you on the cross and to defeat death for you by rising from the grave that you can now be called sons and daughters of God. He is your dear Father and in Christ you are his dear child. Through faith these gifts become yours.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, in Christ you have called me to be your child. Through faith help me to always look to you as my Father. 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.

When [the Wise Men] had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Matthew 2:13-15

After the Wise Men Left

Daily Devotion – January 6, 2023

Devotion based on Matthew 2:13-15

See series: Devotions

It’s the Twelfth Day of Christmas! On this day, often called Epiphany, many Christians celebrate the visit of the Wise Men to Jesus. That account is fairly well known. But less well known is what happened after the Wise Men left.

The visit of the Wise Men had alerted King Herod that a rival to his throne had been born. He did not understand that Jesus’ kingdom would not be of this world. Since he was a bloodthirsty man in this world, he arranged for all the young children around Jesus’ age and around Jesus’ birthplace to be slaughtered.

The Lord knew what would happen, so he arranged for Jesus’ parents—Mary and Joseph, to get out of that geographic area. They fled to Egypt, where Herod was not in charge. Egypt had played a large role in the history of the people of Israel before the birth of Jesus, so there was a lot of historical significance to staying in Egypt and eventually leaving Egypt. God knew what he was doing.

What can we learn from this account? God is in charge. Bad things still happen, but God protects people connected to Jesus. Wise Men may leave, but the source of all true wisdom remains.

Prayer:
Dear God, protect me from all threats, and bring me safely to my heavenly home through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.

So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Galatians 4:7

A Real Member of the Family

Daily Devotion – January 5, 2023

Devotion based on Galatians 4:7

See series: Devotions

It’s a pretty dramatic story when a person who was hired as a servant or conscripted as a slave becomes a member of the family. You can imagine the complicated emotions of the natural-born children in the drama. Do they welcome the new member of the family with open arms? Or are they jealous because someone who is not natural born will get part of the inheritance?

At one time, we were slaves to sin and the devil, forced to go along with them because their will was all we knew. But God has freed us from that slavery, promising us forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus. And where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also salvation and eternal life.

When God made us his children, true members of his family, there was an only begotten Son who could have been angry that he had to take on flesh, suffer, and die in our place. But Jesus, that Son was not jealous. He played his part in our salvation willingly. He did it out of love.

He was the first to receive the inheritance, a glorified body that will live eternally in heaven. But he is not the last. We have the same promise for our bodies and souls, and there is plenty of the inheritance to go around. We are heirs of eternal life, not just our souls, but our bodies as well—glorified, ageless, and perfect.

It’s an extraordinary privilege to be a member of God’s family, his child, with our brother Jesus Christ. Let’s look forward to the family reunion!

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for dying to put God’s will into effect and earn my inheritance. 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.

Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6

Recognizing Your Father

Daily Devotion – January 4, 2023

Devotion based on Galatians 4:6

See series: Devotions

My son and his wife had a baby last year. I think she already recognizes my son as her father. She reacts differently to him than she does to me, her grandfather. That’s probably because she sees him far more often than she sees me. She has learned to rely on him as a source of comfort. She has learned to recognize his love. She has learned to say his name.

Just as my granddaughter recognizes her earthly father, you can recognize the love of your heavenly Father. He sent his only Son into the world, Jesus Christ, to be your Savior. Jesus laid down his life for you. As a result, you are declared a child of God.

So how do you recognize God the Father, your true spiritual Father, in your life? God sends not only his Son but also his Spirit to prompt you to do that.

The Spirit comes to you through baptism. That’s why his name is one of the words spoken when people are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism puts the Spirit into your heart and causes you to believe in the only true God.

The Spirit comes to you when you read or hear the words of the Bible. Those words are Spirit and truth. Those words go right to your heart, confirming and strengthening your faith.

The Spirit leads you to confess the name of God. You can do that in a very formal way, and you can do that in a more informal, tender way. Our Bible verse for today uses a tender, childlike word for father—the word “Abba.” That’s what the Spirit prompts you to call God the Father, Abba. He takes care of you. He is a source of comfort. You have learned to say his name.

Prayer:
Abba, Father, I love you. Be with me wherever I go. 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.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law.
Galatians 4:4,5

The Reason for the Season

Daily Devotion – January 3, 2023

Devotion based on Galatians 4:4,5

See series: Devotions

People started celebrating Christmas two months ago, and most are tired of it by now. The tree is down, the lights are stored away, and they are back to work. Even though they know the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” they don’t realize that those twelve days start on Christmas day, and we are only on day nine today!

Maybe without all the distractions of celebration, the time has come to concentrate on the reason for the season. People realize that we celebrated the birth of Jesus. Did they realize that the birth was at exactly the right time? It happened at precisely the time God had planned it when he first promised it.

The Savior, Jesus, was the Son of God, begotten from the Father from eternity. That eternal God took on flesh and was actually born as an actual human being. Even though his Father was God, his mother was an actual woman, and he was true man.

That meant that he was under God’s law. He was required to keep it; and he managed to do that perfectly. Then he took the punishment for breaking the law, which was death and hell, and because he did not deserve that punishment, he was able to credit his perfect life to us. He paid the price of shedding his blood, innocently suffering, and dying. Now we have forgiveness as a result. We are redeemed.

Those extraordinary events make Christmas worth celebrating every year. Let the celebration continue!

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 366)
Jesus, guard and guide your members, fill them with your boundless grace,
Hear their prayers in ev’ry place.
Fan to life faith’s glowing embers; grant all Christians far and near,
Holy peace, a glad new year. 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.

I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us.
Isaiah 63:7

Look Back to Gain Confidence for the Future

Daily Devotion – January 2, 2023

Devotion based on Isaiah 63:7

See series: Devotions

On New Year’s Eve, did you look backward or forward?

You may have been tempted not to look back. The past year may have been filled with unkept resolutions, unfinished business, and disappointing results. Looking back might have led to bad feelings, even guilt. Looking forward might have offered the promise of new beginnings, even a fresh start.

But looking backward to what the Lord has done for you is a good idea. When you look at the Lord, you see promises kept, business tended to, and excellent results every time. In the Lord Jesus Christ, you have forgiveness for everything that might cause guilt. You have the promise that even when things didn’t look great, the Lord was working things out for your good.

Now you can look forward in the new year to a blessed life—a life that is lived to the glory of God. That means looking out for your neighbor’s needs since the Lord has met all your needs. That means a quiet confidence that the Lord will carry you through even the hardest things.

When the future looks bleak or daunting, look back to the kindnesses of the Lord in your life. Praise the Lord for his marvelous deeds, and be confident that the same Lord will be with you in the new year.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 367)
Then gracious God, in years to come,
We pray your hand may guide us,
And, onward through our journey home,
Your mercy walk beside us
Until at last our ransomed life
Is safe from peril, toil, and strife
When heav’n itself shall hide us. 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.

“Get up,” [the Lord] said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
Matthew 2:13

Divine Direction

Daily Devotion – January 1, 2023

Devotion based on Matthew 2:13

See series: Devotions

We’ve all heard accounts of people who got stuck in traffic and ended up missing their flight, only to find out later that the flight they were scheduled to be on crashed, leaving few, if any, survivors. And what was it that kept those people out of harm’s way—”Dumb luck” or “God’s direction?”

Even though Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were happy living in Bethlehem, Joseph took Jesus and Mary and left Bethlehem for Egypt. And Joseph did this before Herod came and murdered all the boy babies in Bethlehem two years of age and younger. Again, what was it that kept this family (Jesus’ family) safe—”Dumb luck” or “God’s direction?”

We know it was God’s direction because the Bible tells us that God informed Joseph about what King Herod was going to do, and he instructed Joseph to take his family to Egypt to escape. Although this trip would be difficult, it was part of God’s plan to protect his Son so he could save the world from its sins.

When God’s plan doesn’t match up with ours, let’s remember to give thanks that our heavenly Father lovingly directs every circumstance in our lives with our eternal well-being in mind. Then we’ll be able to look forward to that wonderful something God is accomplishing through his plan.

May God’s promise to guide and direct our lives according to his will and for our good grant a Happy New Year to us all!

Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for being so wise and loving that you often avert many of the problems that could so easily come into my life. When you change the things I’ve planned to be in line with yours, let me rejoice in your divine direction. 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 the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Hebrews 1:1-3

Finally

Daily Devotion – December 31, 2022

Devotion based on Hebrews 1:1-3

See series: Devotions

We have all been there before. Whether as a child waiting for that special Christmas gift; a mother or father waiting to meet their baby for the first time; or a seasoned worker longing for the day of retirement. Waiting is hard. Especially when the thing you are waiting for is going to be so amazing.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to wait for the Messiah? For thousands of years God’s people lived life based on promises. “He is coming, but not yet. He is going to be life changing. Just keep watching!” It must have been extremely difficult to live in a world of sin and pain in that state of waiting. But do you see what the writer of Hebrews is saying to you and me? We don’t have to live in wait. He has come.

The fact that Jesus Christ came into the world means that the glorious gift has come. He stands right before us and so we don’t have to wait to experience the joy he brings. He no longer says, “wait.” He says, “look.” Jesus, our gift, means we daily get to enjoy Jesus by our side sharing forgiveness, love, and comfort. What a joy to remember every day—he finally came!

Prayer:
Jesus, our Savior, thank you for renewing in me a daily appreciation for your coming into the world. You are our greatest gift, for which I thank you now and forever. 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.