St. Johns News

An angel of the Lord appeared to [Joseph] in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20,21

Give Him the Name Jesus

Daily Devotion – December 18, 2022

Devotion based on Matthew 1:20,21

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Naming a baby can be quite exciting. Some parents debate for months on what they will call their child. In an effort to find the perfect name, they may even consult books that are full of baby names or do an extensive online search. Parents are getting more creative all the time. Some parents pick a name to be different. Some pick a family name. Some pick biblical names.

God had a unique purpose in naming his Son. In giving him the name Jesus, God was not trying to be trendy or creative. Rather, he was giving his one and only Son an important title and job description. You see, God had taken a look at his world and didn’t like what he saw. He saw his perfect creation ruined by sin and the entire human race terribly lost in sin and on the way to destruction and condemnation.

As the holy God that he is, the Lord had every right to leave us lost in sin and to go his own way. But that’s not the kind of God we have! Instead God, in love, sent his Son to be our Savior. Jesus lived up to his name. He came into this world and lived a perfect life in our place, earning the righteousness that we sorely lack in our own lives. Then he went on to the cross and died an innocent death in our place, paying for all sins. Jesus saved us just like his name describes.

This Christmas—and always—thank God for the wonderful gift of his Son, Jesus, and learn to praise his name always. It is the only name by which we are saved.

Prayer:
Dear Father in heaven, I am humbled by the tremendous gift of your Son, whose name is Jesus. Lead me to thank and praise and love him all the days 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.

We consider blessed those who have persevered.
James 5:11

Foxhole

Daily Devotion – December 17, 2022

Devotion based on James 5:11

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Years ago, the Seattle Times ran a feature story on a man by the name of Paul Rogers. Paul was 96 years old and got around with a walker. He lived quietly and comfortably in his house in Overland Park, KS.

Seventy years earlier, however, Paul Rogers faced a different reality. Paul found himself in conditions few of us can imagine. He was in a foxhole in Northern Europe with the temperature below freezing, he had no winter clothing, and enemy troops surrounded his company’s position. Random mortar fire rained down on him. And there was little Paul Rogers could do, except endure it. This frigid, nerve-shattering ordeal lasted for 29 days.

When our Lord speaks to us in the Bible about life in this cold and broken world, he understands that much of it comes down to simple endurance. Perhaps it’s a difficult personality at work or a family member who regularly manages to cause pain. Maybe it’s a period of financial stress that never seems to end or chronic poor health, where you can’t remember the last time you woke up feeling well. Perhaps it’s old regrets that insist on coming back to haunt you or old temptations that never tire of tempting you all over again.

The next time you find yourself in a foxhole of trouble that you know you will just have to endure, keep in mind a couple of things. First, keep in mind that there are many others who, no doubt, have had to endure you and your weaknesses from time to time. But most of all, remember Jesus who has endured all things on your behalf.

Where we have stumbled and given in, Jesus did not. Where we surrendered to temptations, Jesus did not. Then he went to the cross. And there he endured the unspeakable to wash us clean forever. He endured all things in our place and prevailed. And now he lives to send us the strength of his Spirit by the power of his gospel. In him, we will prevail.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, be with me in my foxhole. Comfort me. Give me courage and strength. Keep me warm in your grace. 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 that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
Isaiah 11:10

A Judge for All People

Daily Devotion – December 16, 2022

Devotion based on Isaiah 11:10

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Judges have jurisdictions. A state court judge has no right to decide cases involving federal law. Nor do federal court judges have the right to decide cases involving state law. A judge in a Florida state court cannot decide cases involving Tennessee state laws. Nor can the judge of a court in Bangladesh decide cases involving the laws of Senegal. When deciding cases, judges must remain within their jurisdiction. Otherwise, their judgments have no standing.

The judgments that Jesus, our judge, makes are momentous. He acquits the repentant sinner who trusts in him for forgiveness. He condemns the unrepentant sinner who refuses to trust in him. But over whom does Jesus have jurisdiction to make these judgments?

In our Bible reading for today, the prophet Isaiah shows us that Jesus holds jurisdiction over all people. It doesn’t matter in what city, state, province, or nation a person lives. Regardless of any jurisdictional lines that separate courts on earth, Jesus holds jurisdiction over everyone, without exception.

This means that the justice that Jesus offers is available to all people. No matter who you are or where your earthly citizenship lies, the acquittal that Jesus offers through faith in him applies to you. The life he lived to win perfection for all people he lived for you. The death he died to pay for the sins of all people; he died for your sins. No one anywhere in any earthly jurisdiction is excluded from the acquittal that Jesus won for all people, including you.

And because Jesus holds jurisdiction over all people, you can be confident that his judgment will stand. You do not need to fear that you will reach the end of your life only to find that Jesus didn’t have standing to acquit you of your sins. His verdicts will never be overturned. When he says, “You are forgiven,” you can count on it.

No wonder Isaiah says that the nations will rally to him! How can we not rally around such a gracious and glorious judge?!

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, all glory and praise to you for so graciously acquitting me of all 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 wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
Isaiah 11:6-8

A Judge Who Brings Peace

Daily Devotion – December 15, 2022

Devotion based on Isaiah 11:6-8

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In 1361, the British Parliament passed the Justices of the Peace Act, formally establishing the office of justice of the peace. Justices of the peace had the responsibility of maintaining peace in the British sovereign’s realm. They had authority to arrest, prosecute, and punish offenders, rioters, and anyone who disturbed the peace. However, they did not have the responsibility of establishing peace in the first place. In fact, the role of the justice of the peace as a preserver of peace assumed that peace already had been established.

Jesus is far more than a justice of the peace. He is the judge who establishes peace. Wolves and lambs normally do not live together in peace. Wolves eat lambs, and lambs flee from wolves. A child playing near venomous snakes is a parent’s nightmare, not a usual occurrence. Yet, under the rule of Jesus our judge, such things do happen. There is peace where otherwise there would be none.

All of this is a picture of the greatest peace that Jesus brings, peace between God and us sinners. Apart from Jesus, there is no peace between God and us. Our sinfulness made us, by nature, perpetual rebels against God. On our own, we wanted nothing to do with any sort of peace with God. But God wanted peace with us. So, he sent his Son, Jesus to establish peace with us. Jesus, by his perfect life and innocent death on our behalf, removed the cause of hostility between God and us. He removed our sin. By doing that, he established peace where before there had been none.

Now we, who once were at war with God, are at peace with him through Jesus, our judge who brings peace. Continue trusting in Jesus, and you will enjoy his peace forever.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for establishing peace between God and me. Amen.

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

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

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

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
Isaiah 11:3,4

A Judge Who Judges Righteously

Daily Devotion – December 14, 2022

Devotion based on Isaiah 11:3,4

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Impartiality is essential for a judge to carry out his work properly. When deciding a case, a judge cannot allow himself to be swayed by the wealth, power, or status that he sees in one party over against the other party. He must base his decision solely on an honest weighing of the evidence presented to him. This is why justice often is portrayed as a blindfolded woman holding scales and a sword.

It’s tragic when an innocent person is convicted, or a guilty person is acquitted in a courtroom.
Thankfully, injustice is impossible in God’s courtroom. Jesus, our judge, judges all things with righteousness. Like Lady Justice, Jesus is portrayed as not being swayed in his judgment by appearances. “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes.” Nor will he be swayed by people’s subjective testimony, which may or may not be true. He will not “decide by what he hears with his ears.” Instead, he will render his judgments based solely on what is true and just. “With righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.”

But what truth will he weigh in his scales? First, he will weigh the truth of what he accomplished for all people. He will recognize the reality that by his life, death, and resurrection, he has won forgiveness of sins for all people. He then will recognize the reality that all those who believe in him claim that forgiveness as their own and will publicly acquit them. He also will recognize the reality that all those who refuse to believe in him have rejected that forgiveness and condemn than as their sins deserve.

All who trust in Jesus for forgiveness have nothing to fear from Jesus’ judgment. Jesus is a judge who judges righteously. Nothing will sway him from rendering the verdict that he knows is right. And for all those who trust in him, there will be only one verdict: You are not guilty. You are acquitted.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I praise you for your justice, which means my acquittal before 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.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance . . . The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Matthew 3:7,8,10

A Judge Who Condemns the Unrepentant

Daily Devotion – December 13, 2022

Devotion based on Matthew 3:7,8,10

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Of all the people who came to hear John preach, the Pharisees and the Sadducees should have been the first to take his message to heart. They, after all, were the recognized religious authorities of the Jewish people. They knew God’s law and all his promises to send the Savior. They should have been among the first to recognize the truth of John’s message, confess their sins, and look for forgiveness to the Messiah John was proclaiming.

Sadly, that is not what they did. You can tell from the way John responded when they came to him. Instead of assuring them of their acquittal before God, John warned that their destruction was imminent. Just as a fruit tree that refuses to produce fruit is in danger of being cut down and thrown into the fire, these Pharisees and Sadducees were in danger of falling under God’s judgment.

The Pharisees and Sadducees did not believe that they had any need for repentance. They had convinced themselves that they didn’t have anything that they needed to confess to God. Because they refused to recognize their need for the forgiveness that God offered them in Jesus, they cut themselves off from the acquittal Jesus won for them. For them, Jesus came as a judge who condemns the unrepentant.

The Pharisees and Sadducees stand as a warning for us today. All of us are capable of doing what they did, rejecting the acquittal that Jesus won for us. If we do that, then Jesus becomes for us as well a judge who condemns the unrepentant. That is not what Jesus wants to be for us. He gave his life so that he could be the judge who acquits us. And that is what he is when we continue with God’s help to trust in him for forgiveness.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, keep me from ever rejecting the forgiveness that you have won for me. Amen.

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

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

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

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” . . . People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Matthew 3:1,2,5,6

A Judge Who Acquits the Repentant

Daily Devotion – December 12, 2022

Devotion based on Matthew 3:1,2,5,6

See series: Devotions

Confessing a crime to a judge does not mean you won’t be punished for that crime. By confessing, you are admitting that you did something worthy of punishment. The judge may take your confession into account when he hands down your sentence. But a less severe punishment is still a punishment. Confession normally does not lead to acquittal.

Yet, for the people who went out from Jerusalem to hear John the Baptist preach, confession did lead to acquittal. As they listened to John the Baptist preach, God convicted them of the many sins that they had committed against him. He worked in them a godly sorrow over their sins that led them to confess their sins to John. In response, John, on God’s behalf, did something remarkable. He told the people that they were forgiven. They were acquitted. They would not suffer the punishment they deserved for their sins.

How could John do that? Even more, how could God do that? Doesn’t a judge have to punish the guilty? So how could God acquit these people who had admitted that they were guilty?

He could do it because, as John proclaimed, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus, God’s Son, had come. Jesus was the one whom God had chosen to suffer the punishment for the sins of all people. That was why he had come. And that is what he would accomplish through his perfect life and his innocent death on the cross.

The work Jesus did for the acquittal of the people who confessed their sins to John, he also did for us. Yes, Jesus came as a judge. But he is a judge who, by his own work on our behalf, has won acquittal for all our sins. Hear God’s call to repentance through John. Confess your sins. Trust in Jesus. Know that in him, you have been acquitted.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I praise you that in you I stand acquitted. 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.