St. Johns News

[Jesus said] “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Revelation 22:13

The Big Picture

Daily Devotion – June 3, 2025

Devotion based on Revelation 22:13


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Winston Churchill liked to tell the story of a young boy who was rescued by a sailor. The boy fell off a pier into the icy water, and a sailor jumped in, rescued the drowning boy, and was able to revive him. Later in the day, the boy and his mother were walking down the street when the boy exclaimed to his mother, “That’s the man who saved me!” The boy and mother quickly rushed over to the man, where she asked him, “Are you the man who saved my boy this morning?” “Yes, I am,” the man replied. “Well, where’s his hat?” she asked. “He came home without his hat!”

She missed the big picture. A hat is nothing compared to a life saved.

Sometimes, we miss the big picture, too. We fret over all the problems of life. We forget the One who is Eternal Life.

In our Bible reading for today, the apostle John gives us the big picture. He presents to us the glorified Lord Jesus. Having been crucified and raised, and then ascended into heaven, he speaks to us from the final chapter of the Bible. And what does this glorified Jesus want us to know?

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Jesus has always been in existence. There is no starting point for the eternal Son of God. Jesus will always be in existence. There will be no ending point for Jesus. Alpha and Omega are the “first and last” letters of the Greek alphabet. Jesus is stating his eternal existence.

What makes this so comforting for us is that Jesus, who is eternally present, is also the One who set aside his glory and power for a while so that he could take our sin upon himself.

Our God is not some timeless but disinterested entity out there. Our Savior, Jesus, is both timeless and loving, eternal and sacrificial.

Keep that big picture in mind as you serve your Savior. He can help you in your needs. He exists. He loves. He cares.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, help me to remember that you rule all things for the good of your church, your people. Help me to place my daily trust in you. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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] “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.”
Revelation 22:12

Seek Unity in Christ

Daily Devotion – June 2, 2025

Devotion based on Revelation 22:12


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Differences divide. When people look different from each other, talk differently, act differently, or eat different foods, these all can become reasons that divide. We see this in people. We even see this with entire nations and cultures.

However, differences also divide those who are the same. People of the same family, of the same faith, of the same culture also struggle with anger, resentment, and hard feelings. Even where you could reasonably expect unity, it is often lacking.

Christians struggle with unity. And nothing makes the devil happier than seeing God’s people bicker. Satan delights when Christians fight.

The apostle John in the book of Revelation gives us proper perspective. Jesus is coming. One day, soon, believers of every nation, tribe, people, and language will gather before the Lamb of God (Revelation 7:9). The grudges we hold and the hurts we hang on to simply will not matter when we stand before Jesus.

He will come “with his reward.” This is not something earned, it is something Jesus gives. His reward is all the blessings we receive from the One who loves us and gave himself for us.

And Jesus says that he will “give to each person according to what they have done.” What we do in life matters, this is clear. God desires that his people practice and share the forgiveness that we have received just as generously as it was given to us. Our deeds don’t save us but they do display that God has worked in our hearts.

One day, the risen Lord Jesus will return. That day will be awesome. And in his plan, it will be soon. He will unite all believers before himself. On that day, differences will not divide.

Until that day, seek unity, not division.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, the greatest divide has been bridged between a perfect God and sinful people with your death and resurrection. Help me to rejoice in my forgiveness by sharing and showing your peace with others. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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.

Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
Exodus 15:11

It’s Majestic!

Daily Devotion – June 1, 2025

Devotion based on Exodus 15:11


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The magic of David Copperfield is always intriguing to watch. It is fascinating how he can seemingly transport himself from one side of the Great Wall of China to the other. It’s amazing how he can make the Statue of Liberty disappear. I’m guessing he can do some pretty impressive card tricks, too! Yet all the things he and other magicians do are still called “magic.” Trick photography, sleight of hand, mirrors, intricate cameras, and the like make the illusion appear to be reality.

Arguments can be made as to who is or was the greatest magician, but all of them pale in comparison to the Lord, not the magician, but the majestic! Moses saw him part the waters of the Red Sea, allowing thousands of Israelites to cross on dry land and then close the waters on the pursuing army of Pharaoh. What he saw could only have been done by the Majestic One, the Lord. His works are not tricks or sleight of hand. They are obvious. They are real, although not all acknowledge them. Consider the intricacies of the human body and marvel at the balance of the ecosystem. Gaze into the massiveness of the universe. All these “declare the glory of God.”

Even his greatest act, his resurrection from the dead, had no sleight of hand, no tricks and no mirrors. It was real. It was something no one else had done. It shows, just as the parting of the Red Sea convinced Moses, there is none among those called “gods” like the Lord. What he has done for you is not magic; it’s majestic!

Prayer:
Jesus, you proved that you are the majestic Son of God and my blessed Savior by your resurrection from the dead. Comfort me with the knowledge that one day you will majestically return and raise all the dead and give to your believers eternal life in heaven. Use me, Lord Jesus, to catch more people for you. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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] “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
John 16:21,22

Real Grief; Real Joy; Same Event!

Daily Devotion – May 31, 2025

Devotion based on John 16:21,22


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Jesus spoke earnestly to his disciples just before the three-day, salvation-winning event of his death and resurrection. Jesus pictures a mother in labor, delivery, and at the birth of her child. That same event brings real pain and real grief but also real joy to the mom, and to her husband also.

Jesus’ disciples felt real grief over what Jesus revealed at that Upper Room Passover meal. Jesus spoke of betrayal, denial, and his own death, saying, “In a little while you will see me no more.” But he added, “…and then after a little while you will see me” (John 16:16).

We can hardly plumb the depth of grief the disciples felt that night. Jesus assured them, “I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” On the third day, following the onslaught of that grievous event, which brought our Savior to the agony of Calvary, salvation-winning event culminated in his resurrection! The disciples saw Jesus again, just as he said they would. They were eyewitnesses. Their grief turned to joy, “joy that no one will take away” because Jesus lives and reigns eternally! So he said, “Tell the world!”

For you, me, and every Christian, considering the cross of Christ stirs both real grief and real joy concerning that same event. The real grief is in the deeper understanding that the sins of every human being, including your sins and mine, nailed Jesus to the cross. The real joy is in the deeper understanding that Jesus willingly made that “atoning sacrifice (paid the full punishment price) for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). We have eternal life and an irrevocable joy shared by all who trust in the risen Christ for eternal salvation! Tell the world!

Prayer:
Lord, help me view the cross with grief, joy, and thankful sharing. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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.

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 21:27

One Way In

Daily Devotion – May 30, 2025

Devotion based on Revelation 21:27


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Heaven sounds like a great place. There will be no crying or pain there. God will wipe away every tear from every eye. Heaven does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and Jesus the Lamb is its lamp. There will be no night there. People in heaven will be in the presence of the Lord forever. Nothing will mess it up.

It sounds like a great place to be! But the more I think about it, the more I wonder how I will ever get there. I have done things that are shameful and deceitful. Because of my sin, I am impure, and the Bible says that nothing impure will ever enter heaven.

But the Bible also says that people whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be able to get in. The Lamb is Jesus. Why is he called the Lamb in this context? It’s because there was a day when a lamb was sacrificed to pay for sins and earn purity for people. Jesus was the Lamb who was sacrificed once and for all to earn purity for all people, enough purity to get them into heaven.

So, I will get into heaven because the Lamb sacrificed himself for me, and when he called me to faith in him, he wrote my name in his book of life. I can be confident that I will fit right into that perfect heaven, and you can be confident, too, through Jesus.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, take me to heaven at exactly the right time to live there forever with you. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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.

After [Jesus] said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:9-11

In the Same Way, You Have Seen Him Go

Daily Devotion – May 29, 2025

Devotion based on Acts 1:9-11


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You do not have to worry that Jesus has secretly returned to the earth and is gathering people to himself under an assumed name. You do not have to worry that Jesus will return to where you are living, tap you on the shoulder from behind, and ask you religious questions to test you. You do not have to worry that Jesus has returned invisibly and is waiting for a certain number of years to reveal himself.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, the angels said to the apostles he had chosen that Jesus would return in the same way that they saw him go into heaven. He had gone into the sky until a cloud hid him from their sight.

When Jesus returns, there will be no doubt about it. The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The angels will gather believers from all over the earth and take them to the place where Jesus is returning.

And so, we will be with the Lord forever. You can encourage one another with these words. Judgment day will be thrilling, not scary, because the one who saved you will also be the judge, and he will not forget what he did for you. In the meantime, do not worry. God has it all figured out.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 472)
Be now our joy on earth, O Lord, and be our future great reward. Alleluia, alleluia!

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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 on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
John 16:16

Uncertainty Gives Focus

Daily Devotion – May 28, 2025

Devotion based on John 16:16


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Have you ever driven to a place that you know very well with your mind on something else? Perhaps, upon your arrival, you realized that you had almost no recollection of time passing.

Familiarity and routine may be comfortable, but it can lead to taking things for granted and paying little to no attention. When God wants to get your attention, he may allow something unfamiliar to happen to you.

When Jesus died, it certainly got the attention of his disciples. They did not see him, and they were very focused on what would happen next. Then Jesus rose from the dead, and they saw him again as he appeared again and again, even to over five hundred brothers at the same time. He told his followers they were forgiven and at peace. He focused them on their next great task, getting the word out about his resurrection.

It would be nice to know when we will see Jesus. But we do not know the date of judgment day, and we do not know the day we will die. For a little while, we see Jesus only in our mind’s eye when the Bible is read, but after a little while, we will see him fully.

In the meantime, we focus on the continuing opportunities we have to serve him. When we are tempted to think that our lives are mundane, we remember what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 25. When we feed the hungry, when we give a cup of cold water to the thirsty, when we invite in strangers, when we clothe those who do not have clothing, when we visit the sick and those in prison—Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, until I see you again, focus my life on serving those around me. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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.

[Paul and Barnabas] preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
Acts 14:21,22

Through Many Hardships

Daily Devotion – May 27, 2025

Devotion based on Acts 14:21,22


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It makes sense that becoming a Christian improves your life. You go from uncertainty and even hopelessness to confidence in rock-solid promises. You discover what God has done for you and what he thinks of you, which is good.

So why do Christians experience hardships? You might think that difficulties in life would all disappear for disciples of Christ. But it’s not like that. There are disappointments and griefs, challenges and struggles. Sometimes, those even happen because you hold to counter-cultural truths of the Bible.

It’s been like that for a long time. The apostles taught the early Christians that they had to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. They would suffer persecution. They would see occasional downturns in family life and business. They would encounter sin and even death, the wages of sin.

Without pinpointing the exact reason for every difficulty, God promises that all things will work together for good for you in the end. He invites you to trust that your entrance into the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus is secure even when you encounter hardships. Be faithful even unto death, and he will give you the crown of life.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, lead me through life’s hardships to an even stronger faith in your promises. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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] Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
John 16:22

Joy After Grief

Daily Devotion – May 26, 2025

Devotion based on John 16:22


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Grief is real. It is a natural response to loss, and it hits different people in different ways at different times. When you hear about the imminent death of a loved one, you may even experience anticipatory grief.

The disciples of Jesus were about to experience the death of Jesus, whom they loved. Their time of grief was before and after he died on the cross. Without a clear understanding of the purpose of Jesus’ death, they did not have clear thoughts. Without the knowledge of what would happen next, they did not anticipate joy.

But they saw Jesus again when he rose from the dead. He explained that his death won the forgiveness of sins and peace for the whole world. When he was about to ascend into heaven, he explained that they would see him again, and their joy would be eternal.

You may experience grief, but you will see your Christian loved ones again, and you will rejoice. At that time, no one will take away your joy. Before that time, your laughter may come through tears, but because Jesus rose from the dead, you will also rise, and your joy will be complete.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, lead me through grief to a joy with you that has no end. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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 crowd saw [the miracle] Paul had done, they shouted…, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes . . . The priest of Zeus . . . and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, . . . they rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and sea and everything in them.”
Acts 14:11-15

Giants but Not Gods

Daily Devotion – May 25, 2025

Devotion based on Acts 14:11-15


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It is a common expression: “He is a giant in his field.” That’s a person of exceptional importance and reputation. Paul and Barnabas were giants in the field of Christian missionary work. They were not gods. The citizens of Lystra had observed the healing of a crippled man by the apostle Paul and drew a faulty conclusion.

Only God can do miracles. He chose to validate the message of the early Christian Church by working miracles through his messengers. (Mark 16:20, Acts 14:3, Hebrews 2:4) Paul and Barnabas were messengers of Christ, not gods from Greek mythology. However, they were giants in their field.

Hermes and Zeus were worthless idols. Yet the people of Lystra sincerely believed in them. Today, there are those who sincerely believe in worldly philosophies, basing their moral values on them.

Sincerely believing in something does not create truth or value. The “living God” of the Bible has revealed what is true and of real worth.

The “living God” is the heavenly Father, Creator of heaven and earth, who planned the gift of salvation for sinful mankind. The “living God” is the Son, the risen Christ, who paid for the gift of our salvation with his holy life and innocent death. The “living God” is the Holy Spirit, who gives the gift of salvation to sinners, creating saving faith by means of the gospel.

Can you be a giant in someone’s life? Can you humbly and urgently tell them, “Turn from these worthless things to the living God”? You can.

Prayer:
Lord God, help me speak the gospel of your salvation. If that makes me a giant in someone’s eyes, to you be the glory! Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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.