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“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace…” says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 4:1

A Furnace

You are walking along a beach on the northeastern corner of the Sea of Galilee. As you do, you come across a small set of ancient ruins not far from shore. The ruins have been around for a long time; they go back to around the days of King David. You wander through them to investigate. And it is there that you spot a well-preserved remnant from the past. It’s a common furnace. You can easily picture people in David’s time using it. They’d place fuel at the bottom and light it. The design of the furnace is such that it would channel oxygen straight into the flames. The result is that there would soon be a hot, intense blaze waiting to consume everything it receives.

Envision this furnace working at full capacity. Feel the waves of heat radiating from its core. Smell the smoke. Taste the soot. Peer inside to see the raging fire. All this came to mind for the Old Testament prophet Malachi when the Lord spoke of the final judgment of the world. All that is evil, all that is arrogant, all that is defiant before the perfect goodness of God—all this the Lord will consume on the day of judgment. As Malachi later recorded, “Not a root or a branch will be left to them.”

On the other hand, this is a sobering thing. It reminds me that my every sinful failure, my every sinful thought, my every self-absorbed impulse is worthy of God’s righteous judgment, God’s consuming fire.

It also reminds me why God the Son came. He came to take my place. He came to be my substitute. He went to the cross to enter the furnace on my behalf. In doing so, he paid for my sins in full. Yours too.

All of which reminds us of one more thing. The evils of this broken world: horrors, abuse, injustice, hatred, atrocities, depravities, and lies—they do not have the last word. Jesus does. And eternal life in heaven awaits.

Prayer:

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for absorbing the judgment on my behalf. In difficult moments, remind me that the evils of this world do not have the final say. You do. 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.

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Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
James 1:17-18

Equipped to Keep on Sharing

In today’s Bible reading, the apostle James says something remarkable. He says that God does not change. He is not like a shifting shadow—like the shadow of a windowpane moving slowly across the living room floor until it disappears as the sun goes down. In particular, with respect to giving his people good gifts, God does not change. He is like the sun when viewed from outer space. He keeps shining. He never sets. His generosity does not change. He still selects carefully just the right gifts and just the right number of gifts to give his people.

God’s greatest gift to us is the gift of spiritual life—a gift that the apostle James says God gave us through the word of truth. Through the words of the Bible, God points us to Jesus and convinces us that he is the Son of God, who became a human being to save us from our sin. He leads us to believe that someday we will live with him in heaven. When we reflect on God’s gracious gifts to us, especially the gift of spiritual life through Jesus, we are motivated to show generosity, consideration, kindness, forgiveness, patience, and caring for other people.

May it give you the motivation and strength to be as generous to others as he has been to you. God, who does not change, will answer your prayer.

Prayer:

Thank you, Lord, that you do not change. I know I can count on your blessings in the future just as in the past. Grant that your generosity to me makes me generous to those you bring into my life this day. 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.

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[Jesus said,] “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
Luke 20:38

Alive to God

Many people hope that, if God does exist, they will be able to live with him in heaven. Unfortunately for those who do not have faith in Jesus, this is a baseless hope that ends only in disaster. In contrast, Jesus helps us understand what it means to be alive to God. He also provides the assurance needed to know that we will live with him forever.

Jesus’ words appear to be challenging. He said, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” There are two implications. The first is how God views those who die. When this life comes to an end, people don’t simply fade into nothingness. God still recognizes and preserves the soul. This leads to a second, and greater implication. How does that soul remain alive to God?

The answer is found in only one place and with only one person. In the Bible, God reveals the person to whom we need to hold. It is through Jesus and his precious work that we find confidence and are alive to God. In Jesus, we escape the justice of disobedience and are set free from the condemnation of sin. In Jesus, we are released from the sentence of God’s eternal punishment and declared not guilty. Our confidence comes as the result of Jesus’ blessed assurance. He promised, “I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me will live even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).

It is only because of Jesus’ precious work and his never-failing promise that we have this confidence: “I am alive to God, and I will live with him forever.”

Prayer:

O gracious God, Lord of life and death, bless me with the gift of faith which not only takes hold of eternal life, but which also holds on to the source of that life—my Savior, Jesus Christ. 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.

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For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 19:10

Are You Lost?

Is it possible to get lost anymore? With GPS, Find My, and AirTag, it seems like no one should ever get lost. Some of us remember the days when all we had was a map to guide us. Getting lost was perhaps more common in those days. But dads especially refused to admit they were lost. We can perhaps still remember Dad saying, ‘I’m not lost, I know exactly where I am!’

That kind of thinking is common also in our spiritual lives. Few, if any of us, would admit that we are lost. We think we know exactly where we are in life, and we have it all figured out. Maybe we have taken a few bad turns in life, but we are generally going in the right direction. Perhaps a few bad choices detoured us a bit, but we’re in control and we know where we are going. Yet so many of us are wandering through life without a spiritual GPS. If heaven is the destination, we don’t have any sort of guide or direction.

The good news is that Jesus came to save the lost and to guide us home. But if we can’t admit that we are lost, then Jesus has nothing for us. If we believe we are all good on our own and don’t need to be saved, Jesus leaves us to find our own way home to heaven. Without him as our Savior, we can’t possibly find the way.

As hard as it is to admit, we are lost on our own and need Jesus to bring us home. And thankfully, he does just that. He is the only way to heaven. His life and death in our place paved the road to eternal life. He rose from the dead to guarantee that through faith in him, we will find the way through this life into heaven with him. Jesus came and saved us and now provides us with eternal life. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and he will lead you home.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for coming to seek and save me. Help me to know that even though I was lost, now I am saved and on the way to heaven. 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.

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When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Luke 19:5

Today Might Be the Day

“I don’t have time for religion. Life is so busy right now with work and the kids and everything else. We will get back to church one of these days.” Does that sound familiar? Perhaps you have even thought about it yourself. Faith, religion, and church are all things that easily find a place on the back burner in our lives. So many things seem more pressing. There are deadlines to meet, quotas to fill, and memories to make. There are ball games to attend, vacations to take, and deals to close. And so, we tell ourselves that we will make time for God later: either when we get married, when we settle down and have kids, or maybe even when we retire.

But here’s the question: what if Jesus decides that today is the day he wants to meet you face to face, like he did with Zacchaeus? He told Zacchaeus, “I must stay at your house today.” What if he says that to you before this day is over? None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. At any given moment, God could decide that our time on earth is over.

Are you ready? If Jesus decides that today is the day, we don’t need to be afraid of meeting him. Jesus has already removed any reason for us to fear him. He has paid for our sins by dying on the cross and has guaranteed our eternal life by rising from the grave. He has forgiven us and saved us, and through faith in him, we can trust that he will take us home to heaven.

Life has a way of getting in the way of our faith. Make time for Jesus and spend time with him in worship and Bible study so that when Jesus says that today is the day, you will be ready to meet him.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for saving me and giving me the gift of heaven. Help me not to put you on the back burner today. 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.

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When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Luke 19:5

Feeling Small?

Zacchaeus was not a popular guy. Nobody liked him. He was a Jewish man who collected taxes for the hated Roman government. As such, he was viewed as a traitor to his people. Tax collectors were notorious for overcharging the people so they could pad their own bank accounts. They were despised. On top of this, Zacchaeus was a small man and did not stand out physically in any way. Put that all together, and he would be the last one that anyone would expect Jesus to pick out of a crowd.

What about you? Are you feeling small? Outcast? Unnoticed? Maybe there is that person in your life who just has a way of making you feel like the tiniest person in the room. Perhaps you work so hard, and nobody seems to notice or care. It could be that your recent choices in life have you feeling unworthy of Jesus’ notice. Maybe it was words you spoke in anger, or decisions you made in a moment of passion, or thoughts that linger in your mind. Whatever the case, perhaps you also feel like the last one anyone would expect Jesus to notice.

Surprising as it may be, Jesus wants to be with you, too. Just like he picked Zacchaeus out of that crowd and asked him to climb down out of that tree, Jesus calls out to you through his Word and tells you to follow him. He wants you to know that he loves you and wants nothing more than to spend eternity with you. He wants you to trust him in all things. To prove he is worthy of that trust, Jesus lived and died and rose again from the dead, all to assure you that you could have a place by his side in heaven forever. And now he invites you to spend time with him as you read your Bible. He knows that the more time you spend together, the more your faith will grow and the more you will find peace in this life.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for saving me from sin and death and for calling out to me in your Word. Help me to grow in faith as I spend time in your Word. 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.

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You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
Micah 7:19

In the Depths of the Sea

‘Sploosh.’ I remember that sound as if it was yesterday. My boys and I were out with my dad, fishing on his boat. We were on Green Lake, in central Wisconsin. Anyone who has fished with young kids knows that the adults don’t actually do much fishing. Rather, it involves a lot of reattaching worms and lures, as well as untangling lines. During one of those breaks in the action, my youngest son leaned over the side of the boat to look at something in the water. As he did so, his glasses slid off his face and into the water. ‘Sploosh.’

Now, for those who don’t know, Green Lake is the deepest natural lake in Wisconsin. Its maximum depth is 237 feet. Try as we might, there was absolutely no way we were going to recover or find those glasses. They were gone forever.

God wants us to know that he has done the same thing with our sins. No matter what our sins are or how big or small we think they are or how long we have been carrying them around in guilt and shame, God wants us to know that he has removed them from us forever. He has hurled them into the depths of the sea. This was made possible for us when Jesus went to the cross in our place. There, as he died for you and me, he took on our sins and paid for them once and for all. God the Father accepted that payment and has taken our sins and removed them from us once and for all. We are forgiven and saved because of Jesus.

The good news for my son was that Shopko had free replacement on kids’ glasses, so he was able to get a new pair as soon as we got back home. The even better news for you is that because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, you have been given a new, guilt-free life here on earth and a glorious eternal life in heaven.

Prayer:

Dear Father in heaven, thank you for removing my sins and burying them in the depths of the sea. Help me to live a thankful life, looking forward to my eternal life 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.

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Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.
Micah 7:18

Our God Is Different!

What is God like? You could potentially hear a different answer to that question for every person asked. One person may think that God is distant and aloof—barely taking notice of what is happening to us here on earth. Another may feel that God is mean or angry for threatening judgment on those who disobey. Still another may view God as unloving or cruel because he doesn’t appear to help us when we need it.

Truthfully, God could and should have been all those things and more. Because of our sinfulness, God had every right to be angry. Because we at times pay so little attention to him, he had every reason to be distant from us. Because we accuse him of being unloving, he had all the motive he needed to withhold his love from us.

All these descriptors of God would seem to make sense to human understanding. Surprisingly, though, the Bible tells us that what God is like is so completely different from what we expected or deserved. The Bible says, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” This verse tells us what God is like. He is forgiving and merciful. He does not stay angry with us but, in love, reaches out to save us. For proof of this love, you need look no further than the cross. Rather than make us pay for our sins or turn his back on us, God sent Jesus to be our Savior. To suffer and die on the cross to pay for all our sins and to give us the gift of eternal life in heaven. Rather than punish us, God invites us to believe in Jesus and to be saved.

Contrary to what many believe, God is defined by his pardoning and forgiving grace. God sent Jesus and proved everyone wrong. Our God is different!

Prayer:

Dear Father in heaven, thank you for doing the unexpected and sending Jesus to die for my sins. Lead me to trust in him today and every day. 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.

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But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

In Christ, We Have Victory

When the apostle Paul went to Thessalonica on his second missionary journey, the word of God that he preached regarding Jesus Christ bore fruit. Some came to faith in Jesus. But enemies of the gospel raised an outcry against Paul, stirred up a mob, and forced Paul to flee during the night. Torn away from them so abruptly, Paul did not even have a chance to say goodbye to that congregation of believers.

In this letter to his Christian friends in that city, he shares his great desire to return to instruct them in the truths of God’s Word and encourage them in the face of such great opposition. But Satan stopped Paul and his companions from returning.

Satan is ever trying to prevent the progress of the gospel. He works incessantly to keep people from believing in Jesus or persuades them to deny or ignore him as their Savior. By spreading false teaching and instigating outright opposition against believers, he seeks to destroy the church of Jesus and lead people to destruction in hell.

But Jesus is stronger than the devil, and the Bible tells us, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). Jesus came to establish the truth of salvation. He took away the guilt of our sins by dying for us. He clothed us in his perfection so that by faith in him we are freed from the curse of eternal death and freely given the crown of life with God forever.

Satan has been defeated. Though he still strives to oppose Jesus and the truth of salvation—even making our life difficult so often—in Christ we have the victory over him and look forward to the glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes.

Prayer:

Thank you, Jesus, for winning the victory over the devil, so that I know he cannot hurt me this day. 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.