St. Johns News

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.
Jonah 3:10–4:1

Justice or Something More?

Daily Devotion – September 26, 2023

Devotion based on Jonah 3:10–4:1

See series: Devotions

God is supposed to be a God of justice—right?

It’s no wonder Jonah called God out on the carpet like he did. The people of Nineveh were truly evil. They had made a name for themselves in violence and bloodshed so that much of the ancient world was disturbed and anxious. Even women and children were not spared from their violence.

Wasn’t Jonah right that they deserved to receive at least a portion of the violence from God that they so freely meted out to those less fortunate? That would be justice, after all.

So Jonah was angry when Nineveh repented and was not destroyed.

Yet we see something in Jonah that we see in all our hearts. Jonah didn’t want justice; he wanted destruction. The difference between Jonah and the Ninevites was not that the Ninevites loved violence, and Jonah loved peace. No, Jonah had his own version of violence and destruction, which is why he sat on his hilltop waiting for Nineveh to be destroyed. In fact, it seems that if Jonah had the same army and strength as Nineveh, he might have taken justice into his own hands. The only difference between Jonah and the people of Nineveh was that Jonah didn’t have a powerful army at his disposal.

God gave something better than justice to both the Ninevites and Jonah; he gave mercy. He sent the people of Nineveh a prophet to tell them to repent. God spared Nineveh from the fate they deserved. He caused the great fish to spit Jonah back up on the dry land instead of letting him drown. Even as Jonah sat on the hilltop, God sent a message instead of judgment to Jonah. While we might content ourselves with justice in this situation, God had something more for all involved.

We have a God who is more than just; he is merciful.

Prayer:
Father, help me to see beyond my own pettiness to your great mercy. Make me trust that your will is where justice and mercy meet. 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.

[Jesus said] “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. . . “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. . . “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.’”
Matthew 20:1,8-11,13,14

A Generous God

Daily Devotion – September 25, 2023

Devotion based on Matthew 20:1,8-11,13,14

See series: Devotions

A good story can change the way you see something or someone. Jesus’ story about the landowner and the workers he hires does just that.

Jesus didn’t tell this simple story so that we could learn something about economics or ancient farming practices. Jesus told it so it would change the way we look at the abundance of God’s grace.

In Jesus’ story, those who worked a full day received a full day’s wage. And those who worked less than a full day also received a full day’s wage. The reward was the same, regardless of time or amount of work.

It is a story that offends our sensibilities of what is fair but also changes how we see God. It teaches us that he has a higher goal than fairness. We are confronted with the beautiful truth that God’s love for us is not based on what we have done but on his generosity.

What a relief to know that our God is this generous! Take comfort in this truth and celebrate it today!

Prayer:
Father, allow me to see and appreciate the abundance of 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.

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah 3:10

The Threat of Destruction

Daily Devotion – September 24, 2023

Devotion based on Jonah 3:10

See series: Devotions

It’s terrifying to face the threat of destruction and death from the almighty, holy, one true God. The people of Nineveh faced this. They believed God was serious about his threat against them. They grasped the fact that they had fallen under the judgment of God because of their sinfulness. Even with their great military prowess, they could not defend themselves against God. So they turned to him and sought his mercy to be spared from destruction.

And what good news we read next! “God had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” The heart of God overflows with compassion toward people. “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11).

Mindful of our sinfulness, we confess that we have failed to live according to God’s holy will. For this reason, we deserve death and destruction for our offenses against God. We acknowledge that we have no ability on our own to free ourselves from God’s just punishment. Our only hope is that he would have mercy on us.

The good news is that he does! “Because of the LORD‘s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail” (Lamentations 3:22). In love and compassion for us, God laid the guilt of our sin on his Son, Jesus, and punished him in our place. He freed us from eternal death and destruction in hell. Through Jesus, we have peace with God. His favor rests on us, and by faith in our Savior, we live in the joy of the salvation that he accomplished for us.

Prayer:
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope 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.

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.”
Genesis 50:15-21

Forgiveness

Daily Devotion – September 23, 2023

Devotion based on Genesis 50:15-21

See series: Devotions

Joseph’s brothers were afraid. They had done terrible things to Joseph; now Joseph was a powerful ruling official in Egypt. The lives of the brothers were in his hands. They were afraid!

The brothers’ problem was the fear of not being forgiven for what they had done to Joseph. They had sold their brother into slavery.

Like those men, we sometimes fear the repercussions of confessing what we have done wrong. But lying about our situation does not help at all. The person who cheated on their spouse, the worker who misappropriated funds, or the student who cheated on a test gains nothing positive by lying about it. Instead, though difficult, there is great benefit in confessing and asking for forgiveness.

Joseph said to his brothers, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?” God’s forgiveness dismisses fear. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross takes away all our sins—even those that are horrific. Followers of Christ dismiss fear because God freely forgives them. In response, as God does for them, they forgive the sin of others.

Forgiveness offered in love is the most powerful agent of change the world has ever seen. Joseph forgave because he knew God is a God of forgiveness. We forgive because we are forgiven by God through Jesus.

So then, don’t be afraid.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, may your gracious forgiveness of all my sins through Jesus lead me to forgive others as I have been forgiven. 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.

[Jesus said] “The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.”
Matthew 18:27-30

Get Past the Grudge

Daily Devotion – September 22, 2023

Devotion based on Matthew 18:27-30

See series: Devotions

A recent survey indicated the number one reason people stop going to church is that they hold a grudge. They disagree with something someone said or did and can’t bring themselves to resolve the problem, so they simply stay away from it.

In a parable told by Jesus, a servant who had a massive debt canceled goes out and finds a second servant who owes a much smaller debt to him. Instead of resolving it, the first servant holds it against the second servant and has the person thrown into prison, where it is difficult to resolve anything.

Can you see the relationship between the two situations?

God forgives people for every sin against him. He sent his son Jesus into the world to pay the debt for every sin. Jesus suffered hell and set people free from the guilt of sin and from the fear of death.

But those same forgiven people decide to hold everyone around them accountable for every sin and every grievance, large or small. They nurse grudges rather than forgiving people, who often don’t even realize what they have done.

Then the servants who forget their own forgiveness stay away from church, where the power of forgiveness in Word and sacrament could give them the strength to forgive the people who have grieved them. It’s not a good situation.

Get past the grudge. Forgive the other person. Rejoin the Christian assembly. Stay connected to Jesus! Live in forgiveness.

Prayer:
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising 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.

[Jesus said] “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go.”
Matthew 18:23-27

Debts

Daily Devotion – September 21, 2023

Devotion based on Matthew 18:23-27

See series: Devotions

Matthew, the apostle and evangelist, knew all about debts. Before he became a disciple of Jesus, he had been a tax collector—responsible for collecting money from people in Israel on behalf of the occupying Roman government. He would have kept track of income and debts for people from all levels of society and would have been aware of how people got into trouble with difficulty paying off their debts.

Matthew must have been fascinated by Jesus telling the story of the servant of a king who had a huge debt. The debt was millions of days’ worth of wages, an impossible sum. Matthew knew what happened to people who accumulated such massive debts. Everything they had, everything dear to them, even their families, would have been sold or enlisted to pay off the debt. Matthew may even have seen such scenarios play out in real life.

Imagine Matthew’s surprise when someone in the story with ultimate authority, a king and master, takes pity on the man with the debt and simply cancels it. A king could do that, but it was probably a rare event.

As Matthew got to know Jesus, he would have realized that the story was about him and about each one of us. Our debt to God is unpayable because of the things we have done wrong, and the good things we have neglected to do. He should send us to hell. Instead, because of the payment that Jesus made for us on the cross, God takes pity on us, cancels our debt, and promises us heaven.

Prayer:
Lord God, thank you for taking pity on us, canceling our debt to you, and setting us free 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.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

Where You Get the Strength

Daily Devotion – September 20, 2023

Devotion based on Ephesians 4:32

See series: Devotions

My dad had to say it to me and my siblings so often that he ended up abbreviating it. “ABK!” he would call out to the back seats of the station wagon. “ABK!” he would yell upstairs where our bedrooms were. “ABK!” he would say in the backyard while sitting in his lawn chair near the grill and watching us play.

“ABK” stood for Always Be Kind.

We knew Christians were supposed to be kind. We had heard the Bible verse, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” But it was so hard! Siblings were so annoying and obnoxious! And whatever it was, they did it on purpose!

It’s difficult for adults to be kind and compassionate as well. Being unkind seems to come naturally. To be honest, it’s easy to prove that other people don’t deserve our kindness. Unkindness seems to come just as naturally to them as it does to me.

Where will I ever get the strength to forgive unkind people?

The strength will come from realizing that God has forgiven me even when I don’t deserve it. I will get the strength from seeing how Christ treated me even when I was a sinner. My own forgiveness from a kind and compassionate God will give me the strength to be kind and compassionate as well.

There is a hint in the Lord’s Prayer. “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” When I call on God to forgive my sins, I am called to do the same for all those unkind people around me.

Prayer:
“Forgive our sins as we forgive,” you taught us, Lord, to pray, but you alone can grant us grace to live the words we say. 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.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29

Refrain Then Replace

Daily Devotion – September 19, 2023

Devotion based on Ephesians 4:29

See series: Devotions

Using ungodly language is such an easy habit to get into. People misuse God’s name every day. Dirty jokes are easy to remember and, sadly, often get a good reaction. Harming someone else’s reputation is, unfortunately, usually super satisfying. All these bad practices are what our Bible reading for today refers to as unwholesome. You know they are wrong, but you are rarely called to account for them.

Stop it. Refrain. Get out of the habit. Tell people to remind you. Do not go back to the habit. Confess your sins to the Lord. Ask him for forgiveness.

Because Jesus never used ungodly language, never misused the name of God, never told a dirty joke, and never hurt another person’s reputation, but still died to take the punishment for those sins, you are forgiven. Your mouth is cleansed. You are wholesome in God’s sight.

You may still notice that the whole unwholesome talk habit is hard to break. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” is great advice, but very difficult to carry out.

Here’s some help. When you are tempted to say something bad, say something good instead. What counts as good talk? Anything that is helpful for building others up according to their needs. This includes compliments, encouragement, and solid advice. You know those things are right.

Refrain from unwholesome talk. Replace it with wholesome talk. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt. If you struggle with that, steer the conversation toward Jesus, your Savior. That will always benefit anyone who is listening.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 695)
Lord Jesus, take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King. Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from thee. 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.

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Genesis 50:20

God Intended It for Good

Daily Devotion – September 18, 2023

Devotion based on Genesis 50:20

See series: Devotions

When something bad happens to me randomly, I can usually handle it. I figure that God is in control, and he will cause everything to work together for my good.

But when someone intends to harm me and seems to succeed, it is harder for me to handle. I am tempted to lash out, to get revenge, to hold a grudge.

During the early history of God’s people in Israel, a man named Joseph was sold into slavery by his older brothers. He was taken to a foreign country and eventually thrown into prison on false charges. Later he was released from prison and ended up with a terrific amount of political and social power. He used that power to help many people survive a famine.

Then Joseph met his brothers again. It would have been understandable if he had lashed out, gotten revenge, and held a grudge. His brothers feared that and begged him for mercy.

Joseph showed mercy to his brothers. He explained why. Joseph understood his life from God’s perspective. He told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

When people seem to harm me, it is good for me to remember what Joseph said. God is still in control, and his ultimate purpose is always to bring people to a knowledge of the truth that Jesus forgives them and is their Savior.

I may not always understand how God will make something good happen when he allows people to harm me, but it seems possible that eventually, they may be able to learn about forgiveness from Jesus through me.

Prayer:
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. 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.