Month: November 2021

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” As [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.
Luke 19:39-41

Jesus Humbles Himself to Tears

Daily Devotion – November 30, 2021

Devotion based on Luke 19:39-41

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Throughout his ministry on earth, Jesus showed his power to control things: the wind, the waves, sickness, disease, evil spirits, and even Satan. He showed that power again on Palm Sunday when he was able to ride a colt that no one had ever ridden. A colt like that typically needs to be broken in. The first time a colt feels the uncomfortable weight of a human on its back, it typically reacts very aggressively, trying to throw that person off. But that’s not what happened. Jesus rode the colt into Jerusalem, and the colt cooperated. Jesus, again, on Palm Sunday, showed himself to be someone who has complete control over absolutely anything.

Remarkably, this all-powerful person was also sympathetic. Today’s Bible reading tells us that he wept when he saw the city of Jerusalem. Why? Because Jesus was well-aware that most of the people in that city would not sing his praises and worship him as their Lord and Savior. They refused to believe he was who he claimed to be. And they would, therefore, spend eternity without him and all the blessings he promises his followers in the life to come.

Jesus’ tears tell us how very much he cares about each and every soul he came to save. That includes you. He loved you enough to ride into Jerusalem, where he would die to pay the price for your sins so you can enjoy his blessings forever in the life to come. What a reason to rejoice! Spend this day celebrating what he has done for you and singing his praises.

Prayer:
Gracious Savior, hear my heartfelt cries for mercy and satisfy the deepest longings of my soul with your perfect love. 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.

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Luke 19:35-38

Jesus Humbles Himself to Serve

Daily Devotion – November 29, 2021

Devotion based on Luke 19:35-38

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Bojana is the name of a woman who lives in Serbia, and her TV is upside down. So is her computer screen. And her computer keyboard. When she reads a newspaper, she holds it upside down. When people try to correct her, she doesn’t listen to them. When someone hands her a piece of paper to write on, she turns it upside down, starts writing from the right lower corner, and finishes in the upper left. As far as doctors know, there is no one else in the world who is like Bojana. They say she has a rare brain condition called “spatial orientation phenomenon,” which means that her eyes see things the right way, but for some reason, her brain changes them and turns things upside down. What she sees doesn’t exactly show her reality.

Something similar took place on Palm Sunday. God himself was coming into Jerusalem. But it didn’t look the way you might expect. God didn’t look majestic and glorious. He looked like just another human being. He wasn’t surrounded by armies of angels but instead by his very normal-looking disciples. He didn’t ride into town on an impressive stallion or in an expensive chariot. He was riding on a borrowed donkey. What the crowd saw that day with their eyes didn’t exactly show them the full reality of the God who was approaching them.

But what they saw certainly revealed the true nature of our God’s heart. Jesus came in humility. He came to serve. He came to give. He came to save us and forgive us by lowering himself under the full weight of the whole world’s sins. On Palm Sunday, we see our Savior who humbled himself to serve us.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you humbled yourself to serve us as our Savior. May I forever worship you with humility and thanks that properly honors your saving name. 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.

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
1 Thessalonians 3:12

Loved by God

Daily Devotion – November 28, 2021

Devotion based on 1 Thessalonians 3:12

See series: Devotions

Early in this letter, the apostle Paul addressed the believers in Thessalonica as those who were “loved by God.” The message Paul preached centered on the love of God. As sinners, all people only deserved to be separated from God and condemned. But God had mercy on the people of this world and sent his only Son, Jesus, to rescue them from the curse of sin and the hold of eternal death. Jesus has taken away the guilt of sin and brought peace between God and people.

When the Holy Spirit uses this good news to work and strengthen faith in Jesus, and the love of God fills our hearts, it has an effect on the way we treat other people. Filled and thrilled with that love of God, Paul prays for the increase of God’s love in the hearts of people. The more our hearts hear the saving truths of God’s Word, the more they are conformed to live according to the love of God. In fact, Paul prays for God’s love to “overflow for each other.” Like a container that is filled to overflowing, so the love that God pours into our hearts is so measureless that it fills us with its goodness and overflows from us into the lives of others.

Filled with God’s kind of love, we are moved to love others the way he loves us: completely, unconditionally, selflessly. We love not only “each other”—those who share our faith and joy in Jesus, but also “everyone else”—even those who may make our life difficult. The love of God we show toward them can make such an impression that they might ask why we treat them so well. Then that’s an opportunity to tell them about the love of God in Jesus!

Prayer:
My God, increase my faith and fill me with your love in Jesus. Give me the ability to let your love generously overflow from my heart into the lives of people all around 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.

We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Hebrews 4:15

He Knows What It is Like

Daily Devotion – November 27, 2021

Devotion based on Hebrews 4:15

See series: Devotions

The classic TV series M*A*S*H tells the story of an army field hospital located mere miles from the front lines during the Korean War. In one episode, the army chaplain, Father Mulcahy, cannot comfort a wounded soldier because he’s admitted that he’s never experienced what it’s like to be in battle. After some introspection, the chaplain makes a decision. He secretly stows himself away in a truck headed for the front. Upon his arrival he finds himself in the middle of a full-fledged firefight. When it’s finally over, he returns to the hospital where word of what he’s done has already spread through the ranks. The final scene of that episode is Father Mulcahy sitting down once again with the same soldier. The chaplain looks him in the eye and says, “Now, let’s talk.”

When you talk to your Savior in prayer, you are not talking to someone who’s sitting back on his distant throne in detached serenity. Rather, you are talking to someone who has been exactly where you are. Jesus did not merely get a small taste of what the battles of the world are like. Instead, Jesus fully felt the very worst that this world can launch against us.

But remember, Jesus did this not only so he could feel what we feel. He did it to be our perfect substitute. He willingly took the punishment for our failures and paid for them completely at the cross.

Every day through his Word, Jesus sits down with you. Every day Jesus says, “Let’s talk.” When he does, think about where he’s been. Think about what he’s done for you. He knows what the battle is like. He’s the one to carry you through.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you know exactly what it’s like to do battle in this fallen world. Thank you for coming here to be my perfect substitute. When you sit down with me every day and speak to me through your Word, empower me to open up my heart to you in prayer. 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.

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
Revelation 1:7

He is Coming

Daily Devotion – November 26, 2021

Devotion based on Revelation 1:7

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Our younger children love to stand by the window when they know someone is coming and to announce it when they arrive. They are so excited to welcome the guests to our home.

God wants us to be eager and ready for an even more important arrival—the coming of Jesus on the Last Day of the world. Centuries ago, Jesus was taken alive into heaven after he had risen from the dead to rule all things for our good.

One day Jesus will return. And “every eye will see him.” It won’t be a secret. No one is going to miss it. You will see him. I will see him.

Sadly, not everyone will be ready for him when he returns. Not everyone will welcome him. Our verse for today mentions “those who pierced him.” Jesus’ earthly enemies tried to get rid of him by nailing him to a cross. When Jesus comes again, they will see him alive with their own eyes. They will come face-to-face with the reality of their own sin and the judgment they deserve, and they will mourn. For them, that mourning will last forever; the tears of agony and regret and shame will stream down their faces eternally in hell.

In a way, we all pierced Jesus. It was because of our disobedience of God’s law that Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. But we know that he died to forgive that disobedience. We believe the Bible when it tells us that God loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.

When Jesus returns, we will welcome our King, grateful that his grace has removed our guilt and scattered every shadow of shame forever. Set free from sorrow and sin, we will live with our Lord forever in perfect peace and unending joy. What a day that will be! I can’t wait until he arrives!

Prayer:
Jesus, you are coming soon to take me home with you. Lead me to turn from my sins and trust in your forgiveness, so that I am ready to welcome you when you arrive. 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 am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8

Give Thanks for an Unchanging God

Daily Devotion – November 25, 2021

Devotion based on Revelation 1:8

See series: Devotions

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. If you are reading or listening in the morning, what are your plans for the day? If it is near the end of the day, what has your day been like?

Does the pandemic still leave you feeling isolated and alone? Do you long for how things used to be? Maybe there are other factors that leave you lamenting the things that have changed. A loved one has died. You or someone you love is sick. New financial strains overshadow your celebration if you can even call it that.

Thanksgiving or not, our world is constantly changing. And that can make it hard to be thankful.

For everything that changes, one thing always stays the same. And that is our God. In our Bible verse for today, God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In English, we might say, “I am the A and the Z.” What he means is that he is the same from beginning to end. God never changes. He always was, is now, and always will be the same God.

That means he doesn’t change his standard of right and wrong. The sins that offended him in the past still offend him today and always will.

But it also means that his mercy and love don’t change. When the first people sinned against him, God promised them a Savior to forgive that sin and free them from the curse of death. God kept that promise of mercy and love. And that promise of mercy hasn’t changed. All who cling to Jesus in faith receive the free gift of God’s forgiveness. God won’t change his plan. He won’t add strings or conditions. Through Jesus, God’s Son, he counts us as his children and pours out his love on us each day as our perfect, loving Father.

So we give thanks today for a God who doesn’t change, who always loves, always provides, always forgives. And we look forward to the day we will feast with him in an eternal celebration of thanksgiving!

Prayer:
Loving God, I give thanks today that you never change. 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 answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
John 18:37

Listen to the King

Daily Devotion – November 24, 2021

Devotion based on John 18:37

See series: Devotions

What makes a good king? A powerful army? Royal blood? Political influence? Wise advisors? The approval of the people?

How about honesty, truthfulness? Although many might want leaders who always tell the truth, that isn’t always what we get; is it? Many make promises that they can’t keep and maybe never intended to keep. Many craft their words in a way that obscures what they really mean to gain support from those who wouldn’t stand behind the truth. What people want to hear often seems more important than the truth.

When Jesus came into this world as a king, he didn’t come with a powerful army. He came alone, and he even discouraged his allies from using their swords to fight for him. Jesus was a descendant of King David, but it had been centuries since anyone from David’s family had reigned. Jesus didn’t surround himself with the best and brightest. His closest followers were unschooled, ordinary men.

But Jesus rules with one powerful tool—the truth. Often, this isn’t what people want to hear. As the saying goes, “the truth hurts.” That’s especially the case when the truth reveals the darkest corners of our hearts, where selfish desires, envious and angry thoughts, and shameful lusts dwell. The truth of God’s law shines below the surface to reveal how often we fail to live up to God’s demands.

But the truth of Jesus reveals not just our hearts but the heart of God himself. God loves us unconditionally. In love, he punished his perfect Son, Jesus, for the evil in our lives so that he could pardon us fully and completely. In love, he continues to call us to leave behind our sinful thoughts and lives and to trust in his forgiveness and his promise of eternal life with him. That’s why he gives us his Word of Truth—the Bible. And through that message of truth, Jesus moves us to trust him in faith as he rules in our hearts as King.

Prayer:
King Jesus, the truth of your law hurts, but the truth of your love heals. Rule in my heart by your truth. 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, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
John 18:36

Not of This World

Daily Devotion – November 23, 2021

Devotion based on John 18:36

See series: Devotions

Every four years, American citizens get to elect a President who will lead the country for the next four years. Many issues in those elections come down to wealth and health. Which candidate is going to promote policies that improve or preserve health and safety and put more money in my pocket?

People looked at Jesus and thought he would make the perfect political leader. He saw people in need and sought to help—often in powerful and miraculous ways. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, and even raised the dead! If Jesus were king, maybe their troubles would all go away. Money problems, relationship problems, and health problems would all be solved—if not for everyone, at least for his most loyal supporters!

But the reality is that Jesus doesn’t always bring outward success. He doesn’t build a following through the things that our selfish hearts crave. And that leads many to turn away from him.

Jesus was once put on trial before the political authorities of his day. One of the charges was that he claimed to be a king. But Pontius Pilate, who presided over the trial, didn’t think that Jesus looked or acted much like a king.

Jesus explained, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Jesus, the Son of God, didn’t come to selfishly seek worldly wealth, political power, or personal gain. He came to give of himself and to serve the world. He came to conquer the devil and overcome sin and its curse. He came to fight for our souls. And he won that fight by overcoming temptation, enduring death and hell, and rising from the dead.

Because Jesus fought as our king, we have something far better than worldly wealth or success. We have been set free from sin and rescued from death. We are citizens of Jesus’ heavenly kingdom, where we will live with him in perfect joy forever! Hail, King Jesus!

Prayer:
King Jesus, thank you for fighting to set me free. Keep me from turning away from you, so that I may enjoy the eternal riches of your heavenly kingdom. 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 Christ . . . is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Revelation 1:5

King Jesus Lives

Daily Devotion – November 22, 2021

Devotion based on Revelation 1:5

See series: Devotions

In ancient times, kings would often go into battle with their armies. And the king was one of the main targets for the opposing army. If they could kill the king, they could leave his army feeling demoralized and defeated.

Today’s Bible verse calls Jesus “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” To earn that title, you might assume that he never lost a single battle. Your assumption is correct. You might also assume that he never died in battle. But that is not true. Let me explain.

Jesus came to battle against the devil, who led the world into sin and disobedience. Jesus came to overcome death itself and strip it of its power. But to do that, he had to die. Death’s power is in its rightful claim on those who are guilty of sin. The Bible says that “the wages of sin is death.” The only way for death to lose its power was for someone to receive those wages. And that’s what Jesus came to do.

Jesus did battle with the devil by resisting every temptation the devil threw at him. He was perfect in every way. But then he willingly accepted the guilt for our failed battles against temptation. And he received the punishment of death and hell that we deserved for that guilt.

In the days before Jesus died, the devil was unleashing his entire arsenal. He thought that if he could turn Jesus’ friends and enemies against him and get them to kill him, Jesus would be defeated. But just the opposite happened. Jesus’ death was all part of God’s plan. By dying in our place, he destroyed death’s power over us. He proved that by being “the firstborn from the dead.” He rose from the dead to show that our sins were forgiven, and death had lost its power over us.

And so, Jesus not only rose from the dead himself, but he is “the firstborn from the dead.” When Jesus returns on the Last Day, all who have died trusting in Jesus’ victory over sin and death will be raised to live forever with him.

Prayer:
Jesus, my King, thank you for defeating death for me so that I will live forever with 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.

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Hebrews 5:7

Prayers of Intensity

Daily Devotion – November 21, 2021

Devotion based on Hebrews 5:7

See series: Devotions

It’s said that early African converts to Christianity were fervent and intense when it came to their prayer life. Each would go to a private place in the thicket to pour out his heart to the Lord. Over time, each person’s path into the thicket became well-worn. It also was clear whenever someone’s prayer life began losing intensity. Whenever that happened, a fellow Christian would gently say, “Brother, the grass grows on your path.”

When it comes to the intensity of your prayer life, does the grass grow on your path? Think over the past seven days. Pinpoint specific moments when you talked to your Heavenly Father in prayer. Were many of them simply memorized mumbles at mealtimes and before bed? Were they automatic recitations in a worship service? Were they half-hearted daydreams while you listened to the traffic report on the way to work? Each of us must confess that all kinds of grass have grown on the intensity of our prayer life from time to time. And for that flippant act of neglect, each of us deserves to be ignored by God.

But consider Jesus. God’s Word in Hebrews chapter five gives us riveting visual footage. It pictures Jesus while he lived on this earth. It pictures him praying to his heavenly Father with such intensity that loud cries pour out of his mouth, and tears flow from his eyes. And because of Jesus’ perfect submission, God listened to the prayers of his Son.

And there’s the beauty: Jesus’ prayer life was one of perfect intensity and perfect submission on our behalf. And the blood he shed at Calvary’s cross has washed away our every sin of neglect.

Because of Jesus, the privilege of prayer is ours. Because of Jesus, we have a Lord who is ready to listen at any moment. And so beat a path to your prayer time with God. Make the grass on your path go away.

Prayer:
Thank you, Jesus, that because of your perfect prayer life in my place, I am forgiven for my imperfect life of prayer and now have the privilege of praying to my heavenly 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.