Month: December 2021

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.”
Luke 17:26-29

Jesus Humbles Himself to Save Us from Destruction

Daily Devotion – December 3, 2021

Devotion based on Luke 17:26-29

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Eating. Drinking. Buying. Selling.

Those are four activities people do countless times every day in places all over the world. They were happening long ago as well, Jesus points out, on the day “fire and sulfur rained down from heaven” when God destroyed the cities of Gomorrah and Sodom on account of their sin.

In many ways, the lives of those who died that day were no different than ours. Their average day involved eating and drinking, buying and selling—normal activities that require multiple daily decisions and consume so much of our thinking. But suddenly, they received a reminder that those daily decisions weren’t the most important thing.

That’s not to say they aren’t important at all. What you buy, where you work, how you manage your money, what kind of food you provide for your family, and what home you live in consumes a great deal of our thinking. The lives of people we love are often affected by those decisions and impact the quality of our living.

Just not as much as God can. The many people who died that day in that destruction didn’t believe that.

But Lot did. On the day Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Lot took his family and fled from where he had been doing all his eating and drinking, buying and selling. Not because he wanted to destroy the quality of their lives, but because he believed there was only one thing they needed.

They needed the God who had promised a Savior that would one day not flee from the cross where God’s anger rained down on him as the willing sacrifice for our sins. They needed the Savior who would provide for them something even more satisfying than the very best deals or meals you can find on earth. They needed the Savior who could satisfy our souls forever with the gracious gift of eternal life in everlasting perfection. They needed the same Savior we have been given.

Prayer:
Father in heaven, thank you for the gift of Jesus our Savior, who alone graciously saves me from eternal destruction. 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.

“At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Luke 21:27,28

Jesus Humbles Himself to Redeem

Daily Devotion – December 2, 2021

Devotion based on Luke 21:27,28

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Khaleesi is a one-and-a-half-year-old miniature long-haired dachshund dog. She recently ran after a rabbit and kept running when the rabbit ran into a drain tube roughly 6 inches in diameter. The rabbit got all the way through. But Khaleesi didn’t—she got stuck in the vertical position about four feet down. The dog’s owner called the fire department for help. But when they got to the scene later that evening, they concluded that because it was dark, the terrain was rough, and the retaining wall the pipe was in was already in danger of collapsing that they wouldn’t be able to safely do anything until the next morning. The owner didn’t sleep that night. The next morning, everyone returned to the scene. The firefighters used the jaws of life to carefully cut away sections of the pipe without hurting Khaleesi. Everyone could hear Khaleesi crying and whimpering the entire time. But finally, 20 hours after she got stuck in the pipe, Khaleesi was set free. She jumped into the arms of her owner, with her tail wagging excitingly.

Like Khaleesi in that drain tube, we long for relief too. We are eager to find relief from stress, anxiety, guilt, and worry. We’re eager to be relieved of broken hearts, loneliness, regrets, and shattered dreams—which can all affect us for much longer than 20 hours.

Thankfully, the Bible tells us that Jesus has done everything necessary to bring us relief from all of these things. And one day, when Jesus returns “with power and great glory,” we will experience that relief in full. Until then, do not let the pain of this sinful world overwhelm your faith in the Savior who humbled himself to redeem us all from pain, death, and sin.

Prayer:
Gracious Redeemer, have mercy on me and keep my eyes of faith always fixed on you, and my heart always eager for my redemption. 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.

Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as [Jesus] had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
Luke 19:32-34

Jesus Humbles Himself to Meet Our Needs

Daily Devotion – December 1, 2021

Devotion based on Luke 19:32-34

See series: Devotions

Why did the owner of the colt let Jesus’ disciples take it? He didn’t complain. He didn’t ask why. He didn’t ask for a security deposit or down payment. He didn’t tell them to have it home by midnight. He just let them go, apparently, because he believed that if the Lord needs something from you, then it’s something you should just do.

Jesus applied the same attitude toward the will of his Father in heaven. Why did he ride into Jerusalem knowing that, at the end of the week, his perfect obedience was going to be rewarded by the shedding of his own blood? Why would he mount a donkey, parade into the city, listening to the cheers of men, women, and children knowing that by the end of the week nails and thorns would be pounded into him?

It’s because his Father expressed a need too. That need was for you to be forgiven of every sin. It was for you to be safe forever, right next to him. This is why Jesus came. This is why he humbled himself, stumbling under the weight of a cross and willingly walking through the darkest valleys of the shadow of death. He was only and always thinking about our need to be forgiven and giving you something to look forward to when Jesus comes again—an eternal existence with our heavenly Father where every tear will be wiped away, and you will never need anything more than what you’ve already been given.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for the humility with which you graciously meet our every need. 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.