Month: May 2022

In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
Revelation 5:12

The End

Daily Devotion – May 5, 2022

Devotion based on Revelation 5:12

See series: Devotions

God has wired us for stories. Our own experience reflects this. If someone presents us with endless bullets of factoids on a PowerPoint screen, we will likely lose interest. Weave that same information into a gripping story, however, and our attention remains. It’s simply how our Creator has put us together.

This probably should come as no surprise. After all, Christianity is the greatest story of all time, and a story that happens to be absolutely true. It starts with Creation, then the Fall into sin, then God’s promise to send a Savior from sin. Then, God guides the twists and turns of history until the moment is right for the Savior to arrive. When he does, Jesus Christ does exactly what needs to be done to live a holy life on our behalf and suffer and die for our every sin. Then, according to his promise, he rises from the dead.

And this drama is still unfolding. You and I are fighting the good fight. We battle the temptations of the world, the temptations of Satan, the temptations of our old sinful natures. Often we overcome, but sometimes we stumble. Sometimes we fall. When we do, The Bible brings us to repentance, Jesus refreshes us in his forgiveness, and his gospel empowers us to get back up.

Through all of this, you and I are collecting scars, but that’s all right. We know it’s all right because our Lord has chosen to tell us how this ultimate adventure is going to end. In the last book of the Bible, the apostle John receives a revelation of what you and I are going to see. In the end, there is victory and peace and joy, unbridled and pure. Jesus is at the center. Multitudes of angels are there. You and I are there, along with all those of all time who have trusted in Jesus. And we fill the heavens with our shouts and songs.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for showing me how all this is going to end. Refresh me day by day as I fight the good fight. 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.

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man [Saul] and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem . . .” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name before the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.”
Acts 9:13,15

God’s Plans

Daily Devotion – May 4, 2022

Devotion based on Acts 9:13,15

See series: Devotions

Let’s take a moment to set up this extraordinary scene. Ananias is a Christian. He lives in a town called Damascus. He’s been receiving reports about a Jewish man by the name of Saul of Tarsus. Saul of Tarsus has made it his mission to crush Christianity. In Damascus, the mere mention of Saul’s name very likely creates a corkscrew sensation running up the back of every Christian.

And now the risen Lord Jesus appears to Ananias in a vision. In this vision, he tells Ananias to go to a certain house in Damascus and to ask for Saul of Tarsus, who’s staying there.

Saul of Tarsus? Poor Ananias. In that moment, Ananias cannot see the wisdom in seeking out the one who brings so much terror to many Christians. Every impulse in Ananias tells him to take a pass on paying a visit to Saul of Tarsus. The Lord’s plans, however, are different.

Ananias is not alone, of course. As Christians, you and I battle all kinds of impulses that tell us to back away from the Lord’s will for our lives. Such impulses can come in many forms. There’s the impulse of fear and resentment, There’s the impulse of convenience and the status quo or to remain where it’s comfortable and familiar.

However, the Lord’s plans are not for the sake of what’s comfortable. Often, they are for the sake of reaching the next blood-bought soul with the good news about Jesus. And that can make for some uncomfortable, inconvenient moments indeed.

But the true joy of life is in God’s plans, not ours. In him, we find our forgiveness, purchased at the cross, where we find true belonging and meaning. And in him, his gospel empowers us to embrace the Lord’s plans, leaving ours behind.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, move me to trust your plans for my life. I am yours. 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.

For three days [Saul] was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
Acts 9:9

When Life Stops

Daily Devotion – May 3, 2022

Devotion based on Acts 9:9

See series: Devotions

For a Jewish man by the name of Saul, life had suddenly stopped. He had been embracing the presumption that the followers of a crucified teacher named Jesus were all wrong about his being the promised Savior of the world. As a result, Saul had made it his mission to persecute and root out the Jesus followers wherever he could find them.

But then the risen Lord Jesus himself had confronted Saul. After that encounter, Saul was physically blind for three days. The Bible records that, during those three days, Saul did not eat or drink anything. The Bible also records that Saul spent much of that time in prayer.

What were those three days like for Saul? No doubt they were not easy. No doubt they contained for Saul some long, difficult hours of reflection; long, difficult hours of realizing how wrong he had been and how right Jesus was about everything.

When was the last time your life suddenly stopped? When was the last time it was all you could do to sit down and try to absorb something that had just happened? Was it the abrupt loss of your job? Was it the collapse of a close relationship or heartbreak in your family? Was it the diagnosis of a life-changing illness or the death of someone close to you? Or was it something else that still, somehow, put your life into a pause or a sobering picture frame? Perhaps your life is at a full stop right now.

When life stops, Jesus is there. He’s there to bless those difficult hours of seeing those things I need to see—whether it has to do with where I’ve gone wrong, what I have forgotten about the Lord’s will for my life and his promises, or what I have forgotten about my absolute dependence upon God’s grace.

He’s also there with his forgiveness. He’s also there to cleanse me in the blood from Calvary’s cross. He’s there to start my life all over again.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, when my life stops, sit with me. Move me to see what I need to see. And by your forgiveness, empower me to begin again. 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.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Acts 9:4

The Question

Daily Devotion – May 2, 2022

Devotion based on Acts 9:4

See series: Devotions

Pat Flynn felt overwhelmed. He was struggling to develop an online course, but it seemed as though the harder he worked, the more complicated it became. It was then that he had a chance to sit down with an author by the name of Tim Ferriss. During their discussion, Tim Ferriss asked a key question: “If [developing this course] were easy, what would it look like?” The question was a game-changer for Pat. It tore down his false presumption that the setup of his course had to be complex to be good. He re-thought everything he had been doing, stopped feeling overwhelmed, and ended up with a much better course.

In Acts chapter 9, a Jewish man by the name of Saul embraced a powerful presumption. He presumed that the followers of a crucified teacher by the name of Jesus were wrong about his being the promised Savior of the world. For that reason, Saul had made it his business to persecute and root out these Jesus followers wherever he could find them.

That all changed, however, when the risen Jesus himself confronted Saul with a question: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Such a question challenged Saul’s entire presumption. And with that question, Jesus, his gospel, and the power of his Holy Spirit quickly brought Saul to faith and changed his life forever.

Perhaps the Lord could confront us with some “Why” questions: Why do you continue to worry your way through your day? Why do you spend so much time on social media but not so much in God’s Word? Why do you tell yourself you’re too busy for the things you know are truly important? Why do you behave as though the Lord Jesus is not in control? Why do you avoid taking a moment to tell your child or grandchild what Jesus means to you?

Whatever the question is, the Lord can use it for great blessing. It can bring us to repentance. And through his Gospel, he can refresh us all over again in the forgiveness he purchased for us at the cross.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, confront me with the question I need to hear. Bring me to repentance. Refresh me in your forgiveness. 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.

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain.”
Revelation 5:12

The Lamb

Daily Devotion – May 1, 2022

Devotion based on Revelation 5:12

See series: Devotions

What comes to mind when you think of God? Perhaps words like “big,” “powerful,” maybe even “angry with me” come to mind. I doubt you would say “an animal.” But in the book of Revelation, Jesus is called “the Lamb.” And we’re told he was slain.

In the Old Testament, thousands upon thousands of lambs, goats, bulls, rams, and other animals were slain. Why? In directing his Old Testament people of Israel to bring animal sacrifices, God was teaching them that disobeying God is extremely serious. In his holiness, God’s justice demanded the thing of ultimate value: one’s soul for one’s sin.

But in his tremendous mercy, God provided substitutes. He allowed animals to be sacrificed in substitution for sinners. These animals pointed to Jesus, “the Lamb, who was slain,” in substitution for us. Jesus allowed his life to be taken in place of sinners’ lives so we could have a God who is not “angry with me” but a God who is at peace with us. The Bible says that “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

Why would Jesus do that for us—give up his own life to save ours? The Bible says that Jesus could bear our sins more easily than he could bear the thought of our eternal hopelessness. He could endure the dishonor of being damned for sin if it meant we would not be.

It’s astounding that he would do that for us! This is why the Bible says, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive . . . honor and glory and praise . . . for ever and ever!”

Prayer:
Lamb of God, comfort my troubled conscience with the truth that you were slain to forgive all my sins. All glory and honor to you for dying in my place so I could live eternally! 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.