Month: July 2023

[Jesus told the people] many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Matthew 13:3-9

Planting Seed

Daily Devotion – July 22, 2023

Devotion based on Matthew 13:3-9

See series: Devotions

Songwriters have used it. Thinkers have used it. Investors have used it. Even Jesus Christ used it. Used what? They used the picture of planting seed to make a point. Jesus told a story about planting seed to teach us that when we hear and learn the Word of God, spiritual seed is planted in our hearts.

But, sadly, sometimes that seed doesn’t grow. People can get distracted from their relationship with God. And, without regular exposure to God’s Word and worship, their faith fails. In a way, they are like a child who excitedly plants a seed in a foam cup and waters it regularly. But a couple of days later, the child forgets about it, and the seed dries up.

But praise be to God, the seed he sows in some people’s hearts produces a bumper crop of spiritual fruits. As they are reminded of the forgiveness Jesus won for them on the cross and the eternal life he achieved for them when he rose from the tomb on Easter morning, they live their lives in service to him and the people he brings into their lives. God grant that this is true for you!

Prayer:
Dear Lord, plant the seed of your Word in my heart and make it grow into a fruitful plant of faith to give you glory. 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.

But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:10,11

Build With Care

Daily Devotion – July 21, 2023

Devotion based on 1 Corinthians 3:10,11

See series: Devotions

It would be ridiculous for builders to have a perfectly laid foundation and then build the house right next to it instead of on top of it. Who would do that?

Sadly, we may often do something just like that spiritually. Our natural, sinful tendency is to build our lives on things other than Jesus. As believers, we have the foundation of Jesus Christ. We’ve come to know him by faith. Yet there are times we bypass this perfect foundation of Christ and build our lives on things that have no solid footing. We may build our lives on the shoddy foundations of worldly treasures and pleasures. We may get so wrapped up in the sporting events of our children or the pulls of family time that we fail to spend time building on the foundation of God’s Word in worship and Bible study. There may seem to be lots of things in life that are given more weight or seem more pressing than our need to sit at the feet of Jesus and order our lives upon his Word.

But we’ve got the perfect, rock-solid foundation right here in him. Jesus isn’t just a better foundation. He is the only foundation. He is the only one to build your life upon if you want your life to stand forever into eternity. When your foundation is Christ, you will never worry about it sinking away or cracking. Your foundation isn’t going anywhere. So, build with care on the gospel foundation Christ has laid before you. Your life will be eternally better for it.

Prayer:
Christ, you are my cornerstone and my foundation. Help me build with care on that perfect place you’ve given 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.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it.
1 Corinthians 3:10

The Long Play

Daily Devotion – July 20, 2023

Devotion based on 1 Corinthians 3:10

See series: Devotions

It must have been hard for the apostle Paul to leave each church he helped start. Usually, after just a short time, Paul had to move on to a different city for his mission work. Sometimes he had to leave due to persecution or because other places needed to hear the gospel of Jesus too. It’s easy to imagine why Paul had a hard time leaving each of the fledgling congregations he helped get off the ground. Maybe, in some ways, it felt like letting go of his baby—to let someone else hold it for a while.

But in our Bible verse today, we see Paul trusting that the work in each of those cities would continue. He got to lay the foundation, and someone else was coming along to build on it and finish the work.

We can get discouraged when we don’t see God’s kingdom built as swiftly as we’d like or not see people filling every pew in the church. We can get discouraged when that person we’ve been trying to reach out to hasn’t come to church yet.

But it’s good to have patience in this gospel-sharing work. Just because we don’t see immediate results doesn’t mean we should stop working to build up the Church of God. Like Paul, maybe we are just laying the groundwork for someone else to come along and build upon it further. This could apply in the ministry of a church or in the personal ministry of witnessing to others.

Even if the friend we invite to church doesn’t accept our invitation immediately, we at least built a foundation, planted a seed, and made a positive impression with them. We never know what God might have in store for them in the future and whom he might put in their life to continue building on that gospel foundation we began to lay down. We play the gospel-long game, trusting God’s long-term plans that he has for every person.

Prayer:
Lord, give me many opportunities to lay down gospel foundations for others in your Word. 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 planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
1 Corinthians 3:6,7

God Is in Charge

Daily Devotion – July 19, 2023

Devotion based on 1 Corinthians 3:6,7

See series: Devotions

“God asks us to be faithful, but he’s in charge of the results.” This phrase is a good one for us to keep in mind as Christ’s witnesses in the world. We can be faithful in getting into God’s harvest field. We can put ourselves in situations where we get to let our lights shine out to others by our words and our actions. We can take the opportunities God gives us to reach out to neighbors with Christ’s love or to invite a family member to worship with us. But we must always remember that God is the one in charge of the results. It is God who makes faith sprout or grow in a person’s heart. He is the sunshine and the rain. We can’t control those things, but God can.

If we try to take the results of building God’s kingdom into our own hands, we will be disappointed and quickly realize we can’t achieve anything if it were left up to us. But since God is in charge of the results, since he is the one who has the power to change hearts, we can take that overwhelming pressure off ourselves. If our labor in the Lord ever seems in vain, we remember that God has the results in hand.

Since God is in charge of the results, we want to work faithfully in his service. He’s taken all the pressure off of us. We are nothing, and he is everything. And that is just the way we want it to be.

Prayer:
Gracious Lord, give me many opportunities to plant and water seeds of faith in others. Then help me entrust the results of my work to 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.

“My word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:11

Our God Speaks No Empty Words

Daily Devotion – July 18, 2023

Devotion based on Isaiah 55:11

See series: Devotions

Imagine having the power to speak a command and knowing your words will always be followed exactly to the letter: your toddler always listens immediately when you tell them to get ready for bed, and your boss always listens to every recommendation you give. Our words don’t have that kind of power, but God’s words do. His words always accomplish the purpose that he has in mind.

Sometimes God’s Word carries out its purpose to convict a person of sin. It points out a person’s disobedience to God’s will, even if they’d rather not admit it. But God also uses his Word to carry out the purpose of curing the heart that is broken and guilty due to sin. Whether convicting of sin or comforting with the promise of his forgiveness, God will always make sure his Word accomplishes its purpose.

Just a few verses before the words of our Bible reading for today, God’s words are compared to the rain and the snow. When it rains or snows, you can guarantee the ground will get wet one hundred percent of the time. Sometimes the ground is drenched immediately by a downpour. Just like a person’s heart might be drenched by the storm surge of God’s powerful Word, sometimes the rain falls in a refreshing light sprinkle. God’s Word can also work in small and quiet ways in people’s lives. Sometimes the moisture falls to the ground as snow. The ground doesn’t get watered until the snow melts, and sometimes it takes a long time to happen. In the same way, sometimes God’s Word doesn’t seem to be doing anything in a person’s heart, but given time, it will accomplish God’s purpose according to his timetable.

Our God speaks no empty words, and we can trust that his Word will always work according to his perfect purpose.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for letting your Word work in my heart. 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 seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Matthew 13:23

God Revives Dead Dirt

Daily Devotion – July 17, 2023

Devotion based on Matthew 13:23

See series: Devotions

In the novel The Martian, an astronaut named Mark Watney is stranded on Mars all by himself. To survive until help can arrive, he has to find a way to grow food for himself. The problem is nothing can grow in the dead Martian soil. But Watney engineers a way to revive the dead Martian dirt and turn it into soil rich enough for growing potatoes. The potatoes he grows sustain him long enough for help to arrive. Remarkably, Watney was able to provide a climate in his greenhouse so that even the dead dirt of Mars could be cultivated into life-sustaining soil.

Jesus once told a story to illustrate God’s ability to do something even more remarkable. God is able to make unbelieving, sinful hearts trust in him. We are all essentially a pile of dead dirt, spiritually speaking, until God gets a hold of us. God uses his Word to make the seed of faith grow even in hearts that are dead in sin. God has the power to take the dead dirt of our hearts and revive it to life by the message of Christ. He never gives up on us, even when we look hopeless.

The faith that God causes to grow in us supports and nourishes us our whole lives. God alone gives us faith to get through the rocky and thorny times of our lives when our faith is threatened. We thank the Lord that he has allowed us to hear his word and understand it.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for reviving my heart to live by the power of your Word. Grow me daily in the greenhouse of your Word. 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 planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
1 Corinthians 3:6,7

Plant the Word

Daily Devotion – July 16, 2023

Devotion based on 1 Corinthians 3:6,7

See series: Devotions

Did you ever plant something but didn’t get to see whether it grew or not? Several years ago, I planted a garden. Then I moved to another city. I never found out whether the new residents kept up the garden, whether they watered and weeded the tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and melons.

Do you ever wonder whether your witnessing for Jesus bears fruit? What happened with that neighbor who came to church a few times before moving away? Did she look up the name of the church you gave her? Did she follow through on her promise to take the pastor’s instruction class? There are many times in life when we don’t get to see the results of our witness about the good news of salvation.

That fact shouldn’t bother us though. It didn’t bother Paul. He had come to Corinth on his second missionary journey to preach the gospel. Luke tells us that he stayed for eighteen months, and many were brought to faith. After he left, a man named Apollos became the leader of the church. But the congregation split into factions. Some favored Paul. Others said they were followers of Apollos. Paul attempted to bring those groups together. He pointed out that Apollos and he were merely servants of God. Both were doing the same work. Both were spreading the seed of the gospel—one planting, the other watering. Any and all blessings were strictly God’s. He alone was responsible for people coming to faith.

So it is in our witnessing. We talk to our friends and coworkers. We take them to a Bible class offered at church. We bring them to worship. That’s planting the seed. That’s letting the Word have a chance to take root in their hearts. Someone else may water the seed by teaching that new Christian. Finally, we pray that God will cause the seed to grow.

Prayer:
Dearest Jesus, give me eyes and ears of faith to trust that your Word is at work creating a harvest for 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.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Romans 7:24,25

Prisoner of War

Daily Devotion – July 15, 2023

Devotion based on Romans 7:24,25

See series: Devotions

The stories of prisoners of war who survived are fascinating. The accounts of the brutal and inhumane treatment by the enemy are horrific. The extreme emotions felt by the prisoners are breathtaking: the terror of being completely controlled by the enemy, the hopelessness of recognizing that escape is impossible, and the desperation of knowing that if not rescued or released soon, death is right around the corner.

Fortunately, the stories of those prisoners of war don’t end there. They include rescue or release and the emotions that go along with it. The relief, joy, and gratitude that are described by these former prisoners make their stories enjoyable.

The apostle Paul shared his prisoner of war story. It’s a story that is fascinating not just because it has a happy ending, but also because it is a story that each believer in Jesus shares.

We are all held prisoner by our sinful flesh. We know that the sins we commit deserve eternal death, yet we keep sinning. That’s all that our sinful flesh can do. If our story ended there, we would be filled with fear, hopelessness, and eternal despair.

The story does not end there. We have a Savior who rescues us. Jesus frees us from the bonds of sin. Jesus takes the condemnation to hell we deserve and sets us free. “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Our prisoner of war story is certainly a heartwarming one. Our freedom has been guaranteed by Jesus. Praise to our Savior because of the freedom he has won for us, for you!

Prayer:
Thank you, Jesus, for being my rescuer, my eternal Savior. Thank you for setting me free from sin and death and giving me an eternal future with you. Give me strength in my daily struggle against my sinful nature so that I may live for your glory in everything I do. 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.