Month: February 2025

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Luke 4:42-44

Sent for Success

Daily Devotion – February 4, 2025

Devotion based on Luke 4:42-44


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One of the quickest ways to become popular is to make life better for people, and Jesus had been doing just that. He had performed one miraculous healing after another. People suffering from all kinds of sicknesses flocked to him, and he cured them one by one.

It’s not surprising, then, that people went looking for him after he slipped out for some alone time. It’s even less surprising that they tried to prevent him from leaving. What is surprising, though, is that Jesus wanted to leave. Why would he go away from a place where he was so popular?

Isn’t that the point? Conventional wisdom states that popularity means success and if you’re popular, it will make your life better.

But while it’s natural for us to think that being popular is a worthy goal, Jesus demonstrated that popularity is not proof of success. Remember what he told the people: “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent” (v. 43).

It’s true that Jesus had the power to make life better for people and the potential to be extremely popular, but that was not the reason he was there. He was sent not to make life better, but to give us a different life entirely.

Jesus knew that our problems are bigger than the sicknesses that kill us. For Jesus, success meant proclaiming the good news of his imminent victory over sin, death, and the devil. That victory does more than make life better; it gives eternal life to all who believe in Jesus.

That’s why believers in Jesus keep preaching that same good news—to take as many people as possible safely into the kingdom of God.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to proclaim good news and letting me hear it. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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.

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At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
Luke 4:40,41

Signs of the Ultimate Healing

Jesus had been busy. In the synagogue that morning, he freed a man from demon possession by commanding the demon to leave him. Later he cured a woman of her high fever simply by rebuking the fever. Jesus’ word had accomplished great things that day, and word about him had been spreading like wildfire. He was a popular man.

By sunset, all kinds of sick and demon-possessed people had been brought to Jesus. With a touch from his hands, the sick were healed, and by the word of his mouth, demons were exorcised. No illness resisted him, and demons couldn’t speak without his permission.

In one miracle-packed day, Jesus demonstrated his power over afflictions and his deep concern for every afflicted individual. But if affliction is no match for Jesus’ powerful word, why doesn’t he continue to miraculously heal people today? That is a question every follower of Jesus wrestles with, especially when they are suffering.

To answer that question, we need to remember that everyone Jesus healed could have gotten sick again, and even if they stayed healthy for the rest of their lives, they still died. Those miraculous healings made Jesus popular, but they were only temporary reprieves of a much greater problem. The Bible tells us, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

Jesus came to end that problem permanently. His miracles proved he was sent by God to do just that because they demonstrated that he was the Son of God in human flesh. Jesus’ bloody cross and empty tomb leave no doubt that he defeated our afflictions at their source. Jesus’ miracles of healing point to the ultimate healing: the forgiveness of your sins and the perfect restoration of all things on the Last Day.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you are the Great Physician of body and soul. Remind me of your concern for me. Help me when I suffer and give me strength to endure until the day you restore your creation to perfection. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

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.

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:4,5

I Knew You

Daily Devotion – February 2, 2025

Devotion based on Jeremiah 1:4,5


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“I thought I knew you.” You might hear those words from someone who thinks you’ve changed. They knew you at one point in your life, but now you’ve apparently changed. The perspective is one of looking back on who you once were. Time and distance have changed you. What they knew about you no longer seems to be true.

The Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah and told him: “I knew you.” But the Lord wasn’t surprised at Jeremiah–who he was, how he’d changed, or what he was up to now. No, the Lord’s perspective was different. Before Jeremiah even existed, the Lord knew him and what he would do.

From our perspective, life can feel like a chaotic tornado or a gigantic game of Plinko. When we feel that way, we all too easily give in to temptations. When we think that no one is in control, we decide to take the reins. We start making all the decisions ourselves, regardless of what God says. When it feels like our lives are stuck in a dangerous swamp of question marks, we worry about everything, even though worrying has never worked.

The Lord is here to tell us differently. He knows, cares, and has plans for you. The Lord’s plans started before you were even born. He planned for you before this world was created. His plans included a cradle where his Son, your Savior, was born. He planned for the cross, where Jesus’ punishment brought you peace. In your life, God brought you his Word and Jesus. And Jesus is planning and preparing a room for you in heaven.

The Lord, who has known and planned those HUGE details for you, knows every little detail, too. The Lord knows. He knows you. He loves you.

Prayer:
Lord, you know me better than I know myself. Forgive me for not trusting your loving care. Give me confidence always that you know me, you love me and your plans for me culminate with my happy home in heaven with you. Amen.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
Isaiah 61:1

Freedom

Daily Devotion – February 1, 2025

Devotion based on Isaiah 61:1


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When we try to guess what God is thinking, we don’t usually get very far. We don’t know what he will bring into our lives tomorrow, much less next year or the year after. But there is one area of life where we can begin to guess what God is thinking with great accuracy, and that is when we’ve messed up. Maybe friends were depending on us, and we let them down. Maybe we said something we regret and wish we could take it back. Maybe it was something bigger than all that, something that eats at us. It’s not as though God has given us something complicated to do—just love. But we get this wrong again and again, and we can sense that God is angry.

But God anointed Jesus to preach God’s mind, and to tell us something we would never have guessed on our own. Jesus preached freedom. Not political freedom. Not financial freedom. The freedom Jesus preached is a release from the darkness of sin and death, forever. And he did more than preach. He rescued us. On his cross, he put himself in our dark dungeon and released us into the light. Jesus didn’t just talk about freedom; he set us free.

You are fully and eternally free from all punishment for your sin. Jesus signed your pardon papers with his blood and sealed them with his resurrection from the dead. Have you ever found yourself caught in a web of guilt, buried under a burdened conscience, terrified by the darkness of death? The message of Jesus is as breathtakingly wonderful as it is simple: freedom.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, you have suffered and died for me. You have set me free from sin, guilt, and death. Bless me with your peace and joy today and always. Amen.