You may have seen the words on a sign hanging in someone’s home:

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

It’s a beautiful statement of faith. But when Joshua first spoke those words, they weren’t intended primarily as home décor. They were part of a serious conversation with God’s people about whom they trusted.

Israel had reached a turning point. God had brought them into the Promised Land, and Joshua was nearing the end of his life. Before calling the people to serve the Lord, Joshua reminded them of everything God had already done for them.

• God had called Abraham.
• He had brought Israel out of Egypt.
• He had protected them in the wilderness.
• He had given them the land in which they now lived.

God had been faithful every step of the way.

Now Joshua tells them to put away the false gods that remained among them and serve the Lord. If they refuse, then they should decide whom they are going to serve instead.

“Choose this day whom you will serve.”

At first, that can sound like Joshua is saying faith is simply a matter of making the right decision. Choose God instead of the alternatives.

But notice the order of the chapter. God acts first.

Long before Israel responds, God chooses Abraham, rescues His people, protects them, provides for them, and gives them a home. Their service to God is a response to what He has already done. In other words, Joshua isn’t speaking to a bunch of gentiles trying to convince them to believe in Yahweh. He is speaking to God’s people telling them to continue serving God in the Promised Land.

I remember a time when I was trying to sell my house. We had been trying for several months and nothing. The longer it took, the more I prayed and read the Bible. Then, one day we got an offer. It stuck and we sold the house. Yay! Now, what was I going to do?

Would I continue praying and reading the Bible or, now that I had what I wanted (sold my house), would I let that fall away?

Now that Israel had been delivered and received the Promised Land, will they continue to serve the God who got them there?

That’s an important distinction for our lives as well.

We don’t become God’s people because one day we decide to be faithful enough. God comes to us first. He calls us through the Gospel, gives us faith by His Spirit, forgives our sins through Christ, and makes us His own.

Then, as His people, we face choices every day about how we will live.

• What will shape the priorities in our homes or how we use our time and money?
• What voices will influence the way we think?
• When God’s Word conflicts with what our culture tells us, which one will we follow?

Those decisions don’t earn God’s grace. They flow from it.

Joshua could say,

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,”

because he knew the Lord whom he served. He had spent a lifetime witnessing God’s faithfulness.

The same God has been faithful to you.

So Joshua’s words are worth putting on the wall. But they’re even better when they shape the life lived inside the house.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

You loved me and made me Your own before I could ever offer anything to You. Thank You for Your faithfulness and for the salvation You have given me through Christ. Keep me from the false gods that compete for my trust, and help me to serve You faithfully in my home and in my daily life, when there are things I need, after I receive them, and every day of my life.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

Jesus and His disciples are on the road to Jerusalem, and for the third time, Jesus tells them exactly what awaits Him there. He will be betrayed, condemned, mocked, beaten, killed, and after three days rise again.

Then James and John approach Him with a request. They want the best seats in His kingdom.

The contrast is striking. Jesus has just described His suffering, and they are thinking about their status. They understand that Jesus is a king, but they still misunderstand what kind of King He is.

Jesus explains that the rulers of this world use their positions to exercise authority over others.

“But it shall not be so among you.”

Then He tells them why.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is one of the clearest statements in Mark about why Jesus came.

A ransom is a price paid to set someone free.

Jesus is going to Jerusalem to give His own life as that price. Humanity is trapped by sin and unable to free itself. Jesus does not come merely to teach us how to become better people. He comes to rescue us by taking our place.

The King becomes the servant. And the servant gives His life for us.

Mark then introduces one more person before Jesus reaches Jerusalem: a blind beggar named Bartimaeus.

When Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is passing by, he cries out,

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Others tell him to be quiet, but Jesus stops.

The man who is walking toward His own suffering takes time for a beggar beside the road.

Jesus restores his sight, and Mark tells us that Bartimaeus follows Him “on the way.”

That is a fitting picture of discipleship. Bartimaeus can now see, and he follows Jesus on the road.

Jesus is the King who humbles Himself and comes to us. We are blind to see Him and can only cry out for mercy, but mercy is something Jesus gives out freely and abundantly. He opens our eyes to see Him as He truly is, our Lord and Savior who gave His life to ransom ours. Then calls us to follow Him and His way.

He has come to you and generously offers you mercy. I pray your eyes are opened to see Him.

Let’s pray…

Lord Jesus,

You came not to be served but to serve and to give Your life as a ransom for me. Open my eyes to see You clearly. Teach me to trust Your saving work and to follow You by serving others in love.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

Who is Jesus?

Depending on whom you ask, you’ll get a lot of different answers. Some people describe Him as a great teacher. Others see Him as an example of love and compassion. Christians certainly believe those things about Jesus. But He is much more than that.

Psalm 110 helps us understand who He really is.

David begins by describing a conversation between the Lord and someone David calls “my Lord.” God invites this person to sit at His right hand, the position of authority and honor.

That raises an interesting question. David was the king of Israel. Who could be David’s Lord?

Jesus Himself asked the religious leaders that question in Matthew 22. They knew the promised Messiah would come from David’s family, but Jesus showed them that the Messiah would also be greater than David.

Psalm 110 was pointing forward to Jesus.

After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, He sat down at the right hand of the Father. We confess that every week in the Apostles’ Creed.

But what does that mean?

It doesn’t mean Jesus is sitting somewhere far away from us, waiting until it’s time to return. The right hand of God describes His authority. The Jesus who was born in Bethlehem and crucified outside Jerusalem now reigns over all things.

That can be difficult to believe sometimes.

We look around and see wars, suffering, disease, persecution, and death. We look at our own lives and find plenty of things that don’t seem to be under anyone’s control.

Yet Jesus reigns.

His authority was hidden at the cross, too. To anyone watching, Jesus looked powerless. His enemies mocked Him as a failed king while He hung beneath a sign identifying Him as the King of the Jews.

Then came Easter.

The resurrection showed that the apparent defeat of the cross was actually Christ’s victory over sin and death. His reign is real even when we cannot see it.

Psalm 110 also calls this King a priest forever. Jesus doesn’t simply rule over us. He is the great High Priest who offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins and continues to intercede for us before the Father.

The One who has all authority is the same One who gave His life to save you.

That makes His reign very good news.

I saw a really cool clip from a little league baseball game the other day. The pitcher was struggling and the coach had called a conference at the mound. The coach look the pitcher right in the eyes and said, “If you strike out this batter, Jesus will still be Lord, right?” The kid said, “Yes.” The coach went on, “If you walk this batter, Jesus will still be Lord, right?” The kid said, “Yes.” The coach finished by saying, “So, don’t worry about it. No matter what, Jesus is Lord and that’s all that matters.” What an amazing coach!

Whatever happens today, Jesus is still Lord. Whatever happens tomorrow, He will still be Lord.

And there is no safer place to be than under the gracious reign of our crucified, risen, and ascended King.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for giving us Jesus, our Savior, King, and great High Priest. When the world seems out of control, strengthen my faith to trust that Christ still reigns. Help me to live confidently under His gracious rule as I wait for the day when His victory will be seen by all.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

What’s the harm in a little white lie?

We’ve all be tempted to do it, whether it’s exaggerating the truth, withholding some of the truth, or telling and out and out lie. Maybe the temptation is to make yourself look better, keep from getting in trouble, or sometimes we are even trying to protect the other person.

We can usually find a reason to justify it.

I had a high school friend I visited shortly after college. As we were driving around town one day, she said she needed to do go by a doctor’s office but asked me not to say anything to her roommate. She had to go pretty regularly, but had told her roommate she was doing something else. She said it was an innocent lie because she didn’t want them to worry. We’re really good at justifying our actions.

But Proverbs places tremendous value on truth. It tells us that truthful words endure, while lies last only for a moment.

That’s because lies have a way of requiring more lies. Once we’ve said something that isn’t true, we have to remember what we said, who we said it to, and what else we need to say to keep the story intact. As the old poem says, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” Eventually, we can’t keep up and the truth comes out.

The truth doesn’t require that kind of maintenance. It simply stands.

Yet speaking truthfully involves more than avoiding outright lies. We can deceive through half-truths, selective details, or carefully chosen words that technically aren’t false but are intended to give someone the wrong impression.

God cares about the truth because He is a God of truth. He doesn’t deceive us or manipulate us. His promises can be trusted completely. Whether it’s hard truths, like we are all sinners deserving condemnation, or wonderful truths, like our sins are forgiven, we don’t have to wonder whether there’s fine print somewhere.

His Word stands.

As people who belong to Him, we’re called to reflect that truthfulness in our own lives, whether we are at home, at work, in our friendships, and even in the stories we tell about people who aren’t there to defend themselves.

Of course, truth can also be used badly.

“I was just being honest” can become an excuse for saying something unnecessarily cruel. Biblical truthfulness isn’t permission to say every true thing that crosses our minds. Wisdom considers both what we say and how we say it. We are to speak the truth in love.

Sometimes love requires us to speak a difficult truth. Sometimes wisdom tells us to remain silent. But when we do speak, people should be able to trust that our words are true.

That brings up something else important. The command to speak the truth doesn’t mean you have to share everything. There are times when you can keep things private and times when you need to hold something in confidence.

For example, as a pastor, I took an oath not to reveal people’s confessions. For me to share what someone told me in as a confession would both destroy trust and violate my oath.

When we fail to tell the truth, as we all do, the answer isn’t another carefully constructed explanation. It’s confession.

“I wasn’t honest. I’m sorry.”

There is freedom in that kind of truthfulness because we don’t need to protect an image of ourselves before God or anyone else. It lifts a great burden. We can also bring it to Jesus. Christ already knows the truth about us, including the parts we’d rather hide, and He went to the cross for us anyway.

Because we are secure in His grace, we are free to tell the truth.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

You are faithful and true in everything You say. Forgive me for the times I have lied, exaggerated, hidden the truth to deceive, or used truthful words in an unloving way. Give me wisdom to know when to speak and how to speak with both honesty and love. When I fail, give me humility to confess it rather than trying to protect myself. Thank You that I don’t have to hide from You, because in Jesus I am fully known, fully forgiven, and deeply loved.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

The Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer

Do you like getting your way?

“Your will be done.”

Those words can be easy to pray when God’s will seems to match ours.

It’s much harder when it doesn’t.

We make plans. We have hopes for our families, our careers, our health, and our futures. We pray for things we genuinely believe would be good.

Then sometimes God has something different in mind.

Jesus knows what that is like.

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew what was coming, the suffering, humiliation, and death He was about to endure. So He prayed that, if possible, the cup of suffering would pass from Him.

Yet He also prayed,

“Not as I will, but as You will.”

That wasn’t resignation. It was trust.

Jesus entrusted Himself completely to His Father, knowing that His Father’s will was good even when the path ahead involved tremendous suffering.

And because Jesus submitted to His Father’s will, He went to the cross for us.

That helps us understand what we are praying in the Third Petition.

Interestingly, Luther doesn’t focus primarily on discovering God’s plan for our individual lives. We sometimes think of “God’s will” as a hidden blueprint we need to figure out:

• Which job should I take?
• Where should I live?
• Whom should I marry?

Those questions are important, but that’s not the main concern of this petition.

Luther explains that God’s good and gracious will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature that would keep us from hallowing His name or prevent His Kingdom from coming.

In other words, there is a battle going on.

The devil wants to pull you away from Christ. The world constantly offers other things to trust and pursue. Your own sinful nature resists God and His Word.

So we pray,

“Your will be done.”

Which means:

• Protect my faith.
• Destroy whatever would separate me from You.
• Keep Your Word among us.
• Strengthen me until I die.

And God does.

Sometimes His will takes us places we would never have chosen or even thought of. Sometimes He allows difficulties we don’t understand. We don’t always get an explanation.

But we do know the God whose will we are trusting. He is the Father who sent His Son to save us.

The cross proves that even when God’s plan looks like defeat, He can be accomplishing something far greater than we can see.

So we can pray with confidence:

“Your will be done.”

Because we know God’s will is good and wise and loving…and better than our will.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Your will is good and gracious. Forgive me for the times I resist Your will or trust my own plans more than You. Break and hinder everything that would draw me away from Christ, strengthen me through Your Word, and keep me steadfast in faith. When I do not understand what You are doing, help me to trust Your goodness. Through Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

Do you get scared when faced with difficult or intimidating situations?

Joshua had an intimidating job ahead of him.

Moses was dead. For forty years, Moses had been the leader of Israel. He had confronted Pharaoh, led the people out of Egypt, received God’s Law, and guided them through the wilderness.

Now Joshua was supposed to take his place.

On top of that, Israel was finally preparing to enter the Promised Land. There would be fortified cities, hostile armies, difficult battles, and plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong.

It’s not surprising, then, that God repeatedly tells Joshua,

“Be strong and courageous.”

We often hear those words as though God were telling Joshua to dig deep and find some courage within himself. You’ve got this, Joshua. Believe in yourself.

But that’s not where Joshua’s courage comes from.

God tells him,

“The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua could be courageous because he wasn’t going alone.

That doesn’t mean Joshua had nothing to do. In fact, God specifically tells him to be careful to live according to His Word. He is to meditate on it day and night so that it shapes how he leads and how he lives.

Joshua’s courage, then, isn’t reckless confidence. It is confidence rooted in God’s Word and God’s presence.

There is an important difference.

We all face situations that make us afraid. Sometimes fear is reasonable. Joshua wasn’t imagining the armies across the Jordan. They were real. And he was certainly being asked to fill some very large sandals.

Christian courage doesn’t require us to pretend the frightening things aren’t frightening. It means that those things are not the only reality we consider.

God is also there.

When you have to make a difficult decision, have a conversation you’ve been avoiding, step into an unfamiliar responsibility, or face something you never wanted to face, you don’t have to convince yourself that those things aren’t intimidating or that you’re strong enough.

You can listen to what God told Joshua.

Your confidence is not that everything will turn out exactly as you want. God never promised Joshua an easy road. Nor is your confidence that you can handle anything that comes all on your own. Your confidence is that the Lord who has claimed you as His own will not abandon you along the way and that His Word guides you in all wisdom.

In Christ, that promise becomes even clearer. The risen Jesus sends His disciples into a daunting world with a promise remarkably similar to the one Joshua received:

“I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

That’s where courage begins.

The God who created heaven and earth, who is also the one who defeated death and hell, is with you.

Let’s pray…

Lord God,

You know the things I face that make me uncertain or afraid. Keep me grounded in Your Word, and give me courage that comes not from confidence in myself, but from confidence in You. Thank You for the promise that, through Christ, I never face what lies ahead alone.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.

Throughout Mark, the disciples have been learning that God’s kingdom works differently from the kingdoms of this world. Today’s reading gives us several examples, but they come together around one central truth:

The Kingdom of God is received as a gift.

God gave mankind the gift of marriage. The unique way a man and woman can come together and become one. This is a great blessing, but man perverts it.

“What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Sadly, husbands and wives often separate. It’s not that there are no grounds ever for divorce. Elsewhere in Scripture we see that adultery and abandonment are valid reasons for divorce, but in those cases, the divorce is just recognizing how the two have already been separated either physically or through infidelity.

The problem is man’s hard heart, but the solution, as we’ll see in a moment, is God’s gift.

When people bring children to Jesus, the disciples try to stop them. Perhaps they think Jesus has more important things to do. But Jesus is indignant. He welcomes the children and says,

“Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Children had no status to offer and a child doesn’t negotiate for a gift. A child simply receives what is given.

That is how we come to God.

Then a wealthy man approaches Jesus with a very different mindset. He asks,

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

He wants something good, eternal life, but notice the question: “What must I do?” Where the account of the children considers having status before Jesus will receive you, here this man thinks he can earn it. And notice, this man would have had great status as well, being a wealthy man.

Jesus points him to the commandments, and the man believes he has kept them. Then Mark includes a beautiful detail: Jesus looks at him and loves him.

What Jesus says next comes from that love.

He tells the man to sell everything, give it to the poor, and follow Him. The man walks away sorrowful because he has great wealth.

His possessions have revealed his heart. He cannot receive eternal life as a gift because he is still trusting in what he possesses and what he can do.

The disciples are stunned when Jesus says how difficult it is to enter God’s kingdom. In this culture, a wealthy man was a blessed man. They would have thought he was near the front of the line for heaven. But, again, salvation and, thus, heaven are a gift. So Jesus makes the point even stronger:

“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

That’s the Gospel.

We cannot earn our way into God’s kingdom. No one has enough status. We cannot obey enough, sacrifice enough, or make ourselves worthy enough. It is impossible for us…all of us.

But what is impossible for us, God does for us.

Jesus is already traveling toward Jerusalem, where He will give everything for sinners who cannot save themselves. Eternal life will be purchased by Him on the cross and given freely to those who trust in Him.

Like a child receiving a gift.

Let’s pray…

Lord Jesus,

Forgive me for trusting in what I have or what I can do. Teach me to receive Your kingdom as a gift, trusting in what You have done for me. Keep my heart from anything that would become more important to me than You.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.