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“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.”

These are some of the most comforting words in the Old Testament. They are also found in one of its saddest books.

Lamentations was written in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction. The city had been devastated by the Babylonian army. The temple had been destroyed. Many people had been killed, and others had been carried away into exile.

The book doesn’t rush past any of that pain. It gives voice to grief, loss, fear, and even questions about God’s judgment. That’s why the book is called “Lamentations.” It’s a book of sorrow, but not all sorrow.

Then, right in the middle of it, we hear these words about God’s mercy.

That context is important.

It would be easy to talk about God’s mercies being “new every morning” as though it simply meant that every sunrise gives us a fresh start. Yesterday was difficult, but today is a new day. Things might get better.

There is truth in that, but Lamentations is saying something much deeper.

The writer wakes up in a ruined city.

The circumstances have not suddenly improved.

• Jerusalem is still destroyed.
• The people are still suffering.
• The consequences of Israel’s long rebellion against God have not disappeared overnight.

What remains is God.

The writer remembers that the Lord’s steadfast love has not come to an end. God’s people have been unfaithful, but God is still faithful. They have exhausted their own resources, but they have not exhausted His mercy.

We need that reminder because we sometimes imagine God’s mercy as something we can use up.

Maybe yesterday was not your finest day. You lost your temper again. You returned to a sin you had promised yourself you would avoid. You neglected someone who needed you. You wasted time, spoke carelessly, or let worry consume you.

Then morning comes, and the accusations are still there…But so is God’s mercy.

That doesn’t mean our sin doesn’t matter. The devastation described in Lamentations makes it impossible to treat sin casually. God’s judgment is real. Yet our sin does not get the final word for those who belong to Christ.

Jesus bore that judgment for us. At the cross, He received what our sin deserved so that we could receive what we did not deserve: forgiveness, reconciliation, and life with God.

Because of Christ, you do not begin each morning trying to convince God to give you another chance. You begin as someone whose hope rests in His faithfulness. You begin as a baptized child of God.

Some mornings will still begin with grief. The problems will still be there when you wake up and you may still feel anguish or stress. God’s promise is not that each new day will be easier than the one before it.

The promise is that His mercy will still be there.

And tomorrow morning, it will be there again.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You that Your steadfast love does not depend on my faithfulness. Forgive me for the sins and failures I carry from yesterday, and help me to trust the forgiveness Christ has won for me. When I wake to difficulties that have not gone away, remind me that Your mercy has not gone away either. Keep me in Your grace today and every day.

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.

From the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, we have been learning who Jesus is.

Now, as Jesus stands before Pilate, one title takes center stage: King of the Jews.

Pilate asks Jesus if He is a king. The soldiers dress Him in purple, place a crown of thorns on His head, and mockingly salute Him:

“Hail, King of the Jews!”

They intend every bit of it as ridicule. Yet they are closer to the truth than they realize.

Jesus really is the King.

But once again, He is not the kind of king people expect. He does not use His power to escape suffering. Nor does He does destroy His enemies or demand that others die for Him.

Instead, He gives Himself for them.

That becomes especially clear when Pilate offers to release a prisoner. The crowd chooses Barabbas, a man imprisoned for rebellion and murder, and Jesus is condemned instead.

The guilty man goes free. The innocent One takes his place.

In a very literal way, Barabbas receives what Jesus deserves, while Jesus receives what Barabbas deserves. And that is also a picture of what Jesus does for us.

Our sins make us guilty before God. Yet Jesus, the innocent Son of God, willingly takes our place.

He bears the judgment.

We receive forgiveness.

This is the kind of King Jesus is. The purple robe, the crown, and the soldiers’ cries are meant as a cruel joke. But Mark invites us to see what they cannot.

Here stands our King.

He’s not just the king of the Jews. He’s the King of all. He’s the servant King who suffered for His people.

And He is about to show just how far His love will go.

Let’s pray…

Lord Jesus,

You are my King, yet You willingly took the place of guilty sinners like me. Thank You for bearing the judgment I deserved so that I could receive forgiveness and life. Help me to trust Your sacrifice and live each day under Your gracious rule.

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.

When you discover something great, what do you do?

You tell someone!

If you find a restaurant you love and recommend it to your friends or post a review. Have you seen a great movie lately? Did you tell people they need to see it. Or what if you discover a product that actually works? Suddenly you’re advertising it for free.

Good news has a way of getting shared.

Psalm 96 begins with that same sense of excitement. God’s people are called to sing to the Lord and

“tell of his salvation from day to day.”

Then the psalm widens the audience:

“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!”

God’s salvation was never intended to remain Israel’s private possession. From the beginning, God promised Abraham that through his offspring all the families of the earth would be blessed. Israel was chosen by God, but His plan was always bigger than Israel.

His salvation was for the nations and we see that promise fulfilled in Jesus.

After His resurrection, Jesus sent His disciples to make disciples of all nations. They took the message of His death and resurrection beyond Jerusalem, and before long the Gospel was being proclaimed throughout the Roman world.

Eventually, someone told you.

• Maybe your parents brought you to the baptismal font as a baby and spent years teaching you about Jesus.
• Maybe a friend invited you to church.
• Maybe you came to faith much later in life.

However it happened, God used someone to bring His Word to you.

Now you get to be part of bringing that same good news to others.

That can make Christians nervous. We hear words like “evangelism” and imagine ourselves approaching strangers with a memorized presentation or trying to win an argument about religion. But declaring God’s glory can happen much more naturally than that.

You can tell a friend why you go to church or just invite them to come with you. You can offer to pray for a coworker who’s struggling. It can be short and simple, but you’ve brought them into the presence of God. You can tell someone how God’s promises have comforted you during a difficult time. When someone asks what you believe, you can simply tell them about Jesus.

You don’t have to know the answer to every question and you aren’t responsible for making anyone believe. The Holy Spirit creates faith through God’s Word.

Our calling is simply to share what God has given us to share. And we have something worth sharing.

The God who made the heavens came into His creation to save sinners. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. Forgiveness is offered freely to people who could never earn it for themselves. That’s not news to keep to ourselves.

“Tell of his salvation from day to day.”

Someone once told you. Who might God give you the opportunity to tell?

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for sending people into my life who shared the good news of Jesus with me. Give me opportunities to share that same hope with others, and give me wisdom and courage when those opportunities come. Work through Your Word to bring people from every nation to know the salvation You have given through Jesus Christ.

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.

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

We have access to more information than any generation before us.

If you want to repair a faucet, understand an investment, learn a language, or figure out what that strange noise in your car might mean, you can probably find an article or video about it within seconds. You can know the news from pretty much anywhere around the world.

We certainly aren’t lacking information. But information and wisdom aren’t the same thing.

Proverbs 2 describes a father urging his son to seek wisdom as though he were searching for silver or hidden treasure. He tells him to receive his words, treasure up his commandments, listen carefully, and seek understanding.

That sounds like effort.

Yet a few verses later, we’re told,

“For the Lord gives wisdom.”

Those two ideas belong together.

Godly wisdom isn’t something we simply figure out on our own, nor is it something God pours into our minds while we remain passive. God gives wisdom through His Word, and He calls us to seek it, listen to it, learn from it, and live according to it.

Think about the difference between knowing and being wise.

You can know that harsh words escalate an argument and still fire off the angry text. You can understand that money cannot provide lasting security and still build your life around getting more of it. You can know that forgiveness is important and continue rehearsing another person’s offense in your mind. I could go on, but you get the point.

The problem isn’t always that we don’t know what is right. Sometimes we know perfectly well.

Wisdom takes God’s truth seriously enough to let it shape the way we actually live.

That’s one reason spending time in God’s Word matters. We aren’t merely collecting Bible facts. We are listening to the One who sees reality more clearly than we do. As His Word exposes our foolishness, corrects our thinking, comforts us with His promises, and directs our steps, God is shaping us into wiser people.

That doesn’t happen all at once.

We can study the Bible for decades and listen to hundreds of sermons and lectures on God’s Word and still open the Bible and discover something new. Or we may have memorized certain passages in the Bible, but when we finally put them into practice, our understanding of that passage takes on a much deeper meaning.

In fact, you’ve already spent twenty-seven days in Proverbs in this devotional series, and you probably haven’t reached the point where you never make foolish decisions anymore.

Neither have I.

We are finite beings who must continue to learn and gain understanding and wisdom throughout our lives. Additionally, we remain sinners who need God’s wisdom, correction, and grace every day. Most of all, we need the Savior to whom all Scripture ultimately points. Jesus doesn’t merely give us better information about how to live. He gives Himself for foolish sinners, forgiving us and making us His own.

So keep seeking wisdom.

Not because you’ll eventually know everything, but because you know the One who does.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

You are the source of true wisdom. Thank You for speaking to me through Your Word. Forgive me for the times I have known what is right but chosen another way. Give me a hunger for Your truth and teach me not merely to know it, but to live according to it. Continue to correct what is foolish in me, strengthen what is weak, and keep me close to Jesus, in whom I have forgiveness and 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.

The Sacrament of the Altar (Part 2)

Two little words make all the difference in the Lord’s Supper:

“For you.”

Jesus doesn’t simply say that His body is given and His blood is shed. He says they are given and shed for you.

Luther draws our attention directly to those words when explaining the benefit of the Sacrament. Christ promises that in the Lord’s Supper we receive forgiveness of sins, and where there is forgiveness, there is also life and salvation. This isn’t just a general promise, it’s for you.

That takes us back to the cross.

Jesus’ body was given into death because of our sin. His blood was shed as the price of our redemption. When Jesus gives us His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, He isn’t offering us a new sacrifice or repeating what happened at Calvary. He is giving us the benefits of the sacrifice He completed there once and for all.

The forgiveness won at the cross is delivered personally to you.

Sometimes that personal promise is exactly what we need.

You may believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world and still struggle with the particular sins that trouble your conscience. You know what you’ve done. You remember the words you wish you could take back or the choices you would change if you could. So, you may wonder whether God could really forgive that.

At His table, Jesus doesn’t leave you with a general statement about God’s mercy. He gives you His body and blood and attaches His promise to them: given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins.

Believe those words.

That’s also at the heart of what the Bible means when it talks about receiving the Sacrament worthily.

At first, “worthy” can sound intimidating. We may imagine that we need to make ourselves worthy enough to approach the altar. Maybe we need to have behaved especially well that week, reached a certain level of spiritual maturity, or demonstrated sufficiently strong faith.

But if the Lord’s Supper were only for people who had made themselves worthy, no one could come.

We come precisely because we are sinners who need what Christ gives. After all, in the meal we receive the forgiveness of our sins!

Luther explains that fasting and other outward preparations can be good practices, but the person who is truly worthy and well prepared is the one who has faith in Christ’s words:

“given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

This doesn’t mean we approach the Sacrament carelessly. Paul warns the Corinthians against receiving Christ’s body and blood without recognizing what they were receiving. We examine ourselves and repent of our sins. We also recognize Christ’s body and blood according to His Word.

But our confidence isn’t in how well we prepared ourselves. Our confidence is in His promise.

I’ve had multiple people tell me they weren’t sure if they should receive the Lord’s Supper. I ask them why. They usually mention some sin or that they haven’t been to church in a long time or something like that. To which I respond, “It sounds like you need the supper!”

Feeling like you aren’t worthy because of your sins is probably a better indicator that you are worthy. I’d be more concerned with someone who does feel worthy. Now, if you don’t feel worthy because you don’t believe or you aren’t repentant of your sin and refuse to turn from it, then you shouldn’t receive supper…well…the better response is to repent of your sin, believe in Jesus, and come to the table.

The Lord’s Supper is for sinners who know they need Jesus and trust what He says He gives them.

So when you come to His table carrying guilt, weakness, or a troubled conscience, listen again to His words.

Christ’s body and blood were given for sinners.

They were given for you.

Let’s pray…

Lord Jesus Christ,

Thank You for giving Your body and shedding Your blood for me. When my sins trouble my conscience, turn me away from trusting in my own worthiness and toward Your gracious promise. Give me repentance for my sins and faith to receive Your body and blood trusting Your words, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Strengthen me through this gift in faith toward You and in love toward my neighbor.

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.

“Here am I! Send me.”

Those are probably the best-known words from Isaiah 6. They sound bold and courageous, like the response of someone eager to do great things for God.

But if we begin there, we miss what makes Isaiah’s response possible.

Just a few moments earlier, Isaiah wasn’t volunteering for anything.

He had seen a vision of the Lord seated upon His throne, surrounded by angels crying,

“Holy, holy, holy.”

The foundations shook, and the temple filled with smoke. Confronted with the holiness of God, Isaiah became painfully aware of his own sin.

“Woe is me!”

Isaiah doesn’t try to convince God that he is qualified to be a prophet or even try to clean himself up. There’s really nothing for him to do except admit it. He simply confesses the truth: he is a sinful man standing before the holy God.

Then God does something about it.

One of the seraphim takes a burning coal from the altar and touches Isaiah’s mouth. Isaiah is told that his guilt has been taken away and his sin atoned for. Only then does Isaiah hear the Lord ask,

“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

Now Isaiah responds,

“Here am I! Send me.”

The order matters. Isaiah volunteers because he has been forgiven.

That’s an important pattern for the Christian life. Sometimes we can begin to think of Christianity primarily in terms of what we are supposed to do for God. We should serve more, give more, tell others about Jesus, care for our neighbors, help at church, and live according to God’s commands.

Those are good things. God really does call us to serve.

But our service begins with what God has done for us.

Like Isaiah, we cannot make ourselves worthy to stand before a holy God. We come with real sin and real guilt. We’re not even worthy to serve God. Yet God has provided the atonement for our sins. Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sin. Because of His death and resurrection, God speaks His forgiveness to us.

Our guilt is taken away. Then God sends us.

I’ve been to several churches over the years that have a great sign at the edge of their property that you see when you are pulling out of the church parking lot. The sign says,

“You are now entering the mission field.”

For most Christians, being sent won’t mean becoming a missionary in a distant country or entering church work. God sends us back into the places where He has already put us: our homes, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, churches, and communities. There we have opportunities to love our neighbors, speak about Christ, serve people in need, and carry out the responsibilities God has given us right in the places where we already are.

So when opportunities to serve appear, we can answer with Isaiah, not as people trying to prove ourselves to God, but as forgiven people who are free to say:

“Here am I! Send me.”

Let’s pray…

Holy God,

I confess that I am a sinner and cannot make myself worthy to stand before You. Thank You for taking away my guilt through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Clean my lips and clean my life. Because You have forgiven me and made me Your own, help me to recognize the people and opportunities You place before me each day. Send me to love and serve my neighbor and to bear witness to Christ wherever You have placed me.

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 is the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure?

In Gethsemane, we see Jesus in a way we have not seen Him before. He knows what is coming, and He is deeply distressed. He tells Peter, James, and John,

“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.”

Then He falls to the ground and prays.

“Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Jesus does not face the cross untouched by fear or pain. He knows exactly what He is about to endure. Yet He willingly submits Himself to His Father’s will.

His disciples respond very differently.

Jesus asks them to watch and pray, but they fall asleep. Judas arrives and betrays Him. The others flee. Peter follows at a distance, but when people identify him as one of Jesus’ disciples, he denies knowing Jesus three times.`

Earlier that evening Peter had confidently declared that even if everyone else abandoned Jesus, he never would.

Now he weeps.

Jesus had warned him,

“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Peter discovers just how true that is.

But the hope of this passage is not found in Peter’s faithfulness.

It is found in Jesus’.

While His disciples fail around Him, Jesus continues toward the cross. He does not run or call down an army to rescue Himself. Even when false witnesses accuse Him before the council, He remains committed to the mission He came to accomplish.

And it’s a good thing He did. The truth is we are more like Peter than we would like to admit. Our intentions may be sincere, but our courage, obedience, and faithfulness often fail.

Our salvation does not depend on how tightly we hold on to Jesus. It depends on the One who remained faithful for us.

Peter’s failure is not the end of his story. Neither are our failures.

Let’s pray…

Lord Jesus,

I often overestimate my own strength and fail to trust and follow You as I should. Forgive me. Thank You for remaining faithful even when I am not. Strengthen me to watch, pray, and trust in Your faithfulness rather than my own.

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 does it mean that God protects us?

Psalm 91 contains some of the strongest promises of God’s protection in the Bible. God is described as our refuge and fortress. Then the psalmist gives us a wonderfully tender picture:

“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.”

It’s the picture of a mother bird gathering her young beneath her wings when danger comes. That sounds comforting. But it can also raise some difficult questions.

• If God protects His people, why do Christians still get cancer?
• Why are they injured in accidents?
• Why are Christians sometimes victims of violence?
• Why do God’s people suffer and die?

Does Psalm 91 promise that if we trust God enough, those things won’t happen to us?

Interestingly, the devil tried to use this very psalm that way. When he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted from Psalm 91. He told Jesus to throw Himself from the temple because God had promised that His angels would protect Him.

Jesus refused.

Trusting God’s protection doesn’t mean putting God to the test or assuming He has promised that nothing painful will ever happen to us.

Jesus Himself proves that.

No one ever trusted the Father more perfectly than Jesus did, yet He suffered. He was betrayed, beaten, crucified, and killed.

And still, the Father had not abandoned Him.

Jesus’ suffering wasn’t evidence that God’s promises had failed. It was actually the means by which God was fulfilling His greatest promise. Through the cross, Jesus defeated sin. Through His resurrection, He defeated death.

That helps us understand what it means to take refuge under God’s wings.

God hasn’t promised that Christians will never suffer. He has promised something even greater: nothing can ultimately take us away from Him.

• Illness can’t.
• Suffering can’t.
• Not even death can.

We don’t always know why God allows a particular hardship into our lives. Sometimes He delivers us from danger in remarkable ways. Other times He carries us through suffering rather than around it. Sometimes He teaches us through the hardship and other times He works good for us and/or others.

But our safety with God doesn’t depend on having a trouble-free life. It depends on Jesus. The one who overcame death.

For now, we live in a sin-corrupted world. So, there will be suffering. One day, we will live in the new heaven and new earth where is no more sin and so there is no more suffering. Yet, even now, Jesus strengthens, gathers, and protects His people.

When Jesus approached Jerusalem shortly before His death, He used an image very similar to Psalm 91. He described His desire to gather Jerusalem’s children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.

That’s the heart of our Savior. He gathers sinners to Himself and gives them refuge in His mercy.

So when trouble comes, we don’t have to pretend it isn’t frightening or difficult. We don’t have to understand why it’s happening.

We can run to the One who has already passed through suffering and death for us.

Under His wings, we are safe.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for being my refuge and fortress. When I face danger, suffering, or uncertainty, keep me from doubting Your love. Help me to trust Your promises even when I don’t understand what You are doing. Keep me safely in Christ, knowing that because He has risen from the dead, nothing can separate me from Your 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.