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(This devotion was first shared in April of 2022)

 Even though it has been over 30 years, I still remember how I felt the day after my dad died. We knew his death was coming. Cancer had taken its toll on him. And I knew it was better for him to be with Jesus than with us. But it was still a difficult adjustment, trying to wrap my head around the reality of his departure from our presence. Weeks later I found myself picking up the phone to call him, only to realize he would not answer.

I also remember how I felt when my best friend from college died a few years ago. His death was not expected. I was numb. I could not fully process that reality right away. I also know that he is with our Lord, but the shocking news of his sudden death was enormously difficult to accept.

I think about this on this day after Good Friday. How did the friends and family and disciples of Jesus feel on this day? Confused. Scared. Shocked. Disbelief. Uncertainty. After someone dies, grief controls your thought process. Jesus told them this was coming, but they did not hear or understand. And now He was gone. They did not expect to see Him again.

We know something they did not yet know. Yes, Jesus was gone. He truly died. That death paid for the sin of the world. It was finished. But everything they knew about death was about to change. It was not the end. Just wait until tomorrow!

Today, we do not live as those who have no hope. But it is good for us to contemplate the enormity of what happened yesterday. The death of Jesus was real. It was necessary. And it accomplished what we needed. Think about that as you get ready to celebrate tomorrow.

(This devotion was first shared on Maundy Thursday fo 2023)

On this day of Holy Week Jesus was celebrating and remembering the Passover, God’s deliverance of His people from their bondage in Egypt. At the memorial meal, Jesus instituted a new meal, a way for us to remember and share in the payment He made for the sins of everyone. We receive His body and blood with the bread and wine to assure us that His death for sin was our death for sin.

Although it may sound strange to “celebrate” a death, knowing what the death of Jesus did for us is truly worth celebrating.

The death of Jesus Christ, our Lord,
We celebrate with one accord;
It is our comfort in distress,
Our heart’s sweet joy and happiness.

He blotted out with His own blood
The judgment that against us stood;
He full atonement for us made,
And all our debt He fully paid.

That this is now and ever true
He gives an earnest ever new:
In this His holy Supper here
We taste His love so sweet, so near.

His Word proclaims, and we believe,
That in this Supper we receive
His very body, as He said,
His very blood for sinners shed.

A precious food is this indeed,
It never fails us in our need,
A heavenly manna for our soul
Until we safely reach our goal.

Oh, blest is each believing guest
Who in this promise finds his rest;
For Jesus will in love abide
With those who do in Him confide.

The guest that comes with true intent
To turn to God and to repent,
To live for Christ, to die to sin,
Will thus a holy life begin.

They who His Word do not believe
This food unworthily receive,
Salvation here will never find,
May we this warning keep in mind!

 Help us sincerely to believe
That we may worthily receive
Thy Supper and in Thee find rest.
Amen, he who believes is blest.

 The Lutheran Hymnal #163

(This devotion was first posted in April of 2021)

I went to Plano this morning to attend the funeral of Pastor Gerry Nichols. He served in Garland while my dad was serving a church in North Dallas. In his retirement, he served the vacancy at Water’s Edge, Frisco, which was in my circuit, and I got to know him better. He once shared that there was another Pastor Gerry Nichols in our church body who was an in-demand speaker for conferences and conventions. Every now and then he would get a phone call asking if he would be willing to speak at a conference. His reply was, “I’d be happy to do so, but I don’t think I’m the Gerry Nichols you want.” He got a good laugh out of that. I thought of that story this morning. I can just imagine that when He got to heaven, the Savior that he believed in and whom he had shared so faithfully welcomed him and assured him that he was indeed the Gerry Nichols he wanted. There was no case of mistaken identity.

Before I went to the funeral, I was also able to spend some time with my mom. A few weeks back I had asked her if she had thought about her funeral service, and she said she had not. This morning while I was drinking coffee with her, she brought it up. She had a list of hymns and Bible verses and her choice of minister all ready for me. We wrote it down and put it in the front of her Bible. While her death does not appear to be imminent – in fact she is doing remarkably well – it is good to know her wishes.

This is not a morbid topic. We sometimes shy away from it, but this is what our Christian faith is all about.  We have a confidence that the world does not have. We know the certain promises of our God. Death is an enemy, and it causes pain and sorrow and grief for those of us still on this side of heaven. But for those who die with faith in Jesus, it is a victory. Paul wrote about that in 1 Corinthians 15:

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  

I pray this is your hope and confidence as well.

(Update: mom is still doing well and with us here on this side of heaven!)

(This devotion was first shared in April of 2022)

 Philippians 2:5–11 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

For many years of my ministry, Palm Sunday was Confirmation Day. The students who had completed two years of Catechism Instruction would publicly profess their faith in Jesus as part of the worship service on that day. Many times I used the Epistle Lesson as part of my address to those being confirmed: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”

While that was my charge and instruction to many students, I must admit that I can’t do it. I have not had the same attitude as Jesus in my life. I’ve tried. I spent a lot of time studying about Him and sharing the message of who He is and what He has done for us. I have celebrated with those who come to faith and tried to comfort those who have lost loved ones who died with faith in Jesus. I have tried to show acts of acts of kindness to friends and strangers. I have helped build homes with Habitat for Humanity. I have volunteered with lots of organizations. I have worked with Disaster Response teams after tornadoes and hurricanes. I have tried to be a humble servant.

However, my attitude is often very far from that of Jesus. My sin takes over. I get frustrated with those I try to help and become critical of them. I think and act selfishly.  I’m not enough like Jesus.

A song by Chris Tomlin has this refrain:

Nobody loves me like You love me, Jesus
I stand in awe of Your amazing ways
I worship You as long as I am breathing
God, You are faithful and true
Nobody loves me like You

I am not enough like Jesus, so I thank Him that He was Him. He loved us completely. He did the work we needed, the work we could never do in our fallen condition. He humbled Himself to a death on a cross that would pay for all my shortcomings and allow me to be forgiven. That same is true for you.  So even though you and I will fall short of having the attitude of Jesus, in our forgiven condition we have the motivation to keep on trying to have the same attitude He did. I am still working on that in my life each day.

(This devotion was first shared in October of 2021)

We arrived home safely from our camping trip, and it was a wonderful trip. There was, however, one casualty. After two extended trips with our new and larger camper, it became apparent that my 11-year-old pickup was not up to the task of towing that thing any longer. We never broke down completely, but there were enough “minor” problems over the last few days to let us know that it is time for me to get a new truck.

When I bought that truck new in 2010, it was the first (and only) pickup I ever owned. I had wanted one most of my life, but it didn’t make sense with our family for me to have one. We needed room to haul people. My vehicles were used not only for my wife and three daughters, but also for taking church kids and adults to various functions. So I had a VW Vanagon for 12 years, and then a used Suburban for 9 years after that.

Once all the girls were out of the house and on their own, I finally splurged and bought my truck – with my wife’s blessing, I might add. I intended to keep it forever. I have a history of keeping vehicles for a long time. But the time has come for new wheels, and the shopping starts today. There is an excitement about getting a new truck, but there is also the reality that it is a costly endeavor. Getting something new costs a lot. It is a reality.

That made me think about the one who said “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). He gave me a new life and has promised a new heaven and a new earth. Talk about costly! It cost Him everything, His entire life. Having lived a perfect life without sin, and deserving nothing but praise and honor and glory, He gave it all up and paid the price for the sins of the world. He did that so that you and I could have the “NEW” at no cost to us. This is not like those commercial come-ons that tell you something is free, but there is a catch once you call in or sign up online. What Jesus offers and gives is truly free for us because Jesus made it “paid in full.”

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The New Life Jesus earned and gave to me will last a lot longer than any vehicle I have owned or will own. It will last forever.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.

John 8:48–59 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”   “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.   I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.   I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”   At this the Jews exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death.   Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”   Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.   Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”   “You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”   “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

When I read or hear passages like this, I am sometimes incredulous as to how the very ones through whom and for whom the Messiah came refused to see Him for who He was and is. He was right in front of them, but they could not and would not recognize Him as the Promised One. But then I remember that I have the advantage of hindsight. It can be very difficult to grasp things at first.

For example, consider this verse from the passage above: “I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” The Jews here did not think Jesus was God so they had not intention of listening to Him. But even those who knew there was something special and different about this guy would often misunderstand what He was saying. That is because we have the attitude, “just tell me what I have to do” with the emphasis on our effort, our activity. The same thing happens with this verse:

Luke 11:28 “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

While obeying God’s Word does result in blessings in the lives of believers, that is not how many hear these words. They think the blessings, including forgiveness, come as a result of their obedience, which is the exact opposite of what Scripture tells us.

The one who came to save us, God Himself who took on human flesh, has done everything necessary for us to be forgiven. He accomplished our salvation. He did all the work. All we have to do is believe that His death paid for our sins and His resurrection guarantees us entry into life eternal. All of Scripture points to Jesus as the way to life everlasting. Jesus said that Himself.

John 5:39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.

One of my favorite passages to share with people who misunderstand what Jesus meant when He said “keep my Word” or “obey” it is this:

John 6:28–29  Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

The “work” we must do is believe in the one the Father sent: Jesus. When your put your faith in Christ and Christ alone, you will be blessed. You will receive everything He earned for you. It is His doing, not your own. That is why you can have the confidence that you will “never see death.” Physical death will come to us all – unless our Lord returns first. But eternal death is averted, having been conquered by Christ.

Those of you who follow these devotions on Facebook are familiar with the Memories feature. It will pop up posts and photos from previous years on today’s date. It is fun to see those people and places. Sometimes you see a friend or family member who is no longer with us here on earth. Those memories stir up a variety of emotions.

You don’t need Facebook to have memories. Photo albums provided reminders for previous generations. And before that, it was letters. And before that, your thoughts and keepsakes would conjure up a memory. The Apostle Paul speaks of memories at the beginning of his letter to the believers in Philippi:

Philippians 1:3–6 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 

I wonder if people will remember me with thanks and joy? I know not everyone will! But hopefully some will. I try to live in a way that shows the love of Jesus to others, even though I know I don’t always do so. When I pray, I ask God to cover up my shortcomings with the merits of Jesus, confident that for His sake, I am forgiven. That renews me to face each day with a new resolve to live for Jesus.

I mentioned that sometimes letters spark memories. Paul wrote about believers being letters from Christ:

2 Corinthians 3:2–3  You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 

I want to live like a letter from Christ that causes others to remember me with joy. Not for my sake, but so that more people will see the difference Jesus has made in my life. Lord, help me to do this.