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Devotions to help you Think about God’s Word and Apply it to your Lives.

Forgiveness

Psalm 32  Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

The Lord is our hiding place. We can confess our sins and be sure of the forgiveness we have because of what Jesus did for us in coming to be our Savior, taking our place in punishment, offering His life for all people, so that everyone who believes in Him will have forgiveness and eternal life. And that is why the righteous can sing.

It is important for believers to gather together to rejoice in the Lord and be glad. Part of our heritage when we gather together to worship is to confess our sins and hear God’s absolution, God’s forgiveness, announced to us. In fact, part of the liturgy in our confession of sins comes from this Psalm.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

What a joy and privilege we have to gather in worship, be reminded of God’s goodness to us, hear His Word that assures us of His grace and mercy, and offer our thanks and praise to Him.

Forgiveness2025-11-19T10:41:29-06:00

Witness Three: The Blood

Blood is a precious, valuable and powerful commodity in our world. Today I want to share a few thoughts about how BLOOD testifies to Jesus as our Savior.

1 John 5:6–8  This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

I read about a 3-year-old girl who needed a blood transfusion. Her parents discovered that her six-year-old brother was a perfect match, so they talked to him about it. They said, “If we take your blood and put it in your sister, it will make her better.” His eyes got really big as he listened and tried to take it all in. After sitting quietly for a minute he said, “OK, I’ll do it.” They took him to the hospital where his sister was, placed him on the gurney, and the technician stuck a needle in his arm to withdraw the blood. His parents were right there telling him how proud they were of him and that he was a brave little man. The technician removed the needle and announced she was all done. The little boy looked at her and asked, “Will I start to die right away?” Everyone in the room was stunned. This little boy thought that giving his blood to his sister meant that he would die, but he was willing to do it anyway.

Can you imagine a love like that? You don’t have to imagine it. It is very real. You have experienced it in Jesus laying down His life for you.

John 15:12-13 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

Blood has always been thought of as life. The sacrifices in the Old Testament, which were all pointing to the sacrifice that Jesus would offer, were substitutionary. Listen to the rationale for those sacrifices

Leviticus 17:11  For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.

When you take the blood out of something, it cannot live. When Jesus laid down His life, blood flowed from Him throughout His suffering and crucifixion. He was the sacrifice, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by laying down His life for us, His friends. And it had to happen this way to fulfill God’s plan.

Hebrews 9:22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

That is why is was necessary for the blood of Jesus, His life, to flow for us. That is where our cleansing comes from. It was God’s doing, not ours.

1 John 1:7b-9 (ESV) … and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The blood of the lamb was the essential ingredient in the deliverance of God’s people from their slavery in Egypt. It was the sign that they believed His promise and gave them life instead of death. In the same way, the blood of Christ is essential in our deliverance from our slavery to sin. The blood of the Lamb of God spares God’s people from eternal death.

And the blood of Jesus continues to flow to us today in a very real sense. In the Sacrament of the Altar, the body and the blood of Jesus are given to you with the bread and wine to assure you that the death of Jesus was your death for sin. God offers the forgiveness earned by Jesus. We are told to do this in remembrance of Him and all that He did to ensure that we could be forgiven. Specifically, we are to remember that His death was to pay for our sins. It is in that sense truly a memorial meal.

But it is so much more than a memory. It is a participation of the death of Jesus, where His blood flowed to wash away sin. And the emphasis is not on us and what we do by coming and eating and drinking. God is the one doing something in Holy Communion, giving us the true body and blood of His Son to assure us of our forgiveness. Just as in Baptism we are joined to all that Christ did in payment for our sins, so we are joined to Him in Holy Communion. We receive the actual body and blood He used to make payment for our sins to assure us that His death was indeed for us. It makes it something personal, which it has to be for anyone to receive the benefit.

You receive God’s forgiveness as the blood continues to flow through this means of grace.

Witness Three: The Blood2025-11-11T17:44:21-06:00

My Transgressions

Psalm 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

When I am honest with myself, I have no trouble identifying my sinfulness. I know that all of us will try to justify or rationalize the things we do that are outside of God’s plans and desires for us, but that does not make them acceptable in His sight. Even if you can convince yourself and others that certain sins are “not that big of a deal,” God’s opinion on the matter is the only one that really counts.

Admitting your sin is necessary. That admission is the start of repentance, turning from your sin and turning to God. Because that is the only way to receive the forgiveness Jesus earned for you.

Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

My forgiveness is not based on what I do. It is not based on my feelings or emotions. It is based completely on who Jesus is and what He did for me. I listen to God’s promises as He shares them with me in His Word.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

The life and death of Jesus paid for my sin. His resurrection guarantees that I will also rise to life eternal. So even on my worst day, I know that I am a forgiven child of God.

This old hymn popped into my mind as I was thinking about this.

I know my faith is founded on Jesus Christ, my God and Lord;
And this my faith confessing, Unmoved I stand upon His Word.
Man’s reason cannot fathom The truth of God profound;
Who trusts her subtle wisdom Relies on shifting ground.
God’s Word is all -sufficient, It makes divinely sure,
And trusting in its wisdom, My faith shall rest secure.

(The Lutheran Hymnal #381, stanza 1)

My Transgressions2025-07-26T05:50:18-05:00

Church on Vacation

For many years while I served a parish and members would tell me they were going on vacation, I would jokingly ask them to bring me back a bulletin from a church signed by the pastor so I would know they attended worship. A few them actually did! They would often tell me the pastor of the church would laugh when they told him why they wanted it signed!

The truth of the matter is that I know most people don’t attend worship services when they go on vacation. I’m not sure why that is, but it is a reality. And it puzzles me.

We always made it a point to find a church to attend when we went on our family vacations. Cheryl and I did so yesterday. We had spent a week with two of our daughters and their families in central Texas. They all returned home on Friday and Saturday, but we stayed until today. Yesterday we attended a wonderful service. I always hope I will hear a powerful message and uplifting music. Yesterday’s service had wonderful music. The message of Jesus as Savior and what He did to earn our salvation was heard in the readings, the Creed, the Absolution and the singing: “Jesus Paid it All” for example. While the pastor’s sermon talked about living as children of God, it didn’t really share the Good News of what Jesus did for us on the cross and by rising from the dead. I wish he had mentioned that, but that message was heard through the rest of the service, including the Baptism of a child and the Sacrament of the Altar.

What we should remember when attending any worship service is that worship is not meant to be a spectator sport. We were there to be participants, and the service provided us the opportunity to offer our praise and thanks to God for what He has done for us and given to us. I know that Jesus was the payment for the sins of the world, including my sins. God tells me that very plainly in His Word.

1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

And His Word also tells me He provides me with everything I need for this life.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Lord, help us all to bring your our best when we come to worship You, including our attitude. Remind us that we are worshiping you because of who You are and what You have done for us. We live in the confidence that You bought us back from sin and death and have given us forgiveness and life and salvation. That is why we gather to sing your praise. To You alone belongs and glory and power and honor and praise. Amen.

Church on Vacation2025-07-13T17:05:15-05:00

Lockdown

Five years ago our nation was placed in “lockdown” because of Covid-19. That was before I started intentionally writing and posting daily devotions. However, I did post some of my thoughts on my personal Facebook page. This popped up in my memories from five years ago this week. I thought it worth sharing again:

Martin Luther (from the 1500’s)
Fom Luther’s Works, Volume 43, P. 132
In dealing with the Black Death Plague Martin Luther wrote:

“Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely, as stated above. See, this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.”

Five years later (or rather 500 years later), I believe this is still a good approach to take in our daily living. We are to put our confidence in the one who lived and died and rose again for us. Because of that, we should be His hands and feet and voice to share His love with the world around us.

Lockdown2025-03-14T17:18:36-05:00

Psalm 122

A woman walks into the bedroom and says, “It’s time to wake up and get ready for church, Johnny!” Johnny rolls over in bed and says, “I’m not going to church today!” The woman was surprised to hear that, so she asked what was wrong. Johnny starts to list reasons: “No one there likes me. All the old people glare at me whenever I say anything. The kids all laugh at me and make fun of me. I don’t feel good when I am there. So I’m not going to go today!” The woman sat on the edge of the bed quietly for a minute thinking, and then she replied, “I’m sorry you feel that way, Johnny, but you have to go to church today. After all, you are the pastor.”

When I came across that terribly old joke recently, I was reminded of the words of Psalm 122.

Psalm 122 I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to praise the name of the Lord according to the statute given to Israel. There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity.

This is one of the “Songs of Ascents” which are understood to be songs that would be used by those making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This one is also a hymn of joy over Jerusalem, a prayer for the welfare of that city.

As I child, I memorized the first verse of that Psalm from the King James Version: “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” The NIV uses “rejoiced” instead of “was glad.” Both emphasize the positive nature of being in God’s house, the place where God dwells, where man comes to God and God comes to man. It is a place dedicated to praising God.

I would hope that first verse is still descriptive of God’s people today. There should be rejoicing as we come to God’s house. There is joy as we hear His Word. There is joy in knowing our sins were washed away in the sacrament of Baptism. There is joy in receiving with our family the body and blood of Christ to remind us that His death was for our sins. There is joy in being with our brothers and sisters in Christ for mutual support and edification. We remind one another that we are the ones for whom Christ died!  All of us.

May that rejoicing be yours today!

Psalm 1222025-02-21T08:00:33-06:00

Prisoners

Zechariah 9:9-12 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!  See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.  As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.  Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. 

Zechariah is speaking to the Children of Israel, the people of the Old Testament, right after they had returned from the Babylonian Captivity. God had allowed them to be imprisoned in a distant land because they had not been faithful to Him. God used a foreign power to carry out His judgment on His disobedient and faithless people. They were prisoners for 70 years in that distant land. But now they were free.

People today are prisoners as well. We are prisoners to our own humanity. By nature we are opposed to God and cannot free ourselves. But God has done everything necessary to free us as well.

As mentioned earlier, Zechariah was speaking to people who had been set free from their captivity and returned to their homeland. As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. God had made a covenant with His chosen people at Mt. Sinai, a covenant sealed with the sprinkling of blood as a sign and symbol of forgiveness, and He would not forget it. He is a God who delivers people from pits – like Jeremiah, Daniel and Joseph – pits they could never escape by themselves. It doesn’t matter if the pit is your own doing or that of someone else, whether it is spiritual or physical. God is the one who is able to free you, and that is what He did for His chosen people. He promised that even as He delivered them from Babylon, He would send the Messiah, a humble king, riding on a donkey.

The deliverance that came to them is ours, too. It came in the person of Jesus Christ, when God Himself put on our flesh and stepped into this world as one of us. The triumphant and  tragic events in His life from Palm Sunday to Easter are the heart and soul of our freedom. Jesus rode into Jerusalem just as Zechariah had prophesied, humble and riding on a donkey. He taught the people about the kingdom, urging them to believe in God’s promise and put away the deeds of darkness. The Jewish leaders were afraid of Him, fearing they would lose their power and influence. They plotted against Him. He was betrayed, beaten, crucified and buried. An innocent man put to death for the sins of the people. But it was all part of God’s plan. The blood of His covenant found its fulfillment in the blood of Jesus Christ poured out as the last sacrifice that would ever be needed for sinful mankind. As authentication that His death was full payment for the sins of all people, God the Father raised Him from the dead on the third day, promising freedom to all who will believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. Just as God had earlier freed his people from the Babylonian Captivity of hopelessness and despair, in Jesus He came to free us from captivity to our sinful human nature, promising eternal life instead.

Prisoners2025-01-11T08:11:18-06:00

Snow Day

This picture was taken on my back porch in North Texas yesterday. This doesn’t happen very often where we live. In fact, the Texas Highway Department doesn’t own much snow removal equipment. When this happens, everything shuts down for a day or so. It will then warm up and the roads will clear and we go back to business as usual.

What is your reaction to a “Snow Day?” I had mixed feelings about them when I was working, because I usually had things that “I just had to get done” and didn’t like the weather dictating what I could and could not do. On the other hand, it was nice to have time to spend with my family.

On this Snow Day as Cheryl and I lazed around the house, I find myself thinking of the words in Psalm 46:

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

It was a reminder that He is always in control of all things, whether I realize and remember that or not. The same is true for your life. God is in control. He is God and you are not. He deserves to be exalted by us.

Something else I think of every time I see snow is God’s promise through the prophet:

Isaiah 1:18 “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” 

That’s what God did for us through the blood of Jesus, poured out to cleanse us from our sins. He covered us. When you put your faith in Jesus, it alters the way God sees you. He now sees you in a different way. No longer does He look upon the filth of your sin. Instead, He sees you as completely covered with the goodness of Jesus, allowing you to be His forgiven child.

Oh, how blest it is to know; Were as scarlet my transgression,
It shall be as white as snow By Thy blood and bitter Passion;
For these words I now believe; Jesus sinners doth receive.
(Lutheran Service Book #609, stanza 5)

 

Snow Day2025-01-09T17:09:24-06:00

Athens

Acts 17:16–21 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

Our tour in the Footsteps of Paul had us spend three nights in Athens. We went out from there to explore other sites, but we also spent some time seeing the Acropolis and the Areopagus. One of the questions that occurred to me was, “I wonder why there is not a book of the Bible called ‘Athenians?’  Why didn’t Paul send a letter to the believers in this prominent city?” I won’t have an answer to that question on this side of heaven, and once I am there it won’t matter anymore.

Ancient Greek cities had an area known as the acropolis. The word literally meant “highest point in the city.” The purpose was twofold: there would be a citadel or fortress to protect the city if attacked, but it also had a religious significance in that it represented a nearness to the gods.

The hotel we stayed in had a rooftop dining area and bar with an incredible view of the Acropolis which was lit up each night. The Parthenon, the largest and most visible temple on the Acropolis of Athens, was dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, and most likely the one from whom the city derived its name. There were other temples up there as well. There was one known as the Erechthion that had portions dedicated Athena Polias (protector of the city), Poseidon (god of the seas) and to Zeus (king of the gods). There was also a smaller temple to Athena Nike (goddess of victory).

It is no wonder Paul was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. But that did not deter him from proclaiming the one who encountered him on the road to Damascus. Paul was all about sharing the good news about Jesus and his resurrection with anyone and everyone. He shared that there was no other way to forgiveness of sins and life eternal except for Jesus. And people were listening. The Holy Spirit was working.

Athens2023-10-11T12:19:05-05:00

God Delights in You

(This week Cheryl and I are working Disaster Response in the Little Rock area after a tornado. I am sharing devotions that I shared previously. This one was first shared April 8, 2021)

As a parent and grandparent, I take great delight in my children and grandchildren. My three daughters are very precious to me. Their husbands have become my sons. And their offspring are a joy in my life. I celebrate the good times with my children and I hurt with them when they hurt. I count them as blessings and a gift that God entrusted to my care. In spite of my joking claims to the contrary, I was not nor am I now a perfect parent. But I have tremendous love for my family and strive to be the father that God would have me be.

As deep as my feelings and affection for my children may be, it is nothing compared to the way your heavenly Father feels about you. I was reminded of that by a verse I saw shared on Facebook yesterday.

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

This morning I read through the book of Zephaniah. It starts out with a lot of condemnation of all those who do wrong. It speaks of destruction and God’s wrath against those who do not listen to Him or follow His ways. But the faithful remnant of Judah, those who trust in the Lord, are given words of encouragement: “The Lord has taken away your punishment” (Zephaniah 3:15).

We know that is a reality because God keeps His promises. The original audience of these words was looking forward to God’s promised Messiah. We know that was Jesus, and that His life and death and resurrection are our assurance of forgiveness and mercy and eternal life.

God takes delight in you, believers. His love that led Him to send Jesus to be your Savior is what can quiet you in times of struggle and despair and feeling overwhelmed. He rejoices over you with singing! One day I will hear that singing for myself. For now, it is enough to know that God loves me so much that his joy overflows into song.

I hope you will live today and your future days with that same confidence.

God Delights in You2023-04-16T10:36:38-05:00

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