Day by Day

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"Jesus Values the Individual"

"There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." Luke 15:7
   

Julia Ward Howe, a prominent woman in Civil War times – and author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” – one time interceded with an “eminent senator” in behalf of someone in need. But the senator replied that he “was so busy saving the human race that he couldn’t be bothered about an individual.”

Jesus often taught large multitudes. But He never overlooked the importance of an individual. The sermon of Jesus that we have on record in the New Testament in John 4 is the one He addresses to an audience of one – the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Another discourse rich in instruction was delivered to a class of one – Nicodemus – in John 3. The New Testament gospels report many instances when Jesus interrupted His journey to help someone by the wayside.

Heavy in its emphasis on the value and importance of the single person is the instruction Jesus gives in His three lost-and-found parables in Luke 15: the recovery of the lost sheep, the finding of the lost coin, and the reinstatement of the lost son. In each instance joy prevailed at the end. The shepherd arranged for a party with his friends and neighbors, the housewife did the same, and the forgiving father in the parable of the prodigal son likewise arranged for a celebration when the son returned. Jesus said there is “rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

Our Lord stresses that we must not let individual persons disappear in nondescript, faceless crowds – not fail to see individual trees, as it were, because of the forest. It is good for us that Jesus sets a high value on each single person. It is good, for when He gave His life on the cross, it was for you and for me. In Holy Baptism He brought us, one by one, into fellowship with Him. He sends His Holy Spirit into our individual hearts. He hears our prayers, One on one.

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"What We Can Expect from God"

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9
   

Russian cosmonauts exploring outer space during the Communist regime came back to testify to their atheistic training by saying they had not encountered God. That was the prevailing philosophy of the time: Expect nothing from God, for there is no God; you must do everything yourself.

Another man who knew outer space, the astronomer Copernicus (1473-1543), came to a different conviction. He confessed his Christian faith in the epitaph he chose for his grave. It reads in translation: “I require not the grace that was given to Paul; I demand not the kindness which was given to Peter. But as You gave to the thief on the cross, I pray, give also to me.” What he expected from God – forgiveness – was not something minor, but the greatest blessing God can give.

We can ask – and expect – of God what He Himself has promised in His Word. We know He has not promised to give us great riches, not a life of ease and pleasure, not worldly honor, not even escape from sickness and suffering. Saint Paul, true and faithful that he was to Christ, had his thorn in the flesh to go with all the other deprivations he endured. But God had promised that His grace and His power are made perfect in weakness.

To be at peace with God, to have His forgiveness thanks to the atoning merit of Jesus Christ, to enjoy – even in this life – a foretaste of eternal life, to be strong by the divine power of Word and Spirit working in us, this God has promised. This we may expect from God. This we may boldly and confidently ask when we pray. Our Lord Jesus has promised, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). What a wonderful gift to expect of our Lord as we work or as we rest!

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"Shepherd and Sheep: Their Relationship"

“I am the Good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me.” John 10:14
   

In John chapter 10, Jesus spoke of His relationship to the sheep, and the sheep’s relationship to Him. It is a close union.

Jesus declares what He, as the Good Shepherd, does and has promised to do. First, He has a most effective knowledge of the members of His flock. He knows us personally, individually, by name. This is more than an acquaintance with a few vital statistics. Christ’s is an effective knowing – a knowing that is equal to a complete inventory of our needs together with a love-prompted know-how, ability, and willingness to help us.

As already implied, the Good Shepherd’s knowing leads to giving. He states, “I give them eternal life” (John 10:28). He laid down His life on the cross that we might receive forgiveness, have the joy of living in Him and serving Him, and even now enjoy the foretaste of life everlasting.

What is our response to the Good Shepherd’s knowing and giving? As His sheep we hear and heed His voice as it resounds in and through the written Word. Quite often others who know this Word speak to us informally. Our Lord addresses us “through the mutual conversation and consolation of the brethren” (Martin Luther). All who take Christ’s Word and work to heart are spiritually enriched. “Blessed,” said Jesus, “are those who hear the Word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28).

The above points to a further aspect of our relationship with the Good Shepherd; hearing, as a first step of obedience, leads to following, as sheep follow their shepherd. This is the characteristic mark of true Christian discipleship. We accede to the Savior’s call to walk in His footsteps, to come after Him as obedient followers. It means that we believe in Him for our salvation and then do His works.

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"God’s Foreknowledge at Work"


The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith. Galatians 3:8
   

Some 70 years ago the head of a large electrical appliance company was shown a crude television camera and picture tube developed by one Vladimir K. Zworykin in the laboratory. The chief executive, seeing no future use for such devices, ordered, “Put that guy to work on something useful.” Human vision of the future is limited, even for experts in their fields.

Omniscience – total foresight and knowledge of all things, including the future – is only to be found in God. The psalmist declares, “Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD” (Psalm 139:4).

As the Sovereign Lord of history, God is able to declare, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come” (Isaiah 46:10). Saint Paul tells the Galatians “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the Gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you’” (Galatians 3:8-9).

God foresaw the fall of the human race into sin, and from eternity He planned its salvation. At the fullness of time He sent His Son to be the world’s Redeemer. He, the Messiah, was born of God’s chosen nation, to whom belonged “the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises” (Romans 9:4). Yet God provided for the Gospel to be proclaimed also to the Gentiles, desiring them also to be justified by faith in Christ, the same as Abraham and his descendants. To this foreknowledge and foreordination of God the Scripture testifies.

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"The Rebuilding of Persons"


If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17
   

In his book “Peace of Mind,” Joshua Liebman states a very obvious truth: “No reconstructed society can be built on unreconstructed individuals.” By the same token, you cannot have a strong chain that has weak links, a good forest without good trees, a productive farm with unproductive fields.

At the level of civil righteousness, reconstructed individuals are those who from high motivation keep the laws and do more than what the civil laws demand. They set good examples. Their vision of the public good exceeds that of private gain.

But rebuilt persons in God’s sight – that is, at the level of righteousness that meets His approval – are individuals born anew by water and the Sprit – by the Gospel that has brought the Savior Jesus Christ into their hearts and keeps Him there. Their hearts and lives have been cleansed by the shed blood of Christ. They are the temple of the living God. In them the Holy Spirit has found a home. Now a new community consisting of such persons can begin. This is the holy Christian church, the communion of saints. It is in itself the good spiritual society, and it is the only true prop for the society surrounding it.

Spiritually reconstructed persons constitute a community worthy to be called the body of Christ. Saint Paul writes of the church built on Christ as the chief cornerstone: “In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21). Spiritually rebuilt persons make for a perfectly constructed church. Christ’s church is without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.

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"Spiritual Meals are Included"

My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
   

A man who had booked passage on a ship sailing for England did a foolish and unnecessary thing. Thinking that he could not afford to pay for the meals in the ship’s dining room, he had taken along a suitcase full of canned food. At meal times, when his cabin mate found him eating from his suitcase, he said, “You foolish man! Don’t you know that the meals are included in the price of your ticket?”

Jesus Christ paid the price of our redemption. His salvation is total. The one price He paid is all-inclusive. It not only effected our release from sin, the fear of death, and the power of the devil; it also assured us of free passage to heaven. Along with this our Lord also provides for the full sustenance of our faith while we are en route to eternal life. He gave us His Word, which is “spirit and life.” He instituted Holy Baptism and Holy Communion for the creation of faith and its preservation. It would be a foolish and futile thing to try to depend on man-made means to sustain spiritual life. The prophet asks: “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2).

Why try to rely on our own good works, wisdom, and resources, often at great cost to ourselves, to sustain the saving faith during life’s voyage to the heavenly shores? Why try to supply what we need when our Lord has provided for our spiritual sustenance fully and freely? Saint Paul assures the Philippians and us, “My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

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"Forgiveness: the Breath of Life"


"If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven." John 20:23
   

Truth is often written in headstone inscriptions. Mount Olivet Cemetery at Hannibal, Missouri, is a case in point. It is the resting place of John and Jane Clemens, the parents of Mark Twain. An inscription there records this grim fact:

Leaves have their time in Fall
And flowers to wither at the north wind’s breath;
And stars to set, but all –
Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death.

Another headstone expresses this confidence:

And when thou are refreshed in death,
Christ will give thee back thy breath.

In a tomb in Joseph’s “lovely garden” our dead and buried Lord was given back His breath. His presence was living proof of His victory over sin and death. At His reunion with His disciples He breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit, If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven” (John 20:23). To forgiveness is linked the promise of life and salvation – the promise of eternal life. Forgiveness is the breath of life. It brings peace, hope, and joy. For He who pronounces it is Himself the resurrection and the Life.

Before ascending into heaven, our Lord entrusted to His church – and all His disciples constitute His church – the Office of the Keys, that is, the power to remit and retain sins. Those who live in repentance and faith have the burden of sin lifted off their chests and are free to breathe in Christ’s assurance of forgiveness. It brings peace.

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"Speaking the Truth in Love"

Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15
   

Sociologist John Hutchinson, of Columbia University, has written, “By the time word reaches the fourth person, a message is likely to contain no more than five percent of the whole story.”

Truth was terribly distorted at the trial of Jesus, where it was said He wanted to destroy the holy temple in Jerusalem. As a matter of fact, He was speaking of the resurrection of the body. False rumors are apt to start when a statement is misunderstood or wrongly interpreted. The English courts distinguish between truth as it is spoken and truth as it is heard. Because we are fallible human beings, we ought always to speak plainly and listen carefully, lest we do someone an injustice.

In love we refrain from uttering untruth. So also in the same love we speak the truth – the truth of correction – when the situation requires it. Jesus is the Truth personified. He not only spoke but also did the truth, fulfilling the work the heavenly Father had given Him to do. He is more than our Exemplar; He is the Enabler of truth-speaking, giving us the willingness and power to speak the truth in love.

Speaking the truth in love, of course, has a reverse side, and that is to speak untruth in malice. It is especially sinful to do this behind a brother’s or sister’s back. Saint James reminds us, “Brothers, do not slander one another” (James 4:11). Speaking the truth in love is an essential part of the fulfillment of our Lord’s Word, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19).

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"Finding Refuge in God"

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
   

In his poem “The Hound of Heaven” Francis Thompson, an opium user, gives an account of his futile attempts to avoid God, who is portrayed as pursuing him relentlessly amid his problems. He describes five “refuges” he tried to take in his desire to escape God: self (ego), mind, knowledge of nature, children, and unconsciousness. But always God in His love found him in his "hiding places."

Many today seek to evade God, turning to many escapes, subterfuges, and substitutes for Him. But as Adam and Eve learned in Eden, they cannot give God the slip. The hymn writer declares, “Other refuge have I none; Hangs my helpless soul on Thee.” And Saint Augustine: “Thou hast made us unto Thyself, and our souls are restless until they rest in Thee.” Jesus, having gained rest and respite for us by His atoning work, bids all who labor to come to Him.

The fact that God is everywhere may alarm the person who tries to run from God, but to Christians it is a great comfort. God is where we are: at home, at work, on the road, or wherever we are. The psalmist declares, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10). This is a great comfort!

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"God’s Patience: It Has Limits"

God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. 1 Peter 3:20
   

Thomas Paine, a free thinker and declared enemy of Christianity, gives us something to think about in making this distinction: “Toleration is not the opposite of intolerance, but is the counterfeit of it. Both are despotism.”

Tolerance is not the same as toleration. Tolerance implies patience and forbearance. When weighing or measuring things, we generally allow for a degree of variation, calling it tolerance. A tolerant person endures a situation for a while, working toward correcting it. On the other hand, toleration, while recognizing error, accepts it and does nothing about it.

God has shown Himself tolerant in the sense that He exercises great patience with sinners. He gave the people of Noah’s generation 120 years to repent. When granting a time of grace, He continually and earnestly urges repentance. In being tolerant, or patient for a season, God does not compromise His holiness. He is never given to toleration concerning the evil people do. If His proffered salvation in Christ is rejected, He brings people into judgment. In dealing with delinquent members, the church takes a page out of God’s book in that it practices patience but never extends the toleration of error.

Thankful that God is patient, long-suffering, and always willing to forgive those who repent and believe in Jesus, it is also our concern not to tempt God by an attitude of indifference. This is important: “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

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"Holy Scripture Leads Us to Christ"

"The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart." Romans 10:8
   

Several years ago Dr. Nelson Glueck, then president of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati, stated that the copper mines of King Solomon in the Negev (southern part of Judea) had been found and that a copper-mining industry had been established there. He said that the presence of metals was indicated in Moses’ words that the Promised Land was “a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills” (Deuteronomy 8:9). This statement, he said, was verified, adding, “I have always gone on the assumption that the historical statements of the Bible are true.”

The biblical scholars at the time of Jesus’ birth (Matthew 2:3-6), as well as the Old Testament prophets, went on the assumption that the prophetic statements of the Bible were true. The purpose of the Bible is not to serve as a textbook on history or science, although its statements also in these areas are true. The purpose of divine revelation in the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures is to lead us to Jesus Christ so that, believing in Him as the Redeemer from sin and death, we may obtain eternal salvation. In our time no special star, no angelic song in the sky, no great miracle in nature leads us to Christ. So we rely on the “prophetic Word” of the Old Testament Scripture, confirmed by the New Testament Word of fulfillment.

In His love and wisdom God stated the truths of His Word in plain language. What we need to know and believe to be saved He stated in simple speech – not in mysterious prophecies, not in wisdom buried in philosophy, not in truths attainable only in the depth of the earth or in the clouds above. Saint Paul says, “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.” And right now it is in your eyes as you read this devotion.

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"The Education of the Heart"

"Everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." Matthew 7:24
   

Credit for opening the first kindergarten in the United States goes to Susan Blow, who formed one in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1873. At that time the children of workers living in tenements usually went to school only three years – from age 7 to 10. The kindergarten enabled them not only to get an earlier start but also to associate enjoyment with learning.

Many dedicated men and women have contributed to perfecting the educational system. The education of the total person is like the construction process of an exquisite building. A good foundation has to be laid. The architect’s plans are followed as the structure takes shape. The walls go up as stone is laid on stone. The roof is put on. The proper utilities provide heat, fresh drinking water, and communication facilities. The house acquires a soul when the family moves in. It becomes a home when people live, work, rest, play, and serve one another. A home cannot be built overnight, nor is the education of a person completed in a matter of days. It takes years, even decades. Many people like Susan blow are involved in it.

It has been said: The heart of education is the education of the heart. The heart is where the person really lives, what he or she truly is. By nature the heart is the source of much evil. Jesus said that evil thoughts and desires, words and deeds, proceed from it. What is needed is a new heart, a heart not of stone but of flesh, a heart capable of faith and love. Such a heart the Holy Spirit creates in children as they are baptized and given Christian instruction. The converted heart becomes functional as it influences conscience, will, and mind. What the heart believes, that it prompts the hands to do. In the Christian’s heart dwells Jesus Christ, who in love gave Himself for the salvation of every person and who through His Word enables Christian growth to continue.

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"Jesus Our Reliable Provider"

If a liar and deceiver comes and says, “I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,” he would be just the prophet for this people! Micah 2:11
   

Bo Giertz, when bishop of Gothenburg, Sweden, once said that these were the three great lies in the area of religion: There is no God, there is no devil, and everyone can be saved in his own way.

False prophets not only teach lies but also make deceiving promises – promises of things people crave for an enjoyable life. Besides the drinks Micah mentions, these things are also luxuries: large homes, miraculous cures, and sudden riches. If people want religious leaders who ignore God’s Word and instead promise sensuous and materialistic things, they will have such prophets. These will come, not as a promise but as a punishment, in keeping with the words of Saint Peter, “It is time for judgment to begin with the family of God” (1 Peter 4:17). People get the kind of leaders they deserve.

Lies, falsehoods, distortions, unfounded accusations, false hopes – all these marked the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin and the tribunal of Pontius Pilate. The devil, who is a murderer and the father of lies, was certainly at work, as our Lord said to His enemies: “This is your hour – when darkness reigns” (Luke 22:53). All that the Swedish bishop mentioned was fulfilled here: the denial of the divine sonship of God (and thereby also the denial of God as such), the rejection of His way of salvation in preference for works righteousness, and without realizing it, full obedience to Satan.

Carnally minded people had rejected Jesus long before His final trials. They had wanted an earthly messiah capable of enriching them and serving them as a bread king. Our Lord would have found a great welcome if He had promised full tables and cups overflowing with wine. But His was not that kind of kingdom, not that kind of earthly rule.

We thank God that Jesus Christ, His Son, was not sent to be this kind of a provider. He had come to supply abundantly what we so desperately need – the bread of life and the living water of salvation. He had come to give His life a ransom for us, and this is what He did when he went to Mount Calvary to be crucified.

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"Knowing the Good Life and Leading It"

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25
   

Years ago the “Kansas City (Missouri) Star” stated editorially that for many children “the sense of morality is a combination of ‘Dallas’ [a long-running TV program] and the pop music chart.” Neither the named television program nor the popular songs set high moral standards. The emphasis is on greed, lust, sex, and all the other sins that have plagued the human race through the ages, as Saint Paul mentions them in his epistles. They are the fruit of the flesh.

We have, thank God, a much higher moral standard set in the Ten Commandments. This standard is not a kind of a golden rule which people might attain by their natural powers. It is absolute; it demands perfection. To reach the high level of Christian morality, we need the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. Through the Gospel and the sacraments the Spirit first plants the tree. For without the tree no fruit is forthcoming. This tree is the faith He creates in us – faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose redeeming merit is credited to our account. This faith is more than the acceptance of a set of facts, although right knowledge is important. You can’t believe unless you know what to believe. What is involved above all is a change of heart, a new spiritual birth, a new outlook on life, full trust in God. Faith makes a person a new creation in Christ.

The Holy Spirit, having kindled faith, doesn’t then walk away, as a carpenter does when he has finished building a house. The Spirit continues to enlighten, nourish, sanctify, and keep us in the faith through the Gospel. He causes the faith to go beyond the ABCs; He makes it grow farther and farther into the alphabet of Christianity. The XYZ of perfection is attained only in heaven.

It helps children live moral lives if they have the good example of Christian parents to follow. So it is in our Christian growth. The heavenly Father sets us the perfect example. The Triune God is active here. The Father is our example, the Son is the enabler, in that He took away our sins, and the Holy Spirit leads us to a new life in Christ.

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"Helping the Reapers"

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field." Luke 10:2
   

Jesus compared the ingathering of people into His kingdom to a harvest. He said as He sent out the 72 disciples as missionaries: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field."

In answer to the church’s prayers, God sends His workers out into the world to proclaim the Gospel of forgiveness and grace with God, thanks to the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. It remains for us to follow up our prayers with every possible assistance we can give the Lord’s reapers.

A man who did this in an effective way was Cyrus H. McCormick. He had invented the self-binder, or grain-reaping machine. It made him a wealthy man, a man who ushered in a new era in the method of harvesting grain. Being a Christian man, he did much to help also in the harvest of souls. He gave liberally toward founding a theological seminary in Chicago bearing his name. Through the years thousands of men have been trained there for ministry and mission. McCormick helped the Lord’s reapers in bringing in the sheaves.

Most of us are not able to do what this man did. But God gives us other opportunities to participate in the harvest of souls. We have such opportunities as Christian parents in the home, as church members who support world missions, as persons who, at work and elsewhere, witness to their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

All the while we keep on doing what our Lord told us to do – to pray, “Thy kingdom come,” to pray that He would send more pastors, teachers, medical missionaries, and the like into His harvest field.