Day by Day

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"Word Power"

I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. Romans 1:16
   

Dynamite packs terrific power. Atomic and hydrogen bombs contain terrifying power. Modern technology sports an impressive array of powerful machines. But words perhaps convey even greater power. A word triggers the dynamite in the bombs and instructs powerful machines to operate.

We looked yesterday at God’s spiritual power source unlimited, focusing on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Romans 1:16, our text, describes the Word that unlocks that power source.

Gospel – the Word, Good news. God’s good news about a Savior who took upon Himself our unrighteousness. Righteous, He paid the price on the cross. God declares the world righteous for Christ’s sake. That righteousness comes to us by faith in Christ.

And Paul calls that Gospel the power of God for salvation, “dynamite” according to the Greek word for power. Word power, Gospel power. What sheer joy as a believer to have in our possession such Word power. The church preaches that Word and administers the sacraments as visible words.

We hear the Gospel every day for our own assurance and power. We speak the Gospel every day for the salvation of others. We live the Gospel because we have been instructed to operate with power for others. Word power unlocks God’s spiritual power source unlimited.

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"Power Source Unlimited"

That you may know…His incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18,19
   

Today our world knows limits. We need tremendous power every day to drive industrial machines, light cities and homes, fuel cars, and heat buildings. What power sources can we find? Power in great demand. Power sources limited.

How exciting are the words of Paul in the spiritual realm! We need tremendous spiritual power in our world to carry out God’s saving plan for humanity. Writing to the Ephesians, Paul describes a power source unlimited. “…His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:19,20).

We have power for Christian living. God’s power. He demonstrated that power by raising Christ from the dead. The resurrection powerfully announces God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. Weak and helpless on our own, inept to help others, we receive God’s power when He works faith in our hearts at our baptism. In short, Christ’s resurrection power becomes available “for us who believe.” Christ continues to reign in power at the right hand of the Father. Therefore, plugged into Christ by faith, we possess a power source unlimited.

In the next three devotions, we explore how that power of God can be unleashed in our lives for the blessing of many. But what a comfort to know that God’s spiritual power source will never run low!

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"Need a Doctor?"

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17
   

How sad when a desperately sick person refuses to admit the need for help! A cancer may be growing inside, but everything seems normal on the outside. The increasingly sharp pains or a suspicious lump are ignored. Doctors stand ready to help, but the fatally diseased person continues pretending health.

Jesus serves as the Great Physician of physical and spiritual diseases. Approaching Levi at a tax collector’s booth, He summons him to follow. Recognizing his spiritual alienation, Levi forsakes his questionable occupation and receives spiritual healing from the Savior. Jesus then eats with other tax collectors and notorious sinners to offer them similar healing.

Meanwhile the self-righteous Pharisees protest His associating with such people.

Where are you, my friend? Do you pretend health, though desperately sick with sin? Do you feel righteous because of a decent moral life, membership in a church, service to your community – while looking with disdain at alcoholics and drug addicts, divorced couples and unwed mothers, poverty-level families on welfare, and minority groups? Or do you let the Great Physician probe your innermost heart, diagnose a fatal disobedience and rebellion against God, and offer you Himself as the full payment for sin, the only treatment for your disease?

Jesus came for you. He loves you. He offers you life, now and for eternity. NEED A DOCTOR?

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"The Need for Refreshment"

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed. Mark 1:35
   

A typical day in the ministry of Jesus! He taught and expelled a demon in the synagogue. He spent the lunch hour healing Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. In the evening He was mobbed by townspeople who came to the door with the sick and demon-possessed.

Exhausted by the day’s labors, does He sleep late the next day and eat a leisurely breakfast? On the contrary, Jesus gets up in the predawn darkness and goes to a solitary place for prayer. As true man He needs refreshment and finds it in a devotional communion with the heavenly Father. Immediately the demands of the next day’s ministry crowd in on Him. Everyone is looking for Him. Refreshed, He continues His preaching throughout Galilee.

What kind of typical days do you have? Hectic demands from family and co-workers. Hurried banking and shopping for supper. Endless trips to piano lessons and dental appointments. The telephone ringing off the hook. Evening meetings. Another similar day to dread. Do you need refreshment?

Many say, “With my impossible schedule I don’t have time for a daily devotional period with God. I know I need it, but I can’t work it out.” Jesus needed the refreshment of prayer precisely because the demands of His ministry were so great. In obedience He steadily moved to the cross, where He died for our sins, including our devotional failures. He makes available His Word and also other Christians to encourage us in our devotional life.

Picture that quiet time – early morning, midday, or late at night – a few moments alone in the presence of a loving, strengthening God, an oasis for refreshment, a new surge of energy and enthusiasm for the rest of the day, direction and guidance for loving ministry to others.

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"Follow Me!"

“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Mark 1:17
   

Out of nowhere comes a man, walking beside the Sea of Galilee. Born in obscure Nazareth, baptized 30 years later in the Jordan, just beginning to proclaim the kingdom of God, He approaches four fishermen, hard at work with their nets, and asks them to follow Him. Incredibly they follow, leaving their vocations behind. Who is this man? What authority elicits such a total response from these rugged fishermen?

We live in a skeptical age. Many voices call us to follow – endless sales people, TV evangelists, political leaders, etc. Generally, we tune out the voices and follow the line of least resistance. Year after year we keep the same job, live in the same home, observe the same traditions.

When the Man from Galilee visits you and says, “Follow Me,” how do you respond? Turn His voice off as one more sales pitch? Listen halfheartedly and respond with a polite affirmative to get rid of Him? Agree to follow Him on some Sundays and when it seems convenient? Who is He? With what authority does He speak?

Admitting our lethargy and rebellion, we meet Him face to face, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world. We cannot follow on our own. But He has blazed the path of personal self-giving and death on a cross to pay for our sins. His call to follow carries with it the power for us to leave our nets and follow Him.

The adventure begins – loving Him, fishing for others to follow Him as well, finding new meaning and sparkle in our daily routines, living and loving with purpose and joy. Troubles and persecution may lie ahead. Temptations will abound. Other voices will try to lead us astray. But the forgiving, loving, empowering Man from Galilee continues to sound the gentle, life-changing call, FOLLOW ME!

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"Bearing Witness to the Lamb"

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
   

All of us treasure events we have personally witnessed – a presidential inauguration, a World Series, or a Superbowl game. We freely tell about our experience.

John’s Gospel records a dramatic moment in history. John the Baptizer watches a man walk among the crowds of Israel. It is the long-awaited moment when the Messiah begins His public ministry. John, aware of this decisive moment, bears joyful witness: “Look, the Lamb of God” may have sprung from a recollection of Isaiah 53, where the Messiah is described as a lamb led to the slaughter. Clearly John labels Jesus as the Savior of the world.

We also need to bear witness. Each of us has seen the Lamb of God, crucified and risen, in the pages of Holy Scripture. By our lives of service and our words of witness we can say to others, “Look, the Lamb of God!” Yet we often fail. Our witness fades when the going gets rough. Sometimes it loses steam. Or we fall into the trap of witnessing to ourselves – our faithfulness, our commitment – instead of to the Lamb of God.

John could have experienced the same witness problems. But God chose John, empowered him through the Word, and disciplined his life so that his witness to the Lamb never faded. He would not bend, nor would he permit the crowds to give him the honor that was due Jesus. He focused steadfastly on the Lamb of God.

The same God who sent the Lamb to be sacrificed on our behalf also makes us His strong, unwavering disciples through a disciplined life of Word and prayer. Refusing honor for ourselves, we steadfastly bear witness to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

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"Encounters with Jesus: Nathanael"

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. John 1:46
   

Another encounter with Jesus. Philip follows by going to Nathanael and telling him about Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. Rather than following Jesus immediately, Nathanael questions, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Notice that Nathanael is not an atheist or agnostic, but a God-fearing man, “a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false” (John 1:47). Yet he questions Jesus and His credentials.

In the motion picture, “The Hiding Place,” while the ten Boom family decides to follow Jesus at great risk by harboring Jewish refugees in their home, the local pastor visits them and wrestles with the moral choices involved. He questions. Finally, out of fear he decides not to get involved.

But Jesus reaches out to a questioning Nathanael. Philip answers Nathanael with the simple invitation, “Come and See.” As Nathanael approaches, Jesus identifies him as a true Israelite. Still questioning, Nathanael asks, “How do you know me?” Jesus replies, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Now Nathanael responds in faith and is ready to follow, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God.” Jesus leads him on to greater understanding and greater service.

In the same way Jesus answers our many questions, with the simple invitation, “Come and see.” He then lets us know that He has called us by name. We belong to Him. He lived and died for us. He knows our potential for service. And He has a wonderful plan for our future as we follow Him. Our questioning is turned into a simple confession of faith, “You are the Son of God.”

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"Encounters with Jesus: Philip"

Finding Philip, He said to him, “Follow Me.” John 1:43
   

During the Epiphany season our eyes focus on Jesus as the Light of the world, revealed in many miraculous ways. In John’s Gospel many people had encounters with Jesus. How did they respond?

Jesus finds Philip and simply says, “Follow Me.” No other introductions. So far only Peter and Andrew have been called as disciples. An absolute call. No strings attached. No explanations given. Simply “Follow Me.”

Philip obeyed. He accepted Jesus’ call. Immediately he went to Nathanael and told him that they had found the Messiah. A response of faith in Jesus as Savior, and witness to a friend.

Jesus likewise finds us and simply says, “Follow Me.” He comes to us in our baptism, in His Word, and in Holy Communion. “Follow Me.” For life. Day-by-day. Without reservation.

How do we respond? We may insist on knowing more details, on qualifying our answer, but He continues calling, “Follow Me.”

The motion picture “The Hiding Place” recounts a real call to discipleship. During World War II the ten Boom family lives in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, where Jews are being captured and exterminated. They are faced with the decision of whether to hide Jews in their home. They decide they must obey by hiding Jewish refugees in a secret room. Ultimately, when detected, they pay dearly.

God worked in Philip’s heart to follow Jesus. He moved Corrie ten Boom and her family to do the same. And He sent His Son to pay for our sins by dying on the cross so that we might follow Him as well.

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"Encounters with Jesus: Andrew"

The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah.” John 1:41
   

Andrew – the story of his encounter with Jesus is a simple, powerful one that can help us as we seek to share the faith.

Andrews are needed to hear about Jesus. A little-known disciple of John the Baptizer sees the man from Nazareth and hears Him identified as the Lamb of God. He believes and rejoices. Before going out to witness, we need to see Jesus as the Lamb of God. By His grace we believe and rejoice. Again and again we hear His Word.

Andrews are needed to follow Jesus. Andrew, having seen Jesus, asked where He was staying and followed him to learn more. He obeyed and became one of Jesus’ disciples. We also need to follow Jesus. Believing, we want to hear Him again and again. We hear and obey and hear and obey. He makes us His disciples. We regularly grow through Word and Sacrament. We study the Word personally and in groups. We serve as Jesus leads.

Andrews are needed to bring others to Jesus. The minute Andrew left Jesus, he hurried to tell his brother, “We have found the Messiah.” Then he brought Simon to Jesus. And Simon Peter became a powerful spokesman for the early church. Andrew: a quiet witness, a relatively unknown follower of Jesus, an important instrument of God’s love.

God needs us also to bring a brother or sister to Jesus. He brought us to faith in our baptism. We see Jesus, crucified and risen for us. We follow Him by hearing and obeying.

He provides us with power to witness. Very simply and quietly we go to the family member, the neighbor, the co-worker, the friend and say, “We have found the Messiah.” And we bring that person to Jesus through His church. Yes, Andrews are needed today. That means you and me.

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"Trust the Lord for Help"

Those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. Psalm 37:9
   

What a struggle American farmers have endured in recent years, many losing their land or at least plagued by staggering debt and decreasing land values. Israel in David’s day faced similar problems. Many righteous people saw the wicked prospering at their expense. They were filled with anger and worry. But the anger and worry only led them deeper into trouble.

We survey the past year and see many difficult and discouraging events. We cry out for help. All the while we notice that the wicked seem to be prospering. Anger fills our heart. “It’s not fair. Why should they prosper while I struggle by trying to do what is right? Why, God, do You permit these things to happen?” Worry consumes us. “What will I do now? How can I make ends meet?” Anger and worry only lead us deeper into trouble. Self-pitying, we feel helpless.

But the psalmist suggests that we trust the Lord for help. He knows that God alone gives the victory. True happiness comes from the Lord and not the desires of our heart. Ultimately the wicked will destroy themselves, while the Lord upholds the righteous. We need to wait patiently for the Lord to act.

God our Help in ages past and our Hope for years to come, sent His Son Jesus Christ to live on this earth and die for the world’s sins. He gives us an inheritance which will not fade. He freely gives us trust in His promises. Anger and worry aside, we trust the Lord for help now and eternally.

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"Ready to Explain the Hope Inside"

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15
   

Outside: hopelessness. Inside: hope. Sitting inside in a warm, comfortable family room looking out at a snow-covered lawn with barren trees and a wind-chill factor below zero, one is aware that outside there are evils like homelessness (made all the worse by the cold), hunger, violence, abortion, immorality, opposition to Christianity, and a host of others. Outside: hopelessness.

But we also know God’s hope. A fallen world redeemed by the blood of the Lamb without blemish, new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, an incorruptible Word that stands forever, status as a chosen people. Saint Peter’s words meant for our heart. Inside: hope.

And so Peter writes to us the words of our text. We Christians live differently from the world. We too suffer, sometimes struggle, and live in the midst of hopelessness. But we have a living hope which generates a smile, a caring touch, a vitality and energy that shows. We know Christ as our Savior. We rejoice in Word and sacrament. We treasure the fellowship of God’s people. And we eagerly anticipate eternal life in heaven.

All Peter asks – be ready to explain the hope inside. Know how to talk about your faith, your God, your hope. Tell the story of God’s faithfulness in your life. No fancy words needed. No major education needed. Use the Apostles’ Creed. Use John 3:16. Use your favorite hymn. Use your own words. Practice on your family and Christian friends at the supper table, in the coffee hour, at church. Outside: hopelessness. Inside: hope. Let God help you bring that hope from inside to outside.

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"Sleepless Nights"

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8
   

Sleepless nights lately? Worried about job or school or family? Fretting about providing enough food for the table, meeting high mortgage payments, paying for those college educations, setting aside enough savings for retirement? Stewing about people who unfairly criticize you and seem to prosper despite their disregard of God’s Commands?

The psalmist suggests: “Lie down and sleep in peace.” For God alone makes us “dwell in safety.” Aware of unfair treatment by others, prone to anger and resentment, sometimes depressed by worry, the psalmist nevertheless discovers a peaceful rest in the sure protection and promises of God.

Sleepless nights may call for confession of sins – doubts, self-pity, resentments, bitterness, misguided reliance on self. Confession leads to God’s peace and God’s rest, for the Obedient One, who slept in a boat amidst a storm, also went to the sleep of death in order to win the victory and bring lasting peace.

As He woke from death, victorious over His enemies, so we wake, refreshed each day, from peaceful sleep in His protection, ready for a life of service until we awake in heaven to serve Him forevermore.

Problems remain. Worries abound. Evil appears to triumph. Long nights and tired eyes remain. Tranquilizers fall short. Counting sheep gets old. But sleep beckons for the child of God – safe, forgiven, sustained, refreshed, quiet and at rest, trusting in Christ Jesus.

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"A View from Alcatraz"

The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1
   

As part of the prison tour of Alcatraz, the former island prison in the San Francisco Bay, visitors are invited to step into the solitary confinement vault and have the door briefly closed. The result is total darkness and isolation. What would it be like to spend days or weeks alone in that darkness?

The psalmist knows the darkness of sin and rebellion, and the darkness of hiding in a cave from dangerous pursuers. But rather than succumb to paralyzing fear, he boldly proclaims, “The LORD is my light and my salvation.” He remembers the Creator God who spoke the word that first brought light. He believes that God will ultimately shine in the world’s darkness with the light of the Messiah.

From a human standpoint we have much to fear – the darkness of terrorism, violent crime, nuclear war, and perplexing personal problems. At times the darkness closes in on us.

But then the reassuring words of the psalmist flood our consciousness. We remember that the God who caused the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts with the light of His Son Jesus Christ. In the darkness of Good Friday, when it seemed that evil had triumphed, the Son of God died to pay for our sins so that the light of salvation would continue to shine in an Easter world. Jesus, our Light, can penetrate every corner of darkness in our life, exposing and forgiving our sin, restoring hope and joy. Rekindled by the light of God’s Word, we go forth to shine as lights in a dark world.

After that brief stay in solitary darkness, the Alcatraz door swings open and visitors walk out into the dingy prison light and then out into a sunswept view of the bay. Similarly, the Lord has not left us in darkness.

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"A Path to the Future"

Show me Your Ways, O LORD, teach me Your paths. Psalm 25:4
   

In our world of rapid change people spend great sums of money trying to discern the future. Futurism is a big business. Trends, forecasts, economic predictions abound. Fortunetellers, astrologers, palm readers market their shadowy views of the future. We feel we must find the right path for our lives. Who will guide us?

The psalmist knows where to turn. He recognizes that the Word of God is a lamp unto his feet and a light to his path. Obedience to the law of God marks the right path. But the psalmist also confesses the sins of his youth and his rebellious ways (verse 7). Going his own way leads only to confusion, fear, and uncertainly about the future

God makes known His ways to us just as clearly today as He did to Israel of old. His Word reveals the Law, which is good and just and true. But the psalmist also remembers the Lord’s great mercy, as in the next verse he writes, “For You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long” (verse 5). He clings to the forgiveness of a Covenant God who not only shows the way but sends His Son to be “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Jesus walked the path of the Father all the way to Calvary, where He fully paid for the sins of the world.

We turn to God’s Word, where we are reminded of what Christ has done for us. Trusting Him for salvation, we daily seek His ways and His paths. The future holds no fear, for our journey will lead to the heavenly mansions.

Bring on rapid change. Bring on the future. Jesus Christ is our Way.

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"The Taste Test"

Taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8
   

Several years ago a major soft drink company changed the formula of its most popular cola. Immediately, strong reaction was forthcoming from lovers of the old taste and from consumers of rival colas. The bottom line was not expensive advertising or colorful packaging but the taste test.

In our Scripture verse for today David suggests the taste test for experiencing the true God. He writes, “Taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” David has personally experienced the mercies of God in his life – protected as a shepherd boy from wild animals, able to slay mighty Goliath, preserved from the jealous wrath of Saul, now David looks for deliverance in the promised Messiah and asks others to taste the sure promises of the living God and find refuge in Him.

From the seed of David came the Messiah to experience life in our stead. He tasted rejection, ridicule, suffering, and death on a cross for the sins of a rebellious world. David’s challenge rings out to us too. We admit that selfishness, materialism, and thrill-seeking leave a flat taste in our mouth. We turn quietly to the living Word of God, where we taste and see that the Lord is good.

We taste the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the bread and wine. And we know that for time and for eternity we have refuge in the Lord. The ultimate taste test never fails – for David or for us.