Category: Devotion

We seek after advice from loved ones and friends. These words can encourage you to do what is right and just, especially when the true Word of God is their foundation. At times, the words of others reach your ears and persuade you to say and do things against God’s guidance. You must be cautious that your heart does not pull you to immoral and unethical actions, as this psalm says in verse 4: “Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds.”

These words are a prayer that God would guide your heart and mind to His righteousness and justice. The Lord knew we all would be tempted to turn from God and His good and gracious will. So when Jesus taught us how to pray, He gave to us these words: “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” In this portion of the Lord’s Prayer, God comes quickly to your aid so that you will find refuge in Him. In God’s love, even without our prayers, the Lord defends us from the words and temptation of evil people. Jesus, your Savior, has given you this knowledge, that by His passion on the cross He has conquered sin, death, and the devil. Have faith that if the Son can save you from death and the devil, He can save you from the temptation to sin. Abide in the words of God so that you might “pass by safely.”

Let us pray: Almighty God, You have victory through the Son and His death on the cross, over all the sins that plague me. With Your strong and mighty Word lead me away from the temptation to do the evil deeds of worldly men. Put in my heart Your words that I may be able to speak them and do what is right and just. And forgive me when I sin and do not do what God has instructed. I pray this in the Savior’s name, Jesus Christ. Amen.

(Adam McDowell, Sem IV)

But if those individuals are God’s enemies, why do we squirm when we read: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!” (Ps. 139:23)? We are afraid of what God will see: we also take His name in vain by not calling upon Him in our every need (Ps. 50:15); we rebel against God’s command to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44); we murder others by our hate (1 John 3:15; Matt. 5:21-22). If we are honest, we realize that we are also God’s enemies.

As God’s enemies, we are promised destruction (Rom. 6:23). But God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still His enemies, He sent His Son to die for us (Rom. 5:6-11; John 3:16)! For the sake of Christ, you are forgiven all of your sins of murder, hate, and rebellion. You are no longer God’s enemy! He has washed away all of your sins and purifies you with His blood (Acts 2:38; 1 Cor. 6:11; 1 John 1:7). And He will lead you into the way everlasting.

Let us pray: O Lord, You did not want us to be Your enemies and so You sent Your only begotten Son to die for our sins and reconcile us to You. Thank You for the wonderful gift of Your Son, and grant us a firm faith that trusts in Him alone as the source of our forgiveness, life, and salvation. Amen.

(Mika Patron, 2nd-Year Deaconess Student)

How wonderful are the works of God. From the beginning of life, indeed from our conception, God has been with us. He has formed us, knitted us, and woven us together in our mother’s womb, so that each person, born or unborn, is a work of God fearfully and wonderfully made by our Heavenly Father.

This is the message of our Psalmist, who sings such marvelous words of praise. He rejoices in our God, who has shaped our being and knows us more intricately than anyone else. So we too rejoice that our God has formed and cared for us from our first days to our last days in this earthly life, and on into eternity. All those we have lost, all those with us still today, and all those who are still to come have been given life by the work of our Heavenly Father.

He is a Father who does not leave or abandon us. Rather, He is a Father who remains with us even now and continues to provide for all our needs of body and soul. He has looked upon us and brought us up in this faith that we may rejoice in the gifts of forgiveness and life everlasting. How precious are the thoughts of God; we lie down and rise up, and God remains with us. Praise be to God, for we are each fearfully and wonderfully made.

Let us pray: Mighty God, we thank and praise You that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Grant that we may, in true faith, honor this gift of life and continually grow in trust and in praise of Your mighty works. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Steven Braun, Sem IV)

We have all had those days, when nothing seems to be going the right way. Sometimes, these bad, chaotic days go on and on as the weeks turn into months or even years. All you want to do is crawl into bed, close the blinds to shut out all light, and pull the covers up tight around you. During these times, we may feel distant, not only from our friends and loved ones, but also from God. You just want to hide, run away, or even die, and you wonder, “Why would God love me? Does He even love me? Where is God?”

Psalm 139 reminds us God is always with us, watching over us. We cannot hide from Him, whether we soar through the clouds or go into the deepest, darkest depths of the sea. He holds us in His Hand. In our most problematic times, He will lead us out of the darkness into His marvelous light.

God does all this for us because He loves us so much, even when we feel we cannot be loved, that He came to earth and dwelt among us, taking on our sins and dying on the cross in our place. He is close by and wants a relationship with you. Being reconciled through Christ, we are no longer separated from God and have a renewed relationship with Him. Remember to turn all your cares and worries over to God in prayer. He loves you and will be with you through all the ickiness of your days.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, You promise to be present and hold me in Your hand, even during my worst days. Remind me to turn to You at all times, but especially when I feel distant or burdened, so that I may be comforted and return to serving and praising You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

(Kate Phillips, 2nd-Year Deaconess Student)

On the sixth day, God made man and breathed into him the breath of life. Then something marvelous happened. In his incomprehensible wisdom, the Lord gave man the privilege and honor to cooperate in his creative act. The Lord blessed the man and the woman saying, “Be fruitful and multiply.”

Life continued through the bearing and rearing of children. This is the Lord’s house-building, a gift for man’s continuation, for the handing down of life; a life that has its foundation in the breath of God. “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” This life, bestowed upon the man and woman, is treasured and extended through their union. Generation after generation shares more than just lineage; they share in God’s heritage of life.

This is true for the 91-year-old woman, down to her just-conceived-great-grandson, and everyone in between. Each has life, with neither having any more nor any less. Each forgiven of all their sins in the death and resurrection of Christ who also shares in this very life. Each being a blessing from the Lord to those before and to those who follow. “Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” Blessed be they who uphold this heritage given by God. Blessed are they who are brought to the font, birthed in the church, and given the heritage of Christ’s resurrection; a newness of life that never ends.

Let us pray: Creative Father and giver of life, be with all the living and bless them with Your heritage of life and salvation in the death and resurrection of Your Son. Through Jesus Christ, our brother and Lord, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

(Jeffrey Kyler, Sem IV)

Psalm 100 is a psalm appreciating God’s unending goodness and mercy. More than a list of His accomplishments (because this psalm is quite short compared to others), at its heart it is a rejoicing for those in Christ Jesus, those washed in the blood of His death.

“Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture,” verse 3 tells us. Out of the entirety of the universe, God knows you! For the sake of Christ Jesus, He loves and forgives all your sin, both those sins committed by your hands and that sin which endures in your human nature. Because of your baptism into Christ’s death on the cross, you are numbered among the “sheep of his pasture”—protected, valued, never forgotten.

The sinful world might tell us that we determine our value and what we do with our lives and the lives of others, but we know from this psalm and throughout Scripture that it is God “who made us” and every person and living thing. We “give thanks to him” and “bless his name” that we should be numbered among His children.

Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Your dear Son, my beloved Savior Jesus Christ, whose death atoned for me that I might be numbered among the sheep of Your pasture. Please keep me and the lives of all, both born and unborn, in Your tender loving care so that all may have the same opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

(Philip Jaseph, Sem II)