Category: Devotion

Look to God’s Law and let yourself see. Wretched men are we when we measure ourselves next to God’s holy and most perfect Law. Repent, lest you too pass away with the heavens and be burned up with the heavenly bodies. Confess your sins. Lay your heart bare before the Lord. He is merciful. A broken and contrite heart—these, He will not despise. He does not wish for any to perish, but that our ways be turned toward Him while there is still time.

For this reason, He is patient. Return to the Lord. He is not slow to fulfill His promise. He is patient. So return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, by Your blood and bitter passion, You have destroyed death forever. Create in us repentant and contrite hearts that, confessing our sins, we may obtain those things for which we ask, namely, forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn
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. (LSB 609:5)

Whether you’re ready for it or not, Christ is returning and the destruction of the world is coming. Judgment day is coming; all that is ungodly will be destroyed. I’m not saying go out to the nearest mall with your giant sign reading, “THE END IS NEAR! REPENT!” I am saying the Son draws near. Time is running out. Are there people you need to talk to? Are there scoffers of the faith that you love?

We know the salvation we have in Christ. We know that the story does not end at the destruction of the ungodly. We know that after the destruction, there is a new perfect creation. Share the Gospel so that all might experience the joys of His new creation that is to come!

Prayer
Most holy God, the ultimate creator and destroyer, we pray that You might give us the courage to share the Gospel with the scoffers we meet so that through Your Word the Spirit might create faith in those that mock the faith; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
The One whom angels tended
Comes near, a child, to serve;
Thus God, the judge offended,
Bears all our sins deserve.
The guilty need not cower,
For God has reconciled
Through His redemptive power
All those who trust this child. (LSB 337:2)

There are millions of ways to sin, but only one way to escape it. That path is “through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (v. 20). The knowledge of our Savior is a wonderful, blessed guide that does not lead to a vain life but instead points us to the One who has fulfilled the whole of the Law for us in His amends for our wretchedness. Our Lord desires that we meditate on His teaching day and night, not straying from it into mires of corruption and sensual passions. May God grant that we would be made wise unto salvation from this holy knowledge.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, You alone are the living wellspring of good teaching. Help us to seek out Your wisdom in avoiding sin and Your blessed Gospel with which you grant us righteousness. Give this to us so that we would dwell in Your righteous ways and lead others there to be eternally sustained through You, O Wellspring of salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
Watch! Let not the wicked world
With its lies defeat you
Lest with bold deceptions hurled
It betray and cheat you.
Watch and see
Lest there be
Faithless friends to charm you,
Who but seek to harm you. (LSB 663:3)

Remember the creature you were created to be. Proclaim God’s truth and protect the other creatures that have been given into your care. Who in your life needs to hear a tough word to prevent their destructive ways? Who needs to be filled with life, to hear a Word of grace? Go and do that today.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, Almighty God, Creator of all things, You have created us and love us. Give us Your Holy Spirit that we might live as the creatures You have designed us to be, caring for others and loving You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
To hope grown dim, to hearts turned cold
Speak tongues of fire and make us bold
To shine Your Word of saving grace
Into each dark and loveless place. (LSB 585:3)

But you, just like Noah and Lot, have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus poured out on the cross. You have been spared from the wrath of God because of Christ. Even though you dwell in the midst of unrighteous people doing wicked things and are harassed by the devil’s temptations, the Lord hears the tormented cries of your righteous soul. Just as He rescued Noah and Lot in days of old, He will rescue you from trials. No matter what the devil and wicked men do to you, they cannot take you out of His hand. We ask our gracious God to cast away our sin and to see in us only Christ’s righteousness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, You know how to rescue the godly from trials. Grant that we be spared from your righteous wrath on account of the blood of Christ, that we might be preserved until Christ’s return and dwell with You eternally; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
In all the strife
Of mortal life
Our feet will stand securely;
Temptation’s hour
Will lose its pow’r,
For You will guard us surely.
O God, renew
With heav’nly dew
Our body, soul, and spirit
Until we stand
At your right hand
Through Jesus’ saving merit. (LSB 714: 3)

The same is true of our teachers in the faith. Do not surround yourself with false teachers. False teaching has a way of sinking in. You also have a responsibility to be a teacher of the truth. Raise your children in the truth. Share the truth with your neighbors. And if it be your calling, preach the truth to God’s people. Woe to those that would mislead them!

Prayer
God of truth, Your Word is truth. Hinder and foil all who would attempt to distort this truth, that we may remain steadfast in Your Word. As those gifted with the truth, empower us to share Your truth with the world around us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
In these last days of great distress
Grant us, dear Lord, true steadfastness
That we keep pure till life is spent
Your holy Word and Sacrament. (LSB 585:2)

Peter invites us to trust that Scripture is God’s inspired Word, handed down through generations of God’s people. Peter and the Apostles were “eyewitnesses of his majesty” (v. 16), including the transfiguration of our Lord. They saw Jesus receive honor and glory from God the Father and heard God acknowledge Jesus as “my beloved Son, with whom I AM well pleased” (Matthew 17:5). God told the disciples to “listen to him!” (Luke 9:35).

Peter says to also listen to the apostles. Jesus explained the Scriptures to the apostles so they would see Christ in it. God’s Word has been handed down to the mouths of prophets, carried along by the Holy Spirit. Likewise the Word has been handed down from Jesus to the apostles (also carried along by the Holy Spirit). Jesus’ ministry of the Word is also handed down to pastors.

Take comfort then as you hear and study God’s Word, knowing that it is the inspired Word of God and the tradition of our family the Church. Share it with others, that it may shine like a lamp in a dark place.

Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, Your inspired Word has been handed down for generations. Grant that we may faithfully guard and proclaim it, that generations to come will receive the gift of faith by hearing it, and for your Holy Spirit to bring others to the saving knowledge of the resurrected Christ; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
God’s Word is our great heritage
And shall be ours forever;
To spread its light from age to age
Shall be our chief endeavor.
Through life it guides our way,
In death it is our stay.
Lord, grant, while worlds endure,
We keep its teachings pure
Throughout all generations. (LSB 582)

So it is with the life of faith. Christ Jesus has died that we would be partakers of the divine nature. For this very reason, we are to give diligence to the life of faith. Attend the Divine Service every Sunday. Add to evening devotions with your family. Then begin your own devotions each morning. Begin to pray for family, friends, neighbors, and parishioners. Read something pertaining to virtue that is not for a class.

These things are not law, as though not checking the right boxes leads to damnation. Rather, St. Peter says, “if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 8). St. Peter does provide the warning that to neglect one’s life of faith and virtue leads to blindness, having forgotten your Baptism and life in Christ. After all, we confess that Christ has made us heirs of the kingdom of heaven. Our election is sure. We ought to act in thanksgiving for so great a gift.

Prayer
Righteous and gracious Father, who has given to us all things pertaining to life and godliness, grant to us faith and knowledge to live out our Baptism that our call and election would be made sure before our eyes; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
O Holy Spirit, grant us grace
That we our Lord and Savior
In faith and fervent love embrace
And truly serve Him ever.
The hour of death cannot bring loss
When we are sheltered by the cross
That canceled our transgressions. (LSB 693:1)

I’m not trying to suggest we need to reintroduce kisses of greeting into our circles, but I am trying to suggest that we follow the lead of St. Peter and show some familial love. The next time you see a brother or sister in Christ, greet them with all the love and joy you can muster. Greet each other as ones who have been given the grace of God. It’s not exactly the stoic German thing to do, but it is the Christian thing to do.

Prayer
Gracious Father, in loving kindness You reached out to us and showed us Your love for us in Christ. As you have showed loved to us, may we show love to one another, that we might share together in the joy of your salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hymn
You bid us bend our human pride
Nor count ourselves above
The lowest place, the meanest task
That waits the gift of love. (LSB 857:4)