Womens Devotions

Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 7

2025/04/22/in Women's Ministry Lenten Devotions, Womens Devotions

In the Savior’s Steps

The Empty Tomb

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
Mark 16:1-7

Here we are again, at a tomb. And again, this isn’t just any tomb. For the women and the disciples, this tomb is personal—even more personal than Lazarus’ tomb would have been. This is the tomb of their companion, their teacher, their friend, and their hoped-for Savior.

There’s more than physical death at this tomb. There’s also the death of their hopes and dreams, of their expectations for the One who promised that although he would be killed, he would also rise again (Mark 8:31).

For Peter, this tomb holds even more sorrow and anguish. For Peter, this tomb holds his well-intentioned but often-misplaced brashness. It holds his promise to remain firm even if all the other disciples fell away and his subsequent denial of Jesus—three times!—only a few hours later. It holds the tears he wept bitterly when Jesus looked at him, and it holds his guilt and shame for not coming to the cross to see his friend and Lord just one more time.

Or, rather, that’s what this tomb held. When the women arrived at the tomb, they found it empty of a dead body, and the words of the angel assured them that this emptiness had also swallowed up all the other death and sorrow and anguish in this tomb. “He has risen! He is not here!” Their companion, teacher, and friend was truly the promised Messiah. Their hopes and dreams were alive again!

But what about Peter? Was the tomb empty, even for him? After all, this tomb held more for Peter. Could Jesus’ resurrection from the dead truly erase all that Peter had said and done? Could things ever be the same between him and Jesus? Could Peter still follow his friend and Lord in the same way as before?

Yes, the tomb was empty—even for Peter.

How do we know? We can look to Jesus’ reinstatement of Peter (John 21:15-19), to Peter’s later ministry, to his faithfulness even to the point of death.

But for Peter, all that was still in the future. Peter needed something now to assure him the tomb was empty, even for him. And Jesus loved him enough to give him this assurance on Easter morning through two beautiful words from an angel: “and Peter.”

These two words become even more meaningful when you know the history of the gospel of Mark. It’s likely that Mark wrote this gospel based on Peter’s preaching, and the words “and Peter” appear only in Mark’s resurrection account. Imagine how much these words must have meant to Peter if he included them in his preaching often enough for Mark to record. Imagine how tightly Peter must have clung to these words in times of hardship and suffering.

“And Peter.” “And Kristi.” “And (your name).” These two beautiful words assure us that the tomb is empty for us, too. No matter the sorrow and anguish you carry, no matter the sins that trouble you—these are no match for the empty tomb.

This Easter season, come back to the empty tomb again and again, and be assured it is empty for you.

Prayer:

Risen Savior, thank you for your assurance that the empty tomb is truly for me. Lead me to live each day in this resurrection joy, and give me the opportunity and the words to share this resurrection joy with others. Amen.

Thank you to Rev. Dr. Wade Johnston for introducing me to the concept of “and Peter” in his book A Path Strewn with Sinners.

Written by Kristi Meyer
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

All These Things

2025/04/19/in Devotions, Womens Devotions

All These Things – Women’s Devotion

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.
Luke 24:9

No wonder the disciples didn’t believe them. Out of breath from running and “afraid yet filled with joy” (Matthew 28:8), I imagine the women must have been a frenzy of excitement and confusion when they came back from the tomb. How could they fully explain the divine encounter they had just experienced?

What were “all these things”?

What they thought was their biggest barrier was removed when an angel rolled the stone away from the tomb. What they thought was their greatest sorrow became hope when they saw the empty place where Jesus was laid. What they thought was their worst fear was dispelled with the good news that Jesus had risen just as he said. And what they thought was devastating disappointment became their mission with the charge to go and tell the disciples they would also see Jesus again.

And so the women told all these things to the Eleven and all the others.

Can we do the same?

Whatever we think is going on right now because of our current life experiences, circumstances, or outlooks, Easter brings all these things into perspective.

Because on Easter, Jesus removed the biggest barrier of sin that kept us from God. Jesus comforts our greatest sorrow with the assurance of full and free forgiveness. Jesus dispels our worst fear with the good news that we will be with him forever. And Jesus gives clarity and purpose to what we do by commissioning us to share the good news we have.

This Easter, with the same good news the women had, let’s run to our families, friends, and communities. Because we also have all these things to tell!

Happy Easter!

Written by Dawn Schulz

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Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 6

2025/04/15/in Women's Ministry Lenten Devotions, Womens Devotions

In the Savior’s Steps

The Mount of Olives

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Luke 22:39-44

Jesus often went to the Mount of Olives to pray. This beloved place was just beyond Jerusalem along the road heading east toward Bethany. Jesus would have passed the Mount of Olives many times, perhaps even as a young boy entering Jerusalem for the Passover.

Jesus would have known the heart-wrenching story of King David, who escaped up the Mount of Olives a thousand years earlier. King David was overthrown by his son Absalom, who turned the people of Jerusalem against God’s anointed king. As David fled the city, he “continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot.” (2 Samuel 15:30). God’s chosen ruler, rejected by his people, fled up the Mount of Olives. Is it possible this shepherd-king knelt in prayer as he foreshadowed the perfect, promised Messiah?

Almost 500 years later, God gave a prophecy—which mentions the Mount of Olives. “Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley… You will flee by my mountain valley… Then… the Lord will be king over the whole earth” (Zechariah 14:3-5, 9). The Lord promised he would victoriously provide the way to save his people, and Jesus is the way—the final fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. Even Jesus’ name means “God saves!” No battle on the Mount of Olives will ever compare to Christ’s victory when he defeated death and the devil and saved us from our sins. He will return, gather believers to himself, and be exalted as the Lord of all.

It was on this same Mount of Olives that our Savior knelt again and again to talk to his Father. The Garden of Gethsemane was a familiar and welcome refuge for Jesus. Here, Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death and pleaded, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus knelt on the Mount of Olives and prayed for strength to complete God’s plan of salvation. Jesus prayed this petition just as he had taught his disciples in the Lord’s Prayer. Yet Jesus’ prayer was not just a perfect example; it is the perfect completion of God’s command to pray, “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10).

You may not have prayed on a holy hill, but perhaps you’ve whispered a prayer in a quiet place. With faith in Christ Jesus as your Savior from sin, your prayers are like those offered on the Mount of Olives; they are heard by the triumphant Lord who answers prayers. Your prayers are heard by the God who saves his people.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, you found refuge on the Mount of Olives and prayed there for strength to finish your work as my Savior. Thank you for being willing to suffer in my place. Thank you for dying to pay for my sins. Thank you for rising from the dead to live and rule through all eternity as God and Lord of all. Amen.

Written by Naomi Schmidt
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 5

2025/04/08/in Women's Ministry Lenten Devotions, Womens Devotions

In the Savior’s Steps

Lazarus’ Tomb

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
John 11:1,4,6-7,14-15,38-44

Death wasn’t anything new for Jesus. At this point in his ministry, he had already raised two people from the dead. But a tomb… that was different. Death’s hold hadn’t been so strong before. Lazarus had been in the grave for four days, past the time when some Jews believed the soul still lingered near the body in hopes of returning to it.

Nor was this just any tomb. No, this one was personal. Jesus had almost certainly never met Jairus’ daughter before, nor the widow of Nain’s son. But Lazarus? This was Jesus’ friend, the brother of Mary and Martha, the family whom Jesus loved. The disciples must have been shocked that Jesus waited two days before going to the tomb. Why would he wait? They had seen his power over sickness and death—why not go immediately to heal the one that he loved?

But Jesus did wait, and Lazarus did die, and so here they were: at a tomb. Although we aren’t told what Jesus was thinking when he approached the tomb, there certainly could have been a sense of anticipation as the cross—and the tomb—loomed large. Even the prophet Isaiah linked the Messiah with a tomb: “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death” (Isaiah 53:9).

Like the disciples, we’ll have to wait until Easter morning to see victory over that tomb. But we don’t have to wait that long to see Jesus’ power over death. As we hear him call Lazarus to come out, we also see Lazarus emerge—resurrected, alive, back with his family and loved ones.

Death is also often personal for us. Whether the grief is still fresh and raw or the pain has faded to a dull ache, death always leaves a hole. We might pray for the same outcome as Lazarus: that our loved one would emerge from the tomb and live among us once again. And while nothing is impossible with God, he doesn’t seem to work through those types of miracles anymore.

Where does that leave us in our sorrow and grief? At a tomb with Jesus. Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus, and he knows the heartbreak we are experiencing. Death was personal for Jesus, just like it’s personal for us. We can turn to him in our moments of anguish, knowing that he, too, lost someone he loved.

And more importantly, we know the tomb is not the end of the story. Mary and Martha saw the glory of God on full display when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. We’ll likely have to wait a bit longer for this glory and probably won’t experience it on this side of heaven. But we do have heaven as our sure and certain hope.

Yes, we all stand at tombs, and there’s a tomb in our own future (unless Jesus returns first). But Jesus’ story didn’t end at the tomb, and neither will ours. As we approach Holy Week, may we see it all: the cross, but also the empty tomb, and the sure hope that our graves—and the graves of all those we love—will be empty one day as well.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we marvel at your power over death. In our moments of grief, give us the hope to cling tightly to that power. Remind us that death cannot separate us from your love, nor does it separate us from those we love who die in you. Amen.

Written by Kristi Meyer
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 4

2025/04/01/in Women's Ministry Lenten Devotions, Womens Devotions

In the Savior’s Steps

The Synagogue

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built. Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
Luke 4:14-32

Do you find yourself questioning authority? How about God’s authority as he speaks to you? Have you ever felt how your heart wants to push back when God’s Word confronts you with something you may not be eager to hear?

After spending some time teaching in synagogues around Galilee, Jesus stepped into the synagogue in Nazareth, his hometown, to proclaim a profound truth: he was the fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises. He continued to expound, noting that his redemptive work was for everyone, not just the Jewish people. Reading from the scroll of Isaiah, he declared that he was the Messiah, sent to bring good news to the poor, release for the captives, and sight to the blind. At first, the locals marveled, amazed that someone from among them had such authority. But when Jesus expanded on his message, explaining that God’s grace was for Gentiles as well as Jews, the awe of the attendees turned to anger.

The synagogue represented the heart of Jewish tradition, a place where God’s people studied his Word and worshiped together. It was normal for Jesus to be there; this was his custom. But on this day, Jesus used this setting to redefine their expectations and display his authority. Instead of affirming their exclusivity, he challenged their assumptions about who could belong to God’s kingdom. By claiming authority and extending his message beyond cultural boundaries, Jesus was revealing something that their hearts didn’t want to hear: the reach of his mission included everyone, regardless of background.

The synagogue in Nazareth not only marked a pivotal moment in Jesus’ ministry; it also foreshadowed the cross. Just as he was rejected by the people of Nazareth, Jesus would ultimately face rejection on an epic scale, suffering and dying for a world that didn’t recognize his authority over all things. Yet, through that rejection, he would fulfill his mission to save all people, Jew and Gentile alike. In the synagogue, Jesus declared God’s truth, no matter how it was received, and his authority to bring salvation beyond the expectations of his audience.

Reflecting on this scene during Lent challenges us to look at our own hearts. Are there ways we resist God’s truth, especially when it pushes us out of our comfort zones or calls us to love those we might consider enemies? Like the people in Nazareth, we can be tempted to limit God’s grace, holding onto ideas about who “deserves” it. Jesus’ words invite us to embrace his sacrificial love, a love that reaches across every culture and nation and invites us to extend that message of salvation to others as he does.

This Lent, let us remember the synagogue as a place where Jesus defined what it means to belong to God’s kingdom. His authority calls us to set aside our limited views and embrace his grace, which reaches across every boundary we might set. The same Savior who spoke with authority in Nazareth calls us to recognize his mission for all people and to share his salvation for us with open hearts, humbled and transformed by his truth.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for declaring that your saving grace knows no boundaries. Move us to acknowledge your authority in our lives and extend your love to others, even when this challenges us. May we follow you wholeheartedly, embracing your salvation for the world. In your name. Amen.

Written by Alycia Cameron
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 3

2025/03/25/in Women's Ministry Lenten Devotions, Womens Devotions

In the Savior’s Steps

The Wilderness

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:1-13

Israel’s wilderness region is a stark and barren place but also one rich with significance and meaning. The wilderness played a prominent role in Israel’s history: it was their home for 40 years. Instead of conquering the Promised Land as God commanded, they grumbled and complained and doubted—and so God commanded that they wander for 40 years before they were finally permitted to enter the Promised Land.

As an observant Jew, Jesus would have understood the significance of the wilderness: a place of sin and failure and punishment. And yet notice a key detail at the beginning of this account from Luke: Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Yes, Jesus spent time in the very same wilderness as the Israelites so many centuries ago. But his method of entry was quite different—and so were the results.

It’s no coincidence that God allowed Jesus to be tempted in the wilderness, and it’s certainly no coincidence that this temptation lasted for 40 days. We only hear of three temptations from the devil, but there must have been more. Despite hunger, isolation, loneliness, and vulnerability, Jesus endured. He perfectly resisted the devil’s attacks and remained faithful to his Father’s word. In 40 days, he did what Israel could not do in 40 years. He proved himself as the full and complete fulfillment of the law—in these temptations and in all the others that would come on his journey to the cross.

The book of Hebrews is rich with connections between the Old Testament and Jesus as the promised Messiah, and there’s a passage I particularly love: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). During the season of Lent, we rightly focus on Jesus’ human nature, a human nature that allowed him to suffer and die in our place. But the writer to the Hebrews also highlights another aspect of Jesus’ human nature: he has been tempted just as we are.

No matter what you are experiencing in your life—good or bad, highlights or hardships—Jesus knows. No matter how you are being tempted or how weak your faith might feel, Jesus understands. In the times of struggle, of testing, of turmoil, you can turn to your Savior: the One who underwent his own struggles and testing and turmoil, yet did not sin. Jesus’ perfect obedience in the wilderness is your perfect obedience in the stark and barren times of your life—a perfect obedience that brings the certainty of a release from all struggle one day in heaven.

In a sense, our lives are also a journey through the wilderness. This world is not our home, and we eagerly anticipate the rich and green pastures that await us. In the meantime, take comfort in your Savior’s triumph over the devil in the wilderness, and know that an even greater triumph is coming at the end of the Lenten season—a triumph that we cling tightly to throughout the wilderness of life.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, you did what we cannot do in perfectly resisting the devil and emerging triumphant from the wilderness. Thank you for making your victory our victory, and lead us to follow your example in all the storms and temptations of life. Amen.

Written by Kristi Meyer
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 2

2025/03/18/in Women's Ministry Lenten Devotions, Womens Devotions

In the Savior’s Steps

The Temple

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

John 2:13-22

Do you have a favorite “church” memory? Maybe you remember your confirmation vows, a baptism, or a special Christmas service. You might think of a brass quartet at Easter, an amazing choir anthem, or a funeral sermon. You might have a place you like to sit that makes you feel right at home or a hymn that brings tears to your eyes.

Jesus’ connection to the temple in Jerusalem was much deeper than tender moments or fond memories. Do you remember some of the events that happened there?

This is the temple where an angel brought news to Zechariah about John the Baptist, the forerunner who would prepare the way of the Lord.

Mary and Joseph consecrated Jesus at this temple to fulfill Old Testament laws. Do you think they told Jesus the stories about Simeon and Anna? Did they teach him Simeon’s song of praise or Anna’s proclamation about God’s Messiah? Jesus would have been delighted to hear and learn it all!

Jesus talked to the teachers at this temple, answering deep questions when he was twelve years old. Have you ever wondered if any rabbis remembered the young boy who amazed them? Sadly, they were less eager to hear Jesus’ wisdom and truth when his public ministry began.

Jesus loved to attend worship at the temple and obeyed every God-given law about Jewish festivals, sacrifices, and ceremonies. He sang King David’s psalms and treasured readings from Israel’s ancient prophetic scrolls. With Scripture, prayers, and songs of praise, Jesus felt right at home. The sinless Son of God worshiped in the temple just beyond the ominous veil to the Holy of Holies.

Yet the memory from this temple encounter was very different.

This memory was filled with selfish, greedy men who made Jesus angry. The holy place of God was filled with cheating merchants who swindled worshipers as they purchased animals for sacrificial offerings. Knowing God’s holy purpose for the temple, Jesus would not condone the stench of the profit-driven marketplace. He drove the merchants out.

This wasn’t the last memory Jesus would have at the temple.

Jesus would return to teach in the temple courts days before his crucifixion. People would gather to hear him one last time. Then, the temple would be destroyed. Not the physical temple where Jesus worshiped—but Jesus, the God who came to dwell with his people. Jesus was destroyed. His prophecy resonated, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” And, praise God, he did.

The temple was built to proclaim the truth of God’s faithful mercy to sinners and represent God’s earthly presence among his people. Though God established the Jewish temple for his people, Jesus is the greatest temple—the true temple that fulfilled God’s plan of salvation and opened heaven’s gates to all believers. In Jesus, God came to dwell with his people. Jesus lived in perfect righteousness, died to pay for sin, and was raised to life in victory over death.

Marvel at the magnificent temple in Jerusalem, but praise God for Jesus. He is the greatest temple.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, you are the glorious temple of God—and we praise you as our risen Savior! Thank you for dwelling with us and in us. Continue to fill us with your Spirit, strengthen our faith, and deepen our zeal for your kingdom. Amen.

Written by Naomi Schmidt
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Lent Devotion – In the Savior’s Steps – Week 1

2025/03/11/in Women's Ministry Lenten Devotions, Womens Devotions

In the Savior’s Steps

The Jordan River

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
Matthew 3:13-16

What comes to mind when you picture the Jordan River? The northern area around the Jordan River is actually lush, fertile, and green, quite different from the barren wilderness further south. But the Jordan is far more than just a geographic feature. It is a place deeply rooted in God’s story of redemption. Throughout the Old Testament, the Jordan served as a symbolic border, crossing into new promises. For the nation of Israel, it marked the passage into the Promised Land. For Jesus, the Jordan was the gateway into his public ministry. At this river, Jesus was not called to repent or be baptized for the forgiveness of his own sins but to stand in our place under the perfect law of God.

Imagine the scene: crowds had gathered, listening to and acting on John’s call to repentance. As John preached, he pointed people’s hearts toward God and prepared them to meet the Savior. When Jesus approached, even John was caught off guard. Here was the perfect, sinless Lamb of God, asking for a baptism of repentance. But Jesus insisted, saying it was necessary “to fulfill all righteousness.” By his baptism, Jesus publicly declared his dedication to carrying out God’s plan for our salvation. As the official beginning of his public ministry, identifying with us in our position under the law was his first step on the road to the cross.

In that moment, as Jesus rose from the waters, the heavens opened, and God’s voice declared, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove, anointing him for the work ahead. This moment was a visible sign that Jesus was the chosen Messiah, fully empowered by the Father and ready to begin his mission. Just as the Jordan had once represented the Israelites’ entry into the land of promise, here it marked the entry of God’s Son into his public ministry to fulfill every promise.

As we stand at the banks of the Jordan with Jesus, what can we learn? His humility challenges us. Jesus had no sin, yet he chose to place himself in our position, under the law of the holy and righteous God. Baptism, which cleanses us, became an indication of his absolute willingness to bear the burden of the law for us. This is the heart of Lent: Christ taking on our sin and guilt, walking the path we could never walk ourselves.

The Jordan River reminds us that Jesus willingly took on his role as Savior, humbling himself to become one of us. As we prepare our hearts for the solemn journey to the cross, let us remember the depth of Christ’s love that began at the Jordan and led him all the way to Calvary. Here, in the waters of the Jordan, we see a Savior who took every necessary step to redeem us.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son to stand in our place. As we remember Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, continue to show us the depth of his humility and his love for us. Strengthen us in this season of Lent to follow in his footsteps, trusting in your promises and rejoicing in the salvation he offers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Written by Alycia Cameron
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

The Blessing of Marriage as a Glimpse of God’s Love and Commitment to Us

2025/02/01/in Devotions, Womens Devotions

The Blessing of Marriage as a Glimpse of God’s Love and Commitment to Us – Women’s Devotion

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5:31-33

We perk up when we hear “for this reason.” For what reason? It’s Paul’s opening line in Ephesians 5:31-33.

The quote takes us all the way back to creation, to Genesis 2:24. “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh”

The reason for this remarkable “one-flesh” miracle that occurs in the marriage of a man and a woman is found in the passage that precedes, Genesis 2:23:

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

Because God formed Eve from the very flesh and bone of Adam, marriage does nothing less than bring the two back into one. Paul speaks of this oneness reverently as a “profound mystery” on a level with the union of Christ and his church.

In Ephesians 5:22-30, Paul provides insights into the amazing gift we’re given in the one-flesh union that takes place through marriage. Take a moment to read those verses. Paul is bold to compare the marital union to the relationship of Christ and the church. We can learn much from this comparison.

The comparison is based on the fact that the church is the bride of Christ, a part of his own body of which he is the head. He sacrificed everything for her! Through Christ’s lavish love he presents the church as holy, cleansed, without blemish, and simply radiant.

Although our human love will always pale in comparison with the divine love, nevertheless, when husbands and wives love and honor each other, we catch a glimpse of how great the love of God in Christ for us is. Our love is a reflection of that love. At the same time Christ’s love is the motivating force for our love for each other. And it gives us the wonderful opportunity in our relationship to display Christ’s love to the world, as a powerful witness to our faith.

What a blessing on every side!

Prayer: Lord God, loving head of the church, thank you for creating the self-sacrificing estate of husband and wife in marriage. On all days, good or bad, may the image of your intimate oneness with your body, the church, be reflected in my marriage and in my status as your bride so that I may give honor to you and to my spouse. We thank you for this great opportunity to be a witness to the world around us. Amen.

Written by Sally Valleskey

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A New Year

2025/01/04/in Devotions, Womens Devotions

A New Year – Women’s Devotion

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. . . . But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10

A new year means a new you, right? Out with the old. In with the new! New potential. A fresh start. A clean slate.

We love the idea of pushing the restart button and getting a “do-over.” At least that’s what we’re led to believe.

But what if we are exactly where we’re supposed to be? What if we are doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing? What if the only change that needs to be made is to see God’s design from God’s perspective?

Peter knew that was exactly what the early Christians needed, so he wrote them a letter of encouragement we know as 1 Peter. Scattered throughout Asia Minor, God’s people were exiles. Because of their different culture, food, work, customs, political views, and religion they were “suffering grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6). They were treated with ridicule, suspicion, and even persecution. I don’t care who you are, every exile is looking for a fresh start.

We might think Peter would encourage them to “blend in.” “Create the new you!” “Captain your ship, just don’t rock the boat!”

Instead, Peter greets them with grace and peace in Jesus. He lifts their eyes beyond the present circumstance to the future inheritance waiting for them in heaven. He reminds them their hope is “living” because it was bought with the precious blood of Christ. And he encourages them to continue living as strangers by setting their minds on the grace to be revealed when Jesus comes instead of conforming to the world around them.

Why?

Because there was much more going on than these Christians could see from their limited and isolated perspective. God was building something, and they were a part of it.

Just like Jesus, who was chosen from before the creation of the world to be the cornerstone and foundation of their faith, the exiles were also—like living stones, being built into a spiritual house. This spiritual house was like the temple in Jerusalem where God’s presence dwelt.

The Christians would have clearly understood Peter’s message to them: With Jesus as your cornerstone, you are the living stones God is using to build his house. You. Exiles God has called holy, chosen, and precious because of Jesus. You, the priesthood of believers, are uniquely placed, but lovingly set together, as the house where God will dwell. And by living God’s way, as strangers in a godless world, you are showing him to the world around you!

They didn’t need to change anything or reinvent themselves. They were exactly where God wanted them to be for his kingdom to be built and his salvation revealed.

How?

By repaying evil with blessing and wrongdoing with humility and compassion. By serving others. By suffering for bearing God’s name. By submitting to corrupt governors because God gives authority. By working hard for unfair bosses. By offering hospitality without grumbling. By living Godly lives despite the ridicule and hardship. By not conforming to the world. By living for God.

They would be different than the world around them. But in doing so, they would point to Jesus.

We need that same encouragement today. The world we live in is as foreign to God’s kingdom as it was 2,000 years ago. We suffer grief in all kinds of trials at work, from unbelieving friends and neighbors, while raising children whose friend’s parents have different standards, when making sacrificial priorities with time, treasures, and talents, or suffering difficulty for bearing the name of Jesus. When we do these things as God’s children, we look different than most people around us.

And Peter’s encouragement in 1 Peter is for us as well. His message to us: There’s a bigger picture than what you can see. Because your faith is founded on the living Stone—you also, like living stones are being built into a spiritual house. You are where God dwells. And when you give thanks to Jesus by the way you live, you show the world who God is.

That’s God’s design for every Christian and the perspective we have as aliens and strangers in the world around us.

It was important enough for Peter to write a letter to the early Christians 2,000 years ago. And it’s important enough for us to give it time for thoughtful mediation today—and in the new year ahead.

You don’t need a fresh start or to become the new you. Since you are founded on the Living Stone, you are exactly where you should be, doing exactly what you were meant to be doing. You are a living stone! You are being built into God’s spiritual house. By living different than the world around you, you are thanking Jesus.

And in doing so, you are showing God to the world.

Prayer: Living Savior, as this new year begins and I reflect on the coming year, I pray that you would show me all the places I can give a clear witness of your grace and forgiveness. Give me boldness and courage to speak of the forgiveness you purchased on the cross and sealed with your resurrection. I ask for strength to bear up under challenges and trials so that you are glorified and people see your greatness. Through Word and sacrament, reinforce my grip on your truth that fills me with hope and radiant joy—I am a redeemed sinner living in your grace. All that I have is yours and yours alone. Amen.

Written by Dawn Schulz

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Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 24

2024/12/24/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Bringing Light

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12

While the Advent and Christmas season can be filled with joy, laughter, amazing food, and new memories, for many people, this time of year also brings a sense of longing for the past and loneliness as we miss those who are no longer with us. We often miss the hugs and the hands to hold. We wish the person was still there to watch the children open presents, see the Christmas programs, stroll through the Christmas lights and window displays. The days feel dark.

Longing and loneliness are hard. They are deep-running emotions that are often the hardest to express. In these moments, we more fully grasp the meaning of what Isaiah called “bruised reeds” and “smoldering wicks” in our Scripture reading yesterday. Our deepest longings can be outmatched by doubts that our circumstances will ever improve. Our loneliness can make us feel so isolated and disconnected, and we wonder if God is listening. Dear bruised reeds and smoldering wicks, God is there, and he is listening to you. He knows your every need and takes delight in your every breath. He will bring you out of the darkness.

If you are carrying the burdens of longing and loneliness this Advent season, remember our Scripture verse from yesterday’s devotion. God said to you that he would send his Son as “a light for the Gentiles.” That means you! In the New Testament, Jesus came as the fulfillment of that prophecy, not as a source of physical light, but as the bright shining beacon of salvation. He said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The temporary darkness of our earthly longings and loneliness is no match for the eternal life-giving light of Jesus.

If you have a friend or loved one wading through the sludge of heavy emotions this year, how could you be a light of hope for them during this challenging time? Let’s explore another verse about light: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). As children of God who walk in his salvation promises, our every step should demonstrate our confidence in his almighty power, our trust in his plans for us, and his ability to hold us fast until we are called home to heaven. This kind of light shining in the life of a fellow believer can spur on those who feel trapped in the darkness of challenging times.

So, who needs your light today? How can you reflect the light of the world to those around you as we celebrate his coming tomorrow? Don’t hesitate to reach out and connect. Don’t question why that person came to mind or whether the timing is bad. Shine for Jesus and let him use you to bring light—his light—to those who need it. Jesus came to this world to bring light to sinners trapped in darkness. And he gave you to the world in this moment to bring light to the people he put in your path.

Prayer:

Light of the World, lift my eyes to see your glory and find comfort in your promises. If it is your will, use me to bring your message of eternal hope to the people who walk in darkness around me. Guide my paths with the light of your Word, and give me the strength to share the joys of your birth this season! Amen.

Written by Stacy Jensen
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 23

2024/12/23/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

You Are Chosen

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

This is what God the LORD says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles”

Isaiah 42:1-6

Are you feeling “outside of chosen” in your life right now? Maybe you are haunted by past wrongs and doubt that God’s promises of forgiveness are for you. Maybe you’ve seen your social circle dwindle amidst losses, conflict, and the passing of time. Maybe you feel excluded by or unworthy of the action and opportunities that surround you. Regardless of the source, we can all relate to what it feels like to be an outsider—rejected, humiliated, and lonely.

If we pause and take a look back through the history of God’s plan for salvation, we clearly see that the Gentiles were outsiders as well. They were not God’s chosen people. The Savior would not come from their ancestral line. They were not set apart.

While pondering the beautiful flow of Isaiah’s prophecy, we might put ourselves in the early Gentiles’ shoes as they listened to the message unfold. Like all sinful people of all time, they would have felt their sin and their unworthiness. They would have recognized that they were outsiders, living in a sinful condition that separated them from a holy God.

Perhaps, then, the Gentiles had a bit of doubt that Isaiah’s hopeful words about God’s loving care for the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks of this world—the weak and weary sinners like us—could apply to them. Perhaps they heard God say, “I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people” and knew that the “people” he was referring to were the Jews. Like the kid on the playground who knows he won’t get picked for the kickball game, the Gentiles may have been ready to turn away and shuffle slowly home. And then, in a glorious moment that defied expectations, they heard the beautiful words that the Savior would come as “a light for the Gentiles” as well.

No longer were the Gentiles outside of God’s promises. They were called by name to be part of God’s plan to redeem them from their separating sinfulness and burdened consciences. They were included, loved, held, and saved! What sweet relief!

If you’ve been feeling like an outsider, know that God’s promises are for you as well. They belong to you. Hear him say to you, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” When you feel weak and bruised, your tender God won’t let you be broken. When your faith is shaken and doubts loom around you, he will not extinguish the flame, because he is faithful.

How can I so confidently say that God will keep you close and that his promises are for you? Because he backs his promises with outstanding credentials. Listen to the magnitude of who your God is and what he has done: “the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it.” The very God who creates and sustains the world sees you personally, knows you intimately, and cares about every detail of your life. You are chosen.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you for your amazing plan of salvation and for keeping your promises to me. Forgive my sinful heart and sustain me through my moments of doubt. Fill me with comfort and peace, and remind me that I am your chosen child. Amen.

Written by Stacy Jensen
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 22

2024/12/22/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Taking It Personally

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4

What is your heart set on? In order to figure that out, you might look at how you spend your time and your money. You might consider what you talk about most often or what kind of goals and plans you have. You might even reflect on what you worry about the most. What is your heart set on?

King David’s heart seemed set on building a temple. Then God came to David through his prophet Nathan and told him “no.” But God didn’t leave it there. God focused David’s attention on the coming Savior, how Jesus would build a lasting house and a never-ending throne.

Can you relate to King David? Whatever life plans you settle into, does God allow things to unfold differently? And if so, do you take it personally?

When life plans don’t work out, it can send you spinning! You have to wrestle with uncomfortable questions, the biggest of which is probably “Who am I now?” Emotions run high. You might have questions galore. You know your heavenly Father is in control, but it can feel pretty personal that he would allow life to unfold in such an unexpected or unwelcome way. Instead of reacting with a huff and a stomp of the foot (there is forgiveness for that, too), you can pause and evaluate: What is my heart set on? Or maybe the better question is: What is God’s heart set on?

Turning through the pages of Scripture, you see how God has personally sought you out. He set his heart on you as Jesus set his gaze toward Jerusalem and faced hell for you. He set his heart on you at your baptism, when the waters drowned you in your sins and raised you to life. He set his heart on you and made you his own dear child. When you face an unexpected future, you have the opportunity to remember what will never change: you are a child of God, hidden in Jesus.

This earthly life will always have an element of the unexpected as God uses all things to work for your good and pull you closer to him. When life doesn’t go as planned, you can take it personally in the best way. In those challenges, God hides you in Christ, sets your heart on things above, and strengthens you for the journey.

Remember how God redirected David’s gaze from an earthly temple to a heavenly throne? He does the same for you. As you spend time in his Word, he helps you zoom out to an eternal view. He puts into perspective how small your earthly struggles are in the grand plan of salvation. Yes, life will be hard. Yes, you will face the unexpected. You can take it personally because he makes sure that you will personally be before his throne with him in glory. The best is yet to come! Set your hearts on things above because God set his heart on you.

Prayer:

Lord of all creation, you intimately know my wandering heart and yet you still love me. Hide me in Christ so that my sins are covered. Fix my eyes on Jesus and my heart on heaven so that the challenges of this world do not overwhelm me. Keep me in my baptismal faith all my days, and bring me to be with you before the everlasting throne of heaven. Amen.

Written by Becky Foxen
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 21

2024/12/21/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

When God Says “No”…

“Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
2 Samuel 7:11-17

Major life transitions can be emotional, confusing, and overwhelming. But have you noticed that they can also be poignant times for reflection? In today’s Scripture, the great King David was in transition. He reflected back on the adrenaline-filled years of military confrontations and then forward into an unfamiliar but pleasant future of peace. David considered his merciful God who granted him every victory and wanted to show reverence to him in a big way.

I imagine David also considered the legacy he hoped to leave for his children and the rest of God’s people. How could he better focus his people’s eyes on the One who is so faithful and filled with love? That’s it! A magnificent temple would accomplish it all. After all, David reasoned, why should he get to live in a palace while the Lord had only a tent? Yes, he would build God a beautiful place of worship.

David had the motivation, the plan, and the means. The prophet Nathan even agreed and encouraged him to do what was in his heart.

Then God said no.

Huh?!

Nathan came back to David with that “no” message in our text, informing David that it would not be his job but rather his son’s life’s work to build the temple.

Why did God close the door on David’s beautiful gesture? Ouch! David’s newfound purpose in life came to an abrupt stop.

It can help to zoom out a bit and consider the big-picture plan of salvation from the Garden of Eden to the empty tomb. It can help to remember for whom God’s Old Testament children were so desperately hoping and waiting. It can help to remember why Jesus, a thousand years after David, taught us to pray: “Not my will, but yours be done.”

If our holy, loving, and faithful Father says no, even when it initially stings, we join our will to his and say, “That’s actually what I want, too.” In David’s case, this meant letting go of his grand desire to build a physical structure for God and joining step with God’s desire to use David’s family line to bring the ultimate hope and salvation into the world. Zoomed out, we see how much greater of a legacy that is. Jesus would change the outcome of our eternity.

When God said “no” to David’s plan to build a temple, David’s hands were stilled, his hustle for the Lord was halted, and his heart was focused on what God would do for him rather than the other way around. It really was the best answer from the best God.

Prayer:

God of all creation, focus our wandering hearts on what matters most. Quiet our busy hands and slow our daily hustle so that we give our attention to the coming of the Savior. Let Jesus be the legacy we leave behind so that many more may know your love and faithfulness. Amen.

Written by Becky Foxen
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 20

2024/12/20/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

A Sure and Certain Hope

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
Job 19 25-27

Unimaginable tragedy in this life happens. Sometimes, it happens quickly; other times, it is a long and arduous journey of pain and suffering. At these times, our merciful God has graciously given the body of Christ, his Word, to sustain us.

Job is an Old Testament character who surfaces during conversations about earthly tragedy. This portion of Scripture consoles us in our afflictions through his unimaginably tragic story. God permitted Satan, the prince of this world, to inflict unspeakable pain upon Job, sparing only his life. We learn how blameless and upright Job was in the face of his tragedies. We read and recite his response to his circumstances: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21)

The story compounds; the tragedies and circumstances surrounding Job persist. Beyond the blow of taking away his children, his sheep, his servants, his camels, and his health, Job is subjected to three rounds of discourses and four speeches from his friends. They admonish him, analyzing why God permitted calamity after calamity to come his way. Yet, Job shows us how his “gracious God sustains him…giving voice to the living hope of God’s children” * in the verses for today.

The writer’s pen (the author of Job is unknown) weaves a perfect story so that “everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

What is this hope that Paul is referring to? It is the Messiah, the same hope that sustained our brother Job. His story is one of the Old Testament prophecies that point to our Savior Jesus. “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” Job was broken down to nothing, literally had nothing, felt like nothing, but knew he had it all—because of Jesus.

“And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God, I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” His God would be the One who would conquer death. “Job was saying not only that the Redeemer was living even then, and therefore was the eternal, divine Messiah, but also that he could give life to others.”** Jesus would come to earth and suffer unimaginable tragedy on the cross. But he would also rise from the grave and conquer death forever. Not just for himself, not just for Job, but for every believer on this earth—and that includes you!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is the Gospel message filled with joy, hope, and eternal life for you—this Advent season and forever!

* Franzmann, Werner H. Bible History Commentary: Old Testament. (Milwaukee, WI Northwestern Publishing, 2000) 425

** Ibid

Prayer:

Jesus Christ, my sure defense and my Savior, now is living! Knowing this, my confidence rests upon the hope he’s giving, though the night of death be fraught still with many anxious thought. I am flesh and must return unto dust, whence I am taken; but by faith I now discern that from death I shall awaken with my Savior to abide in his glory, at his side. (Christian Worship, #446).

Written by Lou Ann Mokwa
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 19

2024/12/19/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Expanding Our Thinking

I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:8-11

Christmas is a time of year when Christians, as well as the secular population, spend countless amounts of time, energy, and money to create the perfect celebration with and for those we love. The foundations of these celebrations are numerous, and sadly, many do not know the monumental truths behind this sacred event observed every year. Many unbelievers will readily admit it is the commemoration of Jesus’ birth. Unfortunately, the hype of commercialism buries the hallowed event in the magical land of the North Pole with a character named “Santa.” A new character, Buddy the Elf, believes “the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

As Christians, we scoff and express platitudes like: “Jesus is the reason for the season” or “Keep Christ in Christmas.” Yet church rituals during Advent can make our worship vulnerable to banality. We are blessed with pre-defined lectionaries, liturgical formats, and hymns we love to sing every year. But stay alert! These can fuel nostalgic complacency in our hearts and minds. “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16).

Consider this scenario: a pastor presides over a service during Advent dressed in purple robes and the hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” is sung during worship. Being completely distracted, our thoughts scream, “This is Advent, not Lent!”

Oh, Christian, is it wrong?

Meditate on today’s Scripture. These verses were originally a prayer written by David, a prophecy of what the Messiah would do. Jesus, the Christ-child whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, came ultimately to overcome death so that in our final days, we will not be “abandoned to the grave” but will gain “eternal pleasures” with him in heaven. These verses expand our thinking beyond the infant in the manger to the ghastly but loving sacrifice he endured on the cross to secure eternal life for all.

Peter used this prayer of David in a sermon shortly after Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost. His goal was to prove to those living in Jerusalem who Jesus was and what he came to do. Like today, many people at that time did not know that Jesus was the Messiah. Despite the fact that many of them were first-hand witnesses, they did not understand. But in hearing these words preached by Peter and moved by the Holy Spirit, “those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” (Acts 2:41)

Dear Christian, spend a few moments during this Advent season meditating beyond the routines of the normal liturgy, lectionary, hymns, and blue paraments. Dig into the Bible, where the many prophecies of the Messiah in the Old Testament can be found. Share these verses and devotions with a neighbor, friend, or someone who may not know the true meaning of the Messiah’s coming. God’s Word and the Holy Spirit will reveal the depths of truth behind Christmas. It is an eternal treasure for all.

Prayer:

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a tribute far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. (Christian Worship, #407).

Written by Lou Ann Mokwa
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 18

2024/12/18/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Forsaken?

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5, ESV

I have a young granddaughter named Charlotte who is being sleep-trained by her parents. When they put her in the bed, she often cries. Sometimes she gets herself all worked up in her crying and can’t seem to settle down on her own. As a loving parent or grandparent, it is hard to listen to Charlotte’s sobs through the baby monitor. She probably feels…abandoned. Forsaken.

Even though we have a loving heavenly Father, we also go through times of feeling forsaken. We may have a serious health issue, or we might lose a job and face financial hardship. Perhaps there’s strife in family relationships, our safety is threatened, or a loved one dies. Or maybe we just feel alone in this world. We cry out to God in our distress, and he seems distant and silent. God—are you listening? The Psalmist says, “Why are you…so far from the words of my groaning?”

Jesus can relate to these feelings. While we might feel forsaken by God, Jesus WAS forsaken by his loving heavenly Father! No doubt Jesus experienced intense physical suffering on the cross. But the worst was when the Father turned his back on his Son. It was hell on earth. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And yet, Jesus volunteered for this! In John 10:17, 18, we hear him say, “I lay down my life…No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord…”

We deserve to be the ones forsaken by God. Look at how often we have forsaken him! We have worshiped at the altar of many idols. We chase after comfort, security, health, and wealth at the expense of our relationship with God. But Jesus was forsaken on our behalf so that we would never be forsaken. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you…” (Hebrews 13:5).

From our perspective, even though God promises to be with us, he doesn’t always seem near. We don’t understand what he is doing. Life doesn’t make sense. Like my granddaughter crying out from her bed, we long to be held, comforted, loved.

When my daughter hears Charlotte’s sobs turn to wails through the baby monitor, she will go in and comfort her, place her hand on her back and sing to her, and assure her of her presence and love. This usually calms Charlotte down, and she drifts off to sleep.

God is more watchful than a mother hovering over the baby monitor of her child. He will comfort us at the right time. “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). We can trust his promises!

Prayer:

Loving Father, even though we may feel forsaken at times, thank you for your promise that you will never leave us or forsake us. Help us to cling to this promise when we go through hard times, and forgive us when we doubt. Amen.

Written by Mindy Holtz
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 17

2024/12/17/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

In Our Place…

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?”
Psalm 22:1, ESV

After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to the disciples and reminded them that he fulfilled the writings of the Law, Prophets, and Psalms. In Psalm 22:1, we have a prophecy that the Messiah would be forsaken by God. For many Christians today, this is a well-known and familiar idea. But how might the ancient Israelites have understood this prophecy?

The Israelites were familiar with the idea of being forsaken by God. When they were about to enter the Promised Land, the LORD predicted their rebellion:

And the LORD said to Moses…”These people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. And in that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed” (Deuteronomy 31:16-17). God even had Moses teach the Israelites a song about this to serve as a witness against the people.

God had warned them of the consequences of their sin: God would turn his back on them. What a scary thought! Yet, they were forsaken justly. It was deserved. In 2 Kings 17, we read that the Israelites were exiled to Assyria because they had sinned against the LORD their God. They despised his statutes and his covenant and warnings. They worshipped false gods.

King David, the author of Psalm 22, was not perfect, but he tried to live a God-pleasing life. He faced many hardships in his early life while running away from King Saul’s death threats. Perhaps that’s why he cried out to God, “Why have you forsaken me?”

Though David was not actually forsaken by God, David’s greater son—the Messiah—would be. This concept was unfathomable to Jesus’ disciples. According to their understanding, only the guilty would be punished by God. They believed that if a person experienced suffering, it was somehow deserved. When Jesus began to tell his disciples that he must suffer and die, Peter was bewildered. More than that, he was totally against the idea. How could this perfect Messiah be punished? After all, only the disobedient get punished. This made no sense.

And yet, this is exactly what happened with our Lord Jesus Christ. His cry from the cross—“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—is the cry of an innocent man being treated as guilty. Jesus was forsaken in our place.

Why? One reason is for joy—the joy of reconciling the world to God and making us a part of his family. Therefore, “let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, like the ancient Israelites we too deserve to be forsaken. We have failed to love you and your Word like we should. Thank you for being forsaken in our place! Help us to fix our eyes on you! Amen.

Written by Mindy Holtz
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 16

2024/12/16/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Sick and Healthy

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
Matthew 8:17, ESV

Are you a good gift receiver? I am not. I seem to romanticize gift-giving occasions and make them a lot grander in my head than they should be. It could be all those romantic comedies I watched on the Hallmark channel, maybe Instagram, or even just simply my own struggle with consumerism, but I seem to never be pleased with what I have. It’s easy for me to break that Ninth Commandment and covet what others have and feel jealous that I don’t have it too. This can really ruin the happiest times of the year because there’s no peace when struggling with sin.

Here’s the thing about sin: it can seem really small, even insignificant, so we start to ignore it. We might even think, “It’s not that big of deal; everyone feels that way sometimes; it’s fine, I’m only human.” But sin is like a virus. One little speck attaches to your cells, feeds off of you, and binds to you to grow and reproduce. Sin is so pervasive that we don’t just confess to sin but confess that we ARE sinners. We are infected with sin, and there is only one cure for getting rid of it: Jesus.

Jesus is the only man in history to be tempted in every way—just as we are—yet not sin. He wasn’t born into sin the way the rest of us were. He was fully man but was also immune to our sinful disease. We know what it’s like to mask up, stay six feet apart, and wash our hands an insane amount to prevent ourselves from catching a temporary sickness. Can you imagine willingly putting yourself at risk of an eternal sickness just to save people who don’t deserve it? Jesus was the one healthy man who made himself sick so that the masses could be healthy.

And just to be clear…Jesus didn’t infect himself with his own sin. He infected himself with your sin, and your neighbors’, and all peoples’ of all time. He removed it from us, put it on himself, and let it kill him. The only way to stop this disease from destroying us was to let it destroy him—and then for him to destroy it once and for all. He separated us from our sin so that we could finally have peace and healing.

When you are struggling with your sin, recognize it! Name it and call it what it is so that you can confess it and be reminded your peace doesn’t rely on you. Instead, your peace solely depends on Jesus’ death on the cross. Because of his suffering and death, we have peace in this life and in the next. He paid for our sins so that we could be reunited with God and be at peace again. Apart from God there is no peace, no Messiah, no forgiveness or healing. These things are the antidote that can only come from God and are only given to us because of what Christ did on the cross.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for taking on our disease of sin and infecting yourself with it so that we may be made clean. Forgive us for the sins that we still struggle with, and give us the strength to forgive those who sin against us. Help us to live our lives in repentant joy and share the peace that only you can give with all of those around us. In your name we pray. Amen.

Written by Katelyn Strucely
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 15

2024/12/15/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Wanting vs. Needing

“Surely he was taking up our weaknesses, and he was carrying our sufferings. We thought it was because of God that he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted, but it was because of our rebellion that he was pierced. He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:4,5, EHV

If you could create your own Messiah, what would he be like? A big, jolly man coming down your chimney bringing the exact gift you asked for? A president who agreed with all your stances and fixed all the country’s problems in the first four years? A superhero with all of the superpowers needed to save the day? A genie that could grant your every wish?

It probably wouldn’t be God becoming an ordinary Jewish man who couldn’t be picked out of a lineup. He certainly wouldn’t have been born in the secrecy of night in a manger destined to live his life as an outcast, suffer in the most gruesome of ways, and die on a cross. That doesn’t seem like the Messiah we would imagine, and it wasn’t the kind of Messiah the people in Jesus’ time were expecting.

Many of the Jewish people in Jesus’ day would have known about the coming Messiah. They would have heard stories passed along from generation to generation—some in line with God’s promises, and some in line with their own ambition. I imagine they were waiting for someone with the riches of Abraham, the insight of Moses, the strength of Gideon, the power of David, and the wisdom of Solomon. Many were looking for relief from their struggles and freedom from their governing authorities. They were looking for a king, a revolutionary leader, a spiritual guide who would be more of a cheerleader. But as we know, they did not get the Messiah they wanted. Instead, they got the Messiah they needed.

There is a difference between wanting and needing something. The people back then may have wanted to make their lives easier here on earth, but what they needed was a Savior from their sin to break the bonds of death, defeat the devil, and reunite them with God. That is just what Jesus did. He became true man to live and die as our substitute. He did all the good we fail to do, resisted the evil we cannot, and endured the suffering of the cross and separation from God so we will never have to. Jesus took our weaknesses, pain, griefs, sufferings, sorrows, rebellion, guilt, and punishment from us and put them on himself. He lifted those heavy yokes from our shoulders and carried them for us so that we could live every day knowing we only have his light yoke to carry. He was willingly stricken, smitten, afflicted, punished, crushed, and chastised because of us.

Did you catch that in the reading? “We thought it was because of God that he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted, but it was because of OUR rebellion that he was pierced.” It was because of the Israelites, it was because of all the people of Jesus’s time, and it was because of us that he suffered on the cross. We needed someone to pay for the sins of all, one time, so that we could have peace and be reunited with God. The only person for that job was this Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your one and only Son to be our Messiah who came to save us from our sin and bring us peace. Thank you for sending us what we need instead of what we may want. May we always trust in you above all else. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Written by Katelyn Strucely
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 14

2024/12/14/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

What Grace!

The disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

He answered them, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but it has not been given to them. For whoever has will be given even more, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them in parables, because even though they see, they do not see; and even though they hear, they do not hear or understand. In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says, ‘You will hear clearly, but you will never understand. You will see clearly, but you will never perceive. Because this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are hard of hearing. They have closed their eyes. Otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, turn, and I would heal them.’

“But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. Amen I tell you: Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you are seeing, but they did not see it. They longed to hear what you are hearing, but they did not hear it.”
Matthew 13:10-17, EHV

I love how God makes sure to record what we’re all wondering about anyway. His disciples verbalize it for us: “Jesus, what’s with all the parables?” Jesus tells us his threefold purpose in teaching this way. First, he was fulfilling prophecy. He was the master Teacher and Messiah that Isaiah spoke about. Second, he speaks an ominous judgment on the hearers who had continuously rejected his calls to repent and his offers of forgiveness and grace through him. Finally, he provided spiritual insight and growth for those who were searching for understanding and looking to him for answers.

In Matthew 13, we see yet another of the many prophecies fulfilled in Jesus. Here, he used parables as a way to teach the mysteries of the kingdom of God. There should have been no doubt that he was the Messiah spoken about for so many years. Generation after generation had been directed to know and search for these signs of the Savior. If they had been faithful in this, the descendants hearing him speak in the flesh would recognize him right away.

Unfortunately, there were many people who did not recognize Jesus and vehemently rejected him as anyone with authority at all. Jesus had been showering them with truths about the kingdom of God and giving them abundant opportunity to respond in repentance and faith. Instead, they continued to reject him out of feelings of hatred and hostility to the point where God finally gave them what they wanted. They could have their unbelief, and they would never understand. They could wallow in their self-righteousness, and they would never see their need for the Savior’s righteousness.

This is a warning for me too. If my faith remains stagnant and is no longer growing and seeking to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, I could be at risk of losing the one thing needful: Jesus. If I seek wisdom from other places apart from God, I am walking away from the only source of truth and am no better than one of these Pharisees. Thankfully, Jesus came for sinners like you and me.

What grace he gives to those who were looking to him for understanding and a desire to know more! What grace he gives us! It’s not that we are smarter or better predisposed to “religion”—no! If the Holy Spirit had not opened our eyes and allowed us to see the light of truth, we’d still be walking around in

the darkness of unbelief. Through the Word and sacraments, he’s given us faith to trust in him and his promises.

When we struggle to understand something that he tells us, we don’t have to panic and start googling it or hire a life coach. We can pray for the Holy Spirit to give us insight through his Word. We can study this Word in the Bible classes our church offers, where we have immediate access to our pastor (or can shoot him an email) so that he can help answer our questions. We can utilize our church library, which has been carefully curated to offer reliable books on spiritual topics. We can surround ourselves with spiritually strong friendships where conversations naturally turn heavenward.

Prayer:

Now to him who is able to strengthen you—according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was veiled in silence for long ages past, but now has been revealed through the prophetic Scriptures and made known to all the Gentiles, in keeping with the command of the eternal God, resulting in the obedience of faith—to God, who alone is wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen (Romans 16:25-27, EHV).

Written by Rachel Halldorson
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 12

2024/12/12/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

We Do Not Lose Heart

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-5

In what ways are you held captive? What distresses your broken heart? Yesterday we journeyed through history to the Babylonian captivity, weeping and mourning with the Israelites who were stripped of their everyday lives and held hostage by a truly evil empire. We reflected with them on the root cause of all evil: the world’s sinfulness.

We still face evil and forms of captivity; of this we are all certain. So what holds you down under a heavy weight right now? Could it be generalized stress that prevents you from achieving true rest? Are you overwhelmed or pushing through burnout? Are you stretched thin by an overscheduled life? Perhaps your captivity is physical and you’re recovering from injury or fighting disease. Maybe the sensory overload of technology and entertainment add to the chaos? Or how’s your relational life? Are you dealing with conflict or marital trouble? Have you lost a loved one? Perhaps you’re enduring as a caretaker or even walking with someone through hospice care.

You and I both know that although my list of captivities was long, I could have kept going. The faults, flaws, and forces of evil that we face every day are vile and varied. And we all shoulder the weighty burden. Just as Jesus often healed the physical ailments that afflicted those around him, he has the power to heal you as well. He has the power to release you. But he came for so much more than our earthly comfort! He came to give you the deepest, longest-lasting type of comfort there is: eternal peace with God!

In our Scripture passage for today, Paul reminds us—even in the midst of our sorrows—to shout praises for the very characteristics of God that set us free from all forms of captivity. He is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” He sees your tears. He hears your cries. He listens to your pleas for an end to the trouble. And even when you can’t hear, see, or feel a response, he’s still holding you. He’s with you through all your earthly storms and will calm them in his timing. We can wait through the stormy nights, knowing that “weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

Lift your eyes from the heavy troubles of this earth. Hear God speak to you through Paul: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Though Israel’s captivity in Babylon was heavy, it was temporary. Though your burdens feel so heavy, like more than you could ever bear, they are temporary. They will not outlast your almighty Father!

deliverance—Jesus had come to heal them.

Can you imagine how awesome it would have been to witness these healings? To watch the blind person suddenly able to see God’s creation, loved ones, and the face of the Healer? To see the lame person walk for the first time? To see the diseased person set free? To see Lazarus emerge from the grave? Each of these accounts provides such a glorious, tangible picture of what it feels like to be delivered from a bodily form of captivity.

Jesus healed many people of their physical hurts, diseases, and even death, but this wasn’t the ultimate form of healing or deliverance for which he came to this world. It was for the spiritually poor who are bankrupted by their sin. It was for broken sinful natures. It was for the lives lived in captivity, imprisonment, and mourning because of defiance against a holy God.

Jesus’ healing was for them, and his healing is for you this Advent season! Instead of despair and darkness, you have deliverance. Instead of helplessness and hopelessness, you are held in the hands of your loving Lord. Praise God for sending his Servant, our Jesus, to proclaim this good news, bind up our broken hearts, declare us free, and give us comfort for all eternity!

Prayer:

Lord, I come to you feeling weighed down by my sinfulness and the stresses of this life. In your wisdom and perfect timing, lift these heavy burdens and replace them with the comfort I have through your promises of eternal peace. I trust you to lead and guide me through the storms to your eternal glory. Amen.

Written by Stacy Jensen
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 11

2024/12/11/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

A Different Type of Deliverance

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.”
Isaiah 61:1,2

Poor. Brokenhearted. Captive. Imprisoned. Mourning. Such a picture of despair, darkness, helplessness, and hopelessness! Yet these are the words that Isaiah uses in our Scripture reading for today to describe the people God the Father had in mind when he chose to send Jesus as the world’s Savior.

In the original context, Isaiah was speaking about the Israelites who were held captive in Babylon for 70 years as a punishment for their defiance against God. We read about what happened in Daniel 1:1,2: “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God.”

The Lord delivered them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and into captivity. Before this account, Judah would have seen the northern ten tribes of Israel crushed by the Assyrians as a result of rebelling against God. Clearly, Judah didn’t learn from Israel’s example. Instead, they persisted in their sinful ways, and the Holy One of Israel allowed them to suffer punishment for it. Blood, tears, torment, and loss became their new existence. This may hurt our hearts to think about, but we must also remember that sin has consequences—for Judah back then, for the people of Jesus’ time, and for us today.

During Jesus’ ministry on earth, those first-century Jews would certainly have remembered the horrors of the Babylonian captivity and what it meant for their people. Babylon was a symbol of evil, bitterness, destruction, and enemies of God. But as Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecies in their presence, his followers witnessed a different type of deliverance—Jesus had come to heal them.

Can you imagine how awesome it would have been to witness these healings? To watch the blind person suddenly able to see God’s creation, loved ones, and the face of the Healer? To see the lame person walk for the first time? To see the diseased person set free? To see Lazarus emerge from the grave? Each of these accounts provides such a glorious, tangible picture of what it feels like to be delivered from a bodily form of captivity.

Jesus healed many people of their physical hurts, diseases, and even death, but this wasn’t the ultimate form of healing or deliverance for which he came to this world. It was for the spiritually poor who are bankrupted by their sin. It was for broken sinful natures. It was for the lives lived in captivity, imprisonment, and mourning because of defiance against a holy God.

Jesus’ healing was for them, and his healing is for you this Advent season! Instead of despair and darkness, you have deliverance. Instead of helplessness and hopelessness, you are held in the hands of your loving Lord. Praise God for sending his Servant, our Jesus, to proclaim this good news, bind up our broken hearts, declare us free, and give us comfort for all eternity!

Prayer:

Dear heavenly Father, forgive me for my defiance and rebellion against your holy will. Deliver me from evil, Lord, and remind me of the healing, freedom, and comfort I have because of the saving work of Jesus. Amen.

Written by Stacy Jensen
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 10

2024/12/10/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Shining Your Light

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”
Romans 12:3-6

If we could share a coffee right now, I would ask you all about the vocations God has called you to. How do you spend your days? Do you teach? Do you operate? Do you counsel? Are you a caretaker? a mentor? Do you create? organize? keep books? Then I would boldly ask this: In which moments do you feel less than adequate for your callings? Is it when you lose your patience? make mistakes? compare yourself to those who shine brighter? Is it when you fail?

Whatever your vocations, I would guess that you have had humbling moments when you wondered, Am I really good enough for this gig? And if you question your ability to live up to the standards of the people around you, you also might ask something more precarious: Am I really good enough for my holy God?

Standing alone before our God is not supposed to end well for sinners like us. Even though the voices around us downplay our shortcomings (“It happens to all of us!”), or worse, try to tell us God won’t mind our sins (“What else could you have done?”), God’s expectations of us don’t falter. Be perfect! Our reflection shows the smudges on our faces. We do not belong in the company of a holy God. It is painful to admit how rotten we are, isn’t it? But friends, it is so worth it.

Here’s the great news: The babe of Bethlehem came to find you just as you are. He does things backwards again and places a crown of life on our small, sorry, sinful heads. Unearned, undeserved, we will be with God in heaven forever because Jesus makes us worthy. That takes care of the more precarious question: Am I really good enough for my God? In Jesus, absolutely!

Now circle back with me to the conversation I wish we were having over coffee. Especially the part where you got real about your inadequacies. I have a few thoughts to share:

Feeling inadequate is not such a bad thing. It pushes us toward repentance and reminds us that we absolutely depend on Jesus. When you are weak, find strength in him!
That heavy backpack you are carrying? You know what’s in it because it weighs you down daily. Drop it at the cross as you cast your cares on Jesus. Let go of the sins he has already forgiven.
Are you traveling a difficult road? Or do you want to implement a challenging change for the better? You can count on your Savior’s support. He will be with you each step.

In spite of your shortcomings, you are still chosen by God to be the mouthpiece of the gospel. You do this as you shine your light for him in your vocations in life. You do this as you serve your family, friends, and neighbors. You also do this as you simply tell others what the Lord has done for you. If we could have that coffee together, I would leave the conversation encouraged, knowing that God has gifted you for a unique part in his plan. He has put you in the exact place where he wants you to be to accomplish great things for his kingdom with the gifts he has given you. May God keep giving you the desire, strength, and courage to share his love in all areas of your life.

Prayer:

Lord God, thank you for continuing to use the lowly to do the most important things! Thank you for your faithful believers all over the world who share your love in places many of us will never be able to reach. Let Jesus’ love overflow in our hearts and spill into our homes and communities. Amen.

Written by Becky Foxen
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 9

2024/12/09/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Delighting in the Lowly

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Micah 5:2

It was tiny. It held very little significance. Bethlehem Ephrathah didn’t even make the top 100 cities that belonged to the clans of Judah. As a traveler crossing through the region, you would hardly notice the city. Now squint toward the barley fields. There you would find the spot where the poor foreigner named Ruth gleaned in Boaz’s field. The locals of her day wouldn’t have given Ruth a second glance. She was an outsider who had fallen upon tough times, desperately trying to make ends meet. Like Bethlehem, she doesn’t seem extraordinary at all.

Continuing our tour of Bethlehem, we approach the location of the humble home of Jesse, surrounded by fields that are dotted with sheep. When the prophet Samuel walked this road, he was searching for the next great king of Israel. Someone strong. Commanding. Mature. But God rejected the ones who fit those descriptions. Instead, God instructed Samuel to anoint the youngest brother, who didn’t even make the original lineup. Like Bethlehem, David didn’t seem like much.

Eyes like ours fixate on the talented, the important, the influential, and the famous. But God delights in using the weak, the poor, and the unexpected for some of the greatest roles in the story of salvation. Lowly Ruth became the wife of Boaz, the great-grandmother of King David, and part of the family line of the Savior. Little David became the greatest earthly king Israel had seen. With God’s help, David led the army to great victories and ushered in a time of peace for God’s people.

By the time Gabriel visited Mary, the once-thriving nation of Israel had been cut down. Isaiah referred to it as a twisted, gnarly stump. This was thanks to Babylon, then Persia, then the Greeks, then the Romans, all of whom took their turn wielding power over the area. But take a closer look at the stump of that royal line. It is not completely dead! We behold a branch shooting up out of its ugliness! The lovely bloom from that branch is our only hope, Jesus, born in Bethlehem.

Jesus himself didn’t appear glorious to eyes like ours. He was born to a carpenter and placed in a feed box. As Jesus began his ministry, he was a wanderer with less of a home than the foxes and birds. Somehow, some way, this humble preacher determined the eternity of us all.

Bethlehem, Ruth, David, and Jesus—they all show us how God looks with favor on the lowly. How the Almighty does great things. How he has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. Though Jesus hid his glory in his earthly existence, he was nothing less than our holy and true God! He traded his heavenly throne for our sins and exchanged what he deserved (glory) for what we deserved (the punishment of hell). As we see Bethlehem evolve from a tiny, unimportant city to the birthplace of the King of kings, let us also remember how God took us from dead in sin to alive in Christ. Now we lay claim to full rights as daughters and sons of the King.

Prayer:

We thank you, heavenly Father, for showing us a new perspective on greatness. Take our sinful pride and replace it with your humility. Then, use our humble lives to glorify you in amazing ways. Keep a tight grip on us all our days so that we will one day live with you forever. Amen.

Written by Becky Foxen
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 8

2024/12/08/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Dwelling with Us Today

“The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
Luke 1:32,33

Today, we are going to answer this question: How is “God with us” today?

Yesterday, we followed the glory cloud, the Old Testament form of Immanuel, “God with us.” After the fall of Jerusalem in 587 b.c., the ark and glory cloud seem to have disappeared. But there was a period of restoration under Zerubbabel. Ezra and the last group of Jewish exiles under Nehemiah rebuilt the temple and restored worship in approximately 530 b.c.

Unfortunately, the ghastly curse of sin permeated the people again. Tithes were ignored, the Sabbath was broken, priests were corrupt, and the Israelites intermarried with foreigners. Yet God remained faithful and sent the prophet Malachi, whose name means “my messenger.” Malachi convicted the people of their sin. He pronounced them guilty yet reminded them of this promise: “For you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays” (Malachi 4:2).

Four hundred years of silence ensued. While under the oppressive rule of Herod the Great, the Jews experienced relative peace—the Pax Romana. During this time, the faithful were dispersed throughout Judea. Separated from the temple, they established synagogues in their communities, where they worshiped and taught their children the Old Testament Scriptures. The Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, and Gentiles populated the countryside. This would become the fertile ground where the fire of the gospel would ignite and spread. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

In one of these small towns, Immanuel chose to return. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2). This ruler, King Jesus, born of a virgin, “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32).

Here’s the big picture: “God with us” is beyond comprehension. “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32,33). Yet he achieves it with a humble maiden, in a simple manger.

But how does he dwell with us today?

At Christmas, Jesus came to earth to establish his kingdom. At the perfect time, he became human. During his life on earth, Jesus was crucified and died. But then, three days later, he returned to life and was seen by some 500 witnesses before ascending to heaven. He left his Holy Spirit to dwell here, in each of us. “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). In our baptisms, we are his; through saving faith, his presence is now made known through Word and sacrament.

“God with us,” Immanuel, reigns forever!

Prayer:

We praise you, Jesus, at your birth; clothed in flesh you came to earth. The virgin bears a sinless boy and all the angels sing for joy. Alleluia!

The Light eternal, breaking through, made the world to gleam anew; his beams have pierced the core of night, he makes us children of the light. Alleluia! (Christian Worship: Hymnal 359)

Written by Lou Ann Mokwa
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 7

2024/12/07/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Waiting for a Return

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel”
Isaiah 7:14

It’s a midweek Advent service; you adjust the weekly family schedule to attend. You’ve rushed to get after-school activities and homework done. You might have just cleaned up the church kitchen after serving Advent dinner, hands still damp from the dishwater. Or you have agreed to participate in a special music offering and just completed one last rehearsal. These things have consumed your mind until you sit in the pew and hear the familiar note or bell signaling the start of worship. The service proceeds with some familiar Scripture heard every Advent season: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

The pastor rises to begin his sermon. Ahhh, a few minutes to relax, take a breath, and meditate. But this sermon starts out differently. Tonight, the pastor stands casually on the floor in front of the pulpit, like he is engaging in conversation. He asks the congregation (named Immanuel Lutheran Church), “What does Immanuel mean?” Suddenly, you are jolted from your passivity as his gaze sweeps over the congregation, looking for a response. Uncomfortable silence ensues until a brave man speaks up: “God with us.” A clear sigh of relief, or nervous laughter, rumbles through the church in agreement, seemingly saying: “Of course, God with us!”

But what exactly is this sign, this child, a son, named Immanuel? And what does it mean?

Initially, in the Old Testament, God instructed Moses to “make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). This sanctuary was a tabernacle, which means “dwelling place,” and contained an ark, the first throne of the Lord. “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34). This cloud became a sign for the Israelites as they were led by Moses in their nomadic journey to the Promised Land. “In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out” (Exodus 40:36).

Hundreds of years later, under King David’s rule, the ark was brought to Jerusalem. David’s son, King Solomon, built a permanent temple for the ark, and the glory cloud returned. “The cloud filled the temple of the Lord. . . . the glory of the Lord filled his temple” (1 Kings 8:10,11). In God’s eternal plan, 350 years later, this temple and the city of Jerusalem were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 b.c. At this time, two things seem to have disappeared: the ark and its overshadowing cloud (see Ezekiel 10:18-22; 11:22,23).

As the years passed, the faithful waited for the return of the ark and the glory cloud—for God to return and dwell with them.

Can you identify with these ancient, faithful sisters and brothers? Are there days when you don’t feel God is with you? Are you waiting for him to make his presence known like the glory cloud?

Enter King Jesus.

Join us tomorrow as we study how the promise of “God with us” is fulfilled forever in Jesus and by the grace he has freely given to us. Forever.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for fulfilling your promise by sending your Son to earth and permanently dwelling with us. Thank you for your perfect plan of salvation. Amen.

Written by Lou Ann Mokwa
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 6

2024/12/06/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

That Which Seems Impossible

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
Luke 1:38

I like science, especially medical science. In school, I loved learning about the human body and all its working parts. All the thousands of “hidden” chemical processes going on in our bodies in the blink of an eye are mind-boggling. Even though these processes are “natural,” they still seem miraculous to me. In my mind, I wonder, How does this work?!

Mary asked a similar question. “How can this be?” It was a science kind of question.

Let’s review the story from Luke 1.

Mary was a young Jewish virgin girl betrothed to a man named Joseph. God sent an angel to Mary to give her a special message.

Angel: Greetings! You are very special to the Lord! The Lord is with you!

Mary: Huh?

Angel: Don’t be afraid. You’re going to have a special baby. You will call him Jesus. He’s going to be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he’s going to be a king with an everlasting kingdom!

Mary: How can this be, since I am a virgin?

It was a good question! She didn’t know as much about science as we do today, but she knew enough to know that babies need a mom and a dad.

The angel had an answer. In short, “God.”

Angel: You see, Mary, with God, nothing is impossible. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High God will cover you. The baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. Not only that, but your cousin Elizabeth will also be having a son in her old age. Everyone thought she couldn’t have a baby, but she’s six months along. Just because you’re a virgin and just because Elizabeth is old doesn’t mean God can’t make things happen. In fact, this was prophesied 700 years ago: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Even though it was prophesied, the news was most likely shocking to Mary. Not only would she become pregnant in a miraculous way, but her child was going to be the Son of the Most High AND the Son of David. True God and true man. Holy and sinless. The offspring of a woman who will crush Satan’s head.

Does anything in your life seem impossible right now? Maybe, like Mary, you have questions. I’ve been hurt; how can I ever forgive? I made a big mistake; will it ever work out? My life has no purpose; can I still find meaning? I’m filled with fear and anxiety; can I ever be at peace? I feel lost; can I be saved?

With God, all things are possible. God enabled a virgin to conceive in order to take care of our most “impossible” situation: our separation from him because of our sin. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we now have forgiveness, victory over death, and a restored relationship with God.

And this same God promises to be with us through all the “impossible” situations in our lives!

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for coming to us as true God and true man to rescue us from our lost condition! With Mary, we rejoice that you have done great things for us. Give us faith to believe that nothing is impossible with you. Amen.

Written by Mindy Holtz
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 5

2024/12/05/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

A Choice When We’re Fearful

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14

The year was about 735 b.c. when Ahaz, age 20, became king of Judah. “Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God” (2 Kings 16:2). He even sacrificed his own son to idols. Despite this, God made some wonderful promises to Ahaz.

The kings of Aram and Israel were seeking to conquer Jerusalem. Ahaz and the people were afraid. Their hearts “were shaken, as trees of the forest are shaken by the wind” (Isaiah 7:2). Have you ever felt fear like that?

Fortunately for Ahaz, God sent Isaiah with a message of comfort and a promise of rescue. Isaiah told the king of Judah not to fear because of the minor foes against him—God would deliver them from their enemies. The Lord even graciously offered to give Ahaz a sign to assure him of this promise of deliverance, but in fake piety, Ahaz refused. Perhaps Ahaz declined the offer because he already planned to follow his own will rather than God’s. God was not pleased with Ahaz’s rejection. He gave Ahaz a sign anyway!

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Yes, God would deliver his people from the two kings who threatened them, but an even greater deliverance was coming. God wouldn’t use a powerful king or a great nation to deliver his people. Instead, he would provide deliverance through a woman—a virgin, no less! God himself would step down from his throne in heaven and take on human flesh. He would take on human flesh and become Immanuel, “God with us,” to deliver his people from their sin, the awful punishment of death, and their devilish enemy.

Rather than trusting in God as Isaiah had advised, the apostate Ahaz looked elsewhere for deliverance: to the country of Assyria. He sent silver and gold from God’s temple, offering Judah as another vassal state. This supposed “ally” would eventually besiege Judah.

Ahaz was fearful—a “shaking in your boots” kind of fear! What do we do when we are fearful? Sometimes it’s easier to trust in the strength of what we can see and touch rather than in a God who is invisible and feels far away. Do we look to politicians to fix our problems? Do we rely on our savings account more than God? Do we put our faith and hope in doctors to cure us? Do we get impatient waiting for God to act and try to take matters into our own hands? I am guilty of it all.

In our moments of fear, in the midst of our trials, we can remember God’s promise to deliver us from all our troubles and thank him for his promise of IMMANUEL! God with us! With us in our fears. With us when our foes loom large. He has delivered us from our sin and will deliver us from our fears and failures with love, forgiveness, and mercy!

Prayer:

Dear Immanuel, you are our refuge and strength. When we feel afraid, please help us put our trust in you. Amen.

Written by Mindy Holtz
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

Advent Devotion – Just As He Said – Day 4

2024/12/04/in Womens Advent Devotions, Womens Devotions

Just As He Said

Dead-Tree Moments

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

In the corner of our backyard, we have a tree that was not doing well. It was kind of ugly, was an odd shape, and was starting to lean over the fence. It was the hunchback of trees. But, once a year, it would still bloom beautiful green leaves and white flowers, so we let it be.

This past May, we had a terrible storm come through our area, and high winds caused a lot of damage. During this storm, our tree succumbed to the winds; snapped about three-fourths of the way down; and left a very uneven, jagged stump. We thought for sure this was the end for that tree and had plans to cut it down the rest of the way. But we didn’t get around to it, and then, do you know what happened? The tree came back to life! It started blooming green leaves and growing new branches, and now seems like it’s going to make a full recovery.

Things looked bleak for the line of Jesse. After all, it had been about 1,000 years of waiting for this family tree to produce its fruit, and people were starting to doubt if it was going to happen. Then a new root was born, and suddenly this once-dead stump made a full recovery and sprouted life.

Why? Because we have a God who keeps his promises, works things for our good, and always has a purpose. We are reminded of this when we see in the Bible how God kept his promises to Adam and Eve by sending the Savior to crush the serpent’s head, to Noah by saving his family and never flooding the world again, to Moses and the Israelites by giving them the Promised Land, and to David by ensuring that from his line the Messiah would be born. Each of these stories could have had dead ends, but God restored them and used them for his purpose. We can trust he will do the same for us.

Do you have a dead-tree story in your life? Maybe your family is fighting and you don’t think there can ever be a reconciliation. Maybe you’re at a dead-end job and have resigned yourself to being miserable for the rest of your life. Maybe you have a prayer that doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to get answered. Maybe you have an unhappy marriage.

Whatever it is that seems dead, like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, remember the stories of the Bible. Esau forgiving Jacob, Saul turning into Paul, Hannah receiving Samuel, Zechariah and Elizabeth being blessed with John. God used sin, hardships, ailments, sickness, emptiness, and even death for his good and for his purpose. In the Bible, we see the purpose of everyone mentioned: to point to Jesus for our salvation.

The same is true for you! God is using all the dead-tree moments of your life to point you to Jesus, to encourage you to cling to him, and to remind you he is carrying you until that dead tree sprouts new life. Whether that’s in this life or the next, live confidently knowing God will always work for your good and his purpose: to give you life.

Prayer:

Lord, we know that you are making all things new, and we pray that you will sustain us until that marvelous day. Hear our pleas for mercy to bring life to the dead trees in our lives, work them for our good, and help us to see your purpose. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Written by Katelyn Strucely
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry

WELS CENTER FOR MISSION AND MINISTRY

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