There are times in a person’s life when you can’t help but think, “Wow, it’s good to be here!” Perhaps it’s being awestruck by the beauty and grandness of a national park. It might be hearing musicians performing glorious music. Maybe, after having a long hard day, it’s hearing a loved one whisper, “I love you.” God blesses us with moments of pure joy.

Peter, James, and John had such a moment. Jesus gave them a foretaste of heaven when he showed them his glorified body and spoke with Moses and Elijah on that day of transfiguration. The disciples knew they were getting a glimpse of heaven, and they wanted it to last. But it didn’t. All too soon it was time to come down off the mountain and face the world again. Jesus had work for them to do.

Jesus has work for us too. He placed us in this time and place to spread his word. We get to tell little ones and their families about Jesus’ saving love. We help them live their faith, thanking Jesus through their words and actions. We patiently correct and train. It isn’t easy. It takes energy, thought, and lots of prayers. In spite of that, we know that this is where God has placed us, and it is good for us to be here.

Jesus showed his disciples this glorified view of himself to strengthen them. Soon they would see Jesus in a very different way: beaten, scorned, and crucified. We, too, are strengthened through the knowledge of what Jesus did for us. His death and resurrection assure us that he conquered sin, death, and the devil. He continues to guide and forgive us through this life, until we victoriously join him in heaven, where we can confidently say, “Lord, it is good for us to be here!”

As you drive toward Las Vegas, you can’t miss the sparkling flashing lights. They call to tourists, drawing them to spend money on casinos, shows, and restaurants. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells believers that we are to let our lights shine. Through our words and actions we glorify God and draw people to Jesus’ love.

As we work with little children, we have many opportunities to let our lights shine. When a student yet again grabs another’s toy, your gentle correcting words sparkle with Jesus’ light. Praying and singing and talking about Jesus through the day glisten with God’s unending grace. Encouraging words to parents and fellow workers shimmer with Jesus’ love. And the lights multiply as our students learn to let their faith shine. We are truly blessed that reflecting Jesus’ love to the people around us is part of our job description!

There are days, hours, and minutes when our lights flicker. Our world is not a perfect one, and we also are far from faultless. We look inward and realize that all too often we cover our lights.

How fortunate for us that we have the perfect light to reignite us! “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” Jesus declared to his disciples (John 8:12). Through that perfect light, our failings are wiped out. We start again.
A loss of electricity can darken the Vegas lights, but, through the faith the Holy Spirit gives us, our lights shine on. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14). We aren’t just like lights; we are lights. God has made us lights; that is our identity as Christians. As we go about our daily lives, God’s love will be reflected through us. That’s what he promises. That’s what he does.

January is a dark time of year. It is still the season of winter and the sun sets early. Many parts of the country have cold and cloudy weather. Families return to regular schedules. Christmas is over.

Isaiah was a prophet, a messenger sent by God to his people. During his time on earth, Isaiah served people that were going through the troubled times of war and defeat, and these struggles would last for years. Their homes would be destroyed, families killed, survivors held captive. For God’s people, those were very, very dark times.

And yet Isaiah pointed God’s people to the coming of Christ, and his words continue to do this for us today. Isaiah promised that a “new light” would come—Jesus! He delivered this great message: even though God’s people would have severe hardships on earth, Jesus would come and heal every wound.

God never promised that we or our students will not have darkness here on earth. We will have times of physical trials. Family members may get cancer. There may be financial strains such as house and car repairs, jobs lost, or money mismanaged. Sin will bring darkness too. Friends will have arguments, co-workers will disagree. We will gossip, hate, cheat. We will feel entitled to something God has not given to us or feel jealous. These are real, dark sins which afflict us all. But God promises that Jesus, the great light of the world will save us.

God will shatter all of our darkness when he comes again to take us to heaven, and God daily gives us a “new light” when we repent, and he forgives our many sins. This forgiveness comes as a gift from God through the birth of our Savior and his death on this cross. With this “dawning of light” comes great joy! The Great Light is here!

The Chosen One has come! The Bible tells us about many servants of God: Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul, to name a few. Each servant had a special role for that time and place in the history of the world. But this servant that Isaiah writes about is very special, unlike any other servant or messenger in the Bible. This servant is Jesus Christ, the Chosen One.

The role of Christ was like no other role of any servant before or after him. His job was to “bring justice to the nations”. The word “justice” written here is defined like that of a legal decision made in a court. It points to the gospel, God’s legal announcement that all sins everywhere are forgiven, erased forever by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Sometimes we forget that this debt has already been paid for us. We are troubled by the sorrows of the world and we forget that we are living for the next world-not this one! We can look in any direction and see sin and temptation. We fail in our vocations as spouse, teacher, parent, co-worker, friend, sibling, son, or daughter. We take the best for ourselves, and compete with others for worldly treasures. We gossip and slander the names of the people that God has given to us to serve. We forget to treat strangers as we would our own family. Although we try to live God-pleasing lives, we fail over and over again.

But the Chosen One has come! God sent his Son, his special servant, the Chosen One, to die for all. Through the life and death of Jesus, he “brings justice to the nations”, declaring the entire world and all people “not guilty”. May we share this good news with all the world until he comes again!

“These are my people,” God declares. Usually it starts at baptism. God adopts sinners into his family. He makes them heirs to the kingdom of heaven. He makes them his. “These are my people!”

It also happens when we confess Jesus as Lord. Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). He puts faith in our hearts and we confess him as Savior. He then says to the Father, “These are my people! I vouch for them. They belong to us. They belong in heaven.”

Of course there is nothing that we have done to earn such a status. Isn’t that the whole point? He makes us righteous in his sight. He gives us the status we need. He chooses us. He makes us the children who are true to him, as Isaiah describes above. This is good news for us because there are plenty of days when we do not feel like God’s children. There are plenty of days when we absolutely know we should not be claimed as God’s children (the ones who will be true to God).

How about the little ones you teach? Those are his people. HIS people. They belong to him. And no, they do not deserve it. But they are his. He claimed them. He said, “This is my daughter. This is my son.”

It makes us look at our students in a different way, doesn’t it? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is advocating for these little ones before the Father. Our job is then to advocate for them down here. These are God’s children. He claimed them in his blood. He died for them. We will fight for them and love them and live for them. These are his people.

The Lord’s coming is near. So we are to be patient like a farmer. Like a farmer we plant and we wait but we are sure of a harvest. Do you not plant the seed of God’s words into the hearts of little ones every day? Of course you do. Do you have to wait? Yes. But you can be sure of this harvest. God’s Word does not return to him empty handed (Isa 55:10).

We wait in great expectation for the Lord’s return where he too will gather a harvest, a harvest of souls. When you plant the seed of God’s Word you are a part of this process. You are the hand of God. And just as the farmer steps away and lets nature do its thing so we step away (in a way) and watch the Spirit do his work. Sure, we till and fertilize, we weed and we tend but it is the Spirit that creates faith. So be patient. The work will get done. God’s work will get done. He will make sure of that.

Easier said than done, right? Patience is not a virtue we possess by ourselves. (Ask any farmer waiting for rain!) Patience is worked in us by a gracious God. He makes us patient. So pray for patience. God will provide what you need. He always has. In fact, whatever God demands of us, he gives to us in Christ. He says, “Be perfect!” and then gives us the righteousness of Christ that covers all of our un-righteous acts. He says, “Stop doubting and believe!” and then gives us the faith to believe. In the reading from James he says “Be patient.” So we ask for what he commands and he gives it to us.

It might not always look like virtuous patience on our part but so what? Your patience is not about you but about your students and your family. He will give it to you. He has not let us down yet. It won’t be perfect because we will mess it up, but we are forgiven and so are the ones that we serve.

Can you imagine how awful it would be to know the exact date of the last day? Humans would scramble to get in as much pleasure as they could in their final moments. All the money would be taken out of the banks. Who would go to the doctor? Why have schools? Most people would be trying to travel to see friends and family or famous sites around the world. But what pilot would give up his final hours taking an airplane full of people to Paris? I suppose churches would be filled and that would be a good thing but still, I am thankful the Father has kept this date to himself. This particular ignorance is a gift from God.

I wonder if the Father will have the same urgency as we would as the final day approaches? When the clock gets close to midnight will he speed up the spread of his gospel message? The truth is he has. Maybe we do not always see the results but he is urgent, as urgent as he always was from the beginning.

This is the message of Matthew 24. He wants you to have the same urgency as he does but spare you the burden of knowing exactly when the end will arrive. So he describes Christ’s return as a thief in the night. Always be prepared. Be urgent in your work. And yet, be still. Do not be anxious. Go about your work in peace. If tomorrow is the end. Good. Heaven awaits. If we have another hundred or thousand or ten-thousand years, that is okay too. He is in charge. So be ready but not anxious.

You teach with this calmness and peace (at least on good days). You are urgent for your little ones. This is important! But there is a calm about you. A peace that springs from Christ who has the beginning, the end, and everything in between under control. So keep watch but be still.

Funeral. The very thought of the word can bring an enormous amount of sadness and grief! Scenes from funerals often replay through the mind and words that are spoken at a funeral are heard over and over again in the days following the funeral.

A few months ago, I attended a funeral for a friend in the congregation whose elderly mother passed away. Just two weeks before that funeral the congregation gathered together for the funeral of the same lady’s husband. That is an overwhelming amount of loss for a person in a matter of two weeks. It is hard to even know how to comfort the grieving family.

As I was sitting in the pew before the service began, I was reminiscing how the family was always greeting people as they walked through the doors of the church. Both the mother and husband played instrumental roles on the outreach team. There wasn’t a potluck where I didn’t see both of them engaging in preparations. They made an effort to always be present at pre-k events at the church to build relationships with prospects. I sat in the pew marveling at the amazing Christian servant attitude they both displayed and modeled for the whole congregation, and me personally.

The passage that came into my mind as the funeral service began was Revelation 14:13, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” Ahh, this verse is the perfect Bible passage for a grieving family!

Most Bible scholars agree that the voice heard from heaven is Jesus himself. Jesus is promising that those who die in the Lord are blessed, they receive the joy of eternal life. What a comfort to those left behind! The loved one is blessed by Jesus and is in the comfort and peace of heaven. Heaven is a place of rest: a place where there is no pain, suffering, and sin. Earthly labors are over and the Spirit promises rest for those who die in the Lord.

All of the deeds of a person will not go unnoticed. The deeds do not get a person into heaven, but rather serve as evidence of living a life for Jesus, a life now complete with eternal life in heaven with all believers.

Silence falls across the courtroom as the verdict is being read. Guilty, the defendant is found guilty! From the start of the trial, the evidence and questioning foreshadowed the guilty verdict. Countless hours were spent in court showing the laundry list of wrongs that this defendant had committed. Judgement is finalized, the defendant will be punished for his crimes.

Just as the defendant is being led out of the courtroom to be punished, the judge bangs the gavel and hands the defendant a piece of paper that reads, “PAID IN FULL”. How could this be? The judge knows full well that the defendant is guilty and has all the evidence stacked on courtroom table. The judge looks past the stack of evidence and explains to the defendant that his punishment is paid in full and the defendant is free. The courtroom is now filled with surprise and amazement.

This courtroom scene is a beautiful and touching picture of the meaning of justification. To be justified is to be forgiven and accepted into right standing, to be righteous in God’s sight, to be declared not guilty.

You and I are the guilty defendant in this scene. Countless hours are spent with our never-ending list of sins. The fact is we are sinful and deserve to be punished for our sins! We stand condemned before God our judge. There is no amount of good works that can be done to fulfill the sentencing of the guilty verdict.

The comfort is, just when we feel hopeless and in despair, God, the judge, bangs his gavel and declares us “NOT GUILTY”. God looks at the stack of evidence, and all he sees what Jesus has done for us! The punishment of sin and death has been paid in full through Jesus suffering, death, and resurrection! There is nothing left to be done, salvation is complete!

Can you imagine being in charge of one hundred sheep? The likelihood for one or more to wander off seems pretty high. Think for a minute about what the shepherd in our text does. He leaves ninety-nine sheep in the open country and goes after the one lost one. What devotion he has to that one lost sheep in addition to the others! Once he finds that wayward sheep, he doesn’t herd it back to the flock. “He joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.” He’s so excited that he lovingly carries that rogue sheep back to join the others. And it doesn’t stop there. He invites friends and neighbors to celebrate with him. What selfless, overwhelming love!

In the past several devotions, we’ve talked about identifying someone you know who has strayed from the Word. We’ve talked about reconnecting with them and encouraging them to come home to their church and even more, to their Savior. Hopefully you’ve had an opportunity to do so and a conversation is beginning. You may hear those heartfelt words of gratitude that you cared enough to reach out. What a blessing to join in thanking God for this incredible blessing! What a cause for celebration!

But then again, you may not see immediate results. You may encounter resistance. Not everyone is going to fling their arms wide and say, “Thanks! That’s just what I needed to hear!” But take heart, it’s not up to you. It’s up to the work of the Holy Spirit. Be patient and loving, just as our Shepherd is with us.
So, what’s next? What do we do now? Think back to that shepherd. It’s not too hard to imagine that the probability of one (or more) of his sheep wandering off happened frequently. He was constantly on the lookout and eager to bring each one back. The encouragement is the same for us. Keep looking. Keep reaching out. Keep encouraging. Keep showing patience and loving care for anyone who needs to hear the comforting words of the Good Shepherd as he says, “Welcome Home!”

Dear Jesus, give me a caring, loving heart that is eager to reach out to those I know. Give me the words to share that encouragement with them in their faith. In your name I pray. Amen

I grew up in the Midwest. The only interaction I had with the ocean was through pictures, TV, or movies. I remember watching surfers in California gracefully maneuver over the waves. It looked so peaceful and like so much fun. Then, the time came for me to get my chance to venture into the ocean. My first call was to Southern California, so the ocean was within reach! When I got to the ocean for the first time, the smells, sounds, and sights were just as I had imagined. My childhood exposure from across the country didn’t lie. Then, one of my friends, a native of California, told me it was time to go out into the waves and take our turn at boogie boarding. Surfing was too hard for day one! He gave me a quick lesson on how to go out into the waves and where to catch them to ride them back in. One of the first waves I caught was way too late, and the wave picked me up, then slammed me down into the ground, and rolled me around like I was in a washing machine. I walked out of the ocean with a bloodied shoulder and a mouth full of sand. I had no clue what power waves had!

Sometimes it is easy to downplay or forget about the power that everyday things have. There is “hurtful power,” like being shocked by bare wires or slamming your finger in a car door. And there is “helpful power” – not the churning of breakers on the beach but hydroelectric power generated by massive turbines deep in a dam. What about God’s power? Do we fully recognize the power of God’s Word for daily life? Or do we not think that much about it?

We are blessed to be teachers in Christian schools where we don’t only use the Bible some of the day, but we use it to frame every subject that we teach. God’s love through his Word is woven into the fabric of the day for our students, and in that way the Holy Spirit is given the opportunity each day to work in the hearts of our students, and our hearts!

God tells us in Isaiah 55, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Each day, we walk into our classrooms armed with the most powerful weapon of all time, and God promises us that it will work! And for most people, the most powerful and formative encounter with the Word happens in worship – not merely the content of the readings and sermon, but also the weekly reinforcement of the liturgy, and the deep impact of the Word expressed in hymns.

As you go about the privilege of your work today, may God fill you with the knowledge that his Word will not return to him empty. Be encouraged to use it and have loving conversations to keep students and families connected to this spiritual power source (especially as it is delivered in worship) and not to minimize or forget its power.