Silas came to school today bursting with excitement over his upcoming birthday party. Soon, the air was humming with birthday news. Conversations over snack and lunch quickly turned into discussions of who’s invited and who’s not. Imagine everyone’s relief (the teacher’s included!) when the parents clarified that everyone in the class was invited!

In our text for today, Jesus was speaking to a group of people who were also concerned about who would be invited, not to a party, but to the feast of heaven. Jesus’ words about who is invited give us a moment of pause but also assure us of his promise.

Earlier in this section of Luke, someone asked if only a few people would be saved. Jesus helps his audience to understand that the door to heaven is narrow. Jesus is clear in his Word; the way to heaven is found only in him, and the time to think about these spiritual things is now. Jesus also points out that “there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” Many of the people at Jesus’ time who had countless opportunities to hear him preach rejected him as their Savior. They may have thought themselves first in God’s kingdom because of the things they themselves had done, but Jesus says these who are first will actually be last. Others may have believed for a time and then became last as they fell away. Jesus wanted his hearers to know the urgency of the truth he is sharing. He is the way, and the time to believe in him is now!

But Jesus’ words also assure us of his promise. Though the door to heaven is narrow, through Jesus alone, people from every direction will take their places at the feast. We ourselves get to be part of it! As we were baptized, as we heard the Word, the Holy Spirit worked powerfully in our hearts to convince us that yes, Jesus is the way and with that, welcomed us to a seat at his heavenly table!

This promise is wonderful news for the families we get to reach, too. When Jesus died on the cross, he died for all! We get to be a part of sharing the good news about the way to heaven with the children and families we serve.

Birthday invitations in preschool can bring excitement and some nervousness as little ones figure out who gets to come. What a blessing that God allows us to hand out invitations to all to know Jesus as the Way!

Kevin Henkes is one of my favorite children’s authors. In one of his classic “mouse” books, a character named Wemberley worries about, well, everything. She worries about big things, like whether or not her parents are still there and little things, like spilling juice on her doll, Petal.

In last week’s devotion, we talked about the importance of focusing on things above, rather than on earthly things. This text flows right along with that same theme, because as we ponder the many things our hearts often become distracted about, we realize that the root cause of that distraction is often worry. For example, we might fixate on purchasing something new because we worry over having enough or the right kind of enough. We concern our hearts with earning the praise of coworkers because we worry about being liked or fitting in. We aggressively check off items on our to-do list because we worry that our worth is tied up in what we are able to accomplish.

Jesus addresses all of these concerns in his words today from the book of Luke, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.” Let’s unpack that sentence just a little more and think about the awesome promises tied up within it. First, the ending: “your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.” Your Father! The King of heaven and earth! The one with power over absolutely everything is looking out for you, his child! And what has he been pleased to give you? Nothing less than the kingdom! In sending his Son, Jesus, to be our Savior and the Holy Spirit to work faith in our hearts to believe in that Savior, God has made us heirs of his heavenly kingdom. We have nothing less than the best!

And so, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” All of the things that we think we need in order to be happy? All of the feel-goods? All of the goals reached? We need not worry about any of these things. The kingdom is already ours, through Jesus. We can rest in our Father’s loving care about all of the things that we need for this life. He promises that he knows we need them.

I picture myself standing at the door with hand raised, positioned for a knock, but I stop mid-air. As I stand at the door, my mind is in conflict wondering if I even dare try. “Maybe I can work this out on my own,” I think.

This can be a visual of our prayer life at times. We have blessings for which to be grateful, sins that weigh heavily, struggles that cause pain or worry. We work and work to get through things on our own. When we’re at our last straw, that faith lightbulb comes on— “I need to go to God in prayer.” What took so long? And then I read the words for today’s devotion where Jesus is telling us to ask, seek, and knock. He’s telling me to come to him in prayer. Why do I wait so long?

Prayer—such a simple thing. It’s sharing with God what’s on our heart, right? That’s true but it’s more than that. You may have been reminded that prayer is not intended to be like ordering at a restaurant expecting God to fill our order. God wants us to pray. He wants us to pray for things he wants to give us. When a young child comes to you and asks for something, you make a decision based on what you think is best for that child. Oh, how God’s desire for our prayers and his answer for us is even stronger. Our prayers are based entirely on the unique and unearned relationship we have with God, our Father. Prayer is not trying to convince God to give us what we want but rather to grow in our understanding of what God wants for us.

God also loves when we come to him again and again. As we pray, we watch and wait in hope for God’s response. If we’re honest, we’re often waiting for God to answer the way we want him to answer. The prayer of a faith-filled heart knows that God’s answer to our prayers, whether the answer is “yes”, “no”, or “not now”, comes from his heart full of a love for us that we cannot comprehend. Even more than a loving parent, God wants what’s best for us and his response to our prayers always comes from that love. Knowing that, we can go to him with complete confidence and trust. We can pray boldly. We can also pray for God to help us to grow in our understanding and trust for his will for our lives.

So, walk right up to that door without any hesitation. Ask. God wants to hear your prayer. Seek his will. He wants you to grow in faith in him. Knock on the door trusting that God will always respond in his way out of love for you.

You have your list in front of you detailing the tasks for the day. It’s a long but doable list and you get right at it. Your phone rings. As you look at the number, what’s your reaction? Recently a number popped up on my phone and I’m ashamed to say that my first reaction was, “I don’t have time for this. This person never talks for less than an hour and I have too many things to do to take this call.”
As we reflect on today’s readings, we are reminded so clearly of God’s command for us—love one another. Nowhere in Scripture will you find God’s daily task list for us except the list that tells us to love one another. That’s not to say that the tasks that we do are unimportant. They most often are. God wants us to be faithful to the responsibilities he has blessed us with. However, we can be so focused on our tasks, that we lose sight of those around us.
“[God] loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Atone means to make amends for. In this verse, we see that we aren’t the ones making the amends for our sins. Jesus is. God sent Jesus to take any and all punishment that we all deserve for our sins. Jesus made us, “at one”, in unity, with God the Father through the cross. That’s a love beyond understanding. Our response? “Since God so loved us”, since God did this for us, he tells us to turn and share that love for others.
I took that call with a less than loving attitude and soon found myself wrapped in a conversation with someone who needed an ear, an encouragement, a reminder of God’s grace and love. As I hung up, I was glad that I had picked up and ashamed of my initial reaction. What on my list was more important than the person I just spoke to?
Reflect each day, my friends, on the grace, mercy, and love that God gives us each and every day. He does so with a heart full of love for us. We don’t deserve his love and can’t earn his love, especially not by the tasks on our lists. But we can reflect and share that love out of gratitude and in praise of the love he so freely and abundantly gives us.
Get at your list but take that call. Make that call. Set time to be with someone you know who needs to hear about God’s love and grace for them. Don’t mark it off your list but keep it there each and everyday with hearts full of humble gratefulness for God’s love for us.

“I will never be shaken.” Such words of confidence! Have you ever said these words or something similar? “I won’t back down.” “I won’t give up.”
Even when spoken in the Superman pose with feet spread, hands on our hips, and head held high, there’s a voice we hear that says, “Really?” We try to be the faithful fan who cheers even in a losing game or season. We commit to a healthier lifestyle. We might commit to being more faithful in reaching out to friends or family. Commitment helps us meet goals but if we’re honest, commitment is hard and more often than not, we don’t keep those commitments.
What about our faith commitment? Are we “all in” or a “fair-weather” person of faith? Jesus is clear in his expectation for those who follow him—“all in.” Jesus shared with his disciples and others what it means to be a follower. It means loving him more than anything else. “Of course I do,” you may think. If we’re honest, do we? Do we always put God first in our lives no matter the cost? If we took a hard look at our lives, our priorities, our activities, are we really putting God first? The truth? We’re not capable of making that level of commitment…not on our own. We fail and fail even with the best of intentions.
All this can be discouraging. We commit over and over to be more faithful in worship, join that Bible study, read a morning devotion each day, pray faithfully. It’s lasts for a bit and then fades. It’s disheartening and leaves us with a feeling of guilt.
However, there’s good news—amazing news actually. That spiritual fatigue that we experience can find rest in God. When we recall how he sent Jesus as our Savior, we are reminded that our most significant burden, sin, was taken care of by Jesus. Jesus is our rock—he’s not going anywhere. He’s our fortress—protecting us from the evils of Satan, the evils of the world, and even ourselves. He’s our salvation-the gift of peace knowing that sins are covered, forgiven, gone.
Exhale. Jesus has done it all for us. We can rest spiritually in God in a way that is unlike any earthly rest. We can say with confidence (with or without the Superman pose) that Satan, the challenges of this world, and our own sinfulness, will not consume us. We can say, “It is well with my soul.” (CW21 850) We have the peace and rest that comes from God alone. “[We] will never be shaken” from God’s loving care for us because of him and what he has done for us and our salvation.

There are so many things in the world that I just don’t understand. I put a tiny, dead-looking seed in dirt and with water, light, and time it becomes a beautiful flower or delicious herb. I tear a piece of paper and it’s forever torn. I get a cut on my hand and in time, it heals, and you would never know it had been cut.

Here’s one that is hard to wrap my head around. God is three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. At the same time, he is one God. Three Gods in one. One God in three. This is referred to as the Trinity. This is, without a doubt, not something we will ever understand this side of heaven. There isn’t any way for our limited human understanding to grasp this. Faith helps us believe it, even without understanding it. And yet, even though we don’t understand it, it’s true. We know that because of what we learn in God’s Word.

This Sunday was Trinity Sunday where we focused on the Triune God, three in one and one in three. Today’s verses reflect all three persons of the Trinity in a blessing that is often used at the close of worship.

• The LORD bless you and keep you;
  • This references the work of God the Father who lovingly cares and provides for our earthly needs, protection from sin and evil, and keeps us faithful to him.
• The LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
  • God the Son has saved us from sin through the cross and the empty tomb. In him we have God’s grace and forgiveness. Because of Jesus, God looks at us with a deep and profound love with our sins covered through Christ.
•  The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.
  • Here we see the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who works faith in our hearts and causes our faith to grow. His work in us gives us the peace and confidence that only faith in God can provide.

The Trinity—all serving us in their unique roles and serving as one God. What a mystery and what an indescribable blessing! What does this mean for you and for me? God the Father loves us. God the Son saves us. God the Holy Spirit gives us faith. Three in one and one in three. We thank God for faith to believe what we don’t understand and for the blessings we receive from the Triune God!

Relentless. Betsy was absolutely relentless. This little girl had in her mind that if she kept asking, the answer would eventually be the one she hoped for. You either have a child like that in your class, remember a child like Betsy, have a Betsy in your family, or may even have been that child.

Today’s reading is a prayer, spoken by the apostle Paul, for the people in Ephesus. It’s clear how much he cared for them. Did you notice how he started this part of the prayer—“I keep asking that God the Father…” ? He keeps going to God the Father in prayer on their behalf. He knew them well including their strengths, their opportunities, and their challenges. In verse 15 he mentions their “love for all the saints.” It sounds like they were a caring congregation watching out for one another. Paul’s prayer for them focuses on a couple of key areas:

• The Spirit of wisdom and revelation: Paul wants them to know more and more about God which will lead to growth in faith.
• That the eyes of [their] heart may be enlightened: Paul wants them to know as much as possible about God and his Word. Why? Paul gave three reasons:
  • So that they can understand the hope to which God has called [them]. That hope is not a wish but the assurance that grace is theirs.
  • So that they know the riches of his glorious inheritance: Heaven is theirs through faith. They can’t do anything to earn it. It’s a gift from God.
  • So that they can know of his incomparably great power for all who believe. God’s power is above anything we can imagine. This is God who created all things and through Jesus, provided relief from sin and the peace of heaven.

Paul’s prayer is that the people of Ephesus never waiver from the faith they have. That, my friends, is our prayer for each other as well. As you wrap up this year, remember your colleagues who serve within your own ministry and those who serve in other early childhood ministries. Like Paul, we can go back and back, asking the Lord to keep each other strong in the faith, growing in the Word, confident in God’s grace for us, and filled with awe of God’s power.

Like Betsy, let’s be relentless when we go to God in prayer on behalf of each other. May each of us be an encouragement for one another and a reflection of God’s grace for us.

How many times a day do you encourage the children in your care or your own children to, “Be nice”? As they work at sharing that toy that is their favorite one ever—“Be nice.” While they want so badly to be first in line but it’s their turn to be in the middle of the line—“Be nice.” When one child is struggling with self-control, and you are encouraging the other children to be patient—”Be nice.” It can be easy for a child to be nice when all is going well, but not as easy when things don’t go their way, or another child is not nice to them.

Take a minute and reread today’s verses.

Did you know that Jesus shared these words with his disciples in the Upper Room the night before his crucifixion? He knew clearly what was about to happen. He had this last time with all of them. He knew just what he wanted to say and what they needed to hear. He’s letting them know that he would not be with them physically, but he would be with them. Jesus gives them words of encouragement to face what’s coming. Jesus says, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” He’s reminding them of his love for them. Did you notice that he calls them his children? What a term of love and endearment! He tells them and he tells us to love each other. Not just, “be nice” but truly love each other. Why? Because of him, his love, all he had done, was about to do, and would continue to do for them and for us. Jesus also emphasizes that as they exude and reflect his love, others will know that their love comes from Jesus.

How about us? “Love one another” sounds so simple. You and I might think, “I’m a nice person. I’m kind to others.” This love that Jesus describes goes deeper than simple niceties. It’s what’s called agape love—a love that sacrifices for others. It’s a love for those who are not easy to love. It’s a love that comes from the love Jesus has for us.

And so, “Be nice” but even more, “love one another.” Think of the enduring love the Savior has for you. That loves motivates us and fills us with a love that reaches out to those around us in ways that reflect our Savior. So you can and do love one another out of love for Jesus. You can and do love one another as a way to reflect his love to others and point them to him.