Higher Things Daily Reflections

May 12, 2008 - Monday in the Week of Pentecost

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 22: 1-20; Luke 22: 1-23

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” (St. John 3:17)

In the name of Jesus. Amen. The Pharisees always saw Jesus as a threat. They questioned His questioning of their way of life: “You would judge us?” Jesus condemned their way of life and their hearts, which were devoid of faith. He was trying to break through their hearts of stone. Time after time, encounter after encounter, it was clear that they wouldn’t budge.

However, St. John brings us the account of one particular Pharisee whose heart the Gospel was penetrating — Nicodemus. He came to Jesus late at night, so as not to be seen. Our Lord’s teaching intrigued him. It was shocking! Jesus is no new lawgiver. To be a new Moses would mean that Jesus came to condemn all men. No! He came to save all men!

Jesus came to save, not to condemn, but that doesn’t mean that He never spoke words of condemnation. He condemned the Pharisees’ way of life for what it was — the way of death. To trust in bloodlines and in works of the flesh — that is the way of death. Those who trust sinful flesh will find the condemnation of the Lord, and they’ll find it fully on the Last Day when He comes in terror to judge the earth.

When your pastor condemns hearts devoid of faith, it’s for your eternal good. When you hear words of Jesus that shout condemnation, it’s so that He can proclaim words of salvation, for that is what God sent Him to do. Ever question Jesus’ intentions? Look to the Cross, where He forgave even those who crucified Him. There He forgives you, too!

Our Lord’s teaching prompted questions on the part of Nicodemus. He thirsted for answers. Jesus pointed Him to the Cross where life was won, and then to where the gift of life is given. Jesus taught him about water and the Spirit, where new life springs forth.

You’ve been born again through water and the Spirit. You have the gift of a pastor who teaches and preaches in the stead of Jesus. Go to him at night! Go to him on Sunday! Go to him when the condemnation of the Law weighs heavy upon you! Go to him when it doesn’t, for then you might need the Lord Jesus even more. He stands ready to give to you the Son of Man who saves! In the name of Jesus. Amen.

“With one accord, O God, we pray: Grant us Your Holy Spirit. Help us in our infirmity Through Jesus’ blood and merit. Grant us to grow in grace each day That by this sacrament we may Eternal life inherit.” (LSB 601:2)

May 11, 2008 - The Feast of Pentecost

Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 21:10-35; Luke 21:20-38

Today's Reading: St. John 14:23-31

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (St. John 14:27)

In the name of Jesus. Amen. Another Easter season has come and gone. We’ve rejoiced in the resurrection of our Lord Christ for seven weeks. Today, even on the Feast of Pentecost, the rejoicing in Jesus continues. Your Savior promised that the Holy Spirit would come and today that promise stands fulfilled.

In His ascension our Lord was glorified. He was exalted to the right hand of God the Father. But that doesn’t mean that He’s too busy for you. That doesn’t mean that the Son of Man ascends to heaven only to abandon those whose flesh he took upon Himself, and still bears eternally. The Savior who endured the cross and the grave for you promised never to leave you or forsake you.

Jesus warned of turbulent times ahead. He warned of persecution and martyrdom. He warned of believers falling away. Here is where we step up to the plate like St. Peter did: “Never, Lord! I will never deny You!” So easy to say on the heels of seven weeks of Easter joy! Not as easy to say when the temptation to sin sounds so good. Not as easy to say in the midst of suffering and tribulation.

That brings us to the Feast of Pentecost and the work of the Holy Spirit. As the world falls apart around you, as wars break out across the globe, as violence pervades, even in your own backyard, you have a peace that the world cannot give. Through Baptism, you have the gift of the Holy Spirit Who delivers Jesus. What kind of peace is that? Eternal peace!

The peace of the Lord Jesus is a peace that counters the assaults of the devil. The peace of the Lord Jesus is a peace filled with His Cross-won forgiveness for you. The peace of the Lord Jesus sees you beyond all the turmoil of this world to an eternity of Easter joy. So, let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

“O God, our merciful Father, who taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending to them the light of Your Holy Spirit, bring us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who with You and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (Collect for the Feast of Pentecost)

April 28, 2008 - Monday in the Sixth Week of Easter

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 8:5-26; Luke 15:11-32

This Week’s Readings: Numbers 21:4-9

“So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” (Numbers 21:9)

Those ungrateful Israelites – always complaining and griping! They had forgotten the many miraculous ways that the Lord had delivered them and provided for them: delivering them from 430 years of bondage in Egypt; leading them across the Red Sea on dry ground; giving them all the bread and meat they could ever want. But, here they were grumbling against Moses and against God about their lack of food and water and their growing dislike for the daily bread which the Lord had given them.

Having had enough of their complaints, the Lord sent fiery serpents to bite the complainers, many of whom died from the bites. And – surprise! The people repented and said, “We have sinned!” Amazing, isn’t it, how the fiery chomp of the Law has its desired effect?

But besides their repentance, the people needed to do something else. They had to look upon the very symbol of their suffering – a bronze serpent on a pole, “and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.”

This looking to the serpent on the pole points you to Jesus, who for your sakes, was put up on a pole – the cross – and in His fiery agony, suffering, and death took all your sins away along with the sting of death itself. Christ, the one who was bronzed by the scorching heat of the noonday Good Friday sun, suffered your punishment, died your death, and rose to life again to give you forgiveness and eternal life with Him. By faith, you look to Christ who now gives you His body and blood in His sacrament of forgiveness.

Ye who think of sin but lightly nor suppose the evil great here may view its nature rightly, here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed, see who bears this awful load; ‘tis the Word, the Lord’s anointed, Son of Man and Son of God. (LSB 451:3)

April 29, 2008 - Tuesday in the Sixth Week of Easter

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 9:1-23; Luke 16:1-18

This Week’s Readings: James 1:22-27

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.(James 1:22)

There is a billboard in a town near me which is supposed to be an advertisement for a local non-denominational church. The billboard says, “Do the Word.” Being the kind of confession of faith that it is, what is meant by “Do the Word” is this: If you just try hard enough to do what God’s Word says – namely, trying your hardest to keep the Ten Commandments, being an obedient son or daughter, working hard and doing your best – then God will smile on you and love you and forgive you and take you to heaven with Him.

That kind of “bumper-sticker theology” appeals to your sinful nature, for it gives you something to do, and what sinner among us doesn’t like to be able to do something for God?

What about you? Don’t youlike to “do the Word?” Sure you do. You enjoy (most of the time) reading your Bible and going to church and studying God’s Word with others. You feel good when you obey your parents and other authorities and do nice things for others.

But that is not what St. James is saying in today’s text. Reading James’ words in the larger context of Scripture we find that our Lord Jesus said that the will of His Father was that men believe in the One whom He, the Father, has sent. That’s Jesus, of course! And the very best way to “do the Word” is to believe, by God-given faith, in Jesus Christ. Frankly, Jesus is the only one ever who was able to “do the Word” perfectly, obeying His Father’s will and fulfilling all of Scripture for you. His substitutionary suffering and death in your place paid for all your sins once and for all; it never needs to be “done” again.

Jesus does the Word – He IS the Word, for you!

Help us Your holy Law to learn, to mourn our sin and from it turn in faith to You and to Your Son and Holy Spirit, Three in One. (LSB 865:2)

April 30, 2008 - Wednesday in the Sixth Week of Easter

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 10:11-36; Luke 16:19-31

This Week’s Readings: II Kings 5:1-14

So [Naaman] went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. (II Kings 5:14)

I love the story of Naaman; it’s a connection to Baptism. Naaman, a mighty king with leprosy, wanted to be healed. But he wanted a flashy, showy, worthy-of-his-rank, made for TV prime-time healing; he did notwant to go and wash in the skuzzy Jordan river; he wanted to wash in cleaner and better rivers. That means he did not want to obey the word of the man of God whose name was Elisha, and that means he did not want to obey the Word of God itself. Finally, Naaman put aside his pride and did what Elisha commanded: “he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” God’s Word and promise for Naaman’s healing was connected to the Jordan River; the healing was where God said it would be – with His Word and promise.

Now, connect the dots. “How can water do such great things? Certainly not just water, but the Word of God in and with the waterdoes these things, along with the faith which trusts this Word of God in the water.” In Holy Baptism, God connects His power and promise with the water. The water itself is nothing, but “with the Word of God it is a baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace…”

The water of the Jordan is where God put His word of promise of healing for Naaman. He was healed according to the word of the man of God whom God sent to deliver His Word.

The water in which you were baptized was nothing special in and of itself,butt God’s Word and promise were connected to it. Through that water and the Word you received forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death and the devil, and eternal salvation.

The gifts flow from the font where He calls us His own; new life He gives that makes us His and His alone. Here He forgives our sins with water and His Word; the triune God Himself gives pow’r to call Him Lord. (LSB 602:2)

May 1, 2008 - The Ascension of Our Lord

Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:1-23, 31-35; Luke 17:1-19

This Week’s Readings: St. Mark 16:14-20

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. (St. Mark 16:19)

The Ascension of our Lord is a vital feast in the life of the Church, and here’s why.

Drawing from Acts 1 and John 14 we know and believe that Jesus will come back in the same way He went – visibly and with great power and glory, and He will come back FOR YOU, to take you to be with Him. Christ will return; you have His word on it.

In Romans 8:34, we learn that Christ is at the Father’s right hand “interceding for us.” Christ, your Lord and Savior and Great High Priest, is always praying for you and beseeching the Father on your behalf.

Christ ascended to His Father 40 days after the Resurrection. Because Christ ascended, He Himself tells us that He will come back to take us to be with Him, to the place He has prepared for us. Christ has all power and all authority given to Him by God the Father, and from God’s right hand – the position of power and authority – He rules all things for our good and prays for us.

Even though we do not have Christ walking and talking among us as did His disciples, we have Him among us in a still more wonderful and miraculous way. For He is with us and He comes to us through His Word, and especially in His Supper. Here is where He delivers to you what He went to the cross to accomplish – true, real, and lasting forgiveness, life, and salvation through His real, true, and lasting body and blood.

This is Christ: He lived, died, rose, and ascended into heaven, and is coming again. And in His holy meal He continues to strengthen your faith until your heavenly mansion is fully prepared and He calls you home.

Who is this that comes in glory with the trump of jubilee? Lord of battles, God of armies, He has gained the victory. He who on the cross did suffer, He who from the grave arose, He has vanquished sin and Satan; He by death has crushed His foes. (LSB 494:2)

May 2, 2008 - Friday in the Sixth Week of Easter

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:24-29; 12:1-16; Luke 17:20-37

This Week’s Readings: St. Luke 17:20-37

“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” (St. Luke 17:20-21)

At first glance, our Lord’s words seem to contradict other Scripture where Jesus says always to watch and look for His coming, and also not to look inside yourself. But on second glance, His words are true and right, of course.

“The kingdom of God does not come with observation.” In other words, it does not come by any effort or work on your part. But some churches teach that the more you do for God and the more you look for Him to come, then He will hurry up and change His plans, and you can make Him come. But that ultimately means that God won’t come unless you do something first. Does that mean God can’t act without your help? That’s a pretty lame God!

Luther has it right in the Second Petition of the Our Father: “The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us, also. How does God’s kingdom come? …when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.”

So God’s kingdom comes to you in Baptism when He first gives you His Holy Spirit who points you to Jesus and gives you faith to trust in Him. And through that God-given faith in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection, you believe that holy Word and are saved. Further, Jesus comes to you in His holy Supper with His true body and blood to give you forgiveness, life, and salvation. In that Supper, Jesus – the kingdom of God in the flesh – comes and abides in you. Indeed, then “the kingdom of God is within you” to keep you in the one true faith.

Your kingdom come. Guard Your domain and Your eternal righteous reign. The Holy Ghost enrich our day with gifts attendant on our way. Break Satan’s pow’r, defeat his rage; preserve Your Church from age to age. (LSB 766:3)

May 3, 2008 - Saturday in the Sixth Week of Easter

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 13:1-3, 17-33; Luke 18:1-17

This Week’s Readings: St. Luke 17:20-37

Your face, Lord, do I seek; hide not Your face from me. (Psalm 27:8-9,from the Introit for the Seventh Sunday of Easter)

When the Lord’s face is turned toward you, it is a very favorable sign. In the Benediction we hear that the Lord would “make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you,” and that He would “lift up His countenance upon you.” God’s countenance is His face. It is good when God’s face is turned toward you.

But, there are times when you do not want God to turn His face toward you. Luther nails this idea in the meaning to “And forgive us our trespasses”: “We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins or deny our prayer because of them.” You never want God to look at your sins, but God always sees and knows everything. And knowing that, you may as well repent of all your sins, for none of them can ever escape God’s sight. You can’t hide your envy or jealousy toward your neighbor. You can’t hide your cheating and lying. You can’t hide your hurtful words and actions. Oh, you will want to hide all these sins, and you may, for a while, be able to hide them from others and maybe even deny committing them to yourself. But that’s living the lie. Repent.

Then pray, “Your face, Lord, do I seek; hide not Your face from me.” Seeking the Lord’s face is already a sign and fruit of the fact that God has taken away your sins in Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. Christ has taken away your sins that come between you and God, sins that drive you away from seeking His face. From the cross Jesus said, “Father, forgive them,” and He has forgiven you for all your offenses against Him in His substitutionary death in your place.

The Lord continually comes to you – shows you His face and favor – in His sacramental gifts. By faith you continue to seek Him there, where He has promised to be.

Lord, I confess my sins and mourn their wretched bands; a contrite heart is sure to find forgiveness at Your hands. (LSB 628:2)

May 4, 2008 - Seventh Sunday of Easter

Sun, 04 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:1-25; Luke 18:18-34

This Week’s Readings: St. John 15:26-16:4

But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. (St. John 15:26)

At the Ascension Jesus left in one way, and promised to be with us another way. Now we hear Jesus say that His Helper is the one whom He shall send. And what will this Helper do? He will point us to Jesus, for that is always the work of the Holy Spirit. “He will testify of Me.” And He is “the Spirit of truth.” And what did Jesus say of Himself elsewhere? “I am the way and the TRUTH and the life.” The Spirit of truth is the Spirit of Jesus. The Helper helps us to Jesus. The Spirit testifies of Jesus. So, the Spirit comforts and helps us by pointing us to Jesus – to His work of suffering, dying, and rising in order to pay for the sins of the world.

Jesus helps us get ready for the Day of Pentecost when God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh; that is just a few days away. In the mean time, the comfort of Jesus’ Ascension is that He does not leave us alone in the midst of an otherwise God-forsaken world. The Ascended Lord has sent us the Helper, the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit.

Through the preaching of His Gospel that same Spirit creates and sustains faith in those who hear that Word, wherever it pleases Him. That God, in Christ, has taken to Himself the sins of all mankind and crucified them with Himself on the cross is the most liberating, freeing, comforting message of all. That God imparts His Spirit in the waters of Holy Baptism to wash away sin and give us the new birth from above is joy and comfort for the troubled soul. That God, in Christ, chooses willingly to take up residence in us in His body and blood under bread and wine is true comfort, help, and forgiveness.

O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Seventh Sunday of Easter)

May 5, 2008 - Monday in the Seventh Week of Easter

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:26-45; 15:1-41; Luke 18:35-19:10

This Week’s Readings: Ezekiel 36:22-28

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a new heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:25-26)

You can’t possibly read these words from Ezekiel and not think immediately about Baptism. Water, sprinkle, cleanse from filthiness – it’s a Baptismal Jesus text!

This final week of Easter brings you ever closer to Pentecost, the giving of the Spirit, the Spirit of Christ who comes to you in Baptism to cleanse you of sin, take up residence in you, deliver you from death and the devil, and give you eternal salvation.

And you need all of this! Why? Because you are one sin-filled (sinful) person. You reek and rot with sin. Death, decay and damnation are your lot, because of your sinful nature. And that’s exactly the condition and mindset in which the devil would like you to remain. He wants you to think that you need to fix yourself, but with your inability to do so he will drive you to despair. He also does not want you to have anything done about your sinfulness. He would rather have you believe that you are too sinful, too disgusting, and in too bad a shape for God to love you or save you.

But, God has loved you in His Son Jesus. When Jesus’ blood was running down from the Cross, it was buying forgiveness for you and for all mankind. That same blood shed and body broken come to you in Holy Communion. Through Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection God is the one who takes out your stony and dead heart and replaces it with one of flesh – the flesh and blood of Jesus in the Sacrament. The prayer, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” is answered when Christ is preached and delivered into your ears through Absolution, Supper, and Baptism.

Create in me a new heart, Lord, that gladly I obey Your Word. Let what You will be my desire, and with new life my soul inspire. (LSB 704:3)

May 6, 2008 - Tuesday in the Seventh Week of Easter

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:1-22; Luke 19:11-28

This Week’s Readings: I Peter 4:7-14

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you…but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings... (I Peter 4:12-13)

So, dotrials and problems ever surprise you? Sure they do. Do you ever think them strange? Of course. Do you walk around in your own little world expecting everything always to be good and never to have any problems? Sometimes. And when trouble does arise, does your faith and trust in Christ waver? More than you would like to admit. Do you ever think, even for a moment, that God does not love you anymore, and that He has turned you over to the evil one? Maybe the thought has crossed your mind. When you suffer ridicule and hardship for the sake of Christ and your confession of Him as Savior, do you alwaysrejoice? Well, not always…truth be told, hardly ever.

If any of that is true about you, you are normal…and you are sinful…and there’s nothing youcan do about that. Life in this sinful and falling-apart-at-the-seams world is frequently challenging. And, as St. Peter says, you should not think it strange when you suffer. And the sooner you understand that you are not in control of your circumstances, the better off you’ll be. Repent of wanting to be your own god.

Hear this promise of God from St. Paul in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”

Rejoice! Christ is for you, in you, and with you at all times.

Why should cross and trial grieve me? Christ is near with His cheer; never will He leave me. Who can rob me of the heaven that God’s Son for me won when His life was given? Now in Christ, death cannot slay me, though it might, day and night, trouble and dismay me. Christ has made my death a portal from the strife of this life to His joy immortal! (LSB 756:1,5)

May 7, 2008 - Wednesday in the Seventh Week of Easter

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:23-40; Luke 19:29-48

We were therefore buried with Him through Baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:4)

“What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should, by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.”

Whenever a baptism takes place there is a death – the death of the Old Adam, that sinful nature which we received from our first parents, Adam and Eve. The heathen, the unbeliever, dies; he is killed. And he must be killed, for only then can he be raised to life again.

Baptism is all about Jesus’ death to sin and His resurrection from the dead. And why did He have to die? In order to pay for all your sins and the sins of all mankind. In Christ’s suffering and death all of God’s wrath was poured out on Him, not on you. Christ took your punishment and your death, and in return He gives you forgiveness, life, and hope – all of which is delivered to you through the preached Gospel, Absolution, Baptism, and the Supper.

Your joy and delight is daily to make the sign of the cross and remember your Baptism in which God made you His child, gave you His name, and gave you His Spirit. That daily remembrance is the daily dying and rising, all the while thanking God for His grace and love for you.

The great news which we have the privilege of preaching is that, for the Christian, death does not have the final word; for the final word in Christ is LIFE. Life instead of death, resurrection instead of burial, forgiveness instead of damnation – and all that from Baptism.

All who believe and are baptized shall see the Lord’s salvation; baptized into the death of Christ, they are a new creation. Through Christ’s redemption they shall stand among the glorious, heav’nly band of ev’ry tribe and nation. (LSB 601:1)