[Jesus said] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5

Connection with Jesus

Lately, I seem to be getting frequent reminders that I am not as young as I used to be. The latest was a notice in the mail that my twentieth high school class reunion will be held this summer. Indeed, those twenty years can go by very quickly. Also, a lot can happen in twenty years, making it hard to stay connected with classmates. Life happens. We get married and have children. Jobs take us all over the country. When we go so long without seeing people, it is easy to lose the connections we once had with them.

It’s also easy for that to take place with Jesus. Life happens. We get married and have children. We fill our schedules up with work, sports, and school activities. We have family and community obligations. We take vacations and try to make the most of life. Before we know it, we are losing our connection with Jesus. This happens gradually, just like with high school classmates over twenty years.

Losing a connection to a high school friend is one thing. Losing our connection with Jesus is another thing altogether. Jesus makes it clear in John chapter 15 that without a connection to him, we are in trouble: we can’t produce spiritual fruit and be saved from our sins. Ultimately, no connection with Jesus means no getting into heaven. It means getting tossed out with the other dead branches into the eternal burn pile.

The good news is that Jesus will never sever his connection with those who are joined to him by faith. He is always ready and waiting in his Word to remind us of his love and to draw us closer to him.

Perhaps, for you, now is a good time to reconnect with Jesus and take steps to remain in Jesus. Recommit yourself to regularly attending worship. Join a Bible study. Expand your devotional life.

We may or may not want to attend a class reunion, but we never want to miss out on eternal life with Jesus!

Prayer:
Dear Savior, thank you for always being there for me in Word and sacrament. Bless my efforts to remain in you now and forever. Amen.

This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
1 John 3:19,20

Love Is a Struggle

The ancient Greeks considered their stomachs to be the seat of their emotions. It was their way of expressing that emotions come from deep inside us. Today, the bodily organ commonly associated with emotions like love is the heart. We imagine our hearts bursting when they are full of love and breaking when they aren’t. It is interesting that we tend to associate our emotions with bodily organs that are so easily upset and unsettled.

Your love for others is evidence of your faith in God’s love for you. Yet how often don’t you demonstrate the truth of Jesus’ statement when he said, “the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” In your heart, you know that you have not loved your neighbor as yourself or have not loved others as God has loved you. As a result, in your heart, you imagine yourself condemned.

Perhaps it is because we associate love with organs that are so easily upset and unsettled that we imagine ourselves so easily condemned. Thankfully “God is greater than our hearts.” God is not easily influenced by your struggle to love others that his love for you becomes upset or unsettled. He proved his love when he gave his son, Jesus, to pay for those sins that should have condemned you and that can still make you feel condemned. When you feel this way, remember that your forgiveness does not depend on how you feel but on what God has done to save you. Thank God he is greater than our hearts!

Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, when my heart tries to condemn me, keep me from despair and comfort me in the knowledge that you have forgiven all of my sins, even when I don’t feel forgiven. Amen.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
1 John 3:16

Love Is Unconditional

When your living Lord laid down his life for you, he showed you that love was an action; a thing you do. But who is to be the recipient of your loving actions? Most people would say their family, friends, and neighbors are the recipients of their love. But what is it about your family, friends, and neighbors that make them deserve your love? Is it because they raised and nurtured you? Is it because they support and encourage you? Is it because they lend you a cup of milk and an egg when you need them? Those are all wonderful things, but if those are the reasons you love others, then you still don’t understand love. Notice what all the previous examples have in common. They are examples of conditional love; it’s about you getting something before you give something.

In 1 John 3:16, we are told that Jesus loves “us.” It would be good for us to remember what we gave to Jesus before Jesus made us the recipients of his love. According to Ephesians 2:1-3, all people are, by nature, enemies of God. This is because, by nature, none of us wants the same things God wants. We had nothing of value to give to Jesus, in fact, we disobeyed and fought against him. If Jesus were to love us with conditional love, if he were to wait for us to give something to him before he gave something to us, then we would never be loved by him.

But you are loved. Jesus was fully aware you had nothing to give him. Yet, he decided to make you a recipient of his love. When he laid down his life for you—he gave your life value, forgiveness, and salvation. Jesus loves you not because of what you can give to him, rather, he loves you because of what he has given to you. Jesus loves you unconditionally.

Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, I’m not worthy to be a recipient of your love. Yet, you love me anyway. Teach me love is unconditional. Strengthen me so that my love for others may be as unconditional as your love for me. Amen.

No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
Acts 4:32

A Manager of God’s Possessions

That’s mine! You can’t have it! Leave it alone! Many parents have heard words like this so often that they never want to hear them again. At work, you hear: He took my parking place. That was supposed to be my promotion. Why doesn’t anyone think about my loyalty to this company?

The concern about me and what’s mine seems to be present at every stage of life. Some stages may be more filled with it than others, but the general thought is still the same. You have to fight to hold on to what you have. You have to fight to get what you deserve.

The early Christians spoken about in our Bible reading didn’t think that way. In fact, they didn’t claim anything as their own. Those believers did not find it necessary to talk much, if at all, about their own possessions. Possessions didn’t seem to be that important.

Why? The first reason is that these believers realized that everything they had was God’s, not theirs. They didn’t think of possessions as belonging to this person or that person. Everything belonged to God. Each one of them was only a manager of God’s possessions.

Think of that. What you have is not yours. It’s God’s, and you are the manager. One person manages one group of things, and other people manage other things. Having that understanding can change your point of view about possessions dramatically.

Another reason the early Christians didn’t consider their possessions to be their own was that they realized that we use our possessions only for a short time. What we possess now must be viewed from the perspective of our eternal glory of heaven. Our lives here and now are only a short step in our unending journey. Everything comes from God, and he has even better things, even more valuable things, in store for us. Heaven awaits. This fact teaches us to place the right amount of value on what God has given us to use here on earth.

Prayer:
Lord, teach me that all good gifts come from you. Lead me to value the spiritual blessings that you give through Jesus. Help me to use the many blessings you give me to serve you and love others. Amen.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
Psalm 23:1-3

Mine!

Mine! A child reaches for a toy, rips it from his brother’s hands, and shouts, “Mine!” Certainly, a lesson in sharing is in order when it comes to playing. But a heart that cries out “Mine!” isn’t always a bad thing. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, loves us so deeply and possessively that he declares, “Mine!” And when a heart responds to Jesus’ love, it shouts, “Mine! You are mine, and I am yours!”

The writer of this psalm pictures himself as a helpless sheep, no longer helpless because the Lord is his shepherd. Hear the possessive love, “My Shepherd!” I am his and he is mine forever. Mine! None of us are literal sheep or literal shepherds, but we can appreciate the imagery. Even if you’re not a sheep, can’t you picture the peace and quiet of lying down on the green grass near a babbling brook where you’re just resting, no longer running around and scrambling through a frantic life? The Lord, our Good Shepherd, gives us a rest far greater than that! He gives us rest for our souls. He refreshes us with the very love of God to sustain us all our days and give us eternal life. These blessings are not something I have to wait for; right now, they are mine through Jesus!

The Lord shepherds you through this life with a love so tender and possessive, a love that screams from a gruesome cross and then from an empty tomb, and now from a throne in heaven, “Mine! You are mine!” your Good shepherd declares. And throughout this life, we can confidently respond, “Mine!” Jesus and all his blessings are mine! The Lord is my Shepherd. He shepherds us through life and to our final destination—heaven, where we will be at peace in our Good Shepherd’s arms. He is mine, and I am his. Forever.

Prayer:
Lord, you are my Shepherd, and I lack nothing. “Surely, your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Amen.

[Jesus said] “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
John 10:14,15

The Good Shepherd Knows

A fan can know a lot about a celebrity on a superficial level. They can know the celebrity’s birthday, life story, and so many other details. However, if they were to bump into each other in public, the celebrity would know nothing about the fan. It’s a one-sided, superficial relationship at best.

Have you ever thought of your relationship with Jesus in the same way— “I know a lot about him, but does he really know me?” Or maybe you are searching the Bible to learn more about God and what he’s like, but does he really know you? It’s actually the other way around. Jesus, your Good Shepherd, knows you. And not on a superficial level. He knows you better than you know him. In fact, he knew you, loved you, and laid down his life for you before you ever came to know him.

Before the sheep realized the danger, the shepherd knew and acted to save the sheep. Before it ever dawned on us how much we needed Jesus and his salvation, he laid down his life for us. He knows his sheep. He knows you intimately. At first thought, it might startle you to realize God knows you that well. Perhaps there are things about you that no one else knows, and it would terrify you if they did. Jesus knows those things. However, it didn’t lead him to run away or shun you. It led him to lay down his life for you. Listen to what your Good Shepherd calls you: my sheep!

He knows your deepest needs better than you do, and he knows how best to meet them. He knows the guilt you’ve felt and the trouble you’ve experienced. He takes you in his arms, cleanses you of all guilt, and calms your troubled heart. Your Savior knows you and loves you. You are his!

Prayer:
Lord, shepherd me through the ups and downs of life and grant all that I need, as you know best. Amen.

[Jesus said] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”
John 10:11-13

The Good Shepherd Cares

There is pride in ownership. When someone rents a house, they might not care as much about the day-to-day upkeep. Some tenants don’t treat it like their own because it’s not. When you buy the house, and it’s yours, the pride of ownership brings a whole new level of care and upkeep. An hourly employee may put in a good, honest day’s work, but at the end of the shift, he punches the clock and goes home. However, the owner stays late to do what it takes and makes sacrifices for the company because it’s his.

In our Bible reading for today, Jesus makes the point that a shepherd who owns a flock of sheep cares for them in a way a hired hand does not. He cares for them because they are his. He will care for and protect them at any cost.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Unlike a hired hand, he does what it takes and makes the ultimate sacrifice because we are his. Jesus is not simply another human sent by God to serve on God’s behalf. He is true God from eternity and the God who made us and who came to save us. Jesus cares for you and laid down his life for you. He takes pride in you because you belong to him for time and for eternity. Your Good Shepherd cares!

Prayer:
Lord, shepherd me through life ever closer to your tender, loving care. Amen.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 2:1,2

You Have an Advocate

A criminal defense attorney said the most frequent question he is asked is: “Why do you defend people you know are guilty?” Normally he responds that he doesn’t consider himself to be a successful attorney only if his client never sees the inside of a prison. He admitted that most of his clients are guilty of something. “However,” he went onto say “not every person charged with a crime is treated fairly.” Under the law, even criminals have rights—rights that are sometimes violated or ignored. The attorney said his goal is to make sure every person is treated fairly under the law. That way, he can be successful whether his client is found to be innocent or guilty.

The Bible describes Jesus as an advocate—someone who, like a lawyer, comes to the defense of someone. And the Bible says that those whom Jesus chooses to defend are those who sin. In other words, he chooses to defend us—individuals who are most certainly guilty of pride, hate, arrogance, greed, and any number of other sins.

But he not only defends us, knowing we are guilty of sin. He also did something even the very best criminal defense attorney wouldn’t. He volunteered to take our punishment. Not by sitting in a prison. But by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins on a cross.

And the reason he did that is to give you rights. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you have the God-given right to walk through life knowing you are forgiven. You have the right to be released from the heavy burden of guilt you’ve been carrying. You have the right to know that God loves you, no matter how you have sinned. You have the right to know that you will always have an advocate who will come to your defense and always win.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for being my advocate. Amen.

You are witnesses of these things.
Luke 24:48

Extraordinary Eyewitnesses

Your friend busts into the room with an amazing story. He tells it with great gusto and appropriate hand gestures. He pauses just before the good parts. You are captivated. Then you ask him, “Were you there?” And he responds, “No, I just heard about it.” It doesn’t take away from your enjoyment of the story, but it does make you wonder whether it actually happened the way he described it.

Every Easter we hear the story of Jesus rising from the dead. It’s breathtaking, and it gives us shivers to hear it, think about it, and celebrate it. But some wonder whether it got garbled in the retelling. Did it really happen the way that the Bible says it did?

The disciples of Jesus saw the resurrection happen. They reported it just as they had seen and heard it. Jesus gave them a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that they could report it word for word without mistakes. When it comes to Jesus rising from the dead, we have extraordinary eyewitnesses.

When the details of the resurrection get garbled in your head, go back to the original accounts in the Bible and read them again for yourself: Matthew chapter 28, Mark chapter 16, Luke chapter 24, and John chapter 20. You will be able to read what the eyewitnesses have to say, and can enjoy repeating their story with gusto and joy.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 746, st. 6)
Lord, I love to tell the story.
O wonderful redemption!
The price for sin is paid,
Salvation is accomplished
My heart is unafraid
For God has raised Christ Jesus
To show the work was done;
His glorious resurrection
Declared the vict-ry won! Amen.

[Jesus said] “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see, a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.
Luke 24:39-43

Real Resurrection

The early disciples must have wondered if Jesus was a ghost when he rose from the dead. It would have made sense to them. They had seen him die, and they had seen him buried, so if he were to come back from the dead, it would have to be as a spirit.

Jesus demonstrated to them that he had risen from the dead in far more than spirit. He had them touch his body. He showed them the hands and feet that had been nailed to the cross. He ate real food. Jesus had risen from the dead with both soul and body.

In these modern days there are people who insist that Jesus could not actually have risen from the dead. After all, no one does that, right? People are willing to consider the possibility that there are ghosts and even willing to consider the idea of zombies, but they are unwilling to believe that people can rise from the dead, body and soul.

Jesus did rise from the dead, body and soul, and he made it clear that everyone who believes in him will do the same. On judgment day, believers in Jesus will have their real souls reunited with their real bodies in a glorified form, unable to sin anymore.

Because Jesus lives, we too shall live.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for your promise of real resurrection. Amen.

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.”
Acts 3:19,20

The Ultimate Refreshment

A multitude of products promise to quench our thirst: A variety of teas and juices, sports drinks, and dozens of brands of soda ranging from caffeine-loaded to caffeine-free all claim that if we drink them, we will find refreshment.

Interestingly, many of these products actually deprive the body of the refreshment it needs. Despite flashy marketing techniques and new and exotic tastes, some beverages fall flat when it comes to delivering the refreshment the consumer is paying for.

The same can be said of the many religions that promise spiritual refreshment. Not many deliver what is promised. Not many deliver what the soul needs: peace, hope, joy, contentment, and freedom from fear.

In fact, only one product delivers true, lasting spiritual refreshment. The only thing that refreshes is the forgiveness of sins.

Only the forgiveness of sins gives peace—peace of conscience and the peace of knowing that we are no longer enemies of God. Only the forgiveness of sins deals with the guilt and scarring left by sin and failure. Only the forgiveness of sins, won for all by Jesus’ death on the cross, gives lasting spiritual refreshment.

In our Bible reading today, the apostle Peter’s call to repentance echoes across the centuries to our hearts. Rather than take forgiveness for granted, we confess our sins and are refreshed with God’s forgiveness. Forgiveness of sins is the ultimate refreshment. It’s free, and it’s yours through Jesus.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, in you I am forgiven and refreshed. May I always cling to you, my perfect Savior. Amen.

Then Jesus told [Thomas], “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:29

Proof of the Unseen

There’s an old adage: Seeing is believing. It means you need to see something to accept that it is true. That saying, however, is not always true. People believe in all sorts of things they have not seen. For example, do you believe that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated?

Of course! Even though you didn’t see it happen, you know that it did. Why are you sure of it? Because there is proof of what you yourself did not see. Other people met him and gave eyewitness testimony about him, so you believe it happened.

What about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Do you need to see Jesus to believe he rose from the dead? Thomas thought that. He had missed Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples after he rose from the dead. When the others told him they had seen Jesus alive again, Thomas did not believe them. He said, “Unless I see, I will not believe it.”

Like Thomas, you have never seen Jesus alive after being dead for three days. Should you bet your life and eternity on something you have never seen? Not if seeing is believing.

Thankfully, seeing is not believing—there is proof of what you have not seen. Jesus answered Thomas’ doubt by physically appearing to him and giving him the proof he wanted. He gives you proof, too, but in a different way.

Jesus only appeared in person for forty days after his resurrection. After that, people relied not on seeing him with their own eyes but on the eyewitness testimony of those who did see him. In fact, Jesus calls you blessed if you believe even though you have not seen.

You don’t need to see or touch Jesus’ wounds to believe. You don’t need to see Jesus to know he’s real. When it comes to believing in Jesus and his resurrection, he has provided you with proof of the unseen that is just as blessed as witnessing it yourself.

Prayer:
Jesus, thank you for blessing me, through the testimony of your witnesses. Amen.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
John 20:19

Jesus’ Resurrection Brings Peace

The disciples were in hiding. Their teacher had been arrested and executed, and they had acted shamefully. They abandoned Jesus when they should have helped him. Now, he was dead, and they couldn’t apologize or make it up to him. The guilt they felt must have been astronomical.

Worse than that, though, was the fact that the people who killed Jesus were probably going to arrest and kill them, too. So they locked themselves in a room and waited for the inevitable.

They were not, however, visited by the vindictive Jewish leaders. Instead, they were visited by Jesus. He who had been crucified, dead, and buried was now very much alive and standing among them. He entered without using the door. The surprise they felt must have been astronomical.

Do you think they were also afraid when they saw him? After all, they had wronged Jesus when they abandoned him. Now, he was standing right in front of them. The locked doors had not stopped Jesus from getting to them. Neither had death. Would Jesus hold a grudge?

No! His first words to them were, “Peace be with you.” He didn’t punish them or coax an apology out of them. He gave them peace. It was more than freedom from enemies who wanted to kill them. It was the peace that comes from knowing everything was right between them and God.

The risen Savior gives that same peace to you. What does it take to get peace? Peace with God comes at a cost, but Christ has paid it for you.

Sin makes everything wrong between you and God, but Jesus paid the price for your sin. You can be certain because after Jesus paid that price, he rose from the dead with a message of peace on his lips.

So, what guilt burdens your conscience? What sins keep you up at night? Know that Jesus’ resurrection brings you peace. In Christ, you have the unconditional pardon of everything that you’ve ever done wrong. You are forgiven.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, give me peace from the certain fact of your resurrection from the dead. Amen.

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
Acts 18:9-11

Courage To Speak

It takes courage to speak the Word of God. The apostle Paul knew this from experience. Once, in a city called Lystra, his audience pummeled him with stones and left him for dead. He was flogged and imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica and Berea, and sneered at in Athens.

Now, Paul had come to Corinth, and his reception was mixed. Some people believed the Word that he preached, but others were abusive to him. You can imagine what he thought: “Will I only be laughed at, or will this turn ugly? Should I go before something worse happens?”

You probably don’t need to try very hard to imagine that inner monologue because you’ve thought something similar. Although you haven’t traveled the Mediterranean world on a preaching tour like Paul, you have been in situations where sharing the Word of God could have led to unpleasant results.

Perhaps you’ve stood by a friend burdened with a guilty conscience, a relative mourning her dead husband, or a colleague shocked at the state of the world. In the Bible, God has things to say for all those situations. But when you speak them, it could cause a hostile reaction.

However, rather than being silent, remember the encouragement that Jesus gave Paul: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you.” The risen Lord promised to be with him, and he kept that promise. He blessed Paul’s work in Corinth for a year and a half!

Did you know that God is with you too? After his resurrection, he gave a similar promise to everyone who believes in him: “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). How encouraging to know that the risen Lord is with you to support you as you speak his Word!

Prayer:
Lord, give me the courage to speak your Word when it needs to be spoken. Amen.

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.
1 Corinthians 15:20

No Blade Sharp Enough

To say that Thomas Jefferson liked to read would be a grand understatement. “I cannot live without books,” he once said. In his day, Jefferson had the largest personal collection of books in the United States. It numbered in the thousands, and the volumes covered every conceivable subject, from history and literature to science and philosophy and everything in between.

In this massive library that Jefferson loved, however, there was one written history that received unique treatment. It was the Bible’s written history of Jesus. For reasons fully known only to him, Jefferson took the written account of Jesus’ life and proceeded to remove any verses that described supernatural events and any verses that described Jesus as anything more than a man. He simply sliced them out of the text. As one historian described it, he “kept his blade busy.” Then Jefferson pasted together the remaining verses to make a book of his own. He called it, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.

Given the kind of book it was, it is not difficult to guess how the book ends. The book ends with this sentence: “There laid they Jesus, and rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.” In Jefferson’s version of events, Jesus does not rise from the dead. In his book on Jesus’ life, Easter does not survive Jefferson’s blade.

But there’s no blade sharp enough to remove the reality of Easter. Whether it’s a blade that cuts verses from the written account of the gospel, a blade that cuts down the lives of early Christians, or a blade that puts present-day Christians to death for their faith—the tomb is empty. No matter the sharpness of the blade, Jesus lives. No matter the sharpness of the blade, God has kept his promise, we stand forgiven, and eternal life is ours.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, there is no blade sharp enough that can separate your promises from my life. Thank you for the reality of Easter. Thank you for the reality of your empty tomb. Amen.