THE LORD'S KINDNESS & PROMISE

Isaiah 54:10 "For the mountains may depart & the hills disappear, but My kindness shall not leave you. My promise of peace for you will never be broken," says the Lord who has mercy upon you. The Living Bible

OUR FATHER, OUR FRIEND

"He is our Father, our Friend, & can be our Companion on the path of life. Such an association becomes the most cherished relationship in the world." W. Phillip Keller, Men's Devotional Bible

DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTIES

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." (Is. 40:8)" You can trust the Word because the Word is none other than Jesus, & Jesus never withered or changed. He never changed in His course of the cross & did not wither in the grave. And so, when Isaiah says that the Word will stand forever, you know that the Word stands as a resurrected man. Jesus stands for you. He stands alive & proclaims to you that your sins are permanently forgiven. Yes, you are forgiven, truly forgiven! Matthew Richard, Minute Messages

A COMFORTING MESSAGE

"For what more comforting & delightful message can be heard than that our sins are not ours anymore, that they no more lie on us, but on the Lamb of God? How can sin condemn such an innocent Lamb? Sin must be vanquished & blotted out by Him, & likewise death & hell (the reward of sin) must also be vanquished. See what God our Father has given us in Christ!" A Year in the Gospels with martin Luther

DEATH

"Many of us know the stunned feeling that accompanies learning of the unexpected death of someone close. It is disorienting. It takes some time to regain our emotional & spiritual bearings. When we 'lose' someone close, the grief can be overwhelming. Even our Lord wept for the family of Lazarus as He shared their grief (John 11). Surely the bereaved must be comforted with the Gospel. But wisdom & experience teach us that even these most powerful of words can be drowned out in the chaotic cacophony of death's wails & cries.

"In those initial moments, our silent, compassionate presence offers comfort & encouragement. A wordless embrace & empathetic tears proclaim our love & shared suffering. We can most certainly remind them at that moment of the comforting promise of eternal life & the hope of the resurrection in which we trust. Bt for most people drowning in the shock of grief, these words seldom deliver the bereaved from the valley of the shadow." Rev. Robert Stroud, The Lutheran Witness, Nov. 2021