TODAY'S VERSES FROM PSALMS

"Consider & answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, 'I have prevailed over him,' lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in Your steadfast live; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me." (13:3-6)

MEN OF COURAGE

"But I have learned over the years that I will never be a success in my marriage, with my kids or with my friends, without courage." Bill Hybels, Men's Devotional Bible

LIFE THOUGHTS

"Almighty God wondrously & abundantly brings forth life where we only behold despair & darkness (Ez. 37:3-6). How much more does He hold our embryonic neighbors, impaired persons, & aging ones than piles of bones? And would we not witness--& deliver!--miracles in voicing it to them & for them, especially amid surprise pregnancy or terminal diagnosis?" Grace Lutheran Church Bulletin

ALL WE NEED TO KNOW

"Only one Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, truly died & was raised from death to tell us all that we need to know about eternal life in His presence. Jesus did not merely come near to death. He was not declared dead & later revived or reanimated. He suffered & died on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. His dead body was taken down from the cross, wrapped in a burial shroud & laid to rest in a sealed tomb. On the third day after His death, Jesus did not just return to consciousness & to an ordinary, earthly life. He rose to life in triumph over sin, death, & the devil, never to die again:  'Death no longer has dominion over Him' (Rom. 6:9) . . . In His inspired Word, our risen Lord tells us all that we need to know--even if it is not all we want to know--about heaven & eternal life." Dr. Carol Geisler, The Lutheran Witness, Nov. 2022

CONQUERORS

"The victory is already won. Even though 'we are being killed all the day long' & 'regarded as sleep to be slaughtered,' we are 'more than conquerors' (Rom. Chapter 8). That's the kind of conqueror Jesus is & that is what we are now--overwhelming, shock & awe, overcoming-it-all conquerors . . . The long list of disasters includes all those things that threaten (unsuccessfully!) to tear us apart from Christ. Death cannot separate us from Him. Life & all that it may hold for us, the spiritual powers of evil or the evil of earthly rulers cannot come between us. Whatever is happening in our lives today or whatever may arise tomorrow cannot separate us from the Lord . . . Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This conquering strength does not depend upon our faithful yet feeble grasp, but on the strong grip of our crucified & risen Savior. Sheep to be slaughtered, yes, but sheep of whom the Shepherd says, 'No one will snatch them out of My hand' (John 10:28).

A PRAYER FOR THE 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT

"Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed & preserved evermore in body & soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives & reigns with You & the Holy Spirit, one God, now & forever. Amen." Grace Lutheran Church Bulletin 

A LENTEN HYMN

Jesus I Will Ponder Now (LSB #440, St. 6

Graciously my faith renew; Help me bear my crosses, Learning humbleness from You, Peace mid pain & losses. May I give You love for love! Hear me, O my Savior, That I may in heav'n above Sing Your praise forever.