TODAY'S VERSES FROM PSALMS

"I will call upon You, for You will answer me, O God; incline Your ear to me; hear my words. Wondrously show Your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at Your right hand. (Ps. 17:6-7)

ONCE A PARENT

"Once a parent, always a parent. Fathers & mothers alike, we don't stop caring just because we're no longer the main providers 0f shelter, food & the comforts of home . . . It's also our joyful pleasure to care for them, even if they no longer seem to need us." D, Bruce Lockerbie, Men's Devotional Bible

BECOMING RIGHTEOUS

Thus it is true that man must be righteous first without any good works & therefore before any good works, & so it is also clear how impossible it is that he should become righteous through works, if he is not first righteous before he does good works. Christ stands firm when He says, 'How can you speak good when you are evil?' So also how can you do good when you are evil?" A Year in the Gospels with Martin Luther

FACING DEATH

"At some point, unless the Lord returns first, we will experience physical death. It will not be a near-death experience. It will be real death &--from an earthly point of view--it will appear to be final. Yet we know otherwise. We have died with Christ in Baptism. We can face physical death with hope & perhaps even a word of baptismal defiance:  'I am baptized!' NDE stories cannot provide the assurance that we have in the promise of death & life through faith in Christ Jesus:  'Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him' (Rom. 6:8). When we are away from the body, we will be 'at home with the Lord' (2 Cor. 5:8), yet even then, there will be more to come.

"When Jesus returns on the Last Day, our bodies will be raised from death, as He was raised. Our hidden baptismal life will be fully & finally revealed:  'When Christ who is your life appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory' (Col. 3:4) The work that God began in our lives when we were baptized will be brought to completion on the great day of resurrection (Phil. 1:6). Our crucified & risen Lord has promised, 'Surely I am coming soon' (Rev. 22:20). Eagerly anticipating the joy of our own eternal experience, we respond, 'Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!'" Dr. Carol Geisler, The Lutheran Witness, Nov. 2022

FATHER, FORGIVE THEM

"Pinned to the cross by nails & by our sins, our innocent Savior prayed, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do' (Luke 23:34) His prayer was for those who crucified Him. His prayer was for us. That prayer from the cross was answered. Through Jesus' death & resurrection, our heavenly Father has forgiven us. Only in God's forgiveness for us can we forgive others. As we live in repentance for our own sins & receive forgiveness, we find daily healing in Jesus' wounds, & only in those wounds is the strength to forgive. We may never see or really know the one who caused us harm . . . The forgiveness we offer may take place unseen & unknown, at a distance & in prayer. And if it happens that we cannot yet grant forgiveness, we pray again that we are not led into temptation, & that Jesus' own prayer from the cross for His tormentors would become our own." The Lord's Mercy Endures Forever:  40 Daily Devotions of God's Comfort

TODAY'S PRAYER

"Heavenly Father, forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. By the power of Your Spirit, through the preaching & teaching of Your Word, touch the lives of those who work evil & seek to harm others. Bring them to repentance so that they too will know the forgiveness won for them on the cross. For the sake of Jesus, whose blood washes us clean from our sins, strengthen us to forgive & make His prayer our own. Amen." Ditto

TODAY'S HYMN

Your Name Most Holy," LSB 590, vs. 3-4

My faithful God, You fail me never; Your promise surely will endure. O cast me not away forever If words & deeds become impure. Have mercy when I come defiled; Forgive, lift up, restore Your child.

All that I am & love most dearly--Receive it all, O Lord, from me. Let me confess my faith sincerely; Help me Your faithful child to be! Let nothing that I am or own Serve any will but Yours alone.