Reflections

February 9, 2024 

Today's Reading: 

Daily Lectionary: Job 6:1-13; John 3:1-21

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.” John 3:5

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Nicodemus knew much. He was a Pharisee. He was a ruler of the Jews. He was a teacher of Israel. He knew the Bible by heart. 

In today’s language, Nicodemus was “a Bible preacher.” If you would have heard Nicodemus’s sermons, he would’ve been quoting the Bible left and right. He taught the Law. He kept the Torah. The Ten Commandments came off his lips as easily as talking about the weather. He knew many other commandments, too, commandments the Pharisees designed to keep good order, to show people how to live, to make sure everyone does everything the right way. Nicodemus knew much, he could teach you much. But he did not know how to receive gifts.

Not knowing how to receive gifts, expecting everything to come by way of works—that describes not only Nicodemus, but each of us according to our life of sinful flesh.  Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. Privately. Almost as if he knew that he would hear things from Jesus that a good Pharisee should not hear, but he wanted to hear it anyway. 

The first thing Nicodemus hears turns his world upside down. "Jesus answered [Nicodemus], Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

This is different. Not the part about the kingdom of God. Nicodemus knew how to talk like that. He himself had taught it to many. To see the kingdom of God, you obey the Law, you keep the Torah, you live a clean life. But what is this “born again” Jesus speaks of?

Birth—that’s not something you accomplish. No baby is born by being obedient.

To make the kingdom of God a matter of birth removes it from the realm of obedience or something you do. What baby was ever born because he made a decision to be conceived, or was brought into the open air of the hospital room because he called God into his heart? 

Jesus gives Nicodemus, and us, to see the Gospel. Being born is receptive, it’s passive. This is all the work of Jesus toward you. It is delivered to you as a gift by the Holy Spirit, who gives you the new birth (John 3:8).  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Baptized into Your name most holy,  O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 

I claim a place, though weak and lowly,  Among Your saints, Your chosen host.

Buried with Christ and dead to sin, Your Spirit now shall live within. Amen. (LSB 590:1)

-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.

February 8, 2024 

Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, 7th Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Job 5:1-27; John 2:13-25

As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to his household.

Commandment 7: You shall not steal.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor’s money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God wants your property, your possessions, your wealth protected. He wants the same for your neighbor. 

To uphold and protect our neighbor’s possessions, wealth, and income is nothing other than to recognize that all things come as gifts from God. The fertile land able to bring forth crops, property on which to build a home or a store or a factory, the ability to build and sustain a business, the talent to produce things needed by neighbors and society—all is given by God the Creator. He gives in the measure He chooses.

To steal from our neighbor, then, whether by outright theft or by clever design and deceit, is not just to harm our neighbor, but is to deny God as the giver of gifts. And even if our neighbor acted dishonestly in his gathering of his own wealth—perhaps by overcharging or by fraud or dishonest contract—our temptation to even-the-score is an attack on God. God is the judge. He will deal with the deceitfully gained wealth according to His own ways, which in this temporal life include His earthly instruments of police officers, judges, etc. (James 4:12).

Now we can see why a breaking of the Seventh Commandment is a breaking of the First Commandment. To steal from our neighbor is to act as judge (“that possession of my neighbor’s should be mine!”), and to act as judge is to set ourselves as our own god. On the other hand, to rejoice in our neighbor’s property and wealth, to help him improve and protect his possessions and income is to recognize God as the giver of gifts; it is to “fear, love, and trust in God above all things” (1st Commandment in your Catechism).

By these gifts of possessions and property, of wealth and income, God is setting us to serve our neighbor here on Earth. As we pray that our neighbor hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be given the gift of repentance and faith, we also pray that our neighbor be sustained and upheld in earthly life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

How clear is our vocation Lord,  When once we heed Your call:

To live according to Your Word  And daily learn, refreshed, restored,

That You are Lord of all  And will not let us fall.

In what you give us, Lord, to do, Together or alone,

In old routines or ventures new, May we not cease to look to You,

The cross You hung upon—All You endeavored done. Amen. (LSB 853:1,4)

-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.

February 7, 2024 

Today's Reading: 

Daily Lectionary: Job 4:1-21; John 2:1-12

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.  When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”  And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” John 2:1-4: 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mary wanted her son, Jesus, to fix a problem. A big problem—the wedding feast ran dry of wine, and that is humiliation for the groom. 

Of this much we are sure: the groom supplies the wine. So Mary reports the problem to her son: “They have no wine.” Will Jesus fix the problem? Jesus does not want to be known as a problem fixer. “Woman, what does this have to do with me?”, He says. Jesus is right, of course. The problem belongs to the groom. The groom supplies the wine, and everyone at those weddings knows it. 

Then Jesus, in the first of His miracles, brings forth wine from water. Is He just impressing with His power? No. It’s much more than that. He is announcing Himself as the Groom, the one who supplies the wine. He’s not the groom of this wedding, of course. That man is already spoken for, and he already has his bride. And everyone is rightfully celebrating what God joins together—this man and this wife.

But Jesus is announcing Himself as the Groom. For the rest of the Gospel of John we can watch Jesus gathering His Bride. His bride is the Church. The Apostle Paul later tells us that (Ephesians 5:25-32). The Church, Jesus’ Bride, is all those the Groom brings to Himself and binds together in fellowship with one another by His Gospel. 

Prior to this wedding, John the Baptist had baptized Jesus and then publicly announced Him as “the Lamb of God who is bearing the sins of the world.” Now Jesus, publicly in the office of bearing all sins, is about the business of announcing Himself as the Groom who saves His Bride, the Church. In making the wine from Heaven (for it was created not with earthly grapes, but with a creative Word spoken by God-in-the-fleshH), Jesus is announcing Himself as the Groom whose time has come. He is now on His way to the cross for His Bride, for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus, you have prepared the wedding feast, you have gathered your Bride the Church, and now, until you come again on the Last Day, you daily sanctify your Bride, sanctifying her, cleansing her by the washing of water with the Word. Bless me and all my fellow members of the Church, that we may look to you for every good gift, as a bride looking to her husband who loves and cherishes her. In your holy Name, Amen. 

-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.

February 6, 2024 

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16-27

Daily Lectionary: Job 3:11-26; John 1:35-51

For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! …I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. (1 Cor. 9:16,23)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Apostle Paul wants to preach the Gospel. He’s clear on that. But what, specifically, is the Gospel? It has many blessings, for Paul says that in preaching the Gospel he is sharing with other sinners its blessings. 

In the Large Catechism, Luther Now, if you are asked, ‘What do you believe in the Second Article [of the Apostles’ Creed] about Jesus Christ?’ answers briefly, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ, God’s true Son, has become my Lord.’ But what does it mean to become Lord? ‘It is this. He has redeemed me from my sin, from the devil, from death, and from all evil.’”

The Gospel is Jesus Christ crucified for the sinner. The Gospel is that by His blood, Jesus has redeemed you from your sin, from the devil, from death, and from all evil. The Gospel is the forgiveness of all sin and the gift of life everlasting.

Paul knew what it meant to be without the Gospel. He had been a Pharisee, a teacher of the Law. To the sinner, the Law is enticing. It teaches what must be done to be holy; it gives you the way to justify yourself. But it is a false path. For by the Law, no one will be made righteous, since we are, after all, sinful. So the Law brings only guilt and shame, even as we try more and more to keep it.

Paul knew this. He had been one of the most accomplished teachers of the Law. No more. Jesus gave Paul the Gospel. He forgave Paul his sin. He called Paul to be His servant to bring sinners into life and salvation not by the Law, but by the Gospel. 

This is the Gospel we need to hear every day. As long as we are in sinful flesh, as long as the Law rightly finds us in our guilt, we need to hear the Gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified, of the sinner redeemed from sin, from the devil, from death, and from all evil.

The Gospel is Jesus saying to you, “I forgive you all your sin.”  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Your Gospel, O Lord, brings me your righteousness, It robes my soul in royal dress;

From all my guilt it brings release,  And gives my troubled conscience peace.

May I in faith your Gospel confess,  And praise you Lord, my righteousness. Amen. (paraphrased from “The Gospel shows the Father’s Grace,” LSB 580)

-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.

February 5, 2024 

Today's Reading: Isaiah 40:21-31

Daily Lectionary: Job 2:1-3:10; John 1:19-34

Isaiah 40:28-31:

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
    and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Isaiah, the Prophet of comfort! Hear the comfort!

The chapter had started with, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1).

You live in a world of no comfort, among a people of no comfort. People trying to make sure they say the right things the right ways in order not to be canceled for wrong-speak by the mob; the false confidence at people pointing to others and calling them “haters,” hoping to not be accused of the same themselves; people trying to project legitimacy by the digital life they can display on social media—where’s the comfort, where’s the true confidence in living? 

Isaiah proclaims comfort: Iniquities pardoned, sins forgiven, a people made holy for the Lord. 

But what of our life in this world? Do you feel comforted? Feel pardoned of all sin? Like you belong to the Lord?

This is why our Lord has Isaiah preach His Word. Even as the Lord has your pastor preach His Word. Because we live in a world of no comfort, and because we live in lives of our own sin, we constantly need to hear the good news. The good news is that the Lord is the Creator, He upholds all things by the word of His power, and He does not grow weary of saving the sinner who is faint, weary, and exhausted.

“Wait for the Lord” is Isaiah’s call to have faith, to hold tight to the promise, to daily hear the Good News of sins-forgiven, and to remember that it is the Lord before whom you stand and who gives you comfort. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

My Maker, hold me in Your hand; O Christ, forgiven let me stand;

Blest Comforter, do not depart; With faith and love enrich my heart.

Lord, bless and keep me as Your own;  Lord, look in kindness from Your throne;

Lord, shine unfailing peace on me By grace surrounded; set me free.Amen.

-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.

February 4, 2024 

Today's Reading: Mark 1:29-39

Daily Lectionary: Job 1:1-22; John 1:1-18

“[Jesus] cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.” (Mark 1:29-39)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The demons knew Jesus? Of course they did. Satan heard the first promise, the promise that Eve’s greater descendant would crush Satan’s head, giving salvation to the sinner. (Gen. 3:15) The demons have seen it all—the promise given Abraham for the justification of the sinner (Gen. 15), the promise to David that a greater Son would rule an everlasting kingdom (1 Chron. 17:11-15), and more. Maybe you can even think of other promises the Lord gave for the sinner. Satan and demons have seen much, they demons know a lot!

They know about you, too, and me. They know sins I have committed even from my childhood. My history, my pride, my vanity, my shame. All the stuff I do not want known. Finally, they know how to slither into my thoughts, striking with the Law’s accusation. They strike you, too, as a snake striking a person’s heel. They know a lot.

The demons knew Jesus. So why would Jesus not let them speak? What would the demons want the sinner to know of Jesus? That Jesus is true God in human flesh? That doesn’t yet save the sinner. That He has power to heal? That doesn’t yet justify before the face of God. 

You can know a lot about Jesus—a lot which is, indeed, true!—but it is not yet good news as Satan is poisoning your conscience with the venom of guilt and shame, striking you with the accusation. 

What do the demons not want you to know of Jesus? That He is not just God who became flesh, but that He became flesh in order to then be humiliated and die … for you. That what Jesus accomplished on the cross is not just a historical fact, but that He brings this historical accomplishment to you in Baptism. That the blood once shed on the cross is now delivered to you as you hear Jesus say, “Take and drink, this is my Blood for the forgiveness of our sins.”

The demons want you to know none of this. They want you to know only the accusation. Jesus does indeed want you to know the Law’s accusation. He wants you to hear it so that you are then ready to hear His Gospel. Jesus has His Gospel proclaimed for you, for every sinner! To forgive guilt, to give a clean heart, to remove shame and clothe in honor—Jesus has His cross preached to you!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus, deliver me from the Evil One. Cast from my conscience the accusation of the demons. Release me from the guilt of the holy Law. Forgive my sin. Cover me in honor. Let me hear your Gospel. Justify me by your Word. Amen.

-Pastor Warren Graff is retired from Grace Lutheran Church, Albuquerque.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.

February 3, 2024 

Today's Reading: Introit for Epiphany 5

Daily Lectionary: Job 2:1-3:10; John 1:19-34

I will sing to the Lord,

 because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Consider and 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 love;

 my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

 and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning,

 is now, and will be forever. Amen.

I will sing to the Lord,

 because he has dealt bountifully with me. (Psalm 13:3-5, antiphon Psalm 13:6)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the midst of death, the Lord brings life. Just yesterday, we prayed with Simeon that we could die in peace because we have seen the Lord’s Christ. Today, we pray with David that God would “light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” This psalm resonates with the song of Simeon. A Christian’s heart rejoices in God’s salvation.  In the middle of all the struggles and trials that exist in the world around us, and even as our own flesh tries to lead us back into sin, the gift of God’s salvation is what we need. He has provided this gift, and we have His steadfast love.  

This is the hope of your life. Jesus Christ is your Savior. He has come, bringing your salvation. He is the One that you trust in. No matter how difficult the world’s attacks against the Church are, no matter how wracked with guilt and shame you might be, the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. He has given you what you need, and that is the forgiveness of your sins and the promise of eternal life. He has lit up your eyes with His grace. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord, let at last Thine angels come, To Abr’ham’s bosom bear me home, That I may die unfearing;  And in its narrow chamber keep  My body safe in peaceful sleep  Until Thy reappearing.  And then from death awaken me  That these mine eyes with joy may see, O Son of God, Thy glorious face,  My Savior and my fount of grace.  Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend,  And I will praise Thee without end. (LSB 708:3)

-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.

February 2, 2024 

Today's Reading: Luke 2:22-40

Daily Lectionary:Zechariah 12:1-13:9; Titus 1:1-2:6

Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
 according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
 and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A number of things happened that day in the temple. Mary came into the temple to keep the Old Testament law with two different sacrifices. The instructions for these sacrifices are in Leviticus 12. After the birth of a firstborn son, that son was redeemed by the sacrifice of a lamb.  That’s a confession that the Lord possessed all the firstborn of Israel since the Passover. A mother was also expected to make a sacrifice 40 days after the birth of a baby boy to purify her. (The same sacrifice was to be made 80 days after the birth of a girl, but the Bible doesn’t say why it’s 40 days for a boy and 80 days for a girl.) That’s why we celebrate this festival 40 days after Christmas.

There was still more going on in the temple that day.Old Simeon took the child, Jesus, in his arms and prophesied. He had been promised that he would not die until he saw the Lord’s Messiah. Now that he held the Messiah in his arms, he could die. Because the Lord had kept His promise of sending the Messiah, Simeon could die in peace.  

There is a reason that the Church prays along with Simeon each week in the Divine Service after receiving the Lord’s Supper. The same Messiah that Simeon held in His arms comes in, with, and under bread and wine, truly present in His body and blood. There, He forgives sins and strengthens faith.  Christians now pray that, since the Lord Jesus has come to them, they can die in peace. We have seen the Lord’s salvation in Christ.  

When we come to the Divine Service, we don’t bring any animals with us to sacrifice there, like Mary did in the temple. The sacrifice has already come, and this is no mere lamb born in a sheep-pen, but this is the Lamb of God, born for you and your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and ever-living God, as Your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, grant that we may be presented to You with pure and clean hearts; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.

February 1, 2024 

Today's Reading: 10 Commandments, 6th Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 11:4-17; 2 Timothy 4:1-18

You shall not commit adultery. (The Sixth Commandment)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Adultery is such a rare word that it can be hard to understand.  One dictionary defines adultery like this: “voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than that person's current spouse or partner.” That’s fine for the English language, but God’s definition of adultery goes beyond that.  God condemns any kind of sexual relationship outside of marriage. While the English definition would say that you can’t commit adultery if you and your partner aren’t married, God declares that a sexual relationship or encounter outside of marriage is sinful.

God doesn’t stop there, either. Jesus went on to say, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) The Lord doesn’t only judge the sin of adultery, but He includes every kind of unchastity, including lust. This is not only a sin for the married or the young, but a sin that plagues every sinner with a pulse.  

The Catechism helpfully points out the opposite of adultery, and that is chastity manifested in a sexually pure and decent life. Living in holiness includes sex and sexuality. Scripture calls Christians to flee from lust and to abstain from sex outside of marriage. Scripture also teaches that marriage is a gift and God has established it for good.  

What does that mean in the midst of a world full of temptation? Live as a Christian, striving to live in God’s holiness and keeping yourself from engaging in sexual sin, including lust. When you find that you have fallen into sin (sexual or otherwise), flee to Jesus Christ. His precious death brings forgiveness for your sin. You don’t sin so that God’s grace can abound, but you receive His forgiveness for all your sin. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Be faithful to your marriage vow; No lust or impure thoughts allow. Keep all your conduct free from sin  By self-controlled discipline. Have mercy, Lord!  (LSB 581:7)

-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.

January 31, 2024 

Today's Reading: 

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 10:1-11:3; 2 Timothy 3:1-17

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:12-13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The way the reading from 2 Timothy 3 starts sounds like a cross between mayhem and your daily scroll through social media.  “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2 TImothy 3:2-7)  That could be a description of the hallways in your high school, the crowd around the water cooler at your job, or almost any other collection of people today.  It can be easy to say that behavior and society is getting worse and worse, but Scripture speaks like the sinful behavior we see today has always been around.  

That’s the reality that the Church lives in. That’s the reality that you live in, too. The deception and deceit and evil and opposition of the unbelieving world comes against you. So what do you do in the middle of such problematic surroundings? How do you proceed when the Church is persecuted and when evil people go on from bad to worse?  Simply, you believe in Jesus.  He came into this unbelieving world as the light that shines in the darkness, even when the darkness did not receive Him. The darkness of this world has not overcome Him. (John 1:5)  Even on the cross, as Jesus was suspended between heaven and earth in the darkness, the Light of the World was not extinguished. Yes, He died, and He rose again on the third day revealing that evil does not win the day. Only Jesus wins the day, and He brings that victory to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord, keep us steadfast in Your Word;  Curb those who by deceit or sword  Would wrest the kingdom from Your Son  And bring to naught all He has done. (LSB 655:1)

-Pastor Peter W. Ill is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Millstadt, Illinois.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

The Lutheran Reader’s Bible helps you develop a habit of devotion and Bible reading so you can slowly but intentionally understand and grow in God’s Word. Through introductions to the sixty-six books of the Bible, guided reading plans, and more, this Bible builds your confidence to study Scripture on your own.