Reflections

October 13, 2023

Today's Reading: 

Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14,  Matthew 3:1-17

John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”   “…The voice of one crying in the wilderness…” (Matthew 3:1,2,3b)

In the Name of Jesus, Amen. God wants you to be a happy hearer. Satan, on the other hand, wants you to despise preaching and to reluctantly listen to your pastor. Despising preaching is easy to do. The Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t gladly hear John’s preaching. They despised it because it called for them to confess their sins and believe in Jesus. Christians gladly hear preaching because it works repentance in them and delivers Jesus their Savior.

Pastors don’t always appreciate the work of listening. They are busy preaching. The pastor's job, above all, is to preach boldly and clearly, God’s Word. He owes this to the hearers. Pastors strive through God’s Word and prayer to give the hearers something worth gladly hearing. The preaching task is done for the sake of the salvation of sinners. Your pastor is a preacher, a proclaimer of God’s Word, His good news for sinners.

John the Baptist was ordained by God to prepare the way for Jesus through preaching. Preaching is a really big deal to God. The hearers of John’s preaching knew that God promised to send a Savior. John’s preaching prepared the hearers to receive Jesus gladly.

The primary purpose of your ears is to hear God through preaching and the scriptures. Having ears is a daily reminder that you are a hearer of God’s Word. God gave them to you, your ears, that you may know Him more fully. It is a mystery that God does His work in this way: from the mouth of a human preacher into the ears of sinners. 

We pray that “Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.” (Psalm 85:13). The righteousness that goes before Jesus is the preaching of John and all faithful pastors. Preaching prepares you for Jesus in you. The righteousness of preaching is the message of Christ crucified for sinners. When we pray, “Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way,” we confess that preaching is for sinners and their salvation and ask that it would be so for me. Preaching makes a path for Jesus straight into your happy hearing ears. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;  

  incline your ears to the words of my mouth! 

I will open my mouth in a parable;

 I will utter dark sayings from of old, 

things that we have heard and known,

 that our fathers have told us. 

We will not hide them from their children, 

but tell to the coming generation 

the glorious deeds of the Lord, 

and his might,  

and the wonders that he has done. (Psalm 78:1-4)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

October 12, 2023

Today's Reading: 

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:22-38, 1 Timothy 6:3-21

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

In the Name of Jesus, Amen. Your life should reflect who you are in Christ, all of your life. You are baptized and empowered to live life accordingly. This is what Paul means by godliness. Living a Christian life is far more than simply being a faithful Sunday morning worshiper. The strength and source of living a godly life is Jesus. 

The Divine Service is where we are plugged-in, so to speak, to Him. Without Jesus there is no godly life. What does your life look like outside of the Divine Service? Is it God pleasing? Godliness is keeping God at the center. It is keeping His Word before our eyes, in our ears and upon our hearts daily. It is reflecting that Word in our words and works of love towards God and neighbor. 

Why does Paul instruct Timothy to preach and teach about godliness with contentment? And to charge Christians to live a holy life fleeing from sinful desires and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness? For these reasons: for the sake of true joy, peace and contentment and that we may not lose what we already have been given freely in Christ nor cause others to stumble and fall away. We don’t worship or live a godly life for compliments. Your godliness in no way atones for sins and gains salvation. However, Jesus’ perfect life of godliness and death does… atone for your sins and saves. 

God wants us to have good things, he “richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” However, He doesn’t want us to fall into faith destroying snares. The temptations of riches, power and worldly desires are always ready to entrap us. Satan uses such things to drive us away from Jesus. O Christian flee from those things! 

Godliness that finds its joyful source in the righteousness of Jesus, freely given, provides a life of contentment. We give thanks for all that God has provided in this life, whether little or an abundance. And how much He has given! What the world considers good and needful is most often just the opposite, hurtful and detrimental to faith. There is only one thing needful for you and that is Jesus, your crucified and risen Savior.  In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, 

  for those who fear him have no lack! 

  but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing, 

Better is the little that the righteous has 

  than the abundance of many wicked. 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness 

 for his name’s sake. (Psalm 34:9, 10b; 23:1,3)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

October 11, 2023

Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism, Baptism: Part 1

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:1-21, 1 Timothy 5:17-6:2

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

In the Name of Jesus, Amen.  In the beginning was water. The Spirit of God hovered over the water, and the Word of God was spoken according to the will of God. All of creation had its origin out of the water. God, the Word of God, the Spirit of God and water are the ingredients of creation, The Holy Trinity and water. 

God remakes His creation in the same way He made it, by means of water and Himself…the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “It is He who made us and we are His” (Psalm 100). This makes you a disciple of Jesus, a hearer of His voice. It makes you…what you are. It gives you identity in God. He knows exactly who you are and lovingly reminds you daily of His love for His very own. The Lord loves the baptized. He made them. He made you.

In a perfect world we all would have been conceived within the marital union and love between a husband and wife. And wouldn’t it be great if we all grew up surrounded by their perfect love, of those parents, in the same house. The brokenness in this world often causes us painful and confusing identity crises. Who am I and why am I here?  The world that God created by means of water and His Word is horribly broken…it cannot simply be repaired. It can be remade. Jesus empowers His church to do the work of remaking… “go and make disciples…”

Despite the brokenness of life in this world into which you were born, God chose you to be His baptized, remade, child. Not only did He form you in the womb, but He remade and marked you for eternity in Baptism. The pastor may have administered the Baptism, but the words “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” show clearly that God is the one doing the “making.”  He makes disciples. He baptized you. 

God’s work of remaking you continues in His church. Baptism gave you ears to hear. The church teaches the baptized that they may learn who they are by listening. What does it mean that I am baptized? Who am I in Jesus? The answer is in the preaching and teaching that you hear from your pastor. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

The voice of the Lord is over the waters; 

 the God of glory thunders, 

 the Lord, over many waters. 

The voice of the Lord is powerful; 

  the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

Know that the Lord, he is God!  

  It is he who made us, and we are his; 

 we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  (Psalm 29:3,4; 100:3)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

October 10, 2023

Today's Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 7:1-4, 8:1-18, 1 Timothy 5:1-16

I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8)

It is personal. Faith is first about you and Jesus, just the two of you. That is how it began. Jesus chose you. Remember your Baptism. We Lutherans tend to get a little squeamish if we use words like, “I”, “my” and “mine” too much. We should. Those first-person personal pronouns tend towards self-centeredness. They often leave little room for God and neighbor. Sinners are all about themselves, not Jesus or anybody else. 

But when it comes to Jesus and you those pronouns are the way to go…use them. St. Paul did and so should you. Jesus knows you personally. He is your Lord and Savior to know and love. It can get a little emotional, and sometimes a lot, like any relationship. This one is the most important of all. Dare to be Lutheran… call Him “my Lord.” The Psalms help us sort the emotions out by knowing the mind and heart of Jesus. 

For Paul it was very personal. He lost everything, from a worldly perspective, when Jesus came thundering into His life. It blinded Him. He didn’t see it coming. He met the Lord, the one he was persecuting. That One wanted to be Paul’s Lord. He wished to call him “My” Paul…to save him. Jesus desired Paul to reciprocate and call Him “my Lord.”

To have nothing but Jesus as your Lord is far better than having everything without Jesus. This is a hard perspective for us to have in such a self-centered and material society. It is difficult spiritual work. The only way is by prayer and God’s Word.  Other “lords” strive to push Him out of the center, His rightful place. These pushy and tyrannical “lords” manifest in countless ways. You know who and what they are…if you wonder, examine yourself according to the Ten Commandments. God’s law flushes them out for you…keeping Jesus as your only Lord to love and trust for that which is good and beneficial in life and for your salvation. 

I am continually with you; 

  you hold my right hand. 

You guide me with your counsel, 

  and afterward you will 

receive me to glory. 

Whom have I in heaven but you?  

 And there is nothing on earth 

 that I desire besides you. 

My flesh and my heart may fail,  

  but God is the strength of 

my heart and my portion forever.  

For me it is good to be near God; 

 I have made the Lord God my refuge.  (Psalm 73:23-26, 28b)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

October 9, 2023

Today's Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 5:1-16; 6:1-9, 15-16, 1 Timothy 4:1-16

What more was there to do for my vineyard…? (Isaiah 5:4a)

In the Name of Jesus, Amen. God is a gardener. He planted the first garden in Eden out of love. It was perfect; a garden that was destined to be forever green with blooming flowers and fruitful trees. God Himself watered the garden with a mist from the ground. This garden He made for man, for Adam and Eve and their offspring. The fruit of this garden that God desired, above all, was the love and joyful obedience of man. God had made it all for them to know His love and to love Him in return. But the garden’s fruit began to rot. 

God continued to garden. He planted a people, the house of Israel and the men of Judah, His chosen people. It was the Lord’s vineyard. Like the first garden, God desired His loving care for this vineyard to produce fruit…love and obedience to His Word. God is a faithful vinedresser. He did everything He could for this vineyard to be fruitful. But the fruit it produced was worthless, rotten from loveless and disobedient hearts. 

Out of love God destroyed this vineyard. He had its walls torn down and the vineyard trampled. By God’s doing it became a waterless wasteland full of briers and thorns. He stopped the rain. He did so, not out of despair, He wasn’t giving up. He was being the faithful vinedresser. He was gardening, caring for His pleasant planting.

In the dried-up desolate land where the vineyard was planted was a stump. It was left there by God. The stump blossomed. It was the line of David. Jesus was the fruit born of Mary. He came to His vineyard. The vineyard rejected Him like before. But this time He would bring forth fruit on its behalf. He would do so from a tree, the cross…the fruit of perfect love and obedience. What more could He do for His vineyard? He did it by dying. 

We are God’s pleasant planting, His church, His precious vineyard. This vineyard will never be destroyed but come to its fullness on the last day. He has joined us to Himself, the Tree of Life. In His church He does His gardening, pruning, planting, and watering. May we be fruitful in joyful love and obedience in and through Him. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

O God, you are my God; 

 earnestly I seek you; 

 my soul thirsts for you; 

my flesh faints for you, 

 as in a dry and weary land 

where there is no water. 

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, 

 beholding your power and glory. 

Because your steadfast love is better than life, 

 my lips will praise you. 

For you have been my help, 

and in the shadow of your 

wings I will sing for joy. 

My soul clings to you; 

your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:1-3,7,9)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

October 8, 2023

Today's Reading: Matthew 21:33-46

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 4:7-23, 1 Timothy 3:1-16

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’  And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. (Matthew 21:38, 39)

In the Name of Jesus, Amen. The master of the house who planted the vineyard is God. The vineyard is Israel, God’s people. The tenants of the vineyard are the religious leaders. The servants sent to gather the fruit of the vineyard are the prophets sent by God to preach and teach God’s Word. The son sent by the master of house is Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. 

The parable was a direct and clear condemnation of the elders of the people and the chief priests. Jesus was pointing a finger directly at them, “you have done this!” God’s Word from the mouth of God Himself condemned them. There was no wiggle room for these leaders. They and all who heard knew what Jesus meant. They should have repented. But rather they bound themselves in their sin and hardness of heart and desired Jesus dead. Perhaps, some by God’s mercy later, after Jesus' death and resurrection, saw clearly, repented and believed with Jesus’ parable still burning on their hearts and minds.

Leaders of God’s people, then and now, are always in grave danger of forgetting to whom the vineyard belongs. The church is always in need of faithful pastors, of tenants, to care for God’s people according to His Word and will. Unfaithfulness in preaching and teaching mutes the voice of the Apostles, those sent by God, effectively killing them and throwing them out of the church. 

Jesus’ parable serves as a reminder to pray for faithful pastors who hold tightly to the Word of God. “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers...” (Matthew 9:38). Pray daily for your own pastor. Pray that pastors would always remember whose vineyard it is in which they work. They serve in the stead and by the command of Jesus for your salvation. Pray that the lay leaders of your congregation would support faithful ministers as they serve God’s people. It is the Lord’s vineyard, His people, for whom He sent His Son to die.

You, and all believers, are the fruit of God’s vineyard. His fruit brought forth through Baptism and faithful preaching and nurtured in the Holy Communion.  In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

You brought a vine out of Egypt; 

  … and planted it. 

 Look down from heaven, and see; 

   have regard for this vine,

   the stock that your right hand planted… 

Let your face shine, that we 

   may be saved! (Psalm 80:8,14b, 15a, 19b)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

October 7, 2023

Today's Reading: Introit to Pentecost 19: Psalm 118:22-24, antiphon Psalm 118:1

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 2:11-20, 4:1-6, 1 Timothy 2:1-15

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

In the Name of Jesus, Amen. You are a child of the day. Day is for light; for seeing clearly. You are not a child of any ordinary day but of an extraordinary day; a day coming since the creation of the world. A day set by God. A day that has come. The psalmist speaks of this day…“that the Lord has made.” (Psalm 118:24)

We are talking about a specific day in history that God made. We have reason to rejoice and be glad every day because of this day, one far greater than any other. It is the day the rejected stone became the cornerstone. You are a child of that day. A day full of light and life.

The Temple was built with enormous stones. The cornerstone was selected to join two walls together. The psalmist is not speaking of an earthly building or stones. He is speaking of Jesus. He is the stone that was rejected by His own people according to God’s will and design. Jesus came to build something far greater than the Temple. He came to build His church of which He is the cornerstone. The church which is the household of God filled with the children of the day. The day that stone was laid in place for His church is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day of which we speak. A day of resurrection and light. 

Jesus was rejected. The religious leaders with the crowd cried, “crucify him.” He had done nothing deserving such rejection. Yet, He was not only rejected by His people but also by His Father. He was stricken, smitten, afflicted and forsaken by God. Rejected. Crucified. Buried. 

But let us get to the day, to the light that scatters the darkness… Resurrection Day. The day the stone was rolled away. The day the crucified Jesus rose, laying an everlasting foundation for His Church. He who was laid stone cold dead in the tomb, sealed by a stone, is our resurrection cornerstone. The Cornerstone who joins all the children of the day to Himself and to each other. 

We are children of that day, the day of Resurrection. A day the Lord has made for rejoicing and gladness. You became a child of that day, your Resurrection day, in Baptism. In Jesus, our resurrected Lord, we see clearly, as in the day, what God has done…it is marvelous in our eyes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Open to me the gates of righteousness, 

 that I may enter through them 

and give thanks to the Lord. 

I thank you that you have answered me 

and have become my salvation. 

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; 

you are my God; I will extol you. (Psalm 118:19, 21, 28)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

October 6, 2023

Today's Reading: 

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 1:1-2:10, 1 Timothy 1:1-20

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners… (1 Timothy 1:15)

In the Name of Jesus, Amen. In Jesus, God saves sinners. Jesus is God. All things were created through Him. Jesus is fully man. He became enfleshed in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Jesus became a sinner. He claimed your sins as His very own. They stuck to Jesus, the God Man. You hear the voice of Jesus, the sinner, in the Psalms calling your sins His. Jesus prayed, “I acknowledged my sin.” The Psalms are the Lord’s prayers given to the baptized, prayers by the sinless Son of God as sinner. God made Him who was sinless to be sin in your place. In Jesus, God saves sinners. 

Jesus needed saving. He became the foremost of sinners. Only He as God could save Himself. Only He could die for the sins that had become fully His. In the ignorance of unbelief those surrounding the cross unwittingly suggested He do that very thing…save Himself. “Save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40). “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:3) And He did just that, save Himself and us. By dying in the flesh, made to be sin, as God, sin lost all its power. In Jesus sin died. By saving Himself as sinner in our place He fulfilled His Father’s will to save sinners. In Jesus, God saves sinners. 

Jesus wasn’t about saving Himself, clearly. He was all about saving you. This was His Father’s will. You can’t save yourself from sin. Jesus did the saving by dying. He rescued you. It is a trustworthy confession that Jesus came into the flesh to save sinners. This is the theme of the entire Bible. He did not come as a lawgiver to beat you down into despair and submission. He came as Savior. He came for all sinners. And that includes you! In Jesus, God saves sinners. 

It is a sin to doubt what God has said He has done and will do. It is sin to think in your heart that God can’t forgive and save you. He forgives your doubts as well. Those doubts were on Him at the cross. They died. Faith, God given faith, firmly planted in you, believes, clings, trusts and accepts that Jesus is the Savior of sinners. You may not always feel that way, but it is true, nonetheless. God said so. In Jesus, God saves sinners. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

I acknowledged my sin to you,  

  and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”  

  and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,   

  and I am saved from my enemies. (Psalm 32:5; 18:3)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

October 5, 2023

Today's Reading: 

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23, Colossians 4:1-18

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Colossians 4:5-6)

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Are you a preacher or a hearer? If you are a preacher, as you well know, you must also count yourself a hearer. What does the preacher preach? The mystery of Christ, the Word of God (both Law and Gospel), repentance and Christ crucified for sinners, the forgiveness of sins. What does the hearer hear? All of the above, the clear Word that flows from the faithful preacher’s open mouth…the splendid mystery of Christ revealed, the forgiveness of sins. 

Who do the hearers receive from the preacher? They receive Jesus. All of Him. What great gift God has given to His Church for you. He opens heaven to you through the preaching of God’s ordained ministers. This is a joyful mystery of God’s working in us and among us. So, we give thanks and pray for the preachers that He would open doors for the Word to be declared in all its clarity and power. 

Hearers (that’s all of us) live as such…hearers of the Word, wherever you may find yourself. “Walk in wisdom” is another way to say the same thing. Hearers walk in and with Jesus. The baptized, who are the hearers of the Word, are baptized into Christ. Jesus is the wisdom of God who dwells in you, and you in Him. “Walk in wisdom” … walk in Jesus. 

Christian speech, by which I mean how we speak in all of life’s situations, begins with preachers putting Jesus into our ears. How we speak to those within the household of God, fellow believers, and “outsiders” matters…it matters a lot. Gracious words are words that don’t betray your hearing, and expose you to be a hypocrite…hearing one thing and speaking another. 

Gracious words reveal Christ in you to those who hear you. Speech “seasoned with salt” is not laced with profanity, gossip and animosity. Christian speech is not argumentative. Gracious speech is seasoned with kindness, sincerity and truth. Gracious speech is a mark of hearers living under God’s grace. 

“Grace be with you,” that you may be gracious. “Grace be with you,” St. Paul’s final word to you today, a good final word, for God’s grace is His eternal kind and merciful favor towards you that you hear in the preaching of Christ crucified. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, 

 O Lord God of hosts;

let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me.  

 O God of Israel.

My prayer is to you, O LORD. 

In the abundance of your steadfast love 

 answer me in your saving faithfulness. (Psalm 69:6,13)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

October 4, 2023

Today's Reading: Luther's Small Catechism, The Lord's Prayer: Conclusion

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 35:1-7, 16-25, Colossians 3:1-25

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

In the name of Jesus, Amen. Thine means yours. Let’s be clear. Thine doesn’t mean “mine.” Thine is a form of Thy before a word beginning with a vowel. Daring to be Lutheran is to boldly give all the glory to God in our praise, forever. We don’t get any glory apart from Jesus. Without Jesus we have no power. Without His death and resurrection we have no kingdom to call ours. It is His kingdom to reign. It always has been. And will be forever… yes, yes…this is so.

We call Him our Father because He gave His Son into death for us. The only power to save is through the Son’s death and resurrection. Without the Son’s saving work there is no forever and ever for us. No glory, no kingdom, nothing good for you to call “mine.” 

It seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? That the kingdom, power and glory are all His? But not so obvious to the world…and our sinful nature. The world is not going to acknowledge that anything truly belongs to God. Our sinful nature wants it all for itself. All of it…the kingdom, the power and the glory. By our sin we claim it all as “mine,” not “thine.” 

In this life we dwell in a kingdom fiercely opposed to God’s kingdom. Satan is the prince of this world. This world is presently his kingdom. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer that God would protect and guard us from the devil’s evil reign which surrounds us. God’s Word empowers us to live godly lives under this tyrannical rule. So, we pray… “Thy kingdom come!” Your kingdom, as an heir with Jesus, prepared for you.

God alone has the power to create and recreate. “The whole world lies under the power of the evil one… [but] we are from God” (1 John 5:19) The power of sin is death. Death has no power over us who have been baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus. God’s saving power, secured in Jesus crucified, is for you, your power over sin, death and the devil.

The glory of the Father, simply put, is Jesus. Jesus is the glory of the Father because He took on visible flesh and died on the cross. When you see Jesus, you see God’s glory. Jesus is God in flesh forever and ever. He is your Savior Jesus, your glory for all eternity. 

Because of Jesus, your Baptism into Him, the kingdom, the power and the glory of the Father are all yours. Fully and completely, all freely. Go ahead, call what is His, your very own. Now and forever. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

The LORD is great in Zion; 

 he is exalted over all the peoples.

Let them praise your great and awesome name! 

 Holy is he! (Psalm 99:2-3) 

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

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

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.