Reflections

August 4, 2023

Today's Reading: Galatians 5:1-15

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 1:1-20, Galatians 5:1-26

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery…For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  (Galatians 5:1, 13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There is a lot going on in Galatians 5. St. Paul is angry to the point of throwing things, he’s so mad about how the Galatian Christians act in response to God’s Word and outside influences that he can’t even see straight. He can’t believe that people who have heard the sweet words of the Gospel can so quickly return to trying to earn salvation under the Law.

Freedom in the Gospel is primary, here. Don’t think you need to live under the fear of the Law once you have been recreated in Christ through baptism. It is easy to think that if you just followed all the right rules in all the right ways, that life would be awesome and you’d have no problems because you were following the script handed down from above.

The problem is, sinners get in the way of that perfect plan. Satan, the world, and your own sinful flesh causes everything to flip upside down, and all of a sudden you are trying to please God by following a checklist instead of receiving His good and gracious gifts.

And that’s why St. Paul urges you to stand firm in the freedom of the Gospel. But see that freedom as a way to love those around you, not to just go crazy and do whatever you want and say, “it’s fine, Jesus forgives me!”

The Christian life is a life of loving God with every fiber of your being and your neighbor as yourself. That means living a life that honors your neighbors because they need to know the love of God as much as you do.

Freedom in Christ isn’t living for yourself. It isn’t trying to get the most out of life at the expense of others. It is living the life God our Father has given you, a life lived in love for those around you, and in you receiving the love of others for you, too. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Called by worship to Your service, Forth in Your dear name we go, To the child, the youth, the aged, Love in living deeds to show; Hope and health, goodwill and comfort, Counsel, aid, and peace we give, That Your servants, Lord, in freedom May Your mercy know and live.  (LSB 848:4)

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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.

August 3, 2023

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 40:1-4, 48:35

Daily Lectionary: Judges 16:4-30, Galatians 4:12-31

“And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.” (Ezekiel 48:35)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The words “hope” and “Old Testament prophet” don’t often go together in our minds. But the very reason the prophets are sent is because of hope. Because the Lord God wants to draw His people back to His side, into His hands, into a place set aside for them that is safe from all outside attacks.

And so it is that the prophet Ezekiel, after calling out God’s people (and many foreign nations, too) for their faithlessness and wandering, ends his book with a word of profound hope and peace. It takes him nine chapters to outline just how magnificent and glorious the New Jerusalem God promises is. He’s mostly known for dry bones, weird visions, and baking bread over manure, but all of that pales in the light of what he lays out at the end of his book.

God’s people know why they are in exile. They know why Jerusalem, their lifelong home, had been destroyed. And they wonder if God will ever return them home. They have just about given up, even though there have been many times Ezekiel has comforted them throughout his time as a prophet.

And so it is with us, too. We’ve heard God’s Law against our failures. We’ve heard his Gospel promises and assurances of our forgiveness and salvation in Jesus, but we still wonder if it is all true. If God really means it. If he will return and take us to that New Heaven and New Earth he’s promised.

And that’s the thing. He has promised it to us. Our not believing it doesn’t make it untrue, it just makes our lives more difficult. The Word of God stands whether we trust it or not, which is why Ezekiel goes to such pains to outline the gloriousness of the future.

And he doesn’t stop there. He finishes his book with the line from our reading today. That the name of this place prepared for us, the New Heaven and Earth, the place where the uncountable multitudes shall gather for all eternity, is: “The Lord is There.”

And that’s all we need to know. The Lord is there, so of course it will be magnificent beyond description. Beautiful beyond comprehension. Glorious beyond all understanding. The Lord is there, and so are we, his baptized, redeemed, and forgiven children. There forever, before his majestic glory. There is no other place to be for eternity, because He’s made it for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

God Himself is present: Let us now adore Him And with awe appear before Him. God is in His temple; All within keep silence; Humbly kneel in deepest rev’rence. He alone On His throne Is our God and Savior; Praise His name forever!  (LSB 907:1)

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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.

August 2, 2023

Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, Third Article Part 2

Daily Lectionary: Judges 15:1-16:3, Galatians 3:23-4:11

What does this mean? In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. (Small Catechism, The Third Article, Part 2 of the Meaning)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Last week we talked about how the Holy Spirit is like a lifeguard saving a drowning person; He does all the work to save, the drowning one can only rest in His arms and be saved.

This week, He does this for everyone other than you. Just as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies you, He does the same for every single Christian on earth. And then, once safe in the ark of the church, the Spirit keeps that church in the faith.

The Holy Spirit works through your (and every) pastor to make sure that the saving Word of God is taught and proclaimed in its truth and purity, and that the Sacraments are administered as God intended, that they may work to keep, strengthen, and preserve you in the one true faith.

The Holy Spirit is the ‘silent partner’ of the Trinity; He doesn’t call attention to himself. He points you to Jesus, always to Jesus. He works behind the scenes so you always see your Savior before you. He carries the Word to your ears, makes sure Christ’s Body and Blood paint your tongue, and sees to it that you are comforted in times of need.

“Jesus died for you. Jesus is risen for you. Your sins were washed away by Jesus’s blood, and your Baptism is where that happened. Need to be reminded of what God has done for you? Listen to his Word. Feeling your sin? Come to the Supper—eat, drink, and live!” That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. That’s what He is doing for you and for every believer in all of history.

Calling you into the family of God by the Word, gathering you together with the saints before the throne of God, enlightening and making you holy with the Sacraments. All of this, for you. Jesus’s gifts, given for you, their delivery made certain by the Holy Spirit.. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and ever-living God, You fulfilled Your promise by sending the gift of the Holy Spirit to unite disciples of all nations in the cross and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel spread this gift to the ends of the earth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  (Collect for Pentecost Tuesday) 

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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.

August 1, 2023

Today's Reading: Romans 8:28-39

Daily Lectionary: Judges 14:1-20, Galatians 3:1-22

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  (Romans 8:31-32)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Romans 8 is a favorite chapter of so many Christians. And why not? It says so clearly what we need to hear from our Lord about living safely in God’s hands.

But what if it was the other way around? What if St. Paul had written: ‘If God is against us, who can be for us?’ What a despairing thought! How horrible! If God himself turned against us in wrath, who would be able to save us? Certainly none of the comic book heroes, not one created being would be able to stand before God in his full wrath.

And that’s good, because He wouldn’t be God if one of His creatures could win against Him. Because there once was a time when God was against us, and that was when all of our sin was piled high upon Jesus.

When St. Paul says “He who did not spare his own Son,” He gives it away. That was the moment when God stood against not only you, but against all of humanity. God did bring His full wrath and anger down, like a bolt of lightning, like a slamming hammer, but not upon us, but upon Jesus for us.

The very Son of God was the only one who could withstand such an onslaught. The God-Man endured, even though He died, and brought salvation to you. The God-man passed from death to life to rescue you, having satisfied God’s anger and wrath.

Yes, it is a frightful thing to consider Almighty God being against you. And maybe things have happened in your life to make you think He is against you, that He is angry with you. But that’s when you go back to this chapter of Romans and read it once again to see that no, God’s Word itself promises that He is not against you, He is not punishing you.

He has done all of that in Jesus, who endured His cross knowing that by dying for you, you wouldn’t have to suffer eternally. Sure, this life will bring suffering. Any sinful world will. But even in all of that, nothing will separate you from the love of God, because He is on your side; He is for you. And all things are yours, all of eternity is yours, because of that love He has for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord, when the tempest rages, I need not fear, For You, the Rock of Ages, Are always near. Close by Your side abiding, I fear no foe, For when Your hand is guiding, In peace I go.  (LSB 722:2)

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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.

July 31, 2023

Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 7:6-9

Daily Lectionary: Judges 13:1-25, Galatians 2:1-21

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.  (Deuteronomy 7:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Deuteronomy. A Bible book titled “The Law Again,” essentially. These are Moses’s final words to God’s people before his death beyond the Jordan River.

The Lord God knows what will happen once the Children of Israel enter the Promised Land, so much like parents reminding their children what they should and should not do before they leave them home alone for an evening out, He has Moses give them “the talk” one more time.

Sure, there are reminders of punishments to come for misbehavior. Warnings of dire consequences to fall upon them for not doing what they’ve been asked to do. But it isn’t all doom and gloom. God doesn’t threaten to destroy them; He reminds them of His love for them.

He reminds them that, even though He knows they will fail, even though they will misbehave, even though they will turn their backs on Him, He will still love them. He is their faithful God, Yahweh Elohim, the LORD God, and He is always faithful even when His people aren’t.

How faithful? To this very day He has preserved His children, His church. Nations have come and gone, churches have been planted, grown, and died out, Entire populations have come under His protection and passed out from it again, and He has still kept His church, His faithful, in safety.

There was a time when Elijah thought he was the only one left, but God reminded him that there were still 7000 faithful believers in Israel. Your church might also look tiny and weak these days. You might have seen a migration away from your area, or people not coming back after Covid. It might seem bleak.

But the LORD your God is God. He is faithful to you, to your church, no matter how large or small it may be. No matter how many baptized Christians gather to hear the Word and receive the Sacraments.

You may be preparing to take on a new challenge in life: high school, college, a new job, moving to a new home. Don’t worry, don’t be afraid. The LORD your God is faithful, and He will sustain you and be with you wherever you go. Hear His voice, receive His gifts, and be comforted in His presence. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

We praise and laud and worship You; We give you thanks forever, O Father, for Your rule is true And just and changes never. With boundless pow’r, Your mighty reign Fulfills whatever You ordain. Lord, grant us ev’ry blessing!  (LSB 947:2)

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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.

July 30, 2023

Today's Reading: Matthew 13:44-52

Daily Lectionary: Judges 7:1-23, Galatians 1:1-24

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”  (St. Matthew 13:44)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. of Jesus. Amen. Fill in the blank: “I would give everything I have for _____!” For what would you give everything? Is it really worth it? Is it something that you would truly be satisfied with after giving up absolutely everything you have? And I mean everything.

Most of the time, we’re a bit flippant about that question. Is it a car? A dream home or job? Or is it more time with a family member who has died? Is it Jesus? Often, this text is preached in a way that we are the ones who are to get rid of everything in order to “buy” Jesus.

And that isn’t a bad reminder; we should be willing to (as our Confirmation vows say) “suffer all, even death, rather than fall away” from the faith. But that can only happen once we are called, gathered, enlightened and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. We are already among the faithful at that point.

What if the man who found the treasure is Jesus, though? He finds his creation buried in the dirt and filth of this sinful, broken world and sees the absolute treasure that you are. How utterly precious you are to him. 

So He gives up everything He has. He steps away from the right hand of the throne of God and becomes man. He leaves the indescribable light of the heavens to become an infant dependent on young Mary for food and shelter. He gives up His majestic glory, where He is served by angel hosts, to learn a trade from Joseph. He leaves His comfortable home to live where “the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” He humbles himself and “endures the cross, scorning its shame” because He found you completely lost and in need.

That’s where the true comfort of these words is found. You are in the most horrible place possible—lost in sin, covered in death and despair, unsure about how you’ll find your way in this world—and Jesus comes and buys you back. He redeems you from sin, death, and the devil. 

He gives up absolutely everything He has, even His life, so that you would be brought into his New Creation for all eternity. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and love, that, receiving what You have promised, we may love what You have commanded; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Sunday of the Ninth Week of Pentecost)

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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.

July 29, 2023

Today's Reading: John 11:1-44

Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:25-40, Acts 15:6-21

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (St. John 11:1)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are people important to Jesus. They had become very dear friends throughout the time of Jesus’s ministry, and you see that in the message the sisters send to him when Lazarus falls sick: “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”

It might be easy to categorize the siblings into caricatures: Mary is frivolous, Martha is the overachiever, and Lazarus…well, Lazarus doesn’t seem to do much of anything but die and be raised, and then eat a big dinner.

But there is much more to them than these snapshots, as there is much more to you than what people think of when they hear your name (yes, people have an idea about you that you might not even consider as your identity!).

The raising of Lazarus is a text that has been used at funerals for centuries. It’s where Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Arguably, this is the most important interaction Jesus has with the family, at least, the most eternally engaging.

Martha is known for her industriousness and service, which is also a good thing. She’s remembered for her service in the Collect appointed for this day, being hospitable and providing a place for Jesus to rest and eat.

Mary is most often remembered for being ‘lazy,’ for sitting around and listening to Jesus instead of helping Martha. But she is also known for something more important, I’d say. She is the Mary who anointed Jesus’s feet with expensive perfume right before Palm Sunday. Jesus said she did this to prepare him for his burial, already pointing ahead to what was to come.

Three different saints, with different sets of abilities and gifts. What they have in common, though, is that Jesus loved them dearly. Just like He loves you and all your varied gifts and abilities.

Regardless of your aptitude, Jesus sees your faith, your trust, your hope. And that’s what’s most important. Love and serve those around you, it’s what you’re given to do. But remember why you do that. You love those around you because Jesus first loved you. And He loves you so much that one day, like Lazarus, you’ll be called from your grave to life everlasting with him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Heavenly Father, Your beloved Son befriended frail humans like us to make us Your own. Teach us to be like Jesus' dear friends from Bethany, that we might serve Him faithfully like Martha, learn from Him earnestly like Mary, and ultimately be raised by Him like Lazarus. Through their Lord and ours, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany)

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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.

July 28, 2023

Today's Reading: John 10:1-10

Daily Lectionary: Judges 6:1-24, Acts 14:19-15:5

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.  (St. John 10:7–9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It is always a bit jarring to talk to our fellow Christians who don’t see the importance and depths of the Sacraments that we do. In large parts of Christianity, Baptism is simply a loyalty vow; Communion is just an act of remembrance because Jesus said to “do this.”

If you insist that Jesus’s words actually mean what He says they mean (‘This IS My Body…’), you will often get a question about this part of St. John in response: ‘Well, does that mean Jesus is a literal DOOR?!?’

Of course He is a literal door! But not in the way you think of your bedroom door, or the church door. Jesus says that whoever enters by him will be saved. Whoever passes through Jesus is in the kingdom.

See it through the eyes of the shepherds of Jesus’s time and how they took care of their sheep. They would go out for the day, eating from the green pastures and drinking from the still waters. But then, when it gets close to dark, and the shadows lengthen, the sheep are led back to the pen, usually build out of stone, where the shepherd would lay down for the night in the opening of the pen, the doorway, to both keep the sheep safely in and the predators out. They were the doors to the pens.

Not only is Jesus your Good Shepherd who leads you beside the water of Baptism and the grass of his Word, but he guards and keeps you from all that would attack you, holding you safe in his arms. He brings you through the narrow door of salvation—His life for yours—and keeps you safe within the kingdom that can only be entered through Him.

Yes, He is the door. The strongest and most secure, and also most open door, in existence; the door that wants all people to enter into his safe pasture. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, grant to Your Church Your Holy Spirit and the wisdom that comes down from above, that Your Word may not be bound but have free course and be preached to the joy and edifying of Christ's holy people, that in steadfast faith we may serve You and, in the confession of Your name, abide unto the end; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. (Collect for the Word) 

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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.

July 27, 2023

Today's Reading: Romans 8:18-27

Daily Lectionary: Judges 4:1-24, Acts 14:1-18

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.  (Romans 8:26)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yesterday we considered how it is that the Holy Spirit brings us to faith. That it is all his doing. You play no part in ‘deciding for Jesus,’ because by the time you ‘decide’ that you have come to faith, the Holy Spirit has already created and planted and enlightened that faith within you by the power of the holy Gospel.

But the Holy Spirit doesn’t stop there. As part of the enlightening and sanctifying work that the Spirit does for you, He also prays for you, interceding before God the Father on your behalf.

Just like you can’t save yourself from drowning, praying properly is something you can’t do without help either. So, St. Paul says, the Spirit takes all those prayers you lob heavenward and gathers them, considers them, and then—with groaning and communication we can’t begin to comprehend—He presents those prayers to the Father in a clear way that He is sure to understand.

That doesn’t mean that you give up on prayer because the Holy Spirit is doing it for you. No, you keep on praying like your life depends on it, because it does. Because your Father always wants to hear from you. He always delights in your prayers, even if they aren’t clear enough to be included in a prayer book.

It just so happens that you’ve got an expert interpreter who knows what you truly need on a deeper level than you can ever imagine. And your needs are carried to the Father who loves you by the Holy Spirit who loves you so that the work of the Son who loves you can bless and keep you all your days.

You are never alone in this world, no matter how dark some days may seem. For, even in those toughest of times, The Holy Spirit still prays for you so that the Father can answer those groanings to your benefit and for your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Holy Spirit enter in, And in our hearts Your work begin, Your dwelling place now make us. Sun of the soul, O Light divine, Around and in us brightly shine, To joy and gladness wake us That we may be Truly living, To you giving Prayer unceasing And in love be still increasing.  (LSB 913:1)

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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.

July 26, 2023

Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism, Third Article Part 1

Daily Lectionary: Judges 3:7-31, Acts 13:42-52

What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.  (Small Catechism, The Third Article, Part 1 of the Meaning)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A drowning person can’t save himself. He is beyond reason and ability; panic takes over and even the lifeguard must be careful to not be dragged down in an attempt to save him.

Thankfully, Jesus isn’t in danger of drowning when He saves us. He’s already been through death and come back to life, securing our eternal life and salvation. That’s a hard thing to believe, though. As is what we confess in this article of the Creed: ‘I believe that I cannot believe.’ We have to say that, though. We must be honest with ourselves that we cannot believe without being brought to that faith by the one who authors it. 

Like the drowning person who must finally give up and fall into the arms of the lifeguard who  pulls him from certain death, we can only fall into the arms of the One who has spoken salvation and faith into our ears and hearts, trusting that His work does what He says it does.

Look who is running the verbs in that explanation above: the Holy Spirit is doing all the action. All we do is confess that we can’t. But look just how much the Holy Spirit is doing. He doesn’t just throw you a life ring and say “Hang on!” No, the Holy Spirit calls you to faith by the living Gospel of Jesus, enlightens you—fills you with saving knowledge through Word and Sacrament, and sustains you in that faith with those same gifts.

Almighty God has reached into this tumultuous sea called life and grabbed you from the chaotic waves. He has pulled you to safety, set you on dry ground, and comforted and cared for you. Thanks be to God that none of this was up to you, because you could never do it alone!

Instead, Father, Son, and Spirit all worked together to bring you to safety; eternal safety. A safety and peace that can only be assured by the all-powerful working of the One True God who, now that He has you in his hands, will never let go. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, who gave Your Holy Spirit to the apostles, grant us that same Spirit that we may live in faith and abide in peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for Pentecost Monday)

-Pastor Duane Bamsch is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA  and the President of Higher Things.

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.