Reflections

March 29,  2023

Today's Reading:  Luther’s Small Catechism – Ten Commandments - Third Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Ex 4:1-18, Mark 15:1-15

Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God wasn’t tired after making everything. The Sabbath isn’t a chance to parrot God catching His breath. The focus on abstaining from work on the Sabbath day misses the point.  The point of the Commandment is in the word holy.  You will not be holier by sitting on the couch eating junk food.  Jesus insists the Sabbath was created for man, not man for the Sabbath because this day was not given as a measuring stick for you to prove yourself to God by…doing nothing.  It only serves to prove how sinful we are that we somehow fail at even doing nothing to the point that the Pharisees would pick at each other and even our Lord.  Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  So instead of looking to your works, look to something actually holy.  Look to Jesus. 

The Sabbath day won’t become holy to you who are unholy in your sins.  There’s nothing you can do to make the day holy.  It’s like trying to clean a table with a dirty rag.  The Sabbath day becomes holy for you when you’re exposed to something holy.  The Sabbath day becomes holy to you when you do not despise preaching or God’s Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.  Go to church.  Receive God’s gifts.  He insists a day be set aside to make you holy.  The reason God set aside the seventh day wasn’t because He was tired. It was so God could spend time with you. Our rest is found in receiving the Word and Sacraments that take away our sins and leave us holy.  

It's also why we celebrate the Sabbath on the first day, not the seventh.  This is the day Jesus rose from the grave.  This is the day a holy God conquered unholy sin and death.  It isn’t about the day.  It’s about the gifts.  He gives you His Body and Blood to eat and drink.  He gives you His Word, promising peace, forgiveness, and joy.  He sets aside time and insists you join Him so that you would not remain in your unholiness and sin, but that He would dwell with you to cleanse you and bring you with Him to the last great day when the sabbath rest will be unending.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

“You shall observe the worship day That peace may fill your home, and pray, And put aside the work you do, So that God may work in you.” Have mercy, Lord! (“These are the Holy Ten Commands” LSB 581:4)

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

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.

March 28,  2023

Today's Reading:  Hebrews 9:11-15

Daily Lectionary: Ex 2:23-3:22, Mark 14:53-72

Hebrews 9:15: “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A covenant is a promise God makes with us.  Is the first covenant made in the garden with two trees? Eat from one, not the other? Is it made with Abraham, who believed and it was counted to him as righteousness? Moses, who gave the instructions for the shedding of the blood of goats and calves for the forgiveness of sins? The text talks about dead bulls so I can take a guess, but the last verse leaves options. There just hasn’t been a promise God has made to a people who haven’t turned around and sinned. 

And for what it reveals to us about Him, I’m grateful.  It isn’t just that all the dead bulls pointed to a dead Jesus. It’s that Jesus died for us. The ones who have been given the promise who turned around and transgressed against the Lord. Like Adam. And Abraham. And Moses. And Peter. And every other saint until the last great day when sins are left behind as we enter the resurrection.  

Ours is the God who makes promises to sinners, then fulfills what we are unable to do. A covenant isn’t a two party deal when it comes to God. He keeps both ends. So when we find a church full of sinners, a generation of Christians who look like they tear down more than they build, a label that fits all too well on the Christians that leave you frustrated, understand that Jesus makes them promises too. He shed His blood for them, and for you too. For forgiveness for every place we transgressed in the first place. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

But Christ, the heav’nly Lamb, Takes all our sins away; A sacrifice of nobler name And richer blood than they. (Not All the Blood of Beasts, LSB 431:3)

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

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.

March 27,  2023

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Daily Lectionary: Ex 2:1-22, Mark 14:32-52

Ezekiel 37:4: “Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This story isn’t just Ezekiel. It’s every pastor of every church, called out into a valley full of sinners cut off from one another. Addicts with secrets and not-so-secrets. Monsters.  Victims. Bones. You see it in the gossip that runs rampant in churches, in anxiety and anger, depression and fear, suffering and death. We are the valley of dry bones. And someone told us that Christian soldiers are supposed to march. The hymn might be lying. 

So your pastor preaches sermons. A few of us are actually good enough to make you feel better for an hour or two after church. But does it really get better? Can these bones live? O Lord, You know. I don’t.  I can tell you what His word says, but can’t make you believe it. I can tell you a sin is wrong, but can’t break your addiction to it. I can give names to every sin in Ten Commandments, but it won’t make them hurt less. But God tells the prophet, unsure of what to do or say that it’s really pretty simple. Preach the Word.  

Know who your God is. He is Jesus, who opens your grave and makes you live. That’s a promise given to dry bones whether or not they’re afraid, whether or not they’re sinners, whether or not they even draw breath. God’s Word still preaches and the dying still live. Because it’s measured in Him, not the Valley.  Peace isn’t a lack of problems or a perfect church. Peace isn’t a handle on your life and a morality that doesn’t look at the Ten Commandments and find only hypocrisy.  Peace is a present God, speaking life to the dying, speaking hope to you.  The church doesn’t call us simply to strive to climb out of the valley where the bones are. It promises Jesus joins us and makes us, even us, live. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Like a mighty army Moves the Church of God; Brothers, we are treading Where the saints have trod. We are not divided, All one body we, One in hope and doctrine, One in charity.  Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before. (Onward Christian Soldiers, LSB 662:2)

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

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.

March 26,  2023

Today's Reading: John 11:1-45

Daily Lectionary: Ex. 1:1-22, Mark 14:12-31

John 11:21: “Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I think John made sure to get this in the story not to leave us with a bad impression of Martha marked on one of the hardest days of her life. I think it’s to give us the words to speak on our own. Its bitterness and genuine anger rolled up in a confession of the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. It isn’t just an accusation. It’s a recognition. It doesn’t ignore the problem because of Jesus. But it doesn’t dismiss it either. 

Something wrong happened. God could have stopped it. There will be a resurrection someday. But today, hope feels far off. Because we tend to root hope in the answer to prayers, not the God answering them.  Hope is a Lazarus who didn’t die. Hope is a Lazarus who will rise on the last day. But that leaves hope very far away when he’s four days in the tomb and rotting. 

It might be worth noting that throughout this entire story, every time the followers of Jesus presume to know His plans, they’re wrong. Every time they put their hope in something He can control, but not in Him, it falls apart. Because hope is not found in God answering prayers. Hope is found in God. 

Where God is, there is hope. And Jesus draws near to dead Lazarus.  He could have stopped it. He could have chosen not to go into Jerusalem to die. He could have chosen to punish sinners for insolence and impoliteness…and you know…sin. Instead, His will is done as absolutely done, confounding the imaginations of everyone. So maybe hope in Jesus, not what you think He’ll do. 

Hope is not measured in anything other than the presence of Jesus. Everything else is turned upside down. The body should never have died. The dead body should stink. And in all of it, hope is measured in something else. Jesus is near.  

Which may be why He gives us His Body and Blood in church. So that hope can be measured in more than “Did I get what I wanted?” or “Did I die and go to heaven and on the last day rise?”. It’s measured in “Is Jesus here for me?” and the answer is Yes. Amen. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

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.

March 25,  2023

Today's Reading:  Luke 1:26-38

Daily Lectionary: Gen 49:29-50:7, 14-26, Mark 14:1-11

Luke 1:28–29: “And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Two angels visited young women. One was evil. The other good. Both made promises of greatness. One promised a life of freedom, hidden knowledge, and independence.  The other promised a cross. One pointed to something that would be so easy to take. The other spoke of something all but impossible. One offered options. The other never gave the young woman a choice.  

If you were to ask the world which was good and which was evil, the answer would be near unanimous, but it was the evil angel Satan who spoke lies to Eve promising independence from God, knowledge of good and evil, and whispered of “free will” right within her grasp. Gabriel told the truth. 

You shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus – He shall save His people from their sins. As crazy as it sounds, nothing will be impossible with God. There is no choice. No free will. This is your blessing. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  Therefore the child to be born will be called holy. The Son of God.

The Annunciation marks just one pregnancy until Christmas, almost always in the middle of lent. They’re as joined together in the grand narrative as the two angels. The tree of the garden revealed sin. It was always meant to be answered by the tree of the cross that reveals salvation. The cross lets us call evil, evil and good, good. It lets us acknowledge our sin, and in repentance, be not afraid. 

Nothing is impossible with God. That’s not for you to do. It’s for Christ to do for you. Even the part where we acknowledge our sin, and in repentance, be not afraid. He will descend from heaven to become a fetus, born of a virgin and walk the road to the cross to undo death itself and then rise again just to save you. This isn’t just an arbitrary connection. It’s the presence of hope among so much that seems strange, terrifying, and upside down. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord, as we have known the incarnation of Your Son, Jesus Christ, by the message of the angel to the virgin Mary, so by the message of His cross and passion bring us to the glory of His resurrection;

through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

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.

March 24,  2023

Today's Reading:  

Daily Lectionary: Gen 47:1-31, Mark 13:24-37

Mark 13:37: “And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.””

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Stay awake. It’s ominous. It reads like a threat that isn’t even all that veiled. It leaves us looking to the Lord returning on the last day to catch us, not to save us. It’s actually not because of how it’s written. It’s because of us.  It’s because when we hear the Lord is near, it brings to the surface everything we don’t want Him to be around to confront. We expect the Lord to show up to judge the living and the dead in great power. But there’s a missing word there. 

But He promises to come in great glory too. So remember the hour in which the Son of Man was glorified.  It was the cross. Jesus bore it for you to forgive you all your sins. The Lord returns on the last day with the same glory. It’s mercy in action, applied to save you. He shows up with great power, the ability to rescue you from all that is in decay down here, even yourself, and glory as of the Son of God who loves to save sinners. 

So stay awake. It’s not a call to avoid being caught off-guard, but to remain faithful. Hopeful. And even that He does for you. In Word and Sacrament, God calls you out of sleep. Awake o sleeper. Rise from death, and Christ will shine on you. The last day is not a trap, but a blessed hope of all Christians, because here we join our Lord, at last, to fully see our freedom from sin and death. He has already delivered us in our Baptism. 

He has promised to keep us to that last great day. To remain awake is to cling to these promises. To pray, come Lord Jesus, with all the Church, and to know our future, and count it as a joy. Why would we flee that to hide from the pains of this world in vice and sin and darkness? We are called to stand firm against them knowing we don’t need to hide. We don’t need to self-medicate. We are given, every week, the medicine of life in the Body and Blood of Jesus. Stay awake. Gather around the gifts. It’s a call God makes to all. Let more sinners join us in the mercies of Christ made new every day. Let more find peace that endures to the last. Stay awake, because even now you have Christ.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

For us Christ lived, for us He died, And conquered in the strife; Awake, arise, go forth in faith, And Christ shall give you life (Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death (LSB 697:4)

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

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.

March 23,  2023

Today's Reading:  Ephesians 5:8-14

Daily Lectionary: Gen 45:1-20, 24-28, Mark 13:1-23

Ephesians 5:14: “for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.””

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Shine light on everything. If it’s of the light, it will reflect. If it’s of darkness, it will flee. It’s a simple approach to life that will guide so many decisions. If you feel like you have to hide what you’re doing, you probably shouldn’t do it. If you feel like it needs to be a secret, what are you afraid of? If it is good and of the light, it will be known for what it is. It sounds so simple. It gets so messy.  

Because the world hides their sins. Honestly, we do too. We hide so much in the words, “I a poor miserable sinner” we want nobody to know.  We bury so much in our pasts. In our secrets. In our hearts.  I understand why.  

But Paul promises that the thing that becomes visible in light isn’t just our misdeeds. It’s Christ.  He calls the sleeper to wake. He promises to shine, even on those who sleep under death, which only comes from sin.  

Shine light on everything. Because Jesus forgives your sins. All of them. The hidden ones are not yours to keep secret. They’re Christ’s to leave buried under the cross.  For every burden we shelter in our hearts that should belong to the light, Paul implores us, not simply to behave and not drink too much.  He calls us to let the Light of the World confront our sins because He does so in order to call us out of the burdens they bring. It doesn’t mean shouting your secrets from the rooftops. But it means we have a place to bring the darkness in us. Expose it to the light and watch it flee. Our sins are brought to the Light of the World and forgiven where the Light of the World conquers death even as the sun is blotted from the sky. Light shall dwell in darkness, and the darkness shall not overcome it.  Let the light shine even where we hide our sins. Let them be forgiven. Not hidden. Not excused. Atoned for. Walk as children of light.  That means take your sins to Jesus. It is pleasing to the Lord. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lo, on those who dwelt in darkness, Dark as night and deep as death, Broke the light of Thy salvation, Breathed Thine own life-breathing breath. Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send! Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end! (Thy Strong Word, LSB 578:2)

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

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.

March 22,  2023

Today's Reading:  Luther’s Small Catechism – Ten Commandments: Second Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Gen 44:1-18, 32-34, Mark 12:28-44

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ask ten strangers what they think about Christianity. They’ll tell you. You’ll hear some heartbreaking stuff. You’ll hear about a hateful God who despises the sinners who don’t sin like the rest of us. You’ll hear about a deadbeat God who abandoned His kids to a world of suffering.  Worse, you might just hear about a perfect God, who reserves Himself for the ones who earn His love.  The Almighty who answers the prayers of the popular kids who get strangers to pray for them or the rich kids who give money to church.  This is what happens when we break the Second Commandment.  

The Second Commandment isn’t chiefly about what bad words you say when you stub your toe. Those are still bad, but worse still is when we teach falsely about who our God is.  When we attach lies to His name. It’s called false doctrine. It matters. Millions of people know the name Jesus. They just think He’s a liar.  When we attach God’s favor to our works, it’s a sin. When we teach about a far away God, it’s a great evil. Every single time, the cross is diminished. The mercy won there for you and for all the world there is hidden behind lies. God calls us not to misuse His name.  

God doesn’t give you His name only to tell you not to use it. Don’t misuse it. He wants you to have it.  Pray. Praise. Give thanks. Remember who your God is. Remember what He’s done for you. For all. Pray as if it were true. Praise Him for never being far off, but always being in the midst of suffering to bear it Himself upon the cross. Give thanks that He would not save only the wealthy or the popular, but the least of these, the sinners. Us. The Second Commandment matters because it’s actually worth knowing you have a God who loves you. You have a God who won’t stand back from your misery or from your sin. He wants you to use that name. Call upon me in your day of trouble, and I will rescue you”, says your God.  “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  That’s worth remembering rightly. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

“Do not My holy name disgrace, Do not My Word of truth debase. Praise only that as good and true Which I Myself say and do.” Have mercy, Lord! (These are the Holy Ten Commands, LSB 581:3)

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

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.

March 21,  2023

Today's Reading:  Isaiah 42:14-21

Daily Lectionary: Gen 43:1-28, Mark 12:13-27

Isaiah 42:21: “The LORD was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Everyone always talks about God’s patience like it has no end.  We want things now. He’s content to wait until the right time. Isaiah disagrees. He paints a picture of the LORD so eager to act that, like a pregnant woman, He can hold back no longer so He screams, gasps, and pants.  It isn’t just a picture of God’s eagerness to punish the wicked. It’s an image of His need to forgive you.  Each day of creation that passed by before the Lord bore the cross for the world was not time spent reading a book or whatever patient people do. It’s time. It’s now. The LORD is so ready to forgive He angry screams.  

Because He sees what it looks like down here. He’s not content with the suffering, the dying, or the sin and the evil that brings it.  He’s not content to see a few carve out relatively comfortable lives in a world this dark. He’s not content to see the faithful strive with morality only to fall ill and die. It’s because our best isn’t good enough. It isn’t good enough to fix what’s wrong down here. The law doesn’t show us how to behave. It shows us how things are supposed to be. And they’re not.  

So the LORD magnifies the law. Shows us what things are supposed to look like. Jesus. Because anything less than Jesus’ perfection isn’t enough. The law upheld outwardly by the most moral isn’t enough. He magnifies the law on His servant, Jesus. The law is shown, finally, in its fulfillment.  Jesus is glorified.  He dies on the cross undoing sin’s wages. Forgiving you. The Father sees the cross and becomes deaf and blind to your sin. It’s on Jesus now.  It has to be, because the LORD can’t stand to see it on you. So, with a cry of pain mingled with joy and relief, even as a pregnant woman screams.  It is finished. Darkness is turned to light. Your sin is forgiven. The death of the faithful is undone.  And we can look at how things are supposed to be as a promise of God to restore them, not a standard to live up to.  We can look to Jesus and find hope. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The Gospel shows the Father’s grace, Who sent His Son to save our race, Proclaims how Jesus lived and died That we might thus be justified. (The Gospel Shows the Father’s Grace, LSB 580:1)

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

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.

March 20,  2023

Today's Reading:  John 9:1-41

Daily Lectionary: Gen 42:1-34, 38, Mark 12:1-12

John 9:2: “And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?””

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The disciples find a man born blind. They ask a reasonable question.   Whose fault is it?  There has to be someone to blame. Sometimes you can find fault.  The Ten Commandments paint a picture of how things are supposed to be. All of us fall short of this standard.  Sin breaks stuff. Sometimes that’s my fault. Sometimes it’s yours. Sometimes the sin that breaks stuff is just so ground into the dust that there’s no way to figure out who to blame, short of Adam. He brought sin into the world. He passed it through DNA to the blind man and his parents, to you and me. If you want to assign blame for misery, there’s no shortage of it. But there’s no help there either.  

So when the disciples ask Jesus who to blame, He doesn’t answer the way they want. He answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Jesus wants more for us than wandering around in darkness finding blame to sling on each other like mud.  There’s no help in that pit. There’s no comfort. There’s nothing but darkness, dust, and death. There’s wisdom here. The law shows us our sin. Sometimes we can learn from that and aim for better, but when we can’t find a commandment being broken, stop. If you can’t find a place to learn, leave. Don’t play in that pit. You only get covered in the same darkness.  

He points to Himself. He doesn’t explain this man’s blindness in a way that makes us feel better about it.  There is no feeling better about it. Even knowing who to blame doesn’t fix anything.  He points to Himself, and in doing so He addresses the real problem the disciples have. They called him Rabbi. Teacher. That’s what folks call Jesus in the Bible when they want to make clear they don’t think He’s the God He claims to be.  

Where is God visible in all this?  They wanted a teacher to explain away what’s wrong and learned nothing. Rather, Jesus heals the man and shows where God really makes Himself known. In the darkness, working mercy. It’s ugly, but God reveals Himself in the darkness, in the spit and the mud. In the suffering and death. On the cross.  For the sinners and the ones marked by it. For you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Lord God, let us ever find you working in darkness to bring us light, mercy, and healing, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

- Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

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.