Reflections

June 11, 2025

Today's Reading: Mark 6:7-13

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 23:4-28; Luke 22:47-71

“And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.” (Mark 6:7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Jesus sends the Twelve out to preach and cast out demons. They only get to take a staff. They stay where someone will put them up; if not, it’s dust from their boots. They healed the sick and cast out demons. But when I look at this, for the life of me all I can think about is what they didn’t have. No money, no clothes, no safety net. Maybe it’s because I have a lot of junk, but really, it’s because I can’t imagine life that close to the brink. I want extra. All I can see are the wolves. The pitfalls. The problems. That fear has been the shift in missions. For so many congregations, it’s ceased to be about getting other people's help and turned into making sure we survive. All we can see is what we don’t have. Not enough people. Volunteers. Money. Programs. Kids. We paint a picture of a church on the brink of extension, complain about it, and then act shocked nobody else wants to join.  

This is who Christ sends the Twelve out to. Sinners who don’t trust God enough. Sinners assaulted by demons. Sinners who are sick and suffering. He’s still sending. We’re still more focused on what we don’t have than what we do. And repentance and forgiveness of sins are still being preached. There is real peace. Real healing.  

Some will not hear it. Some will not receive it with joy. The kingdom of God is still manifest in the voices of the preachers—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. God still uses the church to spread His word, which does not return empty. This is not what this church doesn’t have. It’s about what it does have. Peace. Jesus for sinners. The cross for you. What we have is precious. Worth praising. There’s peace here. There’s Christ here. Really here for you when everything else falls apart. When everything else is devoured, Christ will feed you, too. Everything the world is desperate for, we give away for free. And Christ is the one still doing the sending. The church grows by the power of the Holy Spirit. We couldn’t stop it by our fear any more than we could stop it by our sin. Christ forgives both. And the church endures. It will stand unto the last, ever calling out mercy. We’ll abide in a land of not enough because Christ speaks peace to us here. And that’s enough.  

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, chose Barnabas to be an apostle to preach the blessed Gospel. Grant that Your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

- Rev. Harrison Goodman, Higher Things Executive Director of Mission and Theology.

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

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

June 10, 2025 

Today's Reading: John 10:1-10

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 22:21-23:3; Luke 22:24-46

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

When folks look around the sheepfold, it’s a lot easier to find the robbers than the Lord. Jesus says, “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.” That part, I see. That part we can’t miss. The death. The destruction. The evil that doesn’t just persist in a world of chance where storms and plagues come and go. There are the evils men do to each other. Sometimes even in the name of religion. Our Lord never contends the robbers being present. He warns us about them. Expect them. They're actually a sign you're in the right place. That He won’t chase them out is the cause of all kinds of frustration, but He promises something even more peculiar.  

Jesus doesn’t stand back from what’s wrong. He doesn’t demand we earn His favor to fix it. He doesn’t promise a perfect world. He promises the cross. He promises to come to the sheep. To rescue them. To carry the lost and bind up the wounded. He comes to make the dead live. He comes to bear the cross, not for the righteous, but for sinners. He came to die for you and for me. He came to be the lightning rod for everything wrong so we could finally stop pretending things were fine, blaming each other for what’s wrong, and desperately trying to fix it without success. We cast each sin and evil upon the cross, where God bears them to the bitter end for us. And we hear the voice of the shepherd. It is finished. Your sins are forgiven you. Death is destroyed. And Jesus is risen from the grave.  

Understand what the resurrection means. It is an apologetic of hope. Evil raged as hard as it could and still failed to keep Jesus dead. This is a religion carried forward on the backs of martyrs, not afraid to die because they saw someone prove it’s not so permanent. They died alone and afraid. They saw what the robbers and thieves could do. And they sang hymns about the shepherd while they died at the hands of the thieves. And even here, Jesus leads them through the door. From the cross to the empty tomb. He rose. They live. And that’s beautiful. And it’s something that we can still hear today. The shepherd still speaks. He sends his undershepherds. They preach the gospel. There will still be others. Robbers. Don’t hear them. They speak of not Jesus. But we’ll sing hymns no matter what because the measure of our hope is still the voice of the risen shepherd.  

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, But yet in love He sought me And on His shoulder gently laid And home rejoicing brought me (LSB 709:3)

- Rev. Harrison Goodman, Higher Things Executive Director of Mission and Theology.

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

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

June 9, 2025

Today's Reading: John 3:16-21

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 22:1-20; Luke 22:1-23

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

If you unpack the Bible verse everyone already knows, you find a religion nobody can fathom. It’s nothing but Jesus on the cross for sinners. It binds us together without distinction, without exception, and leaves us with a different vocabulary. All the world talks about what’s wrong. All the world condemns. But Christ did not come into the world to condemn it, but in order that it would be saved through His cross. You don’t need to make the world better or even make it seem that way. You can call darkness dark because you see the light that conquers it. Forgives you who walk in it. Brings light that darkness would not overcome it. Which means the only reason there’s darkness left is because folks want it that way. The light came into the world, but the people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 

It’s easy to sort through now, especially with that cross. Shine light on everything. What is light reflects light. What is dark flees the light. Not just because Christians are good and the world is evil. That’s the lie the devil would have us believe, so we won’t know what to make of our sins and would flee from the God who’d crucify them, even if it means running back to darkness. But whoever comes to the light shows what light does. It forgives. This is the work carried out in God. Christians take their sins to the light. To the cross, so they’re not afraid to call their sins darkness. They know where light conquered darkness. And they know it was for them. It was for you. The darkness that flees the light is the darkness that doesn’t want to become light. That doesn’t want forgiveness. Shine light on everything and watch Christians rejoice in the forgiveness of sins, and there is no greater light, for this is the work of God. This is the peace we have. To not worry so much about the darkness anymore. Don’t be afraid of it. Don’t worry about outrunning it or outfighting it. You are brought to the light. This is the work God carries out over and over for you. So you won’t have to measure your light; you can look to His cross. You can know that it’s yours every single day for every single dark thing.   

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. 

- Rev. Harrison Goodman, Higher Things Executive Director of Mission and Theology.

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

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

June 8, 2025 

Today's Reading: John 14:23-31

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 21:10-35; Luke 21:20-38

“Jesus answered him, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’” (John 14:23) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word.” Faith, of course, is presupposed to the reader. I guess that’s good. We assume Christians believe. But also, when we take faith for granted, all that’s really left to talk about is what we want to come out of it. We assume the most important part of what Jesus said, then leave all of the stress on something that wasn’t ever given to carry the weight. We focus on the word “keep.” We stress the word keep when we’re set against a society that doesn’t keep it as if we can stave it off somehow by what we do. We stress it when our kids mess up, when we mess up, and when the world messes up because “whoever does not love me will not keep my word.” And even when nothing’s messed up at all, we think we did that by keeping something and proved something by it.

Don’t presuppose faith. See it for what it is. The gift of the Holy Spirit, who calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps you. Jesus is not describing the outcome of a presupposed faith. He’s describing what faith looks like. Pentecost celebrates that. God wants to speak. He preaches through men by the Gift of the Holy Spirit. He gives good Gifts to sinners. To you. To keep isn’t measured in obedience. It’s chiefly to treasure. By faith, we treasure the word God gives us, even when it paints us as sinners. Because it also tells us that Jesus saves sinners. Treasure that. Love what the world loves not. Love the cross and all that it brings. Love the place God put to death all evil and saved you from yourself. Love the life He gives that only comes on the other side of the tomb, but already belongs to you in your Baptism. This is the peace the world cannot give.  

We live forgiven, rooted in the Gifts of the Spirit, of the gospel which calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifies, and keeps, rejoicing in the promise Jesus makes, that you who love the Lord do treasure His word. The word speaks, and it shapes us. Each day, it forgives. Each day, it ties us to the great promise. Rise. Let us go from here.  

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 

- Rev. Harrison Goodman, Higher Things Executive Director of Mission and Theology.

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

In Clarifying the Great Commission, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from our collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. Come and discover a richer understanding of The Great Commission.

June 7, 2025 

Today's Reading: John 14:8-21

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:22-21:9; Luke 20:45-21:19

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” (John 14:16)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

The Holy Spirit is God, as much as the Father is God and the Son is God. We confess this truth every time we speak one of the Creeds. But if the Spirit is God, why don’t we give as much attention to the Holy Spirit as we do to the Father and the Son?

On the one hand, we probably should spend more time thinking about the Holy Spirit and praising Him for all that He does for us. Not only is He God, but we would be lost without the Holy Spirit. Luther reminds us in the Small Catechism that we “cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ our Lord or come to Him.” It is the Holy Spirit who grants us saving faith in Jesus.  

St. Paul also reminds us that it is only by the Holy Spirit that we can do good works, pleasing in God’s sight. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control,” (Galatians 5:22-23). We literally could not be holy to God without the work of the Holy Spirit.

But on the other hand, Jesus reminds us that in a way, this is what the Holy Spirit wants. Jesus calls the Spirit the “Helper.” The Holy Spirit acts as our helper by pointing us to Jesus. He directs our attention to Christ because it is Jesus alone who takes on our sinful flesh and suffers and dies for us. The Spirit teaches us all these things about Christ and brings them to our remembrance (John 14:26) by inspiring the prophets and apostles to write the Scriptures for us, and by working through the preaching of God’s Word. That is how saving faith is created and sustained in us.

Jesus, in turn, leads us to the Father (John 14:6) and shows us the Father’s face (John 14:9). That is salvation. The faith of a Christian, the faith that is created by the work of the Holy Spirit, is always centered around Jesus Christ, our Lord.

It is certainly good and right to praise God, the Holy Spirit, and acknowledge His work among us. And the best way to do that is to direct our eyes to Jesus and believe in Him. 

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 Eve)

- Rev. Aric Fenske, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Church in Bear Creek, WI.

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

Andrew R. Jones identifies ten lies Satan uses in attempts to dismantle God’s people and His kingdom. Find encouragement in God's Word of Truth and remember the final victory we have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

June 6, 2025 

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost - Psalm 104:24, 27-28, 30; antiphon: Liturgical Text

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 20:1-21; Luke 20:19-44

“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Alleluia.” (Liturgical text)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

What’s in your heart? If you’re honest with yourself, most of it’s not pretty! There’s a good chance there’s some anger toward your parents or teachers in there. Probably also some jealousy toward your friends or classmates who have newer cars, or bigger homes, or are smarter or more athletic than you. And I’m sure if you dug deep, you could find much uglier stuff than that.

Not that this should surprise us. God’s Word has plenty to say about our sinful hearts. Do you remember what God said before He told Noah to build the ark? “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Or how about Jesus, when He said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander,” (Matthew 15:19)? There’s plenty of sin in each of our hearts.

Thankfully, God has promised to put something else into our hearts. “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them” (Ezekiel 11:19). That new spirit God promises to put in our hearts is none other than His own Holy Spirit!

This is why Pentecost is such a big deal! The Father and the Son send forth the Holy Spirit so that God Himself can come and fill our hearts, just as we pray in the Introit for the day. Here, we learn that all three Persons of the Trinity work in perfect harmony and unity to grant us salvation. The Father sends His only-begotten Son. The Son lives, dies, and rises for our salvation. And the Father and Son send us the Spirit through Jesus’ Word and Sacraments to create and sustain faith in our hearts, a faith which clings to the promise of forgiveness in Jesus.

So even though our hearts are filled with sin and will be as long as we live, we don’t despair. The Holy Spirit resides in our hearts, too! This means that we live as redeemed children of God, knowing that Christ has washed away our sin and won’t count them against us.

And if that weren’t enough, the Holy Spirit changes our sinful hearts as He dwells in them. By His power, we learn to truly love. “We love God because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). And, because we learn to love God, we also begin to love one another (1 John 4:7). No wonder the Church prays, “Come, Holy Spirit!” 

 In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord, with all your graces now outpoured On each believer’s mind and heart; Your fervent love to them impart. (LSB 497:1)

- Rev. Aric Fenske, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Church in Bear Creek, WI.

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

Andrew R. Jones identifies ten lies Satan uses in attempts to dismantle God’s people and His kingdom. Find encouragement in God's Word of Truth and remember the final victory we have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

June 5, 2025 

Today's Reading: Catechism: The Lord's Prayer - The Sixth Petition

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:41-17:13; Numbers 18:1-19:22; Luke 20:1-18

“Lead us not into temptation.” (The Lord’s Prayer - The Sixth Petition)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

God doesn’t tempt us. Why would He? He doesn’t want us to sin. He suffered and died to free us from the power of sin and its consequences. He clearly doesn’t want us to sin.

As obvious as this seems, it’s still important to be reminded of this. If God did tempt us, then we’d try to blame Him every time we mess up and sin. That’s what Adam did. “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she deceived me and I ate” (Genesis 3:12). As if God were somehow responsible for their disobedience. How crazy!

God tempts no one. He doesn’t get any of the blame for our sinful thoughts, words, and deeds. We get the blame. “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (James 1:14). Our own sinful hearts tempt us to doubt God’s Word and disobey His commands because that Old Adam is diametrically opposed to the things of God.

Of course, the devil and the sinful world play a part, too. The devil is all too familiar with your sinful desires, and he will inflame those desires by urging and enticing you to follow your Old Adam instead of God. The world who hates God is also there, beckoning us to join them in loving ourselves and the world more than God. They surround us with sights, sounds, and opportunities that our sinful nature would love to partake of.

We might say that temptations to sin come from everywhere but God! This is why Jesus teaches us to pray this petition. He knows that these temptations constantly surround us. He knows because He was “tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrew 4:15). During His earthly life, Jesus was tempted by the devil and the world, too. He knows how strong temptation can be. And He alone knows what is needed for us to overcome it.

So Jesus teaches and invites us to pray to the Father in His name, asking that God would lead us through temptation when it comes and keep us from falling. And with this invitation is the promise that He will send us aid. He promises to instruct us in His Word, to strengthen us with His Spirit, and to guard us with His holy angels. And, thankfully, He also promises to forgive us when we fail, graciously keep us as His beloved children, and grant us the final victory over sin on the Last Day.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, who tempts no one to sin, guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our own sinful natures may not deceive us or lead us into false belief, despair, or other great shame and vice. And when we are attacked by these things, we pray that You would grant us to overcome them and win the victory; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen. 

- Rev. Aric Fenske, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Church in Bear Creek, WI.

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

Andrew R. Jones identifies ten lies Satan uses in attempts to dismantle God’s people and His kingdom. Find encouragement in God's Word of Truth and remember the final victory we have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

June 4, 2025

Today's Reading: Luke 19:29-48

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:23-40; Luke 19:29-48

“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes,” (Luke 19:42)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

The people of Judea were welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem with shouts of joy, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38). The people were excited because they expected Jesus to bring them peace. But while they were shouting for joy, Jesus was weeping for them. He wept because even though the people were expecting peace, many of them weren’t going to get it.

Why? Because they didn’t know the “things that make for peace.” You see, the Jews were only looking for worldly peace. They were longing for a new king like David, who would free them from Roman oppression. And they had hoped that Jesus was that guy. But He wasn’t. At least not in the way they thought. Jesus didn’t come to be an earthly king, to rule in an earthly kingdom and bring a worldly type of peace.

Jesus came to bring us the “peace that passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). That is, peace with God. And just what are the things that make for this peace? The death and resurrection of Jesus, of course! Through Jesus, for the sake of His innocent suffering and death, we are reconciled to our heavenly Father, and we live with the hope of everlasting life in the Father’s kingdom. That hope cannot be taken from us, no matter what happens in this life.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem to win that peace for us, He knew that many of the Jews He encountered that day weren’t going to receive it. They rejected Him because they were so obsessed with earthly things that they didn’t want the peace that He brought.  

We’ve got to be careful that we don’t do the same thing. God has given us so many wonderful gifts, such as our families and friends, money, the ability to play sports, and the intelligence to get into a great college. While these can all be great blessings from God, we shouldn’t think that these blessings are the source of our peace, at least not true, lasting peace. Sadly, friends can betray us; money can be taken from us. Popularity, looks, and health will all fade away. 

True peace only comes from Jesus. Thankfully, He wants you to have it, and He offers you what you need to have it. He gives you His Word along with His crucified and risen Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Altar. When you receive the Word and Sacrament in faith, you receive the things that make for peace. 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Thy work alone, O Christ, Can ease this weight of sin; Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, Can give me peace within. (LSB 567:3)

- Rev. Aric Fenske, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Church in Bear Creek, WI.

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

Andrew R. Jones identifies ten lies Satan uses in attempts to dismantle God’s people and His kingdom. Find encouragement in God's Word of Truth and remember the final victory we have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

June 3, 2025 

Today's Reading: Revelation 22:1-6 (7-11) 12-20

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 16:1-22; Luke 19:11-28

“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.” (Revelation 22:3)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

When you think about heaven, what are the things you look forward to the most? Is it having your resurrected body? Maybe it’s being reunited with your believing family and friends for all eternity. I, for one, am looking forward to that feast of rich food that God promises to Isaiah (Isaiah 25:6)!  

Or maybe you look forward to not having the things that will be missing. When St. John was given his vision of heaven, he saw that there was nothing “accursed” there. There won’t be anybody in heaven who hates you. You won’t have all those terrible thoughts or do or say wicked things because your sinful nature will be gone, along with all other temptations. There won’t be any sickness or disease or danger. No sin of any kind!

These are certainly all wonderful things to look forward to. But St. John reminds us today that there’s one thing (or one Person, rather) in heaven that should be our main hope. “The throne of God and of the Lamb” will be there. God the Father will be there. The Holy Spirit will be there. And Jesus will be there. God isn’t some kind of door prize that comes along with heaven; He is what it’s all about.

Besides, what could be better than basking forever in the presence of the God who made you and loved you so much that He took on your flesh, suffered and died for you, and then came to you in the Word and Sacrament to grant you saving faith? Remember the 1st Commandment? “You shall have no other gods.” Hidden in this commandment is a wonderful promise. When you have the Triune God as your Lord, you have everything you could ever need and more! You don’t need any other gods. There is nothing better than being in the gracious presence of God.

Thankfully, we don’t have to wait until heaven to enjoy the blessings of God’s presence! Even now, God comes to us through His Means Of Grace, the Word and Sacraments to bless us. He comes to us to give us everything that we need to join Him in heaven. That would include especially the forgiveness of sins won by Jesus. But God also comes to us to give us the fruits of the Spirit, like patience, strength, repentance, and every Gift that we might need as we wait for the day that God gathers us to heaven.

There truly is nothing better than being in God’s presence—now and forever!

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Christ, do Thou my soul prepare for that bright home of love. That I may see Thee and adore with all Thy saints above. (LSB 673:6 )

- Rev. Aric Fenske, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Church in Bear Creek, WI.

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

Andrew R. Jones identifies ten lies Satan uses in attempts to dismantle God’s people and His kingdom. Find encouragement in God's Word of Truth and remember the final victory we have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

June 2, 2025

Today's Reading: Acts 1:12-26

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:26-45; Numbers 15:1-41; Luke 18:35-19:10

“So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

After Judas’ betrayal and gruesome death, his spot among the apostles was empty. It didn’t take long for the remaining eleven to recognize that this spot needed to be filled. After all, Jesus chose twelve for a reason.

I’m sure there were many different qualifications that the remaining eleven considered when the time came to select someone to fill that vacant spot, qualifications like those that St. Paul would later mention in his letters to Timothy and Titus (able to teach, above reproach, respectable, and so on; see 1 Timothy 3 or Titus 1). And yet, Peter points out one qualification that stood out among all the others. The man who would fill Judas’ place among the Apostles needed to be an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry. It had to be someone who, like them, saw Jesus be baptized, heard Him preach, watched Him cast out demons and heal diseases, and most importantly, saw Jesus alive after His crucifixion.

Why was this so important to Peter? Why couldn’t a more recent convert to the faith take Judas’ place? To put it briefly, Peter wanted you to know the things you’ve learned about Jesus, especially His resurrection, actually happened! As Peter would later write, these things are not “cleverly devised myths” (2 Peter 1:16). Those who first shared the Good News and then wrote it down for later generations, like us, saw Jesus do everything that was necessary for our salvation with their own eyes.   

And that means that you can be absolutely sure that Jesus has accomplished everything that was needed for your redemption. Whenever the devil, the world, or your own sinful nature tempt you to doubt the things you’ve learned about Jesus, remember that multitudes of people saw it all happen. Your faith in Christ is not founded on made-up stories or on events that may or may not have happened. Your faith is founded on the historical events of Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection for sinners.

So, you can be certain that Jesus was baptized into your sins, that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for those sins, and that He rose again from the dead, defeating death and assuring you that the Father has accepted His sacrifice on your behalf. And if you can be sure of all that, you can also be sure that you will be raised with Christ to life everlasting. 

 In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

We know that Christ is raised and dies no more. Embraced by death, He broke its fearful hold; And our despair He turned to blazing joy. Alleluia! (LSB 603:1)

- Rev. Aric Fenske, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church and Trinity Lutheran Church in Bear Creek, WI.

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

Andrew R. Jones identifies ten lies Satan uses in attempts to dismantle God’s people and His kingdom. Find encouragement in God's Word of Truth and remember the final victory we have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.