October 26, 2023

Today's Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 7:1-19, Matthew 10:1-23

They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,  and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. ( 1 Thess. 1: 9-10)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s hard to be hopeful today about many things. Finances, social statuses, our health, what kind of techy pads or phones we don’t have, all the way down to loneliness, despair, depression and abandonment.  It really stinks living in a world that is drenched in sin.  If we had some hope, it might motivate us a bit more.  We need hope, we would like to put something hopeful in our calendar or social media status.  Anything to keep us from facing the daily pains of our sins.  

However, most of our hope is based on us and how we can make things better.  We say “well, things will get better if I just get through this day…” “things will get better when I’m married or get a raise…” But what if things don’t get better? What if the pain and struggles continue for the foreseeable future?  When we talk about hope as Christians we need more than just a temporary fix.  Hope is more than making lemonades out of life’s lemons because our problems are much bigger than we see. Sin is at the core of all that is broken, full of despair and hopeless.  As Christians we see hope in Jesus’ permanent fix for this life.  Paul says today “[God] raised from the dead Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath of to come.”  Jesus gives you permanent hope. Believe it or not this hope actually cuts through the sharpest of pains in life all the way down to our trivial complaints. This hope forgives and heals you of your sins. That’s why we rejoice - because faith, love and hope are for you in Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Hope of the world, God's gift from highest heaven, bringing to hungry souls the bread of life:

still let your Spirit unto us be given  to heal earth's wounds and end her bitter strife.  (LSB 690:2)

- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..

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.