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   Number 1: How Can I Help? – September 29, 2026

   https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260929dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4 How Can I Help? ‘What do I get out of it?’ ‘What’s in it for me?’ ‘When do I get mine?’ Do you ever find yourself thinking that way? Of course you do! Everyone does. Since we were little, we have been wired to look out for me, myself, and I. I think one of the first words my children ever spoke was ‘mine.’ People are selfish. It is in our nature. But is that how God would have us live? No. The author of today’s Bible reading tells us that God has a different way, a better way for us to interact with others. He tells us to humbly put others above ourselves. Put others first? Yes! Imagine what your relationships would look like if you did that every day. Imagine what that would look like if husbands and wives put each other’s needs and desires before their own. Imagine what that would look like if parents and children always looked to serve one another. What a happy home that would be! But think if everyone did that outside of the home as well. How blessed our communities and country would be! What would make someone want to do that? The author explains that the answer is simple: Jesus. Jesus’ life was about putting you and me above himself. His mission in life was to save us, and he did that by always putting us first in his heart, to the extent that he shed blood and gave up his life for you and me. Follow Jesus’ lead, rather than asking, “What’s in it for me?” ask, “How can I help?” Remembering how Jesus served you, is there someone you could serve today? Is there someone you could put before yourself? Give it a try! Be that blessing to them! Prayer: Dear Jesus, you humbled yourself to save me. Forgive my selfish ambition and vain conceit. Create in me the same humble mind that is in you, so that I value others above myself and look to their interests in love. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

   September 29, 2026·4min
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   Number 2: A Unity Only Jesus Can Bring – September 28, 2026

   https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260928dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Philippians 2:1-2 A Unity Only Jesus Can Bring There is a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” This quip is traditionally linked to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The United States had banded together under the common cause of liberty and if we were going to be an independent nation, we were going to have to stick together. If the people couldn’t unite, the newly formed nation would crumble, and all her leaders would be tried for treason and hanged. Unity. Don’t you crave it? Don’t you want unity in your country, with your neighbor, with your family? Isn’t it great when there is unity in our relationships? Of course! Unity brings harmony and peace. But unity doesn’t always come easy. Politics divide a nation. Petty squabbles irritate the neighbor next door. Families hold onto grudges over unkind things done and said at Thanksgiving ten years ago. Even amongst Christians there are fights and feuds. But the author of today’s Bible reading makes an appeal to you. He says that, as a Christian, you know the sacrifice that Jesus has made for you. You know that selfless act of your Savior, Jesus, who gave up his life and died so that all your wrongdoings and faults would be forgiven. Friend, remember that sacrifice of Jesus! It is his sacrifice that puts everything in perspective. When I remember the lengths to which Jesus went to save me, that causes me to look at everyone else in my life on my side. We all deserve death because of our failures. But we all have been forgiven because of Christ. And that forgiveness causes me to love and forgive and be united with everyone. Prayer: Lord Jesus, you have united us to yourself and to one another. Fill us with your Spirit so that our lives reflect the oneness you have already given us. Make our joy complete as we live in the same love and mind that is ours in you. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

   September 28, 2026·4min
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   Number 3: Nothing More Needs To Be Said – September 27, 2026

   https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260927dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross. Philippians 2:8 Nothing More Needs To Be Said Imagine it’s about thirty years after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Imagine you are a career military man, recently retired from the Roman army. Like many other retired soldiers, you decide to live in a town called Philippi. You like it there because so many of your neighbors are just like you—people who know what military life is all about. Then it happens: The apostle Paul comes to your town with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ. You become a follower of Jesus. You help form a Christian congregation. You begin sharing the message of Christ with others. But then life gets difficult. Because of your Christian faith, some of your old friends want nothing to do with you. Some in your church family are even facing open hostility because of what they believe. You have moments when you wonder how much the Lord Jesus really loves you. Then, a Godsend—a letter from Paul! As you read it, there is one sentence that hits you hard. Paul is describing what Jesus was willing to do for you. He says, “He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.” Nothing more needs to be said. You see, as a soldier, you know what death on a cross is. The sight of gasping, writhing victims, the sound of their sobs, the smell, the flies—all have seared themselves into your memory long ago. And the Son of God willingly did that for you. Does Jesus love you? There he was on the cross. There he bore your sins in your place. Nothing more needs to be said. Prayer: Lord Jesus, you went to the cross in my place to take my every sin away. You love me. For that I love you. And I thank you. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

   September 27, 2026·3min
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   Number 4: The Creator and Preserver – September 26, 2026

   https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260926dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion Jonah wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” “I do,” he said. “I am angry enough to die.” But the LORD said, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” Jonah 4:8-11 The Creator and Preserver Jonah was very angry because God turned from his threat to punish the people of Nineveh. God worked to bring Jonah to repentance. He caused a vine to spring up overnight, and the next day its large leaves gave Jonah relief from the intense heat of the sun. But the cold heart of Jonah was not melted by the mercy that God showed him. The next night, God provided a worm that killed the vine. When the sun blazed the next day, Jonah was left without shade. He was so distressed about the loss of the vine that he told God, “I am angry enough to die.” God used that vine to teach Jonah an important lesson. Jonah merely had self-interest in the vine. His only concern for the vine was the protection and comfort it brought him. God wanted Jonah to think about the vine from the viewpoint of the one who caused it to grow and cared for it—a perspective quite different than Jonah’s attitude. The grower and the gardener demonstrate a deep concern for the well-being of the vine. Then the Lord applied the lesson. He is the creator and preserver of all people, including those people in Nineveh. And there were many of them, many people whom God loved and wanted to save from destruction. God is deeply interested in every person—no one is excluded from his love. His greatest desire is for people to live with him. That’s why he came into this world and was born a true human being. His complete focus was on our welfare, not on his own. He came to save us from death and give us eternal life. Prayer: Lord, teach me the extent of your great love. Give me courage to open my mouth to tell others about your salvation. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

   September 26, 2026·4min
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   Number 5: The Standard of Mercy – September 25, 2026

   https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260925dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. Romans 9:16 The Standard of Mercy When you have a job to perform or an assignment to complete, you want to know what is expected. What does it take to get a good grade? How can you earn your paycheck? Judged competitions, whether in athletics, the arts, or entries at the county fair, have standards that judges use to determine the final score for each competitor. We want to know God’s standards for our lives, too. God’s laws and commandments make demands and set expectations. Because we want God’s acceptance, we naturally look to those standards. We may assume that the better we follow God’s commandments, the more he will love and bless us, and the more confidence we can have that we will go to heaven. But God’s law demands perfection, and none of us can achieve that. If the outcome depends on our performance, we will never get to heaven. But our status before God does not depend on who we are or what we do. It depends on his mercy. Mercy is when God doesn’t treat us the way our sins and failures deserve. God’s mercy, flowing from his incomprehensible and unconditional love for all people, led him to fulfill the requirements of his law for us when he sent Jesus. Our standing before God, our eligibility for heaven’s rewards, isn’t based on our performance. It is based entirely on the compassionate heart of God, the unconditional love of God, the astounding mercy of God. In love and mercy, he met standards for us and gives us his rewards as a gift. What a relief! My failures don’t disqualify me. I don’t have to worry whether my performance is better than enough other people to make the cut. God forgives my failures and credits me with Jesus’ performance in my place. My position and prize are secure. Now I can obey him in joyful thanksgiving, confident in his love. Prayer: Jesus, thank you for loving me not based on what I do, but on your mercy alone. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

   September 25, 2026·4min
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