“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.”

John 17:20–23

You walk into your classroom. It is filled with differences: different personalities, learning needs, home situations, and emotional levels. You do your best to meet each child where they are, but there are days when it just seems overwhelming.

You’ve found yourself running on empty, wondering if you’re doing enough. You’ve felt frustrated when students don’t respond the way you hoped, or when fellow teachers see things differently than you do. Sometimes, instead of unity, all you feel is tension or disconnection.

And then there’s your own heart… it’s quick to compare, quick to judge, quick to grow impatient. You know the importance of showing Christ-like love, but it doesn’t always come easily.

The law is honest: we fall short. As much as we strive for harmony and teamwork, we often slip into selfishness. We fail to love others as Christ has loved us. We try to create unity on our own terms and forget that it’s not ours to build. We’re reminded again and again – we need a Savior.

On the night before His death, Jesus looked ahead in love – not just to the cross, but to you. He prayed for you: “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” (v. 20). How beautiful to think about your very Savior, praying for you! He saw your classroom, your heart, your efforts, and your failures…and he loved you. He bore your pain so that you wouldn’t have to.

He prayed for unity – a unity that he would accomplish. Through his death, Jesus broke down every barrier between us and God. Through his resurrection, he gave us life, purpose, and peace. Because he lives, we are united to him and to each other.

This unity isn’t about agreeing on everything or having the perfect classroom. It’s about being one in Christ – washed in his blood, filled with his Spirit, and called by his grace.

So, as you walk into your classroom today, or take on whatever task set before you – take heart! Your ministry matters, not because of what you do, but because of what Christ has already done. He lives. And because he lives, you are not alone. You are part of his body, a diverse and beautiful family, made one in his name.

Prayer:

Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

John 16:22-24

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250526ECME.mp3

The world-famous life coach and cleaning consultant, Marie Kondo, has sold millions of books on “the art of decluttering”. Her Japanese approach to cleaning includes removing every piece in the home that, when picked up and examined, “doesn’t spark joy”. While this could be an effective approach to removing unnecessary clutter from the home, it has some pitfalls. What if I pick something up on a day that I am tired, annoyed, or in a sour mood? What if nothing in my house brings me joy on that particular day? And what IS true joy?

The world wants to teach us that joy depends on our circumstance. If we are doing well financially, if we have friends, if we reach our goals and milestones, we have what the world sees as “joy”. But this can change! If the furnace goes out and we have a sudden bill, we lose joy. If our friend hurts our feelings or leaves us stranded, joy is lost. If we put in a great effort at work and don’t get the recognition, we lose joy.

But the joy that God gives us does not come from a worldly situation or moment. It comes from Jesus! Jesus knew all along that he would someday die on the cross. He used his time on earth to train the disciples and continues to teach us through his life and in his Word, the Bible. He knew that the disciples would suffer for the sake of telling others about him. Jesus knew that they would feel sorrow of the world, but also knew that their suffering would one day be turned to joy in heaven.

Jesus knows about our trials on earth, too. He knows that living for him is not easy. He knows that we fail to do the good he wants us to do. He knows that we need him in every way, just as the disciples did. But, just like the disciples, our suffering will also be turned into joy. This joy is not of this world, it is not the “joy spark” that you feel when holding an earthly treasure or hugging a loved one—it is true, lasting joy that only comes from the story of Easter, when Jesus came back to life. Jesus promises that this lasting joy will be with us every time that we remember we are saved by his love, and will remain with us until he brings us to our forever home of joy in heaven.

Prayer:

When he was gone, Jesus said “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:31-32,34-35

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250519ECME.mp3

If you knew that your time on earth was nearly over, what would you do? Who would you see and what would you say to them? You would likely spend much of your remaining time with friends and family, talking about good experiences of the past and telling them that you love them. If you have children, you would likely fill your last days making happy memories and inserting words of wisdom that you hope that they will remember later.

Jesus DID know when his days on earth were ending. Because Jesus is God, he knew that he was about to finish the mission that he was sent to earth for—suffering and dying on the cross for us. He spent his last few days with the disciples, his dear friends, and his last words to them are meant for us as well. He commanded them, and us, to “love one another”. We might say that this was his “parting legacy”. He wanted us to remember to love, forgive, and teach others to do the same.

Jesus was born and raised in the same world that we live in, and he experienced the same hurt and temptations that we do. He knows that sin makes it hard to love each other. He knows that we have to daily fight against jealousy, envy, pride, and lack of empathy. Yet he still gives us this command, to love each other. In fact, he says that this love we share is how others will know that we are his followers. By showing love to each other, we are a light to the world, reflecting the love of Jesus.

Jesus does not just tell us to do something without giving us the tools to achieve it. He knows that we will need to daily fight off our own selfishness to show love, and he gives us his Word, the Bible, as a “sword” in this fight. When we daily read the Bible, we learn more about God’s love for us and are strengthened to live as his child.

Prayer:

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.

John 10:27-30

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250512ECME.mp3

To make the sign for “trust” in American Sign Language, hold your two hands, palms up, fingers curled and stacked at an angle as if you are firmly gripping a tug-of-war rope. This sign for trust creates a picture of someone that is not letting go, under any circumstance.

This is the trust that God wants us to have for him. We can trust that no one, under any circumstance, can snatch us from his hand. But sometimes, instead of trusting in the one that can recue us from everything, we put our trust into something else. We put our trust into ourselves or things of this world, thinking that in these things holds the answers to all of our problems.

When we look inside ourselves for answers, we easily fall into sin. But sins are filled with false promises. Every temptation whispers, “Come here. This is better for you.” But it’s a lie. You hear the lie, “Drink more wine, you’ll feel better.” But when you do drink, you feel worse. Another whisper: “Gossip about your coworker. It’s just venting.” But all you feel is momentary power, then jealousy, and you hurt a friend in the process. Another whisper: “One little lie won’t hurt.” But afterwards you feel embarrassed as you try to get out of it. With every sin, every time you give in to the lie, you feel empty, fake, and cowardly. Every temptation is an empty promise that you will fix something or feel better, and giving in to those temptations only makes you feel worse.

Everything in this world is filled with empty promises. Even our fellow believers will fail us at times. So instead of following the empty promises of this world, we look to Jesus, our Shepherd, who only wants good things for us. What separates Jesus from everything else in this world is that he was willing to die for us. His promises aren’t empty. Jesus is trustworthy and true, and everything that he promises has come true.

What does Jesus promise? He promises to care for us, as a shepherd cares for his sheep. His love never fails, never waivers. He promises to forgive us, every day. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). He promises that, through his death and coming back to life on Easter, we will live with him forever in heaven. With his words of comfort bring security. He will supply our every need here on earth and has supplied our greatest need, a Savior from sin and life in heaven.

Prayer:

Christian Worship 21 816:1,4

Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.

Psalm 30: 2, 11, 12

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250505ECME.mp3

Little children accept the world around them, just as it is. Their own perspective is the only thing that they know. Because of this, they often have no idea when they aren’t really seeing things clearly. One 4-year-old had severe issues with socially acceptable behavior, and more than the typical fidgeting and impulsivity that we would expect from young children. It wasn’t until he went to the eye doctor that the boy found relief. The first time he put on his glasses, he looked outside. “The TREES! Those Leaves! The leaves are MOVING! The leaves are REAL!” This child could finally see clearly. He had been walking blindly through his days thinking that what he was seeing was “normal”. How frustrating it must have been to try to meet expectations asked of him. What joy he had every day to discover the new things in front of him that he could now see clearly!

Before our Savior rescued us from sin, we walked around blindly. In fact, we couldn’t even see our own sin. We were so consumed by ourselves, our own selfish desires, that we couldn’t see anything else clearly.

But the God that helps us to see things clearly loves us always, and will continue to be forever faithful. He saved us by sending his son, Jesus, to die on the cross for every sin of every person. Jesus saved us from the venomous devil, the devil who wants us to be filled with doubt, despair, depression, sadness, and, ultimately, a death that will separate us from our God. The devil wants to cloud our vision and take us from our Savior.

Sometimes, even after we remember that we need a Savior, we continue to fall back into sins that we have committed, even sins that we repented of and resolved to never do again. Oh, how weak we are when we try to fight the devil on our own! How frustrating—and impossible– it is to try to meet God’s expectations of a life without sin.

But we can see clearly now! We can see that God and his forgiveness are real! When we call to God with a heart of repentance, he heals us of our sin, every time. Now that we see clearly, we have such great joy. We are no longer weighed down by sin and despair, but are filled with the true joy and peace that only God can give us. With this joy in our hearts, may we look for opportunities to share that same joy with others.

Prayer:

A Question to Consider:

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250428ECME.mp3

Little people have a surprising ability to be distracted by the smallest of things. There is a principle in early childhood that I fondly refer to as the “fly in the room” principle. If there is something as minute as a small fly in a room full of little people, nothing constructive can be further said or done until that fly is removed. The teacher can try to distract the children, convince the children that the fly will not bother them but until that fly is out of sight, it controls their attention and can negatively impact their behavior. The “fly in the room” principle applies to a toy that escaped pick up time, new shoes (especially those that light up) or a passing ambulance on the street. Small, seemingly benign, irregularities become fierce distractions until they are handled.

In our reading this week, Jesus gives his disciples, including modern day believers, a mission. Jesus says that he is sending each of us out to tell others that he is the risen Savior and our solution to sin. He sends us out to be Gospel lights in the darkness; his Easter trumpets that never stop sounding. What a meaningful but humbling mission! Someone may come to your mind right now. This person may be a parent of one of your children or perhaps someone who works with you. Maybe this person believes he is a good person or a “good enough” person that could be saved from hell. Maybe she believes that a “good” God would not do such a thing as cast anyone away from himself. Whatever the excuse, these lost souls need Jesus. They need to hear the Easter trumpet! Jesus died. Jesus rose! For me! For you!

However, this is where the “fly in the room” principle kicks in. We let popularity, uncomfortableness or apathy distract us from our mission of sharing Jesus. Our distractions quickly become reliable excuses. Then Jesus whispers, “Peace to you!” He is with us. His peace settles our nervous hearts. His grace to each of us clears the distractions. His love to us narrows our focus toward this lost soul. The fly in the room is no match for a believer who is mindful of God’s grace to his own heart.

As we celebrate this Easter, may the peace that passes understanding settle our hearts and minds. May the empty tomb and God’s love to us drive away the distractions that keep us from sounding our Easter trumpets to those near and far.

Prayer:

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250421ECME.mp3

There is a common joke among grandparents that has landed on t-shirts and room décor. The joke pokes fun at the difficulty of parenting while also expressing the joy of being a grandparent. It goes something like this, “If I knew grandkids were this much fun, I would have had them first.” This is funny because grandparents cannot have grandchildren without going through the long and sometimes difficult journey of parenting. First, parents have to put in the time of raising their own children. Then, when their parental duty has been fulfilled, they can enjoy the simple pleasure of children without the responsibility of discipline or daily schedule requirements. First, the work. Then, the triumph.

The order of events was important for the first Easter, too. Easter has no joy, no triumph, if we isolate it from its foundation. After the fall, God’s promise to send a Savior set the rest of his plan into motion. God prepared his people’s hearts with generations of bloody sacrifices, all pointing to the Lamb of God who would someday come and be the final sacrifice. Easter triumph was coming but first the preparation had to be done.

After Jesus came, the real work of salvation began. This work could not be done by you or me. God requires perfection, something we cannot meet. Without perfection, we would be condemned to hell, forever separated from God. God’s gracious plan was to exchange Jesus’ perfect life and death for our corruption. The work for that exchange was every day. Every day, Jesus had to perfectly forgive. Every day, Jesus kept his thoughts clean from hate, impurity and dishonesty. Every day, Jesus had to perfectly love God and others. Those days included the days of his torture and death on a cross. Jesus was perfect even while suffering for miserable sinners like you and me. His Easter triumph was coming but first the sacrifice had to be made.

Jesus’ Easter triumph did come! Early on the third day in the tomb, Jesus rose from the dead! The work had been done! The empty tomb was proof that he could now triumph in Easter glory! What is more, Jesus’ Easter glory is our glory too! Our Easter happiness is rooted in the relief and peace of knowing that Jesus did the work for us! He is our Savior, our risen Savior! When our time on earth is over, God, by grace, will welcome us into his heavenly home to be forever with our risen Savior! Easter triumph at last!

Prayer:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:6-11

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250414ECME.mp3

Despite America’s revolutionary departure from England’s monarchy, our country seems to have an intense curiosity about royal living. We are eager to pull back the curtain on the lives of those who are not like us and learn they really are like us in many ways. For example, Princess Anne, daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth, never accepted royal titles for her own two children. This effectively made the grandchildren commoners. Being far down the line of succession, Princess Anne and her husband felt this would help their children find more authentic jobs in the workforce. What a wonder to be an ordinary citizen but to have a living queen for a grandmother! Apparently, the Queen’s grandchildren would rough-house with their royal cousins in the palace balconies demonstrating that children are children no matter who your granny is!

Our reading points to a more significant man of royal blood living as a commoner. This Royal, Jesus, was the Son of God. He was also truly a common man but most importantly, was without sin. He did common things. He ate. He slept. He wore clothes. During this Holy Week, we also learn that he prayed. He sweat. He had friends who deserted him. He had enemies who tortured him. He bled. Exposed and vulnerable, he finally surrendered himself to death and was buried in a rocky tomb. Does this sound royal or majestic?

Just as we marvel at English royals doing regular things, we can consider why the Son of God would pursue the life of a common man. Using Scripture, we can pull back the curtain on his natural life. Jesus forfeited his royal advantage, not because he wanted to see how “the other side” lived but because he submitted to his Father’s will. His Father’s will was that Jesus become “the other side”, stripping him of his royal privileges, taking the place of helpless humans. You see, there was another curtain hanging. This curtain, our sin, separated you and me from our holy God. Separation from God is not just a tough life on the other side of the tracks. It is an eternity in actual hell. But Jesus did not just pull this curtain back, he tore this curtain, rendering it useless as a divider between God and those who believe in him. Now, because of Jesus, those who believe in him have peace with our holy God.

Our royal Savior, Jesus became common and walked among sinners to save them from eternal destruction. Because of Jesus we will become royal and walk among saints in the glorious halls of heaven.

Prayer:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250407ECME.mp3

“Do it myself!” says the child struggling to put on the socks. Independence can run deep in a little body. Sometimes things turn out alright after the youngster gives it their best shot and sometimes an adult needs to step in to fix it. Perhaps an independent attitude does not disappear as one becomes an adult. Take a scroll through Pinterest or YouTube and you can certainly tell the DIY or “Do It Yourself” attitude abounds in our society. Worse than trying to straighten out crooked socks is trying to straighten out a project that went sideways. Results may not be as one expects and a professional might have to give their attention to the problem.

By nature, humans even apply the “do it yourself” attitude to earning heaven. We are very good at constructing our own stairway to heaven, unaware of how shoddy our efforts really are. “I stack my comparisons to other people here. I heap all of my good deeds here and here and here. I will pile the commandments I have kept on top of those!” In short order, I feel like I am controlling my own eternal future right up to heaven’s open gates. Really, I am quite independently laying the bricks for a permanent home in hell.

It is God in his Word that gives me a holy reality check. He calls me to attention. Worse than a child who cannot manage his own socks, I cannot earn heaven by myself. My efforts to “do it myself” are a heap of rubble. There is not one of my ideas to secure life after death that God can salvage. God has to start clean, start new. He starts with his Son, Jesus and sends him to me, for me! Jesus, his Son, then takes a hold of me. He builds in me a new person. This new person is definitely not a “do it yourself” type. This new person turns my eyes to Jesus for daily forgiveness from sin and daily instruction in his Word. Trusting in his Son, Jesus, I will enjoy the most beautiful project God has been working on since the Garden of Eden, my home in heaven! Every last detail of that heavenly home will be completed for me. In Jesus, there is a home in heaven prepared for me!

Prayer:

In that day you will say: I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense, he has become my salvation.

Isaiah 12:1-2

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20250331ECME.mp3

A four-year-old stood up and addressed the class, “What if we just stopped doing all the wrong things? Then Jesus didn’t have to die!” What a happy thought! If no one ever sinned, if Adam and Eve had never eaten the fruit, Jesus could have been spared from his suffering and death.

That four-year-old’s master plan was immediately shot down by his peers. “It’s too late,” one girl said. And another added sadly, “We already did the wrong things.” And they were right. We already did the wrong things. We can’t undo our sins and we certainly can’t make them go away on our own. We can’t hide them, erase them, or make up for them by doing “good” things.

As believers, we sometimes take sin lightly. We know we are forgiven and sometimes slip into the false notion that “it’s ok, I’ll just repent later.” But God hates sin. Yes, he loves us, but even what we think are “small sins” makes him angry. We deserve eternal life in hell for what we think are “small sins.”

Instead of being angry at us, he turned this anger towards Jesus. Jesus, the only human to ever live a perfect life, received everything that we deserved—God’s wrath and punishment. Jesus spared US from the suffering and death that we deserved.

And there’s more! After God forgives us, he comforts us! We don’t need to be afraid of God or the punishment that we deserve. In fact, God covers us with his grace. Grace is the underserved pardon, a forgiving love, that God gives to us through Jesus.

As the preschooler said, “We already did the wrong things.” But God is our salvation—he has saved us from this big problem of sin! May we daily ask God to help us resist our own sinful ideas and take comfort that we are made new through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Prayer: