Adorned with Salvation

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation. (Psalm 149:4)

Now and again, when we look into a mirror or consider a particular talent we have, we may judge ourselves to be at least somewhat good (or good-looking). Yet when we consider our sin, our disobedience of God’s Law, we end up with a very different picture, and it is not a pretty one. As we admit in the confession of sins in the liturgy, we “are by nature sinful and unclean” and we have sinned against God “in thought, word, and deed.” Even if we like to pretend that we obey God fairly well, His Law does not allow escape or excuses: “Whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2:10) or, as Jesus said, “You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The image we see of ourselves reflected in the mirror of God’s Law is an accurate one, but it is not something that should make us proud.

Yet as unlovely and unlovable as we are, the psalmist confidently declares, “The LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation.” The Lord takes pleasure in us because He looks on us in grace. God’s grace is His undeserved favor for sinners. It is favor that we can never earn. God takes pleasure in us because He loves us. He takes pleasure in us because He is pleased with His Son, our Lord Jesus, who was sent to redeem us. God did not wait for us to improve or for a better image to be reflected in the mirror of His Law. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God in grace “adorns the humble with salvation.” Through the power of His Spirit at work in the Word, God calls us to submit ourselves to Him and repent of our sins. In humble repentance we admit that the image we see mirrored in God’s Law is accurate. Through the work of the Spirit, we also hear the comforting message of the Gospel. God is love. He takes pleasure in us. Acting in love and grace, God sent His Son to bear our sins in His body on the cross. Jesus took onto Himself the terrible and unlovely weight of our sins and through faith in Him our sins are forgiven. We stand before God adorned in salvation, dressed in the bright righteousness of our crucified and risen Savior. God’s love for us, the pleasure He takes in us, is not based on who we are or what we have done, but on who He is and what He, in Christ Jesus, has done for us.

WE PRAY: Spirit of God, guide me so that my thoughts, words, and actions reflect the love of Jesus. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.

Never Lose Heart

On April 21st, 2008, Katherine Wolf suffered a massive stroke. She lost her ability to walk, talk clearly, and care for herself. She went from being a California model to a wheelchair-bound patient. God stepped in.

In her wonderful book, Hope Heals, she writes, “I felt a deep awakening of the Word of God, which I had known since I was a little girl. It was my epiphany of hope. I would never lose heart in this situation because my soul was not what was wasting away.”

Don’t try to weather this storm alone, my friend. He is still the great I AM. The next time you pray, “Is anyone coming to help me?” listen for the response of Jesus. “I AM with you in this storm.” Remember my friend, you are never alone.

Read more You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence & Power

Quiet Faithfulness in Christ

One More Time

Serving Like Jesus

Note to readers: This is an alternate reading from the Three Year Lectionary, and may not match up with the readings your church uses this Sunday.

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the Gospel of God … For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others … But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the Gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us. For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men  but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2a, 5-6a, 7-13)

I remember several times when young men in our congregation approached my husband and said, “I would like to become a pastor like you. What should I do to take the first step?”

Chau would smile at them and say, “Come with me.” They would follow him, right into the restrooms. There he would hand them a toilet brush and say, “Let’s get you started. You can work alongside me.”

What a shock that was to some of them! They saw only the glory—the man standing in the pulpit on Sundays, the times people greeted him in the street or in a restaurant. They never saw the less glorious bits—the toilet cleaning, the counseling and comforting, the endless paperwork.

But that too is normal for Christian leadership. Because Christ’s servants must behave like Christ.

Paul describes his own attitude: “For we never came with words of flattery [or] greed … But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children … like a father with his children.”

We know how Jesus behaved. He washed His disciples’ feet. He cooked breakfast for them. He thought about their welfare all the time, and taught them to do the same for the people He sent them to. And in the end, He suffered, died, and rose again for the people He loved—so that they could be made new, children of God forever.

Now, Jesus’ Holy Spirit lives in every Christian and makes us like Him, no matter how we serve others. What we do is marked by love—because God loved us and gave us Jesus as our Savior.

WE PRAY: Dear Lord, use me to care for people the way You did. Thank You for loving me! Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Growing

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. (Psalm 1:3-4)

Scripture has a lot to tell us about plant life and growing things, but not for the purpose of giving us gardening advice. Through these Spirit-inspired words about life and growth, God leads us to grow in faith. We learn about trees, fruit, vineyards, mustard seeds, lilies of the field, grains of wheat, roots, and fruitful branches. In His parable of the sower, Jesus compares the preaching of God’s Word to the work of a farmer who scatters seed in a nearly reckless way. In Jesus’ teaching, there are four possible outcomes for this scattered seed. Some of the seeds are snatched from a path by birds. Other seeds cannot sink strong roots into rocky soil and so wither and die. Some of the seeds manage to grow, only to be choked by thorns. These examples of failed growth represent those who hear the Word of God and choose, ultimately, to reject it. The scattered seed of the Word also falls onto good soil, into human hearts where by God’s grace it grows and bears the fruit of faith and godly living.

Jesus’ parable addresses four possible outcomes. Our psalm describes only two outcomes brought about by different responses to God’s Word: a growing, fruitful tree or windblown, discarded chaff. The wicked are not rooted in faith. They are the people who willfully and stubbornly choose to reject the Lord and His Word. As a result, the wicked are like chaff, the broken bits of stalks and leaves separated from the grains and carried away by the wind. The wicked are not rooted in faith. God knows their evil ways and they will not stand before His throne in righteousness on the Day of Judgment.

The second outcome in the psalm teaches us about the people who are righteous because they trust in the Lord. They delight in His Word and believe His promises. They grow like thriving, fruitful trees. By God’s grace through faith in Jesus, we stand among these blessed, fruit-bearing trees. We are rooted in Jesus our Savior, the Son of God who took on human flesh and grew up before God “like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground” (Isaiah 53:2a). We are righteous because Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree of the cross. We are united to Him, the true Vine, growing and nourished by the gift of His body and blood. Through the reading and study of His Word we are refreshed with the living water that is the Spirit of God. Whatever the season, whatever the circumstances, we grow and yield the fruit of love and service.

WE PRAY: Jesus, nourish me through Your Word and Sacrament so that I will grow in faith toward You and in love toward others. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.

Watch God Work

During World War I, Biddy Chambers, her husband, and small daughter moved to Egypt, where he served as a chaplain. He taught, she transcribed. It was a perfect partnership.

Then her husband’s complications from appendicitis rendered Biddy a widow, and all the dreams of a teaching ministry would have to be abandoned, right? Well, no. She turned her husband’s notes into pamphlets. Eventually, they were compiled into a book, My Utmost For His Highest. This work of Oswald Chambers has sold more than 13 million copies and has been translated into more than 35 languages.

The next time you feel overwhelmed, remind yourself of the one who is standing next to you. Give him what you have, offer thanks, and watch him go to work. Remember friends, you are never alone.

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