“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Matthew 7:9-11
Earthly parents, though far from perfect, pay close attention to the needs and requests of their children and give them good things. As Jesus said, what father, if his son asked for bread, would give him a stone? And, what father, if his child asks for a fish, would substitute a snake? Earthly parents seek the wellbeing of their children and give them those things which are good and beneficial for them.
Our Lord Jesus tells us to come to God our Father in faith and pour out our needs and requests before Him, trusting that He will hear and answer all our prayers for Jesus’ sake. He tells us: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
Would our perfect and holy Father in heaven deny our requests and give us what is hurtful rather than what is good? Of course not! He desires what is good for us. Again, as Jesus says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” If we sinners – who are evil – give good things to our children when they ask, how much more certain we can be that God our Father will give us what is good and beneficial to us when we ask Him!
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14-15). Or, as St. Paul wrote in Romans 8:32: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
If we bring our prayers and petitions to God our Father, asking for and seeking His perfect and holy will, why would He not grant our requests? He loves us so much that He gave His only-begotten Son to suffer and die for our sins. He brought us to faith in Christ Jesus and adopted us as His own dear children. He, as our loving heavenly Father desires what is good and best for us, and nothing is too hard for Him.
Dear Father in heaven, we come before You with our petitions and requests for the sake of Your own dear Son, Christ Jesus our Savior, who shed His holy and precious blood to redeem us and make us Your own. Grant to us those things which are for our good, and keep from us those things which would be of harm to us in body or soul. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
[Scripture quotations from the King James Version of the Bible]
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:1-5:
Message for the day -
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Dear fellow-redeemed sinners, ransomed by the shed blood of Christ Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior.
Who is this Jesus of Nazareth, that Babe born in Bethlehem but raised in Nazareth? We look to the Word of God, to the inspired testimony of the apostles who suffered all to faithfully follow Christ Jesus.
Today, we begin with the inspired testimony of the Apostle John, in his Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
The Word, spoken of here in the inspired Scriptures is Jesus, for John later writes, in verse 14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
In his first epistle, John writes (1 John 5:7): “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
This already tells us that Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God come into this world as a true man, that He had divine glory, and that He is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit (a Person of the Triune God).
The opening verses of John’s Gospel tell us that “in the beginning” – the same “in the beginning” when “God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) – the pre-incarnate Jesus, the Son of God, already was. He was with God and He, in fact, was and is God.
While some cult religions of our day (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons) would try to reduce Jesus to being only “a son of God,” the Greek text leaves no doubt: “The Word was with the God, and God was the Word” (the Greek definite article and the placement of God at the beginning of the second part of the sentence emphasizing that Jesus, the Word, was not only with God; He is God Himself – a Person in the Triune Godhead).
Some so-called “Christian churches” would make Jesus, the Son of God, less than and inferior to God the Father. This too is a rejection of the truth God has revealed to us in His inspired Word.
Not only was the pre-incarnate Christ there with God in the beginning before anything was created or made, He is the Creator God who made all things and gave all living things life and breath.
This is why the Christian Church has, for centuries confessed to believe “in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by Whom all things were made….” (Nicene Creed)
God tells us: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Can it get any clearer than that? Jesus, before He took on human flesh and blood and became true man and was born of the virgin Mary, created all things. Nothing made or created was made or created without Him.
Read Genesis one in that light. Creation was not just the work of God the Father; all was created by God the Son and nothing was made without Him (cf. Colossians 1:15ff.; Hebrews 1:1-3). The Holy Spirit was also actively engaged in this divine work, for the Scriptures tell us that “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be….” (Genesis 1:2ff.).
In Jesus was life. When “the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7), it was Jesus, the eternal Word, who gave him life and made him a “living soul.”
And, lest we forget that life was more than physical life but included spiritual life and the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), Jesus is the One who gave to Adam and Eve a knowledge of God and a life in harmony and fellowship with their Maker. This life which Jesus gave was “the light of men.” They were spiritually alive, they knew God and His holy will, and they loved and honored Him and trusted in Him.
This was the life which mankind lost in the fall of Genesis three. Instead of loving God, trusting Him and seeking His honor, Adam and Eve rebelled against His commandment and then hid from His presence. And, even yet today, when this light shines into the darkness, the darkness does not comprehend it – it does not understand it or receive it.
People today – all of us as we are by nature – walk in darkness. We do not wish to accept the truth that Jesus is God the Son in human flesh, our Maker and our final Judge. Though the evidence is all around us, we do not wish to face up to the truth that we are sinners and guilty before God. We do not wish to hear of our sins and shortcoming and of the hell fires we so deserve. We would rather continue on in darkness, thinking that we are basically good and that God will not condemn us if only we do our best to be loving and caring people.
The light shines in the darkness, and we would continue on in darkness! We don’t want to give up our own selfish and sinful ways. We don’t want to return to fellowship with God because that would cramp our lifestyle! Instead, we would attempt to change God into a god who smiles at sin and disobedience and would punish no one. Of course, to form our own opinions of God instead of accepting what God tells us of Himself in the Bible is no different than making a graven image and inventing our own ways to serve it. It is idolatry!
What does God say? “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 1:5-2:2
In God – in Jesus Christ, the eternal Word – is light and life! If we claim to have fellowship with God but continue to hide and cover up our sins, pretending that all is well, we are lying and deceiving ourselves. God’s truth tells us that we are sinners, that we have failed to love God with all our heart, soul and strength or love our neighbor as God requires. God’s light reveals His holy will but also our failures to live in accord with His holy commandments.
But God’s light also reveals the way of salvation He has provided for lost mankind: “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Jesus, God the Son in human flesh, lived a righteous and holy life in our stead and He suffered and died for our sins and rose again. He satisfied God’s wrath against our sins and the sins of the whole world. That is why: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Jesus is still the life and light of men. He redeemed sinful mankind by His innocent sufferings and death in our stead. He offers to all people forgiveness of sins and life eternal in fellowship with Him. His light shines into this dark and sinful world, revealing God’s holy will and man’s sinfulness but also offering forgiveness and life with Him in His eternal kingdom. When He, by the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit through His Word, convinces us of sin and assures us of forgiveness – when He breathes into our nostrils the breath of life – we become living souls!
God graciously grant to each of you light and life in Christ Jesus, the eternal Word! Amen.
Psalm and Confession of Sins -
Psalm 32: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. (A Psalm of David, Maschil.)
O Thou crucified Lord Jesus Christ, who, as the truly patient Lamb of God, didst suffer for me the most shameful death on the cross and with Thy precious blood didst redeem me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, I pray Thee, give me the assurance of this redemption through Thy Word, govern my heart with Thy Holy Spirit, preserve me with Thy divine love, and hide me this day, both soul and body, in Thy holy wounds. Wash me clean from all my sins, teach me to live a life of good works, and finally lead me from this world of sorrows to Thine eternal joy and glory, Thou most faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, mine only Comfort, Hope, and Life. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, page 118)
The Apostles Creed: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into Hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; The forgiveness of sins; The resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.
Prayers: O Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, the everlasting Son of God, shine upon my heart the light of Your truth, reveal my sinfulness and disobedience to Your holy will, but also comfort me with the knowledge of Your holy life and innocent sufferings and death for my sins that I may take courage, rejoice in Your forgiveness, and walk in the light of Your truth until You come again and take me to live with You forever in Your eternal kingdom. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation; But deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Blessing: “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Amen. (Numbers 6:24-27)
[Scripture quotations from the King James Version of the Bible]
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy word … I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways.” Psalm 119:9, 15 (Read Psalm 119:9-16)
Are you looking for direction in your life? Do you wonder how you can ever get back on track and going the right way? Psalm 119 tells us how to cleanse our way: “By taking heed thereto according to Thy word.” Jesus says it this way: “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it!” (Luke 11:28).
God’s Word calls upon every one of us to repent of our selfish and sinful ways and to turn unto the LORD for His mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus, and God’s Word also teaches and guides us in the way He would have us live (cf. Psalm 32).
Therefore, we would be wise to read and study the Bible, to meditate on His precepts and to consider and have respect for His ways. We would do well to hide God’s Word in our hearts that we might walk in His ways and not turn aside and sin against Him.
It is indeed sad that so few take the time to do this. What a tragedy to miss out on knowing the LORD and His ways! What a waste to live one’s life and not know or receive the blessings which He offers and gives for the sake of the shed blood of His only begotten Son! How foolish to neglect so great a salvation simply because we will not hear, read and heed God’s very Word to us!
O LORD God, give us the desire to read and study the Bible and learn of You. Grant that we seek after You with our whole heart. And graciously make us “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
[Scripture quotations from the King James Version of the Bible]
“And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31 (Read Genesis 1)
Indeed, it is true that God doesn’t make junk. When He created the heavens and earth and everything in them, including the first man and woman, He didn’t make anything less than perfect. On the sixth day, when God had finished His creative work, He “saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.”
This means that, on the sixth day of creation, there was no evil in the world. There was no sickness, and there was no death!
We have become so accustomed to the world as we know it now – a world polluted and corrupted by sin – that we cannot even fathom what things were like in the beginning.
This verse, too, provides an answer for those who question the existence of a good God when there is so much evil in the world.
“How could a good God have made a world so full of evil?” Answer: “He didn’t; the evil is a result of sin which later entered the word.”
“How could a good God tolerate so much evil in the world He created?” Answer: “He will put an end to the evil in this world and punish all who continue in their evil ways; but He is ‘long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance’” (2 Peter 3:9).
His desire that we not be condemned to everlasting punishment because of our sin and evil is most clearly demonstrated by the fact that He gave His only-begotten Son to suffer and die in our stead that we might have forgiveness and life everlasting through faith in His name! And, He continues patiently to call us to repentance and faith in the Son that we might not suffer everlasting death and damnation. Christ Jesus died for the sins of all when He was nailed to the cross, and He rose again victorious on the third day that He might give us life eternal in a place where there is no more sin and death and evil.
The LORD God made everything “good.” The day is coming soon when He will again be able to look at all His creation and say, “it is very good!”
O Almighty God, my Maker and my Redeemer, thank You for the beauty and good You have created; and thank You for the gift of Your Son and His innocent sufferings and death in my stead to redeem me and make me righteous and holy in Your eyes. Graciously forgive my sin and give me life everlasting in the new heavens and earth which You have promised to create for Your glory and the honor of Your holy name. Amen.
[Scripture Quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]
“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” Psalm 119:1-2 (Read Psalm 119:1-8)
People think that blessing and happiness comes from choosing their own path in life and seeking their own desires and goals. However, God’s Word tells us something entirely different. It tells us that “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12). It tells us that true blessing comes with walking in accord with the Word of God. It comes to those who hear and keep God’s Word and seek the LORD God with their whole heart.
God’s Word calls upon us to turn from our own sinful ways to Him. He promises us mercy and forgiveness in the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ. And, through His Word, He will lead and guide us “in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:24).
O LORD God, forgive me for turning aside and going my own way in life. Wash away my sins in the holy and precious blood of Jesus Christ, Your Son. By Your Spirit, draw me into Your Word and lead and guide me in the way everlasting! Amen.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
As children of our heavenly Father through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26), we have the great privilege of coming before the LORD God in prayer. Jesus Himself commands and invites us to do so, promising that when we ask, we shall receive; when we seek, we shall find; and when we knock, it shall be opened unto us. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
John writes in his first epistle: “And this if the confidence that we have in Him [God the Son], that, if we ask any thing according to His will, he heareth us; and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (5:14-15).
James also writes: “Ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (4:2, 3).
Jesus commands and invites us to pray to our heavenly Father and to ask, seek and knock. We are God’s adopted children through faith in Jesus Christ and have the privilege of approaching our heavenly Father as dear children approach and make request of their earthly fathers. And, God promises to hear and answer our prayers for the sake of Jesus Christ and His innocent sufferings and death in our stead. Thus, when we ask for what is good and in accord with His will, we will receive. When we seek Him and His will, we shall find it. When we knock and seek to come into His very presence, He will open the door unto us and receive us. All this is so because Jesus took the guilt and punishment for our sins upon Himself, suffered and died in our place, and rose again in victory on the third day!
Though God promises to hear and answer our prayers, if we ask amiss that we may fulfill our own selfish and sinful desires, God has not promised to give us all we desire. In the same way as our earthly fathers had to consider what was good and best for us, so our heavenly Father must, at times, withhold things from us because they may cause harm to our body or soul. When He denies our request and withholds some thing that we have desired of Him, He does so for our good and for our eternal welfare.
When we consider this great privilege that is ours for Jesus’ sake, what a shame it is that we fail to make use of it! We often have not because we ask not; and, when we do come to the LORD God in prayer, it is for things we desire to fulfill our own sinful ambitions. Thus, we miss out on so many blessings God wills to give us!
Jesus would have us come to the very throne of God in faith that He will accept and receive us for the sake of His blood shed for us upon the cross. He would have us ask our heavenly Father for those things we need and desire, trusting in His perfect will for us. Jesus would have us seek the LORD God and His righteousness, for the one who truly seeks Him will find Him. And, Jesus would have us knock, knowing and trusting that our heavenly Father will open the door for us and receive us into His very presence for Jesus’ sake.
Dear Father in heaven, we thank You and praise You for the gift of Your Son and for His holy sacrifice upon the cross for our sins. We thank You for the privilege of coming before You with our prayers. Grant us forgiveness for all our sins. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Move us to seek You with our whole heart, and open the door to us that we may delight in Your presence. We pray in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.
[Scripture in this devotion from the King James Version of the Bible]
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11
Today is Ascension Day, that day in which believers traditionally remember a very important event in the life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, His ascension into heaven and His exaltation to the right hand of God the Father.
As God the Son, Jesus possessed all the power and glory of the almighty and eternal God. Yet, when He came into this world as a man that He might take our place under God’s law and then bear the guilt and punishment for all our sins upon the cross, He did not always and fully make use of those divine attributes which are and were His as the very Son of God – God Himself in human flesh.
It was no false claim or robbery on His part when Jesus claimed to be God Himself. He was not guilty of blasphemy when He said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Yet, Jesus lived humbly as a man that He might take our place and suffer and die for your sins, my sins, and the sins of all mankind.
Jesus, God the Son in human flesh, “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
But having suffered and died for the sins of the world and winning salvation for all people, Jesus was also exalted. He was raised up from the dead and, after appearing to His disciples over a period of 40 days, He ascended into heaven and was exalted to the right hand of God the Father – a position of power and glory by which He rules over and fills all things. The man Christ Jesus was lifted up in heavenly glory and exalted.
As the Bible says, “God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
God “raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:20-23).
When Jesus ascended into heaven, His disciples could see Him no more, but He was still with them as He promised when He said to them, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
The right hand of God the Father is not some place far above the skies; it is a position of power and glory. He is exalted. Jesus is present everywhere. Jesus has all power in heaven and in earth. Jesus is over all!
That makes the event we remember on this day of utmost importance to all of us, for Jesus, our Savior who suffered and died for our sins and rose again, is now ruling over all for our good – to build His Church and to preserve and keep us in His kingdom. He is with each of us always and everywhere. He conquered Satan on the cross and now is spoiling the kingdom of the old evil foe and bring believers into His own eternal kingdom to share in His glory.
We may not see Him now, but He is with us and for us. And, of course, as the angel said on that first Ascension Day, “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
We shall see Him soon, coming on the clouds of glory (cf. Revelation 1:7), and then we and all who have placed our hope in His name will share in His everlasting glory!
O dear and exalted Jesus, graciously keep and preserve us in the true faith until that Day when we see with our own eyes Your everlasting glory. Amen.
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” Matthew 7:6
As one would not throw that which had been sacrificed to the LORD God to the dogs, counting it as unholy, and as one would not present his most precious treasures to the pigs, so Jesus admonishes His disciples in regard to their proclamation of the Gospel of salvation in Him, and the precious preaching and teaching of God’s Word, not to give it to those who stubbornly reject and blaspheme the gracious working of the Holy Spirit, lest they trample the Gospel message under their feet and then turn and tear at the believers as well.
While this does not mean that Christians should withhold the preaching of God’s Word from unbelievers, it is a warning against continuing to proclaim God’s mercy in Jesus Christ to those who stubbornly reject and fight against the truth.
When the Jews in Pisidian Antioch spoke against the Word of God proclaimed in the synagogue by Paul and Barnabus and blasphemed the name of the Lord, Paul and Barnabus turned to the Gentiles, and many of them believed (Acts 13:44ff.). Jesus, too, told His disciples to leave those cities where the people would not receive them and their message, shaking the dust off their feet as a testimony against them, and go on to other cities to preach the Gospel of the kingdom there (Luke 9:5; Matthew 10:14).
So, when the Gospel is preached to an individual or group and it is rejected and spoken against, and the name of Jesus is blasphemed, it is time to move on and preach the Word of Life to others who will listen and consider its message. To continue proclaiming the good news of forgiveness and life to those who reject it and speak against Christ will do nothing except to further their blasphemy against the LORD God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Those who refuse to repent and believe need to be left with the warnings of God’s law and impending judgment until such time as they see their grave sin and need of a Savior! Thus, when the saving Gospel is spoken against and blasphemed, Christians shake the dust off their feet and move on to others who will hear the good news of God’s mercy and forgiveness in the Son, Jesus Christ.
As Jesus said, we are not to give what is holy to the dogs or cast our pearls before swine. For, to do so would only give occasion for the impenitent and rebellious to speak against Christ and the salvation He won for all and to turn and tear at us, Jesus’ disciples and messengers, as well.
Gracious Lord Jesus, keep us from resisting and rejecting the working of Your Holy Spirit in our hearts and grant us faith to trust in You alone, and Your shed blood, for our salvation. Give us wisdom to rightly use Your Word, proclaiming to the impenitent the truth of Your law and of the coming judgment, and proclaiming the comfort of the Gospel to those who see their sin and their need of a Savior. We praise and glorify Your holy name forevermore. Amen.
“And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness … So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” Genesis 1:26, 27
The LORD God created the first man and woman in His own image and after His likeness. Since God is a spirit, the image and likeness spoken of here refers not to a visible likeness, but to a spiritual likeness. We learn of this image of God in the New Testament.
Colossians 3:10 says of the new man or new nature in Christians, that it “is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” Ephesians 4:24 says of this same new nature that it “after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
Thus, we see that the image of God is having a knowledge of God and His perfect will and also being truly righteous and holy. Adam and Eve were created with a perfect knowledge of God and His will and, in the beginning, had only holy and pure thoughts, desires, words and deeds.
Of course, the fall recorded in Genesis chapter three, changed all that. Man’s knowledge and understanding of God and His perfect will became darkened so that he came up with his own ideas and beliefs about God and even worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. Instead of being holy and righteous and wholly devoted to the service of the Almighty, man became turned in upon himself and lived in disobedience and rebellion against God’s holy commandments. Thus, the image of God was lost!
In believers, those who acknowledge their utter sinfulness and trust in the shed blood of Christ Jesus for their salvation, the image of God is being restored. They have a new nature which is being “renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created” them, a nature that “after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” They, “with open face beholding as in a glass [mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
But believers in Jesus will not achieve sinless perfection here in this world. They will not perfectly reflect the glory of the Lord. The Bible plainly tells us that “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8); and we are encouraged to confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness in Christ Jesus (1 John 1:9; 2:1-2).
However, when the Last Day shall come, all who have trusted in Christ Jesus will be raised up with a perfect knowledge of God and in perfect righteousness and holiness. The Scriptures tell us: “As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15); “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2); and “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
And so, dear friend, you and I were created in God’s image, created to know God and His perfect will and created to serve God in accord with His will and design. Adam’s sin took from all of us the image of God. Instead of reflecting the holiness and righteousness of God our Maker, we have each gone our own way, seeking to gratify our own fallen and sinful nature and to glorify ourselves.
In Christ Jesus, God’s own dear Son made man, God provided a sacrifice for our sins and offers to us pardon and forgiveness. God the Holy Spirit, working through the good news of forgiveness in Christ, regenerates us, bringing us to faith in Christ and working in our lives to restore the image and glory of God which we had lost. And, when Christ returns and the dead are raised up, then all who have placed their hope in Him will reflect His image and serve Him in everlasting righteousness and holiness!
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that my life does not perfectly reflect Your holiness or Your glory. Wash away my sins in Your shed blood and create in me a new heart and nature which loves You, seeks Your will and lives for Your glory. Amen.
[Scripture quotations in this devotion from the King James Version of the Bible]
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:1-8
Can a man do good works in God’s sight without having saving faith in Jesus Christ? Many would say yes to this question, but Jesus says, No. In the Parable of the Vine and the Branches, Jesus teaches us that only those who abide in Him – those who are connected to Him through saving faith – are able to produce fruit acceptable to the LORD God; and God the Father will cut off those branches which produce no fruit for Him. He also prunes and purges those branches which do produce fruit that they might bring forth more fruit for Him.
Those who through faith are joined to Jesus Christ have forgiveness for all their sins and evil works. They are clean through the Word of the Gospel spoken to them – all their sins are washed away by the precious blood of Jesus which was shed upon the cross for the sins of the whole world! As long as they have true and saving faith in Christ and His redemptive work, they will be fruitful and do works which are acceptable and pleasing in God’s sight. This is so because Christ, by the indwelling Holy Ghost, abides in them and empowers them to live for Him, and because the sin and impurity yet in their works is forgiven and not held against them.
Apart from saving faith in Jesus Christ, one cannot do good works in God’s sight, for one remains spiritually dead to God and unable to truly love Him and honor Him with pure and holy works. He is like a branch which has been severed from the grape vine. It will not produce grapes, but will wither up and eventually be thrown into the fire and be burned. So also, the one who does not trust in Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice for forgiveness and life will not only be unable to do good works in God’s sight, he will be gathered up on the Last Day, together with all others who were unbelieving and fruitless, and be cast into the eternal fires of hell!
Abide with richest blessings among us, bounteous Lord; let us in grace and wisdom grow daily through Thy Word. Abide, O faithful Savior, among us with Thy love; grant steadfastness and help us to reach our home above. Amen. (The Lutheran Hymnal, #53, Verses 4,6)
