WELS Daily Devotions

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260922dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion [Jonah] prayed to the LORD, “Isn’t this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah 4:2-3 Too Much Grace Jonah was a messenger God sent to Nineveh, a city known for its wickedness, cruelty, and immorality. Jonah’s message was, “God is going to destroy Nineveh because of your wickedness.” Jonah was from Israel, a nation that witnessed that wickedness firsthand. You would think he would be eager to go and tell them that God was going to destroy them. But instead, he ran the other way. After Jonah fled, was swallowed by a fish, and was spit out on the shore, he finally went where God told him to. And when he preached, something amazing happened. The people were sorry for what they did and prayed for God’s mercy. When he saw this, God decided not to destroy them. Instead, he had mercy on them. And Jonah’s reaction? “It’s not fair. I knew you weren’t going to punish them. That’s just the kind of gracious, compassionate God you are. You show too much grace.” Do we ever think like that? Wickedness spreads like an unstoppable virus. It infects our schools, our communities, even our families. We experience hatred and hurt from other people. And hatred grows in our hearts against them. We don’t want to forgive, and we don’t think God should either. But if God’s grace had limits, if there are things God won’t or can’t forgive, will he forgive me for holding a grudge or harboring hatred in my heart? Will his grace reach the selfish corners of my heart that only God can see? Praise God that his grace is for all! It is never too much. It is just what we need. Because of God’s grace, we are forgiven. That’s great news to hear and to share! Prayer: God, thank you for loving and forgiving me in your amazing grace. 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.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260921dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. Psalm 115:2-4 He Does Whatever Pleases Him “Where is your God?” Those who deny God’s existence may taunt Christians with that question. “If what you call sin is bad, why doesn’t God do something about it? If your God is real, why doesn’t he help you when you are hurting or in trouble?” Maybe we struggle with the same questions. The writer of our Bible reading today asks an important question: “Why do the nations say, ‘Where is your God?’” Isn’t it because we think too highly of ourselves? We think we know better than God about how things should be. And so, we criticize God for failing to act or for acting in ways that don’t seem right. How foolish and arrogant! Our God is not absent or powerless. He is not unjust or uncaring. He’s in heaven, far above everything else we might put our trust in. He wasn’t made by human hands or invented by human imagination. And he does whatever pleases him. He doesn’t need to answer to us. The good news is that what pleases God is to have a relationship with the people he created. When that relationship is broken by our selfish disobedience, what pleases him is to restore that relationship by sending his Son to suffer in our place. What pleases him is to demonstrate amazing grace by showing mercy to every sinner for the sake of his Son. If God were limited in any way, if God operated according to what we think is right, we could only fear him. But instead, he is pleased to love, forgive, and restore. And nothing can stand in his way. Prayer: Gracious God, in all of life’s circumstances, I know that you will do what pleases you and bless me by your amazing grace. Help me to trust your loving care. 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.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260920dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion [Jesus said] “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:16 God’s Unique Way I thought for sure I would be first. But I ended up being last. It happened some years ago at a wedding reception. I made a special effort to sit at a table very near the buffet line. I thought for sure my table would get to eat first after the bride and groom. In a cruel twist, our table ended up eating last. I wasn’t very happy. Some people think that they will certainly be the first to enjoy heaven. They smugly say to themselves, “I’m a pretty good person. Sure, I’m not perfect. But at least I haven’t killed anyone or robbed a bank.” Oh, what a big surprise awaits them. Those who boast in themselves or who refuse in stubborn arrogance to repent of their sins and cling to Jesus’ cross as their only real way will be last. They will be completely shut out of God’s heaven. They won’t be happy, but that’s God’s unique way. Mindful of our utter sinfulness and the many sins that we have committed against a holy God, may we ever remain sorry for our wrongs and kneel humbly before him. May we daily confess, “Lord, I don’t ever deserve to enjoy the buffet line of your blessings and grace in heaven because I am the chief of sinners!” Let us remember and believe that through faith in Jesus, who lived perfectly, died innocently, and rose triumphantly, our sins are fully paid, and our guilt is forever removed. As sinners we are “last” in God’s eyes. But by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, we get to be “first” one day in heaven. Then we’ll be eternally happy, all because of God’s unique way! Prayer: Lord, thank you for your unique way! I admit that I am a terrible sinner which makes me “last” before you. But I believe that Jesus has died for all of my sins. I am forgiven, because you have told me so. By your great love for me in Jesus, I rejoice to know that I will be “first” one day in heaven. 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.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260919dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20 God Guides All Things for Good A man named Joseph spoke the words in our Bible reading today. Many years earlier, his own brothers had plotted first to kill him, then instead had decided to sell him into slavery. Can you imagine how much that must have hurt? Have other people hurt you? I know I have been hurt by other people. The truth is, every one of us has been hurt by someone. Hurt as badly as Joseph? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Regardless, what was true for Joseph is also true for you and me. God has promised to rule all things for the good of his people. If you believe that Jesus is your Savior, then you’re one of God’s people, and therefore, God is ruling all things with your best interests in mind. And so even when another person intends to harm you, even when they sin against you horribly, God’s promise is that he will use it, somehow, someway, to bring blessing to you. He did it with Joseph. After being sold into slavery in Egypt, God guided things so that Joseph ended up becoming the second most powerful person in the kingdom, and through Joseph, many lives were saved from starvation. He could see clearly how God had guided things for his good and for the good of other people. Perhaps we will not be able to see it so clearly. That is okay. It’s not that we can SEE that God is guiding things that matter. What matters is that God has promised to do it. And God NEVER fails to keep a promise! Prayer: Almighty God, you have promised to guide all things for my good. Fulfill that promise! Assure me that, even when others sin against me that you will use it for my good and for the good of your people. Use that truth to heal me when I hurt and to enable me to forgive those who have sinned against me, even as you have forgiven me. 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.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260918dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’” Matthew 18:32-33 Canceled Debt Jesus once told a story about a servant who owed a king an enormous amount of money. The debt was so large that the servant could never repay it. When the king demanded payment, the servant fell to his knees and begged for more time. Then the king did something surprising. He did not give the servant more time. He canceled the debt completely. The servant walked away owing nothing. Soon afterward, that same servant found another man who owed him a much smaller amount. Instead of showing mercy, he grabbed the man and demanded his money. When the man could not pay, the servant had him thrown into prison. When the king heard what happened, he was furious. The servant had received incredible mercy, but he refused to show mercy to someone else. Jesus told this story to teach us about forgiveness. When someone hurts us, it can be difficult to forgive. The pain may be real. The offense may be serious. Forgiveness does not mean pretending that what happened was okay. But Jesus wants us to remember how much God has forgiven us. Every time we disobey God, we add to a debt we could never repay. We fail to love God as we should. We fail to love other people as we should. We think, say, and do things that go against what God wants. But God does not tell us to work harder until we have paid him back. Jesus paid our debt for us. On the cross, Jesus took the punishment our sins deserved. Because of what Jesus did, God forgives us completely. Our debt is canceled. That changes the way we look at people who sin against us. We do not forgive because their sin was small. We forgive because God’s mercy toward us is so great. The more we remember how much we have been forgiven, the more ready we will be to forgive others. Prayer: Merciful Father, thank you for canceling my debt through Jesus. Help me remember your mercy and show that same mercy to others. 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.