WELS Early Childhood Ministry Educator’s Devotions

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/ece-devotions/20251208ECME.mp3 Listen to Devotion In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near. I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.” Matthew 3:1-2, 11 Our Judge and Savior When do you put your Christmas tree up? When does Christmas music start to be heard through your house and in your car? Do you wait until after Thanksgiving, or do you pull out the red and green décor as soon as the trick-or-treaters stop ringing your doorbell? Sometimes we start seeing “countdown to Christmas” signs in mid-summer, and the excitement for the holidays begins. When John the Baptist began his ministry, he knew that Jesus was going to begin the work that started on the first Christmas. John knew that Jesus was near, and so John wanted people to live a life of repentance. In other words, John wanted people to turn from sin in sorrow and turn to God in the confidence of forgiveness. As a result, John the Baptist’s entire ministry was pointing people to Jesus, the Savior and Lamb of God. Many people that John the Baptist met already knew that a Savior was coming at some point. For generations, families had been passing down the words of Moses and the prophets that told about God’s plan to send the Messiah to save his people. Although God gave them several clues about how Jesus would enter the world and what he would do on earth, no one knew exactly when that would be. But then John entered the picture! God used John to point people to Jesus, the Savior promised long ago. Do you point people to Jesus? God calls us to point others to Jesus, especially since Jesus is coming again. But the thought of Jesus’ return can make people uncomfortable. They remember that Jesus will come as a judge and that he knows every sin. But Jesus is also the one who was judged on the cross to clear the record of every sinner. Jesus is the one who washes sinners in baptism so that they can be members of God’s kingdom. So, when we point people to Jesus, we help children and their families know about God’s undeserved love in Jesus. We remind coworkers that they are forgiven because of Jesus. We point people to Jesus so that they can be confident in life because they have the joy of forgiveness and the assurance that they are members of the kingdom of God. Jesus is coming! He is coming as one more powerful than John the Baptist. But he will not use his power to judge your sin. He will use his power to bring you into the full joys of his eternal kingdom. Prayer: We hail you as our Savior, Lord, our refuge and our great reward; Without your grace we waste away like flowers that wither and decay. Stretch forth your hand, our health restore, and lift us up to fall no more; O make your face on us to shine, and fill the world with love divine. Christian Worship 316:3-4   Early Childhood Ministry Educator’s (ECME) Devotions are brought to you by WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools. 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/ece-devotions/20251201ECME.mp3 Listen to Devotion Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5-7 Peace and Joy How often do you pray? Do you pray before meals and before bed? When you have an unexpected challenge and need help? Do you pray for friends and enemies? God wants us to pray for all of these things and much more! God wants us to come to him in prayer, thanking him for blessings and humbly asking him for things that we need. We have this gift of prayer because we are made God’s children through faith in Jesus, and God wants to hear from his children. Being a believer does not mean we never have trials. We will still have fears, temptations, and times of sorrow. The “to-do list” for both work and home may seem infinite, and the calendar may seem full with no rest in sight. Perhaps there is a personal or professional relationship that is fragile or broken, and you wonder if the connection can ever be repaired. Or maybe you are weighed down with concern about financial instability, a family member with an illness, or regret about a choice made. How broken our world feels sometimes! The approach and perspective of a Christian, however, will be very different from an unbeliever. A child of God will have joy, even during times of trouble. We can still have this joy inside, even when troubled by sins and happenings of the past. This joy comes from knowing that Jesus has rescued us, forgiven us, and that he will come again. God tells his children to let their gentleness be evident to all. But we cannot do this by ourselves! We lack the humility and patience God requests. So, we pray that the Holy Spirit helps us live a life of joy and gentleness because we know that Christ has been humble and patient to us. A child of God will have joy and peace—and also a peaceful heart. This peace is so powerful and pure, that it doesn’t make sense to the world. It doesn’t fit in with the chaos of the daily life of mankind. Those that do not share our faith might laugh at us or show confusion because of our peaceful heart. That’s because this peace comes from God. He has given us knowledge and trust that he saved us from sin and death and has promised to come again to take us home. This peace guards us from the sins of worry and doubt. What joy and peace we have, even when we have struggles! We know that we are saved by God, that he is near, and that he wants to hear everything that is on our hearts and minds. May we continue to bring our thanksgiving, requests and prayers to our heavenly Father!   Prayer: Before you, Lord, we bow, our God who reigns above And rules the world below in boundless pow’r and love Our thanks we bring in joy and praise, our hearts we raise to you, our King! Christian Worship 775:1   Early Childhood Ministry Educator’s (ECME) Devotions are brought to you by WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools. 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/ece-devotions/20251124ECME.mp3 Listen to Devotion You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Luke 12:40 Are You Ready Are you ready? Company is coming for dinner. You’re excited but you’d like just a bit more time to make sure everything is set. The children will start arriving soon, and you could use another few minutes to make sure you are ready to give them your full attention. Are you ready? You and I like the comfort of knowing what’s coming and how much time until a given event, an appointment, a diagnosis, an answer. How often do we wish that God would let us have even a glimpse of when a situation might be resolved? The challenge of waiting is seldom easy. Being prepared can give us patience as we wait. Are you ready? Not for the test or an appointment, but for Jesus. Are you ready for his return on Judgment Day? He certainly is coming. He told his disciples in John 14:3, “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” He is indeed coming back. But there’s one detail that we don’t have—when Jesus is coming. All Jesus tells us is, “You also must be ready” (Luke 12:40). The greatest event for which we wait is Christ’s return on Judgment Day. This will be an event beyond our imagination and expectations. We can slip into thinking that if we knew when this would all be over, we could endure whatever challenge or crisis we’re facing. In his wisdom, God chose not to let us in on this detail. The Bible is clear that no one knows the day or the hour. Jesus told his disciples, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). So, what are we to do? God is clear: be ready! Expect that Jesus could return at any time. It could be today, next week, in 20 years, or in 1000 years. We don’t know. So, how can we be ready? Our dear Savior points us to the Word. As we continue to be in the Word, we learn about our God. When we are faithful in prayer and worship, we focus our hearts on what is to come, even if we do not know when. A colleague of mine once said, “If you knew that Judgment Day was next week or even next month, what might you do differently? How would the urgency of sharing the Gospel increase? How might your time in God’s Word be richer and more focused?” As we focus on God’s Word, we can look forward to Judgment Day with eager anticipation. That’s because Scripture makes us confident in what that day will bring. We can pray, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). Prayer: Dear Jesus, I want to be ready for your return. Life on earth can be such a distraction from you. Help me to focus on you and to be excited and eager to be in the Word you have given us. Help me to pray with confidence, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Amen. Christian Worship 850: 1, 4 It Is Well with My Soul and 868 By Faith are both wonderful hymns to add to your devotions this week. Consider: If you are looking for extra context for today’s verse of Luke 12:40, read the preceding verses of Luke 12:35-39   Early Childhood Ministry Educator’s (ECME) Devotions are brought to you by WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools. 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/ece-devotions/20251103ECME.mp3 Listen to Devotion And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4 Look! God Is With You! It’s the end of the day in the first weeks of school. You look over and there is that sweet child, sitting quietly in a chair, eyes fluttering and head bobbing. Fatigue sweeps over them like their favorite rest-time blanket. As the year progresses, their stamina slowly grows. We can feel like that wiped-out little one as well. We all have days or times in our lives where it is just plain hard to keep our head up and our worry down. The life of a Christian is one that needs stamina of a different sort. Life on this side of heaven is challenging. As we look at the world around us, we see the evidence of sin impacting just about everything. Even the best of relationships can have struggles. We hear daily reports of evil and hate from our communities and from all over the world. Things wear out leading to costly repairs. People we love get sick, get hurt physically or emotionally. Death takes those we love. Our faith and beliefs are challenged or ridiculed. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are persecuted in unimaginable ways across the world. We can find ourselves feeling discouraged, fatigued. And then we go back to our reading for today. “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people and he will dwell with them.” The hard things are all around us but “Look!”- God has made his dwelling right here with us, with you! He has made us his saints (holy ones), his heirs of heaven! You may be thinking, “That’s great, but the problems of life are still right in front of me.” That’s true. However, knowing we are chosen by God as his dear children makes all the difference. First, we’re reminded that this world is temporary; it’s a blip on the timeline of eternity that we will spend in heaven. But we don’t have to wait till God calls us to heaven to have peace. True peace comes from knowing that God is with us in the blessings and in the challenges. He never promised to take away all the effects of sin in our lives, but before he ascended into heaven, Jesus did promise to be right there with us. We have the assurance that comes with the promises he keeps each day. So, we keep our faith focused on what is to come. We will join the saints in heaven where there is no more death, crying, pain because we will be wrapped in Jesus’ loving arms for eternity. As you approach each day with its blessings and challenges, remind yourself and those around you that God is here with you, his saints. As the fatigue of life rolls over you, find your stamina in his Word and in his promises kept for you. “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among his people.” God and his kingdom dwell in you. He’s with you to comfort, encourage, guide, and bless you with his grace until he takes you to heaven. Prayer: Dearest Heavenly Father, I come to you today with a heart full of gratitude. The world can be so hard, but knowing that you are with me each day gives me hope, encouragement, and strength. It is an indescribable gift to know that someday I will join all your saints in heaven in your perfect peace. Remind me that you are always here, and that heaven is my home. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. A Hymn to Consider: Hymn 867 from Christian Worship entitled Afflicted Saint, to Christ Draw Near has a wonderful text to reflect on as you consider the thoughts of today’s reading.   Early Childhood Ministry Educator’s (ECME) Devotions are brought to you by WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools. 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/ece-devotions/20251027ECME.mp3 Listen to Devotion I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Revelation 3:11 Christ With Us How many days until Grandma and Grandpa get here? My mom said that it’s only nine sleeps until Christmas! Teachers and students alike count down the days until the next three-day weekend. We’re used to waiting. As Christians, isn’t that also part of our lives? We wait until the day we get to see our heavenly Father and beloved Savior. Today’s verse are words spoken to the apostle John by Jesus. Jesus promises a quick return. He will be with us soon. How comforting! In the midst of temptations, struggles, and doubt, Jesus’ promise to visibly return shines brightly. But, Christ is also with us now. While we wait to see him face to face, he tells us to hold on to what we have. In this section of Revelation, Jesus was speaking to the people in a church in the city of Philadelphia (located in modern day Turkey). He told them, “I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” (Revelation 3:8). This little church held onto the one thing needful, and we are told to do the same. As we read, learn, and study God’s Word, we are continually reminded that Jesus is with us. He never leaves us or forsakes us. He is with us until the end of the age. Christ is with us right now. Not only is he with us, but he is our victor. Jesus fought the battle against sin, death, and the devil. He lived a perfect life and submitted himself to the punishment we deserve. As he suffered on the cross, he felt God’s full wrath over the sins we committed. But the battle didn’t end there. In triumph, Jesus rose from the dead and declared his victory to the devil. He secured the victor’s crown, not only for himself, but for all believers. We are conquerors through Christ. So now we have work to do. We proclaim what Christ has done for us so that more and more people can share in his victory. We live our lives and “shine like stars in the universe as [we] hold out the word of life.” (Philippians 2:15-16). We feed Jesus’ sheep and lambs with the wonderful news of God’s free grace. Christ has done it all for us. He won the victory. He works through us, as we live our lives of faith in a sin darkened world. And Christ is with us. Now, we enjoy his blessings and endure hardships in our world because soon we will join him in our heavenly home. The last words of the Book of Revelation are the last words of the entire Bible, and they say it all, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” (Revelation 22:20-21). Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for winning the victory over sin, death, and the devil. Help me rely on you, knowing you are always with me. Help me carry out the work you give me until I finally see you face to face. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. A Hymn to Consider: Read through the hymn Christ Is with Me (Christian Worship 681).   Early Childhood Ministry Educator’s (ECME) Devotions are brought to you by WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools. 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.

When we feel overwhelmed, trust that message of reconciliation.

Hold onto this truth: Christ for us.

So, let’s pray for each other. . .

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To find contentment in what we have already produced can be tricky...

Let us be humbled and do our work faithfully...

Our cross, alone, is too heavy to bear, but we are not alone.

Praise God for what the world thought was defeat, was actually a victory that we can joyfully call our own.

God measures you solely by what Christ has done in your place.

God’s Word doesn’t just leave us wounded. It heals.

Those treasures don’t last...

lesson plans, story Bibles, puppets, snacks, songs, and stickers...

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In a world that glorifies “busy,” let’s encourage each other to rest...

The bean seed becomes a sprout...