For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:15-17
Living by the Spirit
There is probably nothing more important to a child’s well-being than having loving and caring parents. When children feel safe, cared for, and nurtured, they tend to be more obedient, perform better in school, and learn how to build relationships with others. However, when children live in constant fear of a parent, just the opposite often happens. They suffer in school, have low self-esteem, and find it difficult to trust others.
God gave us life by his Spirit when he led us to trust in his Son, Jesus. This gift of his Spirit changed our relationship with our heavenly Father. The apostle Paul says it this way: “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship.” Without God’s Spirit in our hearts, we would fear God and have nothing to look forward to except his judgment on our sin. But the Spirit leads us to see Jesus—the one who became our sin, so that we could be God’s forgiven children. Right now, we can be confident that God loves and cares for us as we await the glorious inheritance, he has waiting for us.
This wonderful truth not only changes our future, but it changes our present. Instead of living as slaves to our sinful nature with nothing but death as our future, we can live as God’s grateful children, making the most of every opportunity to thank our Father.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, help me to always remember that through Jesus, I am your dear child and you are my dear Father. Amen.
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. John 11:43-44
By the Power of His Word
Does your word carry weight? Sure, there are times when I tell people to do things, and they do them. I can tell my kids to clean their rooms or do the dishes, and they will. I can tell my dog to get off the couch, and she will… sometimes. And yet, sometimes, it does not happen. The kids don’t always do their chores. And my dog defies what I have to say more often than not.
But when Jesus spoke, his word packed a punch. When Jesus spoke, amazing things happened. Once, when he and his friends were stuck in a furious storm, he simply told the storm to stop, and it did. There was another time when Jesus cast out some demons who were torturing a young man simply by the power of his word. And in our Bible reading today, we see that by the power of his word, Jesus raised a dead man to life. He simply told him, “Lazarus, come out!”
Why do Jesus’ words carry so much power and authority? It’s because he is the Son of God. He’s not just the head of a household. He’s sitting on a throne ruling heaven and earth. And what he says, goes.
That’s why I want to tell you about something else Jesus said. One of the last things he said, when he was dying, was “paid in full.” That’s what Jesus said about the sins of humanity—about your sins and mine. By his death on the cross he paid for them in full. He paid for them with his life.
Because our sins have been wiped out, you and I are sinless before holy God. And he sees us as his children whom he loves dearly, children whom he will welcome to our home with him in heaven some day. All by the power of Jesus’ word.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for saving me through your death on the cross. May I daily draw comfort from the power of your holy Word. Amen.
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. . . So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. John 11:38-39,41-43
It’s Okay to Grieve
Sometimes, Christians might give the impression that when a fellow Christian passes away, we shouldn’t be sad. That’s simply not true. Jesus wept at the graveside of his dear friend, Lazarus. Jesus wept even though he knew he’d raise Lazarus from the grave.
Losing someone we love hurts. We’re going to miss making memories with that family member or that friend. It’s okay. It’s okay to grieve. I miss my dad. I miss my grandparents. That hurts. And it’s okay to grieve.
But the Bible also tells us that as Christians, we don’t grieve like the rest of the world that doesn’t have hope. Because we believe in Jesus, who died and rose from the dead. And Jesus will raise to life all who have died with faith in him.
To be honest with you, as a Christian, my grief doesn’t consume me. Sure, some days are tougher than others, but while I mourn my loss of not being able to spend time with my family and friends who have passed away, I also celebrate their great gain of eternal life. And I take the greatest comfort that I will be reunited with them in heaven for eternity.
If you’re reading this or listening to this, I want that for you as well. But more importantly, God wants you to have this comfort. And that’s what Jesus delivers.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for the promise of a resurrection from the dead of all who have faith in you. May this truth bring me comfort when I mourn for my loved ones who have passed. Amen.
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1 One Sabbath day, when Jesus went into the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat bread, they were watching him closely.
2 Right in front of him was a man who was suffering from swelling of his body. [1]3 Jesus addressed the legal experts and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”
4 But they were silent. So he took hold of the man, healed him, and let him go. 5 He said to them, “Which of you, if your son [2] or an ox would fall into a well on a Sabbath day, would not immediately pull him out?”
6 And they could not reply to these things.
7 When he noticed how they were selecting the places of honor, he told the invited guests a parable. 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline in the place of honor, or perhaps someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him. 9 The one who invited both of you may come and tell you, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then you will begin, with shame, to take the lowest place.
10 “But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a higher place.’ Then you will have honor in the presence of all who are reclining at the table with you.
11 “Yes, everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
12 He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, do not invite your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or rich neighbors, so that perhaps they may also return the favor and pay you back.
13 “But when you make a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. Certainly, you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15 When one of those at the table with him heard these things, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will feast in the kingdom of God!”
16 Jesus said to him, “A certain man made a great banquet and invited many people. 17 When it was time for the banquet, he sent out his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses.
“The first one told him, ‘I bought a field, and I need to go and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’
19 “Another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’
20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, and so I am unable to attend.’
21 “The servant arrived and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house was angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town, and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
22 “The servant said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and there is still room.’
23 “Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and urge them to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 Yes, I tell you that none of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’”
Footnotes
Luke 14:2 Or dropsy (hydropsy), an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the tissues of the body
18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what will I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”
20 Again he said, “To what will I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast, which a woman took and mixed into a bushel [1] of flour until it was all leavened.”
The Narrow Door
22 He went on his way from one town and village to another, teaching, and making his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone said to him, “Lord, are only a few going to be saved?”
He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25 Once the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open for us!’ He will tell you in reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 And he will say, ‘I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown outside. 29 People will come from east and west, from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. 30 And note this: Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Jesus Warns Jerusalem
31 In that very hour, some Pharisees came to him and said, “Leave, and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”
32 He said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I am going to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it cannot be that a prophet would be killed outside Jerusalem!’
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you will say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” [2]
1 At that time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 He answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things? 3 I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse sinners than all the people living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you will all perish too.”
Parable of the Fig Tree
6 He told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it, but he did not find any. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘Look, for three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I have found none. Cut it down. Why even let it use up the soil?’ 8 But the gardener replied to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. 9 If it produces fruit next year, fine. But if not, then cut it down.’”
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman
10 Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And a woman was there who had a spirit that had disabled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 He placed his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and began to glorify God.
14 But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. He said to the crowd in response, “There are six days to do work. So come to be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath day!”
15 The Lord answered him, “Hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the Sabbath and lead it to water? 16 Here is this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years! Shouldn’t she be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”
17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame. But the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things he was doing.
35 “Be dressed, ready for service, and keep your lamps burning. 36 Be like people waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the master will find watching when he comes. Amen I tell you: He will dress himself and have them recline at the table, and he will come and serve them. 38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch, [1] they will be blessed if he finds them alert. 39 But know this: If the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 40 You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you are not expecting him.”
41 Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us or to everybody?”
42 The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, [2] whom the master will put in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find doing so when he comes. 44 Truly I tell you: He will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is staying away for a long time.’ And he begins to beat the male and female servants, to eat and drink and become drunk, 46 then the master of that servant will arrive on a day when he was not expected and at an hour that his servant does not know. The master will cut him in two and assign him a place with the unbelievers. 47 That servant who knew his master’s will and did not prepare or act according to what his master wanted, will be punished severely. 48 But the one who did not know, and did something worthy of punishment, will be punished lightly. From everyone to whom much was given, much will be expected. From the one who was entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Division
49 “I came to throw fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already ignited. 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished! 51 Do you think that I came to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 Yes, from now on there will be five divided in one household: three against two, and two against three. 53 They will be divided: father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” [3]
Interpret the Time
54 He also said to the crowds, “Whenever you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say that a rainstorm is coming, and so it happens. 55 And whenever a south wind blows, you say that it is going to be hot, and it happens. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you do not know how to interpret this present time? 57 Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 Indeed, as you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, make an effort on the way to reach a settlement with him. Otherwise, he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and the officer may throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last cent.” [4]
Footnotes
Luke 12:38 That is, in the middle of the night
Luke 12:42 Or steward
Luke 12:53 Micah 7:6
Luke 12:59 Literally lepton. One lepton was a coin worth about 1⁄128 of an agricultural worker’s daily wages.
13 Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But Jesus said to him, “Man, who appointed me to be a judge or an arbitrator over you?”
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because a man’s life is not measured by how many possessions he has.”
16 He told them a parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced very well. 17 He was thinking to himself, ‘What will I do, because I do not have anywhere to store my crops?’ 18 He said, ‘This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and goods. 19 And I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your soul will be demanded from you. Now who will get what you have prepared?’
21 “That is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Do Not Worry
22 Jesus said to his disciples, “For that reason I tell you, stop worrying about your life, about what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Certainly life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap; they have no warehouse or barn; and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds! 25 And who of you by worrying can add a single moment to his lifespan? 26 Since you are not able to do this little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 28 If this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will he clothe you, you of little faith? 29 Do not constantly chase after what you will eat or what you will drink. Do not be worried about it. 30 To be sure, the nations of the world chase after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, continue to seek the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not become old, a treasure in the heavens that will not fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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Our sister church the Ukrainian Lutheran Church (ULC), along with all the citizens of Ukraine, has been experiencing the hardship and suffering caused by four years of a terrible and […]
At its spring meeting, the WELS Board for Home Missions approved three new mission starts, continuing its work of bringing the gospel to growing communities across the United States while […]
In late January and early February 2026, Daniel Sims, director of WELS Christian Aid and Relief, and Paul Biedenbender, pastor at Christ, Denver, Colo., and a member of the WELS […]
Registration is open for the 2026 WELS International Youth Rally, July 14-17, at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. The cost is $450 if attendees register by April 30 and $475 […]