“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Romans 8:35
Separation
Separation can be scary. Separation from loved ones, even for a short while, can fill our hearts with the unease of loneliness. The thought of being separated from money can cause great stress. Finally, even death can cause fear of being separated from what we know, understand, and cherish. And whether we realize it or not, separation from God is the scariest separation of all.
Separation from God in this life is a life filled with worry and concern, because there is no comfort of knowing that there is God, the creator of the universe, who daily cares for us. Separation from God in this life also means that people must deal with every twinge of conscience all by themselves, for they cannot trust in the promise of guilt removed through Jesus. Separation from God in this life precedes a divine verdict of guilty and an eternal life of anguish. Could anything be worse?
With this in mind, one can see why the rhetorical question, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” would be such a comfort. The great message of the Bible is that because of Christ, mankind no longer needs to be separated from God. Because of Jesus’ life and death, we are forgiven and need not worry about our guilt but can trust that it has been removed. In this blessing of a clear conscience, we know that we are not separated from God in this life and the next. What a blessing this is.
Prayer:
Lord, as troubles come and go in my life, remind me that you never leave my side. Amen.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
I Am Convinced
Has your mind ever been changed? You saw a commercial for a new invention, and you doubted it’d really work as advertised. But then, you learned firsthand, and now you are convinced. It really does work as advertised.
The man who wrote in today’s Bible verse, “I am convinced…” was once more than a doubter and a skeptic. His name was Paul, and he was convinced that Jesus wasn’t really the Savior of the world. Paul was convinced that he was right with God because of his own works. He was so convinced that he worked diligently to persecute Christians. But something happened. Not only was his mind changed, but also his heart. Jesus rose from the dead and later appeared to Paul convincing him that Jesus was truly Lord. Paul was confident that he was forgiven through Christ alone.
This same good news of forgiveness through Jesus is powerful enough to change our hearts too. A Christian doesn’t have to go through life a skeptic or without certainty, but can say, “I am convinced!”
When the doubts multiply and all the worst-case scenarios run through your mind, remember God’s promises. God is for us; Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead for us. This is clear evidence that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Not even death can separate us from the love of God that is ours through Jesus. His love is greater than the sum of all our sins, problems, and doubts. Since God spared no expenses to save us from sin and death even when we were separated from him, he’s not going to let us go now. He’s not going to let anything in all creation separate us from him again.
Prayer:
Lord, strengthen me by your promises and let me grow in the conviction that your love will keep me close to you. Amen.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Romans 8:31-33
Without a Doubt!
There are very few things you can say without a doubt. When making plans, you can’t say they will happen without a doubt. When someone asks you a difficult question, can you always answer confidently, without a doubt? Thankfully, we can answer life’s most crucial question without a doubt, and not because we’re so smart, but because God is so great!
Life’s most crucial question is, “Am I right with God?” or “Will God let me into heaven?” Some people struggle to answer those questions without a doubt. Those doubts come from the reality of sin. God is holy and perfect; we are not. Just one sin is enough to bar us from heaven, and we’ve committed more than one. More than we can count. It would be presumptuous to believe we can simply walk through heaven’s gates, except that God assures us of this without doubt or hesitation.
God is for us! He’s on our side. He says that our sins are forgiven. This removes any and every shred of doubt. Who can bring any charges against us that will stick? Our own doubts and guilty conscience might try to tell us we aren’t forgiven or worthy, but they don’t call the shots! God does. He has justified us. That means he declares, with absolute authority, that we are not guilty because he’s forgiven all our sins.
And if any doubt should remain, here’s proof: God did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. This is how the guilty are declared innocent and the accused become acquitted, without a doubt. God spared no expense to make things right between you and him. God left heaven and carried a cross to make heaven your home. It’s yours through Christ, without a doubt.
Prayer:
Lord, spare me from doubt and temptations to justify myself and let my confidence rest on Christ alone who has already justified me. Amen.
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31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? 32 This God wraps me with strength and makes my way perfect. [1] 33 By making my feet like those of a deer he enables me to stand on high places. 34 Because he trains my hands for battle, my arms can draw a bronze bow. 35 Then you give me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand sustains me, and you stoop down to lift me up. 36 You widen the path under my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.
David’s Victories
37 I pursued my enemies, and I overtook them. So I did not turn back until they were wiped out. 38 I crushed them so that they could not rise again. They fell beneath my feet. 39 You wrapped me with strength for battle. You made those who rose up against me bow down to me. 40 You made my enemies turn their backs and flee. I destroyed those who hate me. 41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them. They cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them. 42 So I grind them as fine as dust blown by the wind. I dump them out like mud in the streets. 43 You delivered me from the accusations of the people. You made me the head of nations. A people I did not know serve me. 44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me. Foreigners cower before me. 45 Foreigners fall exhausted. They come trembling from their strongholds.
Closing Words of Faith
46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! May the God who saves me be exalted! 47 The God who avenges me subdues peoples under me. 48 You delivered me from my enemies. Yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me. You rescued me from the violent man. 49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, Lord. To your name I will make music. 50 By providing great salvation for his King, he shows mercy to his Anointed One, to David and to his Descendant [2] forever.
Footnotes
Psalm 18:32 Or smooth
Psalm 18:50 Literally seed. The word seed connects this passage to the messianic promises given to Eve and to Abraham. By preserving David and his royal line, God carried on the messianic line that would reach its goal in Jesus.
Unfailing Kindness to David
And to His Descendant Forever
(2 Samuel 22)
Heading
For the choir director.
By David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the grasp of all his enemies, even from the grasp of Saul.
Praise to the Rock of Salvation
1 Then he said: I love you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rocky cliff, my stronghold, and my deliverer. My God is my rock. I take refuge in him. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high fortress. 3 I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
Deliverance From Death
4 The ropes of death entangled me. Floodwaters of destruction [1] rolled over me. 5 The ropes of the grave wrapped around me. The traps of death threatened me. 6 In my distress I called to the Lord. To my God I cried out. He heard my voice from his temple. My cry came before him. It reached his ears.
The Greatness of the Deliverance
7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains [2] trembled. They shook because the Lord was angry. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils, and fire from his mouth devoured. Coals were set on fire by it. 9 Then he tore open the heavens and came down. A dark cloud was under his feet. 10 He rode upon a cherub, [3] and he flew. He soared on the wings of the wind. 11 He made the darkness around him his hiding place. Dark rain clouds [4] surrounded him like a canopy. 12 Emerging from the brightness in front of him his clouds passed by with hail and coals of fire. 13 Then the Lord thundered in the heavens. The Most High raised his voice with hail and coals of fire. [5] 14 Then he shot his arrows and scattered the enemy. He shot great lightning bolts and routed them. 15 Then the sources of water [6] were revealed, and the foundations of the world were uncovered by your rebuke, O Lord, by the breath of wind from your nostrils. 16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me. He drew me out of deep waters. 17 Because they were too strong for me, he rescued me from my powerful enemy, from those who hate me. 18 They confronted me on the day of my disaster, but the Lord supported me. 19 Then he brought me out into a wide-open space. He rescued me because he delighted in me.
David’s Uprightness as a Basis for God’s Judgment
20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands he has repaid me, 21 for I have kept the ways of the Lord. I have not done evil and departed from my God. 22 So all his just decrees remain before me, and I have not turned his statutes away from me. 23 I have been blameless with him. I have kept myself from guilt. 24 The Lord has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
God’s Uprightness as a Basis for His Judgment
25 To the merciful you reveal yourself as merciful. To the blameless person you reveal yourself as blameless. 26 To the pure you reveal yourself as pure, but to the crooked you reveal yourself as crafty. 27 For you save humble people, but you bring low the eyes of the arrogant. 28 Yes, you light my lamp, O Lord. My God turns my darkness to light. 29 For with you I can charge against a battalion, and with my God I can jump over a wall.
God Equips David for Victory
30 This God—his way is blameless. The speech of the Lord is pure. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
Footnotes
Psalm 18:4 Hebrew floodwaters of belial. Belial means worthless or unrestrained. It later became a name for Satan.
Psalm 18:7 See 2 Samuel 22:8, which reads foundations of the heavens.
Psalm 18:10 The cherubim are the powerful angels who serve as God’s honor guard.
Psalm 18:11 Literally darkness of waters, clouds of a cloudy sky
Psalm 18:13 The Greek text does not include hail and coals of fire in this verse. It may be an accidental repetition from the preceding verse. The parallel in 2 Samuel 22:14 does not have this repetition.
Psalm 18:15 Sources of the sea is the reading in the parallel text in 2 Samuel 22:16.
1 Hear my righteous plea, O Lord. Pay attention to my outcry. Turn your ear to my prayer, which is not offered by deceitful lips. 2 May a just verdict for me come from you. May your eyes observe the things that are right. 3 You have tested my heart. You have visited me at night. You have refined me; you have found nothing wrong. I resolved that my mouth will not overstep its bounds. 4 As for the deeds of people: by the words from your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent. 5 Keep my footsteps on your paths. My steps have not slipped.
God’s Love
6 Indeed, I call to you because you will answer me, O God. Turn your ear toward me. Hear what I say. 7 Perform wonders through your mercy. By your right hand save those who seek refuge from those who rise up against them. 8 Guard me like the pupil of your eye. [1] In the shadow of your wings hide me 9 from the wicked who try to destroy me, from those enemies of my life who surround me.
The Enemies’ Ruthlessness
10 Their hearts are calloused. [2] Their mouths speak arrogantly. 11 Now they surround our steps. They watch us to throw us to the ground. 12 He is like a lion that is eager to tear, like a young lion crouching in its hiding place. 13 Rise, O Lord. Confront him. Bring him down. Save my life from the wicked by your sword. 14 Save me from such men by your hand, O Lord, from men of this world, whose reward is in this life.
Closing Confidence
14b But you fill the stomachs of those whom you treasure. [3] Their children are satisfied, and they leave their wealth to their children. 15 Indeed, in righteousness I will view your face. When I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Footnotes
Psalm 17:8 Traditionally the apple of your eye
Psalm 17:10 Literally they close their fat
Psalm 17:14 Many translations join verse 14b with the first part of verse 14, understanding it as an observation about the worldly prosperity of the ungodly. They translate with your treasure you fill their stomachs.
1 Lord, who may be a guest in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain?
The Answer: The One Who Does What Is Righteous
2 One who walks with integrity, who does what is righteous, and who speaks the truth in his heart. 3 He has no slander on his tongue. He does not harm his friend, and he does not defame his neighbor. 4 He despises everyone whom God rejects, but he honors those who fear the Lord. When he promises something, he does not break his word even though it costs him a lot. 5 He does not lend his money to get interest, [1] and he does not accept a bribe against the innocent. One who does these things will never be toppled.
Psalm 16
You Will Not Abandon Me to the Grave
Heading
A miktam [2] by David.
You Are My Lord
1 Guard me, O God, for I take refuge in you. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord. I have no good apart from you.” [3] 3 The holy ones who are in the land are glorious. All my delight is in them. 4 Those who chase after another god will increase their sorrows. I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood. I will not take up their names on my lips.
You Will Not Abandon Me to the Grave
5 Lord, you are the cup that has been given to me. You have secured an allotment for me. 6 The property lines chosen for me fall in pleasant places. Yes, a delightful inheritance is mine. 7 I will bless the Lord, who guides me. Even at night my heart [4] instructs me. 8 I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being [5] rejoices. Even my flesh will dwell securely 10 because you will not abandon my life to the grave. You will not let your favored one [6] see decay. 11 You have made known to me the path of life, fullness of joy in your presence, pleasures at your right hand forever.
Footnotes
Psalm 15:5 Or perhaps excessive interest
Psalm 16:1 The meaning of miktam is uncertain. It may mean a golden psalm or a choice piece or a psalm inscribed on a tablet.
Psalm 16:2 The Hebrew of verses 2–4 is difficult and may be understood in more than one way.
Psalm 16:7 Literally kidneys. In Hebrew the word kidneys has some of the same connotations that heart does in English.
Psalm 16:9 Literally my glory. A few manuscripts read liver, which in Hebrew idiom parallels heart as a center of emotion.
Psalm 16:10 The Hebrew word hasid refers to a person who receives favor or distributes mercy. Here it refers to Christ, but it is not capitalized because it does not become one of his messianic titles.
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I experience worries in my soul, sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy tower over me?
An Urgent Prayer
3 Look at me. Answer me, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes so I do not sleep in death, 4 so my enemy does not say, “I have overcome him,” so my foes do not rejoice when I fall.
A Solid Answer
5 But I trust in your mercy. My heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing to the Lord because he has accomplished his purpose for me.
Psalm 14
The Fool (Psalm 53)
Heading
For the choir director. By David.
A Description of the Fool
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They do disgusting things. There is no one who does good. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven on all the children of Adam to see if there is anyone who understands, anyone who seeks God. 3 Every one of them has turned away. Altogether they have become rotten. There is no one who does good. There is not even one.
The Final Fate of the Fool
4 Don’t any of these evildoers understand, those who devour my people as if they were eating bread? They do not call on the Lord. 5 There they are! They are terrified because God is present in the circle of the righteous. 6 You try to put the plans of the poor to shame, but the Lord is their refuge.
Closing Prayer
7 Who will provide salvation for Israel from Zion? [1] When the Lord restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
Footnotes
Psalm 14:7 Or Oh that salvation for Israel would come from Zion!
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The Conference of Presidents, chaired by the synod president, also includes 12 district presidents, the first and second synod vice presidents, and the non-voting synod recording secretary. The respective districts […]
“This year’s rally was meant to be more than just an event. It was a catalyst to seek deeper faith commitment.” As memories from the 2026 WELS Youth Rally this […]
Lynne embarked on a lifelong search for truth that led her from atheism and hostility toward Christianity. Through the ministry of two WELS home mission congregations, God quenched Lynne’s thirst […]
Mark Maurice began serving as executive director of WELS Investment Funds and WELS Foundation in June. Maurice brings more than 30 years of experience in Christian stewardship, charitable gift planning, […]
Around noon on Monday, July 27, a tornado ripped through northeastern Wisconsin, causing damage to Bethel, Menasha, a bilingual WELS church with about 500 members. The tornado also damaged the […]