Daily Reflections From Higher Things®

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 8:1-20; Matthew 10:24-42 "What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:27-28) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In our text, Christ lovingly invites us not to fear. How strange this is to our ears since we tend to internalize fear and anxiety. It is almost as if we should say to Jesus, "Well, that's easy for you to say, you're Jesus." Then again, maybe that's the point. To claim that the body doesn't matter as much as the soul is to detest the creation of each and thus the creator. However, very few people would look at it that way. While we are alive, we are willing to go through anything to minimize the pain that the body feels. After we die, people gather around the casket and offer words that seem helpful, but often refer to the body as a "vessel" or "shell." Yet Christ tells us tha

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 7:1-19; Matthew 10:1-23 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of them Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" (Matthew 10:5-7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It seems that every Christian knows of the Great Commission in Matthew 28. We are given the command to "go." We are given the baptismal formula, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." However, there is an often-overlooked Greek word in that sentence. The word ethni is most often translated as "nations," yet in this context, the word "Gentiles" is a better option. Why? It simply puts a bookend on the first commission found in our text in verse 5. It can sometimes be hard to wrap our minds around the idea that Christ became flesh to first go to the chosen people of Israel. It is from the house of Israel that the Law and prophets came. Even all

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To Bishops, Pastors, and Preachers Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 6:10-25; Matthew 9:18-38 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.(Small Catechism: Table of Duties, To Bishops, Pastors, and Preachers) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Beyond reproach" is an essential attribute for bishops, pastors, and preachers. It is also the one you hear district presidents, circuit visitors, and congregation members throwing around more than any other. But Luther gives us a much bigger picture in his Small Catechism. He allows the pastor to understand his role better without having to be beaten with the reproach club quite as often. Here in Timothy we have the classic list. Pastors are also called to the teaching of true doctrine and are expected to hold a pure confession of the faith. The Table

Today's Reading: Ephesians 4:1-6 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:22-6:9; Matthew 9:1-17 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:5-7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As Christians we enter the Ark of the Church through the same means that kills, yet saves: water. Baptism seals us into the Ark like sanctified pitch, yet instead of tar residue we are blessed with a watermark that confesses our faith to the world! You are a baptized child of God! But what does that mean? To ask it another way: What is in a name? As Lutherans we believe the biblical truth that Baptism saves us. Likewise, we believe that when the pastor says, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," God has written our name in the Book of Life and placed His Name upon us. Thus, we are "little Christs." With that lavish washing away o

Today's Reading: Proverbs 25:6-14 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:1-21; Matthew 8:18-34 Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. (Proverbs 25:6-7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It seems as if we just read about being exulted in our text yesterday. That's because we did. We were reminded of who we are outside of Baptism and who we are in our baptized lives. We, who were once dead to sin, in Baptism are made alive in Christ. In other words, you were once in the lowest place, claimed and bound by the devil, but then in the holy waters of Baptism you were made clean and brought out, bound to Christ and with the forgiveness of sins. Here in Proverbs, we find the same thing placed into a different mouth and in a different testament. In these words we continue to carry with us the necessity not of holding ourselves higher than we ought, but of relying on Jesus to exalt us thr

Today's Reading: Luke 14:1-11 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:21-40; Matthew 8:1-17 "But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’" (Luke 14:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" ask the disciples in Matthew 17. Christ answers that they will not even enter the kingdom of heaven unless they become like little children. Furthermore, Christ points out that disciples cannot become like little children unless they humble themselves and welcome the little children in Jesus' Name. In Luke 14 we find Jesus being put to the test by the Pharisees' ruler as they were eating together on the Sabbath. Christ heals a man who has dropsy, which doesn't please the Pharisees because it is unlawful to work, or heal, in this case, on the Sabbath. Christ responds by asking who among them wouldn't save their brother or oxen if they had fallen on the Sabbath. None of them has an answer and then there

Today's Reading: Introit for the 17th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 119:1-2, 5-6; antiphon: vs. 137, 124) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 4:1-20; Matthew 7:13-29 Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy, And teach me Your statutes. (From the Introit for the 17th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christians desire that the Lord deal with us according to His mercy. That is, we acknowledge our sinfulness and know there is no hope of forgiveness apart from Jesus and what He has done for us. So we pray for the Lord's mercy in Jesus and we hear the Good News that for Jesus' sake we are forgiven. Having heard God's mercy, as a new creation in Christ, we also desire to learn the Lord's statutes, His laws, His commandments. We desire to keep and follow them not to impress God, but for the good of our neighbor. We want them to see Christ's light shining through us and we want our words and actions to be helpful and loving and good for others. This is why we go to church: to hear of God's mercy

Today's Reading: Ephesians 3:13-21 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 3:1-29; Matthew 7:1-12 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. (Ephesians 3:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Truth is, the suffering of others is often for our benefit! Consider when you were born: It was painful and a struggle for your mother. Through that struggle, the Lord brought you into this world. Consider how your parents may have suffered while raising you: They worried about you and put up with your sins and mistakes. Consider military members or first responders who may be hurt or even killed, not for their own sake, but for the sake of those they serve. Think about how God's own Son suffered in order to save us. He gave Himself up to be shamed and scorned and mocked and beaten and crucified and killed. He did that so your sins would be forgiven. He did that so you are saved and have eternal life. When the Lord sent His preachers out into the world, they suffered many things, of

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 2:16-37; Matthew 6:16-34 Who receives this sacrament worthily? . . . But anyone who does not believe these words or doubts them is unworthy and unprepared, for the words "for you" require all hearts to believe. (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, pt. 5) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If someone sketchy were to give you a sandwich, you might not want to eat it. "It's fine," they say, "I didn't spit on it or anything." If you don't believe them, you won't eat the sandwich. If Jesus says that the bread and wine are His Body and Blood, "given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins," then faith's reply is to eat that bread and drink from that cup. In other words, to believe Jesus' words means we would obviously eat and drink His Gift. If we didn't believe, why would we bother? If we don't believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose again, why would we pretend we want a gift we don't believe in? We often hear J

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:37-2:15; Matthew 6:1-15 "For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing." (Deuteronomy 2:7) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Bible is the story of God's promise, made to a fallen world: the promise of a Savior. It tells the story of God's people through whom His only-begotten Son took on flesh in the earthly family of Abraham, Isaac, David, Judah, David, and that whole line of chosen people. The eyewitness testimony of the Gospels and the instruction and teaching of Christ delivered by the apostles means the whole Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is about Jesus. St. Jerome was one of the early Church fathers whose great gift to the Church was the translation of the Old and New Testaments into Latin, from the Hebrew and Greek. This version of the Bible is known as the Vulgate, because it was in the "common tongue" of La

Today's Reading: Luke 10:17-20 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:19-36; Matthew 5:21-48 And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." (Luke 10:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. When did Satan fall like lightning from heaven? Was it early on when he first rebelled against God and was cast down? Was it when Jesus died and cried out, "It is finished!"? Was Jesus talking about all the preaching done by the seventy men He sent out? The answer is "yes!" "Satan" means "accuser." He's the guy who tells God you don't belong with God because you're a sinner. But Jesus' death takes away our sins, so now the devil has nothing on you. No accusations. No evidence. But he still tries to slither up to heaven and tell God you can't be there. So whenever the preaching of the Gospel happens, boom! Satan is cast down like lightning. When someone is baptized, Satan gets the boot. When a Christian is absolved of her sins, the devil is sent packing. When a pastor proclaims the death and resurrection of Jes

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17:17-24 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 1:1-18; Matthew 5:1-20 So she said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?" (1 Kings 17:18) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Yep. A tragedy. The widow's son died. God must be mad at her. That's what she thinks. That's what we think. If something bad happens, we wonder, "What did I do?" That's how we think God works. That's pretty much how the world thinks God works, too, which is why most people say they don't believe in Him. The Lord allows the woman's son to die so that Elijah can raise him from the dead. What seems a tragedy is for this woman an example of God's mercy and love in restoring her son. It's also a reminder that God will give His own Son into death for the purpose of raising you from the dead. Death is guaranteed. Nobody gets out of it. It's going to catch you some day. Could be tomorrow. Could be years from now. One way or another, though, it

Today's Reading: Luke 7:11-17 Daily Lectionary: Malachi 3:6-4:6; Matthew 4:12-25 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." (Luke 7:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Wait a minute. How is it "compassionate" to tell a woman who has lost her son not to weep? Really, Jesus? She's a widow, which means she's already lost her husband. Now she's lost her only son. And you tell her not to cry? It's like Jesus thinks He has power over death or something. Maybe that's because He knows He will suffer and die, and on the Third Day rise again. He knows that when He is raised from the dead, death has no more dominion over Him. And if death has no dominion over Jesus, it has no power over you, who are baptized into His death and resurrection. We fear death. We don't like to think about death. We don't like to deal with death. But it's here. All around us. What Jesus teaches us is that rather than accept death as a "natural part of life," we are to treat it like an enemy who has bee

Today's Reading: Introit for the 16th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 86:1, 7, 12-13; antiphon: v. 3, 5) Daily Lectionary: Malachi 2:1-3:5; Matthew 4:1-11 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. (From the Introit for the 16th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We go to birthday parties because we are celebrating a person's life. We go to graduations because we are celebrating someone's academic accomplishments. We go to events most often because we are remembering something that happened and celebrating that event: Think of 4th of July fireworks or a Memorial Day parade. Tomorrow we'll go to church to celebrate something. We'll go to remember and to be gathered together with others who are remembering and celebrating. What exactly? We're celebrating that Jesus died and rose and delivered us from sin and death! The psalmist reminds us in the word

Daily Lectionary: Malachi 1:1-14; Matthew 3:1-17 "I have loved you," says the Lord. "Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" Says the Lord. "Yet Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness." (Malachi 1:2-3). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Whoa! Why is the Lord talking about hating someone? He is responding to Israel, who said, "God doesn't love us!" Really? Have you ever thought that God doesn't love you? He's got it in for you? What did you ever do to make God mad at you so that He's making your life so hard? That's not how the Lord operates. He tells His people that though Esau and Jacob were twin brothers, He chose Jacob to be the one to carry the promises of the Savior through His line. Later on, when Esau's descendant, the nation of Edom, picked on Israel, the Lord saved them. He rescued Israel so that someday from that chosen people, the Savior would be born. When you think God is ag

Today's Reading: Galatians 5:25-6:10 Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:22-38; 1 Timothy 6:3-21 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Bear one another's burdens. Carry their load. What Paul is getting at with those words is all about the forgiveness of sins. People mess up. They drag their sins around. They all have baggage. We all do. The Lord Jesus came to bear our burdens by bearing our sins. On Calvary, our sins were His sins. Our transgressions were His transgressions. Our iniquities were His iniquities. Our burdens were His to bear and leave behind in the grave when He rose on Easter. When Jesus rose from the dead, He didn't tell His disciples to go lay more burdens on people. He didn't tell them to straighten up and fix themselves. He didn't tell them to let people know they had better get right with God. Jesus sent His preachers to proclaim Good News, that sins are forgiven. Debts are cancelled. Burdens have been lifted and set asid

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 9:1-21; 1 Timothy 5:17-6:2 Who receives this sacrament worthily? Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training. But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." (Small Catechism: Sacrament of the Altar, pt.4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What makes you ready to receive Communion? Being a Lutheran? Memorizing the catechism? Many generations of young people have gone through the grueling experience of memorizing every last word of Luther's Small Catechism. Many have had to stand in church and have questions hurled at them to see whether they've learned it all. Is that what makes you finally "worthy" enough to get Jesus' Body and Blood? Learning the catechism is certainly fine training. It's good to know what God's Word says. It's good to memorize the Bible and catechism and hide God's Word in our hearts. It's good to be

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17:8-16 Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 7:1-4; 8:1-18; 1 Timothy 5:1-16 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son." (1 Kings 17:13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How rude! Elijah the prophet met a widow and asked for a little something to eat. She had very little left and it was just enough for a last meal with her son. But Elijah insists she make him food first! How rude! Surprisingly, he is not being selfish. He's teaching her that God promises to take care of her. She prepared food for him and her little jars of oil and flour never ran out until the famine was over! Do you give an offering at your church? An offering is a sacrifice on our part so that the pastor who takes care of us can be paid and the needs of the church be met: heat, air, electric, and so on. Our offerings make sure our pastor can take care of his family and the church can take care

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:9-13 Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 5:1-16; 6:1-9, 15-16; 1 Timothy 4:1-16 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. (Matthew 9:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Matthew was a tax collector. He worked for the hated Romans to make sure the Jewish people paid their taxes to the pagan emperor. His job was to tell people what they owed. His job was to collect what was due. Then Jesus shows up. He calls Matthew from being a tax collector to being an apostle, a witness to His life and death and resurrection, and a preacher of that Good News. Jesus turns Matthew from a guy who tells people what they owe into a herald proclaiming that they no longer owe anything to God. Matthew has gone from being a debt-collector to a debt releaser! The Greek word "evangelion" is translated "Gospel" and it literally means "Good News." Not bad news. Not scary news. Good News that cheers our hearts and

Today's Reading: Matthew 6:24-34 Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 4:7-23; 1 Timothy 3:1-16 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. How do you know that God will take care of you? Look at your car windshield. See? He's feeding the birds! They've got food! So He'll take care of you, too. Birds have food. Lilies look like they're dressed beautifully. They are just birds and flowers! You are worth way more to your heavenly Father than those things! That's because the Son of God didn't become a bird or a lily. He became man. A human being. One of us. Like you. He did that so He could take your sin and death and make them His own to rescue you from those things forever. If God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up to the death of the Cross, don't you think He'll make sure you have enough to eat and something to wear? Of course He will. In fact, Jesus is