Daily Reflections From Higher Things®

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 31:1-29; Matthew 19:16-30 "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 19:16-19) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The beginning of our text in Matthew has always boggled my mind. I've never been sure why the rich young man would say that he had kept all of the commandments since his youth. On top of that, when Christ answers his question, "What good deed must I do to have eternal life?" Christ points His finger to the pulse of the most important thing to the rich young man: his riches. As the rich young man walks away, he doesn't realize that he has broken each of the commandments, including lo

Today's Reading: John 15:12-21 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 30:1-20; Matthew 19:1-15 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also." (John 15:20) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Why do we have a special day to remember St. Simon and St. Jude? Why do we set aside days to remember any of the apostles? Weren't they just men? Are they any better than any other Christian? The apostles do hold a special place in the Church. They are the men who were eyewitnesses of Jesus' words and deeds and saw Him alive again after His resurrection. He called and ordained them to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins to the ends of the earth. And that's what they did, not even shrinking in the face of persecution and death. They gladly gave up their lives because they knew that if Jesus rose, they would rise, too. We don't commemorate apostles for their own sake but to be reminded th

Today's Reading: Ephesians 5:15-21 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 29:1-29; Matthew 18:21-35 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever heard someone say, "Do you know what the Lord's will is for your life?" Maybe that comes up in discussions about what job to get or what classes to take or what college to attend. Should I date this person? What career do I want to shoot for? Well, what is the Lord's will in all of those things? The Lord's will is this: that you be saved from your sins through faith in Christ Jesus, be raised from the dead and have eternal life. That's the Lord's will. He's accomplished that will for you in Jesus, who died for you and rose for you. He's brought that will to bear in your life by baptizing you and making you a part of His Church, feeding you with the Lord's Supper and putting His Word into your ears. His will is done when you hear and believe His Word. The "unwise" part that Paul warns u

Today's Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 28:1-22; Matthew 18:1-20 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. These words of Isaiah are often quoted when something disastrous happens that we were not expecting. As if We would never cause an earthquake or a baby to die, but things like this happen, so we often think God has something else up His sleeve. But these words of the prophet mean much more than just "God does stuff we don't understand." They mean that His whole way of dealing with us is just unthinkable and unfathomable because He doesn't give us what we deserve. When bad things happen, the Old Adam can only conclude that God is out to get us. Pay us back. Punish us. What the Old Adam doesn't understand is that everything that happens is given by God to drive us to Christ, who saves us without any of our own effort or merit or worthiness. God's ways are not our ways because He brings us into His

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:1-14 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 27:1-26; Matthew 17:14-27 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. (Matthew 22:10) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Being good doesn't get you into the Kingdom of God. Being bad doesn't keep you out. Jesus is teaching us that being brought to His wedding feast, being dragged in, is God's work, through His servants—His pastors who preach the Gospel. The man gets thrown out because he refuses to wear the customary wedding garment that was freely provided by the host. He doesn't want to live as one who is baptized. Maybe he thinks he's good enough to be there without a wedding garment. Maybe he just doesn't want to be there at all and doesn't care. Either way, it's not the host's fault the man has to be kicked out, it's the man's own fault. He is "speechless." He has no confession. He can't say, "I'm here because of your grace in inviting me

Today's Reading: Introit for the 20th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 48:1, 9-11; antiphon: Liturgical Text) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 25:17-26:19; Matthew 17:1-13 We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple. (From the Introit for the 20th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In the Lord's house, we think of lots of things besides His lovingkindness. In church, while we are singing and hearing the Word of God read and proclaimed, we often think about where we are going to eat after church. We think of the homework we have to do later. We think about that fight we had with someone. We think about that noisy kid a few pews up. We think about nothing at all. It seems that as soon as we're ready to hear God's Word, our sinful flesh tries to think about almost anything else. And while your mind is wandering? The promises of Jesus are declared. Proclaimed. They are preached into your ears. It is by those promises that the Holy Spirit grabs hold of you and keeps yo

Today's Reading: Acts 15:12-22 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 24:10-25:10; Matthew 16:13-28 But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." (Matthew 13:57) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. James, called the "brother" of Jesus, is the author of the epistle that bears his name. He was, as church tradition holds, stoned by the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem. James was not hated because he was misunderstood. He was hated and put to death because he preached Christ. As long as there are people in the world who think they are good enough NOT to need a Savior, they will prove to God how pious they are by getting rid of the people who teach the true Word of God. We shouldn't be surprised. Jesus said this would happen. Rather than some easy life full of material comforts, Jesus actually promises that His disciples will have persecution and suffering. It's no different than what happened to Jesus. James died for the same reason Jesus did. Those who think they were

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 21:1-23; Matthew 16:1-12 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the Sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth. (Matthew 12:39-40) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Sign. Sign. Everywhere a sign" (Five Man Electrical Band). The old song remains true except in the opposite way for the scribes and Pharisees. They wanted to see a sign from Jesus, but the time for signs as signals that Jesus is the Messiah had come to an end and it was time for the Messiah to do what He came to earth to do: die and be raised again. Christ looks to the people asking for a sign and says, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the si

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, Civil Government Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 20:1-20; Matthew 15:21-39 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrong-doer. (Romans 13:1–4) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christians are duty-bound to submit to the authorities placed over us. In the civil realm and the Church, our authorities are a protection and

Today's Reading: Ephesians 4:22-28 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 19:1-20; Matthew 15:1-20 ...that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Okay, the Old Man has got to go. Your Old man's conduct and behavior are terrible. Your ignoring God's Word, treating His Name like a cuss word, dishonoring your parents, killing others with your words and thoughts, your lust and desires for what isn't holy marriage, your taking what doesn't belong to you, your trash-talking others, your discontent with all that God has given you: It all. Must. Go. Then the New Man will get busy! The New Man lives in true righteousness and holiness. The New Man has not even a speck of sin in him and wants to do nothing but glorify God and serve others. The New Man wants to l

Today's Reading: Genesis 28:10-17 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 18:1-22; Matthew 14:22-36 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you." (Genesis 28:15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Most people operate with the idea that God is full of demands. Do this. Don't do that. Rules. Regulations. Watch your behavior. But if you read the Bible, you'll see that God is all about making promises to people who haven't really earned or deserved what He has to give them. Jacob was a liar and deceiver. He stole his brother's birthright and blessing. But Yahweh came to him, showed him Jesus (the ladder between heaven and earth) and promised to bless him with land and descendants and the future Savior from his family line. Jesus does the same thing. He makes promises, one after the other. "Come to me, you who are weary." "My Father will give you whatever you ask in my Name." "I will give my life for many."

Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 17:1-20; Matthew 14:1-21 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. (Luke 10:1) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What's in the Gospels? We call Luke an "evangelist" because he wrote one of the four Gospels. In that Gospel, he gives a careful account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and tells of many things Jesus said and did. When the apostles went to the ends of the earth preaching Christ, they were preaching what Luke would later put in his Gospel. The pastoral Office and the Scriptures go hand in hand. Preachers preach what is in the Bible. The Bible is what the preachers preach. And that's repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' Name, the Jesus who suffered and rose again for sinners (Luke 24:46-47). Jesus sent preachers to all the places He was about to go. So your preacher also goes where Jesus is about to go

Today's Reading: Introit for St. Luke, Evangelist (Psalm 92:1-5; antiphon: Luke 24:46-47) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 15:19-16:22; Matthew 13:44-58 "..and repentance toward (εἰς) the forgiveness of sins would be preached in His Name to all nations." (Luke 24.46-47) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It was necessary for the Christ to suffer, die, and rise again on the Third Day. Jesus did Good Friday and Easter for you and me! That's the good news that saves! But that Gospelly good work of Jesus does no good unless it is put into your ears. What was achieved on the Cross needs to be delivered to you and me! For the delivery of His saving work, Jesus sends His men like your pastor to preach in His Name. He doesn't just preach that you need to change and leave your sins through repentance. Nor does Jesus send His men to preach only the Gospel of forgiveness. No, Jesus sends His men to preach specifically "repentance towards the forgiveness of sins." Jesus died. You need to die, too. That's repentance! Leave yo

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 14:1-2, 22-23, 28-15:15; Matthew 13:24-43 "At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD's release." (Deuteronomy 15:1-2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Wouldn't that be great if after seven years mortgages were cancelled? Car payments were no more? Student loan payments were forgiven? The money you owed your friend was forgotten about? In Old Testament Israel, this was a command of Yahweh: that they forget their debts to one another after seven years. But God is not primarily concerned with financial debts. This forgiving of money debts was a picture of something bigger: the forgiveness of sins. Sin is like a debt. You've done something against someone. You owe them. Forgiveness means they don't hold it against you and you don't hold what they owe against them. Th

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 13:1-18; Matthew 13:1-23 ...you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 13:3). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There are lots of self-styled "prophets" out there. They think they speak God's Word. Some even sound like they do. Some might even predict things will happen that actually do! Though most are easily proven to be frauds and liars. So what do you do? How do you tell whether what they are teaching is true? You compare it with the Word of God which the Holy Spirit has given to us in the Scriptures. The Old Testament points us to Christ. The New Testament testifies of and preaches Christ. The whole Bible is about Christ. And not just any Christ, but the Christ who is true God and true man, who died on the Cross and rose again on the Third Day to take away our sins. Just about every false prophet and preacher

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Table of Duties, Hearers Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 12:13-32; Matthew 12:38-50 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Wow! What a great example of preaching and pastoral proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ we have in Matthew 12! It reads, "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, 'Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.' But he answered them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.'" This typological/Christological sermon should and must be preached at every sermon by a fa

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:26-12:12; Matthew 12:22-37 You come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:7-8) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Lots of people have this idea of Judgment Day as a time where you have to stand before God on the Last Day and face the record of your sins, unveiled for all to see. Sure, you might get a pass because of Jesus, but you've still got to face everything you've done. But Paul tells the Corinthians they will be blameless on the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. Blameless. Nothing to show. Nothing to pin on them. No sins to recount. No "permanent record" to go over. No waiting in line for your turn to "face the music" about everything you've ever said and done. The One who makes this true is Jesus. He has covered your sin and wiped it out by His blood, shed on the Cross. He has made

Today's Reading: Deuteronomy 10:12-21 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 11:1-25; Matthew 12:1-21 "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13) In the Name + of Jesus. If only it were that easy! Yahweh says, "Do this!" and we should just do it, right? Some people say that God would not have given us the commandments if we could not keep them. Paul says otherwise. He says the Law was given to "increase sin" and to show us that we CANNOT do it. There is only one person who walks in all of God's ways, loves Him, and serves Him with all His heart and soul and who keeps His commandments. That's Jesus. So the obvious question might be, "Well then, why does God give us the commandments? Why do we even bother?" Because the commandments sho

Today's Reading: Matthew 22:34-46 Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22; Matthew 11:20-30 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:40) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Love God. Love your neighbor. Every commandment teaches us to do one or the other. Our problem is that we do neither. Instead of loving God and others, we are turned inward, loving ourselves. God owes us a break. Other people should live to serve us. That's sin. Perhaps the man asks Jesus which is the greatest commandment so that he can try to keep it. That won't work, either. No, what has to happen is that all the Law and the Prophets hang on those two commandments. What are the Law and the Prophets? That refers to the Old Testament. What is the Old Testament about? The promise of a Savior. It's about Jesus. So let's try that: "On these two commandments hangs Jesus." Now we're getting to the heart of the Law's fulfillment. Jesus, as true God and man, loves both God the Father and His neighbor. On the Cro

Today's Reading: Introit for the 18th Sunday after Trinity (Psalm 122:1, 6, 8-9; antiphon: Liturgical Text) Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 9:1-22; Matthew 11:1-19 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." (From the Introit for the 18th Sunday after Trinity) In the Name of + Jesus. Amen. Sometimes Pastor's right on point with his sermon. Sometimes the organ lifts you up into the heavens. Sometimes you're surrounded by the full-throated voices of 2,000 youth singing the hardest hymns in the book in four-part harmony at a Higher Things conference, and you think that even heaven can't be this good. But sometimes it can be a real drag going to church. Sometimes Pastor preaches boring sermons. Sometimes he chants like an alley cat. Sometimes the organist hits as many wrong notes as she hits right ones And sometimes, you were just up late last night partying—er, studying. What's there to be glad about?!? "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'" (Psalm