Before You Can Love Your Neighbor
This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: Who Is My Neighbor? (WATCH HERE)
Luke 10:25–29 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
The lawyer who approached Jesus thought he was asking the right question. “Who is my neighbor?” It sounds like a reasonable question. Surely there must be some limit to our responsibility. Surely there must be a line that separates those we are called to love from those we are not.
But Jesus never answers the question the man asks. Instead, He tells a story that exposes something much deeper.
The lawyer wanted to justify himself. Jesus wanted to save him.
That difference is significant.
It is easy to hear the parable of the Good Samaritan and immediately think about what we should do. We should help people in need. We should be compassionate. We should love sacrificially. Those are all true conclusions, but they are not the first conclusion.
Before we see ourselves in the Samaritan, we must first see ourselves as the man lying helpless on the road.
Sin has left every one of us spiritually beaten, stripped, and unable to save ourselves. We were not simply wounded. We were dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). No amount of moral effort could heal us. No religious performance could restore us. Like the traveler, we were completely dependent on someone else’s mercy.
Then Jesus came.
He did not pass by. He did not avoid our brokenness. He entered it. He took our sin upon Himself, carried our guilt to the cross, and paid the debt we could never pay. Isaiah says, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering” (Isaiah 53:4). Our Savior became the One who stopped, stooped, and saved.
Everything changes when we realize that we are first the recipients of mercy.
Think about a person rescued from a raging flood. They spend the rest of their lives grateful for the firefighter who carried them to safety. They never boast about rescuing themselves. They simply remember the one who did.
That is the Christian life.
Our acts of love do not earn God’s favor. They flow from hearts that have already received His grace. God’s people love because Christ first loved them.
When you know what it means to be rescued, you begin to see everyone else differently.
You no longer ask, “Who deserves my love?”
Instead, you thank God that He loved someone as undeserving as you…and then extend that love to others.
Reflect: How does seeing yourself as the one rescued by Christ change the way you read this parable? Is there someone difficult to love whom you can now view through the lens of the mercy Jesus has shown you?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for finding me when I was helpless in my sin. You did not pass me by, but came to rescue me with Your perfect love and sacrifice. Fill my heart with gratitude for Your mercy, and let that mercy overflow into the way I love and serve those around me. Amen.
The Gift of Hope
This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: Touched by Grace! (WATCH HERE)
Luke 17:17–19 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
As the one healed man knelt before Jesus, he discovered something greater than physical healing.
Jesus said, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
The Greek word Jesus uses carries a deeper meaning than simply being healed. It is the language of salvation. While all ten experienced restored bodies, this man received something infinitely greater. He trusted the One who alone could give eternal life.
That is our greatest hope.
As Americans celebrate 250 years of history, we rightly thank God for His providence through generations. We remember sacrifices made, freedoms preserved, and blessings enjoyed. But history also reminds us that every earthly kingdom is temporary. Nations rise and fall. Economies flourish and falter. Leaders come and go.
Our hope rests somewhere stronger.
The Apostle Peter describes believers as those who have been given “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). Our future is not built on political stability or economic prosperity. It is built on an empty tomb.
That hope changes everything.
When illness comes, Christ is still risen.
When loved ones die, Christ is still risen.
When the future seems uncertain, Christ is still risen.
When our nation struggles, Christ is still risen.
The same Savior who healed the lepers continues to reign over all things for the good of His Church. Nothing catches Him by surprise. Nothing can separate us from His love.
That does not make us careless citizens. On the contrary, Christians pray for their leaders, seek the good of their communities, and give thanks for the freedoms God provides. But we do so knowing that our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, where Christ reigns forever.
One day, every effect of sin will be removed forever. There will be no disease, no mourning, no division, no death. The healing the lepers experienced was only a foretaste of the complete restoration Christ has promised all who trust in Him.
Until that day, we live with grateful hearts.
We thank God for the blessings of this life.
We serve our neighbors with joy.
We worship our Savior with confidence.
And we look ahead with hope.
For the best is still to come.
Reflect: Where are you tempted to place your hope in earthly things instead of in Christ’s eternal promises? How does the certainty of the resurrection shape the way you face uncertainty today?
Prayer: Risen Savior, thank You for giving me a living hope that can never fade or fail. Thank You for Your faithful care throughout every season of life and for the many blessings You have poured out on our nation through the years. Keep my eyes fixed on the eternal kingdom You have prepared for me. Fill my heart with joyful hope until the day I stand before You in perfect thanksgiving forever. Amen.
The Gift of Community
This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: Touched by Grace! (WATCH HERE)
Luke 17:11–13 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
Leprosy did more than damage a person’s body. It separated people from everyone they loved.
The lepers could not live with their families. They could not gather for worship. They could not participate in the life of the community. They stood at a distance, isolated and alone.
When Jesus healed them, He restored much more than their health. He restored relationships.
Isolation has always been one of Satan’s favorite tools. He whispers that we are alone in our struggles, forgotten in our pain, unnoticed in our failures. Yet from the beginning, God has created His people for community.
The Church is one of His greatest gifts of grace.
Through the Gospel, God gathers people who otherwise would have little in common. Young and old. Rich and poor. Different backgrounds, personalities, and life stories. Yet all are united by the same Savior, washed in the same Baptism, nourished by the same body and blood, and strengthened by the same Word.
What a remarkable gift.
As we remember 250 years of our nation’s history, we also remember countless congregations where God’s people have gathered week after week. Churches have stood through wars and peace, prosperity and hardship, baptizing children, comforting the grieving, proclaiming forgiveness, and pointing sinners to Christ. While governments rise and fall, Christ continues building His Church.
That is where lasting hope is found.
The writer to the Hebrews urges us, “Let us not give up meeting together… but encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25). We need one another because we all need Christ. Sometimes He encourages us through a friend’s conversation. Sometimes through a hymn sung by the congregation. Sometimes through a pastor’s sermon or a fellow believer’s quiet prayer.
God rarely intends us to walk alone.
This week, thank God for the people He has placed in your life. Your family. Your congregation. The friends who pray for you. The saints who have gone before you. These relationships are not accidents. They are gifts of His grace.
Reflect: How has God used your church family to strengthen your faith over the years? Is there someone God may be calling you to encourage or reconnect with this week?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for gathering me into Your family through faith. Thank You for my congregation and for fellow believers who encourage me in Your Word. Help me never to take this gift for granted. Use me to encourage others, to bear one another’s burdens, and to reflect Your love within the body of Christ. Amen.
The Gift of Daily Provisions
This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: Touched by Grace! (WATCH HERE)
Luke 17:11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
It is much harder to notice His ordinary blessings.
The ten lepers certainly recognized the miracle of their healing, but once they were restored, they stepped back into ordinary life. There would be meals to prepare, work to do, homes to maintain, families to embrace. In many ways, the miracle gave them back something wonderfully ordinary.
Perhaps that is one of God’s greatest gifts.
Our Father delights in caring for His children through ordinary means. Every loaf of bread, every paycheck, every rainfall, every sunrise, every conversation around the dinner table comes from His gracious hand. Luther reminds us in his explanation of the Fourth Petition that daily bread includes “everything needed for this body and life.” It includes faithful spouses, good government, peace, health, favorable weather, honest friends, and good neighbors.
How quickly we overlook these gifts because they are so familiar.
As our nation celebrates 250 years of God’s providential care, we have much for which to thank Him. Throughout generations He has provided fertile fields, abundant harvests, innovation, opportunity, and resources beyond what much of the world has known. None of these blessings happened by accident. James reminds us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:17).
Still, God’s greatest provision is not found in our pantry or our bank account.
Jesus once said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry” (John 6:35). Every earthly gift points us to the One who satisfies our deepest need. Christ nourishes our souls through His Word. He strengthens our faith through His Sacraments. He feeds us with His promises again and again.
When we recognize that every blessing comes from our heavenly Father, complaining begins to lose its grip. Gratitude grows where entitlement once lived. Even difficult days become opportunities to trust that God is still providing exactly what we need.
Perhaps one of the best spiritual disciplines is simply learning to notice.
Notice the meal before you.
Notice the people around your table.
Notice the roof over your head.
Notice the Scriptures in your hands.
Notice the forgiveness spoken into your ears.
These are not ordinary accidents. They are extraordinary gifts from an extraordinary God.
Like the one healed man, may we pause long enough to recognize the Giver before rushing on to enjoy His gifts.
Reflect: Which ordinary blessings have become so familiar that you seldom thank God for them? How might intentionally thanking God for His daily provision change your outlook this week?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, every good gift comes from You. Thank You for providing all that I need for body and soul. Forgive me for the times I overlook Your daily mercies or assume I have earned them. Open my eyes to see Your loving hand in both extraordinary and ordinary blessings, and keep my heart content in Christ, the Bread of Life. Amen.
The Gift of Freedom
This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: Touched by Grace! (WATCH HERE)
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Imagine what happened after the ten lepers heard the priest declare them clean.
For the first time in years, they could hug their families. They could return to work. They could worship with God’s people. They could reenter the life they had lost. Their isolation was over. Their future had been restored.
Jesus had not merely healed their skin. He had given them freedom.
Freedom is one of God’s precious gifts. As we celebrate 250 years of our nation, it is appropriate to thank God for the freedoms many of us have enjoyed throughout our lives. The freedom to worship without fear. The freedom to speak openly about Christ. The freedom to gather as His Church and proclaim the Gospel. These are blessings that millions of Christians around the world have never experienced.
Yet even these cherished freedoms point us to an even greater liberty.
The Apostle Paul writes, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). He is not speaking first about political freedom or personal independence. He is speaking about freedom from the tyranny of sin, death, and the devil.
Before Christ found us, we were not free. Sin promised satisfaction but delivered slavery. We could not rescue ourselves any more than the lepers could heal themselves. Left to ourselves, we were captive to guilt and destined for eternal separation from God.
But Jesus entered our broken world and did what we could never do. Through His perfect life, His sacrificial death, and His glorious resurrection, He broke the chains of sin forever. In Baptism He united us with Himself. Through His Word He continues to assure us that our sins are forgiven. We are no longer condemned. We are no longer slaves. We are God’s beloved children.
That changes how we think about every earthly freedom.
Sometimes we speak as though freedom means doing whatever we want. Scripture paints a different picture. Christian freedom means being released from sin so that we are free to love God and serve our neighbor. The lepers were not healed simply to resume life as before. They were restored to worship, fellowship, and faithful living.
The same is true for us.
Our freedoms are not merely privileges to enjoy; they are opportunities to glorify God. We use our voices to speak truth and encouragement. We use our resources to bless others. We use our liberty to proclaim Christ to a world still captive to fear and hopelessness.
As our country remembers its founding, let us give thanks for the freedoms God has graciously preserved. But let us treasure even more the freedom Christ purchased with His own blood. No government can grant it, and no earthly power can take it away.
The one healed man returned to Jesus because he understood where true freedom began. His restored life found its highest purpose not in doing whatever he pleased, but in worshiping the One who had set him free.
May ours do the same.
Reflect: In what ways do you sometimes think of freedom primarily as personal independence instead of the freedom Christ has given you to love and serve? How can you use the freedoms God has entrusted to you this week to point someone to Jesus?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for setting me free from the guilt and power of sin. Thank You for the many earthly freedoms You have graciously given, especially the freedom to worship You and share Your Gospel. Teach me to use these gifts not for myself alone but for the good of my neighbor and the glory of Your name. Keep my heart anchored in the freedom that can never be taken away—the forgiveness and eternal life You have won for me. Amen.