WELS Daily Devotions

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261109dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city.
Isaiah 52:1

Rise and Shine!

Wake-up calls aren’t always pleasant, but they are necessary. The sound of the early morning alarm can be a shock to your system when you’re sleeping peacefully. However, it’s even more unpleasant when you miss the alarm and realize you’re late. You missed your flight, or you’re late for work.

God gives plenty of...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261108dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

Let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:6

A Cure For Your Sleepiness

Have you ever heard about a condition called sleep apnea? If you or a family member has this condition, you already know all about it. Here’s a quick description for the rest of us: A major symptom of sleep apnea is chronic sleepiness. You tend to feel sluggish and fatigued all the time, even when you’ve had...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261107dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

[Jesus said] “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Matthew 5:8

The Pure in Heart

There is an important truth that Jesus brings to mind in this Bible verse. We can’t fool God. There is no covering for false notions or hidden deception. God looks right through the outward evidence and inspects the inner motivation. He is looking for the pure in heart.

What is the measure for the kind of purity that Jesus talks...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261106dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “the righteous will live by faith.”
Romans 1:17

Good Enough for Heaven

Are you good enough for God? Have you done enough good and avoided enough of the bad to be on God’s good side? How do you know for sure? Will all the good and kind things you have said and done be enough in the end...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261105dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – righteousness that is by faith from first to last.
Romans 1:17

True Religion

According to Google, there are an estimated 4,000 to 10,000 distinct religions in the world. On the surface, they can all seem quite different from each other. When it comes down to it, though, all of them, with one exception, depend to some degree on the person to do the right things at the right time. All these thousands of re...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261104dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.
Romans 1:16

Salvation is One Hundred Percent Jesus

‘I believe in Jesus, and I am a good person.’ ‘I believe in Jesus, and I have never killed anyone or stolen anything.’ ‘I believe in Jesus, and I give lots of my time and money to various charities.’ Jesus and something else, is a common religion in America today. If you were to...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261103dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.
Isaiah 25:9

His Salvation, Not Mine

I used to play golf. I wasn’t in a league or anything, but I played frequently enough over the course of the summer to feel like I could call myself a golfer. Truthfully, I wasn’t any good, but I liked to try. Even though my ball ended up more often in the woods than on the fair...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261102dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

[H]e will swallow up death forever.
Isaiah 25:8

A Tough Pill to Swallow

As a parish pastor, I have visited many people over the years. It has been a blessing to minister to people in their homes, hospital rooms, and assisted living facilities. Often on such visits, we end up sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying good conversation. Often, as we gather around the table, I will notice that an individual has several containers of prescription medication. I have seen...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261101dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

[Jesus said] “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God”
Matthew 5:8

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Thick walls of water rushing over the falls and shattering into mists on the rocks below. A spectacular sunset streaking red and orange beams across the darkening blue sky. My wife walking down the aisle at our wedding. Lotus blossoms so thick they lay a purple and green carpet across the pond.

These are just some of the beau...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261031dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

“My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
Daniel 6:22-23

Trust in God

To what degree will...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261030dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Romans 3:27-28

No Boasting Allowed

We live in a world that continually encourages boasting. From polished resumes to carefully curated social media feeds, we are conditioned to present our best selves, tally our achievements, and prove our worth. Tragically...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261029dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:25-26

No Sweeping Allowed

When you are expecting company and short on time, it’s temp...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261028dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:22-24

In the Same Boat

Human nature loves hierarchy. We naturally take comfort in measuring ourselves against the people around us. We might admit that we aren’t perfect, but we quietly reassure ourselves that at least we aren’t as bad as “those...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261027dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
Romans 3:21-22

Given, Not Gained

We are wired to earn our keep. From the classroom to the workplace, the world operates with a simple, unbreakable rule: you get what you earn. And our fallen flesh assumes God’s kingdom must work the same way. We lo...

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20261026dev.mp3

Listen to Devotion

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Romans 3:19-20

We’ve Had a Problem

On April 13, 1970, an oxygen tank exploded aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft. Drifting into the dark vacu...