David Bahn – Reflections

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These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Hosea 3-5, Psalm 35.

Hosea 3:1-5

And the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” ² So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. ³ And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” ⁴ For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. ⁵ Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.

I have often said that the Old Testament is one giant object lesson on what does not work. That’s an overstatement, of course, but there is an important truth behind it. It isn’t that God’s ways fail. Rather, sinful people repeatedly reject even God’s greatest gifts.

God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. They still rebelled and brought sin, death, and decay into the world. God led Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Yet while Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments, the people fashioned and worshiped a golden calf. They demanded a king like the nations around them, and we’ve been reading for weeks how that turned out. Again and again, God’s people abandoned him to worship the false gods of the nations.

The overarching story of the Old Testament teaches us that something greater would be needed if God’s people were to live as he intended—for their good and for the blessing of the nations.

Today’s reading begins with another object lesson. God commands Hosea to redeem his unfaithful wife, Gomer. There is much to grieve in this account. Gomer has been unfaithful, yet Hosea purchases her back. The price he pays is only half the normal price of a slave, and he calls her to faithfulness as they begin life together again.

Through Hosea, God promises that although Israel will go into exile because of her unfaithfulness, he will not abandon her. He himself will redeem her and bring her home.

This is the story of the Gospel. We, too, have been unfaithful in countless ways. Yet Christ has purchased us—not with silver or gold, but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. As Luther beautifully explains in the Small Catechism, Jesus is our Lord because he has redeemed us. He is not our Lord because he has exercised his great power over us, but because he has bought us back from sin, death, and the power of the devil.

We are his. And he is our Lord.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 2 Chronicles 31, Hosea 1-2, Psalm 34.

Hosea 2:11-15, 21, 23

I will put an end to all her mirth,
    her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths,
    and all her appointed feasts.
¹² And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
    of which she said,
‘These are my wages,
    which my lovers have given me.’
I will make them a forest,
    and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
¹³ And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals
    when she burned offerings to them
and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,
    and went after her lovers
    and forgot me, declares the LORD.

¹⁴ “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
    and bring her into the wilderness,
    and speak tenderly to her.
¹⁵ And there I will give her her vineyards
    and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
    as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

²¹ “And in that day I will answer, declares the LORD,
²³ …I will have mercy on No Mercy,
    and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’;
    and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”

Have you ever had to make a sudden U-turn? I did—just today, in fact. And it almost didn’t end well. After completing the U-turn, I started back onto the road I was supposed to be on and nearly got hit by an oncoming car! I’d like to blame the tall grass that blocked my view, but that wouldn’t have been a problem had I not needed to make the U-turn in the first place. I had taken a wrong turn that required not only a U-turn, but another turn to get back on course. My bad. My very bad.

I was reminded of that incident when I read the seemingly sudden change of heart recorded by Hosea:

“And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals…

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.”
(Hosea 2:13–14)

One verse God is promising to punish his wayward and unfaithful bride. The next he is speaking tenderly to her. Why this sudden reversal? What made God change his mind? Where did those tender words of kindness and grace come from?

They came from the heart of God. They were always there.

Jeremiah puts it this way:

“Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.” (Lamentations 3:32–33)

God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He delights in mercy and rejoices with all the angels of heaven when one sinner repents.

In Hosea, God is promising to bring Israel to that place of repentance. He’s describing the great reversal that many lifelong Christians know little of. It’s the stuff of death-row conversions, the thief on the cross, and the centurion standing at the cross of Jesus. There are moments when we come face to face with the depth of our own sin and realize how poor and miserable we truly are. We see our desperate need for God’s mercy and forgiving grace, and we turn to him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God is always waiting there when we make that moral U-turn. It’s called repentance. It begins with sorrow over our sin and is completed by faith in Jesus. Then comes the fruit of repentance (Matthew 3:8). The reversal that is needed is not God’s, but ours.

Martin Luther opened his Ninety-five Theses with these words: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he willed that the entire life of believers should be one of repentance.” And God is even more ready to receive us with joy than we are to return to him. He delights to call us his children, to forgive our sins, to lavish his grace upon us, and to hold us close in his steadfast love.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 2 Kings 18, 2 Chronicles, 29-30, Psalm 33.

2 Chronicles 29:31-36

Then Hezekiah said, “You have now consecrated yourselves to the LORD. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. ³² The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. ³³ And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. ³⁴ But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. ³⁵ Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was the fat of the peace offerings, and there were the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the LORD was restored. ³⁶ And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.

It would be good if the challenge facing our church body were because too many people wanted to worship God and we simply needed to re-consecrate pastors who had been disengaged from their pastoral calling. That, however, is not the case. More about that later.

But that was the case in the days of Hezekiah. The king had instigated a significant revival of the faithful practices of David. He was diligent to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to do so in the forms that had been prescribed in the Law of Moses. But it proved to be a sudden need. People were coming to Jerusalem at Hezekiah’s urging. They desired to honor God faithfully at the Temple. But there were not enough priests to make all the sacrifices.

So they did an extraordinary thing: they enlisted the Levites to help with the Temple sacrifices. And this even before all the priests were fully consecrated. This is noted in 2 Chronicles 30:17-19:

Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the LORD. ¹⁸ For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon everyone ¹⁹ who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.”

The episode ends with this summary:

So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.
2 Chronicles 30:26-27

Our challenges today are similar. We do not have enough pastors to serve God’s people in the congregations of our LCMS church body. This is true in many other church bodies as well. There is a near crisis of the shortage of pastors. I know this because I work with churches that are seeking to call a pastor. Jesus’ words ring clear: “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.”

My preferred solution to this crisis is to find more ways to train faithful pastors. This is a controversial idea for some (many?) in our church body, and I won’t go into all the reasons for my conviction here. But wherever people fall in that debate, we all agree on this: we must pray that the Lord of the harvest will send laborers into his harvest fields.

Why does Jesus call us to pray for laborers? Because he has not saved us merely so that we can go to heaven. God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. That truth is wonderfully simple: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” His Son also told his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And he has promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Let the blessings flow. Let the people hear. Let God be praised!

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 25-27, Psalm 32.

Isaiah 25:6-12

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
⁷ And he will swallow up on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    the veil that is spread over all nations.
⁸     He will swallow up death forever;
and the LORD God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    for the LORD has spoken.
⁹ It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the LORD; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Isaiah 25–27 comes as an unexpected relief and a delightful respite from the previous chapters. Those expressed chapter after chapter of judgment against Judah, Israel, and the nations—and then after describing God’s judgment upon the whole earth—Isaiah suddenly points his people toward the future God has prepared for his people.

The devastation of sin and rebellion will not have the last word. Death will be swallowed up forever. Every enemy of God’s people will be defeated. Hopelessness will give way to joy. Exiles will be gathered home. A great feast of celebration will be prepared on God’s holy mountain.

These are breathtaking promises! They are not wishful thinking, but the sure and certain future God has prepared for all who trust in him.

Some think the answer to suffering is euthanasia. But that is not God’s answer. His answer is not to hasten death, but to destroy it. He promises to swallow up death forever. He will wipe away every tear and heal every wound. He will redeem, restore, and rescue his people from every enemy—physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental. His answer is to dwell with his people forever, surrounding them with the abundance of his grace, love, comfort, and salvation.

These are the promises fulfilled in Jesus.

I use these words often in Christian funeral services. I love the imagery of the feast of fine meats and choice wines. Death is painfully real, it is not the end of the story. Christ has conquered death, and the day is coming when it will be swallowed up forever. There is a feast of victory awaiting us. That’s the hope we proclaim at every Christian funeral.

I think of these promises in another setting as well. When I have the privilege of dismissing God’s people after the Lord’s Supper, I love to remind them, “The Lord is with you.” That’s more than a promise of his presence. It is a promise of his favor, protection, comfort, and love. Every celebration of the Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the great feast Isaiah describes, where one day we shall be with the Lord forever.

Paul also echoes Isaiah’s words in 1 Corinthians 15, the great resurrection chapter, where he proclaims Christ’s victory over death. And on the Great Last Day, we will join Isaiah and all the redeemed in saying:

“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the LORD; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:9)

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 22-24; Psalm 31.

Isaiah 22:5-13

For the LORD God of hosts has a day
    of tumult and trampling and confusion
    in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
    and a shouting to the mountains.
⁶ And Elam bore the quiver
    with chariots and horsemen,
    and Kir uncovered the shield.
⁷ Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
    and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
⁸ He has taken away the covering of Judah.

In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, ⁹ and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, ¹⁰ and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. ¹¹ You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.

¹² In that day the LORD God of hosts
    called for weeping and mourning,
    for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
¹³ and behold, joy and gladness,
    killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
    eating flesh and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”

God’s word through the prophet Isaiah (22:11) is a powerful indictment of misplaced trust. A day of calamity, tumult, and confusion was coming upon Jerusalem, and the people strengthened their walls and built reservoirs. Yet instead of turning to the LORD in repentance and seeking his mercy, they entrusted themselves to their own resources. The LORD says,

“But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.”

Jerusalem wasn’t condemned for building a reservoir. They were condemned for trusting the reservoir instead of the God who provides the water. Rather than seeking his mercy and help, they pushed him so far into the background that he was scarcely a factor in their lives, even as calamity approached.

Every generation builds reservoirs.

We who follow Jesus are no different. Do we worry more about health insurance than seeking God’s healing hand? Are we more concerned about retirement accounts, politics, medicine, military strength, or technology than the God who gives these gifts? There is nothing wrong with any of these provisions. The danger comes when we begin trusting the gifts more than the Giver.

Misplaced trust eventually leads somewhere. God had called his people to weep and mourn, but instead they chose to “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” This is the hopelessness of life without God. It is the philosophy of people who have placed their hope in themselves rather than in the One who alone can save.

Christians live differently because Christ has come to redeem us. He gave his life to save us and rose from the dead to give us a living hope. Yet there are times when the Lord uses calamity, tumult, and confusion to turn our eyes away from ourselves and back to him. When we finally discover the limits of our own reservoirs, we also discover the abundance of his grace. He delights to come to our aid and provide a far greater salvation than anything we could ever provide for ourselves.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 13-15, Psalm 28.

Isaiah 15:1a, 5-6

An oracle concerning Moab.

⁵ My heart cries out for Moab;
    her fugitives flee to Zoar,
    to Eglath-shelishiyah.
For at the ascent of Luhith
    they go up weeping;
on the road to Horonaim
    they raise a cry of destruction;
⁶ the waters of Nimrim
    are a desolation;
the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,
    the greenery is no more.

Today’s reading presents a challenge for a devotional writer. Usually there is some glimmer of hope, some ray of grace, some passage to lift up for our consideration. At first glance, today’s reading seems to offer none of that. It is almost entirely judgment as God speaks woe over one nation after another through the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 13–15 begins a series of oracles announcing God’s judgment against the nations. Babylon, Philistia, and Moab all come under the Lord’s righteous judgment for their pride, idolatry, and rebellion. The God of Israel is revealed as the sovereign Lord of all peoples, holding every nation accountable to his righteous standards and bringing down every kingdom that exalts itself against him.

It becomes clear through these judgments that the LORD is not a regional deity. He is not consigned to govern famine, fertility, sex, or thunder. He rules over all the nations of the earth. His standards of morality and faithfulness are universal.

The nations surrounding Israel trusted in gods such as Marduk of Babylon, Dagon and Baal among the Philistines, and Chemosh of Moab. These so-called gods were believed to grant victory, prosperity, and protection. But Isaiah scarcely acknowledges them, for they are no rivals to the LORD, who alone rules over all nations and holds every people accountable to his righteous judgment.

Yet in the midst of these relentless pronouncements of judgment, Isaiah suddenly opens a window into the very heart of God:

“My heart cries out for Moab…” (Isaiah 15:5)

What a remarkable statement! The very God who announces judgment also grieves over those who stand under it.

It reminds me of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37)

Jesus came in the name of the LORD, calling people to repentance and faith. Yet he did more than announce God’s judgment. He came to bear it.

The God whose heart cried out for Moab is the same God who wept over Jerusalem. And the Savior who wept over Jerusalem stretched out his arms on the cross to bear the judgment that sinners deserved.

God’s warnings are never empty threats. Neither are his tears empty emotion. Both reveal his holy love—a God who hates sin, grieves over its consequences, and, in Christ, has done everything necessary to rescue those who trust in him.

That is the God Isaiah proclaimed. And that is the heart of God Jesus Christ has revealed to us.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 2 Chronicles 28, 2 Kings 16-17, Psalm 27.

2 Chronicles 28:8-15

The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters [from Judah]. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. ⁹ But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage that has reached up to heaven. ¹⁰ And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the LORD your God? ¹¹ Now hear me, and send back the captives from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.”

¹² Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim … stood up against those who were coming from the war ¹³ and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the LORD in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.” ¹⁴ So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the assembly. ¹⁵ And the men who have been mentioned by name rose and took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, and anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho, the city of palm trees. Then they returned to Samaria.

Imagine Jesus talking with Peter, James, and John.

I’ve been thinking about the day when the men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their own relatives—women, sons, and daughters. Do you remember that account from Israel’s history? They intended to carry them away and treat them shamefully. What a tragic day that was.

Of course, there is no record of Jesus ever saying such a thing. But he was there. Before his incarnation, the eternal Son of God witnessed it all. Their rage had reached to heaven. It was a horrific chapter in the history of God’s people—tragic, shameful, almost beyond imagination.

When I read passages like this, I find myself reacting the way I did as a child while watching The Wizard of Oz. When the flying monkeys appeared, my mother would gently remind me, “It’s not real.” Sometimes I read the Old Testament that way. Surely this couldn’t have happened. Surely people couldn’t treat one another so cruelly.

But they did.

Yet notice what happened next.

Some of the leaders of Ephraim confronted the victorious army, and the captives were released. Then we read these remarkable words:

“The men… took the captives, and with the spoil they clothed all who were naked among them. They clothed them, gave them sandals, provided them with food and drink, anointed them, and carrying all the feeble among them on donkeys, they brought them to their kinsfolk at Jericho…” (2 Chronicles 28:15)

Does that sound familiar?

Years later, Jesus would tell a story about a Samaritan who found a man beaten, robbed, and left for dead. He bandaged his wounds, cared for him, placed him on his own animal, and brought him to safety. I cannot help but wonder whether Jesus was calling to mind this remarkable account when he told the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In both accounts, God’s mercy interrupts human misery through ordinary people willing to act.

Notice who the heroes are. They are the ones who see a neighbor in need and act.

After all, this is what Christ has done for us. He took on our flesh. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, welcomed the outcast, and laid down his life for the sins of the world. He has clothed us with his own righteousness, and one day he will bring us safely home.

Until that day, he places people in our path who need the same kindness, compassion, and mercy he has first shown to us. Our acts of kindness and compassion do more than meet human needs—they reflect the very heart of God. Whenever we take the opportunity to relieve another person’s suffering, God uses us to interrupt human misery with his mercy.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Micah 5-7, Psalm 26.

Micah 5:2-5

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days.
³ Therefore he shall give them up until the time
    when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
    to the people of Israel.
⁴ And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
    to the ends of the earth.
⁵ And he shall be their peace.

“Big gifts come in small packages.” Did you learn that growing up? I did. And, as a child, I wasn’t convinced. I wanted the big packages. Little packages might have held some supposed treasure—at least by adults’ standards—but not for me. Give me the biggest box under the Christmas tree.

When it comes to churches, many people think the same way. Surely the biggest churches have the greatest treasures to offer. Often they do—a large choir or outstanding praise band, vibrant children’s and youth ministries, thriving Bible studies, gifted staff, excellent facilities, and an abundance of volunteers. Good things often come in large packages.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. I served in a large congregation for many years, and the quality of the staff, programs, facilities, and depth of talent was remarkable. It was an honor to serve there, and God used that congregation to bless countless people in our community.

But the greatest gift ever given came wrapped in swaddling cloths, born in a little town that many overlooked and dismissed. The prophet Micah saw it coming seven centuries earlier:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.

We read these words every Christmas. They appear in children’s Christmas programs and in Matthew’s account of the visit of the Magi. They remind us not only where Jesus would be born, but how God delights to work.

God works through his Word. At creation he said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. He promised Abram descendants beyond number, and he kept his promise. Through Isaiah he declared that a Son would be born, and seven centuries later the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace entered our world. When God speaks, things happen.

So out of this small, overlooked town came the One first promised in Eden—the ruler of Israel whose origins are from ancient days. In the form of a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, the Son of God entered our world. He has come. O glorious day! He has come.

Jesus compares the kingdom of God to leaven hidden in dough. Quietly and steadily it works through the whole batch. He says faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. He takes a little child and says that whoever would be great in God’s kingdom must become humble like one of these.

This is how God works.

So don’t despise the little things: a child, a whispered prayer, a quiet act of mercy, a single conversation about Jesus, or the seemingly ordinary gathering around Word and Sacrament. God delights to work through what the world considers small.

This is how God works. He who made himself nothing has become everything for all time. And he came from Bethlehem—just as Micah promised.