revmattil.org

Devotions to help you Think about God’s Word and Apply it to your Lives.

Sputnik

Our recent trip to Germany ended with a day in Berlin. Our guide was born and raised in East Berlin, living 27 years behind the wall before it was torn down. Because of that, he had an interesting perspective and insights on the history of Germany that he shared with us.

One of the structures in what was East Berlin is the “Fernsehturm Berlin,” the Berlin Television Tower. It was constructed between 1965 and 1969. Because Russia was in control of East Germany, they decided to include tribute to Sputnik, the first manmade object to orbit the earth. This was during the Cold War and Russia was trying to assert their dominance in the Space Race.

You may be aware that during the Russian occupation of East Germany, they removed the crosses from churches. What they hadn’t counted on was what would happen after they built this tower. When the sun shines on the round replica of Sputnik, it reflects in the shape of a cross.

After the reunification of Germany, crosses were once again placed on the domes and spires of Churches. But the cross reflecting off a monument to a godless government continues to shine over them all. When I heard this story and saw the reflection for myself, a couple of passages came to mind.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The cross is not just an ornament or a piece of jewelry. It is a graphic reminder of the extent of God’s love for His creation. Jesus willingly went to that instrument of torture and death to offer His sinless life as the payment for the sins of the world. He paid our debt and gives us life instead of death. Faith in Him lays hold of what He earned, guaranteeing forgiveness and eternal life. The cross reminds us of what Jesus did.

1 Corinthians 1:23–24 …we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Sputnik2025-04-24T06:16:58-05:00

Dynamite

On our trip home from Germany, we went through airport security in Berlin. I walked through the scanner without an issue, but then I watched as my carry-on bag was automatically pushed aside for an inspection. I walked around to that area and the inspector asked for permission to open the bag. I granted it, at which point he informed me that he had to swab “my papers” for explosives. I agreed, not sure what exactly he meant.

When I saw what he pulled out of my bag, a big smile appeared on my face. Cheryl had put her Bible in my bag, and that was what the inspector was swabbing for explosives. I had to resist the urge to say, “Yeah, there is dynamite in there!”, knowing that they would not have appreciated that remark. But it is true.

Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

The Greek word translated as “power” here is δύναμις  – “dunamis” – from which we get our word dynamite.

This reminder of the power of God’s Word was appropriate for this trip. We were reminded how God used Martin Luther to put Scripture in the language of the people, which in his case was German. This would allow his people to read the Bible for themselves, to let God speak to them directly through His Word. For centuries, only the educated, those who spoke Latin, could read the Bible. After his translation work, this was no longer the case.

As a side note, Luther was not the first to do this. There were translations in Spain, England and France before Luther translated the Bible into German. But the Roman Church did not approve of this practice, and for the most part condemned the translators as heretics and burned their translations. However, God chose to use Luther as His instrument, and provided protection for him, so that not only did he survive, but so did his translation. And because Guttenberg had already invented the printing press with movable type, his translation was able to spread rapidly. People had the “dynamite” of God’s Word available in their homes.

Don’t ignore the powder keg you have in your possession. It tells you of God’s love, the forgiveness Jesus earned for you through His life and death, and the victory over death He accomplished for everyone. That is the power of God for the salvation for everyone who believes.

Dynamite2025-04-22T06:39:48-05:00

Back Home

For the last few weeks, most of my devotions have been “reruns,” ones that I posted previously and now used again. The reason for that was Cheryl and I were part of a “Footsteps of Luther” tour in Germany. We had a fabulous time with a wonderful group of people visiting sites that were significant during the time of the Reformation throughout Germany.

On Palm Sunday we were in Eisenach attending worship at St. George’s Church. Luther had preached there a few times, and later Johann Sebastian Bach was baptized in this church.

Wednesday of Holy Week we were in Berlin and attended the noontime prayer service in the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral). The place was packed with visitors, but an announcement was made that from 12:00 until 12:30 everyone must be seated, no photography would be allowed, and no one would be able to enter or leave the cathedral during that time. One of our group members suggested we should try that at home: lock everyone in during the service!

Both of these services included wonderful organ music, readings from God’s Word, and a sermon. But it was all in German. I could pick up on sentences here at there, knew when they were saying the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed, and the Benediction, but most of the time we did not know what was being said.

I wondered if that is how the people felt before the Reformation, when worship services were all in Latin, a language the common, uneducated people did not understand

That was one of the huge developments of the Protestant Reformation. Luther translated the Bible into the language of his people, German, so they could read it for themselves and let it speak to their hearts. He also started leading worship in German, preaching in German, and writing hymns in German. All this to share the wonderful message of salvation by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ with the people in a way they could understand it.

It was good to be back home for Good Friday worship and the Festival of the Resurrection services this past Sunday. I heard in my native tongue the lfe-altering proclamation of Jesus’ death to pay for my sin and His victory over death to assure me of complete forgiveness and eternity with Him. It was good to hear.

Lord, help me do what I can to clearly proclaim Your message of love and grace and mercy to the people I meet today.

Back Home2025-04-24T07:29:06-05:00

What A Ride!

I heard about a 4-year-old at a wedding ceremony. He was fussin’ and fidgetin’ and just about to explode. A family member thought perhaps she could calm him down if she gave him something to play with. She reached in her purse and handed him the first thing she could find – her rosary. It was the kind that had a crucifix attached to it. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but almost as quickly as he had it in his hands, he stood up on the front pew and swung it over his head like a lasso and shouted, “Hang on Jesus! You’re going for a ride.”

Hang on – you’re going for a ride. You’ve probably heard those words before. They are spoken  in situations where the circumstances can be thrilling: on a roller coaster, on the back of a horse or a motorcycle, maybe in a Jeep going up a mountain trail. But have you ever heard them applied to Jesus? Maybe that little four-year-old was on to something. “Hang on Jesus! You’re going for a ride.”

From the glory of heaven into the womb of a virgin named Mary…down the dirt road from Nazareth to Bethlehem in utero…down the birth canal and into a stable, into the arms of Mary and Joseph, to be laid in a cattle trough…down the road to Egypt to escape being murdered by a jealous King Herod. Hang on Jesus, you’re going for a ride!

Back to Bethlehem and Nazareth to be raised…going all around the Sea of Galilee, healing and teaching and loving and serving…up a Mount of Transfiguration where His glory would be seen by Peter, James and John…on to Jerusalem on a donkey, hearing the hosannas of the crowd…to the Upper Room, celebrating Passover with his disciples, one of whom would betray Him…instituting a meal of remembrance and promise…in prayer in a Garden, sweat like drops of blood…and then a kiss of betrayal. Hang on Jesus, you’re going for a ride!

 Led to the Jewish courts, where Peter would deny even knowing him…led before Pilate to be mocked and whipped and ridiculed…led before Herod for more of the same…taken before Pilate again and hearing the shouts “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” and then beaten some more…His disciples all abandoned him. The Savior whose birth had been announced by angels now stands all alone. Hang on Jesus, you’re going for a ride!

 To Calvary, carrying His cross yet bearing my sin, and yours and the sins of all people…on a cross, outside Jerusalem, raised up for all to see…My God, My God, why have you forsaken me! Hang on Jesus! Don’t come down from the cross. Hang on, pay my debt. Hang on for me!

 And then it was finished…lifeless, taken down from the cross…carried by his friends and placed in a tomb that was sealed up for good. But wait…the ride wasn’t over. On that third day, what a ride! Bursting out of the tomb, alive, shining with His glory as God, showing Himself to His disciples…down the road to Emmaus creating burning hearts…through closed doors, to frightened and doubting disciples. He says, “Peace be to you!” After forty days of showing Himself, He goes up the Mount of Ascension, through the clouds to the right hand of the Father. What a Ride! And the disciples were told, “Don’t stand there looking up into the sky. He’ll be back. He’s coming again.” What a ride!

Our ride through this life can be pretty intense. Sometimes it is exhilarating, the next moment terrifying and devastating. Often times the things that get us into the most trouble and that hurt us the most are things that we have done to ourselves by our own choosing. We make bad decisions, going where we should not go and doing what we should not do. Your ride through this life can be very rough. At times, you may feel as though you cannot hold on. Critics will pound on you. Enemies seem to surround and overwhelm you. Life can be brutal. That is when you need to hang on. Hang on to Jesus. Hang on to God’s promises. Hang on to the one who hung onto that cross for you. Jesus has done everything you need to be forgiven and have the confidence of God being on your side, loving you, saving you, and wanting the best for you now and for all eternity.

Hang on to Jesus. As you hold onto Him, remember that He holds on to you. It is not your own determination that will keep you safe. It is Jesus hanging on to you. He said that to His first disciples:

John 10:27-30 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

 Jesus will hang on to you. He went on quite a ride to earn your forgiveness. All the way from “For Unto You is born this day a Savior” to “He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!” and beyond that to “He is coming again!”  This one is the one who wants to go with you on your ride through this life.

“Hang on – You’re going for a ride.” Jesus wants you to know that He went through that ride for you. He will hang on to you and be with you every step of the way in your ride through this life. And what a ride it will be!

What A Ride!2025-04-04T16:21:03-05:00

Ta-Da (Part 2)

My previous devotion was about a child imagining Jesus saying “Ta-Da” when He came out of the tomb. For a long time the notification sound on my phone when I received a text message was the “Ta-Da” sound. You can listen to it here.

Years ago I set my phone to go into “Do not disturb mode” on Sunday mornings from seven a.m. until noon. I usually didn’t have it with me when I led worship and Bible Class, but by setting it to quiet mode I was covered in case I forgot to take it out of my pocket.

After I retired, I left that setting unchanged. For the first several years, we did not attend services at the congregation where I had served so that they could make the transition to a new pastor without our presence. That meant we visited a lot of different congregations for a three year period, including several that were of different denominations. One Sunday we attended a local Bible Church service. It started at 11 a.m. The pastor’s message was at the end of the service, and He was preaching for quite a while. I didn’t know what time it was, but in his message, the pastor had just made a point and paused for dramatic effect. During that few seconds of silence, my phone sounded a very loud “Ta-Da.” It was ten minutes after noon and my phone was no longer in “Do Not Disturb.” The sound was loud enough for everyone to hear, including the pastor. It was as though it was timed to emphasize his point. He quickly said, “Thank you!” which got a few laughs and he continued on with the rest of his message.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could add special effects to our daily lives to highlight and emphasize the things we want others to see? The truth is, you can. Your lives are to be a witness to the Good News of Jesus as Savior. You are to reflect His love to the world around you. You have been led by the Spirit of God to know and believe that Jesus is your Savior, that He did what was needed to rescue you from your sin and give you life instead of death. Your lives should be lived in response to that wonderful news. You add your own little “Ta-das” when you show your faith in action.

1 Peter 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

Christ is Risen! Alleluia! You have that certainty. Share it with others through your words and actions. Ta-da!

Ta-Da (Part 2)2025-03-31T08:48:28-05:00

The Day After

(This devotion was first shared in April of 2022)

 Even though it has been over 30 years, I still remember how I felt the day after my dad died. We knew his death was coming. Cancer had taken its toll on him. And I knew it was better for him to be with Jesus than with us. But it was still a difficult adjustment, trying to wrap my head around the reality of his departure from our presence. Weeks later I found myself picking up the phone to call him, only to realize he would not answer.

I also remember how I felt when my best friend from college died a few years ago. His death was not expected. I was numb. I could not fully process that reality right away. I also know that he is with our Lord, but the shocking news of his sudden death was enormously difficult to accept.

I think about this on this day after Good Friday. How did the friends and family and disciples of Jesus feel on this day? Confused. Scared. Shocked. Disbelief. Uncertainty. After someone dies, grief controls your thought process. Jesus told them this was coming, but they did not hear or understand. And now He was gone. They did not expect to see Him again.

We know something they did not yet know. Yes, Jesus was gone. He truly died. That death paid for the sin of the world. It was finished. But everything they knew about death was about to change. It was not the end. Just wait until tomorrow!

Today, we do not live as those who have no hope. But it is good for us to contemplate the enormity of what happened yesterday. The death of Jesus was real. It was necessary. And it accomplished what we needed. Think about that as you get ready to celebrate tomorrow.

The Day After2025-04-01T20:05:14-05:00

Don’t You Care?

(I’ve seen versions of this story in different forms many times over the years. Some insist it is true, others are adamant that it is a legend. Either way, it is a good read for Good Friday.)

There once was a bridge operator who had a young son whom he dearly loved. They were inseparable. The young boy often asked to go with his father to watch him work – to watch him raise and lower the draw bridge, allowing the boats to pass under or the passenger trains to cross over. One day the father relented and allowed his son to come with him.

“Stay here at a safe distance,” the father warned the boy, “while I go and raise the bridge for the coming boat.” The boy stayed where his father had left him and watched the bridge as it slowly lifted up in the sky. Suddenly, the boy heard the faint cry of an approaching passenger train – coming quite a bit sooner than had been expected. The father, up in the control room, could hear neither the whistle of the train nor the warning cry of his son.

The boy saw the train racing closer and closer, and he started to run along the platform to reach his father. Knowing there was a lever he could pull near the operating gears of the bridge, the boy ran to the door in the platform and tried to lower himself down to reach the lever. Losing his balance, he fell in to where the gears came together and was caught.

The father looked down just in time to see his son fall down into the hole in the platform. Then he saw the fast approaching train. In horror, he realized that if he didn’t start lowering the bridge immediately, it would not be down in time for the train to pass safely. The train would crash into the river below killing hundreds of innocent people.

The man was faced with an unimaginable dilemma – race to save his son at the cost of hundreds of lives, or sacrifice his son to save the passengers on the train.

He made the only choice he could and pulled the lever to lower the bridge. In spite of the noise of the descending bridge and the oncoming train, he still heard the anguished screams of his beloved son being crushed to death between the gears of the bridge.

The father ran to the platform as the train was passing by. Most people on the train simply ignored the man crying on the platform. Others looked out of the window and stared, totally oblivious of the unspeakable sacrifice that had just been made on their behalf. They gave no other thought or concern to this man who had just given up what was most precious to him so that they could live.

He cried out “What’s the matter with you people? Don’t you know? Don’t you care? Don’t you know I’ve sacrificed my son for you? What’s wrong with you?”

No one answered. No one heard. Few even noticed hin.No one seemed to care. And then, as suddenly as it had happened, it was over. The train disappeared moving rapidly across the bridge and out over the horizon.

The story is powerful and emotional. Yet it offers only a glimpse into the intense love our heavenly Fsther did in sacrificing His Son for the sins of the world. Unlike the story, where the son died as the result of an accident, the love of God is demonstrated in Jesus willingly sacrificing His life for the sins of mankind. He died so that we might live. Now and forever. It had to happen this way, Jesus dying covered in the intense darkness of all of our sins. His sacrifice gave us life.

Like those folks on the train, many in our world are oblivious to the sacrifice that was made to give them life. Some choose to ignore, others give it a passing glace from time to time, like Christmas and Easter, but nothing more. But some will hear and see and be led by the spirit to believe that Jesus did it all for them, resulting in forgiveness of sins and a new life with God forever.

We know how the story continues. Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave, conquering death’s power over us. So even as we grieve the death of Jesus today,  we celebrate everday His life, His obedience, His sacrifice and crucifixion, His body broken and blood shed. because Jesus overcame death and the grave through His resurrection. Moreover, like Jesus, we too shall rise.

Sunday is Coming.

Don’t You Care?2025-04-03T07:32:12-05:00

Maundy Thursday

(This devotion was first shared on Maundy Thursday fo 2023)

On this day of Holy Week Jesus was celebrating and remembering the Passover, God’s deliverance of His people from their bondage in Egypt. At the memorial meal, Jesus instituted a new meal, a way for us to remember and share in the payment He made for the sins of everyone. We receive His body and blood with the bread and wine to assure us that His death for sin was our death for sin.

Although it may sound strange to “celebrate” a death, knowing what the death of Jesus did for us is truly worth celebrating.

The death of Jesus Christ, our Lord,
We celebrate with one accord;
It is our comfort in distress,
Our heart’s sweet joy and happiness.

He blotted out with His own blood
The judgment that against us stood;
He full atonement for us made,
And all our debt He fully paid.

That this is now and ever true
He gives an earnest ever new:
In this His holy Supper here
We taste His love so sweet, so near.

His Word proclaims, and we believe,
That in this Supper we receive
His very body, as He said,
His very blood for sinners shed.

A precious food is this indeed,
It never fails us in our need,
A heavenly manna for our soul
Until we safely reach our goal.

Oh, blest is each believing guest
Who in this promise finds his rest;
For Jesus will in love abide
With those who do in Him confide.

The guest that comes with true intent
To turn to God and to repent,
To live for Christ, to die to sin,
Will thus a holy life begin.

They who His Word do not believe
This food unworthily receive,
Salvation here will never find,
May we this warning keep in mind!

 Help us sincerely to believe
That we may worthily receive
Thy Supper and in Thee find rest.
Amen, he who believes is blest.

 The Lutheran Hymnal #163

 

Maundy Thursday2025-04-04T16:11:46-05:00

Planning Your Funeralo

(This devotion was first posted in April of 2021)

I went to Plano this morning to attend the funeral of Pastor Gerry Nichols. He served in Garland while my dad was serving a church in North Dallas. In his retirement, he served the vacancy at Water’s Edge, Frisco, which was in my circuit, and I got to know him better. He once shared that there was another Pastor Gerry Nichols in our church body who was an in-demand speaker for conferences and conventions. Every now and then he would get a phone call asking if he would be willing to speak at a conference. His reply was, “I’d be happy to do so, but I don’t think I’m the Gerry Nichols you want.” He got a good laugh out of that. I thought of that story this morning. I can just imagine that when He got to heaven, the Savior that he believed in and whom he had shared so faithfully welcomed him and assured him that he was indeed the Gerry Nichols he wanted. There was no case of mistaken identity.

Before I went to the funeral, I was also able to spend some time with my mom. A few weeks back I had asked her if she had thought about her funeral service, and she said she had not. This morning while I was drinking coffee with her, she brought it up. She had a list of hymns and Bible verses and her choice of minister all ready for me. We wrote it down and put it in the front of her Bible. While her death does not appear to be imminent – in fact she is doing remarkably well – it is good to know her wishes.

This is not a morbid topic. We sometimes shy away from it, but this is what our Christian faith is all about.  We have a confidence that the world does not have. We know the certain promises of our God. Death is an enemy, and it causes pain and sorrow and grief for those of us still on this side of heaven. But for those who die with faith in Jesus, it is a victory. Paul wrote about that in 1 Corinthians 15:

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  

I pray this is your hope and confidence as well.

(Update: mom is still doing well and with us here on this side of heaven!)

 

 

Planning Your Funeralo2025-04-03T07:43:48-05:00

Giving God What Is God’s

Today is “Tax Day.” Another opportunity to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Sometimes folks bristle at doing so, but it is an obligation for those of us who live in a free society.

Those words I quoted above come from a passage where the Pharisees, those who prided themselves in keeping the Law, were trying to trap Jesus in a contradiction. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? (Matthew 22:17) That is a kind of like asking a guy, “Have you stopped beating your wife?” Answering either YES or NO will get you into trouble. And that is why the Pharisees asked Jesus this question. It did not lend itself to discussion–all that was expected was a YES or a NO. If Jesus answered NO, he would be in conflict with the Roman government. A YES answer would not be acceptable to the Jews either, because they expected the Messiah to deliver them from the Roman government. To their way of thinking, no true Messiah would recognize the authority of Caesar. To say that you should pay taxes to Caesar would discredit Jesus to the Jews. The Pharisees were no doubt proud of themselves, thinking they had at last trapped Jesus.

Of course, Jesus knew their intentions. He exposed the Pharisees for the hypocrites that they were. In asking them to bring a coin, He shows how they had compromised themselves and were in conflict with their own laws. Coins bore the image of Caesar, and Caesar was worshiped as a God by the Romans. By having coins in their possession thy broke the law against graven images in the First Commandment. Yet they used these coins, proving themselves to be less righteous than they said they were.

The fact that these coins bore the image of Caesar also provides the basis for the answer Jesus gives. If it has his picture, it must be his, so give it to him. Let Caesar have the coins. But our Lord didn’t leave it at that. He also instructed them to give God what belongs to Him. (Matthew 22:21) And what did He mean? What do you think He meant? Doesn’t everything belong to God? Of course it does! By making this statement. Jesus is declaring that you should offer your very self to God as a living sacrifice. You belong to God. Not only did God create you in His own image, but He redeemed you by the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You have been bought and paid for. You belong to God, so Give God What is God’s!

This is the heart and substance of following Jesus. If you live your life cognizant of the fact that you belong to God and strive to live as His Child, you are being a faithful steward. That is what our lives as believers in Jesus are to be. It is our response to knowing we have been redeemed from sin and death by what Jesus did for us in dying and rising again.

Giving God What Is God’s2025-04-01T07:36:46-05:00

revmattil.org

Go to Top