Dear Trinity Families,
Here is your WELS Devotion
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.
2 Timothy 4:17
The Lord Gives You Strength
You grab a little boy’s arm and say, “Wow, look how strong you are!” And the boy grins from ear to ear. We can’t blame him. We like strength. We strive for strong marriages. We invest in a strong stock market. We take aptitude tests to find our strengths. And we vote for whom we think is the strongest candidate.
Why are we so obsessed with strength? I’m not so sure if it’s an obsession with strength as much as it is a fear of weakness. Weakness means others can take advantage of me or overpower me. Weakness means I am not the best and that I am vulnerable. Plainly said, weakness means there’s something wrong with me. And so, I hide my weaknesses as best I can.
As much as you may try to hide your weaknesses from others, there is One who knows every single one of your weaknesses, even better than you do. And that’s your God. But here’s the difference between God and many in our world: God doesn’t show you the door when he sees your weaknesses. Rather, he shows you himself. When you are weak, he is strong. And his strength isn’t four-year-old bicep strength. Nor is it Ford Super Duty with 6.7-liter power stroke strength. His strength is world creating, wind calming, death defeating strength. God’s strength is just that, God-strength. And he uses his strength for you.
Most importantly, he used his strength to work all of world history in order to save you from your sins by his sacrificial death on the cross. At first, this might seem a strange way to show strength, but it most certainly does—not just strength, but love. And then, in the greatest show of strength in the history of this world, he was brought back to life on Easter morning to prove that he had conquered death and won eternal life for you.
So go ahead, pull out a piece of paper. Write down all your weaknesses, for your eyes only. On the other side of the ledger put the name, “Lord.” The winner is clear. The Lord will give you strength.
Prayer:
Lord, give me confidence in your strength to overcome all of my weaknesses. Amen.
God bless you all!
Pastor Tesch
Join us in worship! Sign up here to come to the Lord’s house: https://trinitymarinette.com/events/worship-service-9/
Or, if you’re not comfortable with that, worship with us online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsQKMTA2HxA
It’s on our website at: https://trinitymarinette.com/sermon-archive/we-are-not-alone/
The bulletin is here: https://trinitymarinette.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-11-01-Announcements-Reformation-Sunday.pdf
Online Survey: We would like impute on Christmas for kids. Please give your opinion with our online survey. The link will be at the end of your daily devotions, our on-line announcement bulletin or by going to https://forms.gle/
Ladies Aid: Join us and other strong women in our congregation as we gather, Thursday Nov. 5th at 1:00 pm in the Church Basement for Ladies Aid. What is Ladies Aid??? The Ladies Aid organization at Trinity Lutheran Church exists to provide opportunities for Bible study and Christian fellowship for ladies of the congregation and to furnish occasions for service projects to the congregation and community.
TLS is having a Wreath Fundraiser: PTO is doing a wreath fundraiser! Funds raised will be going towards future field trips. Wreaths are 20 inches, there are two different options to choose from this year. Undecorated: $20.00/ Decorated with an assorted bow: $25.00 Wreaths will be ready for pickup immediately after school 3:00 pm on: Monday, November 23rd. If you need to arrange a different time to pick up please let Amy Peterson know. If you would like to order a wreath please call the school office or you can call Amy Peterson at 715-701-6418 Please make checks payable to: Trinity Lutheran PTO