Dear Trinity Families,
Here is your WELS Devotion
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire . . . They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Daniel 3:26,27Perfect Salvation
“I think it can be salvaged.” In other words, it wasn’t a total loss. Maybe the damage came as the result of a fire or flood. Maybe there was an accident that was a bit more serious than your average fender bender. Maybe some bodily extremity found itself up against something sharp and lost the battle. Damage was most definitely done, but a person with the skills to repair the damage—at least somewhat—says, “I think it can be salvaged.” Whew!
Is that the situation in which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found themselves after they were fished out of the fiery furnace? Did they survive the hellish blast, but just barely? Did they need to be rushed to the hospital with first, second, or third-degree burns? Did the doctors look at them after their ordeal and say with some hesitation, “I think their bodies can be salvaged”?
Nope.
The Old Testament prophet Daniel tells us what King Nebuchadnezzar, who had sentenced these men to the flames, and his officials witnessed. “They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.” It wasn’t that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had just barely managed to survive their fiery ordeal. They hadn’t even been touched by it.
What does it prove? It proves that Jesus isn’t only the world’s perfect Savior; he also provides perfect salvation. His saving work is more than a reclamation or restoration job. It goes way beyond a new paint job to spruce up appearances for the time being. He doesn’t simply perform reconstructive surgery.
No, Jesus heals us perfectly. He forgives us perfectly. He saves us perfectly, once and for all and forever. Indeed, as the apostle Paul once wrote, “we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10).
Trust him. You won’t be disappointed. He guarantees it.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, help me to understand that perfect salvation is found in you alone. Amen.
God bless,
Lynn
Hello Trinity Family!
Today we celebrate God’s returning the Word to us! It’s terrifyingly easy to lose the Word. Neglect, changing the message to fit someone’s own opinion, unpopularity, and open attack can all remove the Word from our lives. It happened to the church in the Middle Ages. It’s happening right now.
On Reformation Day, we don’t celebrate Martin Luther as much as we celebrate God. It was God who gave Luther his opportunity. It was God who kept him safe. It was God who moved in the hearts of his faithful people. It was God who brought His Word back.
It’s still God. He moves through Word and Sacrament. He moves through his faithful people.
He saves us by grace alone, by faith alone, by scripture alone.
God bless you,
Pastor
P.S. Here’s the link for online worship: https://www.youtube.com/user/PastorTesch
Weekly Worship Bulletin: 2021-10-31 Reformation Sunday
Join Us for Worship
Sundays at 9:00am or Mondays at 6:00pm