The Defense Rests – November 1, 2021

LynnDaily Devotion

Dear Trinity Families,

Here is your WELS Devotion

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.”
Daniel 3:16,17

The Defense Rests

I like TV courtroom dramas. But I also know enough about the world to know that what you see on TV often doesn’t happen in real life. Like when a defendant’s lawyers decide that it’s in their client’s best interest that they not offer a defense. They’re convinced the prosecution has not met their burden of proof. So instead of offering their own set of facts and expert witnesses, they simply tell the judge, “The defense rests.”

Though it happens rarely, the Old Testament prophet Daniel tells us how his Jewish compatriots, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, did just this when the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, accused them of treason. The king had commanded every one of his subjects to worship a ninety-foot image of gold he had built to honor himself. These three men refused. But instead of offering a single fact or argument as to why their refusal was lawful, they bravely told the king, “We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.” The defense rests.

Why rest? Because they were right. God commands his people not to worship anyone or anything other than him. They were more concerned with obeying God than obeying any human being, even a king. And they knew that their God was perfectly capable of rescuing them if he so chose. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,” they told the king, “the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.”

The model of these three men is important for us to ponder. Sometimes we are tempted to “argue people” into believing the truth about Jesus. But why? There is certainly a time and place for defending God’s Word, but I need to remember that God’s Word first defends me. I don’t back God up; he and his Word back me up.

God tells us that he forgives all sinners in Jesus, the risen Savior. In Jesus, he gives eternal life freely. That includes you. It’s just the truth. The defense rests.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, help me simply to listen to and trust your Word of salvation. Amen.

God bless,

Lynn

*Saturday

*Sunday


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 is 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.

Come and celebrate in church today.

 

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

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