Reflections

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RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
UPDATED DAILY

Join HT for a reading of the days Higher Things Reflection. A short devotion directed toward the youth of our church, written by the Pastors and Deaconesses of our church, clearly proclaiming the true Gospel of Jesus Christ! Find out more about HT at our website, www.higherthings.org

2H AGO

Friday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 27, 2026 Today's Reading: Mark 15:33-47 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 5:1-6:1; Mark 15:33-47 “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Mark 15:34) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The final words of Christ make a declaration. Christ is truly alone with the weight of all the sins of all people from all time bearing down upon him. He has completed the requirements of the law, and now the perfect sacrifice for all mankind is finished. “Why have you forsaken me?” is uttered, and He breathes his last. He is alone and dead. His father has turned His back on Him. The few that have come to the cross stand at a distance. All that is left is to bury Him. It is not a glorious death. His death is a death of humiliation and torture. It is a bloody death filled with agony and pain. His disciples have left him but one, John. The local church leaders have stopped by to deride him and cast their insults upon Him. They truly kick Him when He is down. No mercy is shown to Him other than a bit of sour wine on a hyssop branch. Often in our lives, we are left feeling all alone. We may cry out in a similar fashion, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” Various circumstances in our lives can leave us feeling as if no one is with us. We continually hear the shallow platitudes of those around us regarding the omnipresence of God. Yet the darkness in our lives seems overwhelming. The family is still fighting. The homework is still piling up. The parents are still divorced. The slanderous remarks still spew from fellow classmates in the hallways and on social media. We are left under the weight of our sin and abandonment. It is in the sacrament of Holy Baptism that we are reminded that we are not alone. In all of the above circumstances, we see the separation and loneliness that exists on account of sin. In your Baptism, you are connected to the cross of Christ. His being forsaken by God the Father is your promise that God the Father will never abandon you or forsake you. Your Baptism is that seal, that promise that God never turns His back on you. It is not that you “were” Baptized but that you “are” Baptized. Daily, when the sins of this world bear down upon you, you can proclaim, “I am Baptized.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I bind unto myself the name, The strong name of the Trinity By invocation of the same, The Three in One and One in Three, Of whom all nature has creation, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word. Praise to the Lord of my salvation; Salvation is of Christ the Lord! (LSB 604:5)

7 min
1D AGO

Thursday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 26, 2026 Today's Reading: Catechism: Close of the Commandments Daily Lectionary: Exodus 4:19-31; Mark 15:16-32 He says: “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My Commandments.” (Exodus 20:5-6) (The Close of the Commandments,Luther’s Small Catechism, pg. 15) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our God is a jealous God. It is a peculiar statement. It is a characteristic of God that does not come first to our minds. We may think of God as being loving or gracious. We may think of God as being a God of wrath and a God who delivers punishment upon those who deny his existence. A God who is jealous, though, does not readily come first to our minds. Our God is a jealous God. He does not like to share. When the people of Israel were brought out of Egypt, they gathered at Mount Sinai. At Mount Sinai, God established His presence among His people. His words were very clear. He says, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” He continues with the Ten Commandments. He admonishes His people to be Holy as He is Holy. A Holy God has Holy people. Daily, sin, satan, and the world tempt us with false gods. We are continually drawn away from the one true God. Social status, friends, money, possessions, clothing styles, compete for our attention, focus, and, dare we say, worship. We worship all the secular gods by coveting and desiring more than what we have already been given. Contentment is far from our thoughts and feelings. We come full circle from the First Commandment to the close of the Commandments. You shall have no other gods. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the only true God. In the words from Exodus, we are reminded of the two works of God the Father. In the first part, the alien work of God is revealed when He speaks of punishing the children for the sins of their fathers to the third and fourth generations. In the second part, the natural work of God is revealed when He speaks of showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments. The epitome of His love came in the sacrificial death of His son for the salvation of mankind. We are set free from eternal damnation on account of Christ’s perfect obedience to the law. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. All righteousness by works is vain; The Law rings condemnation. True righteousness by faith I gain; Christ’s work is my salvation. His death, that perfect sacrifice, Has paid the all sufficient price; In Him my hope is anchored. (LSB 568:4)

7 min
2D AGO

The Annunciation of Our Lord

March 25, 2026 Today's Reading: Luke 1:26-38 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 4:1-18; Mark 15:1-15 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Merry Christmas! We are just a few days away from Palm Sunday and Holy Week. We are concluding the 40 days of Lent, and we hear those words that are far from our thoughts and lips. Merry Christmas! It is a strange greeting indeed to hear or read. It is, of course, March 25th. We are 9 months out from the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The words of the Christmas greeting do not roll off our tongue and lips with the same excitement as they will in 9 months. We have hesitation in those words as they are reminders of a season of joy. The end of the season of Lent tends not to be a joy-filled time. We are almost to the cross. Our reflection and meditation on our need for a savior began back at Ash Wednesday when the ashes of last year’s palm branches were placed on our heads. Now, on this day, we pause to reflect on the Annunciation of our Lord. The visitation of the Angel Gabriel with Mary, the mother of our Lord. The visitation remembered during Lent is a stark reminder of why Jesus was conceived. The incarnation of our Lord is a profound teaching regarding God the Son becoming flesh. The incarnation is important enough that it is included in all of our creeds that we confess. In the Second Article, we confess, “He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” Incarnation theology is one of the core components of our salvation. At that very moment, conception, He became man. He became human. The Son of Man and the Son of God now dwells in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary. The Holy, Holy, Holy God is human. In His humanity, the perfect sacrifice comes into the world. True man and True God. It will be the sacrifice of human flesh for the redemption of human flesh. No other human could fulfill what was necessary for our salvation. Our deadness, our separation from God in sin, could only be restored through the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ (John 1:14). Incarnation language is foreign to the secular world this time of year. We as confessing Lutherans boldly speak of the incarnation, because in the incarnation is the final sacrifice for our sins. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O Lord, as we have known the incarnation of Your Son, Jesus Christ, by the message of the angel to the virgin Mary, so by the message of His cross and passion bring us to the glory of His resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Annunciation of our Lord)

7 min
3D AGO

Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 24, 2026 Today's Reading: Hebrews 9:11-15 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:23-3:22; Mark 14:53-72 “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come…he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 11a, 12) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The author of Hebrews presents the work of Christ through one of the threefold offices Christ fulfills—the office of the priest. The priestly role in the Old Testament provided the sacrifices for the people of God. The life of the priest revolved around the temple and pointing the people of Israel to the coming Messiah. In the sacrificial system, blood was shed, poured, and sprinkled upon the altar, upon the people, and upon the priests themselves. The work of the priest was very bloody. As Christ fulfills the office of priest, the work is very bloody. The blood is not of male goats or bull calves, but by his very own blood. He enters into the holy place once for all. No longer do priests need to sacrifice animals. The final sacrifice is complete in Christ. Eternal redemption is secured for you. Many churches in mainline Christianity speak of making sacrifices in order to appease God. We hear in podcasts, reels, memes, and various social media platforms the necessity to give up something so that your faithfulness can be demonstrated. We are inundated with the subtleties of self-righteousness every day. During the season of Lent, this perspective is amplified as more and more denominations diminish the work of Christ and lift up the work of man. Today, as we bend the knee in the Divine Service to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, it is not a re-sacrifice of Christ. We participate in the resurrected Christ as His body is placed in our mouth and His blood is poured over our lips. The benefit of His sacrificial work is given to us. It is not that He is sacrificed again each time in the sacrament. He was sacrificed and now lives and reigns. The resurrected Jesus comes to you from the altar in the Sacrament of the Altar, forgiving your sins and strengthening your faith. The Holy Priest brings you the secured redemption from His shedding of blood on the cross. The sacrificial work of the priest is done. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The body of God’s Lamb we eat, A priestly food and priestly meat; On sin-parched lips the chalice pours His quenching blood That life restores. (LSB 624:6)

7 min
4D AGO

Monday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 23, 2026 Today's Reading: Genesis 22:1-14 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:1-22; Mark 14:32-52 “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’”(Genesis 22:2) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Abraham is asked to make the ultimate sacrifice. He is asked to sacrifice his only son, whom he has waited years to receive. Now God says you are to sacrifice him. We know the whole narrative of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham takes Isaac and leaves for the region of Moriah. Abraham binds Isaac and is about to slaughter his son when the Lord intervenes and commands Abraham to do him no harm. Behind them is a ram caught in a thicket, which is then sacrificed instead of Isaac. Abraham names the place, “The Lord will provide.” On that mountain, the Lord provided the sacrifice. As we spend the final week of Lent reflecting on our sins and the need for those sins to be reconciled, we are drawn to a mountain. On Calvary, Christ is sacrificed for the sins of the world. Without the sacrifice, we would perish eternally. In our sinful condition, we are not merely broken; we are dead. We are cut off from God the Father. As Jesus goes to the cross, He carries the sins of the whole world to the cross. He who knew no sin became sin for us. He is the substitute for us. God the Father provides the final sacrifice for your sins. As Jesus speaks those final words, “It is finished,” a declaration is made that there are no more sacrifices needed. The work of redemption is done through the blood of Christ. Abraham untied his son and sacrificed the ram that the Lord provided. The Lord nailed His son, Jesus, whom He loved and was well pleased with, to the cross that we may be set free from the bondage of sin and eternal damnation. You are set free from eternal damnation and bound to the inheritance given to you through Christ’s work of redemption. You are baptized into the name of Christ, and you are baptized into His death. If you are Baptized into His death, you are also Baptized into His resurrection. No longer can sin, satan, and the world say you are lost. You are set free in Christ! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If my sins give me alarm And my conscience grieve me, Let Your cross my fear disarm; Peace of conscience give me. Help me see forgiveness won By Your holy passion. If for me He slays His Son, God must have compassion! (LSB 440:5)

7 min
5D AGO

Fifth Sunday in Lent, Judica

March 22, 2026 Today's Reading: John 8:(42-45) 46-59 Daily Lectionary: Exodus 1:1-22; Mark 14:12-31 “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’” (John 8:58) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus’ interaction with the “Jews who believed in him” (John 8:31) comes to a boiling point in the temple. He is accused of having a demon, and He accuses the Jews of being in league with satan, the father of lies. He calls them liars. The volley of words goes back and forth until Jesus speaks very plainly in their language regarding who He is and His relationship to Abraham. Jesus says, “...before Abraham was, I AM.” When Jesus speaks those words in John 8, he speaks of His deity and His everlasting presence. He is not merely man, but rather He is true God. He was before Abraham because He was at the beginning. He is present in their midst, and He will always be. He is from everlasting to everlasting. Two simple words, I AM, that drive His hearers to the point that they pick up stones to kill him. As we approach the final week of Lent, we are on a journey to the cross. The cross where Jesus Christ, true God and true man, died for the sins of the world. We know what is coming in these final weeks of Lent. We will ride into Jerusalem with Christ on the donkey. We will shout Hosana and honor Him as our King by waving and laying down palm branches and cloaks. Yet as lifted up on the cross, only a handful of people are present. The rest of His loyal followers have scattered. The Old Adam does not believe in the deity of Christ. Our sinful nature wants to pick up those stones and kill Jesus. In sin, we deny the divinity of Jesus and attribute our existence to ourselves. Our pride, our self-righteousness, stirs our hearts to see ourselves as our own god. Christ’s response to this separation is not to leave us flailing about in our own damnation. A reconciliation has taken place. As Christ is lifted up on the cross, His blood is shed for our redemption. It is not just human blood, but it is the “I AM’s” blood that is poured out for His people. His side is pierced, and water and blood burst from His side. Your Baptism connects you to the cross of reconciliation and the forgiveness of sins. Your savior is more than just flesh and bones. Your savior is the “I AM.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen (Collect for the 5th Sunday in Lent)

7 min
6D AGO

Saturday of the Fourth Week in Lent

Today's Reading: Introit for Lent 5 - Psalm 43:3-5; antiphon: Psalm 43:1-2a Daily Lectionary: Genesis 49:29-50:7, 14-26; Mark 14:1-11 “Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!” (Psalm 43:3) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow we enter Passiontide - the final two weeks of the Lenten season. The light and truth of God’s Word have guided us through this season, reminding us of all that Jesus has done for us as we prepare for the joy of Easter. But before we get there, the light and truth of the Word lead us to the holy hill of Calvary—to the cross of Jesus. To see the horrible consequences of our sin, but even more, to see the incredible love of Jesus in laying down His life for us. So, the light and truth of God’s Word first show us our sin. And we confess, I am a poor, miserable sinner. I am by nature sinful and unclean. I have sinned in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done and by what I have left undone. I am not good. Without Jesus, I am dead in my trespasses and sins. That’s why Lent starts with the ashes of death and ends with the cross. The wages of sin is death. But the light and truth of God’s Word doesn’t leave us there, cast down in death! The ashes of death are washed off us by Baptism, and we go to the altar of God with exceeding joy, because the Body and Blood that once hung on the cross rose from death and are now given to us for forgiveness and life. Even during Lent, we do not go about mourning. No, we praise God even as we confess our sins, for by so doing we are confessing the one whose forgiveness we take refuge in. Whose resurrection won the victory over sin, death, and Hell. So it is the light and truth of God’s Word that lead us to Lent and through Lent to Easter. And it is the light and truth of God’s Word that leads us through this life to the great and final Easter when Jesus comes again in glory. Until that day, Jesus defends us, delivers us, and leads us, and we take refuge in Him, praise Him, and hope in Him. For He is our salvation and our God. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. My son is love unknown, My Savior’s love to me, Love to the loveless shown That they might lovely be. Oh, who am I That for my sake My Lord should take frail flesh and die? Here might I stay and sing, No story so divine! Never was love, dear King, Never was grief like Thine. This is my friend, In whose sweet praise I all my days Could gladly spend! (LSB 430:1, 7)

7 min
MAR 20

Friday of the Fourth Week in Lent

Today's Reading: Catechism: Tenth Commandment Daily Lectionary: Genesis 47:1-31; Genesis 48:1-49:28; Mark 13:24-37 Urge them to stay and do their duty. (Small Catechism) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I have found it helpful when trying to understand a word or concept to try to consider its opposite. So what’s the opposite of coveting? Contentment. Instead of an unhealthy obsession with what I do not have, to be content or satisfied with what I do have, with what I’ve been given. Such contentment is a gift. And something many people want. A good picture of this might be of children on a playground. They are free to play, run, pretend, and have fun because Mom and Dad are there and provide all they need. That’s true for us as children of God! Because we have a Father in heaven who created us and gave us life, His Son who redeemed us and forgives us, and the Holy Spirit who gives us the Gift of contentment. As a child of God, I am free to live and enjoy life! But sadly, we don’t always live that way. We listen to a culture that encourages us to want more and more, bigger and better. To not be satisfied with what you have. What happens then is that we become slaves to our desires, unhappy, and caught up in pursuing what we don’t have. That’s why St. Paul calls coveting idolatry (Colossians 3:5), that is, something that takes the place of God in our hearts. And with that, Paul has “closed the loop” on the Commandments that also begin with idolatry. The First Commandment teaches us that we have a God who wants to be our God and Father, and the Tenth Commandment teaches us that we have a God and Father who wants to provide everything for us and for our neighbor. I don’t have to covet what God has given my neighbor because I know He has good He has planned for me and wants to give to me. So just as I can support my neighbor in every physical need, help him to improve and protect his possessions and income, and protect his reputation, I can also urge my neighbor’s wife, workers, and animals to stay and do their duty, because I know God has given them to him and will provide for me. For if God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for me and my spiritual life, I can be sure He will also graciously give me all I need for my physical life as well (Romans 8:32). He promised! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Heavenly Father, You have made me Your child in Baptism and made me an heir of all Your gracious promises in Christ Jesus. By Your Holy Spirit, strengthen me to forsake all covetous desires that my heart cling to You alone for all I am, all I need, and all my joy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

7 min

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4.6

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Great start to my day

05/06/2024

JoyfullyRedeemed

Wonderful program. Great start to my day. Reminds me of what we we have in Christ. The transcripts are much appreciated. Thank you..