The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
Mark 6:30-34

Take a Break with Jesus

Everyone needs a break from people, even those who regularly serve people. A doctor cannot always be with patients. A teacher cannot always be with students. Even Jesus took time away from the crowds of people who were coming to see him. He did this to be with his disciples. He did this to show his closest followers some one-on-one attention. Jesus said, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Jesus makes the same invitation to you. Take some time to be alone with Jesus and his Word in your Bible. It will remind you that God loves you. It will remind you how Jesus died on the cross for you and rose from the dead to guarantee your forgiveness and a place in heaven with him. Go with Jesus and get some rest.

And then go back and serve the people God has brought into your life, just as Jesus did. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.”

May the moments you spend with Jesus in the Word strengthen you in your service to others.

Prayer:
Compassionate Lord, may the love and attention you have shown me, help me to show love and attention to those I meet today. Amen.

(This devotion comes from wels.net)

They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
Mark 6:12,13

Repent!

The message Jesus told his disciples to proclaim was simple. They were to tell people to repent. It’s a message that is still important for us to hear today.

Repentance is a change of mind about our sins and relationship with God. So, God applies his law to our lives. The law demands that our every thought, word, and action be perfect. Under that kind of scrutiny, we are crushed under the enormity of our sin. God leads us to realize how impossible it is to save ourselves. He makes it clear that, as sinners, we deserve to be eternally separated from him and his love.

God’s law is not the last word, though. He comforts us with news that our sins are forgiven through Jesus. This good news is the power of God that brings us to faith in the Savior Jesus and fills us with the joy of living forever with God.

Repentance is God’s saving activity that he does for us through his Word. It makes us sorry for sinning against God and grateful that he has saved us from those sins through our Savior. Thank God for his gift of repentance!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me pay close attention to your law so I see my sin and its seriousness. Fill me with the joyous sounds of your gospel, which comfort me with salvation through faith in Jesus. Give me a hunger for your Word so I am eager to hear it often. Amen.

(This devotion comes from wels.net)

The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’
Ezekiel 2:4

God, Please Talk to Me

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to talk with God? If we could only call him on the phone and hear his voice, or send him an e-mail and get a reply from God@heaven.com. He could give us answers to our questions. He could help us to know what to do and what direction to take in our lives. By hearing his voice, we would be assured he is with us and will help us. Yes, it would be wonderful for God to talk with us.

God is not so far removed from his world that he is out of touch with us. God does talk with his people. In times past, God talked directly to some of them. Ezekiel, a prophet who lived about 580 years before Jesus was born, heard the voice of God. Over a long period of time, God gave this man important messages to speak to the people. He faithfully repeated those messages and assured his audience that, “this is what the Sovereign LORD says.”

There were other prophets and specially chosen men to whom God also spoke in times past. They, too, heard the voice of God, and as they were moved by the power of the Holy Spirit, they wrote down God’s word. Through that written word, recorded in the Bible, God still speaks to us today. As we read it, we can be confident that this is what the Sovereign LORD says.

He’s not available on the phone or accessible with the computer. But you can open up your Bible, and God will talk to you today. He has some important things for you to hear.

Prayer:
God, speak to me through your Word. Assure me that you are my Savior from sin and Lord of my life. Amen.

(This devotion comes from wels.net)

Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning.
Lamentations 3:22,23

Unfailing Compassion

In an abandoned city, Jeremiah the prophet can only stare in horror at what he sees. Ruin, destruction, death, and desolation. Nothing is left. Tears well up in his eyes. A numbness settles over his heart.

They deserved it. The people of Israel turned away from the Lord. They made their heathen neighbors their allies and worshiped their gods. God’s prophets warned them, but they didn’t listen. The Babylonian army attacked Jerusalem, broke down its walls, burned down its temple, and hauled many of its citizens off to Babylon.

But, staring at the judgment that he knows he and his people deserve, Jeremiah finds hope. His confession is so beautiful. He says: “Because of the LORD‘s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” The Lord has not given up on them. His love for them is that great.

When everything around us is destroyed, the Lord’s great love is not destroyed. Even when our rebellion comes between us and the Lord, the Lord’s great love is not destroyed. Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not destroyed. His love is a shield and refuge for us in life and death.

And his compassions never fail. Just as you can count on the sun coming up every day, so can you count on God’s love and compassion day after day. God’s compassion is new for you every morning. New to heal the new wounds in your heart and life that each day brings. New to remove the new guilt that burdens your soul. New to soothe the new pains as well as those aches that just won’t go away.

Jeremiah’s mindset was not just a glass-half-full attitude that said, “It could be worse.” It was joy-filled confidence that rejoiced in a living and loving God. In his great love and unfailing compassion, God uses every trouble and tragedy to draw us back to him so that he can calm our hearts, dry our tears, and restore our relationship with him. And because God loved us enough to die for us, he has even overcome death so that we will experience his great love forever.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for your great love and your unfailing compassion. Amen.

(This devotion comes from wels.net.)

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?
Job 38:1-11

Questioning God

Have you ever been tempted to question, accuse, or challenge God? Job and some of his friends did. Throughout the latter chapters of the book of Job, we hear challenging questions and statements made against God. In chapter 38, God responds.

God’s rhetorical questions put things back into perspective. By his wisdom and power, he laid earth’s foundation and set the borders for the seas. You and I were not around when God created the world. Dare we question and challenge his ways?

There are times when things don’t go very well. Too often, we get caught up in our own little world. We make this life comfy and cozy. Challenging or blaming God, as if he did something wrong, is not the answer. Realizing that we live in a sin-filled world, surrounded by sinful people and betrayed by our sinful nature, is the place to start. Repentance followed by trusting in Jesus as our Savior from sin is the way to go.

Instead of questioning and challenging God, let us thank God for his faithfulness in sending Jesus, who has earned forgiveness of sins by his death for us. Remembering this truth puts all things into perspective. Amidst sickness, job loss, and difficulties of all kinds, we can unquestionably trust that God’s loving will for us is sure and certain in Jesus our Savior.

Prayer:
Lord God, creator of the universe, give me a faith that trusts your love for me and wisdom for my life. Amen.

(This devotion comes from wels.net)