Articles addressing the topic of Christian Discipleship from a uniquely Lutheran perspective. We emphasize a traditional Theology of the Cross, the distinction of Law and Gospel, and an understanding of the believer as “both saint and sinner” in their daily life of faith. en-us https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/summaries.html https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/the-word-became-flesh/a383.html?app=1 God's Word has a way of breaking into our lives in new and suprising ways! Not only was the eternal Word of God born into our world as the Child of Bethlehem, that same Word comes to us daily through the Scriptures and the proclaimation of ... Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0800 {FC2BDBD6-893A-2A2A-2ECE-9F4598374643} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/word-made-real/a343.html?app=1 Recently, a colleague was telling me about his first experience on his road to the seminary, when her took a college course in philosophy. He told me that the very first assignment the class was given to the students was to write a paper ... Mon, 11 Apr 2022 00:00:00 -0700 {C919A9DF-2331-A8F3-6138-CFA69904999B} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/unforgiving-culture/a344.html?app=1 As a pastor, I have had the opportunity on many occasions to teach about forgiveness from a biblical perspective. The theme is central to our understanding of the mission of Christ, and the blessing he came to accomplish on the cross. Forgiveness ... Mon, 07 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0800 {6890594D-3773-EF9E-B4BA-D03A4936D83B} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/means-of-grace/a345.html?app=1 The Apostle Paul began his religious career as a persecutor of the Christian faith. But God had something better in mind for him. Through a flash of light and the Word of the risen Christ, Paul was changed on the road to Damascus. Something ... Sat, 11 Dec 2021 00:00:00 -0800 {3D3105B3-2AFB-C053-C5F0-9358BB550F09} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/only-god-and-savior/a346.html?app=1 The word “Amen” appears hundreds of times in throughout the Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments. Some may assume that this word, commonly heard at the end of a prayer, a blessing, or doxology of praise, is simply a religious way to ... Mon, 11 Oct 2021 00:00:00 -0700 {C6148EC0-B087-AA15-F3CE-BAFA3076CD32} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/doing-“good”-evil/a347.html?app=1 Evil is a tricky thing. As Scripture tells us, with the exception of Jesus himself, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). As fallen human beings, we all turn aside and do wrong. Sometimes this may be by mistake; but often ... Wed, 11 Aug 2021 00:00:00 -0700 {CBED3C10-DE83-068B-85C5-5EB3C266CD51} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/modern-censors/a348.html?app=1 Evil is a tricky thing. As Scripture tells us, with the exception of Jesus himself, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). As fallen human beings, we all turn aside and do wrong. Sometimes this may be by mistake; but often ... Thu, 29 Jul 2021 00:00:00 -0700 {CDC7C090-BEE7-4C32-9581-D269A3E56DDA} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/called-to-forgive/a349.html?app=1 Every once in a while, when people talk about Jesus’ words here about forgiving or withholding forgiveness, they speak as if they think Jesus is offering us two different options in how we might choose to respond to sin. It’s as if they hear ... Mon, 12 Apr 2021 00:00:00 -0700 {C00AE3D6-C693-F596-E853-BA687DFAFF82} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/emptying-barns/a350.html?app=1 The verse above is the conclusion to Jesus’ parable of the man who built bigger and bigger barns for his wealth, often referred to as the Parable of the Rich Fool. In this parable, a man is blessed with productive land and an abundance of ... Thu, 11 Feb 2021 00:00:00 -0800 {ADF94459-E75F-253B-A324-E0F58879CEC3} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/god-willing/a351.html?app=1 In old English, people expressed an action in the future tense by using the word “shall” — as in “It shall rain tomorrow.” The wording indicated an unaccomplished action, or the certainty of something that had yet to happen. People in ... Wed, 16 Dec 2020 00:00:00 -0800 {50005517-F30E-AAEE-A039-DAD15026B61F} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/the-holy-spirits-work/a352.html?app=1 For some time now, in my articles for Connections, I have been writing under the title of “Sacramental Discipleship.” The main theme I have tried to convey is that in our lives as disciples of Jesus, we serve as a kind of living “means of ... Thu, 15 Oct 2020 00:00:00 -0700 {C8560626-611D-1FCB-640D-147D243565F3} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/in-his-name-alone/a353.html?app=1 Chapter 4 of the Book of Acts shows us the conclusion to an event that happened in the previous chapter. Peter and John had been going up to the temple one day in Jerusalem when they encountered a man born lame who was begging for alms. What he ... Mon, 10 Aug 2020 00:00:00 -0700 {7EB6771F-9B26-8828-D7C7-8D0F23F45F2E} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/the-covetous-will/a354.html?app=1 As people begin to study and become more familiar with the Holy Scriptures, inevitably, they are confronted with the question of the human will. Most people start with an assumption of human freedom, and the God-given ability to do as we desire. ... Wed, 17 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0700 {81064229-46AB-1062-1AD5-D9068170DD2B} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/competitive-gospel/a355.html?app=1 I have often wondered about the verses above. I wonder exactly what it was that Paul was referring to, and why he would apparently affirm those who preach the gospel with ulterior motives? Paul always did have detractors. He spoke often of those ... Tue, 21 Apr 2020 00:00:00 -0700 {D48A7B34-58B3-0FAC-6F52-D650C034A58E} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/personal-witness/a356.html?app=1 When I think of God’s Commandment that we should not bear false witness against our neighbor, I can’t help but think about what kind of witness we should give to our neighbors. If “bearing false witness” means to misrepresent, lie, and ... Thu, 20 Feb 2020 00:00:00 -0800 {FACC52E2-276C-F8B0-9141-8FBF88EE09EA} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/respecting-the-stewardship-of-others/a357.html?app=1 In the second chapter of the Book of Acts, directly after the day of Pentecost, we are given a glimpse of the first days of the early Church, and how the first fledgling congregation “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the ... Fri, 20 Dec 2019 00:00:00 -0800 {97A8F4A9-F675-7AE5-4DA1-B9E20B383F3D} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/a-profound-mystery/a358.html?app=1 In the Book of Ephesians, as Paul is talking about what faith means for our human relationships, and how God calls husband and wife to love and respect one another, it’s as if he can’t keep himself limited to the topic at hand. Like the good ... Wed, 23 Oct 2019 00:00:00 -0700 {201B2718-4D78-B1F2-DB6A-3C409B5F622C} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/gods-purview/a359.html?app=1 Throughout the Scriptures we hear directly from God claims that would not be true if spoken by any other being. In the face of all god-like pretenders, the Lord Almighty asserts divine sovereignty – even over life and death itself. Scripture ... Tue, 16 Jul 2019 00:00:00 -0700 {0839D784-1943-1EA7-6389-6C65285E08F7} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/bearers-of-the-word/a360.html?app=1 From the very first pages of Scripture, we hear of a God who brings order from chaos and establishes the universe according to his good pleasure. By his powerful Word, God spoke the heavens and the earth into existence – “all that is seen and ... Thu, 11 Jul 2019 00:00:00 -0700 {B91D4A6A-4191-55F3-A420-D536EF389E71} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/work-and-rest/a361.html?app=1 In the sacristy of the church I served, there was a whole drawer of old, used candles. After being on the altar for a season, it seemed like all old candles would somehow end up in this particular drawer. I never knew why. Perhaps it was a member ... Mon, 06 May 2019 00:00:00 -0700 {E7BE8732-EEFD-8572-BA2B-A45BE2C01A8F} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/in-his-name-alone/a362.html?app=1 When Peter and John were brought before the Jewish Council to explain the healing of the lame man they had encountered in the Temple (Acts 3-4), they made it clear that it was not by their own power or skill that the man had been healed, but ... Tue, 05 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0800 {4FE8E091-E5A5-FACE-ACEF-A7AE6FC9FC5B} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/disciples-of-one-master/a363.html?app=1 I remember hearing an observation about life in the military and the difference in status between officers and enlisted personnel. It is said, “There is no one more private than a General, and there is no one more general than a Private.” Thu, 20 Dec 2018 00:00:00 -0800 {E42471C8-A40A-F36D-B0FE-61F6BB521AA2} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/for-us-and-in-us/a364.html?app=1 When I teach confirmation students about the Holy Spirit, I always talk about what it means to believe that God himself is at work in our lives –- not only about what God does for us but also about what God does in us.  Both of these are key ... Sun, 14 Oct 2018 00:00:00 -0700 {F7ED05C5-607E-E290-A647-FA62A7AA1681} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/gain-or-loss/a365.html?app=1 Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark ... Fri, 27 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0700 {1593CBD1-B548-6279-D2DD-0CE17D570CCF} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/what-god-has-done/a366.html?app=1 In the course of this series of articles emphasizing a “sacramental” view of our lives as disciples, we have drawn upon the basic Law-Gospel distinction that is familiar to many Lutheran Christians. As Lutherans, we know that when we listen ... Mon, 14 May 2018 00:00:00 -0700 {CCD291A4-80E4-7EEF-6922-C1D85DE9A09F} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/sanctification-by-faith/a367.html?app=1 There are two related terms in the verse above that refer to the change in standing that is brought about by the Holy Spirit in faith. One is “justification” and the other is “sanctification.” Scripture describes both of these as the work ... Mon, 19 Mar 2018 00:00:00 -0700 {7F275287-B81D-119C-11CE-B93652221F1F} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/daily-dying-and-rising/a369.html?app=1 The season of Easter is the season of Resurrection. The foundation of our faith rests in the promise that Jesus died on the cross and was raised again in victory over the grave. Just as we acknowledge that Jesus died for us, we also bear witness ... Thu, 25 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0800 {57CFDBDB-7265-C43E-E1EC-161AFB704DD5} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/conformed-to-the-cross/a368.html?app=1 In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he addressed the common spiritual assumptions of the world, found among the religious and the irreligious — both the Jews and the Gentiles. Contrary to self-centered and worldly theologies of glory ... Mon, 20 Nov 2017 00:00:00 -0800 {06B739C0-3E86-7AF1-E485-E368CC428866} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/disciples-as-ambassadors/a370.html?app=1 In my senior year of seminary, as part of our final graduation requirements, we were asked to write an essay on our theology of Christian mission and how we understood the rationale for evangelism. (Yes, in those days, that was still considered ... Tue, 19 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0700 {250A19E2-4CCF-DD84-02BB-B5D71D1882E2} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/the-vocation-of-parents/a371.html?app=1 This October, we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation (1517 – 2017). It seems appropriate to say a little about how Martin Luther reflected a sacramental understanding of discipleship in his teaching, as well as in his vocation as ... Fri, 28 Jul 2017 00:00:00 -0700 {FE150B55-1628-AD76-677B-4C920B99EA13} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/instruments-of-god/a372.html?app=1 In Article 5 of the Augsburg Confession, when the first Lutherans describe how God works to instill and sustain faith in us as believers, they speak of Word and Sacrament as the tangible instruments God uses to do his work in us. They explain: ... Thu, 25 May 2017 00:00:00 -0700 {8017811E-4C8B-84BB-5492-8219D75727F0} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/whose-disciples-are-we/a373.html?app=1 In John, chapter 9, we hear the story of when Jesus healed a man born blind, and how he was questioned by the Pharisees who would not believe. In the midst of this confrontation, the issue of discipleship is raised. Tue, 04 Apr 2017 00:00:00 -0700 {4C55A60D-ED36-E57E-8A8C-E47F68055557} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/means-of-gods-grace/a374.html?app=1 In this article series over the past year, we have been looking at the subject of Discipleship through the specific lens of a sacramental Lutheran perspective, in the belief that our faith tradition has important contributions to make to the ... Wed, 18 Jan 2017 00:00:00 -0800 {AA761996-0DB0-F446-A718-10FDEB1501D2} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/immeasurable-grace/a375.html?app=1 The Apostle Paul speaks in these verses of the grace and kindness of God, by which he has saved us and through which he continues to transform our lives in Christ. This forward-looking promise recognizes that God is opening up a new future for us ... Fri, 18 Nov 2016 00:00:00 -0800 {9ED89AA5-1B8E-3275-2E6C-06FC68648CAB} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/for-daily-living/a376.html?app=1 For many Christians today, it is a sad fact that Baptism has little or no meaning for daily living in faith.  Even for those who talk much about Baptism, or include reference to it in much of their religious language, Baptism seems to have ... Tue, 27 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0700 {1B109FD4-DC44-3ACF-5A93-B3D47F71A99A} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/prayer-in-the-word/a377.html?app=1 When we hear the phrase “daily devotions,” one of the first things that we may think of are those little devotional booklets that many of us use on a daily basis. Most of these follow a similar pattern, with a quotation from Scripture ... Wed, 03 Aug 2016 00:00:00 -0700 {B927C7F7-A768-9997-4093-571E2FC5B934} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/what-are-we-building/a378.html?app=1 The Tower of Babel story from the Book of Genesis always reminds me of my attempts as a child to build the highest skyscraper I could, using Lego building bricks. No matter how high the tower, inevitably, it would come crashing down. Fortunately, ... Tue, 31 May 2016 00:00:00 -0700 {BD419A60-01D1-7462-B015-B2E4C0525A33} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/mary-and-martha/a379.html?app=1 You know the story. When Jesus came to visit the house of two sisters, Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to his teaching, while Martha kept busy with her ministry to the needs of those who had come to her. Overwhelmed by the good things ... Wed, 13 Apr 2016 00:00:00 -0700 {0EC4DBD1-F3B2-8FFA-03F3-3A734E8C61F4} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/god-centered-faith/a380.html?app=1 “The good and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it will also be done among us.” (Luther’s Small Catechism, Explanation to the Lord’s Prayer). Just as he did to those fishermen by the ... Sat, 16 Jan 2016 00:00:00 -0800 {DF5DF2D1-AD1C-A0A8-E185-5C3F0B0DFE82} https://wordalone.com/articles-devotionals/master-and-disciples/a381.html?app=1 Not long ago, I remember sitting in the lobby of the health club I belonged to, randomly picking up and paging through a magazine on martial arts. Having no experience in the sport myself, I was interested to read how the author described his ... Tue, 05 Jan 2016 00:00:00 -0800 {59DDA8EB-FBE8-93A4-4FE5-9EA2ABFAEE4F}