As we celebrate the Day of Pentecost today, we remember another biblical incident involving language: the tower of Babel, which is discussed in today’s Old Testament Reading. Our devotion comes from LifeLight: Genesis, Part 1—Leaders Guide.

Last week I turned forty with much pomp and circumstance. My family treated me like royalty, sending me off on an adventure with my oldest daughter. My friends made detailed plans for restaurants and meet-ups. There was food and sunshine and praise and laughter involved. I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Our family is on the road again, transitioning from our time at the seminary to my husband’s call and a life in western New York. Transitions with three small children are messy. There are abnormal bedtimes and meals, toys packed into boxes and onto a truck despite the protests of a four year old, and lots of emotions. The simple reality is that saying good-bye is sad and saying hello can be scary. About a week ago now, after being shipped off to grandma’s house so my husband and I could finish packing, load a truck, and clean our apartment, my daughter said to a family friend whom she hadn’t seen in sometime, “My heart missed you. I’m so lucky I get to love people in lots of spots. Some people only love people in one spot.”

We all have one thing hanging over our lives that has been there far too long. It could be a habit to break, an addiction to conquer, a goal to accomplish, a long-standing project to complete, a relationship to restore or end, or a debt to retire. That one thing keeps showing up and outstaying its welcome. It sits smack dab in the middle of the room like the proverbial pink elephant. Everyone tiptoes around it—never acknowledging or discussing it.

The Book of Ezra is not well known; we tend to just mumble our way over it when we say the books of the Bible (1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther . . .) and maybe never even venture to see what's inside this Old Testament book.

Today’s reading focuses on the Gospel of the day and talks about how Christians are all one body in Christ. Our devotion is from Luther’s Works, Volume 69 (Sermons on the Gospel of St. John Chapters 17–20).

Justin was a second-century Christian in Rome who explained and defended his faith to the Roman emperor. As such, his writings provide a useful historical resource. Our devotion today details some of Justin’s accounts of early Christian worship and is taken from The Church from Age to Age.

This post is adapted from my newest women’s Bible study, Joy: A Study of Philippians.

If you’ve mailed me a letter, I probably still have it. I treasure handwritten words because the writer has something special to say. Maybe the letter is filled with news and updates. Or perhaps it contains humbling words of thanks. Often, it includes encouraging words and tender reminders. Sometimes it contains carefully crafted remarks that challenge or hold me accountable. One of my favorite parts of personal letters is the valediction, the complimentary close, such as “Blessings, my friend,” “With a grateful heart,” or “Yours in Christ.”

As we see how God used Lydia to further the mission in Philippi, we think about how He uses us in various ways to further His work. Our devotional reading for today comes from the Arch Book Lydia Believes.

Today we remember Bede, an English monk who lived in the seventh and eighth centuries. Bede is remembered for his teaching about history and Christian theology. Our devotion comes from Lutheran Worship: Hymnal Companion.