Dear Mom,

I don’t remember, but when I was young I know you cared for me. You fawned over my chubby cheeks, made funny faces to make me laugh, and held my hands as I took my first steps. You loved me.

We honor Walther today by reading a biographical devotion from Servant of the Word and reading a poem Walther wrote about Jesus’ work for us on the cross.

We set our minds on the reading from Acts today, particularly 10:34–38, with a devotion from Popular Commentary of the Bible: New Testament, Volume 1.

Before Friedrich Wyneken was the second president of the LCMS, he was a missionary pastor from Germany who came to the New World to care for Christian immigrants. We remember him today by reading about his decision to come to the New World, as printed in A Century of Grace.

A few days ago, I was sitting at my desk returning various emails and updating various web-type things when my phone vibrated. I picked it up expecting a text from one of my children that they had forgotten their lunch or at the very least a text from a friend with a funny gif.

There haven’t been a whole lot of constants for me over the last year.

For the past year of my life, nothing has stayed the same. I went from my final semester of college, to a summer at home working an office job, to student teaching, to graduating, to a brand new job in a brand new town. I went from being an expert at being a student after having done that for 15+ years to being a teacher with virtually no experience. I went from knowing everyone on the tiny campus I lived on to moving to a new town where the only people I know are my coworkers.

Today is the Feast of St. Philip and St. James. We remember these two apostles by reading a devotion from Celebrating the Saints.

Introduction to Song of Solomon

The Book Song of Solomon focuses on the love God designed to be shared between husband and wife. Through that relationship, the Lord Jesus gives us a glimpse of His intense love for us, and the yearning He wishes to stir up in our hearts as we await His return on Judgment Day.

Our focus for today is the reading from Acts, which is the account of Philip and the Ethiopian. We take our devotion from Growing in Christ Adult Bible Study.

If your church follows the lectionary, last Sunday was "Good Shepherd Sunday", when we read Psalm 23 and sing some songs about us being God's little lambs. It is striking that the Gospel reading for this day from John 10:11-18 misses the beginning of the chapter, where Jesus says, "The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him" (John 10:3-4). This is an important part of the picture of Jesus as Shepherd and us as his sheep: we need to get out of the sheep pen.