The Lutheran Church in the Philippines

22/05/2026

RESTLESS HEARTS AND LIVING WATER

A Devotional
By: Rev. Emmanuel N. Ilagan


37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39 ESV)

oOo

Appealing to human nature, a soft drinks company released this slogan to promote its product: “Obey your thirst!”

Everyone thirsts for something -- pleasure, power, achievement, approval, money, etc. Yet no matter how many times we “obey” our thirst, it never disappears.

One time during an important festival at the Temple Jesus stood up and cried out in a loud voice “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

The celebration was the Feast of Tabernacles. Jewish pilgrims from various regions came to Jerusalem to commemorate God’s provision during the Israelites’ journey in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land.

During the festival the priests and the people gave thanks and sang the Hallel psalms as they waved palm branches in the Temple’s outer courts. On the last day of the festival, the celebration rose in intensity. As the people sang, danced and shouted prayers for salvation, the priests marched around the altar seven times and then the water was poured on the altar as an offering.

It was at that moment that Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

Jesus proclaimed that in Him only can be found the living water that can quench their spiritual thirst. As He said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4: 13-14).

God had intended and wanted that we live with Him. But we have sinned and rebelled against God, and now we have that spiritual thirst that the world can never satisfy. As St. Augustine said "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."

But God loved us so much that His Son Jesus offered His life on the cross and rose from death so that through faith in Him we are forgiven and reconciled with God. We will still face trials in this fallen world, but by God’s grace our heart is at rest in our loving Savior Jesus.

oOo

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You that through Your sacrifice on the cross we can look forward to that day when You will lead us unto living fountains of waters, and wipe away all tears from our eyes. Amen.

16/05/2026

16/05/2026

Sharing the pictures of the on-going construction of a church building - for the Lutheran Mission - Tiaong, Quezon. The Lutheran Mission - Tiaong (South Luzon District) was started during the COVID pandemic in the year 2020. That was the reason this mission work was known as Christ Our Victorious Incarnate Deliverer (COVID) Mission.

We praise and give glory to God our Father for touching the heart of Mrs. Lydia Bangayan Bolduc who tirelessly and generously supported the construction of Tiaong church building and other church buildings in the South Luzon District and the North Luzon Lowland District.

We thank also Pastor Ibarra Valeriano for the design, the managing and supervising of the construction works. SOLI DEO GLORIA

15/05/2026

Jesus Prays for Us

A Devotional
By: Rev. Emmanuel N. Natividad

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.

9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. (John 17:1-11 ESV)

oOo

Have you ever experienced overhearing the intimate, private prayer of another person, for example, a mother softly praying for a seriously ill child? In this Gospel lesson we are privileged to overhear such a prayer of Jesus to the Father. At first Jesus prays for Himself and then rather quickly He prays for us.

Jesus’ earthly ministry was about to be finished. Now He sets His sights on the glory of the cross, where He will take on the punishment for the sin of humankind. But before he leaves the world and go through His death, resurrection and ascension, He prays to the Father for us. Jesus acknowledges that “I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world.”

Jesus knows that we live in a world governed by biological needs and political powers. We need daily bread and peace and order so that we may live quiet lives. But when the price of groceries rises, political leaders quarrel and nations wage war we get disoriented and begin to think that our well-being is tied to grocery prices and global stability. We are tempted to think that this world is the only reality.

Jesus recognizes that we live in a fallen world that has chosen to live away from God. He knows that we need guidance as we face this world’s daily challenges.

Jesus gave us not just guidance but salvation when He offered His life on the cross and rose from the dead, to defeat sin, death and the devil. By God’s grace we who believe are redeemed and given a new identity as God’s children. God gave us His Name in our baptism and Jesus asks the Father to keep and sustain us in His name.

When the news is heavy and the future looks bleak, let us remember our identity as God’s children. No human threats or earthly circumstances can separate us from God’s love. Our hearts can rest because of the reality that our Risen and Ascended Lord sits in power at the right hand of God and intercedes on our behalf.

oOo

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You for your great love for us. Let our lives be as light in the darkness of this world so that Your Name may be glorified. Amen,

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08/05/2026

NOT ORPHANS BUT CHILDREN OF GOD

A Devotional
By: Rev. Emmanuel N. Ilagan


“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. “Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:15-21 ESV)

oOo

There are times when we feel like orphans. Not that we do not have parents, but in our hearts, we carry an “orphan spirit.” We feel alone, insecure, fearful, always thinking there is never enough, and no sense of identity.

Several times Jesus had told His disciples that He was leaving them. And He knew how they would feel. Therefore, He assures them that He will not leave them as orphans.
Jesus tells them that He will ask the Father to give them the Holy Spirit who will accompany them, The Holy Spirit will be their Teacher, Defender and Comforter.

The subsequent events made clear to the disciples what Jesus had told them. Jesus suffered and died on the Cross but rose from the grave and ascended into heaven. And then the Holy Spirit came upon them and equipped them to preach the Good News of salvation in Christ with boldness and power.

Sometimes we may also feel alone and have that “orphan spirit” as we face life’s difficult challenges --loss of a job, rejection and bullying by classmates, break up of a relationship or a sudden serious illness. We feel afraid and inadequate like orphans without family to give us support.

But the Gospel of the Lord Jesus tells us this is not the case.

God’s Word tells us that we have not received a spirit of slavery to fear but the Spirit of adoption as children of God (Rom.8:15-16). Jesus has redeemed us with His blood and by God’s grace we who believe are no longer spiritual orphans wandering about.

God has incorporated us into His family through our baptism. God is our Father and the Holy Spirit is always alongside us as promised by the Lord Jesus. We are not orphans but sons and daughters of God.

oOo

Prayer: Heavenly Father, when we feel sad and lonely, remind us of our identity as Your children for You have brought into Your family through Christ. Through the Word and the Sacrament re-assure us that the Holy Spirit is always with us. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

01/05/2026

LORD, HOW CAN WE KNOW THE WAY?

A Devotional
By: Rev. Emmanuel N. Ilagan

1“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4And you know the way to where I am going.”

5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

8Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

12“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If you ask mee anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:1-14 ESV)

oOo

Thomas asked Jesus, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus had just told the disciples He was going away but would return to take them with Him. The practical, evidence-seeking Thomas wanted clearer information.

This conversation took place at the Passover Seder, a festive yet reverent celebration of Jewish freedom from slavery in Egypt. But that evening, Jesus said things that troubled the disciples deeply. He revealed that one of them would betray Him, that Peter would deny Him, and — most shattering of all — that He was leaving. Having left their families and livelihoods to follow Him, their hopes must have collapsed.

We know what troubled hearts feel like. We face rising food prices, violent crime, corruption, and conflict among nations. And in our own lives come sudden illness, job loss, and broken relationships, it is like walking in an endless wilderness where we could easily get lost.

Like Thomas, we ask, "Lord, how can we know the way?"

Jesus does not give directions. Instead He declares, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." He lifts Thomas's eyes to see Him not merely as a rabbi who taught, healed, and performed miracles, but as the Savior who defeats sin and death so that by God’s grace all who believe in Him are reconciled with God and adopted as God’s children.

When we ask Jesus to show us the way, His answer is not better government, price control, or a ceasefire — though these are helpful. He gives us a Person -- Himself. He offers Himself as the Rock and Refuge to Whom we can always run for refuge and help.
Although we may still face difficulties in this life, Jesus tells “Let not your hearts be troubled.” We are in the hands of the Shepherd who accompanies us and holds the future in His hands.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, Your love and mercy is beyond our understanding. Help us share the good news of salvation in You to the people that we meet in our daily life. In Your Precious Name we paray. Amen.

24/04/2026

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24/04/2026

Jesus, Our Shepherd

A Devotional
BY: Rev. Emmanuel N. Ilagan

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:1-10 ESV)

oOo

In New Testament times there were two kinds of sheepfold where sheep were kept at night.

In the cities and village centers the sheep were kept in pens that were large enough to accommodate several flocks of sheep. A porter guards the door at night and in the morning each shepherd comes and calls his sheep. The sheep that belong to that shepherd heed the call and follow him. They disregard the unfamiliar voice of the other shepherds.

In the countryside the sheepfold consisted of rocks piled together to form a circle. A small opening in the circle serves as the door. The shepherd lies down across the opening and becomes the “door” of the sheepfold. He keeps away the wild animals or any predators who want to harm the sheep. No one can enter the sheepfold except through him. The sheep can sleep securely knowing they are safe with their shepherd.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep. We have gone astray and turned our own way. But God laid on Jesus all our sins and He took on the punishment that we deserve. And now as our Shepherd He takes care of our needs and protects us against predators who are out to destroy us (1 Pet. 5:8). He provides for our needs and is our constant guide and companion.

Jesus is the Door to the sheepfold. He not only points us to the way to God; He is the Way. Through faith in Him and by God’s grace we enter and join the family of God. In spite of what is happening around us we can sleep and rest secure because we belong to His sheepfold and He is there to protect us and keep us safe.

There may be difficult days ahead, but because Jesus is our Shepherd, surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life, and we hall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, we were once lost and gone astray, but You have found us. As we face the uncertainties and threats of these days, keep us steadfast in our faith in You. In Your Name we pray. Amen.