Our Savior Lutheran Church

06/18/2026

EXCERPT...

06/17/2026

The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.’”
Leviticus 19:1-2

Be Holy
Have you ever achieved perfection? Making the perfect sales pitch. Baking the perfect pie. Earning the perfect grade. When you reach that goal, you get excited. You rejoice. You let others know that perfection has been achieved. But how long did it take you to achieve that perfection? How many mistakes did you make on the way?

The Lord tells his people to be holy. In other words, be perfect. But he doesn’t say work your way to perfection. He says you are to be holy, right now, at this very moment, and then to keep being holy.

Of course, you aren’t perfect. You make mistakes. You do things that are wrong. And as soon as you make one mistake or sin even in the most insignificant way, you are no longer perfect. You are unable to be holy even though God demands that you be holy.

So, the Lord sent Jesus. Jesus was holy. He didn’t make any mistakes. He never sinned. He never did anything contrary to what God commands. Jesus lived a perfect life in his thoughts, his words, and in everything he did.

Now Jesus gives that perfection to you. Even though you are not holy, Jesus makes you holy by giving you his perfect obedience to God’s laws and washing away your sins with his innocent blood. Through Jesus, you are able to be what you cannot achieve on your own. You are holy.

Prayer:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I confess that by nature I am not holy as you desire. Cleanse me of my sins with the blood of Jesus. Lead me to always thank and praise you for the holiness that you have given me through Jesus. Keep me faithful to him. Amen.



Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

06/17/2026

Have a headache? Take two leeches and call me
in the morning. If you consult a medical text
from a couple of centuries ago, that may be the
remedy you find. Today a textbook would
probably tell you to pop a couple of aspirin.
Tomorrow… Lasers? Magnetics? Who knows
what advancements or discoveries will change
how a simple headache is treated? It is amazing
how much the science of medicine has changed
even over the course of the last hundred years.
How will we ever know when we have really
found the answers?
66 – 40 – 1500 – 1: What do those numbers
mean? The Bible is made up of 66 books that
were written by 40 writers over the course of
1500 years. But in all of those books, only one
message is found. The message? We have a
problem (and it isn’t a simple headache). Our
problem is our sin and the guilt that it brings.
That one message is also about the remedy for
our problem—God sent Jesus, a perfect Savior,
to die for our sin and guilt. Now believers in
Jesus have the promise of eternal life in heaven.
That simple message of salvation is repeated
throughout the Bible, from Moses’ writing in
Genesis to the writings of the apostle John in
Revelation. How amazing that so many different
writers from different times record a single
message that reveals the world’s only true
Savior from sin!
Maybe it isn’t all that amazing. “For prophecy
never had its origin in the human will, but
prophets, through human, spoke from God as
they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2
Peter 1:21). The very same God who loved us
enough to send his own Son to die for us made
sure that we would know about Jesus by having
his message written down. Because God had
men record his Word, the Bible is unlike any
other book. We are told that “all Scripture is
God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). God himself
spoke through, breathed into these writers, so
their words are really God’s Word. Since the
Bible is God’s Word, we can trust that it is true.
God is speaking to us through the words that he
caused to be written in the Bible. Join us for
worship, where we gather to hear what
important things, he has to say to all of us.

06/16/2026

06/16/2026

Proposed changes to the campus at MLS

06/16/2026

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

More Than Enough
Today’s Bible passage provides the opportunity for you to give thanks for one of God’s greatest blessings. He chose you to be saved! He rescued you from the curse of sin and the power of death. Salvation did not come about by your choice; it is completely the result of God’s gracious choice. Your salvation is not a matter of chance; it is certain and true. For even before the creation of the world, in love God chose you to be his own.

The Holy Spirit used the message of Jesus to turn you from unbelief to faith in Jesus as your Savior. And with that same gospel message, the Holy Spirit still preserves you in faith. Because of Jesus’ perfect life and innocent death in your place, you stand before God as one of his holy people and are privileged to be an heir of eternal life.

Believe what God has revealed to you in his Word. That’s the only true defense against the assaults to your faith. Keep going back to the Word of God because that’s where you meet Jesus. That’s where God tells you about his plans for you. He shows you his Son, Jesus, and how he saved you from hell. He uplifts you with his certain word that you will share in the glory of heaven—all because of Jesus. Indeed, this is more than enough reason to give thanks to God!

Prayer:
Dear God, I give you thanks for planning and carrying out my salvation through your Son, Jesus. Thank you for bringing me to faith in Jesus and leading me to trust him as my Savior from sin and death. Encourage me with your sure promise that the glory of heaven awaits me. Amen.



Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

06/15/2026

Aren't five-year-olds silly?...

06/13/2026

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:15-16

God’s Abundant Grace
The other day I had a talk with a friend who admitted that she sometimes gets so down on herself when she knows that she has sinned. I think I can relate; perhaps you can, too. What can we do about that? We can go to Jesus for forgiveness. We can leave those sins at the foot of his cross.

It can be difficult to leave our sins at the cross sometimes. We know that Jesus has taken them away, but then why do we still feel guilty about them? Well, this is just another way that the devil tries to get a foothold on us. This is the way he gets us to doubt what God says when he tells us he loves us. The devil has a way of saying to us “Are you sure that God forgave that sin? Do you really feel sorry for it? Do you think he’s going to forgive you over and over again?” How frustrating and heartbreaking these thoughts can be!

You can find help and comfort in these words written by the apostle Paul: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” Paul knew that not even his sins were too big for Jesus to take away. We can also be assured that our sins aren’t too many for Jesus to forgive. Jesus does forgive all our sins. His grace is abundant. No matter how sinful we are, even if we are the worst of sinners, our Lord pours out his grace on us and cancels the guilt of each and every sin we commit. So never doubt your forgiveness because God’s abundant grace is for you, too.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, forgive me for ever doubting your saving power. Through the good news of your word, remind me of your power and love whenever I sin. Help me cling to your abundant grace and fill me with the lasting peace of your forgiveness. Amen.



Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

06/12/2026

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
Matthew 9:9

An Unexpected Invitation
People often draw conclusions about others based on the people they associate with. And so, there may be people you don’t want to be seen with, so people don’t think less of you.

Are you ever the one someone stays away from? That can really hurt, especially if the person avoiding you is someone people look up to, or someone from whom you crave acceptance and love.

Jesus approached a man named Matthew one day. He was someone people usually avoided. Not just because he was a tax collector, and people didn’t want to pay taxes. But because tax collectors worked for the Roman Empire, which oppressed Israel. And tax collectors could demand more taxes than were required and keep the difference for themselves.

Jesus approached Matthew that day. “Follow me,” he said. Jesus wasn’t showing him how to get to a location across town. Jesus was calling him to be his disciple, to join his traveling school of theology, to spend time with him, and be seen with him.

Jesus went out of his way and risked his reputation for someone whose chosen career path had rightly branded him a sinner to be avoided. Moved by the unconditional love in Jesus’ invitation, Matthew got up and followed him. And he never looked back.

In Jesus, Matthew didn’t find acceptance of sinful ways. Instead, he found forgiveness for every fault and failure. He found pardon for his past and the promise of belonging in the family of God. He found love without condition and mercy for the messiest of lives.

No matter what you have done, no matter what others think of you, Jesus says to you, “Follow me. Know that God loves you and forgives you. Hold onto my mercy. I want you to be with me forever.” Follow him, and don’t look back!

Prayer:
Jesus, in love you found me. I want to follow you. Amen.



Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

06/11/2026

Three WELS members share how they incorporate personal time with their Savior into their daily lives. Meaningful conversations Reflecting on 16 years of fatherhood, one of my most cherished activities has been family devotions with my wife and four children. Nothing this world can offer is as fulf