You can listen to the devotion here.

Invocation
In the Name of the Father, and (+) of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 
​
Scripture
Revelation 11:1-3
Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

Devotion
Revelation uses a lot of imagery to teach the church.  Revelation 11 is no different, and the focus is that the church will suffer greatly in this world. God will protect His church and yet Christians will suffer persecution and even death. But in the end, they have victory because Christ is victorious.
There is a lot going on in this chapter, but it helps if you understand that both the temple and the two witnesses are a picture of the church.

This temple is the church where God dwells with His people in Word and Sacrament.  This is how the church is sustained even in the face of persecution, suffering, and even death.  The church will suffer and suffer greatly but it will not ultimately be defeated.

This is the same thing we see with the two witnesses.  The two witnesses are representative of the church’s preaching and teaching ministry, that is its prophetic witness to the world.  The church calls the world to repentance and proclaims Christ crucified for them.

The two witnesses are even killed in this section.  At times the witness of the church will be silenced in an area for a time (and the world will even celebrate this!), but then the church is raised up in that place again just as we see the two witnesses raised up. 

The end of the chapter shows the end of all things and the great joy that God’s children will have on that day. The ark of the covenant makes an appearance at the close of the chapter because it is a symbol of God’s presence and shows that His presence and fellowship is possible because of the atonement of Christ.  This presence is found today in the church as we gather around Word and Sacrament – the very place where Christ has promised to be for you and your salvation!

Martin Luther has some helpful insights into what it means for the church to suffer under the cross. He calls this suffering the seventh mark of the church: "Seventh, the holy Christian people are externally recognized by the holy possession of the sacred cross. They must endure every misfortune and persecution, all kinds of trials and evil from the devil, the world, and the flesh (as the Lord’s Prayer indicates) by inward sadness, timidity, fear, outward poverty, contempt, illness, and weakness, in order to become like their head, Christ. And the only reason they must suffer is that they steadfastly adhere to Christ and God’s word, enduring this for the sake of Christ, Matthew 5 [:11], “Blessed are you when men persecute you on my account.” Wherever you see or hear this, you may know that the holy Christian church is there, as Christ says in Matthew 5 [:11–12], “Blessed are you when men revile you and utter all kinds of evil against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”…This too is a holy possession whereby the Holy Spirit not only sanctifies his people, but also blesses them."

These sufferings are actually a blessing that we can rejoice in because we know that Christ is with us using all these things for the good of His Church. 

Collect
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank You, that through Your Son Jesus Christ You have sown Your holy word among us: We pray that You will prepare our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that we may diligently and reverently hear Your word, keep it in good hearts, and bring forth fruit with patience; and that we may not incline to sin, but subdue it by Your power, and in all persecutions comfort ourselves with Your grace and continual help, through Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

You can listen to the devotion here.

Invocation
In the Name of the Father, and (+) of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 
​
Scripture
Revelation 3:14-22
14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.  15 “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”

Devotion
This is by far the harshest letter of the seven letters to the churches in Revelation. This church receives no commendation from Christ, only judgment.  This letter is a call of repentance to those who suffer from the sin of sloth/apathy (in the Greek acedia).  So, it is an extremely appropriate reading during a pandemic since as we have seen in previous devotions that one of the things we should see in calamities is a call for us to repent in anticipation of the second coming of Christ.
Sloth. Apathy. False Security.  These all describe the same thing.  Sloth/apathy, biblically speaking, is a lack of care and concern for holy things. This is usually because of a disappointment and spiritual dissatisfaction with God’s gifts.

Sinners become bored with the things of God (sometimes they will say things like, “Can’t we do things differently?” and “Can’t we hear something new?”), and this apathy can often lead the sinner to despair.  At the same time, they become infatuated with the things and cares of this world.
This is described by Luther in the Large Catechism this way: “Likewise those fastidious spirits are to be reproved who, when they have heard a sermon or two, find it tedious and dull, thinking that they know all that well enough, and need no more instruction. For just that is the sin which has been hitherto reckoned among mortal sins, and is called acedia, i.e., torpor or satiety, a malignant, dangerous plague with which the devil bewitches and deceives the hearts of many, that he may surprise us and secretly withdraw God's Word from us.”

In the reading, this is described as a “lukewarm” stagnant water that was neither hot nor cold.  Hot water and cold water are useful in a variety of contexts – everyone enjoys a variety of hot or cold drinks. Lukewarm water is only good for being spit out (literally vomited out)– it is disgusting and is completely useless to quench your thirst.

The Laodiceans’ lives and their plans and hopes were self-centered. Faith and love toward God lived out in a life of service to the neighbor were of secondary importance to them. They didn’t care for what they believed or how they lived. They certainly didn’t care about proclaiming the message of the Gospel to others because they didn’t even care for it themselves. Jesus makes it clear that apathy towards God’s Law and Gospel will not be tolerated. The Lord will not tolerate a life of imagined self-sufficiency which has no need for repentance and forgiveness.

Luther spoke about this attitude contrasting it with the Lord’s attitude towards us: “He is wretched because he does not have mercy himself, and miserable because he cannot have mercy on others either, but is only miserable. But the Lord is neither wretched nor miserable, indeed, pitying the wretched and making the miserable one able to have mercy on others, so that He is not only rich toward His own, but also abounding, causing them also to make others rich” (AE 11:379)
He preaches the fullness of the Law in this text to prepare them, and us, for the Gospel.  Those whom He loves He disciplines and calls them back to Himself. The call is to repent of thinking that we are sufficient in and of ourselves, and to see that all that the spiritual wealth and health we need is from Him! (Cf. Isa. 55:1-3)

So, the Lord seeks out His lost people with His Law and Gospel.  Jesus desires to dine with us by giving us Himself in the Divine Service through Word and Sacrament.  We as the church only hear His voice and open the door because of the work of the Spirit in us.  Far from being a verse that teaches that we can save ourselves, it is a declaration that Jesus must seek us out, come to us, and give us His gifts in the very place that He has promised to do it – in His Word and Sacrament!
The promise at the end of the passage is that all those who have received these gifts will reign with Jesus on His throne. United to Him you have conquered sin, death, and hell because He has conquered these for you, and you will reign with Him forever.

Collect
Merciful Father, reveal to us the struggles we have with sloth and apathy that we may repent of these sins. Enliven us with your Holy Gospel that we may desire the things we ought to; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord. Amen.

Invocation
In the Name of the Father, and (+) of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.   

Scripture
Revelation 5
5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,

                  “Worthy are you to take the scroll
      and to open its seals,
                  for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
      from every tribe and language and people and nation,
            10       and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
      and they shall reign on the earth.”

11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,

                  “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
                  to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
                  and honor and glory and blessing!”

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

                  “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
                  be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.


Devotion
You may not have given this much thought but the book of Revelation is the perfect book to be reading during this pandemic.  People often are confused and think that the book of Revelation is only about things in the distant future. However, the focus of Revelation is on how God is in control of all things and that the Lamb who was slain is risen and is with us no matter how bad things are. It's about God being with His people here and now and in the future - not just a book a distant future that few will experience. 

The most important thing Revelation wants to get across is Christ’s present and future reign in glory and the current faith and mission of the church in the midst of all the agony and death throes of the human race and its history. What's revealed is revealed to strengthen and encourage the faith of the church in the midst of all the suffering so that she remains faithful to Christ in carrying out her mission.

We get a beautiful picture of that here in Revelation chapter 5. 

The risen Lord Jesus Christ is introduced in the vision of God’s heavenly glory and the image of the victorious Lamb. He is presented to the heavenly host as the one who can receive the scroll from God and look into it. His receiving of the scroll from God is also a demonstration and a vindication that his death and resurrection were a victory for God and His people.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is in control of all things and is with you no matter what you are going through and no matter what is going on in this world. So, we join in with all of heaven in praising the Lamb who was slain for us and our salvation.  Because even now He is present in His Word and Sacraments to redeem you and save you.  

Revelation is quite clear that this doesn't mean that God's people will have lives free from pain, suffering, illness, and persecution - quite the contrary.  Instead, Revelation gives us a glimpse into heaven to see that our crucified and risen Lord has everything under control and is always acting and working on your behalf - for your salvation!   

This is because the Lamb who was slain is also the Lion of Judah.  He is the mighty and victorious King. He rules and reigns over all things, and He is working all things together for the good of His church.  Which means He's working all things together for your good - especially your eternal good. This is true right now during the coronavirus pandemic and whatever the fallout from that might be. It's true if you are losing money for your business or if you have had your hours cut or lost your job.  It's true even if you get sick with the coronavirus. It's true even if you die from the coronavirus. 

Revelation gives us a glimpse into the heavenly perspective concerning the things that are taking place on earth.  It is that perspective that gives us comfort and hope.

So we sing:
                “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
                  to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
                  and honor and glory and blessing!”  



Collect
O Lord, we are often blind to what is truly going on, help us to see in Your Word the truth that You are in control of all things and that you are working all things together for our good and for our salvation, through Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.