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Special

In the Word

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1b).

Of the Word

One-of-a-kind! Each dear child of the Heavenly Father is indeed irreplaceable! Each child of God is special, unique, precious, and treasured by Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Jesus died on the cross and rose again to save each one of us from sin, death, and the devil.

Christian parenting involves reminding our children how unique and special they are — both in our eyes and in the eyes of their Savior. When we offer them support and encouragement we help them become confident and assured. Telling them “You are God’s special child” reminds them of how important they are. Each one is unique, one-of-a kind, exceptional, a blessing from God.

Stretch your faith-filled parenting: Each day, remind your children that they are God’s children, loved and cherished by Him and by you.

Walking with my Lord

Precious Lord, You have given me a treasured gift in my child. Remind me of that fact, even when that dear one doesn’t act like such a dear one. Children are precious, special, and dearly loved by You. Help me to give my child daily assurances of the certainty of Your love and mine. In Your wonderful name. Amen.

Mustard Seed: Faith-Filled Parenting. Authors: Rev. Larry and Shari Miller. 32/32 ©2009 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place Ste. L010, St. Louis, MO 63105. www.lwml.org

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations were taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Teach

In the Word

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Psalm 25:4–5).

Of the Word

Jesus was the greatest teacher. He spent years with His disciples teaching them about the Father’s plan of salvation for the world. He told His friends that He was the Way of salvation and that believers in Him would be saved from the consequences of their sin. Jesus taught by word and deed, and He continues to teach through His Holy Spirit.

Parents are teachers every day. They learn about Jesus, the Master Teacher, from the Bible and put those same teaching attributes to work in their homes and with their families. It has been said, “He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” This is especially true of God’s Word, which instructs not only our minds, but also our hearts. Christian parents strive to be in the Word as they continue to learn to be the best teachers they can be.

Stretch your faith-filled parenting: Tell your child about a favorite teacher you had in school. Why was he or she the favorite? Share the Good News about Jesus, the Master Teacher, with your child every day.

Walking with my Lord

Master Teacher, give me the ability to teach, and give my child a willing heart to learn the awesome lessons of Your Word. In Your name I pray. Amen.

Mustard Seed: Faith-Filled Parenting. Authors: Rev. Larry and Shari Miller. 31/32 ©2009 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place Ste. L010, St. Louis, MO 63105. www.lwml.org

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations were taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.

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God remembers even me!

In the Word

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6–7).

Of the Word

Opposition can be frightening. Even subtle intimidation can rob us of a sense of self-worth. We may begin to doubt our value and purpose as disciples of Jesus. “After all,” we may reason, “I’m pretty insignificant in God’s kingdom.”

Jesus knew His disciples would feel this way at times. He reassured them they were precious in God’s sight. God had important work for them to do — sharing the love of Jesus. They would not be forgotten or left helpless in their mission. If God even cares for little birds, how much more would God value His disciples! God knew them so well; even all their hairs were counted!

Indeed, He says to His people: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1b). “…I will never leave you; I will never abandon you” (Hebrews 13:5b GNT).

Let us be bold, then, and say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6 GNT).

Walking with my Lord

Thank You, God, for Jesus, my Savior. Thank You for calling me by name in my Baptism to be Your disciple. In His most precious name I pray. Amen.

Mustard Seed: Walking with My Lord. Author: Donna Streufert. 24/30  ©2007 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place Ste. L010, St. Louis, MO 63105. www.lwml.org

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations were taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION – Second Edition, American Bible Society, New York, NY. Copyright © 1992.

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Honoring Our Shepherds

In the Word

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages” (1 Timothy 5:17 ̶ 18).

Of the Word

When I was a child, I thought that my pastor had a very easy job because he only worked on Sundays. Although pastors may have a day or two a week scheduled to spend with family and may take vacation time throughout the year, their responsibility for and service to their flock and to the Good Shepherd is a 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 52 weeks a year commitment. 

Pastors visit the sick, comfort the dying, and counsel the troubled. Many also attend numerous meetings, activities, and events within the congregation and surrounding community. Some supervise large staffs of called, lay, and volunteer workers while others are the sole pastor tasked with meeting a wide variety of needs within a congregation or congregations, including reaching out to the unchurched community members with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All pastors — regardless of the congregation’s size, type, and expectations of their pastor — carry out the most important vocations of preaching, teaching, and administering the Sacraments. Christ uses pastors in His Church to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19b ̶ 20a). Thanks be to God for blessing us with pastors! 

Walking with my Lord

Thank You, Lord, for faithful shepherds who preach and teach Your Word and administer Your Sacraments. Forgive us for our failure to give them the honor they are due and help us to support them as they carry out Your Great Commission. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
 

Mustard Seed: Honoring Our Shepherds by Ruth Badciong, Winona, Minnesota. Copyright © 2024 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. All rights reserved. lwml.org

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible unless otherwise noted. (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Service

In the Word

Serve the Lord with gladness (Psalm 100:2a ESV).

Of the Word

Jesus Christ is the model of servanthood for all people. He served His Father by coming to earth to fulfill the plan of salvation. He served the world by dying on the cross and then rising again to complete the plan of salvation. While on earth, He was a servant leader, putting His followers’ needs before His own and loving them to death, even death on a cross.

Parents know that children are like sponges, absorbing everything they see and hear. Remembering that, parents model compassion, love, and forgiveness. Following Jesus’ example, they strive to meet their children’s needs, especially their spiritual needs. They show that Christian service is a joyful response to all that Jesus has done for them.

Stretch your faith-filled parenting: As a family, participate in a service project in your community.

Walking with my Lord

Serving Savior, You did not come to be served, but to serve by giving Your life for all people. Open pathways of joyous service so that my family and I may respond to Your love. In Your name. Amen.

Mustard Seed: Faith-Filled Parenting. Authors: Rev. Larry and Shari Miller. 30/32 ©2009 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place Ste. L010, St. Louis, MO 63105. www.lwml.org

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations were taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) were taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

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What does it take to soften my hard heart?

In the Word

… no more hateful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ (Ephesians 4:31c–32 GNT).

Of the Word

Jen keeps a ledger — a list of payments and expenses — and makes sure that everything balances each month. She keeps another “ledger” in her heart and mind — a list of wrongs her family and friends commit against her. She makes them “pay,” but this hard-hearted approach keeps Jen miserable most of the time.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21–22). Jesus teaches us to forgive again and again when others sin against us.

The prophet Jeremiah explained that when Jesus came then God would declare: “I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs” (Jeremiah 31:34b GNT). This is the way God forgives. Because Jesus took our punishment on the cross, full forgiveness is ours by faith. Now with God’s help, we can strive to forgive others as He forgives us — without counting, without remembering, without resentment.

Walking with my Lord

Lord, soften my heart to forgive as You forgive. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Mustard Seed: Walking with My Lord. Author: Donna Streufert. 20/30  ©2007 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place Ste. L010, St. Louis, MO 63105. www.lwml.org

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations were taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked GNT are taken from the GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION — Second Edition, American Bible Society, New York, NY. Copyright © 1992.

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Hold me, Lord, when suffering consumes me!

In the Word

He nurses them when they are sick, and soothes their pains and worries (Psalm 41:3 TLB).

Of the Word

“It is cancer, then?” Del asked. “Yes,” came the reply. The diagnosis crashed into his family’s life in that one phone call. Nothing would be quite the same ever again.

Del was sick, but they all were suffering. In the months ahead, Del and his family would yield their pain, their anxiety, their grief to Him. Jesus would soothe their suffering with His great love. They would trust His love for the outcome. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

They would take comfort in God’s promises. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me … (Psalm 23:4a).

Walking with my Lord

Lord Jesus, You hold me close to Your heart. Though my body and mind suffer pain, there I safely rest. Your compassion for me is limitless and I know You have my best interests at heart. Heal me as You see fit. Keep me and those who love me ever close to You. In Your name. Amen.

Mustard Seed: Walking with My Lord. Author: Donna Streufert. 19/30 ©2007 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place Ste. L010, St. Louis, MO 63105. www.lwml.org

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations were taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked TLB are taken from THE LIVING BIBLE, Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL. Copyright © 1971.

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