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I'm sharing this journal entry from one of our sheep / shepherds for your encouragement and invite you to share your stories to keep us connected David
Thursday April 2, 2020: A journal entry:
JESUS WEPT.
A Morning mist of low cloud wrapped soft around the hills.
I read John 6 and tried to ponder on Jesus the living bread. But the mist beckoned and drew me outside, quickly enfolding me in its clammy embrace.
There was no pausing to choose direction. I headed straight up the hill blanketed in the foggy stillness, only birdcall echoing the inner certainty – she’s coming to pray.
Pray up the hill. I haven’t prayed up there for a while. I’ve prayed. But not there on God’s hill, my place of retreat.
At the summit, as cloud drifted and lifted, it was my heart that rained out its anguished plea, the cry for help with COVID19: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER. Help us Jesus.
That was it. No wordy waffle. I perched on the rim of the damp bench, poised in grief and need; heart, mind and spirit turned to God, “Yet still do I praise you Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Living God.”
A lull then settled over me, like a mute button had been pressed to hush the turmoil of my distressed thoughts and wretched emotions concerning the plight of the world’s people. Wait. Be quiet!
Jesus wept. The words from last Sunday’s reading came to mind loud and clear.
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Judaeans who had come with her crying, he was deeply stirred in his spirit, and very troubled. 34 ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Master,’ they said, ‘come and see.’ 35 Jesus burst into tears. (John 11:33-35 NTE)
I too burst into tears, and as I wept, there at the top of the hill, I knew he was weeping with me. Weeping with all the world. Weeping for us all.
Turn to me. And I, turning, vision all awash, could see clearly, he was there. Feed my sheep. To this I shook my head, and thought, I’m no pastor. You are a minister of my word. Therefore, speak my word to others. Speak my word to one another. And suddenly understanding dawned. “You aren’t just saying this to me, are you? It’s your call to all of us: Feed your sheep. The responsibility is ours collectively.” And I pictured the scattered sheep, isolated from one another but belonging together and needing creative new ways of being church and speaking grace and hope to one another and others.
I plunged, then, down the hill, not following the worn paths but winding down the steeper slope, weaving through knee high weeds, around rocky mounds and patches of slippery flattened grass, to emerge at the wider base track.
Now is the time to forge new paths. Jesus is still the Way, the “base track” of my faith remains the same. It’s the network of familiar paths that represent how we have lived out our faith, that have fallen away, not God’s word or his kingdom, or his love.
I am thankful for this love that comes to us where we are: scattered sheep weeping in the mist of uncertainty. I’m thankful that Jesus wept and that his way isn’t set in stone. That he comes and calls us to discover a new and living way, today and tomorrow and the next day. Hallelujah! This is a new day! And the Jesus who weeps with us in our distress will renew us and lead us on beyond COVID19.
JESUS WEPT.
The autumn sun filtered a pale ray through the drifting grey. A reminder that the God who weeps, also sheds light as well as tears.
Toward one another
The devotions for this week are featured in LCA International Mission’s 2026 ‘Pentecost Devotional and Prayer Guide’ and are written by mission partners from around the world. LCA International Mission invites you to pray during Pentecost for the connections and ministries of our international partners. An electronic copy of the full devotional is available to download at the LCA International Mission website.
by Lydia Jarupong
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone (Matthew 18:15a).
Read Matthew 18:15–20
As someone who works with people from diverse nationalities, languages and cultures, I’ve learnt that unity isn’t always easy. Differences can easily lead to misunderstandings. Even good intentions can be interpreted differently, and if left unaddressed, small issues can gradually grow into distance.
At times, I feel tired: too tired to explain, too tired to speak, and unwilling to enter another difficult conversation. At times, I also recognise that I may be the one who causes others to stumble, whether through my personality or the way I communicate. Because of this, I sometimes choose to avoid facing problems directly, afraid of damaging relationships or making things worse.
Yet silence doesn’t bring healing. In Matthew 18:15–20, Jesus teaches us to go to one another not to accuse, but to restore. Through his death and resurrection, Christ has already reconciled us to God. We’re called to seek reconciliation with one another. This requires honesty, humility and the courage to speak the truth in love, even when it feels uncomfortable.
When I begin to see those around me as family, my perspective changes. In a family, a father desires his children to talk to one another. Siblings may argue, but they don’t remain separated forever. They find their way back to each other. In the same way, we’re called to live as one family in Christ.
Often, our conflicts come from the same desire: that the work may move forward and that what we do may honour God. When we remember this, it becomes easier to return to one another, listen and seek understanding. Our differences of culture, language and personality are no longer barriers, but expressions of the beauty God has created in each of us.
Jesus also reminds us that he is present among us when we gather in his name. This means that he is with us not only in unity, but also in the process of restoring it.
Because Christ is already at work among us, unity is lived out through honesty and restoration. It calls us not to run away, but to move toward one another with grace. Even now, I’m still learning not to run away, but to stay, trusting God in the process and believing he can bring healing, restore relationships and draw us together as one family for his purpose.
Are you avoiding a conversation that could bring healing? How might Christ help you approach it with truth and love?
Pray for the Strong and Safe Family Project in Thailand, that the Holy Spirit will guide its work in strengthening relationships and restoring families and give the staff wisdom, patience and courage to walk alongside others with grace.
Lydia Jarupong is a staff member of the Strong and Safe Family Project of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thailand.
Created for relationship
The devotions for this week are featured in LCA International Mission’s 2026 ‘Pentecost Devotional and Prayer Guide’ and are written by mission partners from around the world. LCA International Mission invites you to pray during Pentecost for the connections and ministries of our international partners. An electronic copy of the full devotional is available to download at the LCA International Mission website.
by Dr Stefan Gradl
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
So God created humans in his image (Genesis 1:27a).
Read Genesis 1:26,27
Let’s start early. Not on day six, when God creates human beings, nor on day three, when the plants are created. Not even on day one, when God starts creating. Let’s start before day one, when there’s no creation, only God.
Already, then, there are relations. God isn’t only relating to creation; there is relationship within God. Our God is triune: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each is fully God, and yet distinct. So, even before creation, God isn’t one isolated person. There’s an eternal ‘We’, not just an ‘I’. The very nature of our God is relational.
Because God is relational, we’re relational. God says, ‘Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness.’ This is the starting point of God’s relationship with us. Before we measure ourselves by achievement, ability or social standing, we must receive the truth God declares: we belong to him. Our worth isn’t earned; it’s bestowed.
As God is relational, being created in his image means we’re made for relationship with God and other people. Though sin has broken this relationship and distorted God’s image in us, in Christ we’re restored and drawn back into right relationship with God and one another.
When we look at human beings, we see differences. No two people are alike. Genesis 1:27 says, ‘So God created them in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.’ Gender differences aren’t to cause division, but rather to reveal the fullness of God’s image through diverse perspectives and shared life. We may add other differences as well: culture, traditions, language, education and personality. We humans are all different, and that is precisely why we can complement one another.
We find unity in this diversity by being made in God’s image. When our identity is rooted in God’s image, we stop treating other people as competitors or threats. We begin to see them as fellow image-bearers made for connection, dignity and purpose. Being created in God’s image isn’t to separate us from others, but to draw us toward each other until our lives become a sign that belonging is God’s gift and unity is his work.
What does it mean for you to see others as people created in God’s image? How might this shape the way you relate to those who are different from you?
Pray that the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong will continue to form leaders who are grounded in God’s word and equipped to serve Christ’s church in diverse contexts.
Dr Stefan Gradl is the associate professor of missiology and Christian education at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong.
Superman’s funeral notice
by Jonathan Krause
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness (Psalm 145:7).
Read Psalm 145:1–8
When I used to train young people in leadership and ethical living, one of the first things I did was ask them to write a funeral notice for themselves.
This was inspired by an elderly man called Stanley, who died after being struck by a car near my place. His family and friends placed a whole column of notices in the paper about the life he’d lived – his kindness, compassion and generosity, and the inspiration he’d been to them.
Stanley’s grandchildren summed it up by writing: ‘Fly like Superman, Poppa.’
When I challenged the young people to write their funeral notices, I wanted them to think about who they wanted to be, even if that was not who they were right now.
I was reminded of this when I read the words of this psalm.
Would someone ever write something about my life similar to what the psalmist wrote about God?
Of course, it wouldn’t be as magnificent as ‘greatness’ or ‘glorious’. There’d be no use of words like ‘splendour’, ‘wondrous’ or ‘abundant’ … and yet, could they look at my life and see at least some glimpses of ‘goodness’, ‘steadfast love’ and ‘graciousness’?
This came into special focus for me after spending a weekend with my grandkids.
What example was I modelling to them?
It’s more than just the things we do together – the perfect purple pancakes that manage to flour the whole kitchen … the ‘you-can-never-escape’ knee-lock game we invented … the ‘Tallest Tower to Topple’ building blocks construction destruction distraction … rather, it’s those simple values of kindness, grace and love. Those things are inspired in me by the command and example of Jesus. Not just in the words I say but in the things I do.
When the day comes that my life is remembered in a newspaper funeral notice, what will my grandchildren say? Those who love me? Those who know me as a neighbour, work colleague or friend?
I can never be a superman, but I hope my life will always point to the one who is.
Lord, what a blessing it is that I can come to you in all my weakness, with all my flaws, and yet have you love me and count me precious. Help me share this with others, in all that I do, each day of my life. Amen.
Jonathan describes himself as a ‘happy husband, proud dad and grandad, ALWS worker and ALWayS a Magpie fan’.