How Awful It Was

Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him (Luke 22:63).

It takes only a little pondering on the words recorded by the Gospel writers to get a bit of a grasp on what Jesus went through. In watching The Passion of the Christ, one begins to realize how awful it was, how incredibly painful. Just try to imagine the whipping, the crown of thorns, the punches in the face, the mocking, all which were only a prelude to the unbelievably torturous death of crucifixion. Why did He go through it all? One reason and one alone — to save you and me from our sin and the eternal condemnation that our sinfulness deserves. Yes, we know, and know really well, that Easter came — came 2000 years ago. But this week we do our final assessment of our total depravity and humble ourselves before the Lord, the Lord who so mercifully saved us. What do we say in our services? Lord have mercy; Christ have mercy; Lord have mercy. Amen.

Rev. G A Piepkorn

Senior Pastoral Counselor
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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Spring is here!

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations (Isaiah 61:11).

Spring begins this week. Do you have early flowers such as crocus or daffodil sprouting up in your area and saying, “Spring is here!”? Or perhaps you purchase spring flowers to add beauty to your home. As you look at all the beautiful spring flowers, remember the greatest event in spring is celebrating our Lord and the righteousness He secured for us.

Look at the Spring Resources on our website for a list of devotions, Bible studies, crafts, and much more to help add a little “spring” to your group or zone events. May these resources help you as you begin spring and aid you in celebrating the true meaning of spring. To God be all praise and glory!

Arlene Naasz

Vice President of Organizational Resources
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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My Song is Love Unknown!

My song is love unknown, My Savior’s love to me, Love to the loveless shown That they might lovely be. Oh, who am I That for my sake My Lord should take Frail flesh and die? (LSB 430)

My choir has been rehearsing a variation of this beloved Lenten hymn as an anthem for one of our Sundays in Lent. The words are so rich in meaning and help us to focus on the true meaning of Lent, a time to meditate on the suffering that Christ endured on our behalf. It is also a time to reflect on the wonderous gift of eternal life Christ provided to us in His resurrection.

To continue to focus our hearts on Lent, I urge you to visit the LWML website (lwml.org) and type in “Lent” in the search block. There you will find many devotions, short Bible studies, litanies, sketches, crafts, and mission service activities to help you focus on Lent and help you to look forward to the resurrection too.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6).

Anita Werner

Treasurer
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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Jesus Our Shepherd

On my many travels around the world, I have collected nativities and sheep! Of course, not real sheep, but ones of many sizes and designs. Throughout the years, I have been blessed to see lambs being born and to hold the small creatures in my arms.

We are referred to as sheep throughout the Bible. Why? For one thing, raising sheep was an important way for people to make a living. Jesus used sheep as object lessons. Another reason is because humans have much in common with sheep.

For example, sheep are not very smart. If a sheep tries to go through a small hole in the fence, he will not stop, he will just keep trying to go forward. We are like sheep when we keep on doing the same things that we should not do.

Sheep are followers. If one sheep moves, the others will follow. We follow what other people are doing, even though it may not be the right thing to do.

Sheep sometimes wander. They graze without paying attention to where they are going. We stray away from what God has taught us to do.

But, fortunately for the sheep, they have a shepherd. Fortunately, we have Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to rescue us. He says, I am the good shepherd (John 10:11).

You know – Jesus really loves His sheep!

In the season of Lent the LWML has beautiful devotions, free and printable for your use. I suggest you begin with this devotion: The Perfect Lamb.

Karol Selle

Vice President of Special Focus Ministries
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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Lutheran Women in Mission Shines Bright at Best Practices in Ministry

I spent last week in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, sharing the Lutheran Women in Mission story with Lutherans from across the country at Best Practices for Ministry (BPM) Conference. Purple sunglasses provided welcome relief from the bright Arizona sun. The future of the LWML is so bright you had better wear shades.

President Eden Keefe, Vice President of Christian Life Susan Brunkow, Vice President of Gospel Outreach Karen Morrison, Vice President of Special Focus Ministries Karol Selle, and Recording Secretary Brenda Piester also attended. We were able to encourage and catch up with current and past mission grant recipients, engage with our ministry partners, and support and encourage church workers. On Saturday morning we presented “Life After … Support for Widows” featuring devotions from our new LWML book, Life After…Devotions for Widows. It was such a joy to share the Lutheran Women in Mission story.

Serve the Lord with Gladness! (Psalm 100:2).

Debbie Yocky

Public Relations Director
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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The Gift of God’s Presence

John Eldredge said, “The gift of presence is a rare and beautiful gift.”

How do you give the gift of presence? Can it be as simple (and as difficult) as being with someone when they get bad news? When they are hurt, or sick, or grieving? Is it sitting with someone after they get a difficult diagnosis or are undergoing treatment? Is it coming alongside the widows and widowers in your congregation? I think it is.

This week, Lutheran Women in Mission will present at Best Practices in Ministry, hosted by Christ Church Lutheran in Phoenix, Arizona. One session will focus on ministering to and with widows.

LWML’s new resource, Life After … Devotions for Widows, is a collection of 27 devotions written by widows for widows and those who love them. Perhaps it can be your gift of presence – God’s presence – and His peace.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; … (Psalm 16:11).

Eden Keefe

President, 2023–2027
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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How’s Your Heart?

Happy Valentine’s Day! Wherever we look, we see hearts reminding us of love: heart-shaped candy, hearts on greeting cards, heart décor, and heart accents in floral arrangements.

No greater love has ever been known than the love our Savior, Jesus, has shown us. How’s your heart’s response to His amazing love? Is it receptive and grateful? Or does it need some “heart-cleaning?”

Within sixteen months of each other my mother and mother-in-law passed away, so as family members we had to do a complete “housecleaning” of their beloved treasurers (and some “I wonder why she kept this?” items). Cleaning became a time of remembering and reflecting. One of the Lutheran Women in Mission’s treasure trove of devotions fit our circumstances. I read "Housecleaning — Heart-Cleaning" and found it so applicable to our labor-of-love cleaning task. Grab a hymnal and sing or pray the wonderfully rich songs to fill your heart with beautiful reminders of God’s grace and His eternal love for us!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Happy Heart-Cleaning!

Brenda Piester

Recording Secretary
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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