Jesus our Great Victor
Monday’s Verse:
From Romans 8:37 ESV
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics are over, and Los Angeles is on the clock for the 2028 Summer Games. For the United States and this hockey-loving pastor, watching the men’s and women’s teams bring home the gold by defeating Canada in overtime made me happy. For the men, it was their first Olympic hockey gold since 1980, the year the Miracle on Ice team overcame what some believed were insurmountable odds.
When we watch the Olympic Games, regardless of the sport, we are stunned at the athletes’ training, talent, excellence, determination, and endurance. As we look back on the Games that just finished, their victories and the striving for a medal bring smiles to our hearts.
As Christians, we like medals, and winning feels good. Yet our great victory is not here on earth. It is imparted to us by Jesus Christ. We are more than conquerors. No medal achievement or failure can ultimately define us. Christ’s love for us does that.
Our victory - the forgiveness of sins and eternal life - is given us through Jesus’ service to us on the cross.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord of grace and strength, we give thanks for athletes who inspire us with courage and commitment. May their victories remind us of the greater victory we have in Jesus — over fear, over doubt, and over death itself. Help us to live with perseverance in our daily lives, running the race with endurance, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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