May Our Ego Lessen & Trust in Jesus Increase
Thursday’s Verse:
From John 3:30 ESV
(John said). “(Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease.”
A while back, I met a social media influencer at the cancer center. Her phone was never far from her left hand while her cameraman was never further than four feet away from her at all times. I never heard of her, and as I sit here writing, I can’t remember her name. Back then, I found out she had hundreds of thousands of followers and made a boatload of money from product endorsements. And she couldn’t have been any older than 18.
I opened the TikTok app on my phone on Monday just to clear the “notification” number, which had reached 15. I’ve never actually shared any video in the app and probably never will. But I got to thinking about the egos behind “influencers.” Everything they do is an “expression” of their “brand.” They need the gratification from their followers.
John the Baptist today gives us the opposite approach. He gives us a simple but searching confession. In a world that teaches us to build our name, protect our image, and secure our influence, John points away from himself and toward Christ. That is the shape of true Christian life: not self-exaltation, but joyful surrender to the One who saves.
For Lutherans, this verse is especially fitting. We are not the center of the Gospel; Christ is. The Christian life is not about making ourselves great before God, but about being emptied of pride and filled with the mercy of Jesus. As John decreases, Christ is seen more clearly — and that is always good news.
Let John’s words become our prayer. May our ego lessen, our trust in Christ deepen, and our hearts rejoice that Jesus is enough.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus Christ, increase in me today. Diminish my pride, my need for attention, and my desire to control. Fill me instead with humble faith, so that my life may point others to You. 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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