But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. Romans 5:8-9

The time it takes for me to read this devotion is three minutes and ten seconds.

Now I'm not saying they will, nor even that they should, but I wanted you to know that if Lutheran Hour Ministries wanted to run this devotion on the Super Bowl, it would cost our organization approximately $28.5 million.

That's right. The Super Bowl ads this year cost $9 million for a minute of time. If your company can't afford one minute worth of Super Bowl air time, you can go on the cheap and buy 30 seconds for $4.5 million. Certainly, $150,000 a second would be a bargain in anybody's book.

Now I'm going out on the limb and am willing to gamble that you won't see this devotion being aired on the Super Bowl. On the other hand, if you watch the Super Bowl, you will see ads for

* a 30-second ad for avocados from Mexico;

* two 30-second ads for Doritos;

* an ad in the third quarter of the game for Jublia, a toenail fungus treatment;

* ads for Snickers candy bars, which will be balanced out by an ad for Weight Watchers.

Now I would not minimize or make mockery of the need for the public to be able to identify a trustworthy name in the toenail fungus-fighting field. Fighting fungus is always an important thing.

Still ... in the cosmic scheme of things, getting rid of toenail fungus is of small value compared to getting rid of sin. Yet, neither The Lutheran Hour, nor any other Christian organization is going to cough up the $9 million necessary for an ad on the Super Bowl.

All of this means if people are going to know about Jesus and the wonderful work He has done for them, they won't hear about His life, suffering and death on Dr Phil, or Oprah, or on reruns of Gilligan's Island.

No, they are going to need to hear it from you.

It's true, my friends, you are the Lord's advertisers, and for 2,000 years God has depended on His saved souls to tell the many lost souls of the world what He has done through His Son. That the Christian faith is the biggest organization the world has ever seen is a mark to their commitment and service. It is a commitment which needs to continue.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I rejoice that others have told me about the wonders of Your love and the greatness of the Savior's commitment to saving us. Now may I do all I can to make sure others know how Jesus' life was paid as the price to save sinful souls. Then, by the Holy Spirit's power, may others be brought to faith. In Jesus I ask it. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Genesis 36-38    Matthew 21:1-22

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