Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries are a great way to help strengthen your faith journey. They can be read or listened to anywhere for personal reflection, used by small groups as a devotional for Bible study, or even structured as a full Bible study by using a few days at a time. Seasonal devotions for Advent and Lent are also available each year. Visit lhm.org/lent to download, read, or hear this year's Lenten Devotions.
We recently sat down with Dr. Kari Vo, author of many of LHM's devotions, to discuss her involvement.
Can You Share a Little More About Your Background?
I'm from California. I was born in Los Angeles County and grew up in southern California, where I met my husband, who is Vietnamese and a Vietnam veteran, and came to this country as a refugee. In 1988, we moved to St. Louis for my husband to attend seminary and so I could go to graduate school. Through one of my professors, we found out there were 7,000 brand new Vietnamese refugees in St. Louis, almost completely without any English and with no chance to hear about Jesus. And here we were, two students with both! So, we started helping, and a week later, the church was born. We still serve this community today, and my husband is its pastor.
This did a lot for my writing, as the Vietnamese taught me how to talk to people who don't speak English as their first language and who don't know anything about Christianity. They taught me to be as clear as I can. They have been a huge blessing to me.
How Did You Get Started Writing Daily Devotions?
I started working at LHM at the very end of 2016. About a year later, I was writing seasonal devotions for Lent and Advent. Then, about 2018, my work group made a new plan for how the Daily Devotions would be structured. We used the upcoming Sunday writings for the days I was responsible for—Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Others, including Paul Schreiber, Carol Geisler, and Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, wrote other devotions.
How Do You Come Up with the Topics?
The Daily Devotions I get to write come from the texts set for each Sunday in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod's lectionary. We use the three-year cycle. I start by reading the text for the day and praying. I ask God to tell me what He wants me to say. Then, using my English literature training, I look for things in the text that catch my eye and make me ask, "Why?" or "What does that mean?" I try to find out. Often you can find wonderful things about God's love and kindness just by digging through the difficult parts.
There is always something new to be discovered. The part of Scripture that is challenging you because you don't know what it means will sometimes come loose and reveal itself. I think God wants us to ask questions. It's almost like God hides Easter eggs in the Bible, and if you look, you'll find them. Ask "Why?" and keep looking until the Holy Spirit opens it to you.
Whenever I finish a group of devotions, they get sent through the LCMS doctrinal review process to make sure there are no mistakes or problems.
How Do You Come Up with the Reflection Questions?
A few years ago, I was looking for a Bible study curriculum for a small group, and I realized that the devotions could be used that way if only we had a few discussion questions. So, I tried adding some. They were meant as a helpful resource for people to dig deeper into the devotional topic.
The questions try to be gradual. The first one is usually simple, something anybody could answer. But the second might be harder, and the third may go deep, getting into personal experience and spiritual life. Just like when you get into a pool, you get into the shallow end first. This allows people to get in and go as far as they want and stop when they want.
The reflection questions are, above all, meant to be thought about. Nobody should force someone else to answer publicly if it makes them uncomfortable. When I write the questions, I try to remember my readers aren't all Christian and not everybody has the same family arrangements, living experiences, and so on. I don't want people to feel left out or overlooked.
What Do You Enjoy Most About Writing Devotions?
I love being able to make my living by digging around in the Word of God. It seems unfair that something so wonderful should be my actual daily job! And then I get to see it be useful to other people, which is even better. Everything I know has come from reading the Bible. Studying the Word of God is something anybody can do with the help of the Holy Spirit.
I know the devotions are used in many different ways. There are families who use the devotions at home with their children, and at least one Lutheran school that uses the reflection questions in their chapel. I've heard of a small church in a mostly non-Christian country that used them as the basis of their sermons each week, though we soon found them better resources. There was even a couple in Eastern Europe during lockdown who read the devotions together over the phone.
I love hearing stories like this of people using our devotions right where they are. I want to see the faces and hear the stories of people who find a blessing in them. It makes me want to write more.
Share Christ's Passion with LHM's Lenten Devotions
Lamb of God by Dr. Kari Vo in English and the multi-authored Tus pecados te son perdonados ("Your Sins Are Forgiven") in Spanish, are available now at lhm.org/lent and paraelcamino/cuaresma respectively.
To receive LHM's Daily Devotions via email throughout the year, visit lhm.org/subscribe.