Today's Text from MLC Chapel-- what should be required reading for WELS Pastors and Pastors in training.
2 Timothy 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Prayer Request and Personal Message
Prayers are requested today for the work of the WELS Committee for Interchurch Relations as they meet with the ELS Doctrinal Committee. Much is to be discussed, a few items in particular that a previous post dealt with. Pray that our leaders follow the advice of St. Paul when he writes.
"Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, and being born in human likeness took on the very nature of a servant."
Let God be glorified in all our work.
A Personal request of mine: I got my first comment today! Thank you Rachel, my sister, a member of Crossroads (Lutheran) Christian Church in Chicago, IL. I've been there. As much maligning as it recieves because of its decision to not put Lutheran in its name, I have always been duly impressed as scripture was taught in its truth and purity even though Luther's name was not on the doorpost.
If we could, so I can get a better handle of who's reading the site, please comment on this message with just a "hey Mike" or something of the same. And please in the future leave little comments so I know that I'm not talking to myself over here.
"Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, and being born in human likeness took on the very nature of a servant."
Let God be glorified in all our work.
A Personal request of mine: I got my first comment today! Thank you Rachel, my sister, a member of Crossroads (Lutheran) Christian Church in Chicago, IL. I've been there. As much maligning as it recieves because of its decision to not put Lutheran in its name, I have always been duly impressed as scripture was taught in its truth and purity even though Luther's name was not on the doorpost.
If we could, so I can get a better handle of who's reading the site, please comment on this message with just a "hey Mike" or something of the same. And please in the future leave little comments so I know that I'm not talking to myself over here.
Devotional Thoughts on Exodus 33:19-20
Exodus 33:19 "And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
All Moses wanted to do is see God. What is wrong with that? Cannot all of us say the same thing? Church father St Augustine wrote, "We were created that we may see God." I've used that quotation a number of times when I was asked, 'Why are we here?' Certainly it is not wrong for us to seek to be closer to God, and also to know him. But how and where do we know him?
A fine catechetical answer would be "In what he has created." And yes this is true. Through God's creation we can search God out, know his power, know his Glory. But in creation is also where everyone else looks to find out about their gods, the pagan gods or the god of science. Through God's creation we can know only a fraction of who God is. So where can we know him better?
Walk up the steps of a mountain. As with Peter, James, and John, we will see God on a mountain. As with Moses we will see him on a mountain. As with Elijah, God speaks to us on a mountain. Walk up the steps of Mount Calvary.
See Christ crucified. There in Christ you see all the fullness of God wrapped in all the fullness of man. You see his glory yes, but all the more important you see his grace, his love, poured out for you, poured out for me, poured out for the whole world. Psalm 98:2 says 'The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.' We have a God who has revealed himself by hiding himself, and yes revealed himself all the more by dying and rising from the dead. In the personage of Christ we see God not as a fraction, as a part, but as a whole.
We will see the Glory of God in the world to come, but for now it is sufficient for us to see his cross. How glorious it is!
All Moses wanted to do is see God. What is wrong with that? Cannot all of us say the same thing? Church father St Augustine wrote, "We were created that we may see God." I've used that quotation a number of times when I was asked, 'Why are we here?' Certainly it is not wrong for us to seek to be closer to God, and also to know him. But how and where do we know him?
A fine catechetical answer would be "In what he has created." And yes this is true. Through God's creation we can search God out, know his power, know his Glory. But in creation is also where everyone else looks to find out about their gods, the pagan gods or the god of science. Through God's creation we can know only a fraction of who God is. So where can we know him better?
Walk up the steps of a mountain. As with Peter, James, and John, we will see God on a mountain. As with Moses we will see him on a mountain. As with Elijah, God speaks to us on a mountain. Walk up the steps of Mount Calvary.
See Christ crucified. There in Christ you see all the fullness of God wrapped in all the fullness of man. You see his glory yes, but all the more important you see his grace, his love, poured out for you, poured out for me, poured out for the whole world. Psalm 98:2 says 'The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.' We have a God who has revealed himself by hiding himself, and yes revealed himself all the more by dying and rising from the dead. In the personage of Christ we see God not as a fraction, as a part, but as a whole.
We will see the Glory of God in the world to come, but for now it is sufficient for us to see his cross. How glorious it is!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Rev. Daniel Deutschlander on Faith
wlsessays.net/authors/D/DeutschlanderFaith/DeutschlanderFaith.pdf
Luther's thoughts on John 1:17
John wanted to make a point about God's laws when he said, "The teachings came through Moses, but kindness and truth came into existence through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17) Its as if he wanted to say: "The laws given through Moses are laws that lead to life, God's approval, and everything else that is good. But much more was attained through Christ. He came and filled our empty hands. He fulfilled the demands of God's laws. He brought God's kindness and truth.
Christ enabled us to keep the First, Second, and Third commandments. In this way, we came to trust and have faith in God as our Father. We began to praise him with a cheerful heart and regard his name as holy.
Where did all this kindness come from? We certainly didn't do anything to deserve it. None of our good works performed in obedience to God's laws earned it. Instead, it came from being enlightened by the Holy Spirit, being renewed by the Word of God, and having faith in Christ. Through these, we have received a new spirit that makes God's Word and God's laws a pleasure to obey. Now, we find joy in trusting God about everything else. We feel that we can do it. We have made a new beginning and have already learned the basics. The undeserved kindness that Christ has given us through faith makes the First Commandment a pleasure to obey.
Christ enabled us to keep the First, Second, and Third commandments. In this way, we came to trust and have faith in God as our Father. We began to praise him with a cheerful heart and regard his name as holy.
Where did all this kindness come from? We certainly didn't do anything to deserve it. None of our good works performed in obedience to God's laws earned it. Instead, it came from being enlightened by the Holy Spirit, being renewed by the Word of God, and having faith in Christ. Through these, we have received a new spirit that makes God's Word and God's laws a pleasure to obey. Now, we find joy in trusting God about everything else. We feel that we can do it. We have made a new beginning and have already learned the basics. The undeserved kindness that Christ has given us through faith makes the First Commandment a pleasure to obey.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Devotional thought on 1 Corinthians 1:23
'but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,'
The Gospel turns everything the way human reason says it shouldn't be. Christians today are so hard on the apostles, pharisees, and other people of Jesus' day. We are no better. We have God's law, and his Gospel, we have the benefit of having the words "It is finished". We have Paul and the other Evangelists, and Epistle writers who explained things in ways that almost no one knew for thousands of years previously. Those people had shadows. We have completed fact.
Yet we do not trust. We do not want a God who has done it all for us. We want to do things for him. We want to convince ourselves that we can make ourselves better Christians; that we are better Christians than the person in the pew next door. We want to make our own faith stronger. We want to help the Holy Spirit, we want to do the work for him.
Praise be to God that in spite of all we want to do, he does it for us. For us he removes the stumbling block. Through faith, the confusion of the Gospel is made crystal clear. Christ died for you, he died for me. We have that completed fact. We have our justification completed on the cross and declared from an empty tomb. We have a savior who sits on high, mediates for us at the right hand of the Father. We have an almighty Lord who has us in his heart and is preparing a place for us.
Yes, we don't really get it. We will never get it all while we are still here in these shadows of a paradise to come. But we have a Shepherd who is calling us to himself. We have his voice.
The Gospel turns everything the way human reason says it shouldn't be. Christians today are so hard on the apostles, pharisees, and other people of Jesus' day. We are no better. We have God's law, and his Gospel, we have the benefit of having the words "It is finished". We have Paul and the other Evangelists, and Epistle writers who explained things in ways that almost no one knew for thousands of years previously. Those people had shadows. We have completed fact.
Yet we do not trust. We do not want a God who has done it all for us. We want to do things for him. We want to convince ourselves that we can make ourselves better Christians; that we are better Christians than the person in the pew next door. We want to make our own faith stronger. We want to help the Holy Spirit, we want to do the work for him.
Praise be to God that in spite of all we want to do, he does it for us. For us he removes the stumbling block. Through faith, the confusion of the Gospel is made crystal clear. Christ died for you, he died for me. We have that completed fact. We have our justification completed on the cross and declared from an empty tomb. We have a savior who sits on high, mediates for us at the right hand of the Father. We have an almighty Lord who has us in his heart and is preparing a place for us.
Yes, we don't really get it. We will never get it all while we are still here in these shadows of a paradise to come. But we have a Shepherd who is calling us to himself. We have his voice.
Theologische Quartalschrift- Concerning Election
http://www.studiumexcitare.com/vol_4_no_1/what_we_teach_concerning_election.html
Translator: Michael Koepke
Translator: Michael Koepke
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