It All Comes Down to Love

September 29- October 5, 2014

            “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  (Matthew 22:36)

Hillel, the great Old Testament religion teacher, once took up a dare. He claimed he could recite all of the wisdom of the Law of Moses while standing on one leg. When challenged, he recited, “All the wisdom of the Torah consists in this: ‘Thou shalt love the LORD with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thyself.’”

A similar challenge had been given to Jesus long before Hillel. When asked to name the great commandment in the Law, Jesus too used the text from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. As Jesus said, on these statements -love to God and love to one’s neighbor  -depend the Law and the Prophets, all of God’s revelation.

People today will have no problem with the Word of God -whether the Law (the 10 Commandments) or the Gospel promises God spoke thru the prophets and apostles -when they love God and their fellow human beings. The entire religion God has revealed to us in Holy Scripture can be summed up not only in a single sentence that can be spoken while standing on one leg; it can be summed up in the one word: “love.”

Our love to God and to neighbor , however, is not self-endowed nor spontaneous -not something that comes naturally. It’s God’s great gift to us. It’s a derivative of God’s great love for us, demonstrated in the giving of His Son, Jesus Christ, for us and for our salvation. In response to that love, as created in us by the Holy Spirit in bringing us to the saving faith, we love God and all those whom He loves. In this way, everything falls into place because Christ reconciled the world unto God, the Father,  by making peace through His blood shed on the cross. And because Christ rose from the dead, we love God and will gladly keep His commandments.  

The Christ-like Way is…

September 22-28, 2014

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.   Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)

The way of Christianity or Christ-likeness is both easy and hard. Jesus expressed both views: “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:30), and “If anyone would come after Me, He must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24).

On the one hand, the way to peace with God is like wearing an easy yoke and bearing a light burden because Jesus Christ carried the load –the whole load of our sins and their just deserts. We contribute nothing, nada, to the righteousness Christ earned for us to grant us the forgiveness of our sins and the inheritance of eternal life. This, and let me be quick to add, is not to say that grace is a cheap thing and that we’re going to heaven on a free ride.

Our peace with God -our reconciliation with the Father cost Jesus His life, His innocent life for our sake:  “Christ died once for all” (Hebrews 7:27). And, my friends, it cost us our life too as the Apostle Paul reminds us saying: “Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11) and “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

But as long as we have this mortal life in this time and place, we will face trial and temptation to find an easier way to enjoy living now with the hope of life that knows no end later. We might seek the way that is broad and open, entering through wide gates that pose no restriction for us. We might, like the rich fool, live for the day, relax, eat, drink, and be merry (Luke 12:16-21). But is that the way for us? Many a soul is traveling down the easy road, the low road that leads to destruction.

As followers of Christ, entering into life through the “narrow gate” means taking up our “cross” or crosses in this life while daily resisting Satan whose way leads to death and destruction. To live in Christ Jesus and under Him in His kingdom and to serve Him will mean our faith will be put to the test; the way may be rugged, tried and tested again and again to order to keep our eyes on Jesus and focused on His righteousness as the way, the truth, and the life for us. And because this is the only way that leads to life, we must never become discouraged or anxious about our life in the here and now even if that means we must suffer too, walk the hard road, endure pain and sorrow, and even our mortal death -for this is our way, living in an imperfect world that rejected Christ and put Him on the cross for our redemption, for our sake, for the forgiveness of sin, and the promise of eternal life.

Dear friend in Christ, look to the cross of Jesus for your hope during these days and for your joy that will know no end. Follow in the way that Your Savior leads, walking in His way tho’ the journey is rugged and steeped in sadness. For the way of Christianity is both easy and hard. And, the Way provides us with a glorious view: the cross emptied of its victim; the grave too is vacant of death for He is risen. He is risen indeed. And we cannot but admire the grandeur of our risen Lord and Savior, who is taking us on the high road that leads to life.

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.  All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”    Matthew 11:25-30 (ESV) 

BAPTISM BY WATER AND THE SPIRIT

September 15-21, 2014

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”    Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

 The crude man who preached in the wilderness as Christ’s forerunner was John. He was called “the Baptizer” because baptizing people was what he did as an important part of his ministry. Shortly before His ascension, our Lord referred to his baptism when He said, “John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5).

To say that John baptized “with water” isn’t to make light of his baptism, as though it were only an outward cleansing rite (as baptisms were considered in Judaism). John’s baptism was in its time a means through which the Holy Spirit was given to kindle and strengthen faith in forgiveness of sins to be earned by Christ Jesus.

John’s baptism, however, was temporary. It was superseded by the Baptism instituted by Christ, the one greater than John, when He said: “Therefore go & make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the Holy Spirit.”

Before the Jesus’ disciples went out into all the world to preach, teach, and baptize, they received the Holy Spirit, who was poured out on them in extra-ordinary measure on the great day of Pentecost. Thus they received strength & direction for their ministry (which continued Christ’s mission on earth calling on all people to believe in Him for the salvation of their soul). The Spirit brought Jesus’ words to the forefront in their apostleship.

The greater baptism instituted by Jesus is still in effect. It bears the unabridged power to work forgiveness of sins, to deliver from death and the devil, and to give eternal salvation.

A man high in his 70’s recently said that the Baptism certificates of him and his wife hang over their beds, so that every day they are reminded of the great blessings still coming to them through their Baptisms. This because, as St. Paul has written, “(God) saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5-6).

Let us pray that God may bring our Baptism to mind daily and especially when we seek strength and direction. God will grant it for Jesus’ sake. AMEN

A Message Declaring: Three Great Truths

September 8-14, 2014

“Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ,

 the Father’s Son,  in truth and love.”     2 John 3

Bo Giertz, the Lutheran bishop of Gothenburg, Sweden, who’s known for authoring the book: The Hammer of God, once wrote that the 3 big lies were: 1) there is no God; 2) there is no devil; and 3) everyone can be saved in his own way.

We can balance this out with 3 big truths: First: There is the true God, the Creator of us all and the Father of all believers. He is a God of justice and of mercy; of righteousness and of love. Second: Not only is there a devil but there is also the one who destroyed Satan’s kingdom and power –Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who gave His life on the cross as an offering for the sins of the world. St. John writes: “Anyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” 2 John 9. The third great truth involves the third person of the one true God: the Holy Spirit. It is He who brings us to faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. If it were true that everyone could be saved in his own way –by serving idols, by doing works that he deems good, by bringing great sacrifices such as bestowing all his goods on the poor or even giving his own body to be burned –then there would be no need for faith in Christ and no need for the Holy Spirit to implant the saving faith in us through the Gospel.

But, some ask, cannot an upright person, by inherent powers of mind or the good qualities of character, achieve saving faith? Not at all. God said through the Apostle Paul, “Faith comes through hearing” the Word of God, the Gospel, which alone is “the power of God unto salvation.” Romans 10:17; Romans 1:16.  Salvation is not humanly achieved; it’s God’s outright gift of grace, not of works, lest people would boast.  See Ephesians 2:8-9

We can put the 3 great truths like this: The Father thought (or planned it); the Son wrought it; and the Holy Spirit brought it to us in the Gospel. I pray that your faith may be more firmly rooted in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN

The Seed, the Soil, and the Fruit

September 1-7, 2014

The Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:1-17: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell… on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

St. Paul, the Apostle, prayed for the Christians in Colossae saying, “May God fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding… that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work; growing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:9-10)

Having come to faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, Christians begin their spiritual development through the seed of God’s Word implanted in them. Their growth in Christian’s knowledge, wisdom, and understanding progresses as, over the span of a lifetime, they take to heart and apply the Word proclaimed in sermons, studied in Bible devotions, and read individually in the Holy Scripture. Christian homes, schools, and churches are lay seminaries, that is, places where the seed of the Word is sown. In order to be good soil, Christians need to keep in close contact with the Word, for from it they learn God’s “good, pleasing, and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

Through the power of God’s Word and the workings of the Holy Spirit, the Christian’s knowledge of the divine turns into the performance of it. The result is not only a life consistent with the faith professed, but also a life worthy of the Lord. When the Will of God is carried out, God’s purpose in strewing out the seed of the Word comes to fruition: the Christian will be “bearing fruit in every good work,” perfected through the righteousness of Christ, crucified and risen for us. That is what the Lord our God desires –that we bring forth the grain of godly works “a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”

In Paul’s prayer we find outlined a program of knowledge leading to fruitfulness. What remains is that it becomes a process of Christian growth continually perfected in Christ’s righteousness. Now may the peace of God that surpasses our human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Be a Friend to Yourself and Others

August 25-31, 2014

We are often our own worst enemies. A character in the Pogo comic strip declared: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” To refuse to learn in school (and throughout life), to neglect one’s health, to waste opportunities, to be of an abrasive disposition, to alienate friends –all this is to be one’s own enemy; to do oneself many disfavors.

The other side of the coin says, “Be a true friend to yourself, do yourself favors.” Some will say that such encouragement is unnecessary, since people by nature love themselves and seek their own interests first. True, but self-seeking is not the same as being one’s own best friend. In fact, it is self-love, the “me 1st” attitude, that underscores the saying of the comic strip that: “the enemy is us.”

Some may feel that friendship to oneself is ego-centered and has too narrow a base; friendship is a relationship with other people. True again, but it’s also true that many people hate others because they hate themselves. So, it would seem, if you feel right about yourself and know how to be a true friend to yourself, you’re in a better position to be a friend to other people.

You do yourself a favor when you’re truthful about yourself. Honest introspection, difficult as it is, is needed. It reveals many an unpleasant fact, and these must be known before they can be dealt with. To confess honestly: “I am a sinner” is a prerequisite, immediately to be followed by reliance on Jesus Christ as the Redeemer, Forgiver, Friend, Reconciler, and Healer. Now spiritual growth can begin, continue, and increase. Now there can be a progressive realization of one’s potential in all dimensions of life. Now you can be a friend to yourself and to others.

Jesus declared: “I have told you this so that My joy may be in you

and that your joy may be complete.”  John 15:11