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Pastor Theodore Barthels

God’s Will for Your New Year

DEVOTION –
New Year

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).

It seems natural for us to look forward to the new year with plans and ambitions. We all want to accomplish more than we did last year. We want to reach new goals and fulfill aspirations that we may have been harboring for years. We resolve, “It is finally going to happen this year in 2015!” Read More »God’s Will for Your New Year

Celebrating the Jesus Antipoverty Program

Basic RGB“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”
(2 Corinthians 8:9)

Fighting poverty has been at the forefront of American politics for longer than I have been alive. Every few years a new government program is established to ward off the devastating effects of poverty in our nation. This issue is customarily brought to our attention during December. Well-intentioned efforts are made during the Christmas season to gather food for the needy, winter coats for the underprivileged, and toys so that every child can have a gift under the Christmas tree. Many claim that this is what Christmas is supposed to be about. Surely the volunteers who ring bells at the red kettles across our nation would agree with this assertion. But are we ready to agree that Jesus was born to fight poverty?

Absolutely!

But not the poverty that is described as a deficiency in material goods. The poverty that caused the Son of God to be born into this world was much deeper and far more devastating in its effects than what most Americans would Read More »Celebrating the Jesus Antipoverty Program

What Is a ‘Confessional’ Lutheran?

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” 
(Matthew 7:15)

“Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you
will save both yourself and those who hear you.” 
 (1 Timothy 4:16)

Jesus emphasized doctrine in His ministry. He went from city to city teaching about the coming of the Kingdom of God, preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Jesus was very adamant about corrupt and false teachings that were being disseminated among the people. “He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:29). He possessed the authority of God, for Jesus was and is the Word made flesh. His Word is true, and only by continuing in His Word shall we be set free from sin, death, and the devil (John 8:31-32).

Jesus’ warning concerning the dangers of false teachers and Read More »What Is a ‘Confessional’ Lutheran?

The Blind See and the Mute Speak!

When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.” Read More »The Blind See and the Mute Speak!

A Rite of Passage into Spiritual Maturity

THE RITE OF CONFIRMATION

“…that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.” (Ephesians 4:14-15)

“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:13-14)Read More »A Rite of Passage into Spiritual Maturity

The Voice

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
(Isaiah 40:3-5)

In a current television talent show celebrity judges are facing away from the stage when the contestant begins to sing. When they are impressed by the voice they hear, the judges hit the button that turns them around to face the other direction.Read More »The Voice

Contend Earnestly for the Faith!

In his short epistle Jude wanted more than anything to write about the wonders of “our common salvation” (v. 3), which is the marvelous gospel of God’s gracious love and forgiveness through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. We have been led by the Spirit to appreciate how “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them” (2 Corinthians 5:19).Read More »Contend Earnestly for the Faith!

The One Thing Needful

We are all familiar with St. Luke’s account of Jesus’ visit to the home of sisters Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). We recall that while Martha used her God-given gifts in the kitchen, Mary sat next to Jesus, listening to His words. With so much to do, Martha saw this as her service to the Lord, while Mary sat on the sidelines.

Often we too find our lives very busy as we use our God-given gifts and abilities in the specific calling in which the Lord has placed us. It makes for a busy life to provide a safe and secure home—paying the bills, putting food on the table, supporting children in their studies and activities, or caring for the elderly.

Such activities are God-pleasing, and with them we are busy serving the Lord. We might say, however, that this is “Martha busy,” which can result in our neglecting the one thing needful. Remember Jesus’ words to Martha, “’…You are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her’.” 

How important was this encouragement from the Lord for Martha! She also secured that one needed thing from Jesus, and it was there when she needed it—for when her brother Lazarus took sick, she knew to turn to the Lord. And when Lazarus died, she was confident that he would rise again on the last day.  “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:24).Read More »The One Thing Needful

Our Spiritual Life Comes From Christ

“I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Each spring many of our congregations enjoy the special blessing of observing a new class of confirmands witness to the truth of Christ which abides within their hearts. They join in renewing the baptismal covenant which they entered (most often in infancy). The Confirmation rite is a blessing for the entire congregation because it leads us all to consider anew the blessed covenant of our salvation leading to eternal life.Read More »Our Spiritual Life Comes From Christ