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The Lord of Hosts Is with Us

The hymn “A Mighty Fortress” (TLH 262), is Martin Luther’s most famous hymn, and one of the most well-known of all Christian hymns. I was reminded of this recently when I heard a character refer to it in an episode from an old TV series. Not many hymn titles make it into popular culture.

“A Mighty Fortress” has long had a place in nearly every Protestant hymnal, and more recently even in some Roman Catholic hymnals. It has been translated into more languages than any other hymn, and there are more than seventy English translations of it.

To say that it is widely known and sung is not to say that it is widely understood or truly appreciated for its message. No doubt many who like it for its majestic tune may not pay much attention to what it says beyond its opening line.The Lord of Hosts Is with Us

What God Has Joined…

While I write this, I am pondering the upcoming marriage of our daughter, a new experience for my wife and me. Perhaps a brief refresher on the estate of marriage would benefit all of us. First and foremost, marriage is not an invention of humans. God ordained it, and the Bible is the instruction manual. We must then turn to Scripture for guidance.

God’s Institution

Woman was fashioned out of man to be a helper comparable to him, because it was What God Has Joined…

The One Thing Needed

This year it is especially heartening to note that there are three schools in the Church of the Lutheran Confession that are either starting up fresh, or have plans to reopen.

“And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, 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’” Luke 10:41-42

Parents find plenty to worry about. We worry about what our kids are eating, who they are playing with, where they are, and where they have been. Having seen so many changes in society in our lifetime, we worry what the future of our community, our nation, and our world will look like for our children and grandchildren.Buildingblocks_small

In Luke 10, Martha was also worried and troubled. She was trying to be a good hostess for Jesus, while her sister Mary just sat at His feet listening to Him. But Jesus commends Mary’s choice: “One thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” While Martha was busying herself with things that would come and go with time, Mary had eternity on her mind. She chose to sit at the feet of Jesus, and hear the words of eternal life from the Lord of Life. Nothing, not even death itself, could rob her of this “good part” which she had chosenThe One Thing Needed

Refreshingly Uncomplicated

Creation01Aurora_Borealis_EielsonAlaskaI remember the summer I was a tour-bus driver in Glacier National Park. Drivers were taught park history, information, and geological features. It wasn’t any surprise to me that the “geological features” section was full of terms, time frames, and explanations from evolutionary geology. It got old in a hurry. How absolutely refreshing one evening, in the quiet of my room, to open up to Genesis 1 and read the Lord’s simple, straightforward account of the miraculous creation of the heavens and the earth!

In the beginning God created. God said, and it was so.
The heavens, the earth, light, firmament (atmosphere), seas, dry land, vegetation, sun, moon, stars, fish, fowl, cattle, creeping things, beasts. And He made man, male and female. Everything was very good! 

How easy to follow! How simple! The beauties, intricacies, and mysteries of the world, all created by God in six days. Even a child can grasp it!Refreshingly Uncomplicated

Josiah, The Boy-King

(II Kings 22-23; II Chronicles 34-35)  D own through the centuries, rulers of nations have had either a positive or negative influence on the subjects they govern. During the period of the Divided Kingdom in… Josiah, The Boy-King

Let’s Talk about God’s Program

ChurchState_artIn the introduction to his Sunday sermon, a pastor referred to the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:25, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city and house divided against itself will not stand.” After the service, he was approached by a visitor who said, “When you began your sermon by talking about how ‘a house divided will not stand,’ I thought your message was going to be political.” She was thinking of the political divisions in our country and expecting that the pastor would use his Sunday sermon to address them.

Why is it that our pastors do not use the pulpit, or the church bulletin, to promote a political point of view?

We may find this woman’s expectations about a Sunday sermon troubling, but we probably are not surprised at them. We know that many preachers use their pulpits for political messages. They endorse candidates, comment on legislation, and freely give their opinions about foreign policy.

Why is it that our pastors do not use the pulpit, or the church bulletin, to promote a political point of view? It is because behind these practices lies the idea that the mission of the church is the transformation of human society by means of social reform. But the Bible from beginning to end tells us that the problems of this world, age-old problems such as poverty, war, disease, and injustice, will never be eradicated; we are not to look for a golden age in this world because the world’s problems have their roots in human nature. Let’s Talk about God’s Program