“And there was great joy in that city” Acts 8:8
“He went on his way rejoicing” Acts 8:39
What is it that makes Christians joyful?
Next to the joy of forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation in Jesus Christ, surely one of our greatest joys is to hear about or witness for ourselves the great joy that comes to others when they hear the good news of Jesus Christ: His life, death, and resurrection for the salvation of mankind.
Exodus Chapters 15-17 (with your Bible in hand)
The Children of Israel were navigating uncharted paths. Never before had the descendants of Abraham been such a great nation. Never before had God delivered a people from bondage as He had Israel from Egypt. Never before had any of these people been led through a wilderness by the one true God appearing in a column of cloud and fire and speaking through His prophet Moses.
I believe that God has created me and all creatures.He has given me my body and life…
In these words from Luther’s Small Catechism we state our belief that God the Father used His almighty power to bring all things into existence. The crowning stage of His creative handiwork happened on day six when He fashioned the first man, Adam, from the dust of the ground and the first woman, Eve,
Meditations On Jesus’s Sermon On The Mount
Matthew chapters Five through Seven
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy
but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle
will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least
of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven;
but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)
He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ” (Luke 13:6-9)
I got to thinking about some of the Christmas greetings we hear and use.
Out in the world it has become controversial to use a truly Christian Christmas greeting. We hear people exclaim “Happy Holidays!” with great exuberance, but that greeting rings artificial for the child of God.
Dear reader, please have Luke 1:5-25 before you
“Silence is golden” is the old saying.
To a frazzled mom with noisy, active little ones, it is a golden time when the children are put to bed and the house is quiet. For a teacher after a long day, it is a golden time when the students go home and the classroom is silent.
Our family has never been good about leaving home–not to mention starting on time!
It is certainly not for lack of practice. Living some 1,500 miles from “family” in the Midwest meant an almost-annual cross-country pilgrimage.
But practice never did make perfect. When we had high hopes of leaving by 7:00 a.m., maybe 8:00 at the latest, we usually had the last things stowed and the last child buckled in closer to 10:00 or 11:00 a.m.
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
“1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Pharaoh lost control but wouldn’t admit it; enslaved Israel never was in charge of its destiny. However, since the Lord God has control over the Universe, over emperors, over history, and over His people, “The Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt” (12:51). Freed after four centuries of enslavement, Israel was fashioned into a divine theocracy, which made them different from every other nation that ever existed. They were in good hands with the Almighty, and in His charge the Exodus became a golden success.
