Articles

COVER STORY – NEW YEAR

“I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
As you read this article it is likely that you will soon be stepping over the threshold of the old year into the new. Questions that may be on your mind at this time are, “Will 2021 be a prosperous one for me? Will it be a year in which I enjoy good health? How will it go for me financially? Will the stock market be a ‘rising bull’ or ‘declining bear?’ ” and other similar questions. Of course, there’s no crystal ball you can gaze into to see the events of the coming year. But what comfort is yours as a Christian, knowing (from the promises God has given you in His Word) that your future will be richly blessed in the year 2021 and beyond!
What promises, you ask? They are too numerous to mention them all in this brief article, but permit me to share a few. Your Savior-God has given you the promise, for example, to keep you from danger and shield you from harm (Psalm 91). He’s given you the assurance that He will make every unpleasant happening that occurs in your life serve for your ultimate good (Romans 8:28). If it should be that He calls you to pass through a painful trial in year 2021, He will supply you with the strength you need to bear it (Isaiah 41:10). As you give top priority to the all-important matters of your soul (things like hearing His Word, reading your Bible, receiving His Supper, training up your children in His Good Shepherd paths), He will amply provide for your bodily needs, too, so that you may lay aside every worry (Matthew 6:25-33).Read More »Will Your New Year Be Happy?

COVER STORY – ADVENT

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)
There is, perhaps, nothing in this life that is more anticipated than the upcoming birth of a child. When it is your own son or daughter who is yet to be born, or that of a close relative or friend, you literally count the days until the baby will arrive. “Let’s see, the pregnancy began in July, that means (counting on fingers) . . . a February baby! Will the baby be early? I hope not too early! Or will the baby be late?” Finally, the baby always comes when good and ready—when it is God’s time. A joyful birth announcement then follows, with all the particulars about the name, parents, weight and length, and the date of birth.
Throughout the world, this miracle of newborn life happens about 350,000 times each day. Does each one of these worldwide births capture your personal anticipation and attention? Of course not. Out of all the billions of births that have taken place throughout history, there has been only one that has universal, heartfelt meaning. That is the birth of God’s only-begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. From the beginning of history, the Lord began to fill in the “birth announcement” for His Son, revealing more and more details about how this birth would take place. These included His human and divine parentage, His royal lineage, His redeeming work, and His death and resurrection.Read More »God’s Advent TIMING

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’”

(Revelation 21:3-4 ESV)

Life in a sin-broken world is hard enough.

We don’t need to make it any harder. Yet that’s exactly what we do whenever we allow God’s exciting words of promise to lie dormant and inactive in our hearts. When, for example, was the last time you spent any time contemplating the reality of heaven—not just in a general way, but really allowing yourself to think about, to get excited about, what your existence will be like in heaven? By God’s divine promise, heaven is your eternal future through faith in Jesus Christ. Put that promise to work. As Christians, we obviously believe that heaven is real, and that one day we will exist there, but we routinely rob ourselves of the everyday blessing of that reality.
Why would we ever neglect such a precious gift? For some it is the apparent absurdity of the thing. How could a sinner like me end up in a place like that? The answer, of course, is that Jesus made it so. He washed me, sanctified me. He earned the robe of righteousness with which I am covered.Read More »A Dwelling Place Worth Dwelling On

COVER STORY – THE CATECHISM

“From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
(2 Timothy 3:15)

There is nothing in all the world more important than knowing the Holy Scriptures, for there is nothing else in all the world that can make you wise for salvation. Nothing! Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) That’s why Jesus says that listening to Him is the “one thing needed” (Luke 10:42). However, knowing the Holy Scriptures does not just happen automatically; it must be taught. Therefore, there is nothing more important than for parents to teach their children to know the Bible.
Timothy’s mother, Lois, and his grandmother Eunice understood that. They taught Timothy to know the Holy Scriptures. As a result, he had known them from his childhood. Read More »Luther’s Catechism