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Unfair Treament

“But that’s not fair!!!”  You can almost hear the whining voice of a four-year-old complaining about not receiving the treatment he thinks he deserves. To the child’s young mind, it doesn’t seem fair that older brothers and sisters get to stay up later than he does to watch TV because that’s unwarranted favoritism.

But how many young children voice objections about fairness when they receive something BETTER than they deserve? As a twelve-year-old, did you complain that your four-year-old sibling did not get to stay up as late as you?

Jacob had left Canaan on less than good terms. He had tricked his aged and blind father Isaac into giving him the blessing that belonged to his older twin brother, Esau—not fair!! For this, Esau hated Jacob to the point of wanting to kill him. Jacob had to flee Canaan with only the clothes on his back and a staff in his hand. He would spend the next twenty years working in a foreign country.Read More »Unfair Treament

Marking the Lutheran Reformation – Reformers (Always) Needed

re-form vt. 1. to make better by removing faults and defects; correct  2. to make better by putting a stop to abuses or malpractices or by introducing better procedures, etc.

re-for-ma-tion n. 2. [R] the 16th century religious movement that aimed at reforming the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in establishing the Protestant churches*

There is little doubt that the visible church of Luther’s time (the Roman Catholic Church) needed reforming. As most man-made institutions go, the church had become more liberal the further it got from teaching the pure Word of God. Man’s declarations became law–traditions became commandments, and as a result the pure gospel message was muddied and choked in the stagnant waters of man’s theological inventions.

The people of Luther’s day had gotten too comfortable with the way things had been running in the church. The clergy were in charge; the congregational members weren’t expected to worry themselves about such things as doctrine.

Luther’s goal was to return the clergy as well as the general population of the church to the pure Word of God–to encourage each individual to a personal relationship with God and His Word.Read More »Marking the Lutheran Reformation – Reformers (Always) Needed

Reaching Out with the Gospel… “Bragging Rights”

Many people like to brag to others about what they have or what they’ve done.

The child on the playground may brag about what his dad can do. He may even get into a “My dad’s better… stronger than your dad” argument with other kids.

As adults we are inclined to brag about our children or grandchildren and their accomplishments. If one proves to be better than others, or has cuter grandkids than others, it might be said that he has the “bragging rights.”

As Christians we are somewhat reluctant to brag about ourselves, for in His Word our God warns about the destructiveness of pride. However, we do have the greatest bragging rights when it comes to our God. We truly have a God and Father who is greater than all.

We can rightfully and proudly brag and boast about our God!!Read More »Reaching Out with the Gospel… “Bragging Rights”

Word Associations

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

If we were to play a word association game using the word education, what thoughts would first come to our minds?

Those who live in Wisconsin as I do, would no doubt have fresh memories involving a year of turmoil in our public school system. Words such as tenure, benefits, contracts, standards, recall, and vouchers have been bandied about.

But the problems don’t stop there. Along with challenging political issues come a myriad of social concerns. Words such as bullying, sexting, broken families, drug abuse, metal detectors, gay-straight alliances, early childhood sex ed, have also… and unfortunately… become commonplace when discussing the education of our youth.

What about Christian education? Is it immune to the political and social problems of society at large? … in our Christian homes children are besieged by the devil, the sinful world,and their fleshly desires (as are their parents and teachers).

What about Christian education? Is it immune to the political and social problems of society at large? Of course not. Both in parochial schools and in our Christian homes children are besieged by the devil, the sinful world, and their fleshly desires (as are their parents and teachers).Read More »Word Associations

The Amazing Power of God’s Word

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Hebrews 11:3

It is that time of year when we enjoy getting out in nature and looking at the beauty of God’s creation.

Family trips taken to national or state parks often become treasured memories. We recall the wondrous vistas from a mountain-top or even just a bluff, the grandeur of the vastness of the sea, the mysteries of a cave, or the beauty of canyon formations.

Even watching the sun set over a lake can call forth a confession of faith from the child of God who marvels at how God called all this forth with the power of His Word.

Of course, visits to publicly-run parks may also mean that we encounter the evolutionist’s view on the origins of the universe. What evolutionists see as a chance happening—that supposedly took place with countless millions of precisely accurate accidents occurring at the exactly necessary moments so that the world came into existence with all its wonders—we creationists see and know as the wonderful works of God!

The nature scenes which cause us to marvel as we make our way on our summer vacation trips are evidence of the majesty and power of God. With the power of His Word He called things as if they were—and indeed they were there in all their complexity, in all their beauty!Read More »The Amazing Power of God’s Word

Pray for the Spirit

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“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13)

When I was a young child, I recall feeling somewhat disappointed when I heard this Bible verse. It was building up to a grand conclusion, “If you then, being evil know how to give good gifts….” Then I expected, “How much more will your heavenly Father give even greater gifts to those who ask!”

Again, as a child I thought about all the greater things God could give. When the passage continued, it somehow wasn’t quite what I had in mind: “How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”

I soon realized that there is no greater gift than the Holy Spirit!

Earthly fathers can give us only earthly gifts: food, clothing, a home, and other things to enjoy in this life, but all such things are temporary. Through the Holy Spirit, however, our heavenly Father can give gifts that last forever!Read More »Pray for the Spirit

The Means of Grace

During the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century an insidious philosophy – namely, rationalism — spread throughout Europe and America. Rationalism’s proponents asserted that human reason, unaided by divine revelation, is the sole guide to all attainable religious truth.

Means of GraceHuman reason became the new god. The idea put forth was that if the human brain could not figure something out, it could not be true.

People began to turn away from the “other-worldly” focus of the Middle Ages toward the more worldly focus so prevalent in our day.

The Bible, however, speaks of a whole different concept of attaining truth.

The “carnal mind is enmity against God” (Romans 8:7). Without God’s Spirit, people walk in darkness, unable to find truth. “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Read More »The Means of Grace

We are Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus

Paul stated, “I am determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

This preaching of the gospel included not only the fact of Jesus’ death on the cross but the meaning of this sacrifice for the sins of the world. The power of the message of the early Church was based on the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the promise of life to come for all who believed in Jesus as their Savior.

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We are Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus

The book of Acts illustrates the central importance of the resurrection in our preaching and witnessing.Jesus’ mandate to be His witnesses to the ends of the Earth was based on the reality of His resurrection victory over death and the grave. “To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).Read More »We are Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus