Why opposition to the Gospel is good

For the more violently the world rages against the Gospel, the better the position of the Gospel is.

This should be a very pleasant comfort for us.  For it is sure that the world hates and persecutes us for no other reason than that we present the truth of the Gospel.  It does not accuse us of being thieves, adulterers, murderers, etc.; but what it despises in us is solely this, that we teach Christ faithfully and purely, and that we do not forsake the heritage of the truth.

Therefore we should know for certain that our doctrine is holy and divine, because the world hates it so bitterly. Otherwise there is no doctrine too wicked, stupid, ridiculous or dangerous for the world to accept it, embrace  and defend it gladly, in fact, to treat it reverently, support it, fawn upon it, and convert everyone to it.

The teaching of godliness, life and salvation, together with its ministers, is the only one that it despises and treats in an utterly shameful way.  This is evident proof that the world is angry with us only because of its hatred of the Word.  Therefore when our opponents raise the objection against us that our doctrine produces nothing but war, sedition, stumbling blocks, sects, and endless other evil, let us reply: "Blessed be the day when it becomes possible to see all this! But the whole world is in an uproar.  All right.  If it were not in an uproar, and if the devil were not in such a rage and we not creating such havoc everywhere, we would not have the pure doctrine which such tumults and havoc inevitably follow.  Therefore what you see as evil we regard as the highest good."

From Luther's Words, notes on Galatians, page 47.

Interestingly, Luther wrote this in 1535.  Yet, his words describe almost perfectly the condition of our world today. Opposition to the Gospel never changes.  It seems that Luther would say, "Good! Get the Gospel out to the world now

Hopeless - flee to the God of Hope

All hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.

That's how Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles', put it.  He was accompanying Paul on his trip to Rome for Paul's hearing with Caesar.  In chapter 27, he tells how the ship they were sailing on ran into a violent storm and not one action the crew took seemed to lead to safety.  As Luke recounts, they all had given up hope of being saved.

But Paul comes with good news.  An angel, a messenger from God, came to Paul and assured the apostle that he would stand before Caesar and plead his case.  Not only that, Paul learned that not only he would be saved but all on the ship would live to see many more days.

Does Paul put his faith in his safety because an angel appeared to him?  No, Paul's faith is rooted in something much greater than an angelic being. His faith is securely placed in God's Word.

So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.  (Acts 27:25)

Paul teaches us something very important.  We have times in our lives when events or circumstances can make life feel hopeless.  And it's impossible to live without hope.

Where does the Christian turn when a loved one is fighting for life...when financial disaster is impending...when a grandchild is making one bad choice after another...when the love of your life says, "I don't love you anymore."

Hopeless situations call on us to flee to the God of hope.

But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.  (Psalm 39:7)

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints...  (Ephesians 1:18)

Through (Christ) you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God.  (1 Peter 1:21)

What to do when life seems hopeless? Stand on the promises of God's Word.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  He is our mighty fortress to whom we can turn.  He never slumbers nor sleeps but is always watching over us.  He cares for those who belong to Him.  (See Deut. 31:6 - Psalm 46:1 - Psalm 121:4,8 - Psalm 23)

Life is never hopeless when you are standing on God's Word and promises.  Trust in the Lord.  Your hope is in Him! 

Tim Tebow - a man to be respected

I have a ton of respect for Tim Tebow.  His immense football talent was so often overlooked by his unapologetic confession of Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior.  Tebow faced his critics head on by giving credit to God for the gifts that enabled him to be an athlete that accomplished so much.  He won the Heisman Trophy as the best college football player while playing at Miami and he led the Denver Broncos to an exciting playoff run in 2011.

I enjoyed reading his book, "Shaken," and copied down a couple of quotes that rang true:

"Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." Page 100

"The purpose of life is not to be happy.  It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."  Page 120

God delights in us too

The delight and pleasure of God are in His beloved Son, and that is where we are too.  What is ours is His; what is His is ours.  So God delights in us too.  If our hearts would take this in, Martin Luther said, that would burst for joy into a hundred thousand pieces.  In a world that is given over to sin, death and the devil, there is one point where the delight of God dwells.  "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased."  That is where we are in solidarity with Jesus.  With Jesus there is God's delight.  God, Christ, you - all together like one thing.

From "Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel" page 44

What moves us to cry out "Lord, have mercy?"

Only when we hear the bad news that makes us cry out, "Lord, have mercy," are we able to hear the Good News of "It is Finished!"

RJ Grunewald, "Reading Romans with Luther," page 52

Top 10 Signs That Your Pastor Enjoyed Vacation Just a Little Too Much

10) Has ushers greet all worshippers with complementary leis

9) Suggests that the apostle Paul's missionary journeys would have been so much easier with the right "maps app"

8) Encourages the congregation to tithe their frequent flyer miles

7) Wears a different souvenir t-shirt over his alb every week

6) Wants to include a can of mosquito repellent in every visitor gift bag

5) Has congregation file into the sanctuary as if boarding a flight on Southwest Airlines: "Now seating A 1-30 only"

4) Orders clergy shirts from Tommy Bahama

3) Replaces office furniture with beach chairs

2) Stops work at 4 pm each day for a Pina Colada

And the number one sign that your pastor enjoyed vacation just a little too much:

1) Keeps reminding you that is was 65 degrees where he vacationed 

Connected to God the Father

A wonderful insight from Norman Nagel:

It is only because God has come to be our Father that we can pray to Him.  Only because Christ has taken away our sins on Himself and wiped them out by His victorious death can we stand before God, forgiven, His children in Christ.  Only as we are bound to Christ can we come before God as His children, for then God sees us in Christ, wearing the garment of Christ's righteousness.  This is the key to a living connection with God our Father.  All contact, all prayer with Him must be in Christ, in the name of Jesus, that is, with faith in Him.

Isn't that good news!

From "Selected Sermons" page 139. 

Martin Luther on the law and Jesus Christ

 "To the extent we are Christians, we stand above the law and sin.  Christ is the Lord of the law.  He is present and locked in our hearts, just as a precious stone is firmly mounted in a ring.  When the law accuses us and sin terrifies us, all we need do is look at Christ.  When we have taken hold of Him in faith, we have the victory over the law, sin, death and the devil...Because Christ rules over all of these, we won't be harmed." 

From "Faith Alone" devotional, July 14

Top Ten Signs Your Church Consultant Is Off Kilter

10) Consultant believes that the church cannot gain new members by singing old hymns and songs; forbids the band to play any song written before 2005.

9) Consultant has pastor begin each sermon with a joke "just like Joel Osteen."

8) Consultant creates outrage in the congregation by cancelling the coffee and donut hour and installing vending machines.

7) "If you follow my plan, work my plan and don't deviate from my plan, I guarantee that I will fill up this church with new members.  With God's help, of course."

6) Consultant instructs the pastor to always be smiling to project warmth during the service; this becomes especially off-putting during confession and absolution.

5) To increase attendance, consultant creates "Bring your Pet to Church Sunday" which infuriates the custodian on Monday.

4) Consultant urges the church to focus on the important 18-34 demographic group of soccer dads with 2 and 1/2 children who drink microbrews and make less than $30,000 a year.

3) Consultant recommends a new way to increase attendance: let guests and visitors take money out of the collection plate.

2) Consultant replaces small group ministry with a "smaller group ministry" consisting of one person or less per group.

And the number one sign that your Church Growth Consultant is off-kilter is:

1) Consultant suggests that the pastor change his name to "Max Lucado." 

Good friends are a blessing

Those of you who regularly read the blog know that I am in the process of having a book of devotions published.  This has become a more arduous and stressful task than I imagined.

I thought I would submit my manuscript and it eventually would come back to me in book form.  Not so fast!

First, the manuscript went through the "content department."  I'm working with a Christian publishing company and they have certain guidelines regarding how a few words can be used or not used.  The manuscript came back with a some of these words highlighted.  They were easily corrected.  I thought we were on our way.

Instead, I received an email informing me that it would be best if I had a line by line edit of the manuscript.  The cost of the service is based on the number of words included in the manuscript.  My cost would be nearly $1000! 

I was shocked.  This was money that I hadn't expected to pay and my review of the corrections they were proposing didn't seem all that important.  I was more than a little frustrated to say the least.

So I reached out to Jim, a good friend of mine and a published author.  I respect his opinion and wanted to get his perspective.  He responded with some very good insight about the importance of having another set of eyes taking a critical look at the manuscript.  Yes, this service would bring about additional costs, Jim wrote, but it would be worth it if spelling errors, grammatical errors and the like were caught.

Jim helped me gain some perspective and enabled me to see that a line by line, word by word, edit would ensure that the book was as polished and attractive as possible.  His advice and counsel made sense.

Isn't it a blessing to have good friends you can count on for compassionate help and wisdom.  Jim provided that for me.  I hope you have that good friend you can count on too.

The Lord Speaks to You

Often I tell people that if you want to hear the voice of the Lord, open your Bible and start to read.  I needed to hear from the Lord this morning.  And I did.

Do not fret yourself because of evildoers, do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
For they shall soon wither like the grass, and like the green grass fade away.

Put your trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and feed on its riches.
Take delight in the Lord, and he shall give you your heart's desire.
Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in Him, and He will bring it to pass.

The Lord cares for the lives of the godly, and their inheritance shall last for ever.

But the deliverance of the righteous comes from the Lord, He is their stronghold in time of trouble.

The Lord will help them and rescue them; He will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them, because they seek refuge in Him.

Selected verses from Psalm 37. 

The comfort of God's Word

 "His Word will be that sharp-edged sword that will convict you when pride puffs you up, or be that soft blanket that comforts you when pain leaves you feeling wounded."

Joni Eareckson Tada, from "Joni and Ken - An Untold Love Story," page 179