Daily Devotional Thought--From the Confessions

The following is taken from Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions (A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord).  It is an excerpt from Robert D. Preus's book, Getting into the Theology of Concord: A Study of the Book of Concord.  It speaks to a common question regarding the proper role of statements of faith, confessions, catechisms, and other extra-biblical documents in the Church.  Enjoy!  And if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!
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Confessional Subscription:
An Evangelical Act

Lutherans have always held that creeds and confessions are necessary for the well-being of the church. Just as Christ’s church and all Christians are called upon to confess their faith (Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 John 4:2), so the church, if it is to continue to proclaim the pure Gospel in season and out of season, must for many reasons construct formal and permanent symbols and confessions and require pastors and teachers to subscribe these confessions. It is impossible for the church to be a nonconfessional church, just as impossible as to be a nonconfessing church. And so today and ever since the Reformation Lutheran churches over the world have required their pastors to subscribe the Lutheran Confessions.

What does this mean? With her confessions the church is speaking to the world, but also to God, who has spoken to her in His Word—speaking to Him in total commitment, speaking to Him by an unequivocal, unconditional response in the spirit of, “We believe, teach, and confess” (FC Ep, Rule and Norm, 1). This response is Scriptural, taken from Scripture itself. How often do we read in our Confessions that the teaching presented is “grounded in God’s Word”! And so the Confessions are no more than a kind of “comprehensive summary, rule, and norm,” grounded in the Word of God, “according to which all doctrines should be judged and the errors which intruded should be explained and decided in a Christian way” (FC Ep, Heading). This would be an unbelievably arrogant position to take, were it not for the fact that all the doctrine of our Confessions is diligently and faithfully drawn from Scripture.

And so when the Lutheran pastor subscribes the Lutheran Confessions (and the confirmand or layman confesses his belief in the Catechism [LC, Preface, 19]), this is a primary way in which he willingly and joyfully and without reservation or qualification confesses his faith and proclaims to the world what his belief and doctrine and confession really are. Dr. C. F. W. Walther, the father of the Missouri Synod, long ago explained the meaning of confessional subscription, and his words are as cogent today as when they were first written. [From Walther’s essay delivered at the Western District Convention, 1858.]

An unconditional subscription is the solemn declaration which the individual who wants to serve the church makes under oath (1) that he accepts the doctrinal content of our Symbolical Books, because he recognizes the fact that it is in full agreement with Scripture and does not militate against Scripture in any point, whether that point be of major or minor importance; (2) that he therefore heartily believes in this divine truth and is determined to preach this doctrine.… Whether the subject be dealt with expressly or only incidentally, an unconditional subscription refers to the whole content of the Symbols and does not allow the subscriber to make any mental reservation in any point. Nor will he exclude such doctrines as are discussed incidentally in support of other doctrines, because the fact that they are so stamps them as irrevocable articles of faith and demands their joyful acceptance by everyone who subscribes the Symbols.

This is precisely how the Confessions themselves understand subscription (FC Ep, Rule and Norm, 3, 5, 6; SD, Rule and Norm, 1, 2, 5).

Needless to say, confessional subscription in the nature of the case is binding and unconditional. A subscription with qualifications or reservations is a contradiction in terms and dishonest.

Today many Lutherans claim that such an unconditional subscription is legalistic. Sometimes they assert that such a position is pompous and not even honest.

We might respond: What can possibly be wrong about confessing our faith freely and taking our confession seriously? For it is the freest and most joyful act in the world for those of us who have searched these great confessional writings and found them to be Scriptural and evangelical to subscribe them. Of course, to force or bribe or wheedle a person into subscribing them would be an awful sin and a denial of what our Confessions are, namely symbols, standards around which Christians rally willingly and joyfully in all their Christian freedom.

From Robert D. Preus, Getting into the Theology of Concord: A Study of the Book of Concord (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1977), 15–16. For more information, see Doctrine Is Life: Robert D. Preus Essays on Justification and the Lutheran Confessions (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 195–212.

FC Epitome of the Formula of Concord

LC Large Catechism

SD Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord

Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions. Edited by Paul Timothy McCain. St. Louis, MO : Concordia Publishing House, 2005, xxviii

Daily Devotional Thought--From the New Testament

Colossians 3:1-4

¹ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Devotion

In the name of + Jesus.

Christ was killed, but Christ is risen.  Alleluia!  By virtue of your baptism, you have been crucified along with Jesus, and, amazingly enough, have been raised along with him also (**Read it in Romans 6:4-5 below!).

Jesus’ resurrection occurred all at once, body and soul together for all to see.  Your resurrection, however, occurs in parts.  For the bodily part of your resurrection, you will have to wait for the Last Day, and Christ’s return (see 1 Cor. 15).  But even now, by the work of the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism, there is a new man which lives in you by faith, and trusts in the Words and promises of God.  This new man is a man raised from the death of the Old Man who was yours by nature, and whose death was accomplished in your Baptism.  The Old Man despised God’s Word and preferred to be his own God.  But the new man; the new man loves God’s Word and delights in it.  The Old Man sees God’s word as an intrusion on personal freedom.  The New Man knows that true freedom only comes because of God’s Word.  The Old Man desires to gratify the sinful, fleshly, desires.  But the new man desires to daily live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

This is what St. Paul means when he encourages you, who have been raised with Christ in your Baptism, to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is.”  What you think about is what you desire.  And now that you are raised with Christ, and the New Man lives in faith, you need not continue to think about, desire, and crave those things through which the world promises pleasure.  The world promises life in ways that the Old Adam finds pleasurable, even fulfilling.  But the New Man seeks the things that above, where Christ is.  The New Man seeks holiness, righteousness, and purity.  Even as he fights against the desires of the Old Man, who still clings to him, he who has been crucified with Christ learns to crucify these desires, and to say “NO!” to the Old Man so that the New Man can continue to think about those things which are of Christ.

On the last day, when your resurrection is complete, and you have your new and glorified body, there will be no need for the Old Man to be silenced and crucified, for that day will bring about his death forever.  Which also means, that day your New Man—that faithful man living in you—will no longer be hidden (v. 3) behind your sinfulness, but will be all of who you are—forever.

Jesus’ victory of sin, death, and the devil are not meant to give Christians license to go on sinning, and be taken over by that Old Man.  On the contrary, by virtue of your baptism, you are incorporated into Christ, and his life becomes the life you now live in faith.  While the Old Man fights against the things of Christ, the New Man will never be satisfied until the things of Christ are all he has.  Until then, let us set our minds on the things above—the things of Christ—and by the Holy Spirit, pray that they may even be done in and among us.

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!

Prayer

Almighty God, You gave Your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon Himself. Grant that we, Your adopted children by grace, may daily be renewed by Your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord (LSB, p. 312; #204).

**Romans 6:4-5 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Old Testament

Jonah 2:10

And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

Devotion

In the name of + Jesus.

Many of us have been familiar with the story of Jonah even from our youth.  It’s one of those Sunday School stories.  The prophet Jonah flees from God because he doesn’t want to go to that terrible city of Nineveh.  And Jonah had a good reason for not wanting to go to Nineveh; Nineveh was the blood-thirsty capital of Syria, which was known for conquering cities and making pyramids outside of the conquered city walls by stacking the skulls of those they had killed in the process.  Who would want to go to a city with that reputation?

As the story goes, you remember Jonah fleeing, getting on a boat, a terrible storm, and finally, Jonah offering to be thrown overboard to calm the waters.  But he’s really trying to calm down God.  His own guilt tells him why the storm has come, and the reason is judgment; judgment on him.  And he knows that the LORD will not stop until Jonah is brought to justice for his disobedience.

So Jonah is thrown into the sea, where he expects to die.  Except that he doesn’t die.  The LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah.  And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.  And then, as the passage above tells us, “The LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.”

For most of us, that is where the story has ended.  Sure, our Sunday School teachers will tack on a bit about going to preach to Nineveh, and having Nineveh be saved through repentance and faith in God’s Word and promise.  But the emphasis for us is typically on the fact that Jonah lived in the belly of a great fish for three days…and lived.  We’ve been taught that the point of this story is that God can do the miraculous…even for people who are disobedient.

But how does Jesus teach this text?  That’s right, Jesus actually did some teaching on this text of Jonah, and teaches us what the story of Jonah is really all about.  You can find this teaching recorded in Matthew 12:39-41 and Luke 11:29-32.  Jesus mentions the “sign of Jonah” again in Matthew 16:4.  And what does he say is the point of the story of Jonah?  His own death and resurrection!

Yes, Jonah was a real man, and there was a great big fish.  There was a city of Nineveh, and its residents were evil enough to scare anyone away.  Yes, Jonah was rescued by the hand of God, and yes he would go to Nineveh to preach to evil people, who would repent and be saved by faith.  But the entire historic event was intended to point us forward to one who would be “greater than Jonah (Lk 11:29).

Jonah fled from sinful Nineveh.  Jesus humbled himself, and took on the flesh of the sinners to whom he was sent.  Jonah offered himself up to death to satisfy God’s judgment.  That’s what Jesus did on the cross, but in the case of Jesus, it wasn’t simply for the sake of the temporal life a few crewmen on a boat—it was for the entire world, a once-and-for-all death for all sinful people.  Jonah was buried in the belly of that great fish, and Jesus was buried in the tomb—and each were buried for three days!  After three days, the LORD commanded the fish to spit Jonah out onto dry land.  After three days in the tomb, the Father commanded to tomb to be opened, and for Jesus to come out, alive and well.

And all of it happened, in the case of Jonah and Jesus, so that the Word of forgiveness, life, and salvation could be preached to those who would die without it.  For Jonah, it would be the Ninevites.  For Jesus, the Gospel of His death and resurrection would begin being preached in Jerusalem, extend to Judea, and finally, make its way to the ends of the world.  Christ died for sin, was made alive in victory, and He comes to bring that Good News to sinners who will also be spared through repentance and faith in the one who is like Jonah, but even greater!

Jonah is a wonderful story; it’s a miraculous story; it’s a mission story which we can all relate to, for we all have turned from the call of God.  But more than that, Jonah is a story that points us to the miracle of the one who would die and be raised for all sinners.  Jonah is chiefly a story that reveals the redemption of Christ.  Jonah is most of all, a story that seeks to remind us of the one who is even greater than he—Jesus Christ, the risen one!

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!

Prayer

Gracious God and Father, thank You for redeeming me from sin, death, and the power fo the devil. Move my tongue to glorify You in praise and witness. Amen (TLSB, p. 1482).

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Psalms (and in response to the bombing in Boston)

Psalm 159

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;

protect me from those who rise up against me;

deliver me from those who work evil,

and save me from bloodthirsty men.

For behold, they lie in wait for my life;

fierce men stir up strife against me.

For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,

for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Awake, come to meet me, and see!

You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.

Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;

spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.

Each evening they come back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

There they are, bellowing with their mouths

with swords in their lips—

for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

But you, O Lord, laugh at them;

you hold all the nations in derision.

O my Strength, I will watch for you,

for you, O God, are my fortress.

My God in his steadfast love will meet me;

God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

Kill them not, lest my people forget;

make them totter by your power and bring them down,

O Lord, our shield!

For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,

let them be trapped in their pride.

For the cursing and lies that they utter,

consume them in wrath;

consume them till they are no more,

that they may know that God rules over Jacob

to the ends of the earth.

Each evening they come back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

They wander about for food

and growl if they do not get their fill.

But I will sing of your strength;

I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.

For you have been to me a fortress

and a refuge in the day of my distress.

O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,

for you, O God, are my fortress,

the God who shows me steadfast love.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

                and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning,

                Is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Devotion

In the name of + Jesus.

Yesterday’s horrific events in Boston remind us that, in this life, sin and its deadly affects are always around us.  On this morning after, the news focuses on those who have perished, the many wounded, who have had suffering thrust upon them, the countless folks who are attending to the ill, those who are serving the families of the suffering, and the various law-enforcement departments that are working to bring justice to the guilty.  Those who perpetrate such acts intend to defeat their victims, to bring them to their knees.  But they cannot force to their knees, those who daily go to their knees willingly, as dear children, praying to their dear Father.  And so today, we call upon His name in the day of trouble, we pray, we praise, and we give thanks.

“When surrounded by enemies (or difficult circumstances), we turn to God in confidence and trust. Whatever He wills for us is best, even if we don’t understand it at the time. The world and all that is in it is passing away. Empires come and go. Only God and His promise of salvation in Jesus Christ stand firm, stand fast, and stand forever” (TLSB, p. 904).

David prayed the Psalm above when Saul had sent men to his house to kill him.  His enemies plotted his death, and attempted to carry it out.  David’s prayer is a fitting prayer for us as well, for in it, we come to grips with the reality of those enemies which attack us.  Even men seek to harm us.  Evil thoughts seek to terrorize us.  Satan would have us forget God’s promises, thereby robbing us of any comfort and hope.  And these enemies are relentless, not stopping until they have their way, never being satisfied until they see our demise.

But like David, we will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit, who reminds us:

But I will sing of your strength;

I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.

For you have been to me a fortress

and a refuge in the day of my distress.

O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,

for you, O God, are my fortress,

the God who shows me steadfast love.

In every trouble, like David, we call upon the name of the Lord.

In every trouble, we praise the LORD for working salvation, and for having His promises to cling to.  We praise Him for having defeated all our enemies whose end is destruction.  We praise Him, for He is our help in the day of trouble.  Though we do not understand, we praise Him, for even in the midst of what men intend for evil, for those who love God all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28).

And so, even in every trouble, we give thanks.  We give thanks for His promises.  We give thanks for those who die in the faith, for their eternal reward is certain.  We give thanks for those who help and serve, and who sacrifice of themselves for those who suffer and are in need.  We give thanks for those who were spared.

Even when tragedy strikes, our confidence is in Christ, for He is risen.  And so, today, with heavy hearts, let us call upon the name of the Lord.  Let us pray, praise, and give thanks, in the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Prayer

O mighty Fortress, our trusty Shield and Weapon, deliver us from the snaps and snarls of the wicked. Trap them with Your Law and turn their hearts by Your Gospel. Let Your people know peace amid strife (TLSB, p. 904).

Almighty God, merciful Father, Your thoughts are not our thoughts, Your ways are not our ways. In Your wisdom You have permitted this disastrous bombing to befall us. We implore You, let not the hearts of Your people despair nor our faith fail us, but sustain and comfort us. Direct all efforts to attend the injured, console the bereaved, and protect the helpless. Bring hop and healing that we may find relief and restoration; through Jesus Christ, our Lord (LSB, p. 317, #292).

Daily Devotional Thought--For the Family

1 Corinthians 15:3

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.

Devotion

In the name of + Jesus.

Yesterday, we heard again of the amazing conversion of St. Paul.  We heard the Saul of Tarsus being made a new creation by the risen Lord, and becoming the apostle to the Gentiles.  We heard how Paul received what he says above is of first importance: the faith that trust that Christ died for our sins.

And having received this gift of faith by grace, Paul knows that this gift is not something to store in a lock-box, but is something to be shared.  Indeed, it is something to be delivered.  Those who receive the gift deliver the gift.  Sinners are called by the Gospel, believe in Christ, and become His witnesses.

Of course, St. Paul was never blessed to have children—although he did consider the believers in the congregations he started to be like sons and daughters of his.  But for those of us who are blessed to be parents, we do well to remember this passage above.  It is even the sort of passage that could become a sort of theme verse for a household, be painted on a mantle, that sort of thing.

You see, faith is not an instinct.  Our children don’t just pop out of the womb and believe in Jesus.  They have to be given faith by the Holy Spirit, who works through the means of the Gospel.  The faith in Christ we have been blessed to receive must be delivered.  Literally, it must be handed over.

It’s actually the same Greek work (paradi,dwmi) that is used to describe Jesus being handed over when he was arrested.  And I think that’s a pretty helpful way for us to think about it.  Of course, when we hand over Jesus to our children, it is no act of betrayal like Judas’s handing over of Jesus, but it is a handing over of Jesus nonetheless.

So, whether you’re a parent or not, let us pray that the LORD would use us to hand over that which is of first importance to those people who are of first importance in our lives.  Let us deliver Jesus.  Let us hand Him over to our children, and an entire new generation of believers.  And let us joy in knowing that in handing over Jesus, we’re giving them the greatest gift possible.

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!

Prayer

Visit, O Lord, the homes in which Your people dwell, and keep all harm and danger far from them. Grant that we may dwell together in peace under the protection of Your holy angels, sharing eternally in Your  blessings; through Jesus Christ, our Lord (LSB, p. 315; #239).

Unlikely Witnesses (Sermon Preached April 14 for Easter 3-C)

Sermon texts: Acts 9:1-22; John 21:1-14

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed.  Alelluia!  Let us pray:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of (our) heart(s) be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, (our) rock and (our) redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

In the name of Jesus.

            Who are you?  It’s the question that links today’s First Reading with the Holy Gospel.  Who are you?  In the First Reading, it’s the question on the lips of Saul of Tarsus who was on the road to Damascus with the intention of persecuting Christians.  And in the Holy Gospel, it’s the silent question on the minds of all the disciples when, having caught nothing all day, they were told by a strange man standing on the shore of the sea of Tiberias that if they just cast their nets on the other side of the boat, they would finally catch some fish.  Who are you?

            In the First Reading, it makes sense that Saul would ask this question.  I mean, there he is, on the road to Damascus with important official business, and papers to prove it.  There he is, breathing threats and murder while he walks like a man enraged.  There he is, delighting in the demise of the ones that call themselves followers of “The Way.”  There he is, probably more than two years after Easter, and with each day that passes, only being more and more convinced in the senselessness of those Christians, who were still hanging on to their foolish belief that Jesus had been raised from the dead.  There he is, hoping to bind up men, women, and children who would not give up their faith in the risen Lord, so that he could take them back to Jerusalem where they would be dealt with properly.

            There he is, when suddenly, a light from heaven flashed all around him, and a voice began to speak.  Of course, that light from heaven made it a bit difficult to see who was speaking.  But maybe the fact that Jesus had already ascended to the right hand of the Father had something to do with the fact that Saul could not see who it was that was speaking to him.  Either way, it makes sense that Saul would ask the question: “Who are you?”

            What doesn’t make sense is why the disciples have that question on their minds.  Who are you?  Okay, none of them say it, this time, but all of them are thinking it.  Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John, and two other disciples, that makes seven of them—SEVEN OF THEM—who had been together and all except for Thomas had already seen Jesus alive and in the flesh on two separate occasions.  All of them had seen his hands, and his side; all of them had looked upon His risen and glorified body with their very own eyes.  And it was the same Jesus that they had followed across the lands for three whole years.  It makes perfect sense that Saul of Tarsus, that spiritually dead enemy of God would have to ask Jesus: “Who are you?”  But it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever that when Simon Peter and the other disciples have had a bum night fishing and the sun is starting to come up, a man just happens to stand on the sea shore and tell them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, and all of them are thinking to themselves, “Who does this guy think he is?”

            Who are you?  In the case of Saul, it makes all the sense in the world.  In the case of those 7 disciples, it makes no sense at all.  And yet, there it is: the question that links together today’s First Reading and the Holy Gospel.  The question on the lips of Saul, and on the minds of those 7 fishing disciples: Who are you?  Someone we would expect not to know who Jesus was even if he was standing in front of him, and someone who should know better by now; it makes no difference.  In both stories, the question is the same: “Who are you?

            So who are you?  I know none of you are a Pharisee like Saul, and none of you have probably ever been planning to kill anybody.  And I also know that none of you have seen Jesus face-to-face, or followed him around the countryside for three years.  But who are you?  Or maybe I should say, who are you more like?

            Are you more like Saul, who spent years making fun of Christians for their foolish faith until he was met with a light from heaven and a voice that changed his life?  Are you more like Saul, who had gained such a reputation among the Christians for his evil, that when Ananias was told by Jesus in a vision to go and welcome him, he responded, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.”?  Are you more like Saul, who had stooped so low without ever knowing it, that when Jesus had picked him up and awakened him to faith, he was immediately baptized, and for the rest of his life, would not stop bearing witness that Jesus really is the Son of God?  Are you more like Saul in today’s First Reading, who was the last person who would ever be expected to believe in Jesus or be found in Church, or are you more like Simon Peter and the rest of the disciples in the Holy Gospel?

When Jesus called them, they immediately left everything and followed him.  For three years, they had fought between themselves to be the teacher’s pet.  Even if they weren’t able, they had been bound and determined to follow Jesus wherever he went.  Are you more like them?  Are you more like Simon Peter, who wanted so badly to be the best of the disciples, even if his speaking sometimes could have been helped with a bit more thinking?  Are you more like Thomas who wanted to see before he would believe Jesus’ promises?  Are you more like the disciples, who followed Jesus, and received the Holy Spirit, and were going to be leaders of the Church, but when Jesus was helping them fish, and was standing just a hundred yards away, none of them knew who He was?

Who are you?  Are you more like Saul, who wasn’t expected to know who Jesus was? Or are you more like Simon Peter and the other disciples who should have never forgotten who Jesus was?  Who are you?

            I told you that was the question which linked today’s First Reading with the Holy Gospel.  And that is true.  But really, it is the question that links Saul, and Simon Peter, and the other disciples fishing that day on the Sea of Tiberias. Even more, it is the question that links them all with you and with me.  It is the question that links those who have been far from the church with those who have never been far from it.  It is the question that links those who have a reputation they seem not to be able to lose with those who appear to others to do no wrong.  It is the question that links those who should have known better with those who should never have known.  It is the question that must be asked, and answered by all; for when it is, the Holy Spirit binds us all together in a confession of the faith that simply won’t be able to be contained.

            Who are you?  You are created by God—fearfully and wonderfully made—knit together in your mother’s womb.  Who are you?  You are loved by God; loved by God in such a way that He would not spare His own Son, but gave Him up so that He might have you, and hold you, and live with you in His presence forever more.  Who are you?  You are redeemed by God; you have been bought with a price—not gold or silver, but Jesus’ precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.  You were purchased and won so that, no matter what your history might be, you would be His treasured possession.  Who are you?  You have been called out of darkness by the Gospel.  You have been enlightened with faith to believe that Jesus died and rose for you.  You have been set apart as holy, made a new creation in the waters of Holy Baptism.  Who are you?  You are Christ’s, that’s who you are.  And because you are Christ’s, you are an unlikely witness indeed.

            Saul, Simon Peter, you, me, it really makes no difference.  None of us can say we deserve it.  If you are a witness of Christ, you’re an unlikely one.  Saul was the last person the early Christians would have ever believed could be saved.  But when the risen Jesus had done away with Saul, and through baptism and the forgiveness of sins, turned him into Paul, that unlikely witness would be possibly the greatest missionary ever, and would write 13 books of the Bible.  Simon Peter had rejected Jesus three times with defiance, and then, it would take three appearance of the risen Lord before Simon would know the answer to that question, “Who are you?”  But once Jesus had made his third, and convincing, resurrection appearance, Simon Peter had his answer; and the answer to the question would not only make Simon Peter dive into the sea to be with Jesus, but it would be the answer which Simon Peter would never again given up, even in the face of death.

            Who are you?  Whether you’re more like Saul, or more like Simon Peter, it really doesn’t matter.  What matters is that you know who Jesus is.  Because you know that answer, unlikely as it may be, you are His witnesses too.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed! Alleluia!  Amen.

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Lutheran Confessions (Large Catechism)

An Excerpt from Luther’s Preface to the Large Catechism

But for myself I say this: I am also a doctor and preacher; yes, as learned and experienced as all the people who have such assumptions and contentment. Yet I act as a child who is being taught the catechism. Every morning—and whenever I have time—I read and say, word for word, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Psalms, and such. I must still read and study them daily. Yet I cannot master the catechism as I wish. But I must remain a child and pupil of the catechism, and am glad to remain so.

Devotion

In the name of + Jesus.

There are some 60 volumes of Luther’s Works published in English, and these are only about a third of those which are available in Luther’s native language of German.  As Luther says above, he was a learned and experienced Christian.  He was a called and ordained preacher.  He was also a doctor of the church, having earned the highest degree, and serving as lecturing professor in Wittenberg.  But none of Luther’s experience in the church, none of the knowledge he gained as a student of theology, not even his mastery of the biblical languages could ever keep him from seeing himself a child of God.  And because Luther saw himself chiefly as a baptized child of God, he saw himself a pupil, a disciple, one who would need to learn.

It might strike us as odd when we read Luther writing that “I cannot master the catechism.”  After all, he wrote it, right?  Well, yes…and no.

It is true that when Luther saw the situation in the churches in Germany, he was appalled at the pastor’s own lack of understanding of the faith.  It is true that when he saw this lack of pastoral understanding, he wrote the Small Catechism, and later, would write the Large Catechism to further unpack what the Pastors needed to know and have in common, in order to faithfully shepherd God’s people.  But it is also true that, for Luther, the catechism was not so much the meanings he would write for each of the Ten Commandments, and each of the articles of The Apostles’ Creed, and each of the petitions of The Lord’s Prayer.  For Luther, the catechism was the very text itself.

To be sure, Luther’s meanings help fathers to teach their children, and pastors to teach the people.  But the meanings don’t begin to unpack everything contained in biblical text itself.  The Ten Commandments, given through Moses, and unpacked by Jesus in places like the Sermon on the Mount, are enough to keep us busy for a lifetime.  The Creed, which unpacks the mystery of the Holy Trinity, can never be fully grasped, but always sends us diving deeper and deeper to consider the fullness of God.  And the text of the Lord’s Prayer itself can serve as the basis for an entire course of prayer, not to mention what it says about our relationship with the Father, how He promises to provide, and what sort of forgiveness we have in Christ.

If we see ourselves as the Children of God, like Luther, we will desire to learn the Father’s voice.  We will be His children who go where they can hear His voice.  And even though the Father’s Word is simple enough for a child to know and trust, it is also deep enough that when we dive in, we will never find the bottom.  But all the while, as we’re diving deeper and deeper, like a drain at the bottom of a pool, there will be one thing which will always be before our eyes—and that, is the love of Christ.

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Prayer

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, without Your help our labor is useless, and without Your light our search is in vain. Invigorate our study of Your holy Word that, by due diligence and right discernment, we may establish ourselves and others in Your holy faith; through Jesus Christ, our Lord (LSB, p 312 #203)  

Daily Devotional Thought--From the New Testament

1 John 5:4-10

⁴ For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.  ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?  ⁶ This is he who came by water and blood - Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.  ⁷ For there are three that testify:  ⁸ the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.  ⁹ If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.  ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.

Devotion

In the name of + Jesus.

Having a single witness will do, but two witnesses are better.  Two witnesses are better, but a third witness is the clincher.  This is true in a court of law, where three witnesses who agree in their testimony for/against a defendant would be enough to sway any jury.  This was also true in the Old Testament, where Deuteronomy tells us of the need for “two or three witnesses” (17:6; 19:15).  You can almost hear it in the words of our LORD through the prophet Moses, “two is good, but three will convict.”

Jesus had promised to give the Holy Spirit after His ascension.  And this Spirit would be the helper, Jesus tells us, for “he will bear witness about me” (John 15:26).  So, there is one witness that points us to the crucified and risen Lord Jesus.  And that witness of the Spirit would be enough.

But if one is enough, two is better, and a third is convincing.  And so, to the Holy Spirit, our LORD has attached the water and the blood.  The Spirit, the water, and the blood, these three agree; these three agree and that each of them testifies—bears witness—to the saving work of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Baptismal waters cleanse us because the deliver the benefits of the blood.  The blood shed on the cross was the payment for our sins, and that payment is credited to us when we have “our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:22).  Water and blood go together with the testimony of the Spirit as three witnesses that “sharing in the common task of offering all-important, mutually reinforcing testimony to the summing and final significance of the person and work of the man Jesus, the Christ/Son of God” (Schuchard, 1-3 John, p. 537).

The above window, and much ancient artwork, captures this idea.  When Jesus was crucified, his side was pierced, and “at once there came out blood and water” (John 19:34).  The spirit takes that water and that blood and uses it to deliver to you forgiveness, life and salvation.  The waters of Holy Baptism connect you to the death and resurrection of Jesus (Rom. 6), and the blood of the chalice is offered to you for the forgiveness of sins.  And both are used by the Spirit to point you to Jesus, to testify of Jesus, and together, they convince us that this faith is the faith which overcomes the world.

If one will do, and two are good, since “the Spirit, and the water and the blood” together are three, together they are the three that convince us of the victory which is ours in Jesus.

Christ is Risen!  He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, let us abide forever in Christ and never doubt the testimony You have given about Your beloved Son.  Amen (TLSB, p. 2180).

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Old Testament

Job 19:23-27

²³ "Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!  ²⁴ Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever!  ²⁵ For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.^{1  26} And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in¹ my flesh I shall see God,  ²⁷ whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

Devotion

In the name of + Jesus.

Job had had it all.  He had everything that might make us call a man blessed:  Seven sons and three daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys and very many servants, “so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east” (Job 19:3).  But what made Job blessed among men was that he feared God and shunned evil with a relentless faith that would not let go of God’s promises.  That’s why Job is such an encouragement to Christians today.

Job had had it all…and then he had nothing.  As the story goes, the LORD allowed Satan to test Job.  Satan was allowed to take Job’s property.  Satan was allowed to take Job’s children.  Satan was allowed to take Job’s health.  Satan was allowed to take everything that others thought had made Job blessed.  But Satan was not allowed to take Job’s faith.  Job was left with nothing but his faith.

While your trials may not appear to be as severe as Job’s they are no less bothersome.  You lose dear loved ones; you lose possessions; more and more are finding it difficult even to find work to provide for their families, or to get the healthcare that the need to continue to enjoy their families.  And yet you are called to trust the promise that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28).

Ah, but Job’s faith wasn’t taken by Satan because Job’s faith wasn’t built on his possessions, or other temporal blessings.  His faith was built on God’s promises, which we hear being expressed in Job’s beautiful words, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”

And you know that Job is right.  You know that your Redeemer lives, because you have heard the Easter story.  You know that the tomb was empty, and that Jesus was risen.  You know that the hope you have is an eternal hope that will be made manifest in the new creation.  You’re not looking for heaven here on earth.  But along with Job, you are looking for heaven.  You are looking forward to that day when, even if your body has long been destroyed, you will stand in the presence of your Redeemer and see him face to face.  You and Job, and all whose faith has not been taken by Satan, will gaze upon the face of Christ in the land of the living.

Even if your faith is all you had, like Job, it would be all you need.  For it is a faith that knows that the Redeemer lives.

Christ is Risen!  He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Prayer

I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives!

He lives, He lives, who once was dead; He lives, my ever-living head.

He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives, and I shall conquer death;

He lives my mansion to prepare; He lives to bring me safely there (LSB 461: 1, 7)

Daily Devotional Thought--From the Psalms

Psalm 148

¹ Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights!

² Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!

³ Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!

⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!

⁵ Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created.

⁶ And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.¹

⁷ Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps,

⁸ fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!

⁹ Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!

¹⁰ Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹ Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!

¹² Young men and maidens together, old men and children!

¹³ Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.

¹⁴ He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the LORD!

Devotion

In the name of + Jesus.

When you read the words, “Praise the LORD,” the Hebrew text has one word: “Hallelujah!”  Indeed, Psalm 148 is a fitting Psalm for the season of Easter, when we’ve been given that concluding sign of victory in the empty tomb of our savior, Jesus Christ.

Because He is risen, He is worthy of all praise.  And not that the praise of the LORD is on the lips of the entire created order: kings, judges, old, young, even the sun, moon, stars, and more!

First there is angelic praise (verses 1-2).  Then, there is the heavenly praise (verses 3-4).  In verses 5-6, the LORD is praised for His unique creative power, by which he spoke the heavens and the earth into being.  Verses 7-8 offer praise for the wonderful creation of sea and sky.  Earth and life are the sources of praise in verses 9-10, and because of them, Kings and commoners alike give praise to the LORD (verses 11-12).

But the greatest cause for Praise is the horn which he has raised up for his people (verses 13-14).  Even the broken creation is enough to bring forth praise to the LORD, but because of the horn which the LORD has raised up, this broken creation will give way to a new creation, and God’s people—Israel—will there be near to him forever.

The horn He has raised up is Christ.  And through Christ, God has gathered His people near to him.  For all the reasons we have to praise the LORD, the risen Christ is number one.  Hallelujah, praise the LORD.

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!

Prayer

Praise the almighty, my soul, adore Him!

                Yes, I will laud Him until death;

With songs and anthems I come before Him

                As long as HE allows be breath.

From Him my life and all things came;

                Bless, O my soul, His holy name.

Alleluia, alleluia!

Trust not in rulers; they are but mortal;

                Earthborn they are and soon decay.

Vain are their counsels at life’s last portal,

                When the dark grave engulfs its prey.

Since mortals can no help afford,

                Place all your trust in Christ, our Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia! (LSB 797:1, 2)