Believe And Be Baptized

Secondly.

What does Baptism give or profit?--Answer.

It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.

Which are such words and promises of God? Answer.

Christ, our Lord, says in the last chapter of Mark: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php



 

I have run a across a very sad thing; there are those within the church on earth who have not been baptized! How does this happen? How is it that a believer has not received the Sacrament of Baptism?

 

I've heard a few reasons. Mostly, it has come down to embarrassment over not having been baptized earlier, as a younger person. Those who have not been baptized; yet, are within the church, receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion, will rarely just tell you that they are not. You will have to ask them. 

 

I first ran across this years ago when I was working on membership rosters and the official congregation records. We were missing information that should have been in the books: things like birth and baptismal dates that would have been registered decades earlier. I thought that this might be a good reason to do some extra home visits and get to know some of the congregation a little better. A very elderly woman whom I regularly visited in a nursing home was on the list for missing baptismal dates. When I asked her where and when she'd been baptized, she was relieved that I had asked her about it. No one else ever had. She confessed that she had never been baptized. When she was a child, they had a circuit pastor, who normally did baptisms during hay making season. As a child, she had been in the fields working with her family when the pastor came around. After she got older and got more active in the congregation no one asked her about her baptism and she was a bit embarrassed to admit that she hadn't previously been baptized. That's the short version of a very long story. Ultimately, she received the Sacrament of Baptism in the nursing home with her children and grandchildren around her about a week before she died.

 

This was not a lone incident. Most I've encountered, were then baptized. A few have declined to receive this gift from God.

 

We are to go and teach and baptize so that others might come to faith and be assured that they have received forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation. The mission field is huge. It begins within our own congregations. Do not assume that someone is saved just because they attend worship once or twice a year or even every Sunday. Do not assume that they know Jesus. Do not assume that they have received the Sacrament of Baptism. Proclaim the Good News to all people and encourage them to receive this life saving gift from God. And... don't forget to tell them about the benefit of Baptism, a gift from God for them.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

 

 

Deliver Us From Evil

The Seventh Petition.

But deliver us from evil.

What does this mean?--Answer.
We pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all manner of evil, of body and soul, property and honor, and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven.

Amen.

What does this mean?--Answer.
That I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven and heard; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray, and has promised that He will hear us. Amen, Amen; that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so.

(http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php)

 

In this petition we pray that we be kept from all evils that plague this world. Martin Luther in the Large Catechism wrote: "But this petition he has put last, for if we are to be protected and delivered from all evil, his name must be hallowed in us, his kingdom come among us, and his will be done. Then he will preserve us from sin and shame and from everything else that harms or injures us."

 

Therefore; all of the petitions in the Lord's Prayer must be prayed with a sincere faith that God hears our prayers and answers. We cannot expect to be kept from evil if we do not revere God's name which is who and what He is; if we do not desire to live in his kingdom; or if we do not desire that his will be done among us here on earth. His will is for our good. If we do not desire his will to be done, how are we to expect that we are to kept safe from the evil one? It would be tantamount to jumping into a bonfire and expect not to get burned. Of course, all things are possible with God. But, it's probably not the best idea to be testing him. Jesus wouldn't, why would we think we can or should?

 

So we pray the Lord's prayer with faith and all God's people say Amen - that's the way it is. We give thanks for in His mercy He has heard our prayers and answered.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

The Lord's Prayer; Teach It To Your Children

III. The Lord's Prayer
As the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household.

 http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php

 

As we delve into the Lord's Prayer, we are once again reminded that it is the head of the family's responsibility to teach the Lord's Prayer to their family.

I was once asked why Lutherans pray this prayer every time we gathered together to worship. The person asking was a indeed a devout Christian (of no denomination). She felt that because we use this prayer rather than speak out of our own hearts and minds, we are not sincere. My answer to that is; of course we pray, at times, with prayers that are not distinctly the Lord's Prayer. But, I teach the Lord's Prayer and pray it often because it is the way Jesus taught us to pray. When Jesus gave it to us, he said this:

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This, then, is how you should pray:

 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." (Matt 6:5-13 NIV)

 

This is a simple prayer to learn. It takes very little time or energy to teach our children to pray it. May God set it in our hearts to teach it to our whole households.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Luke 18:1-8 Persistent Prayer and Justice

Luke 18:1-8 NIV - Judge Delivers Justice...
LOL (laugh out loud)! I laugh because God is absolutely amazing! I have seen Him deliver up justice when none thought it possible. Surely, He answers the prayers of the faithful. He listens and He answers! Don't give up! Keep on praying for those in need. Keep on praying for justice and it will be given you.

Justice is definitely included in His will for mankind. If earthly judges will deliver it up; surely our God will deliver it. Blessed are those who believe this and woe to those who are the adversaries of justice. God is good. He will deliver you from your adversaries. But, it would be good to make sure that you are not the adversary that is trying to deny justice to one of his little ones...

God's Peace - Pr. J

Nahum 2 - Warning To Turn Back

God is against Nineveh. The people are warned to turn back. But, they will not.

I warn people all of the time to turn back to the LORD and worship only Him. Sadly, the warnings fall on ears that will not hear. I am often looked at like I am a silly old goose. I have been told that there is no God. Experience has taught me that there is, for sure. Experience has taught me what happens when one turns their back on the LORD and refuses to turn back to Him, again.

I know that I am not the only one whom the LORD has tried to teach these things to. I am not the only one who has been warned.  Let us all heed the warning that He will restore His children. Yes, the restoration of His people is a warning - it is a warning to those who would attack them. The LORD our God will deliver all who turn to Him from the enemy.

Which shall you be? A child of God or an enemy? Will you turn your back to Him or your face to Him that His light might shine upon you?

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 3 - Prayer of Protection

David prays for deliverance from his enemies.  He is confident that the LORD will deliver him.

A confession that I often hear is that someone feels guilty for praying that their enemies be stopped in their tracks, no matter what that entails.  They feel guilty about this kind of prayer.  As we read through Psalms, we're going to find that David, God's chosen, prays this type of prayer quite a bit.

There are a lot of foes that will try to put an end to the work of the LORD through His servants.  It is, I think, quite appropriate to pray for protection that His work be continued through us. 

One thing that I would remind us all of, though, is that even as we might be praying that our enemies might be stopped, they may well be praying that we be stopped in our tracks, as well.  And... God may answer.  None of us are without sin.  Ask yourself, who really is the enemy of the LORD here?  Is it I or those who oppose me?

May God deliver and continue to sustain us both night and day. May His blessing be upon His people.

God's Peace - Pr. J