1 Corinthians 6:1-11 Settle Out Of Court

1 Corinthians 6:1-11 NIV
So far I have managed to stay out of the courtroom due to any lawsuits by or against me. But, I have been in the courtroom when other's have been on trial or trying to have a judgment settled. It does not give one much comfort as you sit in a courtroom waiting for someone to be judged. In fact, it is quite unsettling.

St. Paul gives us good advise in that we, as Christians, should settle our differences out of court. Even if we have to humble ourselves a bit in order for that to happen; what is that? After all; we have been washed, we have been sanctified, we have ultimately been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.

Save yourself the stress (and a lot of money); settle your differences out of court.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Romans 5:12-21 Saint and Sinner

Romans 5:12-21 NIV
Through Adam, sin came into the world. His trespass resulted in condemnation for all people. There is no way around it. We are sinful human beings. We are sinners. Yet, through Jesus Christ, we have received God's grace. Through the righteousness of Jesus Christ we have received forgiveness. We have received life.

As confusing as that may seem to some, we are both sinners and saints. It is obvious to all (or at least should be if our eyes are open) that we sin daily. Who can question our propensity to sin; to turn our backs on God's will as Adam did? Yet, at the same time because of Jesus' righteous sacrifice for us, we have been justified. We are holy in the eyes of God.

Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Romans 3 Faith Alone

Romans 3
It is difficult to break these beginning chapters of Romans down into bite-sized portions. They must be read in context. The jist of chapter 3 is this: Jews and Gentiles, all people, are found righteous in the eyes of God by one thing; that is by faith alone.

We all fall short. We are all sinners; yet, by faith we are justified by God's grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. We are declared righteous through faith in the righteous one who willingly shed his blood for us. All the good works in the world will not make us righteous. Faith alone does this.

Yet, because we are saved through faith, that law is not nullified. We don't do whatever it is that we want; whenever we want. Rather our faith, empowered by the Spirit of Christ, inspires us to uphold the law.

God, grant us all this gift of faith!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Ezekiel 19 - Today Is For Proclamation Not Lamenting

“Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel." (Ezekiel 19:1 NIV)

Today I want to tell you about a sermon I heard yesterday. It was long... by most Lutheran standards, but every word was worth listening to! Pr. Jay Weidner of the Apostolic Lutheran Seminary, Hancock, MI was the preacher at the Suomi Conference Michigan Word and Song Fest at Bethany Lutheran in Covington.  Pr. Jay exhorted us to quit lamenting! It is time to proclaim the Good News and indeed he did proclaim it! He is an amazing, spirit-filled and led preacher!

It is, indeed, not the time to lament the state of the world; the world has been in chaos for as long as there has been history! Today is not the time to cry about our minor aches and pains. It is not the time to be worried about what we cannot do or do not have. Focus on what we have: the grace of God; the Word of God! It is time to quit lamenting about our own minor suffering and get on with alleviating the suffering of a world that lives in darkness by proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom through the blood of Jesus Christ to all people. Reach out to your neighbor with grace, as God, Himself, reached out to all people from the cross, with grace, that we might be reconciled to him.

I could not help but smile as I was reminded how so often congregations, synods, entire denominations use excuses like demographics or economics as excuses for the decline in the visible church. I do not think that God buys into those excuses. There were a whole lot less people on earth when Jesus and those first disciples walked the earth. There were multitudes of obstacles; yet, the church grew. The church grew because those early Christians were busy, not lamenting, but celebrating and sharing the Good News that the Kingdom of God was open to all who believe that Jesus died for their sins. Their/Our sins are forgiven by this gracious gift of God's own Son's life. We are justified by the grace of God through faith alone.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Eph 2:8-10)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 15 - Jesus is our Righteousness

From the reading today, I think we might be in a bit of trouble.  Who is blameless?  Who does what is righteous and speaks the truth from their hearts, all of the time?  Is there any one of us who does these things all of the time?  The last few days, we've thought a bit about our sinful natures and hopefully we all understand that none of us our righteous if the thoughts of our hearts and minds, if the work of our hands are what are counted toward our righteousness.  If we depend on our own righteousness to dwell in the LORD's tent, upon His holy mountain, His Kingdom, then we are lost.

Thanks be to God, that we are found righteous, not because of our good works, that is the works o the law, but by faith in the One who is righteous, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and LORD.  As Paul wrote to the Romans: 

"But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished — he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."  (Romans 3:21-26 NIV)

We shall indeed dwell in the LORD's house, not because we are so good, but because the LORD who loves us is so good and was willing to shed His blood as a sacrifice of atonement for our sins.  It is by faith, in Him, that we are saved from ourselves and inherit our place in His kingdom.  Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J