Let us be clear; Luther is not saying that God rewards our works and obedience with salvation. God grants salvation through faith in his grace alone (Eph 2:8–9).
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This section of John’s gospel is not in the earliest manuscripts. The story intrigues me, nonetheless. We wonder what Jesus wrote in the dirt. I like to imagine it was the name of a woman each of the accusers had secretly committed adultery with...
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To be sure, the precise meaning of today’s verse is that one who reads the Revelation to the church is blessed. The church is also blessed if they listen and obey.
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There is more to being persuaded than for a child to believe the Fourth Commandment. Another side of the persuasion is adults teaching it to the little ones.
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One must walk in God’s light; you cannot invent your own well lit pathway. God is the way, so we must walk in his truth. Many would spin God’s truth into their own brand of truth...
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Would you do things to brighten your standing with God? Then you would simply shine with your own dim, human qualities. The Christian, however, reflects a divine glory...
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When the scroll of life is opened, what will it say about you? How will it record your response to the great commandment? Will you have loved the Lord your God so much as to believe in him and take him at his word?
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Faith embraces its vocation because it is freed to do so, because it trusts in another. The one who has faith, trusts in God instead of his or her own talents, work ethic, labor, or cunning.
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Should the created vaunt itself over the Creator? This logic follows downward. Next to the Father come father and mother, those whom God has put in charge.
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If you will not do your job, it will be taken from you. Parenting is important, especially godly parenting. There is no difference between the old leaders of Israel...
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Why does God promise such a great blessing as long life? How does it work out that his promise may come to pass? He does so by delivering the faithful from sin and its consequences.
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Looming heartbreak had brought the disciples to the point of collapse, and so naturally, they were dead to the world when Jesus returned to them.
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These traditions that we have learned from our parents (if only our parents in the church) are a great and lifelong blessing. Through these, God is faithful...
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Most of us have encountered a willful child whom we conjectured would either not live a long life or would be the death of his parents. But there is more to being an obedient child than civil order.
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These verses urge us to honor those who do the principal work of ministry in congregations. But it is good counsel to think of our parents along these lines too.
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We garner our initial knowledge of the Lord in the home. There, we learn how to honor our parents, and in so learning, we learn that we are not the center of all things.
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Being obedient does not always make sense to us. This was especially the case when we were children. My father drove me crazy with his demands and discipline. He makes more sense to me now, some 50 years later.
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Being obedient does not always make sense to us. This was especially the case when we were children. My father drove me crazy with his demands and discipline. He makes more sense to me now, some 50 years later.
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Frankly, things look practically dark. It is difficult to look at the world and think otherwise. Look at all the young people out there who did not learn enough sense from their parents...
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True holiness and enlightenment is that which receives its righteousness and revelation from the living Christ, rather than trying to squeeze piety and secrets from the dead husk of works and religion.
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We are the workmanship of God, and have been created in Christ for good works. Though God’s grace saves us through faith in Christ Jesus, we are nonetheless, expected to bear fruit...
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“I will give up heating this year for God! He will respect me for that sacrifice and grant me entrance at heaven’s gates.” As some old friends of mine used to say mockingly, “Let me know how that works out for you.”
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Mothers and fathers are given a great honor; let them rise to the responsibility of that honor. Let them teach their children the commandments and the whole Word of God...
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Those who depend upon their works instead of their hope and faith in the great work of Christ Jesus have already bowed to the beast. In doing so, they have knelt before the dragon...
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It is not easy to be a child. Nor is it easy to be followers of Christ, his church. One may, at first, imagine the difficulty lies in keeping the commandments—for who can do so with the slightest measure of perfection?
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How ironic that we consider the Fourth Commandment while reading today’s gospel lesson. A woman in the crowd seeks to honor the mother of Jesus, and Jesus improves upon her blessing...
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We cannot imagine how something could be so; the Lord surely did not mean it that way. Perhaps it was just a man writing down his own thoughts that came to be considered The Holy Bible.
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Even Jesus obeyed the commandment to honor his earthly parents, as well as his heavenly Father. Honoring one’s parents is an extension of the greatest commandment.
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Feeling angry, arrogant, rebellious? Would you vent your frustrations on the Lord using insolent words? Of course not; you should not do so with your parents either.
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The harvest begins at home. Knowing how the kingdom laborers will be limited, God orders matters efficiently from the outset. There are two workers assigned to each of us so that we may each be properly gathered into his harvest.
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Peter failed to recognize what was happening in this singular event that showed him the glory of Christ Jesus.
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Peter failed to recognize what was happening in this singular event that showed him the glory of Christ Jesus.
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We have seen what Peter would do if left to his own reason. Religion and abandonment are the outcomes.
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You may think that Paul’s warning to the centurion was not inspired. Yet, see how it finds its way into Luke’s account, into the Scripture? There is great danger in not paying attention to biblical counsel.
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Does it seem to you that some time has passed since you have heard from the Lord? Or, on the other hand, does it seem like it was only moments ago that God spoke?
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Who was hounded by the devil more than Jesus? Now ask yourself: who has ever prayed more? Knowing the need, Jesus modeled the life of prayer to his disciples.
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Look at all the trouble that Paul and Luke went to just to preach the gospel. This is the great mission of the church, and they undertook it with passion. We should receive the proclaimed gospel with a matched passion...
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Troubles come and troubles go, but we must abide in the ship. We hear the Word on the Lord’s Day, but we should remember it and keep it throughout the week.
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Hosea’s agricultural imagery depicts the results of idolatry. It is the same as sowing your seed in the wind. The outcome is more wind, or if the seed blows to other properties, they will eat the grain.
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“There’s the rub!” as Shakespeare had Hamlet say. What is the origin of this famous saying? Believe it or not; it comes from bowling.
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Laws are not established as mere prohibition, but as protection and benefit for the people. This is the case with divine law as well as human.
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What do you have to do in order to become holy? Nothing but follow him who makes one holy. We are called to follow him so we may be present for his great blessings.
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What greater words are these, spoken by God himself? The promise, “You are forgiven.” is received by God’s grace through faith alone.
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God’s word, the gospel, is the very power of salvation. This is how God bequests the eternal inheritance of the saints. He constructs a Christian through the word of his grace—in other words, through the righteousness of Christ.
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Everywhere Jesus traveled, he healed people, and fed them, but also taught them in the synagogues, as well as on the mountains and plains. Never once did he complain that all those people ever wanted out of him was his word.
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Great blessing awaits those who have developed the practice of going to worship on the Lord’s Day. But if they attend church only to go through the motions, not truly involved in the what is happening...
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We spend our days working for the food to feed ourselves and our families, struggling for higher position, and trying to keep illness and death at bay. These were the very temptations that faced Jesus in the wilderness.
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If local, state, or federal law change to the degree of demanding that you must not worship on the Lord’s Day, you have but one option, Christian.
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Why are you in the kingdom but to be a suitable subject, doing your king’s bidding? But what is his will? you may wonder. He has made this matter obvious, though the details may seem unclear.
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Would you be ignoble? Ignore the Scriptures. Would you be honorable? Attend to the weekly service to hear the word of God read and expounded.
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Christians worship, not only when commanded, but when there is need. Are you a sinner in need of forgiveness? Worship. Are you thankful? Worship.
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On their way to worship, Paul and Silas were hounded by a slave fortune teller, whom they healed of demonic possession, essentially cutting of a flow of money to her owners. For this, they had Paul and Silas beaten and imprisoned.
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Take a break. Find respite from the hubbub every day, if you can. It is a great way to honor the First Commandment, to put the Lord first in your day. But certainly take a break on the Lord’s Day.
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What is the aim of the gospel? That question will guide you in determining if something is a matter of the spirit or a religious observance.
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When we read the law, much less try to keep it, we must also hear the word of grace. The commandments do us no good without God’s grace.
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Find a way! Speak their language while proclaiming the word of truth. Teach in different ways. Get through to them, especially as pertains to these first commandments.
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This is what The Small Catechism does; it teaches us to put on the only righteousness that is effective. It instructs us to fear, love, and trust in God, who alone is our righteousness.
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We do well to entrust ourselves to God. He is faithful to strengthen us and protect us from evil. He is faithful to so in this life and save us for the life to come.
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Poor Job was tormented by his friends, shunned by his family, and was of the opinion that God was after him. Did he simply complain about his plight? Was he reduced to whining about his tribulations?
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There is no easier way for the works of God to be demonstrated in our lives than by our calling upon the Father. See the different ways we pray it is so. May your name be holy among us.
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In this example of Herod, we may quickly observe what is important to God. Herod was full of himself, wanting people to hear his words.
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Some people, those relying on their own old nature, cannot bear to hear God’s word, let alone understand it. They will not listen, because they are not of God; they do not have a new nature.
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The disciples of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch. Some say that this means “little Christs.” If so — if Christians are those who would imitate him — their lying would immediately bring dishonor to the name of the God whom they follow.
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The worst way to take God’s name in vain, is to say or believe that favor from God is received in one’s own name, his own reputation — in other words, by the merits of what he does.
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Jesus uses the Name in a doubly devout manner. Not only does he teach what his Father sent him to teach, he gives God the credit too. Jesus’ teaching depended on the reputation of the one who sent him.
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Jesus taught us in the Fifth Petition of his prayer to trust in God for forgiveness of our sins. Human nature reasons that our suffering is caused by God no longer loving us, and that there must be a reason for the loss of his care.
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Why is it that God is so concerned with words, that we speak the truth and use his name, his reputation, with care? Words, true words, create life. They create faith in Christ Jesus, which leads to eternal life.
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Fear is a good thing. But we say that we do not want our children growing up, fearing the Lord. We want them to fear hot stoves, bad influences, and other harmful things, but not to fear taking the Lord’s name in vain.
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Everywhere one turns, there are lies and deception. In the modern age, we call it spinning the truth, and thereby, we even lie about lying. People claim to no longer lie, but to simply spin the truth.
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Wickedness exists because people want things their way. They want what belongs to another, or they want but will not work. They want their own will be done, not, “Thy will be done.”
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Have you ever noticed in the Old Testament the convention of capitalizing the word “Lord,” or sometimes “God”? These indicate a place where the consonantal name of God, YHWH...
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Name-calling, threats, imprisonment, and murder are bad enough but when they are done under the cover of religion, these things are contemptible.
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Micah stole a great sum of money from his mother, then returned it because he feared her curse. She then dedicated it to the Lord, evidently hoping to amend the curse that ended up being upon her son.
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Among the crowds was a royal official who believed Jesus. While he took Jesus at his word, the rest seemed to need a show of it: signs and miracles.
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As one would imagine, there are stark differences between Samson and Jesus. Samson took whatever his flesh desired. Jesus wanted what his Father willed. Samson killed to get what would not come to him naturally.
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See how near the Samaritan woman was to missing the grace of God. Old wounds and deep pride kept her from speaking the truth.
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If the apostles had promised to teach no longer about Jesus, but did so anyway, they would have taken the Lord’s name in vain. They would have lied in the name of God.
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The keeping of the commandments, so far as it depends upon us, begins with controlling the tongue. The Apostle James said that the tongue is a restless evil, so we must try to give it a rest.
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Conversely, when the First Commandment is not observed, the other commandments will be broken. See how quickly, even after Gideon says God will rule the people, they put their trust in an object.
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It needs saying again, that a particular idol is always lurking nearby. We need to be aware of it so that we may give it a good kick behind us.
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Look to the lowly apostles. None of them was high or mighty in the ways of the world. They were mostly fishermen, but because they put their trust in the Lord, God made them fishers of men.
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If you would trust anything in this life, trust that which has been from the beginning, that truth which continues to flow down to us today.
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Gathering together, likely for prayer and the latest word from the apostles, those earliest disciples were probably considered fools by those in the streets of Jerusalem.
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Just as Joshua exhorted the Israelites to choose whom they would serve, Deborah pressed Barak to trust the one God, fearing him more than Jaban, the Canaanite king, and his commander Sisera, with all his troops.
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It may seem, at first, that God’s offer is not so friendly, for we see readily enough in the commandment, the threat of his wrath if we disobey. And how can we not disobey?
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Because God is a loving Father who cares for those who believe in him, we owe it to him to esteem him above all else. Yet, even those who do not believe are obliged to honor him, simply because he is God.
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Because God is a loving Father who cares for those who believe in him, we owe it to him to esteem him above all else. Yet, even those who do not believe are obliged to honor him, simply because he is God.
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The news had traveled throughout the land, how God had fought Israel’s battles. Country after country, and city after city were terrified of Israel’s approach. Still, the king of Jerusalem dared defy God’s will by asking four other kings to help him with their armies at their sides.
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First, let us deal with the common misconception that because my father or mother sinned, I and my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren will pay for their transgression.
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If you have ever watched someone incise a single letter into slate, you can imagine how long it took Joshua to engrave the whole law on the altar at Mt. Ebal.
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We want it, and we want it now. Furthermore, we want what we want, not that which is given. This is a depiction of children, but when adults act that way, it is an indictment.
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Lest we lose sight of our theme, we are considering how all good gifts come from God. We do not take them; we receive them. Some of the Israelites snatched blessings from Jericho’s dead.
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Of course, the risk is that the First Commandment be turned into a business venture. If you just do this or that, it might be promoted, then God will give you whatever you desire.
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One cannot think of himself any more highly than to think he is fit to do what only God can do. God helps us in our human weakness, comforts us in our consciences, and saves us, not only from our sins, but also to eternal life.
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All good is from God, as well as through him, and returning to him. He gets the credit: all the credit. I do not get the glory, nor do you. Government does not get the praise, nor its politicians.
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There is no greater idol, no hollower false god, than self. When we puff ourselves up with religious pride, we should remember that only emptiness may be inflated
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Minerva is the Roman counterpart to the modern idol of work and industry. There is nothing wrong with a day’s work or of being industrious.
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You may be certain that God will abandon the one who trusts in himself — to himself. If a person takes pleasure in his own striving, if he finds consolation in his devotion, if he is confident in anyone but God, he will discover himself undone.
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We should, without any difficulty, be able to expect from God alone all good things, for he has given us the greatest gift already. He has provided for us forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life through his Son.
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Where does your help come from; from whom should you expect any assistance? To place your hope and trust in anyone but God is idolatry.
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Balak is exasperated at the realization that he cannot have his own way. He tried three times to coerce Balaam to curse God’s people, yet God blessed them three times over.
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