Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: February 2019

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Acts 16,9-15. Sexagesima

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Acts 16,9-15 1419

Sexagesima 021

Matthias, Apostle. Martyr at Jerusalem or Colchis, Georgia 80

24. Februar 2019

1. O Heavenly Father, Thou art Merciful and Loving, send to us Your Holy Spirit to gently remind us of Your grace to us in Jesus Christ, so that we may rest knowing that You answer our prayers. Amen. (Löhe 10)

2. »And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying: „Come over to Macedonia and help us.“ And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying: „If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.“ And she prevailed upon us.«

3. In Acts 16, St. Luke tells us that the Apostle Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke himself traveled to Philippi to preach the gospel. The city had a thriving Greek population and it was popular with Roman legionnaires as a good place to retire. The Jewish population was so sparse that there was no synagogue in the city. On the Sabbath they only found a few Jewish women gathered for prayer. St. Paul spoke to them of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Only Lydia believed the gospel that Saturday, and she and her household were then baptized; a small church was established. Acts 16 shows us how God’s grace is passively received.

4. The Prophet Elijah experienced such grace. In 870 bc he had to flee the wrath of Israel’s Queen Jezebel; he eventually hid in a cave and lamented the widespread idolatry among the Lord’s people. »The Lord asked Elijah: „What are you doing here, Elijah?“ He said: „I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, thrown down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword; I am the only one left, and they seek my life, to take it away.“ And the Lord said to him: „Go, return to Damascus and anoint Jehu to be the new king over Israel. I have 7000 in Israel who have not bowed down to Baal“« (1. Kings 19,13-16.18).

5. Notice that it is God performing the actions of grace. »The Lord opened Lydia’s heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. The Lord has 7000 faithful in Israel.« Such activity is particularly the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of people. The Lord sows HisWord, and He cultivates the growth. Luther describes this in his Small Catechism with his explanation to the 3. Article of the Creed: „I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or draw near to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps her with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.“

6. God’s grace is passively received. Lydia did not seek out Paul, but Paul found her and proclaimed the gospel. Likewise, someone brought the gospel to us: parents, a friend, a coworker, perhaps this congregation. The Holy Spirit went looking for us, found us and sowed the gospel upon our heart. We heard this gospel, and the Holy Spirit created our faith. He has done it all, and we have merely received the gospel as the precious gift that it is.

7. In Matthew 13, Jesus told His disciples this parable: »The reign of heaven is like a merchant in search of beautiful pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it« (Matthew 13,45-46). Jesus went looking for us, found us and paid all He had to purchase us; He paid our redemption price on the cross. It cost Him everything: His dignity, His body and His life. The Apostle Paul beautifully described it this way: »Jesus was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be held onto, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a slave, having become the likeness of men; And being found in human nature, He humbled Himself having become obedient to the point of death on the cross« (Philippians 2,6-8). The ransom price has been paid, and the world belongs to Christ, but the world is not enough, thus every field is now His possession and every buried pearl there under is His to find and own.

8. »The Lord’s faithfulness endures to all generations; His promise upholds us« (Psalm 119,89.114). The Lord’s promise is fulfilled in His Son, who is Jesus Christ our Lord. He is our Light and Salvation; May we daily put our trust in Him and receive from the Holy Spirit His refining fire that purifies us in all holy living. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh; today we have heard Your Voice and now cultivate our hearts to remain the good soil, so that we receive Your precious gospel with joy and faith. Amen.

15. Matthias: tradition says he was stoned and beheaded in Jerusalem in ad 80.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Monday, February 18, 2019

Ecclesiastes 7,14-17. Septuagesima

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

Ecclesiastes 7,14-17 1319

Septuagesima 020

Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople, Martyr 449

17. Februar 2019

1. O Gracious God, whose mercy is new every morning, pour out upon us abundantly the Spirit of grace, so that we receive all those things that are salutary and needful in both body and soul (Löhe 9). Amen.

2. »In the day of prosperity live joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has caused the one to agree with the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is an ungodly man remaining in his evildoing. Do be not very righteous, and do not be very wise, lest you become confounded. Do not be very wicked, nor stubborn, lest you should die before your time.« (LXX)

3. King Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, writes about the vanity of life. He notes: »I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after the wind/waywardness of spirit« (Ecclesiastes 1,14/LXX). Solomon also states a philosophical and theological observation that many Western Christians find uncomfortable: all days, whether they be good or evil, belong to God. Solomon writes: »God has caused the day of prosperity to agree with the day of adversity« (LXX). This is also the underlying theme of Job: »the Lord gives and the Lord takes away« (Job 1,2).

4. Solomon reasons that this is vanity, and he submits two examples. 1. righteous people perish in their righteousness; 2. godless people prolong their life through their wickedness. The proverb „no good deed goes on punished“ sums up the vanity Solomon has observed. Such an observation can lead to the philosophy of nihilism where all religious and moral principles are rejected because life is meaningless. Friedrich Nietzsche is credited as turning nihilism into a philosophical viewpoint. Thus Nietzsche concluded that Gott ist tot! (Nietzsche § 125), and therefore, God is no longer a credible source of absolute religious and moral principles; God Himself is vanity.

5. Is Nietzsches’ conclusion correct? Is God dead, and by extension is there no theological or moral principles founded upon the Judeo-Christian cornerstone? 3000 years before Nietzsche, Solomon proclaimed that God is not vain or meaningless. The Scriptures tell us Solomon’s credentials: »And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breath of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all their men. And people of all nations went to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from him all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom« (1. Kings 4,29-31.34). We can summarize Solomon’s wisdom from one sentence he wrote: »The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord« (Proverbs 9,10). Solomon directs us back to God, and teaches us: »For Wisdom’s exoduses is the exoduses of life and in them is prepared the favor [Wohlgefallen: pleasure] of the Lord (Proverbs 8,35 LXX).

6. The Apostle Paul, another gifted with Godly wisdom, tells us: »Christ is the Wisdom of God (1.Corinthians 1,24). The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord and the ending of wisdom is seeking Jesus and His righteousness for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14,6). In Christ we find the answer to the vain dilemma of life: why do the righteous perish while the wicked thrive? The answer is not to ponder the hidden will of God and demand to understand His decision, for God often hides Himself and His will seems unjust, but rather to know that God is generous (Matthew 20,15). We put our trust in Christ, the Wisdom of God, who practices mercy/loving-kindness, judgment/justice and righteousness (Jeremiah 9,24). God’s grace is undeserved; we have not nor can we ever earn it, but God pours out upon us His grace freely as a gift through His Son. The Holy Spirit points us to Christ, and only Christ, who has revealed to us God’s mercy (Bayer 203). Jesus Christ is our Advocate and Redeemer who helps us in our struggle to understand His Father‘s will, assuring us that His justice will finally prevail (Bayer 207), for in Christ we see the Father’s righteousness and justice (Bayer 208). Luther echoes the wisdom of Solomon, exhorting us to fear, love and trust God, for to them who do all things shall go forth well (Ecclesiastes 7,18 LXX).

7. Jesus is God’s righteousness made flesh, and the wisdom of God for human beings. The Apostle John speaks of Jesus this way: »And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His Glory, Glory as of the Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about Him, and cried out: This was He of whom I said: He who arrives after me ranks before me, because He was before me. And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth arrived through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the Only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known« (John 1,14-18). Jesus is the Righteousness and Wisdom of God, and He gives us God’s righteousness with His death on the cross and He gives us God’s wisdom that those who die in Christ will live forever in His holy presence Amen.

8. Let us pray. O Christ, who shows us that God is merciful; answer our pleas and petitions, so we see the revealed righteousness of our Heavenly Father. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Friday, February 15, 2019

Exodus 3.1-8.10.13-14. Transfiguration Sunday

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

se cwide þæs béaggiefan ábireþ ferhþ

Exodus 3,1-8a.10.13-14 1219

Letzter Sonntag nach Epiphanius 019

Silas, Fellow worker of St. Peter and St. Paul, Bishop of Corinth, Martyr 50

Scholastica, Virgin, sister of Benedict of Nursia, Italy. Abbess, ✠ 543

10. Februar 2019

1. O Jesus Christ, Thou Glory of the Father, renew us according to the light of Your Immortal Being, so that our mortal body shall see Your Light. Amen. (Löhe 458)

2. »For ¹Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and went to Horeb, the mountain of God. ²And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. ³And Moses said: „I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.“ ⁴When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush: „Moses, Moses!” And he said: „Here I am.“ ⁵Then He said: „Do not draw near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.“ ⁶And He said: „I Am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.“ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. ⁷Then the Lord said: „I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, ⁸and I have descended to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹³Then Moses said to God: „If I go to the people of Israel and say to them: ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me: ‘What is His Name?’ what shall I say to them?“ ¹⁴God said to Moses: „I Am Who I Am.“And He said: “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I Am has sent me to you.’“«

3. Throughout the pages of Holy Scripture, the Transcendent God makes Himself Immanent to His creation. Exodus 3 and the Burning Bush is one such event. Israel had been living in Egypt for 215 years, first as honored guests of the pharaoh, but later they were enslaved by a different pharaoh who did not know Joseph (Exodus 1,8). This slavery lasted between 64 - 144 years, which is far less time than the 245 years Africans were slaves in North America from 1620 1865.

4. Exodus 3 occurs when Moses is about 80 years old and is shepherding flocks in Sinai for his father-in-law, Jethro. The Lord personally shows up to announce His great, old testament act of deliverance. The Lord appears in His Glory as a holy fire and speaks with a Voice. God appears likewise in Matthew 17. »Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. A Bright Cloud overshadowed them, and a Voice from the Cloud said: „This is My Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him“« (Matthew 17,1-2.5). In Exodus 3 there is the Burning Bush and the Voice, and in Matthew 17 there is Jesus shining like the sun and the Voice.

5. Both Exodus 3 and Matthew 17 show us the Immanent God speaking about deliverance. The Lord is sending Moses to lead Israel from Egyptian bondage to the promised land of Canaan : God the Father is sending His Son to lead the world out of sinful bondage to the promised land of Paradise. The Gospel according to Luke tells us Moses, Elijah and Jesus were discussing His exodus that He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9,30-31). Six days earlier, Jesus had told his disciples that »I must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the scribes, and to be killed, but on the 3. day be raised from the dead« (Matthew 16,21-22). This is the very topic Jesus spoke about with Moses and Elijah a week later.

6. Both Moses and Elijah had direct contact with the Immanent God. Moses saw Him and spoke to Him at the Burning Bush, again on Sinai when he received the Law and the covenant and countless times later in the tabernacle when he beheld God in His Glory. His last contact happened when God showed Moses the Promised Land from Mount Nebo, then Moses died and God buried him (Deuteronomy 34,1-7). Elijah spoke to the Lord on a number of occasions, perhaps most memorably, at Mount Horeb where God spoke to him in a low Whisper (1. Kings 19,8.12), and most amazingly when the Lord sent chariots of fire and horses a fire to take him up to heaven by a whirlwind (2. Kings 2,11). Both Moses and Elijah spoke to the Lord, saw Him and were prophets of His deliverance. In Matthew 17 these two men of righteousness speak to Jesus, the Son of God, who would soon accomplish the greatest act of deliverance by the Lord.

7. Moses freed Israel from their suffering and bondage in Egypt; he led them to the very border of the Promised Land. Elijah preached to Israel (the 10 Northern tribes), exhorted them to repent of their Baal idolatry and worship the Lord alone. Matthew concludes the Transfiguration event by writing: »And when Peter, James and John lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only« (Matthew 17,8). What a powerful proclamation made through Moses and Elijah one more time urging people to focus on the Lord alone, that is, to put our faith and trust in only Him.

8. „A person becomes justified through faith alone, but Jesus only is the foundation of faith. He has provided that an awakened sinner can come to faith. Therefore an apostle says that “Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith.” Jesus has not only atoned for sins and purchased righteousness, but He has also provided that a sinner shall become a partaker of this grace. And since this is done by faith, Jesus has also provided that the Holy Spirit shall work to that end and grant a true faith, in order that the works of grace may be perfected and that man may appropriate and enjoy the fruits of redemption.

9. „Jesus is the foundation of faith, for it is He of whom the gospel says that He has purchased all the good which the gospel offers to those who are rightly awakened. It is only through the gospel that a man can come to faith, for the gospel speaks of Jesus and, indeed, concerning Jesus only. Any doctrine that does not speak of Jesus, whatever experience and glory it may proclaim, is not the gospel. So then Jesus is in the Word. His suffering, His blood, His obedience and death are proclaimed in the Word, and this is the only means of coming to the right faith.

10. „It is Jesus only whom faith embraces and on whom it relies. When a person, after seeing the awful depth of his own misery, has once caught a right vision of Jesus, he cannot turn his thoughts from Him. Jesus becomes everything to such an one, and everything else is “counted as loss and dung.” He seeks for Jesus, comes to Him, longs for His righteousness, prays in His name, and hopes in Him alone. He presses on that he may grasp Christ more securely, and that he may trust Him with more certainty and with greater boldness.

11. „Jesus only is the basis and main cause of justification. Jesus only is considered by God when He makes a person righteous. God merely sees that the sinner has accepted Christ and that he is in Christ, in fellowship with Him. God does not wrathfully count such a person’s sins, for they are covered with the blood of Jesus. The Savior is sinless, and a justified man is considered quite as free from guilt as Jesus was when He had paid the whole debt of sin, and as pure, free from the corruption of sin, as Jesus has always been. Nor does God graciously look upon a person’s good deeds; no, He looks only on His beloved Son. If He were to look upon our good deeds, He would also see the sins wherewith these good deeds are contaminated, and He would by virtue of His righteousness be compelled to exact punishment. God looks upon His beloved Son only, in order that He may find something perfect to rest His holy eyes upon. The atonement and righteousness of Jesus only are then by God attributed to the justified sinner. Nothing else will avail and satisfy an awakened soul. Nothing else suffices for our salvation from eternal fire; no other righteousness is valid and pleasing before God than that of His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. It is by reason of this alone that God forgives sins and receives us into sonship with Him. Sins are forgiven, because Jesus “blotted out the bond against us” with His pierced, bleeding hand, and for the sake of His childlike obedience every one that believes on Him becomes a child of God. For Jesus’ sake every child of God is considered like Jesus Himself, and a like verdict is rendered in heaven at the time of every act of justification as was proclaimed with reference to Jesus at the transfiguration, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”

12. „Jesus only is the basis of the new birth, for it is faith in Him alone that brings regeneration of the heart. Paul expresses this is Ephesians 2,6, saying, “God made us to sit with Christ in the heavenly places.” When a man fixes his attention upon Jesus alone and upon the holiness which He purchased and perfected when He had “His delight in the law of the Lord,” he receives the Spirit which grants full enlightenment in the Word of God. The believer then becomes like the Lord Jesus, being “transformed into the same image.” The light of the glory of Jesus enlightens the soul to see aright and to perceive clearly the heavenly light in the Word of God, when the Sun of Righteousness arises and God takes His dwelling in the soul. God then also grants the believer a new mind, “the mind which was also in Christ Jesus.” His will becomes our will, and we thereupon always desire to be humble like Jesus, meek like Jesus, obedient like Jesus, pure in heart like Jesus, and occasionally we are also able to be thus, for in the new birth we received “a clean heart and a right spirit” and a mind like that “which was also in Christ Jesus.”“ (Schartau ¶ 9-13).

13. The Lord told Moses: »Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My Name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.« (Exodus 3,15). Jesus also told the Jews; »Before Abraham was, I am« (John 8,58). The Jews understood that in saying this Jesus was making Himself equal to God (John 5,18). Moses beheld His Lord in the Burning Bush. Only Jesus. He is the Author of our salvation and the Perfecter of our sanctification. Jesus on the cross suffering and dying for our sins. Jesus rising from the grave, triumphing over death with new life. Jesus gives us the forgiveness of the cross. Jesus gives us the promise of resurrecting our bodies on the last day. Jesus alone brings us the gospel of God the Father’s grace. Only Jesus. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Brilliance of the Eternal Light; shine forth Your Light, so that we see the path of the Holy Scriptures which leads us to salvation and the gates of Paradise. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Monday, February 4, 2019

2. Corinthians 1,8-11. 4.Sunday after Epiphany

✠ One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you ✠

The Word of the Lord Endures Forever

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum

2. Corinthians 1,8-11 1119

4. Sonntag nach Epiphanius 017

Blasius, Bishop of Sebaste, Turkey. Martyr 316.
Ansgar, Bishop of Bremen, Archbishop of Hamburg, Apostle to Denmark and Sweden,

Patron of Denmark, ✠ 865

3. Februar 2019

1. O Jesus Christ, Thou Crown Prince of Heaven, save us from all shameful paths of sin and send to us the Holy Spirit, so that He may lead us in paths of pleasantness (Löhe 457). Amen.

2. »For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.«

3. As he does in so many of his epistles, the Apostle Paul begins with greetings and thanksgivings. Paul greets the Corinthian church as »those sanctified in Christ Jesus who are called to be saints with the Church universal« (1. Corinthians 1,2). He reminds them that they have »the grace of God given to them in Christ Jesus« (1. Corinthians 1,4), and therefore »they are not lacking in any gift as they await the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ« (1. Corinthians 1,7). He reminds them, and us, that Christ will sustain us to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, for God is faithful« (1. Corinthians 1,8).

4. What is true of the Corinthian Christians 2000 years ago remains true for us today in the 21. century: Jesus is faithful and He will sustain us to the day of His second Advent. We are guiltless because of the gospel, which is a simple message: »Jesus gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age« (Galatians 1,3). The New Testament makes it very clear that this gospel is received by faith: »It is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith [Habakkuk 2,4], for in Christ Jesus we are all sons of God through faith« (Galatians 2,17.26).

5. With all this grace, faith and gifts, nevertheless Paul writes »We experienced affliction in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received a sentence of death.« Paul reminds us that Christians are prone to trials and tribulations. The Devil shows up and attempts to snatch away the gospel that has been sown within our heart (Matthew 13,19). The Devil is a master of deception and has thousands of years sowing suffering and sorrow among men and women. His first victims were Adam and Eve, and he sows chaos and doubt still today. Trials and tribulations also ebb and flow through our Christian life (Matthew 13,20-21). How many times have you heard someone say: „I can’t believe in God anymore because He allowed something bad to happen in my life.“ or „I can’t believe in a God who lets bad things happen to good people; that’s not a loving God.“ Finally, the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches tempt us to abandon the faith (Matthew 13,22). The ultimate goal is to discourage a Christian so that they reject the faith and give up on God. Job is a good example of this.

6. Job was blameless and upright, one who feared, loved and trusted God and turned away from evil (Job 1,1). He was blessed by God; he had 10 children, good health and was extremely wealthy (Job 1,2-3). The Devil believed Job worshipped God because He had blessed him abundantly, so God allowed him to put Job to the test (Job 1,9-12). Forthwith the Devil went and laid Job’s life waste: in a single day Job’s wealth is lost and all his children die in a natural disaster (Job 1,13-19); yet Job remained faithful to God and blessed His Name (Job 1,21-22). Then the Devil struck Job with painful sores upon his entire body (Job 2,7). Again, Job remained faithful to God (Job 2,10), but Job’s great loss and the tremendous stress from it took a toll on him; he cursed the day of his birth and lamented in his suffering (Job 3,1). Three of Job’s friends sat with him and try to comfort him (Job 2,11-13), but their lengthy discourse was inaccurate: Job, you are suffering because you have sinned; you should repent and then God will bless you again (Job 4-25). The Lord chastised Job’s friends for their inaccurate diagnosis as to why Job suffered (Job 42,7).

7. In the end, the Lord is proven right: Job remained faithful and righteous throughout his suffering. He did not begrudge his friends but prayed for them that the Lord would be merciful to them (Job 42,8). And the Lord restored Job’s wealth, health and family, in fact, He doubled what he had previously had (Job 42,10).

8. God does not forsake His people, and He shows us His mercy. St. Paul declares: »God is faithful, by whom we were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, for the preaching of the cross is the power of God« (1. Corinthians 1,9.18). Before His Ascension, Jesus promised His disciples: »I am with you always, to the end of the age« (Matthew 28,20). Again the Apostle Paul: »We know that for those who love God all things work together for good« (Romans 8,28); »He will supply every need of ours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus« (Philippians 4,19). God’s Word does not change and His promise is the same for us now and always. Trust in Him, for He has redeemed us and sustains us. Paul says of his suffering: »We felt that we had received the sentence of death, but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again.« For such strength and endurance we pray for all who suffer, petitioning God to keep them in the faith and to restore His blessing to them. Amen.

9. Let us pray. O Christ, You have done great things in our lives; keep us grounded upon our unshakeable trust in You, so that rejoice in your grace and mercy. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

✠

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Acts 16,9-15. Sexagesima

Monday, February 18, 2019

Ecclesiastes 7,14-17. Septuagesima

Friday, February 15, 2019

Exodus 3.1-8.10.13-14. Transfiguration Sunday

Monday, February 4, 2019

2. Corinthians 1,8-11. 4.Sunday after Epiphany