Trusting in the Promises of God: He is Faithful

Whenever troubles come into our lives, we naturally assume that we are being punished for something we've done wrong. With the help of the devil, our consciences remind us of past sins. We scrutinize our lives and wonder what offended God. This can even lead to blaming God for our problems. Eventually we can end up hating Him.

Perhaps Abraham had similar thoughts when God asked him to sacrifice his son: "Maybe I have become proud because God gave me a son." Perhaps I wasn't thankful as I should have been. Maybe the Lord regrets making his promise to me. It's difficult to silence anxious thoughts like these when we can't understand what God is doing. People can't comprehend how an unchanging God can change his mind. Inevitably, we come to one of two conclusions: either God is a liar, or God has become our enemy. Thinking of God as a liar is blasphemy. Thinking of God as our enemy leads to despair.

Often, serious doubts arise, such as "What if God doesn't want me to be save?" But when our consciences are troubled in this way, we have to continue to believe the promise of salvation- a promise we can trust in and depend on. When we doubt God's promise, we must pray and hang on to it, because if Satan can prevent us from believing it, then we have no where else to turn. God will test us, as he did Abraham. God doesn't test us because he enjoys it. He tests us to find out whether we love him above all things.

A New Life

To whom does God give his beloved Son? God gives him to the world-the lost multitude who never deserved it. They could only expect to remain lost and condemned without him. God gave his Son to the lost so that they might be saved. Then what should you do for this loving God in return? Nothing! Don't go on pilgrimages. Don't do this or that good work for God. Instead, simply believe on Christ alone. 


You cannot take hold of this gift- the Son of God -with your hand. The Son of God cannot be contained in a jar. He is grasped only with the heart and by faith. When this gift enters into your heart, then you won't be the same person. Even if you once were a thief, an adulterer, or a murderer, you will become a new person, for you have the Light in your heart. 


So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17


For God so loved the world that he grace his one and only Son, that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 

He Who Knew No Sin Was Made Sin For You

God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

When you are made aware of your sin and frightened by it, you must not allow the sin to remain in your conscience. This would only lead to despair. Rather, just as your awareness of sin flowed from Christ, so you must pour your sin back on him to free your conscience.

So be careful you don't become like the misguided people who allow their sin to bite ate them and eat at their hearts. They strive to rid themselves of this sin by running around doing good works. But you have a way to get rid of your sins. You throw your sins on Christ when you firmly believe that Christ's wounds and suffering carried and paid for your sins. If you try to deal with your sin in your conscience, let it remain there, and continue to look at it in heart, your sins will become too strong for you. They will seem to live forever. But when you think of your sins as being on Christ and boldly believe that he conquered them through his resurrection, then they are dead and gone. Sin can't remain on Christ. His resurrection swallowed up sin and death.
Faith Alone by Martin Luther

Looking Back On Life

We see the hand of God working in our lives no more clearly than when we reflect back on the years of our lives. Augustine said that if people had a choice of either dying or reliving their lives over again, they would certainly choose death because of all the danger and evil they so narrowly escaped. In one sense, this statement is certainly true.

Looking back, people can see how much they have accomplished and suffered without trying or thinking about it, even against their wishes and wills. They gave such little thought to what they were doing before it occured or when it was happening. Now, after everything has been carried out, they are amazed and say, "Why did these things happen to me when I never thought about them or thought something completely different could happen?" So Proverbs 16:9 is true: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps," even against his plan and will." So we must agree that our own cleverness and foresight don't guide our lives and actions. Instead, God's wonderful power, wisdom, and goodness guides us. Only as we look back do we fully recognize how often God was with us when we neither saw His hand nor felt His presence at the time it was happening. Accordingly, Peter said, "He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).

Even if there were no books or sermons to tell us about God, simply looking back on our own lives would prove that He tenderly carries us in His arms. When we look back on how God has led and brought us through so much evil, adversity, and danger, we can clearly see the ever-present goodness of God, which is far above our thoughts, minds, and perception.

                                Faith Alone Martin Luther

Fellowshipping As Forgiven Sinners

We will be having a study at 7pm on Thursday, if you plan to come please email.  

We will continue reading from The Freedom of a Christian. Please read up to The Final Clarification (pg.89). See you then.

 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything 2 Corinthians 6:3-10

Casting Your Cares on Christ

Almighty God, with whom all things are possible, hear our prayers as we come to you in trouble and distress. You are our hiding place. You are our very present help in trouble. We have no other refuge in an hour like this. Gracious Lord You can heal. Your grace can restore to health and give us strength to carry on. We know that You are compassionate, for you have sent Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer the death of the cross in order to redeem us and make us Your own. As You did not forsake Him, surely You will not abandon us in this great time of need. As You raised Him from the dead on the third day, so we ask that You would also raise up with Him from this present danger. O Lord, we humble ourselves before You and confess our many sins. We pray, merciful Father for your grace hour by hour. Forgive us and restore us for You have made us Your own children in Christ. Remove the worries and anxious fears that would crush us. Give us grace to trust in You, whose will is wiser than our own, for we have been baptized into the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Genuine & Freely Given Service

After our study last night, I couldn't help but keep thinking about this one section from what we read.
This was so encouraging to me (especially after I just got finished having a hassle with my mom about who was going to wake up at midnight to help my sister take her pain killer.) Yes... I was in need of being reminded AGAIN, and thankfully my mom was there to do that.

Our Father does this for each and every one of us out of His purely divine goodness and mercy towards us.

All of our works (or actions) should be guided by one thought alone- that we may serve and benefit others in everything that is done, having nothing else before our eyes except the need and advantage of the neighbor. A true Christian life is one where faith is active in love. A Christian way of thinking is "Although I am unworthy and a condemned person, my God has given me in Christ all the riches of righteousness and salvation without any merit on my part. God has done this in an act of free and pure mercy so that I now need nothing except faith that trusts that is true. Given such a Father - who overwhelms me with riches beyond number - why should I not freely, joyfully, with all my heart and an eager will, do things that I know are pleasing and acceptable to Him? I will therefore give myself as a Christ to my neighbor, just as Christ offered Himself to me. I will do nothing in this life except what is profitable, necessary, and life-giving for my neighbor, since through faith I have an abundance of ALL good things in Christ."

From faith flows love, and from love proceeds a joyful, willing, and free mind that serves the neighbor and takes no account of gratitude or ingratitude, praise or blame, gain or loss. As our Heavenly Father freely spent himself on us, giving all things to both the ungrateful and deserving, we freely spend ourselves and all that we have on others.

The Freedom of a Christian

Thursday night's meeting we will be discussing passages from The Freedom of a Christian. Read pages 49-57 prior to Thursday's study. Bring in a Scripture from Sunday's sermon that correlates or builds on this passage. Email by Wednesday night if you plan on attending this week's study.

Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. John 6:28-29

Our fifth Bible study...

We will be reading the following Scripture references. *Bring in a Scripture or hit from Sunday's sermon that ties in with the following Scriptures. The first 12 people to email us can attend tomorrow night's study. You will be notified if there is not enough room.

Romans 4:2-5

Hebrews 3:15
John 7:38

John 6:28-29

Ephesians 2:1-8

We will also be reading parts from Martin Luther's Theology by Oswald Bayer pages 282-288.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17