. . . Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”
—2 Timothy 4:2 (ESV)
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
The word of the Lord does not return to Him empty, but it always accomplishes the purpose for which He sends it.
What sort of man is this? He is the Lord. And what sort of God is this? The only true God. For He rebukes us if He must. He sends the waves over the sides of the boat to make us desperate, full of fear, and even angry, that we learn to pray. And then, He gives us peace according to His Word. He gives us the faith we lack. He gives us the Holy Spirit, and He will bring us home. For He remembers His Word and Promises, while we wait for the Resurrection to come and the consummation of all our hope. What sort of man is this? He is Jesus, the God who saves.
So we cling to what the Word of God, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, says—not just about forgiveness but about everything. When he speaks, we take it to heart, believe it, hold fast to it, and seek to conform our thoughts, words, and deeds to it.
And so it is quite fitting that our Lord’s first sign takes place at a wedding. For in the changing of the water into wine, Jesus shows us what he came to do: to make all things new.
The First Sunday after Epiphany Luke 2:41–52; Romans 12:1–5
Now then, all of you who believe in God’s Word, let your watchword for entering the new year be this: “I am baptized!” Not as an excuse to keep on sinning, but as the reason and power to live life anew in God’s grace and Word.
New Year’s Eve Luke 12:35–40 + IN NOMINE IESU + There are two customary ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The world throws a party. It’s out with the old and in with the new. Auld Lang Syne with Guy Lombardo, Champagne toast at midnight, and dance the night away! Some churches prefer a more…
For the Word made Flesh is the only stable thing, the only thing that does not age, wither, and die, the only thing that does not disappoint, in all of Creation. And nothing can ruin that, therefore, nothing can ruin Christmas. The Word became Flesh. We have a Savior. Thanks be to God.
“When all was still, and it was midnight . . . .” The eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the most Holy Trinity, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, was born—bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, though without sin. God became man in the man Jesus Christ. And if we really fathomed what our Lord Christ has done by taking on human flesh, becoming our brother, living our life and dying our death, we would die of joy; our hearts would simply burst with joy. For the light of God’s love shines upon us in Jesus Christ, and yet the darkness of our hearts so often and so readily comprehends it not.