Romans 8:11  If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

How's our resurrection coming along? In the sermon quoted here, Luther later states that our resurrection is already halfway there. Even more than half. Jesus is busy at work with us right now. He is risen from the dead and He is working. He is raising us sinners from death to life through His Word and Holy Baptism. We're over halfway.

If you're driving across the country or running a marathon, it's great to be more than halfway there. But we will also groan because we desperately want to be all the way there. It's no different when it comes to our resurrection. We give God all glory and praise that we are already spiritually raised to new life in Jesus. We are baptized and forgiven! At the same time, we also groan deeply for our full and complete resurrection (Romans 8:23). We want to leave this world of sin, death, and decay behind us. And we can barely wait for the glory that will be ours on the Last Day when Jesus will raise our bodies from the dust to perfection and immortality.

Consider a seed planted in the ground. If we had never seen anyone plant a seed in the ground, the entire idea would certainly sound foolish and ignorant. How could a dead seed bring anything good? Yet God uses that seed to produce new life. In the same way, our bodies will truly rise from the dirt, new and glorious. "Behold," He says, "I am making all things new" (Revelation 21:5).
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1 John 2:1-2  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

A student stopped by his campus church between classes and asked to meet with both the pastors and the director of Christian education for confession. He confessed the same sin he had confessed the week before. He simply couldn't shake the feelings of regret. He said he didn't feel like God had forgiven him.

The campus pastor reminded the young student that God's forgiveness was a sure thing, adding, "people have a more difficult time forgiving than God does. We seem to lay our burdens at the foot of the cross, only to pick them back up again as we leave."

Because of Jesus' sacrifice, all our sins are forgiven without exception. It is that simp[le and true. We point to His Word and His work for assurance that He has forgiven our sin. Lasting feelings of guilt may mean that we haven't forgiven ourselves, or they could serve to deter us from another sin when we are tempted in the future. But lasting feelings of guilt are not signs that God has failed to keep His word to forgive those who confess their sins.

When doubts creep in, and they likely will at times, remember the promise God made to you through your baptism. Next time you go to Communion, listen closely to the words spoken by the pastor of what Jesus willingly endured to ensure your forgiveness. Trust God at His Word. When it comes to the work of forgiveness, Jesus said it best: "It is finished!"
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 10:16  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

We love to use the phrase "going to church." Even though many times we're going to a building or place to worship the Lord, we also understand that it is a place or building that gathers God's people together in the midst of a community that He loves. As we "go to church," we are reminded that we are going to the community that God has bought through the blood of Jesus and brings together every day by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our heavenly Father invites us to "see" the Church as He sees it. He sees it as His Son's Body through the vision of the Holy Spirit. He sings about the Church, sings through it, and sings out of it into a world that needs to see and hear Him. He speaks to her with bold and tender words. He is intimately, really present in and with her. When we struggle to see ourselves as He does, when we fall short and sin against Him and one another, when we don't represent our faithful God well, He still knows we are His. He will guide us to continue to become who He knows us to be - Jesus' Body, a community alive with the love of Jesus, set apart for the good works He has already prepared for us to do. We faithfully confess this reality even as we daily work to live in it. May we be a community of saints that is always going as the Church.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 1 Corinthians 15:54

Easter is the linchpin of the New Testament. Christmas without Easter would be just another sentimental story. Good Friday without Easter would be nothing more than a tragic miscarriage of justice. Pentecost without Easter would just be a bizarre event starting off another dubious religion. But Easter gives Christmas, Good Friday, and Pentecost a whole new meaning. It was no ordinary baby who was born to Mary, but rather God in human flesh who came to rescue us from the curse of sin by taking it on Himself. It was no mere political activist whose blood was shed on the cross, but rather the holy and righteous Son of God who shed His innocent blood in place of our guilty blood. His rising from the dead means that no power in heaven or on earth can successfully oppose Him. His church will flourish - is flourishing - in the power of the Spirit, and the gates of hell cannot withstand it. It will endure forever.

Easter is likewise the linchpin of the story of your life. The God who died for you did not stay dead. He rose from the dead in glory, and no power can successfully oppose Him. When the called and ordained servant of Christ says your sins are forgiven, they really are, because Christ is risen from the dead. When you pray for the Spirit's help in temptation, you receive it, because Christ is risen from the dead. And when your last hour comes and death has done its worst, you will nevertheless live forever, because Christ is risen from the dead.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Matthew 6:33  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

God's kingdom sounds like a place we want to live in. Innocence, blessedness, and righteousness sound far better than pain, suffering, and struggle. However, every morning we rise up and every day we walk out our door, we are quickly reminded that it's not a simple either/or. Luther calls to our attention that we cannot be harmed by sin, death, or misfortune, but he never promises that they won't come to us within God's kingdom. Rather, we do rise up and walk out that door each day armed with the promises of God - armed with eternal life, joy, and salvation in Jesus Christ, Lord of all, master of our every day.

We "seek first the kingdom of God" every time we open our Bible, every time the Holy Spirit brings Him to mind, every time we breathe a prayer of help or praise. All these, alongside gathering with the Body of Christ, singing His praise, and taking His supper, give us strength to cling tight to the promise that "I may be His own" and walk with that promise into each day. Without this promise, we shrivel, we shrink back, we feel defeated before the day dawns. But with it, with "I am His own" on our souls, we are the warriors, the scribes, the laborers, and the carriers of hope for His kingdom everywhere we go. His kingdom is not found in our works, but we certainly bring His kingdom to all the work we touch by bearing His name.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

1 Peter 1:17-19 17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

The heart of the catechism is the Apostles' Creed. The heart of the Creed is Jesus. The heart of Jesus pumps blood. It isn't metaphor or mere idea but vivid reality. Here, God calls you to set your heart on His and to boldly believe that Jesus' blood is for you.

Why does Jesus shed His blood? He wants you, and that's the price (Hebrews 9:22). You were lost and condemned. You deserved only what you had earned: the wages of sin, sin that rejects God and hoards silver and gold as if life depends on it. And yet, your sin and your price did not stop Him.

The limitless one limited Himself to a human body with flesh and blood so that He could spend that flesh and blood on you (Colossians 1:19-20; Hebrews 2:14). He willingly redeemed you by His blood (Hebrews 9:12). Your Redeemer loves you with an everlasting love (Isaiah 54:8). His blood now flows from His cross to you through water, bread, and wine, delivering forgiveness, life, and salvation to you and for you (Hebrews 10:19; 12:24).

This is the central article of the Christian faith. It defies all rational explanation. From God's heart, the blood of Jesus flows. He invites you to believe it's for you. This central truth bleeds onto every other page of the catechism. It flows, transfused, through your veins as well, giving you His eternal life.

What else is there for you to do but set your heart on Him?
--Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Luke 1:35  And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy - the Son of God."

Like all of us, Jesus has a birthday. It was less sanitary, but much like ours. With pain and pushing, Mary gave birth to Jesus, a tiny human, true man. Like all of us, Jesus has a lifeday, the day He began to grow in Mary's womb. But it cannot compare to ours at all! Jesus' life began through the power of the most high God! A tiny speck in Mary's womb was deemed "the Son of God."

Jesus was true man and true God. The true man part we get. The true God part falls outside of our reason. That He was both at the same time moves us into the mysterious.

But God loves a mystery! He loves to reveal mysteries through faith. Through faith, we get it. Through faith, we understand the need for both the mystery of Jesus' lifeday and the mundane of His birthday. Because of both, God gives us a new lifeday!

Baptism unites us with Jesus' death and resurrection. As true man, He could die. As true God, His death pays sufficient ransom for sin. As true God, He could rise again and bring us with Him to new life, now and eternally.

When you celebrate your birthday, remember that Jesus had one too. He was true man. But also celebrate your lifeday (think back about nine months from your birthday!). Remember that Jesus had one too, but much different from yours. He was true God. Then, celebrate your new lifeday, made possible through the mundane and mysterious.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,