1 Peter 1:14-16  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

If you have lived in a small town, then you know how important it is to have a good name - and how difficult it can be if someone in your family has brought shame to your family name. A good reputation opens doors, while a bad reputation closes them. The same can be said for God's name - except that it is us, His sons and daughters, who all too often drag His name through the mud instead of doing the good works that cause others to give glory to our Father in heaven.

We therefore pray that God's name would be hallowed - that is - be treated as holy. His name is special because it is the name of the God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us. It is the name of the Lord God who saves us when we call on Him. It is the sign of God's love because with it the almighty Creator of the universe invites us to talk to Him. It would be a sin against His name to drag it through the mud, and it would be a shame to give Him a bad reputation in the world. We pray that His name would be kept holy by other people and most especially by us, who were baptized into His name and who represent it to others. We are saved by His name, so we pray that we treat it as the treasure it is.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

2 Timothy 2:19  But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."

Hallowed be Thy name. This first petition of the Lord's Prayer is a good reminder that God doesn't need us, but He does want us. He wants to be a part of our days, our nights, and all our moments. He knows those who are His. He comes to us through His Spirit, given to us in our Baptism, and is active and holy in our families, in our homes, at our dinner table, and on the drive to school, through every door we enter and every conversation we have.

In this petition, we pray that we would embrace the presence of Jesus Christ, to bring out when He is convenient. We pray His mercy would pour out found in our words. We pray His gentleness and truth would be this unjust world. We pray we would be led to open His Word frequently, letting Him give us insight into where the devil would try to fool, kill, and destroy any wisdom for our relationships. Kindness and friendliness are wonderful things, but kindness and friendliness done in the name of Christ Jesus are powerful. Undeserved grace given to those we encounter in the name of Jesus mangles and destroys what the devil would try to do in our families, in our relationships, in our churches, and even in our own bodies. All praise be to His name!
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Matthew 7:11  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
 

My parents taught me from an early age, "When someone speaks to you, look that person in the eye and respond. It isn't an option."

How much greater is the reality that our Creator has spoken to us by His Son. Our soul hears the Spirit-breathed Word and responds to our Father. It's what a child of God does.

As a rebellious creature, we are not worthy to be called a child of God. As a lost and condemned person, we cannot approach His presence. But the Son has addressed us. More than that, He stands in our place in the Creed so we can stand in His place in prayer. He prays for us and with us, but He also invites us to pray with Him, to enter with Him into the courts of heaven, to draw near to the throne of grace, and to approach the God of heaven  as He does - confidently, with God as our dear Father. Adopted by the Spirit and addressed by the Son, our Lord and Savior, we respond to the Father.

Jesus is teaching us to approach the Father as he does, boldly and confidently, with dependence and reliance, just like a little child. Jesus goes with us and teaches us to trust His promise to respond. It's what our Father does. He has and He will.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

He had not been in church for a while. But now he sat in his pastor's office. His first words: "Pastor, it got so bad I had to turn to God." Here we find an example of what Luther meant when he talked about being compelled to "call and cry out." Distress drove this man to his knees with a need he knew he could not meet.

But why wait? Why be driven to our knees when we can fall to our knees? Why let circumstances throw our needs in front of us when we can use the Lord's Prayer? Go through the Lord's Prayer and let it speak of your needs.

Do we honor God's name as holy in everything we do? Are we living joyfully in His kingdom, knowing He rules our lives through His grace? Do we always put His will before our own? What physical needs do we forget to bring before Him? Here's a big one: What do we lack when it comes to forgiving others? Temptations abound. Do we seek God's strength? Evil surrounds. Are we caught up in any of it?

When we meditate on these questions, we find we lack much! But we need not fear. We do not pray to some vengeful God who wants us to shape up or else. We pray to our Father who adopted us through a crucified and risen Jesus. He loves us and forgives us. He gives and wants what's best for us.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 8:31-32  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

The devil does his best lying by mixing falsehood with truth. What's more, deceives best when wrapping lies in a comforting mantle of benevolence. Satan teaches the value of unity and then preaches that the same is more important than truth. The world lectures on the merits of gentle speech and then condemn the Bible as offensive. Our sinful nature would have us believe that to reject the truth of God's wrath and His grace in Jesus Christ is not merely one option, but the kindest, most enlightened option. Confess my sins? No, let's think positive! Salvation in Christ alone? C'mon, don't be so narrow! How many have walked away from Jesus Christ, believing that in doing so they benefited the world?

Jesus is the divine physician who not only diagnoses the cancer of sin, but also loves us enough to tell us the mortal truth. More important, like no other doctor, Jesus takes your tumor of transgression into Himself. Instead of trying to shrink or excise the sickness, the Savior allows it to kill Him. Through this death, the Son of God nullifies the power of sin and passes this blessing along to sinners. Yes, God tells us we are sinners, and we believe Him. He also tells us that we are forgiven, and we believe Him. Not because this news is fashionable, enlightened, or even beneficial, but because He is almighty. Forgiveness is a truth not based in cultural shift or political movement, but in the unchanging, eternal God.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

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,