The Secret Wireless

Hebrews 3 12 "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,  'Today, if you hear his voice,  do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.'  16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief."             Despite what some Christians believe, it is possible for Christians to fall away...

If there is one thing that we can glean from the words of Jesus in Matthew 16 it is that it will take courage to be both Christ and Christian.  For Jesus to do what He has come to do will take a tremendous amount of fortitude.  Being a Christian will require a kind of bravery the world does not know. This has always been the case.  Christians have always faced difficulty in the world because they hold to an allegiance to a God who is greater than the world and the world does not like it.  So from the very first days of the Church until now there has been persecution and martyrdom. Men like James the Apostle and Stephen the Deacon stood bravely before the authorities, confessed Jesus Christ as Lord, and died with their eyes fixed on Him.  Even those who were not killed for trusting in Jesus certainly suffered for it. John the Evangelist and Apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos.  Athanasius, the faithful confessor who gave us the Nicene Creed,...

There are plenty of people running around attempting dangerous feats.  Bungee jumping, base jumping, jumping out of an airplane, racing, skiing, boating, climbing--adventure sports are out there for those who want to take the risk.  And plenty of people are willing, putting it all on the line. If, however, you want to take a real risk, if you want to truly put everything on the line, then try confession. I don't mean making a public confession, telling the whole world about your private sins.  That may seem dangerous at first, but the one you sinned against is not really being engaged, and you are bound to find much more sympathy than condemnation. I mean approaching the person to whom you have done wrong and telling them what you have done.  Look them in the eyes and confess, admit your guilt, lay it all out there for them to hear.  Tell them just how awful you acted, how evil your intentions were.  Let them know. That is dangerous.  It is...

Gentlemen, It is long overdue that the Church takes a closer look at what it means to be a husband and father.  We have decried the devaluation of men.  We have lamented the dearth of leadership on this subject.  We have moaned and complained, but no one seems to be doing much about it. One major issue is that we too often take our visions for manhood, husband-hood, and fatherhood from the culture, particularly the popular culture, and not from the Scriptures.  Martin Luther started us off on the right track when he filled his Table of Duties in the Small Catechism with Scriptural references that concern our various vocations.  It would be fitting for us to expand on that work, to consider what the Scriptures say concerning the roles, duties, and vocations, of husband, father, and man. The importance of all this was highlighted to me this past year when preparing to teach a lesson on I Timothy 3.  In 7th and 8th grade reli...

(Photograph from bigfoto.com) Matthew 14:22-33 Why didn't Jesus just get into the boat?  That would have been easier, safer, quicker, less messy. When the weary disciples wondered who (or what) this was walking upon the Sea of Galilee, Jesus could have simply hopped into the boat and said, "Ta-da!  It's me!"  But He didn't. Instead Jesus announced His presence from the middle of the lake as He stood upon the waves.  And to prove Himself as the real deal He called Peter to join Him out there upon the sea. To show His power, to prove His identity, Jesus calls Peter from the comfort and relative safety of the boat into the chaos and danger of the wind and waves.  When they were all back in the boat there was no more debate: "Truly you are the Son of God." These past two Sundays the Gospel readings have come from Matthew 10 where Jesus sends His disciples out as sheep a midst the wolves.  He warns them of the dangers they shall face, the rage ...