The Secret Wireless

I apologize for the bluntness of this statement, but it is NOT called the Law BUT Gospel distinction. It is called Law AND Gospel. God's Word of Law and Gospel are not to be separated, or even put in opposition to each other.  God is not a schizophrenic.  The Law is His good Word.  The Gospel is His good Word.  They have different content and different purposes, but they are both from God and are both good. The Law is God telling us how to act as human beings.  The Gospel is Him actually making us into human beings. The Law is His will.  It only seems like bad news to us because we ignore it.  The Gospel does not save us from the Law, but rather from our inability to keep the Law. So we should not hear sermons or read blog posts or articles that say, basically, that the Gospel frees us from the Law.  It does not. The Gospel sets sinners free from the accusations of the Law.  But we are never free from the content of the L...

Saint Paul wishes to see the Philippian Christians standing firm in one spirit and striving together for faith in the gospel.   This is the life worthy of the gospel of Christ, that they stand firm in the Spirit and faith that Paul gave to them, that they strive to remain in the one true faith.             This is Paul’s desire so much that he rejoices in his own suffering because it serves to advance the gospel in which they stand.   While he is imprisoned others have picked up the slack and proclaimed the Word of Christ in fearless fashion.   More people are preaching the gospel because Paul is in jail, and that makes him happy.             Paul desires them to stand and strive so much so that he is convinced that he should stay on this earth alive so that he may work harder and serve the Philippians with the gospel.   His greatest desire...

Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me Satan!  You are a hindrance to me.  For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."  Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."  (Matthew 16:23-24) In front of Jesus is the wrong place to be.  Likewise beside him. You are not supposed to be leading Jesus.  Nor are you his partner, walking side-by-side through all of life. You don't tell Jesus what to do, how to act, where to go.  You don't tell Jesus how to save the world, nor how to bring that salvation to the world today. But this is what we all want to do.  "Jesus, the church would grow if you stopped being so stubborn, if you overlooked sins rather than forgiving them, if you stopped being so exclusive, if you would just listen.  Let me help you!" But Jesus does not want your advice.  He does not really want your help either...

The question has plagued humanity almost from the very beginning: “Who is the greatest?”   That is really the conflict that arose between Cain and his brother Abel, is it not?                 Cain and Abel both brought offerings to the Lord.   Cain brought the fruits of the ground: vegetables, fruits, any kind of edible plant.   Abel brought the firstborn of his flock and the fattest of his flock, nothing but the best.   And whose offering was better?   Why that of Abel, the younger brother.                 It was not better because of the value of the offering, no.   The author of Hebrews tells us that it is faith which makes Abel’s offering acceptable in the sight of God.   Faith makes one great before heaven’s court.   But Cain cannot understand this.    ...

Have you heard that joke? One Sunday a Sunday School teacher asked her class, "What is small, has a bushy tale, climbs trees, and eats nuts?" A bright student raised her hand and answered, "It sounds an awful lot like a squirrel, but this is Sunday School so the answer must be 'Jesus'." It has become a thing lately to beat up on Sunday School and the answers we learn there.  The good old, tried and true lessons of the Sunday School teacher are downgraded, laughed at, even mocked. People don't want the Sunday School answers.  They want what they perceive to be the deeper, more satisfying reasons.  And above all they want to be able to struggle and doubt without judgment. Those who struggle and doubt are seen as "real", while those who stick to what they learned in Sunday School are looked down upon as "simple" or even "fake". But there is nothing simple or fake about holding on to that good, old fashioned Sund...

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,...

  I have to admit that after seeing this commercial I was highly tempted to go out and purchase about a dozen boxes of Peanut Butter Cheerios.

The Biblical David is a favorite for many people.  And who can blame them?  He is courageous, handsome, intelligent, charismatic, and eventually, powerful and rich.  Most men want to be him and most women want to be married to him. So it is no wonder that upon reading the history of David people want to identify with him. And so they begin to make comparisons from their life to his. He becomes a model for their life so that they can justify certain behaviors or certain personality traits. "Well, David was passionate, so I can be passionate too."  That sort of thing. The problem with people, no matter how good their intentions, comparing themselves to King David is that, well, they are not David!  Certainly the Lutheran Confessions mention that Christians can use the saints of years gone by as examples, but that is according to their vocation, not their life in general.  So, unless you are a shepherd, king, or polygamist, you are out of luck. You s...