Saved By Faith In Christ Jesus

Romans 3:19-28 KJV; Reformation Sunday; We are sinners and cannot keep the law perfectly. We are saved by faith alone.

May Your Faith And Hope Be In God

1 Peter 1:13-21 KJV; Trust in the Lord and have faith that you are redeemed by the blood of Christ.

Reformation Sunday

Romans 1:16-17; 3:21-26; Eph 2:28-29; KJV; Reformation Sunday; Saved by faith in Christ Jesus.

Only By Faith

Romans 3:19-28 KJV; Reformation Sunday; We are saved; we are justified by faith in Christ alone.

By Faith Alone In Christ Alone

Ephesians 2:1-9 KJV; We are saved by faith alone in Christ alone and not by the works of our hands.

By Faith Not Works

Romans 3:20-28 KJV; We are saved by faith in the work of Jesus the Christ on the cross for us and not by the work of our own hands.

Saved By Grace Through Faith

Ephesians 2: 8-9 KJV; Reformation Sunday; There is no good works that will justify us. We are saved by God's grace through Faith in Christ Jesus.

The Word Is True

Psalm 119:153-160 KJV; The Word is true. The word has not changed just because it's the 21st century.

Saved By Faith In Christ!

Psalm 119:1-8 KJV; Not by keeping the law are we saved for no one can keep it perfectly. We are saved by faith alone in Christ!

Saved By Faith Alone In Christ Alone

Rom 1:16-17; Rom 3:21-26; Eph 2:8-9; Reformation Sunday 2022; we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone and not by anything that we could possibly do.

Corruptible Things Will Not Save You

1 Peter 1:18-21 KJV; We are saved by faith alone in Christ alone not for anything we tithe or any good works or even any traditions that we might think we need to follow.

Let Your Light Shine!

Matthew 5:14-16 KJV Do not fear what others might think of you; but, let the light of Christ shine before others.

Prosper In Love

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

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What does it mean to be blessed.  I don't know about all of you; but, I have found that living in relationship with God is to be blessed. 

There are many who preach that you will have every material thing that you desire if you follow God's law. But, to prosper has more meaning than the materialistic meaning that the word has taken on.   

Prosperity for the Christian is to grow rich in the love of God and to be fruitful by sharing his love with others.  When we share his love we don't have to worry about following every law because when we love God we automatically worship and put him before all others.  When we love others we will do them no harm. We will not sin against them. 

"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." 

                                                                          (Rom 13:8-10)

Blessed are those who love the Lord and who love one another for they will be fruitful in edifying the church. They will live lives abundant with  the peace of heart and mind in the presence of God that faith alone in Christ alone can bring. 

There is a prosperity that is not just about money and things. It is better to be prosperous; enriched with these things:  "faith, hope, love," for they will last an eternity while our things will not.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Made Whole By Faith Alone

And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.

For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

                                                                                                            (Mark 5:25-34 KJV)

Every now and then I receive an offer from (using the term very loosely) some evangelist letting me know that for a price his ministry will send me a piece of cloth for a price. If I send in the offering all I have to do is touch the cloth and I will be healed!

For sure the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of his garment and was healed. But, it was not the cloth that made her whole. According to Jesus it was her faith that made her whole. We do not need ritual performances to make us whole. We need Jesus. There is no piece of cloth or any sort of icon or idol that we might touch that will make us whole. We are saved; we are made whole, by faith alone in the healing power of Christ alone. 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Saved By Christ Alone

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." (John 15:16 KJV)

We do not choose God. God chooses us. God calls us. God sends us. Above all, God saves us. If we say we have chosen God it is tantamount to saying that we have done something to save ourselves. The truth is we cannot do a thing to save ourselves or anyone else. Salvation is purely a gift from God.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph 2:8-9)

As I was knocking on doors (cold canvassing) and inviting the people of Copper Harbor, MI to come and worship with us I encountered a man who was very excited that I was trying to save the people of the community.  No, I was not! I reminded him that only Jesus saves. I was not there to save anyone. I was there to tell people about the one who has saved us from our sins by dying for us.  

And, then there was the priest in the mostly Catholic town of Lake Linden, MI. When I introduced myself and out of courtesy let him know that I and another would be knocking on every door in Lake Linden, he didn't have a problem with it. He was not worried about it. He just asked me: What do you get when you cross a Lutheran with a Jehovah's Witness. Answer:  Someone who knocks on doors and doesn't know what to say. We both laughed. Sadly, that is the truth in many cases. Lutherans are not that great when it comes to evangelizing. The truth be told we cannot even profess the Good News in Christ Jesus except God calls us, empowers us, and sends us. The Spirit is willing; but, the flesh is sometimes cowardly and weak. Jennifer and I did knock on every door. Not everyone answered; but, every house was called upon. 

Lutherans and people of all denominations; all who have been saved by Christ ought to follow in the footsteps of Peter and Paul and all the disciples of Jesus' time as well as all who came after them in declaring: "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:10-12)

We declare it because of His great love for all people. We declare it because he loves us so much that he was willing to die that we might be saved.

Remember always that we are not saved by anything we do or say. We are saved by "Christ Alone!" 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Rejoice And Give Thanks

Psalm 118:19-29 KJV

Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord:

This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter.

I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.

The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.

God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Grace, mercy, peace: the world is not filled with an over abundance of any of these three. But, God is. His Kingdom is filled with His grace, His mercy, and His peace. He is our salvation. He has opened the gates of righteousness for us by sending His only begotten Son to be the sacrifice that atones for ours sins. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross has cleansed us from our sins so that all who believe in him might enter into the Kingdom of God.

Rejoice and give thanks for His mercy endures forever!  

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Peace By Jesus' Blood Alone

 

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." 

                                                                              (Rom 5:1, 8-11 KJV)

We who were not God's children are now God's children. We who were the enemies of God now live in peace with Him by merit of Jesus' blood alone. 

There was and is nothing we can do to atone for our own sins. For in the process of attempting to we will continue to sin. But, faith alone in the atoning sacrifice of  Christ alone will reconciled us to God our Father.

The knowledge that Jesus did for us by his suffering and death what we cannot do for ourselves brings us great peace and joy. For now we can live in the presence of God reconciled with Him with the confidence that He will guide us through any dark times that we may encounter. In that we can rejoice. In that we can find peace. 

"And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled."

                                                                                  (Col 1:20-21)

Thanks be to God for our Lord Jesus Christ who died that we might be reconciled to God our Father and abide in His presence.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Blot Out My Transgressions

1 John 1:8

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PSALM 51 KJV

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

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As we enter into the season of Lent let us remember that we are thoroughly unclean and that only by the blood of Jesus have we been cleansed from our sins. Thanks be to God they are thoroughly washed away by the blood of Jesus! 

It is not just during this season of penitence that we are to consider and repent of our sins; but, every day of our lives for we are sinners through and through and not one day goes by that we do not commit offenses against God. Let us rejoice for Christ alone has saved us from our sinful ways!

May God help us today and always to consider and understand how we betray and turn our backs on Him. May He open our lips so that we might praise Him for cleansing us of our sins by the blood of Jesus the Christ that we might be reconciled to Him and to one another in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Sacrifice

 

Psalm 50:1-6 KJV

The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.

Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.

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There is nothing that we can sacrifice to seal the covenant with God. There are no good works that we can accomplish that will cover our sinful ways. We have all fallen short of keeping the first covenant; the covenant of law. We have found that we are incapable of keeping the letter of the law as was given to Moses.

Our hope is found in faith alone in Christ alone who willingly became the sacrifice for us that the new covenant might be sealed with his precious blood. We are sinners; yet, we have become God's saints because of Jesus' sacrifice and not because of any good thing that we have done or sacrificed. By his blood we have been washed clean. 

John's greeting in the letter to the seven churches reveals his vision affirming that it is by the blood of Christ that has united with God and his Father.

"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (Rev 1:5-6)

May God help us to trust in Christ alone for our salvation.

God's Peace - Pr. J.