“If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). As Lutherans, we don’t have Rome or St. Peter’s. We don’t have icons, as beautiful as they may be. We don’t have The Purpose Driven Life. What we have, however, […]
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day…” (Rev. 1:10). Someone has said, “Our great-grandfathers called it the holy Sabbath; our grandfathers, the Sabbath; our fathers, Sunday; but today we call it the weekend.” But John, on the island of Patmos near the end of the first century, calls Sunday the Lord’s Day. The […]
Take a moment to study this picture. It was taken on Easter 2013 at an outdoor sunrise devotion. We sang, prayed, and read Luke 24:1-12, including: “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from […]
“Take heart, child, your sins are forgiven.” The only thing more important than prayer is to become silent so as to hear the Word of God – the voice of God from the lips of Jesus. When you pray, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” what does this God say back to you? His […]
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” In Russian Orthodox circles, a “staretz” refers to a much-experienced spiritual advisor. One day it was reported to a certain staretz that a man had experienced seeing angels. Such a vision, it was thought, must mark great spiritual progress! But the staretz answered very wisely, “This is not […]
Stanza 1 is based on the first seven words, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13), and stanza 2 on the second seven, “Take heart, child, your sins are forgiven” (Matt. 9:2). In stanza 1 “O God, be merciful to me” is prayed three times. I had multiple things in mind. The Greek […]