“And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them'” (Luke 15:2). Ordinarily, we don’t like to hear grumbling. No one does that I’m aware of. In Exodus 16, the children of Israel “grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.” Moses informed them, “Your grumbling is not against […]
“Then Peter came up and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times'” (Matt. 18:21-22). “Every cloud,” goes the saying, “has a silver lining.” 9/11 had a […]
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:22). The misunderstood word is “submit.” Such a beautiful word, yet a beauty undiscovered. To help matters, consider what the groom is asked at a Lutheran wedding (and I’m sure others): “Will you nourish and cherish her as Christ loved His body, the Church, […]
I’m going to defer this week to my dear brother in the ministry, Pastor Jonathan Lange of Evanston, Wyoming. He has written a little piece about the Penn State tragedy. It is appearing in several newspapers this week, including the Casper Star Tribune. http://trib.com/opinion/columns/penn-state-reminds-us-that-we-are-our-brother-s/article_d0e46479-6bfc-5465-83c3-cc0fab4e36b4.html Peace of Christ, Pastor Matt…
“O Let Me Only Jesus See” is a prayer to the Holy Spirit asking Him to show me only God’s beloved Son who became man and humbled Himself (Phil. 2:8). For the two-stanza text of the hymn, see last week’s devotion. The hymn is inspired by Matthew 17:8, a verse which comes at the end […]
In Matthew 17, toward the end of the story of Jesus’ transfiguration, we read: “And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only” (Matt. 17:8). In meditation on this verse, I was led to write the following little hymn. It may be sung to the tune of “Praise God, from […]