“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for their’s is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12

Before His crucifixion and death, Jesus told His disciples, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me” (John 15:18-21).

St. Paul also wrote to Timothy: “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:12-17).

Followers of Jesus do not seek persecution, but it is a fact that those who follow Him and hold fast to His Word will suffer persecution. The world does not like to be reminded of its sinfulness and the coming judgment of God (cf. John 3:19-20), nor do worldly people like it when one turns from his former evil ways to Jesus for forgiveness and life. Followers of Jesus are a constant reminder to the people of this world that they are on the wrong path and will soon be judged by God. And, it is for that reason that true believers are reviled and persecuted in this world.

The Old Testament prophets, too, were a reminder to those whose hearts had turned away from the LORD that they were turned aside from the truth and headed for God’s judgment. And, from the blood of Abel to Zechariah, many of these true prophets of God suffered great persecution and even death for their testimony to the truth (cf. Matt. 23:31-39). Those who thought they were righteous by their own practice of religious rites did not want to hear of their sin and need for repentance and faith in Messiah Jesus.

Many might see the suffering and persecution which comes upon followers of Jesus even today and think that surely they are not blessed of God, but Jesus says, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

This does not mean followers of Jesus have a place in God’s eternal kingdom because of their suffering here in this world. Rather, they are blessed even in the midst of their suffering because they have a place in God’s eternal kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ, their Savior, who died for the sins of all and rose again in victory. They have reason to rejoice even in the midst of persecution!

They are “begotten … again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3-5).

Dear Lord Jesus, grant that I not shrink back from faithfulness to You, but trust you, follow You, live for You, and proclaim Your Word to those around me in the world. If persecution comes, grant me the strength to endure and faith that looks forward to the eternal rewards of heaven which are mine for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7

The Scriptures tell us that, when God created man, He formed man’s body of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

While few would question today that our bodies are made of dust – the very elements found in the ground – there are many who are unwilling to believe the second part of this passage: namely, that life was given to man’s earthly body by the breath of God and that, as a result, man became a living soul.

The naturalists and evolutionists of our day have come up with explanations (though unfeasible to the sensible) for the physical formation of organisms, but they have no answer as to the original source of life. How is it that a certain combination of physical elements became a living being?

Those who believe the Bible know that the physical elements which make up our bodies are God’s creation and that the formation of our bodies is God’s design. But we also know that life (both physical and spiritual) was given by none other than God Himself! “In Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28; cf. John 1:1-4).

When the Prophet Daniel was brought in before King Belshazzar to interpret the writing of the fingers upon the wall (Daniel 5), he told the foolish king that he had lifted himself up against the Lord of heaven and not glorified “the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways” (v. 23).

Not only did the LORD God breathe into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, He formed us in our mothers’ wombs and gave us life, and He holds that very life in His hand, as we read in Psalm 139:13-16: “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

What a great difference there is between the teaching of the Bible and the doctrines of evolution and meaningless fate! The LORD God who created the heavens and the earth specifically formed and created our bodies and breathed into us the breath of life. He holds our very lives in His hand. When He gives the breath of life, we live. When He takes the breath of life from us, we die and our bodies return to dust (cf. Eccl. 3:18-22).

Were it not for man’s sin and disobedience to the LORD God, the breath of life would not be taken from us; but, because of the sin which corrupts our hearts and minds and keeps us from wholly loving, honoring and walking in harmony with the God who made us, He takes His breath from us and our bodies return to dust.

Yet, in His love and mercy toward us in Christ Jesus, He has provided a way for us to live together with Him in righteousness and true holiness forever. He sent His only-begotten Son into the world a true man (with a body made of dust like ours). Jesus Christ, God the Son in human flesh, fulfilled with perfect obedience the righteous demands of God’s holy commandments; and He took the guilt and punishment of our sins upon Himself, suffering and dying upon the cross, and being condemned and forsaken of God the Father in heaven because of our sin and the sins of all in the world. And Jesus, though He yielded up His breath and spirit unto God upon the cross, was raised to life again on the third day that He might give us life through faith in His name – everlasting life with Him in heaven!

Though the day will soon come – unless Christ first returns – when God removes from us the breath of life, and your body and my body return to the dust from which they were taken, Jesus Christ paid for your sins and mine – indeed for the sins of the whole world – and God offers and extends to you, to me and to all people a full and complete pardon and a life which will never end through faith in the Son and His sacrifice on the cross for the sins of all.

The Bible tells us that “Jesus Christ the righteous … is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1, 2). It tells us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Through faith in Christ Jesus, we live. And, though our bodies may die and return to the dust, they will be raised up again on the Last Day from the dust of the ground, and God will again give us life – life without end!

Dear Father in heaven, thank You for forming me of the dust and giving me the breath of life that I might learn of You and the glorious salvation You have provided for me through the innocent sufferings and death of Your Son, Christ Jesus, my Savior. Create and sustain in my heart faith in You and Your mercy, and grant me the gift of life eternal through faith in Christ Jesus. In His name, I pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness … So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” Genesis 1:26, 27

The LORD God created the first man and woman in His own image and after His likeness. Since God is a spirit, the image and likeness spoken of here refer not to a visible likeness, but to a spiritual likeness. We learn of this image of God in the New Testament.

Colossians 3:10 says of the new man or new nature in Christians, that it “is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” Ephesians 4:24 says of this same new nature that it “after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Therefore, we see that the image of God is to know God and His perfect will and also to be truly righteous and holy. Adam and Eve were created with perfect knowledge of God and His will and, in the beginning, had only holy and pure thoughts, desires, words and deeds.

Of course, the fall, recorded in Genesis 3, changed all that and the image of God was lost! Man’s knowledge and understanding of God and His perfect will became darkened so that he now comes up with his own ideas and beliefs about God and even worships and serves the creature (what God has created) rather than the Creator.

Instead of being holy and righteous and wholly devoted to the service of the Almighty God, man has become turned in and focused upon himself and his own desires and ambitions and lives in disobedience and rebellion against God’s holy commandments.

In believers, those who acknowledge their utter sinfulness and trust in the shed blood of Christ Jesus for their salvation, the image of God is being restored. They have a new nature, created in them by God the Holy Spirit, that is being “renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created” them, a nature that “after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” They, “with open face beholding as in a glass [a mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).

But believers in Jesus will not achieve sinless perfection here in this world. They will not perfectly reflect the glory of the Lord. The Bible plainly tells us that “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8); and we are encouraged to confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness in Christ Jesus and for the sake of His propitiating sacrifice on the cross for the sins of all: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. … if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1:9; 2:1-2).

And, when the Last Day shall come, all who have trusted in Christ Jesus will be raised up with a perfect knowledge of God and in perfect righteousness and holiness.

The Scriptures speak of this when they say: “As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15); “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2); and “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Cor. 13:12).

And so, dear friend, you and I were created in God’s image, created to know God and His perfect will and created to serve God in accord with His will and design. Adam’s sin took from all of us this image of God. Instead of reflecting the holiness and righteousness of God our Maker, we have each gone our own way, seeking to gratify our own fallen and sinful nature and to glorify ourselves. The image of God was lost and we are born into this world dead in our trespasses and sins and are under the wrath of God (cf. Eph. 2:1-3).

In Christ Jesus, God’s own dear Son made man, God provided a sacrifice for our sins and offers to us pardon and forgiveness through faith in the Son. God the Holy Spirit, working through the good news of forgiveness in Christ, regenerates us, bringing us to faith in Christ and then working in our lives to restore the image and glory of God which we lost. And, when Christ returns and the dead are raised up, then all who have placed their hope in Him will reflect His image and serve Him in everlasting righteousness and holiness!

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that my life does not perfectly reflect Your holiness or Your glory. Wash away my sins in Your shed blood and create in me a new heart and nature which loves You, seeks Your will and lives for Your glory. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Matthew 8:1-13

How should we pray? Jesus said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7).

In Matthew 21:21-22, after the disciples saw a fig tree which Jesus had cursed wither away, Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

James writes (James 1:5-8): “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

But what is it to pray in faith? Today’s Gospel provides two excellent examples.

In Matthew 8:2-3, we read: “And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

In this first example, we see the faith of this leper in the person of Jesus and in His power to heal. He had confidence that Jesus, if He was willing, could cleanse him of his leprosy.

This reminds me of the words of Jeremiah in chapter 32, verse 17: “Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.” Jeremiah prayed with the confidence that the God who created the heavens and the earth could certainly answer his prayer.

And thus we pray in faith, not that God will grant our every desire and request but in the confidence that God is able to do so and will as a loving heavenly Father answer our prayer in a way that is best for us.

We ask this in the Lord’s Prayer when we pray: “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). We pray in the confidence that God hears and is able to grant our requests but also trusting that God’s perfect will is best for us.

It could have been God’s will that the man with leprosy not be healed, and the leper was willing to accept that. He prayed in the confidence that Jesus’ will was best for him — “not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Consider the Apostle Paul who prayed three times that God would remove his thorn in the flesh, and God’s answer to him. He wrote: “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

There are, however, many things for which we need not pray, “If thou wilt,” for we already know from the Scriptures that God desires such. This is true when we pray for God’s mercy and forgiveness, for stronger faith, that God would keep us in the true faith through His Word and Sacraments, etc. And, since Jesus gave to us the Lord’s Prayer, we can certainly pray each petition in the confidence that we are praying in accord with God’s perfect will.

Then, in Matthew 8:8-9,13, we read of a Roman centurion who prayed to Jesus on behalf of his servant: “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. … And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”

The centurion, though he was praised and counted worthy by the Jewish leaders in Capernaum, recognized his unworthiness to come before Jesus, the eternal Son of God in human flesh. He sent elders from among the Jews to Jesus to request His help (cf. Luke 7:1ff.) and then, before Jesus arrived, sent friends to Jesus acknowledging his own unworthiness and professing faith that Jesus could just say the word and his servant would be healed. “And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”

So also, we are unworthy sinners. We deserve nothing but God’s wrath and eternal punishment (cf. Rom. 3:23); and yet, for Jesus’ sake, God hears and answers our prayers.

Jesus made full atonement for our sins when He suffered and died on the cross and, through faith in Him, we have God’s pardon and forgiveness (Rom. 3:21-26). We are counted righteous and holy and acceptable in His sight (Col. 1:19-23; Eph. 1:6-7; 1 John 1:7 — 2:2). Through faith in Christ Jesus, we become God’s children and can come before Him with our prayers and praises (Gal. 3:26ff.; Heb. 10:19ff.).

Dr. Martin Luther, in his Small Catechism, explains the introduction to the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father who art in heaven,” in this way: “God would by these words tenderly invite us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that we may with all boldness and confidence ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.”

John writes in his first epistle: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him ” (1 John 5:11-15).

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, grant that we hear Your Word and learn of You that we might acknowledge our sinfulness and trust in You as our Savior and pray to You in faith and with confidence. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

Saturday, January 22, marks the 49th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision which opened the way for legalized abortion in the United States; and I would have to count that day to be the saddest in American history because, since that day, almost 63.5 million babies have been murdered in this country through legalized abortion, according to figures from the National Right to Life Committee.

It is, as I’ve said before, America’s holocaust because we have killed — or stood by and done little or nothing while it happened in our own land and communities — 63.5 million of our own children inside or partially inside their mothers’ wombs. If God graded on a numbers-based curve — and He doesn’t (one abortion brings His wrath) — Adolph Hitler and his Nazi regime would come out looking like saints in comparison to us.

And why have we done it? The argument we usually hear is that it is a woman’s right and her freedom of choice. But the truth is that it is selfishness. People want to be free to indulge in sexual promiscuity outside of Biblical marriage but do not wish to be burdened and inconvenienced with the responsibilities of giving birth to and raising a child. They place themselves and their own desires and plans above the needs of another human being and choose to kill their children rather than being responsible and giving of themselves to care for them.

Science itself tells us that the unborn child in its mother’s womb is a human being — a heartbeat at 3 weeks, a highly developed brain by 8 weeks, thumb sucking by 9 weeks — and yet we still legally kill each day in our land thousands of human beings for the convenience of mothers and fathers.

We are alarmed at the death toll from the coronavirus but still murder far more babies each and every day through abortion. Perhaps the illnesses and deaths from the coronavirus are but a first step in God’s judgment upon our people and the people of the world who murder their children or support and encourage it! According to The Christian Post, abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide in 2021, killing 42.6 million people, three times more than those who died of communicable diseases, the second-leading cause of death last year. You can’t say our nation and the world are not ripe for God’s judgment. The four horsemen of Revelation 6 are riding!

The Bible clearly forbids us to murder human beings (Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17). And the Bible also clearly teaches that it is God who creates life in the womb and appoints to that life a number of days on this earth: “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16; cf. Psalm 31:15).

Since, as I said before, God does not grade on a curve, even one abortion is a terrible tragedy and heinous crime. But the crime goes on in America’s death camps; and the judgment of God, who created and gives life and values each life so much He gave his Son to redeem it, will fall upon our nation and people for all the innocent blood that is shed in our land, whether in abortion clinics or doctors’ offices and hospitals (cf. Deut. 21:1-9; Gen. 9:5-6). And don’t think our nation’s rulers and judges who either support abortion or do nothing to stop it will escape the wrath of God!

Some would argue and say, “What about cases of rape and incest and those pregnancies which endanger the life of a mother?”

The fact is that they are only a very, very small percentage of the pregnancies which end in abortion. But in cases of rape or incest, why should the child be put to death for the sins of another? Why not put to death the guilty rapist and the sexual predator? Yet, we destroy the innocent and let the guilty off with minimal punishment. And even when medical professionals determine the life of a mother could be at stake, is abortion the right answer? I’ve known of mothers who, without medical warning, gave their lives to deliver a healthy child and of many who’ve been told they would die if they gave birth but went on to have several children and with few complications.

My point is simply this: Pray for God’s mercy upon our people and an end to legalized abortion in our land, use your voice and your votes to protect human life whether young or old, encourage and teach Biblical morals to children and youth regarding God’s design for marriage and bearing children, and stand up for the protection of life against those who would urge us to tolerate their wickedness and ongoing slaughter of the innocent.

This is especially important now as our federal government leadership has promised to defend and further enable this merciless slaughter of children in our land. Unless they repent, they will pay the price, along with all who placed them in power.

And, speaking of repentance, there is a solution to this great sin against God. It is to repent – to acknowledge our sins and look to God for mercy in Christ Jesus and the sacrifice He made on the cross for the sins of all. And where there is true repentance, there will also be a change of heart and a sincere desire and effort to save and protect the lives of our children rather than destroy them.

O Lord, open our eyes to see our great wickedness and repent before Your full judgment falls upon our land and people! Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The King James Version of the Bible.]