When standing in line, or when the commercial comes on, or when a moment of boredom comes, fast and pray instead of reaching for the screen. Be reminded that the world is not an oyster to be shucked, but a place where the gifts of redemption are already open.
Prayer is only possible because Jesus has given you access to the Father through His shed blood. Prayer is a gift purchased for you by Christ.

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One name repeatedly emerges from the heart and mind of Paul: Jesus. Jesus is Messiah, Jesus is Savior, Jesus is the world’s rightful and reigning King.
Every verse rings with the Gospel, declaring the giving of God the Father consisting of the Son and the Spirit and we, contrary to what we deserve for our sins, the recipients of His “lavish” love and grace.
The lavish nature of God’s love is indicated by the fact that He, as Father, is the author of our being adopted as sons and daughters through Holy Baptism.
We expect the world to shoot its wounded. But not even the world expects Christians to shoot their wounded.
Are people so different today? Is justification really irrelevant now? Is the preacher’s only point of contact with the life-giving Gospel a by-product of Microsoft’s word processor? I do not think so.
Far too many Christians read the Bible as if a dam has been built between the waters of the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Jesus and the New Testament—good. Yahweh and the Old Testament—not really so good. So goes the popular, but largely whispered, dichotomy.
The gelded Gospel is shiny and attractive and compelling, and we can perform the procedure in any number of ways.
The communion service is a sermon in and of itself. The communion sermon is that which most expressly tells us of the sinless One who stands in the sinner’s stead.
According to the Law, everyone will be judged by their own deeds, on his own work. So, before the judgment of God we only have our own works to boast in and not our neighbor’s. But the Gospel shows us a wonderful exception.
Love is the ultimate gift from God. To be loved by him for all eternity is truly the ultimate goal.
Baptism demolishes all boasting, for it is passively received and all that is received is pure gift. No one can, therefore, boast a better salvation than another.