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I read about a young nun who claimed to have had a vision of Jesus. Her bishop decided to test her truthfulness. He ordered that the next time she had a vision, she should ask Christ what the bishop’s primary sin had been before he became a bishop. Some months later, the nun returned, and the bishop asked if she had asked Christ the question. She said that she had. The bishop was a bit apprehensive when he asked, “What did Christ say was my primary sin?” The young nun replied, “Christ said, ‘I don’t remember.’”

That is the beauty of the forgiveness that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ. We have the assurance that God forgives and forgets. That is our certainty as believers. And this is not because God is old and forgetful. Rather, it is because Jesus paid our debt, our faith receives that forgiveness, and God puts our sins in the past. When we recognize our sinfulness, admit it to God and put our faith in Jesus, we have the assurance of His forgiveness. But don’t take my word for it. Look at the message from God Himself in His Word.

1 John 1:8–9 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 “The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

As part of my seminary training, I had a year of internship working in a church under a Pastor who served as a mentor. This internship is called a “vicarage.” Mine was at First Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was in the early 1980s. It was an interesting year, and all in all it was a good experience.

While we were living there, “The Gatlin Brothers” were pretty popular , and they came to town for a week to perform at the Riviera Casino (which no longer exists). Their lawyer at that time was a friend of my wife’s family. He came to town with them and called us to invite us to the show. He said, “Just give them my name when you get there.” When we arrived, there was a long line of people waiting to get in. We stood there for a minute until I noticed a sign to our left that said, “Invited guests.” There was no one in that line, so I was somewhat hesitant about going up there. I finally decided it was worth a try, so we walked up there and identified ourselves and mentioned our friend’s name. The maitre’d looked down his list and said, “Oh, yes, here we are. You’re seated at the Gatlin’s table.” We were ushered in ahead of all those others waiting in line and seated in a choice booth right down front. The best part about it was that it was all free.

I recalled that story as I listened to the first part of yesterday’s epistle lesson:

Romans 5:1–2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

Jesus gives us access to God’s grace. It is not something we have earned or deserved, any more that we deserved to go to the front of the line at that casino. It came because of who we knew. In the same way, we stand in the grace of God because of the one we know and because we have put our faith in Him. That has implications here and now in our lives, and it also has eternal benefits. When those who put their faith in Jesus die, they will be ushered directly in to the presence of God. Your name is recorded on the list, the Book of Life, through faith in His name. You have access to heaven, and it is free as well. Jesus will say to you:

`Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’ (Matt 25:34)

You have this access for Jesus’ sake.

In my previous devotion I mentioned my friend Jerry. We met in 1966 when I moved to Dallas. We were in the same Sunday School and confirmation class, went through High School and Youth Group together. We went to different colleges, but still stayed in touch for a while. He stood up in my wedding. After that, we drifted apart.

I am happy to say that since I have retired, we have reconnected. He owns and operates a Tavern in Richardson, Texas. Jerry attended the same funeral in Dallas I did last week,  and afterwards Cheryl and my brother and I joined him at his Tavern. He has a room upstairs where we could sit and visit, reminisce and catch up. We had a great visit.

As we were leaving, one of the regulars downstairs came up and started visiting with us. When Jerry told this guy I was a preacher, he identified himself as a man of faith as well, and said, “I want to share something with you. It is a lyric from a Tom Petty song:  ‘I love you enough to give up the sins of my past.’”  Then he added, “That’s a lot of love.” I agreed with him, and asked if I could share something with him. He said, “Sure.” So I said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we loved God so much we gave up the sins of our past and present and future?”

Just so you know, I later found out he didn’t quote the lyric correctly. This is what the song really says:

Let me tell you the truth. I love you more than the sins of my youth.

 That is a fairly accurate summary of fallen sinful man. We love the sins of our youth and don’t want to give them up.

As Jerry and I have caught up with each other, we have remembered a lot of sinful, stupid stuff we did growing up. That includes setting the grass on fire behind the church in the dead of winter, and barely getting it put out before it reached the building. Thankfully, we have repented of the sins of our youth and been assured by our gracious God that those, too, were covered by the blood of Jesus. Jesus took the sins of our youth on Himself when He went to the cross. He paid for them and all other sin with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.  That is a soul-soothing, comforting reminder we need all need to hear.

To once again misquote the lyric of that song, I want to love God so much that I will give up the sins of my past, present and future. And I am grateful for the forgiveness He has given me for Jesus’ sake.

Jeremiah 31:34 “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Thank you, Lord.

Yesterday was a tough day. We went to the funeral of a dear sister in Christ I had known for 50 years. Her husband was the Youth Director when I was in the Youth Group at Our Redeemer Lutheran in Dallas. The church was packed with lots of people from my past, including one of my best friends from childhood, Jerry (more on him in the days to come).

The pastor did a wonderful job on the message, pointing us to all Jesus had done for our dear one who was now with her Lord. Yet my heart remained heavy. Just about an hour before we left to attend the funeral, our oldest daughter, Rachel, called to tell us that her 13-month-old niece, the daughter of her husband’s sister, stopped breathing while at the babysitters. She never woke up. Her name was Josie. Her parents’ names are Casey and Jenny. I am asking all of you to surround this couple with your prayers in the days to come.

Josie was named after her grandmother, Jenny’s mom and Rachel’s mother-in-law, who died the week before Rachel and Jon were married. Cheryl observed that Josie got to meet and hold her granddaughter. But there is even better news. Josie is with her Savior. Jesus, who said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them,” has welcomed one of His precious little lambs into His loving embrace. Josie was made His through the water and the Word of Holy Baptism and now enjoys being with Him.

This is our faith and confidence. May this certainty stay with Casey and Jenny through the devastatingly painful days and nights to come. My they also feel the loving embrace of their Savior as they are not longer able to hold their child.

I thought of a song I discovered more than a few years ago that has this refrain:

And the arms that hold the universe Are holding you tonight
You can rest inside It’s gonna be alright
And the voice that calmed the raging sea Is calling you His child
So be still and know He’s in control He will never let you go

You can listen to an arrangement of this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_B-mPUT9Os&t=232s&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:5f59b992,vid:j_B-mPUT9Os,st:0

Again, please pray for Casey and Jenny, Rachel and John, and all their family. And consider sharing this post so that more brothers and sisters in Christ will include them in their prayers, too.

A Sunday School teacher was trying to figure out whether or not her class understood the concept of going to heaven, and what it took to get there. She asked them, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?”  The children answered with a loud “NO!”

“If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?” Again, the answer was a unanimous, “NO!”

By now she was starting to smile and thinking this was fun! “Well, then,” she asked, “if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me into Heaven?” Once again, they all answered, “NO!”

The teacher was bursting with pride for those kids. For the big pay off, she asked, “Well, then how can I get into Heaven?” A five-year-old boy shouted out, “YOU GOTTA BE DEAD.” That was not quite the answer the teacher was looking for, but it was accurate. You Gotta Be Dead.

The apostle Paul wrote:

Romans 6:4-5 ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. ⁵ If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

Today I will be attending the third funeral service I have gone to in less than two weeks time. Three dear ladies that I knew are dead. But in each case, because of their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, because each of them were joined to Christ through baptism, they are alive. They will be spending this Easter in the presence of their Lord. Not because of what they did, but because of what Jesus did for them. He lived and died and rose again so that we could be united with Him forever in heaven.

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 6:6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.

Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”

There are two times in Scripture it speaks of Jesus being amazed. Both of them have to do with faith. One time it says he was amazed at the lack of faith people had. The other time was when He marveled at the faith of a Roman Centurion.

The word “amazed” is a translation of the Greek “θαυμαζω,” (thaumazo). It is the same word used to describe the reaction of the people when Jesus did miracles.

In your life, I hope Jesus will be amazed at the faith you have, faith like that of the Centurion from Capernaum. Put your confidence in the one who lived and died and rose again for you. Your assurance comes from knowing that Jesus has paid your debt, earned your forgiveness, and by grace has given you righteousness. Trust in Him. You have heard the truth. You know what He did. Don’t be one that He is amazed because you refused to trust in Him.

Be like the man who said, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).

I remember years ago, soon after we had moved to Sherman, Texas, driving east of town on State Highway 56 we would see a fairly large brick home that was about 75% completed. And it stayed that way. We never saw any workers there, and no progress was being made. After several years, it was still exactly the same. I finally heard someone say that a man had told his wife she could build a new home, and he gave her a dollar amount that she was not to exceed. She started the project, hiring someone to design the home and then a contractor. She kept going until one day her husband said she had reached the limit and he was not going to spend any more money on that house. So it sat there unfinished.

Luke 14:28–30 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Jesus was telling those who follow Him that there would be a cost. He spells it out a few verses later.

Luke 14:33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Total surrender. Giving control of your life to Jesus. Letting Him be in first place and in control. That is the cost of discipleship. And the benefits? Peace. Love. Acceptance. Forgiveness. Eternal life that starts here and goes on with your Savior in heaven. Jesus lived a life and perfection and offered it as the sacrifice for the sins of the world so that you could have those things.

I had someone respond to one of my recent devotions very angrily. He identified himself as atheist and said he believed everyone should be able to believe whatever they want to believe. I agreed with him that everyone could believe whatever they wanted, including me. He then said I was trying to extort people by encouraging them to follow Jesus. I won’t bore you with the rest of his rant. He had obviously been hurt by someone and was looking for someone to lash out against. I have been praying for him. Jesus said there would be days like this.

John 15:18–20 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.

Cost to being a disciple of Jesus. Wants us to put Him first. The reward is already ours, the gift of eternal life we have for Jesus’ sake. We live in response to that. And we share the Good News, knowing that not everyone will listen or be happy to hear it. The reality is there are too many who still do not understand the message of God’s love that comes from His Word. You and I do know it, and our Lord wants us to share it.

James 1:12–18 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

The people to whom James was writing were evidently having a rough time. Already in the first chapter he addresses this issue of trials and temptations. Some think James was writing about people trying to use persecution as a justification for sin. They may have reasoned, “Things are so hard for me that I should be able to do whatever I want to make my life happier.” This line of thought may have led them to conclude that God was therefore the source of their temptations. Their reasoning went something like this:

• God has sent the trial.
• The trial caused me to be tempted.
• Therefore, God has tempted me to sin.

This kind of reasoning goes back to the Garden of Eden. If you recall, Adam tried to blame his sin on God because he was tempted by “the woman you gave me!”

James sets the record straight. God tempts no one. God does not want anyone to sin. Never has, never will. Instead, He calls us to repent, to turn from our sin, and follow Him and His ways. He knows the horrible consequences sin brings. He wants us to avoid the eternal consequences our sins deserve and did what was necessary to make that happen.

What God did was promise to take care of the problem Himself. He kept that promise by coming down here Himself and paying the penalty our sin deserves. Because He has done this, we have the certainty of forgiveness and life forever with Him. And God asks us to live in a new way because of what He has already done for us.

Temptations to sin will continue to come. They are an ever-present reality in our lives. Jesus knew this, and even included a request for help with temptations that come in the prayer that He taught us. Martin Luther wrote about this in his Small Catechism:

Luther’s explanation of 6^th petition

And lead us not into temptation.

What does this mean?

God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.

Jesus won the victory for us and gives it to those who trust in Him. And the same one who saved us promises to be with us and give us the power to overcome temptations as they come.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

In the prayer Jesus taught us, we pray “Thy will be done.”  In order for God’s will to be done in our lives, we must set aside our own desires, which can be a terribly difficult thing to do. We are used to having things our way. Burger King has used the slogan “Have it your way” off and on since the early 1970s. They know that people want things to be done the way they want them done.

I once conducted a funeral for a person who was not a member of my congregation, nor was anyone in his family. They approached me and asked if I would do it, and I saw it as an opportunity to share God’s promises with them, so I agreed. As we were discussing plans for the service, the family said they wanted to play the  Frank Sinatra song “My Way” (I did it my way). All I could think is that when we do things our way, we are bound for death and doom and destruction. Why would you want to brag about that? It is only because God sent Jesus to pay for sin that we can be assured of forgiveness and life. That should be our focus, especially at a funeral.

A man walked into a church in the middle of the week. He is by himself, which is perfect, because he wanted some alone time with God. He was resolved to turn his life around, and today was the day he was making a fresh start. He took out a piece of paper and started making a list. “I promise to be a better husband and father. I promise to be more faithful in church attendance. I promise to give a fair days work to my employer. I promise to…” and the list went on and on. After he had filled up the paper, he signed it, took it to the front of the church, placed it on the altar, then he sat down again. He waited. And he waited. And he waited some more. Then he heard a voice that said, “Go get the paper.” He walked to the altar, picked up the paper, and the voice said, “tear it up.” So he did that. Ripped it to shreds. Then the voice instructed him, “Take out a blank piece of paper, sign it, and put it on the altar.” He did that, and the voice said, “That’s what it means to pray ‘Thy Will be done.’”

Lord, you have made us your children and welcomed us into your family, even though we did not deserve it. Help us to rejoice in the forgiveness and life and salvation Jesus earned for us, allowing us to be part of your kingdom now and forever. Give us hearts that want to live according to Your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.