What does a person mean when they say,"I'm a grazer."  They are usually talking about grazing on food.  It may mean that a person snacks a lot and doesn't eat healthy.  If you've sent a text message or email my way over the last several months, I may have ended with, "Looking forward to grazing on God's Word!"  What I don't mean is to graze unhealthily on God's Word, the Bible.  I do mean grazing like a sheep, one of God's sheep that has been led by God to the green, spiritually nutritious pastures of the good news of their Good Shepherd, Jesus. 

Once again at Victory of the Lamb there's an opportunity to graze on God's Word as a part of an adult small group ministry called "Sheep Squads."  Look for information on weekly gatherings of each squad on our church calendar.

Looking forward to grazing with you! Pastor Andy 

Martin Luther stated clearly what the meaning of baptism is for our daily lives when he wrote:

 

 “Baptism means that the ‘old Adam’ [the sinful nature/flesh we have from conception] in us should be drowned by daily contrition and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death.  It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.”

(Luther’s Catechism (Revised ed.), The Meaning of Baptism For Our Daily Life, Northwestern Publ. House, 1998, p. 238)

 

This past Sunday I enjoyed a bit of the beautiful afternoon we had in the Milwaukee area by heading down to the shore of Lake Michigan with my family.  I expected there might be a larger crowd down on the beach because of the nice weather, but I didn’t expect what I saw when we plopped our beach bags down on the sand.  Right in front of us was an Asian church conducting a mass baptism.  What I noticed first was the sound of live voices singing-not a radio or sound system this day.  The second unusual thing to me was an unfamiliar language.  At first, I thought it was Spanish, but when I listened closely some more I then realized it wasn’t.  The people gathered in the water were repetitiously singing a baptism hymn or song.  What an awesome sight to witness-several people being brought into Christ’s kingdom through baptism!  Contemplating that unique event this week made me think about how Martin Luther described baptism’s meaning for our daily lives in his words above (Luther used God’s Word from Paul in Romans 6 as the basis of his description). 

 

The repetition of their song and the location of Lake Michigan made me realize once again and remember the precious blessings that baptism daily brings through its water and Word!  For each person who is baptized in Christ, God the Holy Spirit works in them the desire to “drown,” the power of sin, death, and the devil in their life.  Because baptism “buries” you with Jesus Christ, you are connected to him in his death and resurrection-you receive all of the blessings of his sinless life, innocent death, and glorious resurrection!  Your sins are forgiven; your proof is Jesus’ empty grave.  You are no longer slaves to sin, but to righteousness (v18)!  Paul says, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life” (6:22).  Through baptism we are daily empowered to live a pure and praiseworthy life to God!  Through baptism you have the reality of eternal life is yours to possess and grasp every day!  Thanks be to Christ Jesus!

 

Reveling in Romans,

 

Pastor Andy      

Last Friday the Super Bowl Champion, Green Bay Packers, visited the White House for their traditional champions’ reception. One of the players who traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet the President, however, did not make it into the ceremony. He forgot his ID aboard the team airplane, and the Secret Service agents would not allow him enter with his teammates and coaches because of the strict security policy already established for the White House. Access denied! Access denied despite having the credentials of “World Champion.” Access denied despite having teammates and an organization that would vouch for him. That’s how tight and secure access into the presence of the “most powerful leader in the world.”

Now consider what Paul writes here about “gained access” into the presence of God (5:2). We have not earned the credentials or title of “champion” by ourselves when it comes to gaining access into God’s grace. Paul says it this way: “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 which we now stand” (5:1-2). Jesus has won the victory for each and every person-you have the peace you need to have between you and God because of Jesus’ death on the cross paid for our sins (Rom 4:25; Isaiah 53:5). Jesus carried out God’s act of righteousness for all people. That act of God’s righteousness displayed in Jesus is called justification (specifically “general” justification). Yet, there is also another aspect of this access that we need to know about from God’s Word here. The benefits and blessings of this “gained access” (e.g., peace, hope, etc.) to God are only received by believing in what Jesus has done. This is the necessary counterpart to the biblical teaching of “general” justification (it is called “subjective” justification).

You might say we have to possess the proper “credential” or ID of faith (this too is a “gift of God“-Eph 2:8) to enjoy the benefit and blessings of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil. Because you possess faith in Jesus as your Savior, you now have access to God to his eternal reception of glory and now live in the blessings of God's righteousness shown in Christ!

Reveling in Romans,

Pastor Andy

I loved interacting with my two grandfathers in many ways as I grew up. I loved going to the baseball card shop and to McDonald’s. I loved going fishing, either in a boat or on shore, because I knew I had an expert fisherman setting the line and baiting my hook. Of course, I loved the meals they both prepared for me ( and Grandma too!). They could really do no wrong in my book for doing such things for me! As I became an adult, though, I think I began to realize and love something else about my relationship with both of them. It wasn’t all the trips to the store, the food, or the fishing that I appreciated and loved the most. I looked up to both of my grandfathers and loved them most for being my forefathers of faith!

The Apostle Paul illustrates how two of most prominent religious forefathers of the Old Testament believed, Abraham and David. Some among Paul’s listeners might have though and said about them, “They could do no wrong!” The opposite is true as laid out in the lines of God’s Word. Abraham believed in the Lord, but didn’t take God’s promise and his protection at his word (Gen 16 & 20). He knew he had nothing to boast about before God. David, King of Israel, believed in the Lord but blatantly committed adultery & covered it up with even more sin (2 Samuel 11 & 12; Psalm 51 & 32). David, too, had nothing to boast about before God. Both Abraham and David knew they had indeed done wrong in God’s eyes. They felt the guilt and they bore the consequences of their sins. They understood from firsthand experience that they could not work their way into a right relationship with God, so they turned to him for rescuing. And that rescue was freely given to them through God’s forgiveness in the promise of Jesus to come after them (4:7,8).

Do you and I ever blatantly sin against God and then try to cover it up? All the time and probably daily! Do you and I ever come up with our own sinful solutions and not take God seriously about his promises and protection of us? All the time and probably daily! My grandfathers, even though I may not have known it as a youngster, understood they had nothing to boast about before God. That’s why they concentrated even more on letting their families, including me, see Jesus through all of sin’s mess. It is only through Jesus that we are freely given God’s gift of righteousness because “he was delivered over to death because of our sins and raised to life because of our justification” (4:25).  Thank the Lord for forefathers of faith who believed this and for giving us that message to understanding and believe too!   

Reveling in Romans, Pastor Andy