Baptized Into Christ

Lent is a time to... Re-Focus on Christ by spending time in His Word and in prayer. Don't know where to start with reading the Bible?  Here you go. You can also get daily devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries. Re-Evaluate your priorities What is getting in the way of your walk with God? We're great at making excuses, but excuses don't do us a bit of good. Are you putting yourself in position to be in God's Word by regular church and Bible Class attendance?  Has a hobby, job, or anything else become an idol that is #1 on your list, even ahead of God? (If you're skipping church and Bible Class, then the answer is almost certainly yes). What is getting in the way of your relationship with your spouse? Has work started to consume your time and energy so that you have nothing left for your spouse and children? Has entertainment (hello smartphone!) started to consume time that should be spend with your spouse or children?  Remember who you are You...

At that moment, the overcoat lying on the chair caught the eye of the elder Jondrette girl.  "You are forgetting your coat, sir," said she.  Jondrette darted an annihilating look at his daughter, accompanied by a formidable shrug of the shoulders.  M. Leblanc turned back and said, with a smile:— "I have not forgotten it, I am leaving it." In this scene from the famous book "Les  Misérables," Jondrette is trying to exploit M. Leblanc (a.k.a. Jean Valjean).  It's clear from earlier sections that Jondrette has no interest in working for a living and that he resents those who have wealth.  Jondrette had purposely broke a chair and had his daughter break a window in order for his family to appear even more impoverished than they really were (he rejoiced when his daughter cut her hand in the process of breaking the window because it made them seem all the worse off). Leblanc (Valjean) might know that he's being exploited or he might not.  ...

Victor Hugo's masterpiece,  "Les Misérables" contains many insights on the human condition.  In these two paragraphs, a daughter in an impoverished household complains about having to wear shoes when she enters the church (and in this case she had entered the church with the sole purpose of seeking to exploit a wealthy man who was regularly there to worship). "A clever girl, possibly; but I tell you I won't put these shoes on again, and that I won't, for the sake of my health, in the first place, and for the sake of cleanliness, in the next. I don't know anything more irritating than shoes that squelch, and go ghi, ghi, ghi, the whole time. I prefer to go barefoot." "You are right," said her father, in a sweet tone which contrasted with the young girl's rudeness, "but then, you will not be allowed to enter churches, for poor people must have shoes to do that. One cannot go barefoot to the good God," he added bitterly. ...

Recently I read an article on the internet about Alton Brown, who just so happens to be my favorite Food Network personality (bring back Good Eats!).  In the article he talks about his experiences in the world of television and towards the end of the article he is asked about his Christian faith. After sharing the post on Facebook, a brother pastor pointed out that the first two responses to the article in the comments section that followed it were as follows. Alton Brown, i hope you have a quick recovery from your mental illness and get back to being the amazing cook and host you are. and  I'm a grown up and don't believe in fairy tales and I'll never watch God Eats the same way again. I would think that a healthy relationship to food and growing and planting and weeding and sowing would move you away from the fairy tale, but I guess not.  Ah yes, the mocking of Christianity. This has become very popular these days. Throughout the 20th century Christians i...

Sunday is... ...a day to gather together with other Christians as God desires. ( Hebrews 10:25 ) ...a day to hear God's Word taught and to offer Him prayer and praise. (Colossians 3:16-17) ...a day to encourage others and be encouraged by others. ...a day to hear God's law proclaimed. ...not complete if you, a believer in Christ, aren't there, because you have something to offer and something to gain from fellow believers. (1 Corinthians 12) Note that these are all things that we cannot do alone (with the exception of prayer and praise, but even those are not spoken of in Scripture as merely personal, individualistic things, but things we should also be doing with fellow believers). But even more important than the list above, Sunday is... ...the day of the resurrection!  Every Sunday is a mini-Easter celebration. ...a chance to hear the Good News of the Savior who has come. ...a chance to hear that Christ, his forgiveness, and His gifts are "for you."...