Morning Grace

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—  not the result of works, so that no one may boast. ~ Ephesians 2:8-9 The most damnable and pernicious heresy that has ever plagued the mind of man was the idea that somehow he could make himself good enough to deserve to live with an all-holy God. ~ Martin Luther The movement in our relationship to God is always from God to us. Always. We can't, through our piety or goodness, move closer to God. God is always coming near to us. Most especially in the Eucharist and in the stranger.   ~  Nadia Bolz-Weber At the heart of the Reformation is this: God comes to us. Always. Nothing we do can earn that divine love. Nothing we do can merit us grace. Nothing we do can bring us to a heavenly bliss. We can't make ourselves worthy by pulling ourselves up by our own boot straps. God doesn't just help those who help themselves. God helps those who can't help ...

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,  not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.  So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 Like the early Christians we must move into a sometime hostile world armed with the revolutionary gospel of Jesus Christ. With this powerful gospel we shall boldly challenge the status quo. ~ Martin Luther One man, Martin Luther, took a stand that literally shredded the fabric of Europe. It changed theology, it changed politics, it changed society and it changed political boundaries. It gave us a revolution in education, in ...

...yet we know that a person is justified  not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.  And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ,  and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.  But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!  But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor.  For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ;  and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,  who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification  comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. ~ Galat...

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” ~ Matthew 11:29-30 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ~ Matthew 4:17 All that matters is that God's word be given free course to encourage and enliven hearts so that they do not become burdened. ~ Martin Luther (Luther) then understood that the repentance demanded in Matthew 4:17 had nothing to do with the works of satisfaction required in the Roman institution of confession, but consisted in “a change of mind in true interior contrition” and with all its benefits was itself a fruit of grace. ~ Herman Bavinck Luther saw the Roman church as putting a heavy burden on people, and that idea helped fuel his belief that we are saved by grace through faith, rather than by works. Rather than needing to pay for an indulgence (something a poor person could...

- Choose one of this week's passages from Ecclesiastes to be your prayer focus for today. They are: Romans 1:16-17 Ephesians 2:7-10 I Peter 2:5-8 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - Read the passage again and identify a word or phrases that jump out at you. - Read the passage again, and if possible read from a different translation ( biblegateway.com  has many translations you can choose from). Identify where this passage might be touching your life today. How is this relevant to your life? - Read the passage a third time, again in a different translation if possible. Ask yourself what God is calling you to do or to be from this passage. What change might God be moving your toward? - Close with a silent prayer, listening to God rather than speaking to God. What actions will you take today based on this prayer? - Recite the Lord's Prayer.

All scripture is inspired by God and is  useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Comfort yourself with the Word of God, the pre-eminent consolation. ~ Martin Luther Despite the diversity of viewpoints and the complexity of the many narratives contained in the Scriptures, Lutheran Christians believe that the story of God’s steadfast love and mercy in Jesus is the heart and center of what the Scriptures have to say. ~ ELCA  website - ELCA Teaching on Scripture. Sola Scriptura has been defined as the Bible containing everything we need to know  about God and how to live. It elevates scripture over other things: our churches and our human traditions. As Lutherans we see it as the source and norm of our teaching. Source, in that through it we find comfort, learning, and we meet God. Norm in that it giv...

Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God. The Scriptures provide precedent: Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion,      a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation      will never have cause to regret it. To you who trust him, he’s a Stone to be proud of, but to those who refuse to trust him, The stone the workmen threw out      is now the chief foundation stone. For the untrusting it’s . . . a stone to trip over,      a boulder blocking the way. They trip and fall because they refuse to obey, just as predicted. ~ I Peter 2:5-8 (The Message) The priest is not made. He must be born a priest; mus...

Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. ~ Ephesians 2:7-10 (The Message) God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does. ~ Martin Luther It is surely an exercise of faith for us to see Christ in each other. ~ Dorothy Day What do Martin Luther, Protestant Reformer, and Dorothy Day, Catholic social activist, have in common? That maybe God's making and saving of the world - God's creation of us by the love o...

This week begins a two week series on Scripture and the Reformation, leading up to Reformation Day on October 31st.  For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” ~ Romans 1:16-17 Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a (person) could stake his (or her) life on it a thousand times. ~ Martin Luther I discovered later, and I'm still discovering right up to this moment, that is it only by living completely in this world that one learns to have faith. By this-worldliness I mean living unreservedly in life's duties, problems, successes and failures. In so doing we throw ourselves completely into the arms of God, taking seriously, not our own sufferings, but those of God in the world. That, I think, i...