Light for My Path Daily Devotion

Bible Reading

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 

(Galatians 1:3-5 ESV)

Hymn  ELH 404:2,4  The Lord, My God, Be Praised

The Lord, my God, be praised,
My Trust, my Life from heaven,
The Father’s own dear Son,
Whose life for me was given,
Who for my sin atoned
With His most precious blood,
Who giveth me by faith
The highest heavenly good.

The Lord, my God, be praised,
My God, who ever liveth,
To whom the heav’nly host
All praise and honor giveth.
The Lord, my God, be praised,
In whose great name I boast,
God Father, God the Son,
And God the Holy Ghost.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son into the world to be my Savior, delivering me from all my sins and earning eternal life for me and all who believe in Him.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

The Church is that ship that carries Christ and His disciples (Matthew 8:23)

Johann Gerhard (1582 – 1637), o principal dos teólogos do período de ouro da Ortodoxia Luterana (séc. XVII)

“The Church is that ship that carries Christ and His disciples (Matthew 8:23), and transports us at long last to the port of eternal blessedness. The Church navigates her established course through the sea of this age with the rudder of faith, having God as her pilot, angels for oarsmen, and the company of all the saints for her passengers. The mast in her middle is the cross of salvation, on which is suspended the sail of the evangelical faith, by which she is lead by the breath of the Holy Spirit to the security of eternal rest.”

(Cristo na tempestade no mar da Galileia, Rembrandt)

What is a Lutheran?

What is a Lutheran?  What do Lutherans Believe?

Lutherans are Christians who believe that all Christian teachings should come from God’s Word, the Bible. We believe that the Bible is God’s Word. This means that everything the Bible teaches is correct and true. We believe Lutheransthat it is only through the Bible that we can know the one true God – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – and His will for our lives.

Lutherans believe in God’s grace.

All people are sinners and would perish eternally without God’s help. The good news is that God has provided all of this help as a free gift. Lutheran BeliefsGod’s saving grace is His undeserved love for all people through the life, death and resurrection of His Son. God loves all people, of every nation and race equally. It is God the Father’s desire for all people to hear His Word, to believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, as their only Savior, and therefore to have eternal life. Jesus lived a holy life in our place and died on the cross for the forgiveness of all our sins. Through this completed work of Jesus, God the Father sees the whole world as not guilty, or justified. This teaching of “justification” is the central truth of the Bible.

Lutherans believe that faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for eternal salvation.

This faith in Jesus, who is both God and man, our Savior, comes only as God, the Holy Spirit, works through God’s Word and Baptism in a person’s heart. We believe we sinners cannot come to faith through our own power, but that our faith is accomplished only by the power of the Holy Spirit as He connects us to Jesus as the Savior.

ELS

Bibel och Bekännelse - Lutherska Bekännelsekyrkan

Lutherska Bekännelsekyrkan

Nytt nummer av Bibel och Bekännelse!

I inledningen riktas fokuset mot påsken där Ingvar Adriansson tar upp en viktig fråga som kanske du också har funderat över någon gång. Varför behöver vi höra påskevangeliet år efter år?

"Har vi inte varje år när vi närmar oss påsk hört om Guds Lamm som förs bort för att lida och dö på korset? Behöver vi verkligen höra detta om och om igen? Du och jag är av naturen främmande för denna undervisning. Vi har en röst i vårt hjärta som hela tiden vill stöta bort detta. Det är otron som varje dag vill göra sig påmind, som vill bort från Guds kärlek, från rättfärdiggörelsen. Att predika hans död till dess han kommer tillbaka är vår stora uppgift som kyrka och församling."

Läs hela numret: www.bekannelse.se/Aktuellt/Bibel_och_Bekännelse/Bibel_och_Bekännelse_2014_nr.2.pdf

Lutherska Bekännelsekyrkan

WELS Kingdom Workers

WELS Kingdom Workers

A volunteer teacher having fun with her students in Lusaka, Zambia.

Genesis 6:22

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Genesis 6:22

Domingo Reminiscere

Fotografia: Ana Luísa Santos

Domingo Reminiscere, à saída da Igreja do Porto, com os nossos queridos irmãos brasileiros, no regresso de Valnir Brandt! 

WELS Devotion - March 21, 2014

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Colossians 2:20-23

Imagine the scenario. You’ve just finished taking a big test. Your semester grade hangs in the balance. You studied hard, but you’re not sure how well you’ve done. Thankfully, your teacher had mercy. He included some extra credit questions on the test, and you’re sure you’ve answered those questions quite well. In fact, your answers to those questions might mean the difference between the semester grade you need and the one you’re praying you don’t get. Extra credit can be a beautiful thing.

Every day we take a kind of test from God, one with only two questions. He says, “Do you love me above all things? Do you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself?” (Matthew 22:37-40). What should we do with such hard questions?

Some people try to help their chances by looking for extra credit. They make extra rules and restrictions about what people can eat or drink, extra rules about how to behave. They say, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” They make rules God hasn’t given in the Bible, and they hope God will give them extra credit for keeping them.

Not only is this not extra credit. It’s sin. If such people truly loved God, they’d stick to the questions on his test instead of inventing their own. If they truly loved their neighbor, they wouldn’t be so obsessed with how good their own behavior looks.

It’s good to set high standards for ourselves, but isn’t it easy to start thinking that we’re earning extra credit with God? Listen to God’s warning in today’s reading. You can’t cover up your sin with extra credit. Trying only makes things worse.

God has given you something infinitely better than extra credit. God has provided a proxy to take your test for you. God has given you his Son. Jesus loved God above all things. Jesus loved his neighbor as himself. Jesus aced God’s test, and it all counts for you. Are you looking for a good grade on life’s report card? Forget about extra credit.  You have Jesus!

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for acing God’s test for me. Amen.

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