The door to God and the glory he has prepared for us stands wide open. However, he has mapped out a very specific pathway to that door. It is not an easy one. As it did with Jesus, this route takes us through opposition, suffering, and even death. While our human nature may cause us to want to take a detour around these things, Jesus own life shows us that no detour is allowed. His cross came before his crown. The same path lies ahead of us. However, at the end of it, through the open door, we are offered a reward far superior to anything the world can offer.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Normally in a family everyone must do their part. . . pitch in. . . pull their weight. In God’s family, he assigns and accepts the work of one on behalf of all. In God’s house, God’s Son—our brother, Jesus— stands alone on the field of battle against our enemies in our place. He fights vicariously. He fights victoriously. This week we see one man, Jesus Christ, stand against Satan. We simply sit and watch with eyes full of wonder and repentant faith. Because Christ fought that battle as one of us, he won that battle for all of us. The door to heaven stands wide open for those who believe in him.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Ash Wednesday

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

The heavenly Father is always present in the lives of his children. He sees every sorrow we endure. He also sees every sin that we commit, even if it’s only in our thoughts. He is always present. Yet, he is also always patient. God does not snap at us the second we turn from him. He gives us time to see the error of our ways. He assures us that the door back to him remains always open. By giving us room to share our struggles and shortcomings, he works in us the very repentance he desires and saves us from the judgement that would otherwise be ours.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Throughout this season of Epiphany, Jesus has described the governing principles of his kingdom being completely opposite to the governing principles of the world. This week Jesus asks us to befriend our enemies, to love those who hate us, and to repay evil with good. Worldly logic would say that is a recipe for being walked all over. Yet haven’t we seen this tactic work? When we were Christ’s enemies, he loved us to the point of death. He repays our daily wrongs with the daily goodness of his mercy. In doing so, he won us for himself. Here is the epiphany we badly need to have. Following the strategy Jesus lays out—loving our enemies—is not a capitulation to evil. It is a means of conquering it.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

“This is good. That is bad.” We often think life is that simple. We believe we can assess a situation accurately determine if it is positive or negative. It’s hubris. As Jesus gathered followers, he taught them that his kingdom runs exactly opposite to the principles and priorities of the world. Therefore, much that we think is good is bad, and vice-versa. If we want to accurately see the world, we need to have this epiphany. That which the world considers a blessing can often be a curse. Things like success and wealth and health can lead us away from our God. We become so enamored with those blessings that we forget about the Blesser. Conversely, there are hidden blessings in what we would normally consider curses. When we fail, when we suffer, and when things don’t go our way, it forces us to put our trust in God and for our souls to be satisfied in him. The reality is that perceived blessings can be cursed and perceived curses can be used for our blessing.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

 In 2009, Facebook added the “like” button. That same year, Twitter added the “retweet” feature. Interestingly, reported cases of depression began to rise sharply in 2010. It is easy to think that the more people like us, the more successful our lives must be. Likewise, it is easy to believe the more people like a church, the more successful that church is. So here is an important epiphany for both individuals and churches. Popularity is not proof of success. Though there will be times when Christ’s gospel and those who proclaim it are popular, that popularity is never the goal. Nor does that popularity define success. If a church makes its central focus things like personal improvement, healing for the sick, or social justice, that church may draw a crowd. It just fails to carry out the true agenda Christ has given his Church. The gospel of forgiveness is to be the center of all our preaching and teaching. The agenda for Christ’s Church is set. It’s the same agenda that was followed by the Church’s Christ.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Imagine you need heart bypass surgery. When meeting with the surgeon, you ask, “How many of these have you done?” He responds, “You get the honor of being my very first patient!” You probably feel more anxious than honored. With important jobs, we understand it is crucial that the person doing that job is well-qualified. There is no more important job that sharing the good news of salvation with others. So, you would expect Jesus would only give that job to those most qualified, like the angels. Nope. The least qualified are the first sent. In love, Jesus prepares and equips us to speak on his behalf. How? He draws unworthy sinners into his presence to provide us with the free gift of holiness that we lack. Once cleansed, we jump at the opportunity to be the ones through whom God does the same for others. Here is this week’s epiphany moment. Let this be a crucial epiphany moment! You might think you are unqualified to share the gospel with those Christ brings into your sphere of influence. But the least qualified are the first sent.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

When you are trying to share some important information with someone, but they refuse to listen or perhaps totally reject what you are saying, it feels like you have failed. This is especially true when someone rejects the gospel! We proclaim the good news because want others to know the love of Christ. When people are disinterested in God’s Word, we feel like we’ve failed. So, here is this week’s epiphany. Rejection is not proof of failure. Precisely because the gospel is divine revelation, it is guaranteed to be rejected by many. God’s Word offends like an unwelcome diagnosis from the doctor. When someone rejects God’s Word (including us), that rejection is proof that God’s Word powerfully cuts straight to the heart of mankind’s biggest problem—sin. Yet, what causes Jesus’ words to hurt is what gives them power to heal. That reality encourages us to receive God’s Word with joy and to proclaim it boldly to others

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

It is easy for us to assume that if God says “no” to a request, we are getting less than we wanted. We need to have an epiphany moment, seeing the reality—that God always wants more for us than we want from him. Saying “yes” to all our requests would often result in us receiving less joy, less blessing, a lesser life. So, when God says “no” to our request, we can be assured it is because he wants to give us more. Far more than existing as a “help desk” or 911 dispatch, God’s love for us is like that of a groom for his bride. His love for us exceeds all expectation and understanding. In that love, God always delivers more than we ask, not less.

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Messages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!