Solomon tells us that “a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (Proverbs 17:22, AMP ). God undoubtedly has a sense of humor; we need only look at some of the animals He created (it’s hard not to smile at the sight of a hippo, a monkey, or a puppy). Or think of some of the married couples you know: don’t you think God was smiling at the wedding as He looked ahead to the interaction of the wildly different personalities that will be living together?Posts Tagged ‘Martin-Luther’
love covers many sins
In this meditation from By Faith Alone, Martin Luther considers 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
Here, Peter builds upon a passage from the book of Proverbs: “Hate starts quarrels, but love covers every wrong†(Proverbs 10:12). And this is what Peter means: If you don’t restrain your sinful nature and desires, you will easily become angry with others. You will be unable to forgive others easily. So make sure you curb your evil desires. Then you will be able to love and forgive others, for love covers sin.
Lazarus, Night of the Living Dead, and the joy of surrender
Just in case I was uncertain about focusing on humility right now, the Holy Spirit provided ample confirmation Thursday afternoon. I was a little discouraged and decided to read Oswald Chambers’ Utmost and Martin Luther’s By Faith Alone. Here’s what I found —
Luther, writing about Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, says, “Of all the sacrifices we can make, the one most acceptable to God is this: getting rid of sin, living a holy life, obeying God, and killing our corrupt nature.” I love how Luther finishes: “This is very painful and unpleasant for us to do.”…
praying to the Father
Even if you didn’t grow up saying the “Our Father” every Sunday, it would be nearly impossible to grow up in church and not hear God called Father. Because of this, it never occurred to me that Jesus was doing something radical when He presented God Almighty as Father. I knew Jesus called God Father frequently, but I wondered about the Old Testament. A quick search revealed that the term doesn’t occur very often. Not even David, who had an incredibly intimate relationship with God, used that term, though he gave us such vivid terms as Rock, Fortress, and Stronghold…
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Subscribe to this feed