The Pharisee valued fasting and giving tithes, but could not find value in his fellow sinner.
God is not a tool in our hands. He does not exist to serve our goals, our metrics, or our platforms.
The gospel isn’t for the strong but people who know they aren’t.

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The following excerpt comes from Chapter 7, “When Love Repents Us,” in Chad Bird’s new book, Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul.
The devil tempts us to hope in things that we can do.
Luther accepted Augustine’s view of the church as a mixed body.
God’s justification of us does not happen secretly in our spirits. God justifies you and me in His absolving Word
Good preaching does something for you. It delivers to you a Good Samaritan.
In Christ we are freed to be for our neighbor without fear of sin and damnation falling upon us.
So bondage meets freedom, and God becomes our Master through Christ.
Luther contends that even our best spiritual, theological, and moral efforts are insufficient to save us.
As I came to read the Reformers, I found their words comforting. I started to hope again.
This book tells of my long and brutal journey. From married to divorced. From a seminary professor and pastor to a disgraced, bitter truck driver in the oil fields of Texas. From a man at war with God to a child redeemed by grace.
In the face of all the misunderstandings on the part of the world and all the errors which have arisen within Christendom, let us make this point absolutely clear: the task of the church in the world consists uniquely and alone in the preaching of the Word of God and in administering the Sacrament.
Rather than presenting Christ’s words as a rule or a threat, Luther reveals it to be the promise of God.