Wade Johnston, Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis: MO, 2025.
This ancient “tale of two mothers” concerns far more than theological semantics—it is the difference between a God who sends and a God who comes.
This story points us from our unlikely heroes to the even more unlikely, and joyous, good news that Jesus’ birth for us was just as unlikely and unexpected.

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Jesus, the Son of God from all eternity, the agent of creation, the Savior of all people, promises to abide IN His people.
The baptized, those rescued and redeemed by God’s grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone, are given an entirely new life to live, an entirely new way to walk.
Jesus promises more than a disembodied “spiritual” existence after death. He has promised to raise our perishable, mortal bodies to immortality.
In His grace, Jesus promises that all who come to Him in faith will live abundantly and eternally.
The unity we have in the Church is a gift, a gracious creation of the triune God and not a work we accomplish or decide on.
Through the often abominable and lamentable and occasional commendable season, there is one who remains unmoved by it all.
Prayers for the faith of the Church—prayed in love from a place of suffering—not only define much of Paul’s ministry, but are formed by the Christ they imitate.
When the One who created the world comes to you, there is reason for courage and never reason to fear.
No matter how divided Jew and Gentile were, they were united in their sin. Christ alone is the answer to this.
Because Jesus turns desolate, dying places into holy landscapes of life.
I would understand if you were a bit offended. This looks more like Game of Thrones than the Kingdom of God.
This opening section of Ephesians is a virtual treasure trove of gospel promises, praising God for who He is and the abundant blessings He pours out upon His saints.