1. This is the message of Lent. We are not called to sacrifice for Jesus in order to earn our salvation. Rather, we are called to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
  2. Ash Wednesday's purpose is not to motivate our resolve to redouble our efforts to do better.
  3. Rightly distinguishing between law and gospel, as Paul helps us see in 2 Corinthians 3, is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.
  4. Even as he was dying, the heart of God poured itself out for the sake of sinners.
  5. Repentance is meaningless unless we are willing to acknowledge who we are: sinners needing mercy.
  6. The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.
  7. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  8. In Memory of My Friend, James Arne Nestingen
  9. You are the friend in low places. It’s only from this place that you are free to look outside yourself for the remedy to the issues that plague you and humanity.
  10. The reason that God’s commandments are not burdensome is that Jesus has fulfilled them.
  11. Both now and forever, the bruised and crucified Lord nailed to a cross is our assurance of deliverance.