We are invited to entrust everything to the one who accomplished what we could not: living and bleeding and dying and rising again, so that “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). To put it another way, when it comes to the kingdom of God, there’s no room for DIY’ers. Best leave it to the professionals.
We live in the “already” but “not yet”. Peace is already ours but not yet. The resurrection is already ours but not yet. Justice is already ours but not yet. Until then be comforted by the fact that you are reconciled in Christ on account of his life, death, and resurrection.
Luther neither removed the Apocrypha from the Bible nor discouraged its use. Rather, he received and preserved the ancient distinction inherited from the fathers: the Apocrypha is valuable, edifying, and worthy of reading, but it is not Holy Scripture and therefore cannot serve as the foundation of Christian doctrine.

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Let’s take a walk together. And as we do, I’ll tell you a mystery.
The white hair of Jesus’ head teaches us that the Gospel is an ancient mystery.
Gospel questions don’t get a Law answer. Religious questions beg for Law answers.
I have been very busy lately, trying to understand things.
What we notice less often is that this same fear wonders about both the efficacy of the Gospel and the Law.
John had heard Jesus’ voice countless times and seen Him every day over the course of three years, and yet nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to witness.
We are saved by grace, and strictly speaking, not by an offer.
We are caught up in a battle between two kings and two kingdoms. And, whether we like it or not, we are ruled by one king or the other.
As I write this, I wonder if perhaps I am stretching things a bit thinking that it would be relevant to a considerably more sophisticated audience. Perhaps we already know the Gospel, that we are all sinners.
I visited a senior man at his home the other day. I'll refer to him as “Jim.”
I am not a good Lutheran. I have only been around reformation theology for a few years.
He begins with Jesus and ends with Jesus. He is not going to try to complete what Jesus starts.