God’s justification is where His peace enters the life of a sinner in the form of a divine gift. God creates faith to believe in Jesus. Thankfully, He knows us better than we know ourselves and His love for us doesn’t change upon circumstance or His Divine Knowledge of how depraved we are.
“For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins” Amos 5:12
The difficult things God allows are for His purpose to bring people to contrition, confession, and change for their own (or another person’s) present or eternal good. In an act of grace, His Spirit supports people through the process of confession and life of faith. Still, God’s good grace is a gift which can be received or rejected.
“Let love be genuine; abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” Romans 12:9read the chapter
We cannot save ourselves from the messes we make, nor those we protest.
Jesus died and was raised to forgive and clear us from our disordered position. All who receive His righteousness grow in knowledge, strength, trust, and joy! His perfect work heals and saves—it blesses and reverses the curse for the life to come.
Our Creator tenderly and constantly is doing reconciling work in our lives.
The earth’s groaning in earthquakes and hardships are reminders to repent and turn to God for mercy. Beware of complacency. We do not deserve anything, yet forgiveness is made possible by the powerful, everflowing stream of Christ’s compassionate understanding, love and grace. His Spirit encourages us to serve Him and others by blessing us with words at the right moments—opportunities God provides for us to share this life-saving Good News. In gratitude, we share with others and cherish others who connect with us regarding the Gospel.
Amos 5:24
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:24
God wants justice for the oppressed.
Injustices are constant in the world.Integrity is doing what God says when we allow Him to guide us.
“God’s people are to produce justice continually and swiftly, like the
flow of a river. Just as plants and animals need a steady supply of
water to survive, so also human communities can flourish only when
justice and righteousness prevail.” The Lutheran Study Bible
God’s commands are to show our need for Him; also, to help us love Him and each other. He wants us to have right relationships. He will take actions to correct injustice. God confronts evil for His purposes to have mercy on us and restore us to walk in newness of life.
God and God Alone by Steve Green
God and God alone created all these things we call our own
From the mighty to the small, the Glory in them all is God’s and God’s alone
God and God alone reveals the truth of all we call unknown
and the best and worst of man won’t change the Master’s plan it’s God’s and God’s alone
God and God alone is fit to take the universe’s throne
Let everything that lives reserve its truest praise for God and God alone
Read a Christian perspective on the decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Dobbs v. Jackson reversal of Roe v. Wade, stating the Constitution does not confer a
right to abortion and returning the issue to the states. This positive action makes pro-life faithful people thankful for potential measures to protect lives of the most vulnerable. We pray individuals and states would step up and take responsibility to protect unborn babies.
Elizabeth Ann and Stanley Warren Knaus, June 30, 1984
Approximately 11:30 am at Trinity Lutheran Church (LCMS), Appleton Minnesota.
The wedding dress had been my mother’s. Mom and I went to a seamstress to have the gown professionally re-fitted, cleaned, pressed, a new veil fashioned from her original head piece, and a satin-covered arm loop created to carry the long train. 30 years ago, I wore the pearl necklace she’d worn 34 years earlier. All in a day… we had a reception lunch in the church basement following the ceremony. The party moved to my parent’s farm for gift opening. Stan’s parents helped us move our gifts 100 miles southwest to the house in Brookings. We celebrated the evening with a live band at Danceland by Lake Campbell. The next day we started a honeymoon trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota.
My parents, Ruth Margaret and Walter Christoph Frederick Busse
November 11, 1950, Appleton, Minnesota
I met my husband, Stan, the day a friend from my hometown came to Brookings, South Dakota, where I’d taken a job at a print shop, beginning my career as graphic designer.
I knew no one in the city except for my employer and co-workers, so I was happy to receive a call from this old friend who was on his way with his friend, Stan’s brother. In my little upstairs apartment across the street from Taco John’s, the three of us had chicken for dinner and then went to Stan’s home. He was hosting a few of his friends who were in town for Hobo Day, the SDSU homecoming celebration. When I first met Stan, I saw his blue eyes and the fact that he is 13
inches taller than me. Love at first sight is a silly concept,
but it seemed that’s what I’d been struck with. This guy liked Norman Rockwell and collected antique Saturday Evening Posts … huh?!?
30 things I love about my man, Stan
Stanley is manly
Beautiful blue eyes
Hard-working
Artistic
Generous
Conservative
Kind
Respectful
Ambitious
Tall, Gray and Handsome
Creative
Thoughtful
Genius (pronounced with a G like goofy)
Sense of humor
Supportive
Spiritual
Father to our children
Friendly
Helpful
Romantic
Responsible
Integrity
Sensitivity
Faithful
Dedicated
Handy Mr. Fixit
Mr. Right (for me)
His confidence in believing he is always right
Ability to admit [when he can see] he’s wrong
He’ll love me forever
In a perfect world, I would see only positive virtues all the time.
Utopia wouldn’t allow me to focus on things that aren’t going “my way”. Stan would be telling the truth when he jokes, “It’s been 30 years of pure wedded bliss!” I may be a dreamer, but this is not a perfect world. Life on this side of heaven is full of sin which brings out ugly junk in our hearts and actions, whether we realize it or not (and sometimes we don’t). In our real world, from time to time, every married couple experiences some form of misunderstanding, dissatisfaction, disappointment or loneliness as a result of sin.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”Romans 3:23
How do we deal with this junk? How do we recognize it? What makes us content? Where do patience and peace come from?
The officiating minister of our marriage service required pre-marital counseling. We scheduled a date and drove 200 miles to learn from Reverend Buchholz at Trinity Lutheran Church. I highly recommend all engaged couples to seek “help” from the pastor before the wedding. He described a higher form of love necessary in a marriage. The word agape means a self-sacrificing covenantal love, the kind of love that God has for us in Christ. Every marital challenge and tough relationship situation I face in life brings me back to this concept and helps me cope.
Stan and I have a date at least once every week.
Every Sunday we get together with a group of other people who personally confess their own junk and are eager to learn about agape love. Together, we hear a sermon prepared by an ordained minister—a well-educated theologian with a master of divinity degree. Our souls are filled with the Wisdom of God which convicts, shapes and forms each of us. As we commune at our Savior’s table, through Spirit led confession/repentance, we receive forgiveness. We pray, sing and give thanks to our Creator. We’re fueled by the Good Shepherd’s counsel, pointing us in the right direction! Every week we need our faith to be refreshed, over and over again.
Stan is an antiquer, dumpster diver, American picker and junker.
Many
nights he stayed up late cleaning and fixing “one man’s junk” to
turn it into “another man’s treasure”, dedicated to help pay for our children’s college tuition and contribute to
our nest egg. Fascinated with history—the story each item contains—he appreciates the utilitarian potential these items hold to be re-used, recycled,
up-cycled or simply to enjoy for decorative beauty.
Compare this interest in antiques to the love God has for us in Christ.
Stan picks up obsolete, forgotten, discarded, rusty, broken pieces of junk and restores them to fresh merchandise. Jesus
suffered, died, was buried and rose again in order to take away the sin of the
world. Sin makes us rusty (weak), broken (damaged), obsolete junk (worthless). By hearing the Word, we’re picked up by The Spirit, led to repentance,
washed clean, restored for eternal life through our baptism into
Christ—built up with potential to share this Living Good News which draws others
to faith. God’s essence is grace and mercy. Out of thanksgiving, we seek to improve and do beautiful things.
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousnessfor his name’s sake.Psalm 23:3
Nathan and Laura playing with antique building blocks.
In 30 years, two of our greatest blessings are named Nathan and Laura.
The Lord’s help, through support from our extended families and community, enabled us to nurture these babies into adulthood. What a wonderful opportunity to love and honor each other and God. He placed us and our children here!
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be
fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and
over every living thing that moves on the earth.”Genesis 1:28
I found these sweeties while we were vacationing in Park Rapids, MN.
Definitely
a gift for Stan—he loves hugging! They also remind me of my parents who had a gray set of salt and pepper shakers like this,
tucked in their china cabinet. Bunny hug, yellow bunnies,
designed by Ruth Van Tellingen Bendel,
circa 1947, made by Regal China.
Designed to compliment each other, we are not alike—we’re unique.
Opposites attract. Physically and psychologically, God created us differently, uniting us in marriage with His blessing, for His design.
Man and woman
Salt and pepper shakers
Connection and adventure
Catsup and mustard
Hamburgers and buns
Bride and groom
Security and freedom
Garbage and trash can
Peanut butter and jelly
Left and right—gloves, shoes
Ascending and decending—flight patterns
Husband and wife
Support and challenge
Flowers and vases
Sugar and spice
Paper and pencil
Tooth brush and tooth paste
Father and mother
Comfort and intensity
Car and gasoline
Nuts and bolts
Swimming pool and diving board
Wine and cheese
Faith is a gift of The Spirit—we’ve also been given the free will to think for ourselves.
We can reject faith (failure to trust in Christ alone for forgiveness and salvation) or we can regularly receive it’s power to strengthen and mature us so we may share spiritual intimacy. Our selfish human nature is contrary to God’s plan. Holy and True love turns adversity
into character-building function for His name’s sake. When we receive our Heavenly Father’s
involvement, healthy balance, confidence and positive growth are brought into our
relationship.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.Colossians 3:12-17
At our Bible-based church we are in agreement and fellowship with other believers on “God’s design for marriage”.
We are in disagreement with certain church bodies, politicians and individuals on the topic of what they call “gay marriage” or same-sex civil unions. I was pleased to see action to protect our religious liberty at the Faith Lutheran Church Quarterly Voter’s Meeting, March 30, 2014, when an Amendment of the By-laws of the Constitution was made by adding:
ARTICLE XII – MARRIAGE: (passed by unanimous vote) The marriage policy of Faith Lutheran Church, a member congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, is and always has been consistent with the Synod’s beliefs on marriage. We believe that marriage is a sacred union of one man and one woman (Gen. 2:24-25), and that God gave marriage as a picture of the relationship between Christ and His bride the Church (Eph. 5:32). The official position of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, as set forth in 1998 Res. 3-21 (“To Affirm the Sanctity of Marriage and to Reject Same-Sex Unions”), is that homosexual unions come under categorical prohibition in the Old and New Testaments (Lev. 18:22, 24; 20:13; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 1 Tim. 1:9-10) as contrary to the Creator’s design (Rom. 1:26-27). These positions and beliefs can be found on the LCMS website, along with other statements, papers and reports on the subject of homosexuality and same-sex civil unions and “marriage.” Our pastors will not officiate over any marriages inconsistent with these beliefs, and our church property may not be used for any marriage ceremony, reception or other activity that would be inconsistent with our beliefs and this policy.
Re-commit the vow—the promise we made to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.
Pray that by the grace of God, we continue to accept each other’s unique individuality and ask the Spirit to lead us to love as Christ loved us.
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2
C. S. Lewis, in his book The Four Loves, used agape
to describe what he believed was the highest level of love known to
humanity—a selfless love, a love that was passionately committed to the
well-being of the other. Before our wedding, our pastor required that my husband and I attend premarital counseling. In one of our meetings, he explained this meaning of agape love to us—such valuable knowledge for the strengthening of marriage! Unconditional love promotes loyalty and dedication to each other, even as the imperfect humans we are. Because of human nature, temptation to give up will creep in—and when it does, it is essential to grasp tightly to this type of love in order to uphold the marriage commitment and help each other. Trust grows from trials patiently endured. The reward is great.
When asked what was the great commandment, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first
and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”Matthew 22:37-40
God gives His only Son as a sacrificial gift to deliver the world from condemnation and to give eternal life to those who believe in Him. When we continue in an immoral lifestyle, we naturally resist divine disclosure of our sin and thus our need for a Savior. Do not flee the light, but repent. God has revealed His strong love in His Son, Jesus Christ, to forgive your sins and give you life. • O heavenly Father grant that my life may be a vivid testimony to Your sacrificial and faithful love in Christ. Amen. —The Lutheran Study Bible, Concordia Publishing House, Saint Louis
