Sprinkled and Dunked

Resurrection of Lazarus by Duccio di Buoninsegna I love the Biblical account of the resurrection of Lazarus, for so many reasons. The name Lazarus in Greek is Lazaros, which comes from the Hebrew, Eleazar, meaning “He, (God) has helped." What more help can one get from God, than to be brought from death into life? And that is exactly what God does for each and every believer - He has brought us from death in sin and judgment, to life in mercy and forgiveness! At the beginning of John 11, the Bible tells that Lazarus was ill. His sisters Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus.  John 11:1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” We might expect Jesus to immediately go to Lazarus, but He knows what He will do - He says the sickness i...

One of my favorite hymns is a classic by Martin Luther, A Mighty Fortress is Our God . In fact, it is one of the songs I would like sung at my funeral, along with How Great Thou Art . As a student of military history, and an avid wargamer, the image of our Lord standing strong as our defense against the attacks of the enemy resonates with me. He is our protection, He is our shield and our wall against our foe, the devil. "A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing" Our victory over Satan is certain, but not through anything that we can do  - the victory is 100% the Lord's, it is His triumph, on our behalf, but for His glory and by His power. "Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing" Our strength can do nothing against the evil one, and we are powerless in the face of his schemes and snares. Just one look around at the world today can leave us feeling helpless, lost, isolated and at the mercy of powers over which we have no con...

Where will a Christian find his "good?" Does it come from the world, or from God? In Psalm 73, the psalmist laments that the rich do not seem to struggle with circumstances as other men do. Their wealth provides their security, and they want for nothing. v. 5      T hey are not in trouble as other men,              Nor are they plagued like other men. v. 7      Their eyes bulge with abundance;              They have more than heart could wish. In fact, the psalmist admits to coveting their riches: v. 3      For I was envious of the boastful,              When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Yet, by the end of the psalm, he writes: v. 28     But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;               have made the Lord God my refuge,         ...

Some thoughts on today's sermon at Legacy Baptist Church. Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. "By the mercies of God" - it is by His mercies that we have the power, will, and desire to obey and offer ourselves. It is impossible to do so through our own strength and effort because in ourselves there is nothing that can make us holy enough to be an acceptable sacrifice. God's mercies are two-fold. We do not get what we deserve, and we are given what we do not deserve. Because of our sinfulness, we deserve death. But God does not give us what we deserve - He gives us life. Because of our sinfulness, we do not deserve salvation. But God gives us what we do not deserve - rather than the damnation that we do. One note from today's sermon sums it up beautifully: "On the cross, God treated Christ as if our sin and guilt belonge...