Victory in Jesus
April 2021
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
When the Bible speaks of the victory that is ours all glory belongs to God. This victory is not by the might of arms or by victory over men through earthly power, but by the Spirit of God through the Gospel of Christ.
Zechariah 10:12 says, “’I will make them strong in the Lord and they shall walk in His name,’ declares the Lord.” To gain the victory and to live is to build the foundation not on our own righteousness but on the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Walk through a cemetery and you will be faced with the reality that death is real for each of us. The wages of sin is death. No one can overcome sin, Satan or death by their own power and might. The victory over death is not ours through justifying ourselves before God. Not even Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, King David, King Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Peter, James and John, nor any of the Apostles, were able to be saved by their own works.
Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians “A man is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ,” Gal. 2:16.
This month’s TLO Disciple focus is Victory in Jesus to encourage you in faith that in Christ your sins are forgiven.
In Christ,
Pastor James L Kroonblawd
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From God's Word
"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith." 1 John 5:4
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Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software |
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From Martin Luther
Commentary on John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
A Christian must accustom himself to think about Christ’s victory—the victory in which everything has already been accomplished and in which we have everything we should have. Henceforth we live only to spread among other people the news of what Christ has achieved. We must do so by exhorting them with words and with our example to give thought to the victory Christ has won for us and has given to us. For this Victor has accomplished everything. There is nothing for us to add to what He has done—neither the blotting out of sin nor victory over the devil and death. Everything has already been laid low. Henceforth our suffering and fighting are no real battle; they are only a prize or a part of the glory of this victory. For our suffering, yes, the suffering and the blood of all the martyrs and saints, would not gain the victory for us. It is impossible for us to defeat and trample underfoot sin, death, and hell by what we do. The pope and his crowd lie when they say that we can do this; by making such a statement they insult and blaspheme Christ. Here my fighting comes too late. If I am to have comfort and peace, the battle must have been won beforehand, and the victory must be there. “I,” says Christ, “have already accomplished this. But accept it, and make use of My victory by singing about it, glorying in it, and making a show of it. Just be of good cheer.”
Luther’s Works, vol. 24: Sermons on the Gospel of St John: Chapters 14-16.
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From God's Word
“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” —1 John 5:4
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"Don't Go To Egypt"
by Mark Wood
Director of LCMS Witness & Outreach Ministry
Among the options, the best descriptive title of the Church in present day America is probably the “Remnant Church.” Not only does the word remnant aptly describe the diminished Church in our nation, it is a biblical description that provides critical guidance to church leaders and members.
We can learn some valuable lessons about being the Remnant Church in America from the Word of the Lord that Jeremiah proclaimed to the remnant of Judah. One of the most important lessons is “Don’t go to Egypt” (Jeremiah 42:19).
Though God had told this remnant that He had a purpose for them in Israel and He had assured them that He would preserve them in their land, they were looking for a better solution to the hardships of being small, insignificant, and vulnerable as a remnant. They looked to Egypt for their new source of status, strength, and security. Concerned for the well-being of His people and wanting them to look to Him alone for what they needed, the Lord responded clearly and forcefully through His prophet: “Don’t go to Egypt.”
As the Remnant Church in America, we need to take the command “Don’t go to Egypt” to heart and understand how it applies to us in our context. Read entire article
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"Embrace God's purpose for the Remnant"
by Mark Wood
Director of LCMS Witness & Outreach Ministry
We live in the world. It’s not our home, but it is where God has placed us and He has a purpose for our being here. When we allow worldly thinking to fashion our understanding of ourselves, we’re likely to see being a remnant of what was once large, influential, and celebrated in our culture as evidence of God’s disfavor with us. The world can’t help but to see a declining church in this way and we get caught up in this perspective.
When we lose the proper perspective of the church as “always the most wretched in appearance” according to the standards of our world, we’re also likely to lose sight of our purpose. Instead of pursuing what makes the church in all of her smallness “the supreme offense in the world,” we suppose that the church should be admired and respected by the world. When we do, we are likely to be missing — or possibly even ignoring — God’s purpose for the Remnant Church.
What is God’s purpose for the Remnant Church? It is the same as it is for the church in every age and in all circumstances. No matter how large or small, admired or disdained, wealthy or poor, etc. the church may be, the purpose for us while we are in the world is to bear witness of Christ so that others may come to faith as we have come to faith. Read entire article
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From God's Word
“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” —1 Corinthians 15:54-56
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Prayer, Peace, and Pestilence:
Psalm 91 and Today
By Adele Werner
In Psalm 91, we see an urge to seek the Lord when the world seems frightening. God does not promise that we won’t be affected by the darkness and peril of a sinful world, but He does promise us safety and victory in Jesus Christ. We rest in the knowledge of the resurrection, and we trust God, knowing that He has a plan to work this for good.
I know why this psalm has been floating around my sphere of Christianity. It is a comforting and strong reminder of what faith in Christ promises us. On the surface, the text may seem to say that God guarantees us earthly protection from these specific events if we just believe and pray hard enough. Instead, what it reminds us of is much stronger, and it’s eternal. Praise be to Christ that we can be assured of ultimate victory over every evil. Read entire blog
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Our Faith Is Not in Vain
by Andrew H. Bartelt
Easter assures us that our faith in Jesus Christ has substance and content; it is not futile. It is focused on God who has saved us—indeed, the only God who can save us.
New life; new focus This doesn’t mean the rejection of all earthly blessings, but it does mean that we no longer put our faith and trust in them. It also means that the things of this world have been redeemed by Christ for the work of His kingdom. We are forgiven for misunderstanding and misusing our earthly “blessings,” and Paul reminds us that what is sown does not come to life unless it “dies” (1 Cor. 15:36). Our lives, our jobs, our family, our time, talents, and treasures—no matter how small or how great—are received in humble forgiveness and faith as we dedicate them to the new life in Christ Jesus. The old life, and the world to which it seems so firmly attached, will pass away. But in Christ, in whom we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), we have become new. God’s new age has come.
Our focus beyond the old way of life must certainly seem foolish to the wisdom of the world. But we can look past this old way of life with all of its attractions and attachments, and we can begin to live as those restored to God’s life and to God’s way of life. Whether we are touched by sadness or success, by failure or by fortune, our faith looks past it all, remaining firmly fixed on Jesus.
Paul wants to focus our lives on that which is most important. He didn’t naively look past the divisions and quarrels within the congregation at Corinth; in fact, he had some very hard and direct words to help sort things out. But this was not about any one faction, party, or position winning or losing; it was about the death and resurrection of Christ.
Other issues in our lives as God’s people are not unimportant, but sometimes we need to refocus on what is of first importance. Through Christ’s resurrection, “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed ..., for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:51–56).
Because of Christ’s resurrection, our faith is not in vain!
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From God's Word
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous:
"The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!"
I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD.
The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.
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Jesus Lives! The Victory’s Won
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Christian Soldiers
by Rev. Andrew Simcak Jr.
Whether you know it or not, you, dear Christian, are at war!
We need to man our battle stations because we are in a life-and-death struggle against enemies determined to overcome us for time and eternity.
Onward, Christian soldier! Engage the enemy with full confidence of victory in Christ!
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“Lord and Savior, Do You Hear Us”
To “Lasset uns mit Jesu ziehen”
(the tune for “Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus”)
By Carol Geisler
Lord and Savior, Do You Hear Us, written by Dr. Carol Geisler, a former Lutheran school principal who lives in St. Louis, was the winning entry in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s 2015 Disaster Response Hymn Contest. Verse 4 is printed below. Click here to read all verses of this moving hymn.
In the world, Lord, You have told us
There is trouble to endure.
Fill our doubting hearts with courage,
For in You our hope is sure.
As with Your disciples sailing
On the windy, storm-tossed sea,
You awoke and heard their plea,
Stilling storm and wind and water
Bid our fear and sorrow cease
With Your quiet Word of peace.
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Trinity Lone Oak Lutheran
651-454-7235
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