Good morning everyone,
Are you sure? Are you sure you locked the house and closed the garage door before you left for work? Are you sure that the vitamins and supplements you’re taking at breakfast are good for you? Are you sure that you have a solid plan for retirement? We want to be sure about things that matter, but we also know from experience that even when we feel sure, we can be wrong.
It’s a little unsettling when it comes to life’s everyday details, but it’s a much more serious matter when we think about our spiritual wellbeing and eternal future. How can we be sure we have it right when there are so many religions in the world? How many people of different faiths are just as sincere and dedicated to their beliefs as we are to ours.
Satan tries to convince us that we can never be sure. Remember how he poisoned Eve’s thinking with, “Did God really say?” James says of doubt: “He who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6). We’ve all been there at times, haven’t we, tossed back and forth, uncertain of what to hold onto.
But it is not a hopeless situation, far from it. The antidote to doubt is the certainty of truth. Contrary to modern thought, there is a source of reliable, unchanging, absolute truth. In a prayer to the Father, Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). On another occasion He encouraged: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:31-32). Since all Scripture is “God-breathed” and God can’t lie, we can count on the Bible as absolute truth. That is the truth which made Martin Luther sure of where he stood, even though opposed by Church and Empire. That is the truth which can make us sure.
Do you have questions or doubts today about life, death, God, where you stand with Him, or what lies ahead here on earth or in eternity? Take them all to the Lord. Search His Word. He will lead you to the truth, the truth about ourselves and our sin, and above all, the life-giving truth of His free grace and forgiveness in Christ. Be sure!
We’ll be observing Reformation tomorrow. In the sermon text (Heb. 13:7-9) the Holy Spirit urges us to take a stand on the saving truth of God, just as Martin Luther and others before us did.
The choir will sing at the beginning of second service.
The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated at both services.
Keep in mind the area Reformation service which will be held tomorrow at Luther Memorial, Fond du Lac, at 4 p.m. Supper will follow. All are invited.
Finally, remember to savor the end of DST by setting your clock “back” one hour tonight.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor
