Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Anyone who believes in Him, though they may die, shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Him shall never die...
Do you believe this?
Christ and His Holy Apostles commanded us to submit to the governing authorities, with St. Paul adding that it's for our good. The Apostle wrote that to the church in Rome, where the Empire was killing Christians.
Gives us much to think about.
"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
~2 Corinthians 3:18~
born of the Virgin Mary and lying in His manger among the cattle; the Word; Baptism; the Lord's Supper; and absolution. In these images we see and meet a God whom we can bear, one who comforts us, lifts us up into hope, and saves us."
-- Martin Luther, Lectures on Genesis
🧵"Let no one, therefore, contemplate the unveiled Divinity, but let him flee from these contemplations as from hell and the veritable temptations of Satan. Let it be the concern of each of us to abide by the signs by which God has revealed Himself to us, namely, His Son,...
Not gonna lie, I think the Pentecostals might be right about tongues because what in the world does St. Paul mean by this?
"For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries." (1 Cor. 14:2)
"We are then righteous when we confess that we are sinners, and our righteousness depends not upon our own merits, but on the mercy of God"
- St. Jerome, Contra Pelagius, Bk. 1.
A 2024 study by the LCMS found that “Confessional” and “Traditional” (liturgical) churches receive far more converts than contemporary ones.
These churches have a consistently high share of converts at ~32%. They have also seen less decline and overall younger demographics.
"Why should righteousness not come from another, since guilt comes from another? One made me a sinner, another justifies me from sin; the one through seed, the other through blood."
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20