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Last time, James spoke about trials; this time, he speaks about temptation. Though he uses the same Greek word for both, their meanings are far different, as the context shows.…
More than four million infected and 148,866 deaths. Those are the coronavirus statistics shared by the US Centers for Disease Control at the end of July. Meanwhile, the World Health…
A teacher retires full of memories—including monarch butterflies, baby chicks, and Jesus—after 43 years Do you have a favorite teacher? One who really understood or motivated you? One who made…
My kids and I have spent almost no time apart since mid-March. With school starting soon, I’m a little nervous about how my youngest, who is six, is going to…
A girl from Guatemala discovers the light of the gospel in Alaska. As the morning mist mixed with the bright beams of the sun’s first rays over Baja Verapaz, Guatemala,…
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the…
It had been another busy stretch for Jesus. With his disciples in tow, he had been traveling all around Galilee preaching, teaching, healing, and amazing large crowds of people. He…
Does God really care? Look at the trouble we see. Why does he seem so distant and disinterested? God has a higher goal for us Deism is the belief that…
Does God really care? Not only does God care for this world, but he is also genuinely interested in each one of us. The Bible is full of beautiful passages…
I’m looking out my study window this morning. The grass is green. The birds are flying from branch to branch. The robins are hopping on the grass to find lunch.…
Joel Russow has written a new four-part Bible study for teens based on Colossians 3:12-15. Here he introduces the four parts, with several WELS teens sharing experiences that relate to…
We are to forgive others the way God forgives us—freely and often. Every Sunday, we and thousands of other believers gather for worship in various congregations. We are greeted by…
One veteran Christian adds the certainty of heaven to a familiar prayer. Many of us have tucked our children to bed with the words of a familiar prayer: Now I…
When do you find it easiest to place your trust in God and to remember his promises? Wouldn’t you agree that it’s easiest to place your trust in God’s care…
After serving 27 years in Africa, a missionary reflects on how ministry changes but God’s grace remains constant. Go in without expectations. That’s a maxim I’ve found useful when I…
How should families prepare to go back to school? That’s quite a question this year, isn’t it? After all, education is likely to look different depending on what school you…
The same Jesus proclaimed in Lutheran Campus Ministries one hundred years ago still receives the focus today. A picture on the TODAY Show or the local news. A letter from…
This article’s title comes from a Michael W. Smith song from the late 1980s. The lyrics say, “Friends are friends forever if the Lord’s the lord of them.” Smith’s point…
At church we find believers because the Holy Spirit works through the gospel, but we also find hypocrites. It’s Sunday morning at Midtown Evangelical Lutheran Church. The late service begins…
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is” (Psalm 39:4). “This just doesn’t seem real.” Have you heard people…
An Army captain matures in his faith as he works to help other cadets grow in their understanding of God’s Word. Captain Kent Gavin opens his laptop to Zoom, the…
Earlier this year, I was asked to make a presentation on the topic, “What will the Wisconsin Synod look like one hundred years from now?” It was a daunting assignment…
Christians often live quiet, humble lives, but their lives matter. How do we measure the value and importance of a Christian life? We gravitate to those who have done great…
If God did not create the world, then humans become superior animals struggling to survive instead of the crown of God’s creation. Survival or serving oneself instead of glorifying God…
I believe that the world came about by the process of evolution. However, I still consider myself a Christian. Does it really matter how God made the world? Creation matters…
Jesus described the kingdom of God like a field in which weeds grow together with the wheat. The suggestion to pull up the weeds would also mean to uproot the wheat. So…
This is my third or fourth try at this thought. The past months have brought all kinds of things to mind: first, COVID-19, then the protests, the violence, and the…
We come back to worship, but it’s just not the same. I was giddy with anticipation. After two months of exile, we were finally going to gather again to worship…
A husband and wife’s passion for serving leads them to the front lines of a pandemic. It was a quiet Saturday afternoon in May. Jon and Paige Fricke were sitting…
DID YOU EVER hear anything so strange? “Consider it pure joy,” James said, “whenever you face trials of many kinds” (1:2). To some that sounds about as sensible as stepping…
She was lying in the hospital bed awaiting the test results. She was facing surgery and a long recuperation. As I stood by her bedside, she asked, “Why is God…
I am overflowing with excitement. As I write these words, we are making our final preparations to celebrate our first public worship services as a church in over two months.…
My neighbor is super kind and always treats others well. He wants God to do the same. Every time we speak about the Bible, he always asks, “How can you…
Technology offers opportunities to teach a woman from Peru more about God’s grace How does a native of Lima, Peru, become a confirmed member of a WELS church in Wisconsin?…
Last spring, the United States and countries around the world responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in unprecedented ways. In most states, many businesses were forced to cease operations, and schools…
Universalism says that the biblical teaching of eternal damnation is incompatible with the concept of a loving God. Universalists believe that God will eventually destroy all sin and save all…
It’s been a test for us all. It included self-quarantine and social distancing. All the while businesses were closed, and contacts with friends and family became digital. Churches stood empty…
Each phase of childhood comes with its own unique set of blessings and challenges, doesn’t it? Teenagers get a bad rap, but as my daughter enters high school, I have…
Ministerial education graduates reflect on their unique final semester. As I consider the impact that COVID-19 made on the WLS class of 2020, I recognize that the losses we experienced…
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of…
What’s a book like James doing in the New Testament anyway? Quickly reading through its 108 verses, we find no direct mention of the Christmas manger, the Good Friday cross,…
The coronavirus has us traveling the middle road of faith—confident in God to save and yet faithful to God in responsible service. It happened so fast. One day it was…
Jesus warns us we will face opposition and suffering as his followers, but he also promises us a place in his Father’s house. Asia Bibi is a Pakistani Christian who…
Good job and thank you! I thought this but couldn’t say it to everyone I thought should hear it. As I write this, we have been asked—mandated—to avoid unnecessary contact…
Although her time on earth was short, Jodi lived as an example of God’s love. Jodi got the diagnosis the summer after her first year in college—it was cancer. She…
Using Bible stories to examine characteristics of God that we never thought about, characteristics that apply to what we’re facing right now. You are not what you have done She…
All of my life, I have heard the phrase “Death is natural.” I never questioned its truth until I watched my grandma pass away. Even though she believed in Jesus,…
This month’s column might not be what you are expecting. It doesn’t include endorsements for the latest security apps to keep your child safe online or to measure how much…
How are you doing in the midst of this epidemic? I’m not talking about the COVID-19 epidemic, but another one which has been around much longer. It doesn’t claim as…
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42:3). Jesus had every advantage over her. A faultless life. A supreme understanding…