Rants on Issues that MATTER!!!
(to me)Archive for Catechism
.love and grace.
6. Q. Did God, then, create man so wicked and perverse?
A. By no means; but God created man good, and after his own image; that is, in true righteousness and holiness, that he might rightly know God his Creator, heartily love him, and live with him in eternal blessedness to praise and glorify him.
7. Q. From what source, then, comes this depraved nature of man?
A. From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise, whereby our nature became so corrupt that we all are conceived and born in sin.
8. Q. But are we so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all evil?
A. Yes, indeed; unless we are regenerated by the Spirit of God.
Isn’t it amazing that when we receive the grace of God by faith in the person and works of Jesus that God sees us as righteous and we can again be in right relationship with God again? That we can worship Jesus and in that be living life to the fullest. See because of Jesus’ death and resurrection we have life everlasting. Life here and now and life for all eternity. That is grace. When we see what we would be without God and then realize what we have in Jesus how can we not help but be joyful and humble before Jesus who is Lord and Savior of all? May you and I realize that Jesus is Lord and Savior.
.loving God with everything.
The Weekly Installment of the Study of God
3. Q. How do you know your misery?
A. Out of the law of God.
4. Q. What does the law of God require of us?
A. Christ teaches that in a summary, Matt. 22:37-40, Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
5. Q. Can you keep all this perfectly?
A. In no wise; for I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor.
Isn’t it amazing that God calls us to love Him with everything. How many times do we not follow Him completely? The passage from Matthew calls us to love Him fully, with all that we have. Not only with 50% of what we have, but with everything. This is a passage that makes me fall on my face before God and say, “how can I fully follow you?” Honestly sometimes I think that I love Jesus with maybe 20% of me, sometimes with even less. Wouldn’t you say that this is true in your life. If we lie to ourselves we may be able to justify and say we love Him with our whole being. However this is a lie and the world knows it. However the message of the Gospel is the hope we have. See we don’t need to be stuck in this pit of trying to do it on our own. When we submit ourselves to Jesus we can have to power to love God more and more. When we stop trying to do it on our power and fully rely on Jesus we can start to worship Him with our entire heart, soul and mind. In fact we can love Him with our entire being. Not on our own, but with faith in person and work of Jesus. Faith that His blood washes away our sin and that He can give us the power to change and be more like Him. In fact belief in Him can bring about redemption in our lives. May you and I humble ourselves before Jesus more every day and may Jesus be the hero in our lives.
