Taking (Smaller) Thoughts Captive...

"In no other way can man come to God or deal with him than through faith. That is to say, the author..."

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:53:05 -0500

“In no other way can man come to God or deal with him than through faith. That is to say, the author of salvation is not man, by any works of his own, but God, through his promise; and that all things depend on, and are upheld and preserved by, the word of his power, through which he brought us forth, to be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.”

- Martin Luther

"If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire."

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:36:50 -0500

“If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire.”

- St. Catherine of Siena

"Eternal God, you counsel us not to be anxious about earthly things. Keep alive in us a proper..."

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:54:50 -0500

“Eternal God, you counsel us not to be anxious about earthly things. Keep alive in us a proper yearning for those heavenly treasures awaiting all who trust in Your mercy, that we may daily rejoice in Your salvation and serve You with constant devotion; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”

- TDP, p. 774

"A theologian is one who, driven by agonizing struggle, enters with prayer into the Holy Scripture..."

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:32:39 -0500

“A theologian is one who, driven by agonizing struggle, enters with prayer into the Holy Scripture and interprets what is set forth within it, in order to give insight to others who are engaged in agonizing struggle, so that they in a like manner—with prayer—can enter into the Holy Scripture and can interpret it.”

- Oswald Bayer

"Just as light cannot be present without illuminating its surroundings, just as fire cannot fail to..."

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:19:46 -0500

“Just as light cannot be present without illuminating its surroundings, just as fire cannot fail to provide warmth, and just as rain certainly moistens the dry land, so Christ cannot come among His own without blessing them.”

- C. F. W. Walther

"Although the variety of sins is great and sad, from careless and vain thoughts to the obstinate..."

Tue, 26 May 2009 06:47:04 -0500

“Although the variety of sins is great and sad, from careless and vain thoughts to the obstinate hardness of Pharaoh and Judas, each demonstrates an uprising of heart against God, the Father of light. Some may appear to be ever so small, but not one sin can be forgiven—except for the sake of Christ, the Son of God.”

- C. F. W. Walther

"In the midst of the things, business, cares, goods, and pleasures of this world, our deepest desire..."

Thu, 21 May 2009 13:24:41 -0500

“In the midst of the things, business, cares, goods, and pleasures of this world, our deepest desire must be for salvation and heaven. We must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And we must pass through this world like strangers and pilgrims, pausing here and there to rest and refresh ourselves, but soon thereafter hastening on toward our heavenly goal. Our entire life must be, as Luther expressed, an eternal Lord’s Prayer in which our principal desire is for God to deliver us from evil. And we may add, “Come, Lord Jesus, take us out of this evil world, and take us to Yourself.””

- C.F.W. Walther, God Grant It

"For whoever has truly recognized that he has earned hell with his sins cannot possibly be..."

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 06:58:51 -0500

“For whoever has truly recognized that he has earned hell with his sins cannot possibly be dissatisfied with his lot, however unfavorable it may seem. He must remember that no matter his circumstances, they are better than he merits.”

- C. F. W. Walther

The Art of Nonconformity -- 279 Days to Overnight Success

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:03:43 -0500

The Art of Nonconformity -- 279 Days to Overnight Success

"The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the glorious end, not of Christ himself, but of all people. He..."

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 06:55:32 -0500

“The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the glorious end, not of Christ himself, but of all people. He did not suffer, die, and rise for himself, but for everyone. His suffering and dying were not for his own sins, but for those of the whole world.”

- C. F. W. Walther

"Because our Lord lets such awful things happen to his children, we must patiently bear the bad..."

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:47:51 -0500

“Because our Lord lets such awful things happen to his children, we must patiently bear the bad things that happen to us. They aren’t signs that God has abandoned is or is angry with us. Rather, they prove we have his favor. They show us that he’s testing our faith.”

- Martin Luther

O Me! O Life!

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:26:06 -0500

O ME! O life!… of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.

That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.

(Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass)

A little early-week humor…

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:25:32 -0500

A little early-week humor…

"The space shuttle program has yielded some extraordinary scientific discoveries, but I think..."

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:17:46 -0500

“The space shuttle program has yielded some extraordinary scientific discoveries, but I think it’s fair to say that there’s been a sense of drift to our space program over the last several years. We need to restore that sense of excitement and interest that existed around the space program. Shaping a mission for NASA that is appropriate for the 21st century is going to be one of the biggest tasks of my new NASA director. Once we have that vision, then I think that it’s going to be much easier to build support for expanding our space efforts. What I don’t what NASA to do is just limp along.”

- President Obama

"He suffered, died, and was buried so that He might make satisfaction for me and pay what I owe, not..."

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:01:01 -0500

“He suffered, died, and was buried so that He might make satisfaction for me and pay what I owe, not with silver and gold, but with His own precious blood.”

- Luther, Large Catechism

"From antiquity the church year, for very good reasons, has been divided into certain festivals, in..."

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:12:38 -0600

“From antiquity the church year, for very good reasons, has been divided into certain festivals, in order that the chief articles of the Christian doctrine can be taught to the people in a definite order and inculcated by annual repetition.”

- Martin Chemnitz

"We must believe God’s promises and never doubt his words. Because God can’t lie, he..."

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:47:59 -0600

“We must believe God’s promises and never doubt his words. Because God can’t lie, he won’t stop constantly watching over us, especially if we believe his promise. Because he is faithful, God can’t abandon us when we hang on to what he has promised. God may allow us to be led to the edge of hell, or even killed. It’s during those times that we need to remember God has promised to be our guardian—who never slumbers or sleeps.”

- Martin Luther (6:124)

"We are to trust in God alone and look to Him and expect from Him nothing but good, as from one who..."

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:44:29 -0600

“We are to trust in God alone and look to Him and expect from Him nothing but good, as from one who gives us body, life, drink, nourishment, health, protection, peace, and all necessaries of both temporal and eternal things. He also preserves us from misfortune. And if any evil befall us, He delivers and rescues us. So it is God alone from whom we receive all good and by whom we are delivered from all evil.”

- Martin Luther, Large Catechism (I, 24)

"Modern technology gives the impression that we can overcome time and space. The actual inability to..."

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:32:52 -0600

“Modern technology gives the impression that we can overcome time and space. The actual inability to do that (finitum non capax infiniti), despite technology, creates anxiety as expectations rise.”

- R. Scott Clark

"When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters—one..."

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:02:08 -0600

““When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters—one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.””

- John Fitzgerald Kennedy : American Statesman (35th US president: 1961-63)