Memorial Moment - God remains faithful

 Memorial Moment

God remains faithful

"You don’t make baptism; God gives it as a gift. Baptism is His. Your unbelief does not destroy baptism any more than your blindness would keep the sun from rising in the morning. Your doubt, weakness, and sin cannot make God unfaithful to His promises to you. “If we are faithless, [Christ Jesus] remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself” (2Ti 2:13). So often we dwell on the question of how faithful we might be, when we should be asking the question, “How faithful is God to His promises to me?” The answer is that He is divinely and perfectly faithful. Of that you can be sure because you have the holy triune Name set upon You in baptism. God will never be unfaithful to the promise He seals with His own Name.

Rev. Dr. Scott R. Murray

Memorial Lutheran Church

John 1:29-34 (ESV)

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Martin Luther:

"We are to know that God is actively at work in Baptism without regard to my work or yours. For the persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are present in baptism. The Son has rendered satisfaction with His body. The Holy Spirit has manifested Himself in the form of a dove; but when He makes Himself visible in the form of a dove, He is not blended with a natural dove as the Son is fused with our humanity. The Father is heard in the voice. And now whoever is baptized and believes is saved; however, anyone who disbelieves does not thereby nullify baptism."

Martin Luther, Sermons on the Gospel of St. John, 1.32-34

Prayer:

"O blessed holy Trinity, You have put me into the death of the Son that I might through the Holy Spirit live His new life. Grant that I might by Your grace live unto God in good works this day and every day. Amen."

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Wednesday of Christmas 2

5 January 2022