[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Luke 14:15-24, Hebrews 11, 12, Revelation 21:2-23, Luke 23:43, Isaiah 11:6, 65:25, Revelation 7:14-17

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I believe in the life everlasting. How do we know that heaven is real? Well, I love to use the example C.S. Lewis once used where he said that where there’s a desire or a yearning for something, there is a real tangible fulfillment for that desire, or their yearning. People experience hunger. Therefore there is such a thing as food. People experience thirst. Therefore, there is such a thing as water. We experience sorrow. Therefore there must be a perfect joy. We experience brokenness. Therefore, there must be a perfect wholeness.

As Christians, we believe that all of that is fulfilled when God brings us safely into heaven. And though we can use logic to support or defend our idea of heaven, what better place to turn to than the Holy Scriptures? The Bible is full of beautiful pictures that it paints about eternal life and what that will look like for you.

For instance, in some of his parables, Jesus describes it as a banquet. (Luke 14:15-24) In our terms today, we’d say that’s a party. Why do I love parties? Because I’m together with my friends, my family, the people I love the most. When you look forward to eternal life in heaven, yes, there will be relationships. You’ll have your relationships with your family and loved ones who all believed in Jesus in this life.

Another picture of heaven is given in the book of Hebrews, where he describes heaven as the city of God. (Hebrews 11, 12) The Book of Revelation also describes this city. (Revelation 21:2-23) If you think of all the things that you love about a city, the busy life, the arts, theater, music, sports, all the things that you love about a city without all the things that you fear about a city. The darkness, the crime, the danger. Here heaven is described as a perfectly safe place where we can dwell forever.

Another picture of heaven Jesus gives when he’s dying on the cross. To the thief on his right, he promises him today you’ll be with me in Paradise. (Luke 23:43) The word Paradise refers to a garden. You might think of the garden that God created in the first creation. Well, the Bible tells us that after the resurrection of the dead, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, a new creation. And part of that new creation is a new garden. The prophet Isaiah describes it as a place where the lamb and the lion, the wolf and the ox and the small child can all live together in harmony. They will not harm nor destroy on his holy mountain. (Isaiah 11:6, 65:25)

Jesus will also describe heaven as a wedding. When I think to my own wedding, it’s one day, not only do I remember it so vividly, but it’s one day that I can always look back at and say, I wish that day never ended. When the Bible describes the church, it calls us the Bride of Christ, and it paints the picture of us wearing white robes that picture the purity that you have, because through faith you have washed your robes in the blood of the Lamb, in the forgiveness of sins given through Jesus.

Heaven is a picture of perfect purity, a joy that will last forever and ever without end. The best picture of that joy is in Revelation chapter seven. John describes a ten fold blessedness of those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, and he ends with the phrase, the Lord will wipe every tear from your eye. (Revelation 7:14-17) Those ten fold blessings all revolve around one figure Jesus, the Lamb who was slain. That’s where you and I find our perfect fulfillment in heaven is the perfect relationship with Jesus, your Savior and the Triune God you were created for.

As often as you confess these words, I believe in the life everlasting. May God fill your heart with joy and hope and yearning for eternal life with him. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Romans 4:25, Romans 4:3, Hebrews 9:27, Acts 16:25-24

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I believe from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. This statement in the Creed confesses that Jesus Christ Himself will return on the last day. He will be publicly seen by all the world, and after he has raised all flesh, they’ll stand before him, divided as sheep and the goats, the living and the dead, the believers and the unbelievers. And he will pronounce judgment, or as we say, final judgment.

For me, growing up as a Christian, I think this was a moment that always kind of scared me a little bit. God would stand up in front of the whole world and then read your life story in front of the whole world. And then I would be standing there in front of so many people and, and what if God says something different? What if I’m not worthy? What if I don’t measure up? Well, today I want to tell you to not be afraid, because that is the final judgment. And there’s actually three other judgments that happened before that we’re going to look at that grant you a wonderful comfort.

So first of all, the very first Judgment Day over the whole world that happened on Easter when God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Paul says in Romans four,

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:25)

So Jesus resurrection on Easter morning is God’s proclamation over the entire world, all sinners everywhere, that your sins are already forgiven through Jesus. That’s the first comforting Judgment day.

The second Judgment Day you’ve experienced is the day you first came to faith in Jesus as your Savior. Just as the Bible says,

“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3)

Through faith in Jesus, the righteousness, the perfect life that Jesus won for you through his perfect life on earth, his death and resurrection. They were credited to you. You’re covered with Jesus’ innocence the moment you came to faith. In that moment, God declared you personally forgiven. Justified. Not guilty.

The third Judgment Day we’ll face is the day we enter eternal life in heaven, when our mortal life comes to a close, instantly, that soul faces judgment. We’re told that in Hebrews nine

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, (Hebrews 9:27)

Here we think of Paul’s words to the jailer of Philippi, a man who, in fear and uncertainty, believing he was about to die, said, “sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And Paul comforted him and said, believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. (Acts 16:25-24) And for every Christian in their hour of death that believes in the Lord Jesus, who looks on Jesus like the thief on the cross, looked in faith on Jesus will be saved.

Because of those three judgment days that the Christian will already have experienced before the final Judgment Day, that means that you and I, we approach that final judgment with confidence. You already know what the verdict will be. You’ve already been judged three times, not guilty, innocent, forgiven through faith in Jesus. And notice how on the last day, God has already divided the living and the dead, the believers and the unbelievers.

This final judgment is for your benefit. It gives God that opportunity to publicly lift you up and exonerate you before all flesh. If you think of all the people in this world that have looked down on you for your faith in Jesus, who have mocked you because you have spent so much of your life worshiping in an invisible God, going to church, dedicating your life and your faith to someone you’ve never seen and never met. And they might have laughed secretly, but on the last day, the Lord Jesus will lift you up and in front of all flesh, say, well done, my good and faithful servant. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Ephesians 4:10, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5

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I believe he ascended into heaven. Christians are familiar with the major festivals in Jesus’ life. We celebrate Christmas, a time we love where we remember Jesus’ birth on earth. And we love the hymns, don’t we? Or there’s Easter. Every Christian celebrates Easter, Jesus’ victory over death. And again, we love the hymns. But what about Ascension? People will ask, what is Ascension?

Ascension happened 40 days after Easter, a 40-day period where Jesus appeared to his disciples, proving to them that he was truly alive from the dead, teaching them. And then at the end of those 40 days, Jesus takes him to the Mount of Olives, and before their eyes he’s lifted up into heaven and is hidden by the clouds. Ascension day is the capstone of Jesus work on earth. It’s the culmination. It’s the proof that he’s done, everything he came to do is now completed, and he’s returned to his father in heaven. I love how the Apostle Paul says it in Ephesians chapter four.

He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things. (Ephesians 4:10,)

Jesus’ Ascension Day is essentially his coronation day, where he ascends to be seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and all things, all powers, everything is put under his feet. But why is that any different than before? Wasn’t Jesus already true God? Didn’t he already have all power in heaven and earth and all dominion over all things because he’s true God? The answer, of course, is yes, he did already have that power. But what makes the Ascension different is that now Jesus, as true man, has ascended to the very right hand of God the Father Almighty in heaven. Jesus, as a true man, rules over everything in the universe. And why that’s a comfort for you and me is, first of all, when we look at our world today and we see the chaos, we see the confusion. People ask who’s in charge, who’s driving this? What’s going on in the world? You and me know, we know that Jesus is in charge. Jesus is in control.

The very same brother who suffered and died for you, the very same one who loves you and gave his life for you, is ruling all things for your good. The other comfort we have is that as we go through this life and we feel alone, we feel isolated, and we live in a time where people will feel more isolated and lonely than ever before, but we have such a special comfort as Christians because of Jesus’ promise.

And surely I am with you always until the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

Jesus, your brother, the same one who lives and reigns in heaven, who fills the whole universe, is also personally by your side every day to help you carry through, to help you carry your burdens, to assure you that you are not alone. He promises,

I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you.(Hebrews 13:5)

And so my invitation to you today is actually take time to mark your calendars. May 14th (2026) is Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter. Celebrate that wonderful festival, that capstone of Jesus’ life on earth. He ascended into heaven. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Luke 1:46-55, Luke 1:41, Romans 10:17, Luke 7:11-17, Hebrews 4:12

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I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. One common phrase we use as Christians is don’t put God in a box. What we mean by that is when you look around your home, you probably have boxes everywhere. Right? We put things, store things in boxes, but a box can only hold so much before it overflows. And so by saying don’t put God in a box. What we’re really saying is, is don’t put limitations on God. Don’t tell God what he can and can’t do.

This is really, really important. But it’s equally important that we also accept and appreciate the boxes God does choose to be placed in. And of all those boxes, the one that is probably the most mind blowing for me is that Jesus, God’s Son, would begin his life in the womb of Mary as nothing more than a fertilized egg.

Why would Jesus do this? Why wouldn’t Jesus begin his life as a full grown adult, or at least a full term child ready to be born? Why go through all those months in the dark womb? One early church, Father Gregory of Nazianzus, used to say “all that he did not assume, he did not save.” In other words, if Jesus did it, it has something important to do with his job of salvation. And we see this testified very clearly by Mary herself. When Mary, after she finds out she’s carrying the Christ child, professes in the Magnificat, my soul rejoices in God my Savior. (Luke 1:46-55) And here he is, just a little egg in her womb. Or when John the Baptist, a six month old baby in his mother’s womb, moved by the Holy Spirit, leaps for joy because he recognizes he is in the presence of his Savior. (Luke 1:41)

Now, as we talk about putting God in boxes, one of the most common ways for us to limit God’s power to work has to do with how we understand faith. So often we want to limit faith to just be about our understanding. In order to believe, you have to be able to understand. However, that’s not what the Bible teaches us. In Romans 10:17, the apostle Paul says,

So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

Did you catch that? Faith comes. Faith is a creation of the Holy Spirit, not by understanding, but by hearing the word, by hearing the message. And this is remarkable because you look at Jesus in his ministry, and oftentimes his miracles work exactly the same way. Think of it. Jesus walks up to a dead person and he says, “get up.” (Luke 7:11-17) That dead person’s ears have no power to hear, and that dead person’s mind has no power to understand. And yet the word of the Lord, the gospel proclamation, Jesus’ command, creates the hearing and creates the understanding so that the dead person rises.

This is how God’s Word always works. The Scripture assures us that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, able to pierce through flesh and bone, even to the dividing of soul and spirit. (Hebrews 4:12) So when God’s Word commands us, believe on the Lord Jesus, our God’s Word commands us be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven. God’s word creates the faith to receive, the ears to hear.

As often as we confess these words in the creed, I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, we can rejoice in all the unborn children that leapt for joy in their mother’s wombs as they were brought to church to hear the word of the Lord. Amen.

Hebrews 9:27, Romans 8:1

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It’s a question for the ages. What happens to you when you die? It’s an important question, and a question that we shouldn’t just ask ourselves when we’re 80 or 90 years old. But it’s a question that we should ask for ourselves today, because the reality is that any one of us, no matter what age we could die tomorrow. We could die today. I could die today going home in a car accident. And so it’s important for me to consider what happens when you die.

Now, there’s many people in our world today that maybe would answer the question in this way. They’d say, well, nothing. You won’t be breathing any longer. You’ll have no heartbeat, no brainwaves. When you’re dead, you’re dead and that’s it. Lights out forever. There’s others in our world that maybe say, well, your body as it’s placed in the ground, it deteriorates. It becomes one with the earth again. Maybe becomes part of a tree or part of the grass or part of the world in that way. There’s maybe others that say, well, everyone who dies, they just simply go to a happy place. But what does the Bible say?

In Hebrews chapter nine verse 27, it says this.

It is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment, (Hebrews 9:27)

The Bible tells us that when you die, then you will stand before God in the judgment. And there’s part of us that may be likes that concept and that idea, especially as we consider the atrocities that many people commit in our world. We think about serial killers or mass murderers and rapists and terrorists as well, and all of the atrocity that they have caused and all the harm and all of the hurt to so many people. It doesn’t seem fair, maybe for them to simply get off with only 50 years in prison or even the death penalty, it just doesn’t seem fair for all of the wrongs that they have committed against so many innocent victims.

It’s comforting as it is to know that there is divine judgment, it is also very scary, isn’t it? Especially when we think about ourselves, especially as we analyze our own lives. And maybe we haven’t raped or murdered, but have we done things to intentionally harm other people. Have we hurt them in incalculable ways? Have we done what is immoral? Have we done what is evil? And I think as each and every one of us analyze our lives, we have to say yes, that in some ways we have. And the Bible testifies to this truth that says this, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) So then that’s very scary to know that when you die, you will face God in the judgment.

But the Bible doesn’t just share that bad news with us. Thanks be to God, it also shares good news. Saint Paul writes in Romans chapter eight, verse one,

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

What that means is that God has said that after we die and we stand before him in the judgment, we will not be condemned if we are in Christ Jesus. That means those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin will not be condemned in the judgment to suffer eternally in hell, but instead God will welcome them to his eternal dwelling, to be with him forever in the mansions of heaven. And how does that even work when it comes to judgment? Well, the reason it works is because Jesus himself has come to suffer the judgment you deserve for your sins. That’s why he went to the cross, to suffer your punishment, to suffer your hell. And he wants you to know it’s been paid in full. The price for your sin, the fine for the crimes you have committed. The punishment you deserve has been paid once and for all in Christ who suffered and died for you on the cross. And he says that those who believe in me will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

So what happens to you when you die? Well, God tells us very clearly we must face him in the judgment. Let that not scare you. Instead, knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior, be confident that though you stand before God in the judgment, God will declare you not guilty because of Christ and what he has done for you through faith in him, he will say that you are innocent and that you are welcome to come into his kingdom to live with him forever. Amen.

Hebrews 13:20-21

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Credit or debit? You’ve had to answer that question thousands of times at the cash register, I’m sure, in the last several years. And it dawned on me recently when I was at the store about how this looks to my children. We were shopping, and my son wanted something expensive, and I said, no, it’s too much to spend right now. And he says, all you have to do is give him your card. When do you give them your card, they’ll let you take home whatever you want. So I understood that from his perspective, it looked so easy. Just hand over your card, put it in the machine, and you get to take home whatever it is you want to buy.

But we know that there’s more to it than that. That there’s the second side. The fact that you need money and you need to make a deposit to back up that purchase, whether it be on a debit card or a credit card. When it comes to us looking at the blessings that Jesus gives, sometimes it can seem too easy. Scripture calls Jesus the great Shepherd of the sheep, and as our great Shepherd, he brings us so many blessings. Hebrews 13 says this.

Now may the God of peace—who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, in connection with his blood, which established the eternal testament— may he equip you with every good thing to do his will, as he works in us what is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

So we can look at those blessings that our good Shepherd brings to us, whether they be spiritual blessings like forgiveness and salvation and eternal life and hope and comfort and courage in this life, or physical blessings, everything that we need to support our body in life, we can sometimes look at it like it’s too easy. Why doesn’t Jesus give us more and more and more? But we need to remember that in order to give us these blessings, Jesus had to pay for them. To do that, he makes a deposit. He establishes an eternal testament, an eternal covenant, a promise from him to you. And to do this he gives himself.

He lives perfectly fulfilling every single commandment, every single law. Then he dies for us innocently on the cross, paying our price. Now he’s able to bless us because he has done this. So now he comes to us and he says, yes, I can give you forgiveness because I earned it. I paid for it with my innocent life, my perfect death. I can give you holiness. I can bless you with holiness because I myself was holy. I can give you hope and life. Because I died and rose again to give you new life. It was through this that he established for us an eternal testament and eternal covenant.

Our checking account, our balance can run out. We can spend more than we have. But there is no amount of sin or guilt or shame or unrighteousness that can overwhelm the grace and the forgiveness that Jesus has won for us. Every single time we turn to him in repentant faith, there is forgiveness. Your sins are forgiven because of what Jesus has done for you. Through faith in him all of those blessings are attributed to your account. So every time we look at him, he is there not in anger and wrath and retribution and revenge, but he is there as our great Shepherd, with compassion and grace and forgiveness and comfort.

Remember the blessings that Jesus brings. Remember what it took for him to win these blessings for you. They’re not just free, but that he went to the greatest lengths imaginable to win them for you. When we view his gifts in this way, it makes his love for us become all the clear. Amen.

Hebrews 1:14, Psalm 91:11, Luke 15:10

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Do Angels Have Wings? This was a debate that I heard not so long ago, and basically it was asking the question in the Bible, do we actually find evidence that angels have wings? And so on the one hand, you have the argument that whenever you see the term angel in Scripture, whether it’s in the Old Testament or New Testament, you never hear that they have wings. But on the other hand, you hear about the seraphim and the cherubim found in Isaiah chapter six. And they definitely have wings. Those that are on the non-wing side of things would say that the angels are of a different sort than the Cherubim and Seraphim.

It’s kind of an interesting discussion and kind of maybe causes us to change our own preconceived notions of angels as well. But what I would say is probably bigger isn’t just knowing whether or not angels have wings. What is bigger is to know what angels are and what their purpose is. The word angel both in Hebrew and in Greek, so both in the Old Testament and New Testament, It means the same thing. It means messenger. And we see this in the Bible when we have the appearance of angels, quite often they are appearing as messengers of God. And they appear in human form with a bright white light, or dressed in white and so forth, and people are afraid of them, but they come and they share this message from God as he’s telling them what’s going to happen in the future, as he brings them comfort, as he gives them a promise, as he helps them with this messenger bringing this word to them.

But God tells us more in His Word, of course, concerning angels. One place where we find a bit more is in Hebrews chapter one verse 14 and it says, this

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent out to serve for the benefit of those who are going to inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14)

You know, in that rhetorical question, we find out something more concerning the angels. We find out that they are spirit beings. So they’re these invisible creatures that God has made and what is their purpose? Well, they are created to serve, to serve God, but also to serve God’s people, to serve us Christians. All people who believe in Jesus as their Savior, who will inherit eternal life. And how did they do that? Well, one way they do that is, as we see in Scripture, they bring messages from God to his people. And we have examples of that in the Bible, but we see it in other ways as well. In Psalm 91 it says this concerning the angels.

Yes, he will give a command to his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. (Psalm 91:11)

God has also sent his angels to protect his people, to watch over them. And so often we hear about people talking about how angels protected them, maybe from a car accident or some other danger that was present. And certainly angels can do those sorts of things, but more importantly, it’s good for us to know what else angels do in that regard. They don’t just guard us from physical injury or things that might threaten our physical bodies, but especially our soul. We think about what Jesus said in Luke chapter 15

I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10)

The angels love what God loves. They want all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, just as God does. They don’t want any to perish but all to know their Savior, Jesus Christ. And so God has given his angels especially to watch over Christians, to protect them from spiritual harm, from evil forces that threaten them, that threaten to tear away their faith in their Savior, Jesus Christ. And I think about how comforting that is for us as Christians. To know that God not only has paid for our sins through Jesus death on the cross, he has not only guaranteed eternal life and resurrection from the dead through Jesus rising from the dead, he has not only given us the gift of faith by His Holy Spirit to believe, but he has also sent angels to protect us from evil forces that threaten our faith because he desires us to be with him forever. And he is watching over us, and he has given them ultimately for our good and for our comfort. Amen.

Matthew 6:11, Hebrews 13:5, Psalm 23:1

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Lately on social media, there’s been going around this idea of Dorito Theory. Have you heard about it? The idea is that, like a Dorito chip, it’s full of flavor, and you enjoy eating. You bite it, this burst of flavor in your mouth. But the thing is, it never satisfies. Some potato chips are like that. They’re so full of flavor, but then they’re addictive and you can’t eat just one. And so you keep eating and eating. Pretty soon the whole bag is gone and you’re not actually satisfied at all.

It’s interesting just seeing out in the world that people are recognizing this and that this idea is resonating with the world, that there is so much in life that we do, that we fall into, that really doesn’t help us at all. There’s this instant gratification, but then there’s nothing more than that. For us as Christians, we see that this is a temptation all around us, and this is a temptation that we fall into. It’s a temptation that is presented in so many different ways around us in this world. Be instantly gratified. Have this thing here and now, and you will be happy. And yet, when we fall into that temptation and we take that and we bite on it, well, we are left without satisfaction.

What is it that satisfies? God’s Word has a lot to say about this topic, and warns about wanting more and more and more, and not having true satisfaction. For us as Christians, we want to proclaim that I have satisfaction with what God has given me. Jesus himself, in the Lord’s Prayer, he teaches us to pray, give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11) Lord, help me be satisfied and acknowledge that everything I have here and now that you are providing me with for my daily life is a wonderful blessing from you, or even also in Hebrews 13 verse five, this beautiful passage says,

Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have. For God has said: I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

We find satisfaction in knowing that God is with us, that God cares about us, that God has given us a promise to provide for us. Even all the way back in the Old Testament, the very first verse of Psalm 23 speaks about this where we proclaim,

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall lack nothing. (Psalm 23:1)

I shall not be in want. I shall not be left wanting more, because he gives me everything I need. What a comfort that is to you and to me. God gives us everything. He provides everything we need for this daily life and even better than that, he provides everything we need so that we can have eternal life. That’s why he sent His Son Jesus into this world. To live for us, to die for us, to rise from the dead for us, so that we can know that we are right with God. That he loves us, that he smiles upon us, that heaven is open to us. And if that’s the case, if he loves us so much that he would lay down his life for us so that we could have heaven, we can absolutely be confident that he will give us also everything we need for this life as well.

So don’t buy into those tricks of instant gratification thinking this thing might satisfy me. It’s just a flavor burst. Biting down on it, you’ll need more and more and more. See what it is that we have that truly satisfies. And that’s the gospel message, the message about our salvation given to us through Jesus. God’s peace be with you.

Hebrews 11:1, Revelation 1:18

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You really believe that, don’t you? His question came out more like a statement. You see, his mother was on her deathbed, and her son had asked me to come in and visit with her. So as a pastor, I came in and shared with her the comfort that Jesus had died for all of her sins, the certainty that she had that Jesus has risen from the dead. And because Jesus has risen, she too will be in heaven. Afterwards, your son came up to me and asked. You really believe that, don’t you?

The Christian faith is all about certainty. In fact, we’re told in the book of Hebrews.

Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is about certainty of what we don’t see. And just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it isn’t there. So for instance, that two by four that’s in a wall. We call that a stud. You can’t see where it is, but there’s different ways you can come to be certain of exactly where that stud is. You can use a stud finder, you can use magnets. You can even do a knock test on the wall based on the echo, to find where that beam is in the wall. And I love that picture for faith, because God wants us to drive that nail of our faith home in a place that we’re certain. A place that we know will be able to hold us. To carry us.

And why that’s important is because so many people today actually live on what we call blind faith. Faith that isn’t really investigating, faith that believes things without really searching out the truth. So many people today believe in reincarnation that once we die, we come back as an animal, like a red cardinal on the windowsill. And even though it’s a very cute, touching picture, it’s not very cute after the neighborhood cat pounces. Beyond that, though. How can we be certain? How can you actually prove that someone comes back as an animal? You can’t.

Other people like to put their faith in science. What people have been able to investigate and research, and we’ve looked into the stars and we haven’t seen a god up there. So that must mean there is no God. We’ve looked at the human being and we haven’t seen a soul, so that must mean there’s nothing that happens to us after we die. We just simply blink out of existence. Well, I like to ask those people, how do you prove that? How can you be certain that that’s the case?

God wants you to be certain. He invites you as his child to investigate these things for yourself, to read His Word. And in God’s Word you’ll find Jesus who promises that

I am he who is dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I hold the keys of death and Hades. (Revelation 1:18)

He was dead. And he is alive again for evermore. He’s been to the other side and he’s come back. And he promises you the way is safe. I believe that. That’s where I pound my nail. How about you? Amen.

Hebrews 13:5-6, Romans 8:31-32

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Recently there was a news story about a teenager, 14 year old boy who was fishing with his dad up at the Lake of the Woods in northern Minnesota. This huge lake, over a million acres in size, 70 miles long. He was fishing with his dad and he snagged something off the bottom. He pulls it up. Lo and behold, it’s a wallet and it was full of $2,000 worth of cash. Incredible. Can you imagine the odds of that?

Now, they were able to actually track down who it belonged to and they returned it to a farmer from Iowa who realized that as he was fishing, he dropped his wallet over the side of the boat sometime during the day. He had no idea where it was. He had counted on it being gone forever. And that farmer in the news article, he speaks about the odds like how incredible. What are the odds of someone snagging my wallet and then being willing to return it to me? Incredible odds.

But for us as Christians, we don’t look at odds like that. I think this is something that we would look at and say, this is evidence of the hand of God. And we see things like this happening all around us. Maybe we even take them for granted incredible things that are happening. Sometimes it’s a healing or an accident that we see where someone walks away, where they should be dead, or someone in the hospital who was diagnosed with some terrible disease. And then they go back for a second testing and it’s gone. So many different things throughout our day that we might even take for granted. And yet for us as Christians, we look at things like this a wallet full of money on the end of a fishing line. And we might say this is evidence of God’s active hand.

I find that to be so encouraging when I hear stories like this, when I hear stories from people of these other things, to think that God is here for us. His hand is active still even in our lives today. So many people feel that God must be far away. We look at the disappointing, difficult situations that we face in this life. We think God must be far away from us or not care. That’s not true. The Bible assures us of that as well. I love the verses that we find, especially in Hebrews 13, where it says

For God has said: I will never leave you,
and I will never forsake you. So then we say with confidence: The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. (Hebrews 13:5-6)

God has promised to be at our side. He has promised to be our help throughout life. He is here, active in our world. Or another verse I love from Romans Chapter eight.

What then will we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him? (Romans 8:31-32)

God is for you. And we see proof of that, as Paul writes here, especially in the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross, He went to the cross for you so that your sins could be forgiven, so that you can have peace with God, so that eternal life in heaven belongs to you. If God was willing to go to all of that work, he’s going to continue to be working for you here and now. Take comfort in that. And when you see these little evidences of God’s active hand, rejoice, say God be praised. He is here and He is for us. God’s peace be with you.

Hebrews 11:1-2

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Amen. We usually punctuate our prayers with that simple Hebrew word. Amen. And what the word means is a firm place. In fact, the Hebrew word picture is actually, if you can imagine taking a nail and driving it into a stud, into a firm place, and you can count on that nail holding whatever weight you need to hang on it.

For me, I have to tell you that I am not a handyman. In fact, when my wife and I first moved into our home, one of the first things I tried to do was hang shelving in our garage. And that night, we woke up to the sound of a big crash. Why? I had missed the studs and those screws pulled right out of the drywall when I hung weight on those shelves. For you and I that amen, that picture of driving a nail into a stud, is a beautiful picture for faith. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And just like with drywall, there are studs. There are places where you can hang that nail and you can count on it holding weight. There’s other places you can’t really.

Everyone has faith of some kind. Everyone drives that nail into the wall. Maybe their faith is in science and human reason, human logic or the ability to figure things out. Maybe their faith is in something like karma. What goes around comes around and that if I’d be a good person, then good things will come back to me. We hang our faith in all kinds of things. I can hang my faith in family, friends, and loved ones. I can hang my faith in career. But honestly, all these things are things that don’t have the real power to support me. If I drive my faith there, there’s nothing behind there to hold it up. It will crumble away. It will fall. It will come crashing down around me, just like my shelf in my garage.

Jesus is your Amen. I find it so neat that where we always end our prayers with Amen. In fact, Jesus in John, oftentimes before he says something, he says, “Amen, amen. I say to you.” And what is he saying? He’s saying, here’s the stud. Here’s the place where you can hang your faith. You can count on these words always being true. Heaven and earth will disappear. Heaven and earth will crumble away. But my words will remain forever. And it’s in Jesus words, where he wants us to plant our faith. Our Amen.

And you can count on the fact that he can carry it. In fact, those wounds in his hands and in his feet are the proof that we can hang anything on Jesus and he can carry it. He held the sin of the entire world, the entire human race on himself. And he did not fall. Jesus is your Amen. And because Jesus has lived and died and risen from the dead for you, because he bears those wounds in his hands and feet, you and I can pray our prayers. You and I can say the Lord’s Prayer and end with a confident statement. Amen. Here I place my faith. Amen.

Hebrews 9:14

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What is the conscience? The conscience you can think of as being like a referee. And you know how a referee calls things inbounds or out of bounds, or it can be like an umpire and you know that an umpire will call the pitch high or low or outside, but sometimes straight down the middle. The conscience is like that. It’s like a judge. It judges whether something is right or wrong. It judges what’s right or wrong in what we do so that we can think about it and say, was that right or was that wrong? And we might feel guilt or we might feel okay about what we did.

The conscience judges and what we see around us in what people are doing around us and the conscience also judges on what’s on the inside of us. Is that good? Is that bad? And so the conscience needs to be formed in the right way because we can be misled and we can start to think of what we already know as being right or wrong in a different way. And this simply underscores the importance of having a Christian home, having good Christian friends who won’t lead you astray in your thinking because that’s the safest place for the conscience. But most important for us is the role of God’s Word in forming our conscience. God’s Word in faithful law and gospel teaching will tell us what God says is right and wrong.

A rightly formed conscience, then, is sensitive so that when you do something wrong, when you have a sin, it should hurt a little like a pin pricking your skin when the conscience is working in the right way. So that we feel shame or we feel regret for something we’ve done and we don’t want people to know about that. This is how we can have a bad conscience or a guilty conscience, a troubled conscience. And the Bible has another term for it, and that is an unclean conscience. Hebrews nine, verse 14 speaks to this. It’s a great promise.

The blood of Christ will cleanse our conscience from dead works so that we serve God. (Hebrews 9:14)

And this is a great promise. And it’s good news for us because it tells us first that God wants you to have a clean conscience. He doesn’t want you to go along struggling with this guilty and troubled conscience, but he wants to do something about it. And so he sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross, to take away your sins. First, to live a perfect life, to count for you and to win your salvation and your cleansing for your conscience by the blood that he shed.

And then Jesus comes to you. He comes to you in his word and in the sacraments of baptism in the Lord’s Supper. And do you know the reason he comes? It’s to cleanse you, to give you a clean conscience. Baptism washes away your sin. In the Lord’s Supper, we think of the forgiveness of sins that it brings. But also we can think of it in terms of cleansing. It cleanses you from the inside out, so it cleanses you not only from the sins that you’ve done, but also the effects of all the sins that have been done to you. In the Lord’s Supper he cleanses you so that you don’t have to struggle for your clean conscience. But God gives you a clean conscience.

And in fact, that’s what the church service is for. It’s for God to give you a clean conscience. Do you have a troubled conscience? Do you feel unclean, perhaps? Call your pastor. Find a church of our fellowship in the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The pastors of our churches are there for one reason, really, and that is to deliver you the clean conscience that God wants to give you. They are there to care for the conscience because that’s what God wants for you.