I thank God for this section of Scripture. The Lord knew I would need it. We all do. It is astounding to take inventory of all that the Lord says of King David. Can you imagine God calling any human being one after His own heart? But this is exactly what the Lord calls King David in 1st Samuel 13:14! What is more, I am blown away to take into consideration God's eulogy of King David to King Solomon as recorded in 1st Kings 3:14. God says that David walked in God's way, that David kept His statues and commandments! I want to remind you about this context...David had already died when these words were being spoken by God to Solomon. So what's up with that? I thought God was omniscient?! Certainly the Lord realized that this David is the same guy who lusted after Bathsheba, and after learning that she was married, had her brought to him anyway, the same David who committed adultery, the same David who acted with deceit in order to deceive Uriah her husband, the same David who became more desperate in this deceit and when his plan didn't work the first time, got Uriah drunk -- ironically, Uriah proved to have more self-control while drunk than David did while sober -- and finally, this is the same David who murders Uriah. Again, this is the same David!

The Lord, however, forgot all about David's sin after the ministry of His Word had been applied to David. And this is the great great message of hope and encouragement for us poor sinners who are all-so-just-like David! First of all, be mindful of the fact that there is a considerable time lapse between 2nd Samuel 11 and 12. About a year goes by in order to demonstrate what sinful man does with his sin. For about a year, David's coping mechanism was to hide his sin...at least try to. That is what we do, and it doesn't work very well. Let's just say it: it doesn't work period. In Psalm 32 David confesses his futile attempts: "For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer (Psalm 32:3-4)."

In mercy, the Lord granted this process.

Then about a year later, David was ready...he was ready for a visit from the Prophet Nathan.

David's sin was revealed to him and he was cut to the heart. What followed is testimony of what confession must be...it is not giving an excuse, it is not qualifying this or that, it is not blaming someone else, it is not watering anything down; it is straight-forward and puts and keeps blame squarely on one's self. When David was cut by the Word, his confession was simple and direct: "I have sinned against the Lord (2 Sam 12:13)."

The Lord was also crystal clear in His holy absolution (as Nathan announced): "The Lord also has put away your sin (same verse)." The Lord forgave David and cancelled/blotted out David's sin to the extent that the Lord truly had no memory of it so that by the time the Lord recounted the life of David to Solomon, the sins were no more. All that was left was the memory of the saint!

The Lord sees your duplicity, He sees your contradictory nature...and He knows what it does to your consience and to your heart. We are a mess. He knows it. But He gives you this account of David so that you would not lose heart. He doesn't come to tell you to fix yourself, but He comes as the Gracious Absolver to hear your confession as one cut by the Law...and then telling it just as it is: "I have sinned against the Lord." And then, in love and mercy, through Jesus whose blood was shed to cover all of your sin, God pronounces, "I have put away your sin."

Yes, you are a sinner-saint, but to the Lord, you are a saint. This is the one He sees, this is the one preserved in Christ, this is the one who has a place in the Kingdom here and now and into eternity. Thank God that the Lord knew what to do with our inconsistency, with our Dr. Jykell and Mr. Hyde-syndrome. We are recipients of the saving blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ and for eternity, God will remember the saint, the saint, only the saint.

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

The epistle of James often gets a bad rap. Even the young Luther called it an epistle of straw. One can easily get the impression that it contradicts sola gratia and that it perpetuates legalism or at least pietism. The concerns, however, are unfounded. I love this epistle. It is written with great boldness for Christians in the midst of persecution. They needed their faith to be active in the face of it. It is good for waking us out of our laziness and slumber! This, however, does not say that it compromises doctrine.

Our epistle for Sunday, February 26th, will not permit the view that James promotes self-righteousness. In James 1:12-18, the first bishop of Jerusalem and half-brother of Jesus describes temptations process when it takes us to sin which leads to death. Knowing such a process reveals knowledge of the depth of our sin. The lure, enticement, and desire of sin is our spiritual disease and again, James teaches clearly that it leads to death. And those who are marked by death, can't save themselves!

Thus James brings out that the Lord and all of His good and perfect gifts come down to us (v 17) and to highlight what is chief among those things coming down, we know that it is the Lord Himself who came down to us poor, desperate sinners. John 3:13 teaches that He who ascended to heaven is the same One who descended; and Ephesians 4:10-12 teaches us that He who descended sends us gifts to equip us for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. Thus, James is not proposing a 12-step program, 7 principles for victorious living, or the 5 principles for the true sanctification. Instead, James leads us to God's plan: sinners are "brought...forth by the word of truth (James 1:18)." It is Christ the Word (John 1:1) who descends to us; it is Christ the Truth (John 14:6) who comes to us; and as Christ Himself is the resurrected Lord -- the first-fruits according to 1st Cor. 15:20 & 23 -- we are made by Him to be His first-fruits. That is our new lives are His doing!

Now the front part of this epistle is easier to grasp. Since Christ was THE blessed man who stood up under trial, we are not alone when tested. God's tests come upon us as we are in Christ. God's tests may be unpleasant, but in and through them our faith is refined. These tests strengthen faith, hope, and love (mark that this does not mean that you are going to feel strong). These tests, however, should never be confused with the devil's temptations which deviate from God's tests because whereas the Lord's tests lead us to faithfulness, the devil's temptations are designed to turn us from God. A good litmus test for differentiating between the two is this: God's tests lead us to confess our sin and lean on God; but the devil's temptations lead us to make excuses and blame others (even God) for turning from the Lord's Word, truth, and will. Confession vs. Blame...that's how we know.

How can we poor sinners possibly remain steadfast under trial? Know this: the Lord comes with His gifts and these lead us to confess our sin and our very great need for the Lord and for His Word and Truth to create in us a clean heart...to bring us forth to be a kind of first-fruits, the work of His hand.

The Christian under trail is the same one who is sustained by Jesus Christ. You stand simply because you do not stand alone...and with His Word, His Truth, and His Work making and keeping you as His creation, He will do it...we stand as His gifts are poured out upon us; we stand because Jesus descended; we stand because He bears us forth!

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

All Christians can and should be able to relate to Job. His name means either "one exposed to hostility" or "one who returns and repents"...either way, we should be able to either affirm the fact that we too are exposed to the hostility of the world that tries to rip our faith away from us or verify that we too are in daily and constant need of returning to the Lord in repentance. At the very least, we can relate to the simple description of Job at Job 1:1: Job was "a man." And we know what happened to him in his mere humanity: he faced terrible suffering. This is what all of us are in the position to relate to. This in itself raises anxiety in us. When we consider the weight of our weakness and vulnerability, especially due to our sin, we should also be able to relate to Job's confession at 42:6: "therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." 

Now on Ash Wednesday we traditionally emulate Job by taking on ashes, but can we also relate to him by despising ourselves as he despised himself? This too should be easy when we contemplate our sin. Yes, it is that bad and yes, it permeates our sinful nature. On this account, we continually relate to Job as the people of God. We also fear God (we cling to Him and revere Him) and turn away from evil. It is true that we are sinners and while sin and evil are directly related, it is one thing to be sinner, it is another to practice evil. If sin is lawlessness, evil is the pursuit of lawlessness; if sin is falling short of the glory of God, evil revels in the fallen state. Job was a sinner and he confessed his sin, but he turned away from evil. Indeed, our Lord says that we are to hate evil (Amos 5:15). Evil is designed to cause us to abandon the faith.

That is, whereas evil would drive us to unbelief, Job even in his misery and despair; and even when he could not see God, the Word states at Job 1:20 that Job "worshiped." Terrible things happen, Satan accuses so that we would succumb to our shame and guilt, but remember what God did in Job: he led him to worship. How could Job do this? He could because the God we worship does not live above us, but lives among us. He is Emmanuel/God with us (Isaiah 7), He promises to be with us always (Matt. 28), and Job knew that even after turning to dust, he would be raised before the Lord and see the Lord with his own eyes (Job 19). Job knew that God was with Him. Can we be that bold? That confident? We shouldn't hesitate. Why?

Jesus joined our ash-heap. In fact, His was larger and taller than any ash pile that has ever existed. His was so high, He had to be lifted on a cross as He bore all sins, the cause for all ashes. How could Job bless the name of the Lord? For one to say, "Lord" is to speak not simply of the Creator-God, but the God of compassion, the God of grace, and the God who does not abandon His people. Did Job have the clarity of faith that we have in the Christian Church? Absolutely not, but he knew enough, he could already see Jesus and Jesus is the God who joins us in our ashes, so that we know -- always, always, always -- that our lives do not end there.

For Job to know such misery and yet say, "blessed be the name of the Lord" was like knowing that what he was going through was not the end of the story.

How could it be? If Christ entered into our ashes and rose from the grave, then it must be that since we are in Christ, the ashes we know today will not impede our resurrection. Christ is here even in our ashes; Christ is here affirming His victory over our ashes; Christ is here and so that our ashes cannot be the last word. In in the meantime, our ashes remind us to continue to confess our great need for our Lord, the Lord, the One we worship, Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

Light is presented in Scripture in a literal, figurative, and transferred sense (as our moving from darkness to light in conversion, or that which is given by God to His people). To say the least, the word has many uses in Scripture. The most important referent, however, is Jesus Christ. In John 8:12 the Lord says, "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" For the child of God, it is hard to think of more comforting words. Christ as our light stands in contrast to terrifying and overwhelming darkness. The Scriptural presentation of hell for example describes outer darkness and gloomy darkness. What is more terrifying than eternal darkness? But we don't have to go there to immediately relate to the frightening nature of darkness. How many children have told you they were afraid of the dark? Adults aren't particularly fond of it either. Darkness is often associated with depression. Few things are worse than living with a sense of hopelessness and despair. Sinners live this way. It was for this reason, that Christ the Light of the World came! The Lord invades our darkness and fills us with His light and all that comes with it: life, freedom, hope, and salvation.

We can't stop here. While all of these virtues and gifts are exactly what we need, we also need "light" and clarity as to how these are given. God won't permit us to be ambiguous or ethereal in this regard. There is no benefit in shifting to mysticism for receiving God's light. Speaking of dealing with that depression mentioned above, St. Paul says specifically that God's servants "do not lose heart." This is stated in the same verse where St. Paul identifies his life in "the ministry," which is to say he was bound by and nourished by the Word of Christ. Where the Word of Christ is, there you can be sure, the light of Christ will follow! This is why St. Paul is so adamant about warning us about the devil's strategy: he wants to put a veil over the Gospel, he desires to cover it up and this way, people will be blinded to "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2nd Cor. 4:4)." 

To counter this Satanic attack against God's light, St. Paul proclaimed Christ! See how Christ's light permeates all things! In creation, Christ the Light of the World was the Word that brought light into the universe. When God spoke, Christ worked and light came! In redemption, the Light of the World could not be defeated by the nails of Calvary's cross. While the Lord humbled Himself in human flesh and experienced the agony of the cross to bear our sin, death could not contain light. The nails of the cross could just as much claim victory over Jesus as nails can "hold" light to a wall. And it was precisely because this Lord -- THE Lord -- entered into death that death was overcome! The resurrection is the release of the Light for all to see! In addition to creation and redemption, Christ shines in His people; He shines in you.

God says, "let your light shine (Matthew 5:16)," but it can only do so when it shines on us. When Christ teaches that light must fill our eyes for the rest of us to be filled with light, this occurs only when the light of Christ comes to us, is received by us, and enters into us (Matthew 6:22-23). This is precisely what happens when we receive the Word and Sacrament of Jesus Christ! The Psalmist celebrated this truth: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105)." Indeed, even our sanctification is by Christ the Light of the World! As you receive Christ's Word, Christ's Word shines upon and in you dear Christian. St. Paul concludes our epistle with these words, "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2nd Cor. 4:6)."

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

When I was considerably younger, really loud music kind of just drowned out everything. Thinking about my frenetic ways back then, I suppose that was the way to go. Now that I'm older (and little less frenetic) loud music -- that isn't hymnody or liturgy -- gives me a headache. I view this as a reminder that loud and powerful isn't exactly conducive to spiritual contemplation. It doesn't help me pray for example. In this line, I appreciate the Scripture in Psalm 46:10a: "Be still and know that I am God." Furthermore, 1st Kings 19:11-12 is pretty amazing: "And [the Lord] said, 'Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper." Why does God do this? Because He is merciful. He knows we are sinners; He knows we are weak; He knows that we are easily overwhelmed. So He tones it down and will not crush His people. And this is vital for us to know. Sometimes we set ourselves up for confusion. We know that our sin is great, that our problems are considerable. We assume that something really big, loud, and powerful has to descend from heaven. We are wrong, because this isn't how God operates. We are going to consider this further tomorrow, Sunday, February 12th, as we consider "Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, [who] was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor...". Yes, Naaman was a great man, BUT..."he was a leper." He had a big problem and needed help. How would God help Him? How does God help us? The answer is through what is very ordinary and even -- to the world -- absolutely unimpressive, but when the Lord comes in these simple, ordinary ways, the real power of God is known; sins are forgiven and eternal life is poured out! Hope to see you in God's House tomorrow!

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

The Gospel from Mark 1:29-39 demonstrates why Jesus conducted miracles of healing. First, He did it to show His tremendous compassion for us. He comes to help us with our great need! Second, Christ demonstrates how approachable He is. He receives the report about Peter's mother-in-law and without any recorded questions, He just responds to the request. He loves to receive the prayers of His people! And then the miracle itself is recorded. Why?

So many claim that this is a blueprint for the "signs and wonders" that we should expect today. When such an expectation occurs, an atrocious theology ensues. With such a lens, it is just a matter a time before we hear of Christians who died on account of insufficient faith and prayers devoid of charismatic power. These are tragic circumstances that lead people to sink into spiritual despair!

The miracles of healing are intended to point us Christ's identity. He is truly the Great Physician, the Son of God whose stripes would lead to the greatest healing (Isaiah 53). The miracles say, "Behold the Son of God!" Now, follow Him, listen to Him, trust in Him! These miracles are epiphanies of the work of the Savior of the world. While every clinic and hospital is His gift to us, if He had simply come to set up a clinic in Capernaum, His Messiahship would have been reduced to an earthly Kingdom. Instead, He comes to heal throughout the world through the forgiveness of our sins.

That is, Jesus has cut to the chase: He does not specialize in the cure of cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease, but in the cure of sin which is the basis for all of these and more importantly, the basis for death itself. And as Jesus here in Mark 1 rebuked the fever (as He rebuked the wind and the waves), He rebukes our sin and like the fever left Peter's mother-in-law, the condemnation of sin leaves us!

And then He prayed. He prayed so fervently that He would not give into the temptation of a false identity. The people were so pleased and they wanted to control Him. He wouldn't allow it and He went forth to preach and this preaching continues to this day. This is what we must seek. While we are tenderly invited to give Him all of our needs and ask Him for whatever is on our hearts (in conformity with His Word), we are chiefly bound to seek His Word. In this Word, our true healing comes...not just to get you to the next day, month or year in the body, but to give you eternal life and release from the bonds of sin, death, and the grave. This is the healing that He gives. To have this healing by the way, leads to healing for everything else...even our bodies will be restored!

"For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! (Job 19:25-27)."

In Your Service and To Christ's Glory,

Dr. Espinosa

The Theme for our Wednesday night services is "Confession and Holy Absolution -- The Keys in Action."

We will gather at Pastor Espinosa's home every Wednesday night beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd at 6 pm for soup suppers and 7 pm for worship.

The services include:

Ash Wednesday, February 22nd:     "We Are Ashes (Job 2 -- Job in the Ashes)"

Lent 2, February 29th:                          "Our Need: Living as Sinner-Saints (2 Sam 12 -- Nathan goes to David)"

Lent 3, March 7th:                                   "The Paralysis of Sin/The Power of Forgiveness (Mark 2:1-12)"

Lent 4, March 14th:                                 "The Keys of the Church: Binding and Loosing (Matt. 16, Matt. 18)"

Lent 5, March 21st:                                  "The Office of the Keys: Jesus' Breath and Words (John 20)"

Lent 6, March 28th:                                 "Personal Absolution: Forgiveness Applied (John 8:2-11-the woman                                                                                         caught in adultery)"

We are excited to participate in a pulpit exchange program with some other LC-MS pastors and congregations. We will welcome four (4) different pastors who will proclaim God's Word during this coming Lenten season. I will preach on Ash Wednesday and on one of the five following services. This promises to be a rich Lenten season at Saint Paul's. Please come and invite a friend to these services. Remember soup suppers every Wednesday at 6 pm and then service at 7 pm.

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

People are fascinated by the occult. Hollywood is obsessed with it. Movies on demon-possession have become a popular movie genre. Unfortunately, there is nothing entertaining about the demonic. According to Scripture, demons are fallen angels that were cast out of heaven by God, cast into gloomy dungeons, but also cast down to earth (2nd Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6, and Revelation 12:9). Demons are real. Let's face it, not only is the topic not pleasant, but frightening.

But if we are frightened then perhaps we are on the right track for also taking seriously what God's comforting word says on the subject: in Christ we are saved from all unclean spirits also known as demons. We can say goodbye to our fear.

The context of Mark 1 is proceeded by at least two key events: 1) the baptism of Christ; and 2) his temptation in the wilderness. These are crucial for fully appreciating Mark 1. By being baptized, He joined our lives. He was baptized into His people, into His church. As our representative and champion He went to work. He entered the wilderness and quite simply defeated the devil's temptations. He showed His power over the ruler of demons. Christ's authority was already established, an authority confirmed after His resurrection when He proclaimed before His ascension that all authority in heaven and on earth is His (Matt. 28).

With divine authority, Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and the man once possessed was made clean. The scene of course often raises many questions. Questions about possession abound. At the end of the day, we are to treat the spiritual realm seriously. St. Paul reminds us that this is where our real struggle lies (Eph. 6). Apart from possession, the Christian can at the very least be attacked (Eph. 6 describes flaming arrows flying our way). Temptation confronts our thoughts, our desires, and our decisions which reflect our alliance and commitment. We trust in the Lord, but we are pulled to go against Him. That pull comes from our sinful flesh for sure, but it comes also from all that is unclean in the world.

The Mark 1 context, however, shows where our Savior abides: He goes to the temple, He goes to the place where His Father's Word is proclaimed. We know we can always find the Lord in His church. This is why Christians are eager to meet Him there! In His temple, in His church He heals His people. He heals you. He is still preaching and His Word comes with healing uniting you to Himself and His blood which cleanses you from all sin. Is this really true? Yes, because you were baptized, you were washed, you were cleansed. Christ performed His exorcism on you on the day your sin was buried with Him in Holy Baptism, on the day you were joined to His resurrection victory over the grave.

"He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him (St. Mark's Gospel, chapter 1, verse 27b)."

In Your Service and To Christ's Glory,

Dr. Espinosa

Because the time is short, Saint Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit instructed that if we have a [spouse] (he writes "wife"), we ought to live as if we didn't, that if we mourn as though we were not mourning, that if we rejoice as though we were not rejoicing, that if we buy the world's goods as if we had none of them, and that if we deal with the world as if we had no dealings with it (1st Corinthians 7:29-31). These words are not be taken to mean that we should be unfaithful or despise the gifts of God. Of course not. Then what do the words mean? Luther brings out the meaning in the famous hymn of the Reformation A Mighty Fortress Is Our God: "Were [evil foes] to take our house, goods, honor, child, or spouse, though life be wrenched away, they cannot win the day. The Kingdom's ours forever!" That is, we are -- in Christ -- given a proper outlook about life. A James' Bond movie came out years ago called The World Is Not Enough. The title implies insatiable greed, but in a different way the words themselves are true: the world is not enough. The world -- and nothing in it -- can give us what we really need. It's inherent limitation means as St. Paul writes, "for the present form of this world is passing away. (1st Cor. 7:31b)." Who wants to bank on what turns to dust? We should love and honor our spouses, we should thank God for the incredible gifts which fill our lives, but none of these persons nor things can provide the eternal life we all long for.

We must therefore be trained to trust in God who is eternal over and above that which is passing. Don't get too attached to anything. It is simple, and yet profound wisdom. We really don't like the counsel. The flesh drives us to continue striving for that which can never satisfy our souls. Solomon says for example whoever loves money never has enough (Ecclesiates 5:10). That which turns to dust can never leave a good taste in one's mouth. So let us keep the world in proper perspective.

But this isn't the end of our view of the world. While we don't get too attached to good things that can never replace the Giver of those good things, and while we are to avoid the evil influences in the world, there is another aspect of the world we must love: the people who occupy it for whom Jesus lived, died, and rose.

In this respect we are called to love the world like God does. The people who need to hear the Gospel and believe in it are people for whom God desires to grant new spirits and have lives that surpass the present form of the world that is passing. Jonah was led back to Nineveh and Jesus calls his disciples to be fishers of men.

Don't get too attached. Leave that part of your born-again heart for Jesus, but love the world so that you'll put first things first: sharing the love of God and the Gospel of Christ.

God's Peace,

Dr. Espinosa