TODAY'S VERSE

Ezekiel 18:19-22.  “’What?’ you ask. ‘Doesn’t the son pay for his father’ sins?’ No! For if the son does what is right & keeps My laws, he shall surely live. The one who sins is the one who dies. The son shall not be punished for his father’s sins, nor the father for his son’s. The righteous person will be rewarded for his own goodness & the wicked person for his wickedness. But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins & begins to obey My laws & do what is just & right, he shall surely live & not die. All his past sins will be forgotten, & he shall live because of his goodness.” The Living Bible

JESUS IS LOVE

"Because the God who revealed Himself in Jesus is full of love, He never deserts his children." Dave Dravecky, Men's Devotional Bible

THE CHRISTIAN & JUST WAR

"Returning to consider the Christian & just war, it is clear that there are two lines of Christian love. In the kingdom of the right, Christians honor Christ, His Means of Grace & the Gospel ethic of reconciliation. In all war--just & unjust--Christians are called to support the preaching of God's Word, pray for friend & enemy alike, & provide for basic human needs. This line of love flows from the Gospel & moves Christian hearts. In the kingdom of the left, Christians honor God's appointed civilian authorities & work within their vocations to support the proper work of civil authorities--to protect the good & punish the evil. This left-hand love should move civil leaders & citizens in their God-given vocations to support & exercise coercive force, if required, in accordance with law & reason." Jonathan Shaw, The Lutheran Witness, June/July 2022

THE FAMILY & FAITH FORMATION

"We live with two competing realities: (1) God gave the family as the foundation of society & (2) the family as God ordered it is under attack. This attack is as old as the fall, but it affects us in different ways in different eras.. We are no longer living like the family units of the 20th century. Today, less than 25% of U.S. households are traditional nuclear families--father, mother & children. A third of all children born in the U.S. are born out of wedlock. Families are struggling.

"The health of the family is critical to the health of the church. In fact, it is the family, not the church, that has the highest success in passing on the faith from generation to generation. When considering the amount of time children spend in the church per week compared to home, it is easy to understand intuitively the importance of the home to shape Christian faith in our children. Children have the highest likelihood of remaining in the church when faith formation is seen primarily as something that begins at home, that is central to a family's life. A child raised in a home where the parents offer no direction on religion will have less than a 20% probability of becoming an active church member as an adult." Roger Paavola, The Lutheran Reporter, July 2022

TODAY'S HYMN

By Grace I'm Saved (LSB #566, Sts 1, 6)

By grace I'm saved grace free & boundless; My soul, believe & doubt it not. Why stagger at this word of promise? Has Scripture ever falsehood taught? No! Then this word must true remain:  By grace you too will life obtain.

By grace! On this I'll rest when dying; In Jesus' promise I rejoice; For though I know my heart's condition, I also know my Savior's voice. My heart is glad, all grief has flown Since I am saved by grace alone.