www.lcms.org/witness

PUTTING GODIN A BOX

December 2004 VOL. 123 NO. 11

19

16

20

10

6FeaturesFeatures

3 LifelineKathryn Page Camp

4 Letters

14 National News

23 Searching ScriptureRobert E. Smith

24 Notices

26 Family Counselor/People & Places

27 Q&A/Shedding Some Light

28 From the PresidentGerald B.Kieschnick

WITNESST h e L u t h e r a n

A Magazine for the laypeople of the lutheran church — missouri synod

december 2004

Official periodical of The Lutheran Church—MissouriSynod through the Board for CommunicationServices, Ernest E. Garbe, chairman; Rev. J. ThomasLapacka, executive director.

Staff: Rev. David L. Mahsman, executive editor; Don Folkemer,managing editor; Joe Isenhower Jr., news editor; Paula SchlueterRoss, contributing editor; John Krus, senior designer; CorinneLatimer, marketing manager; Pam Burgdorf, coordinator;Marcy Hanewinkel, advertising sales; Carla Dubbelde, editori-al manager, district editions; Karen Higgins, editorial assistant;editorial office: 1333 S. Kirkwood Rd., St. Louis, MO 63122-7295;(314) 965-9917, Ext. 1228.

© 2004 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Reproductionof a single article or column for parish use only does not requirepermission of THE LUTHERAN WITNESS. Such reproductions,however, should credit THE LUTHERAN WITNESS as thesource. Cover images and “Shedding Some Light” cartoons arenot reproducible without permission. Also, photos credited tosources outside the LCMS are not to be copied.

Published 11 times per year by Concordia Publishing House,3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118-3968. Individual sub-scription $18.48 per year. Organized congregation subscriptionsand district editions offered at reduced rate if submitted throughlocal churches. Standard A postage paid at St. Louis, MO.

For subscription information or address changes, e–mail: cphorder@cph.org

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod1-888-THE LCMS (843-5267) www.lcms.org

e–mail: LUTHERAN.WITNESS@lcms.org

Member: Associated Church PressEvangelical Press Association

December 2004 (ISSN: 0024-757X) Vol.123, No11

Cover © Morgan Weistling www.morganweistling.comby arrangement with Mill Pond Press. For information

on art prints by Morgan Weistling, please contact Visionsof Faith at 800-853-1352 or go to www.millpond.com

To subscribe, renew or to give a gift subscription,call Concordia Publishing House at: 800-325-3381

DepartmentsDepartments

Fra

ncis

co O

rdaz

Mas

terf

ile

6

1010

DOUBT, FEARS AND FAITHby Craig Parrott

What can we do about the doubts andfears that can beset us as Christians?

PUTTING GOD IN A BOXby Todd Wilken

The Virgin Mary put God in a box—but thatwas a far cry from what the term means today.

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’?by Richard Maffeo

“Happy Holidays”and “Season’sGreetings”seem to have taken its place.

20

Pho

to c

ourt

esy

Kat

hryn

Pag

e C

amp

No Room in the InnPage 3

DEFEATING THE GIMMEESby John Lane

We can draw a battle line against thecommercialization of Christ’s birth andappreciate even more the joy of givingand receiving gifts.

16THE HEART OF A SERVANTby Paula Schlueter Ross

King County Sheriff Dave Reicherttrades in his badge for a job onCapitol Hill.

196

Letters

a man’s right to choose to rape awoman, but where do you stand onhealth care?” then would it not alsobe morally unacceptable to say, “Idisagree with your views supportingthe brutal murder of our children,but where do you stand on welfarereform”? If a candidate for publicoffice supports murdering children,then it does not matter where hestands on any other issue.

Dr. James LambExecutive Director

National Lutherans For LifeNevada, Iowa

ONE ASSUMES THAT PROFESSORS WALZ

and Burkee are aware that all man-ner of stem cell research is beingactively pursued in the UnitedStates, not restrained by any govern-ment ban. But possibly one assumestoo much. What is banned is taxpay-er funding of killing nascent humanentities in order to harvest “embry-onic” stem cells from them.

As for deciding whom to vote for,possibly my simple-mindedapproach overlooks certain “com-plexities” and “nuances,” but I amunable absolutely to vote for a candi-date for president whose long-stand-ing public record is marked byunswerving support for unrestrainedabortion, no matter how beneficial Imay believe his promised tax andmonetary prescriptions would be formy personal investment portfolio.

Leonard C. JohnsonMoscow, Idaho

MANY EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS SEE

and hear President Bush proclaimingthe Republican platform of “pro-life”

Legal concerns (see the editor’snote at the end of the first section ofletters) and the production schedulefor The Lutheran Witness precludedpublication of letters responding tothe October cover article before theNov. 2 national election. We offersome of those responses now.—Ed.

I WAS EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED IN

“Bush, Kerry and the Christian Voter”(Oct. ’04). The reason is that theissues of tax cuts, social justice, thewar in Iraq and poverty were present-ed as moral equivalents to abortionand homosexual unions. Certainly,Christians can disagree on the bestapproach to the former issues, but inregard to the latter, God’s Word isclear.

Rev. John O. GreinSwanville, Minn.

I CAN UNDERSTAND THE CHURCH

1) recommending that we vote as ourChristian duty and that we study theissues adequately in order to make aproper vote, or 2) coming all out forGeorge Bush because he is theChristian in the race. But I believeyou allowed two liberal professors tocloud the issues and give Kerry muchmore credit than he deserves.

Maryann PringleDevine, Texas

BASED ON CHRISTIAN ETHICS: HEADS

it’s Bush; tails it’s Kerry.Rev. Mark GobleMemphis, Tenn.

ABORTION IS THE BRUTAL, BLOODY AND

painful murder of an unborn child. Ifthe Christian would find it uncon-scionable to say to a candidate, “Idisagree with your views in favor of

Bush and Kerry

I find it very difficult to understandhow Lutherans could confess the Creedon Sunday, then vote on Tuesday for acandidate who facilitates and condonesthe killing of unborn children.

Jay A. NenningerSulphur Springs, Texas

and “anti-gay,” core family values thatevery Christian must endorse! Butstop! Isn’t truth telling (Eighth Com-mandment) also a Christian value?How do we, the Christian community,endorse his presidency when he liedwhen he stated that Iraq possessed“weapons of mass destruction” andnow has the American nation entrap-ped in a war in which our Americansoldiers are seen by the Iraqi publicas intruders, not liberators?

Dr. Thomas OieAppleton, Wis.

I WAS EXPECTING ENCOURAGEMENT

to vote for the candidate whosemoral values are not in contrast toour Lutheran doctrine on abortion,same-sex marriage, euthanasia—allof which are listed in Scripture assinful and wrong. Not one mentionwas made of God’s directions to usconcerning these areas.

Dr. Wayne GallerHot Springs Village, Ark.

The article as prepared for publica-tion included this paragraph: “TheLutheran Church—Missouri Synodhas taken official positions that‘since abortion takes a human life,abortion is not a moral option,except as a tragically unavoidablebyproduct of medical proceduresnecessary to prevent the death ofanother human being, viz., themother’; that ‘any technique ormethod of human cloning thatresults in the destruction of humanembryos or the creation of humanembryos for the purpose of fetal tis-sue research ...’ is contrary to God’sWord; and affirming ‘on the basis ofScripture, marriage as the lifelongunion of one man and one woman.’”

This paragraph was removed latein production upon the advice oflegal counsel that publishing itwould send a “signal” to our readerson how to vote, as the article notedthat John Kerry had taken the oppo-site position in each case. To sendsuch a signal, according to legalcounsel, would have jeopardized

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

both the Synod’s tax-exempt status andits eligibility to receive tax-deductiblecontributions—Ed.

Different takesTHE ARTICLE WAS PRESENTED AS “CHOICES

from a Christian perspective,” but itseemed to me to have a pro-Kerry bias.

Don ReebEstes Park, Colo.

THANK THE LORD YOU DID NOT TAKE SIDES

on this presidential campaign. I am aRepublican, and I have no use for JohnKerry.

Paul W. BeckenhauerWest Point, Neb.

I HAVE JUST RECEIVED THE OCTOBER

Lutheran Witness. Is the Lutheranchurch telling the members to vote forBush? I think they are, and the churchhas no place in government! I am presi-dent of a political group of women, andI take offense to this article.

Marjorie CatheyMontalba, Texas

I AM ANGRY ALMOST BEYOND WORDS!The mission of the “visible church” isspreading the Gospel, not politics.

Dianah ZehetnerClarksville, Texas

I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED. I THOUGHT WE

were going to get some direction onwhat our church leadership felt aboutthis election. Instead, all I got out of thearticle was a comparison on issues thatI can get out of any newspaper. Yourarticle wasted my time.

Bruce BullermanPlain City, Ohio

I WAS PLEASED TO SEE SUCH A BALANCED

article. God is neither a Democrat nora Republican, and the answers to thisworld’s problems ultimately are notlikely to be resolved in any election.

Scott JankeSan Marcos, Texas

I SUPPOSE THAT AS A CHRISTIAN PUBLI-cation you don’t wish to be too politi-cal. If that is the case, maybe youshould remain completely silent.

Joel OberdieckTruman, Minn.

DECEMBER 2004

PUTTING GODIN A BOX

The Virgin Mary put Godin a box— but that wasa far cry from what the

term means today.

PUTTING GODIN A BOX

The Virgin Mary put Godin a box— but that wasa far cry from what the

term means today.

by Todd Wilken

You can’t put God in a box! How often have you heard that? Perhaps you have

said it yourself. Usually when we say, “You can’t put Godin a box,” we mean that it is impossible to limit whatGod can do. That is true enough.

However, nowadays “you can’t put God in a box” hasbecome the creed of religious relativism—the notionthat all religious beliefs are a matter of perspective, thatall religions are equally valid and that no one religionpossesses absolute truth. For example, I recently saw abumper sticker that read, “My God is too big to fit intoyour religion.” The point being that God cannot beknown through any one religion, and that every religion(including Christianity) offers, at best, only partialknowledge of God.

At first glance, you might be tempted to agree. Afterall, we Christians believe that God is big-infinite, in fact.Perhaps you can’t put God in a box. Perhaps He is toobig to fit into any one religion, even Christianity. KingSolomon said: “Will God indeed dwell on the earth?Behold, heaven and the highest heavenscannot contain You” (1 Kings 8:27, NKJV).

Mary put God in a boxBut look again at the familiar

account of our Savior’s birth.Luke tells us how Joseph andMary came to Bethlehem.Then he writes:

So it was, that while theywere there, the days were completed for her to bedelivered. And she broughtforth her firstborn Son, andwrapped Him in swaddlingcloths, and laid Him in amanger (Luke 2:6–7).

The mother of our Lordtook her newborn son, God inthe flesh, and laid Him in a box, afeeding trough. Mary put God in abox—literally.

Is this just a clever twisting of words?No it isn’t.

While Mary was laying her baby in the manger,the angel was announcing His birth to the shepherds.The angel told the shepherds that if they went toBethlehem and looked into that manger, they would findGod in the flesh:

For there is born to you this day in the city of David

a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord. And this will be thesign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swad-dling cloths, lying in a manger (Luke 2:11–12, NKJV).

There’s more. Before Mary laid God in the manger,Mary held God in her arms. For nine months prior tothat, Mary carried God in her womb. Nine months earli-er, Mary had heard and believed the angel’s words:

Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear ason, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great,and will be called the Son of the Most High; and theLord God will give Him the throne of His father David;and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; andHis kingdom will have no end. (Luke 1:31–33, ESB).(See also Matt. 1:20–23; Is. 9:6–7.)

Right then and there in Mary’s womb, King Solomon’squestion, “Will God indeed dwell on the earth?” wasanswered. Yes, God will dwell on earth. The God whom“the heaven and the highest heavens cannot contain”will not only dwell on earth, He will take up residencefirst in Mary’s womb.

St. Paul writes of Jesus, “In Him all the fullness of Deitydwells in bodily form” (Col. 2:9, NASB). The baby in

Mary’s womb, the baby in Mary’s arms and thebaby lying in the manger is God in the

flesh. There at Bethlehem, the fullnessof God was found in a box at Mary’s

feet. Luther wrote: “I know of noGod but this One in the manger. ...”

If you will have joy, bendyourself down to this place.There you will find that boygiven for you who is yourCreator, lying in a manger. I will stay with that boy as Hesucks, is washed, and dies.There is no joy but in this boy.Take Him away and you facethe Majesty which terrifies.

I know of no God but this Onein the manger. Do not let your-

self be turned away from thishumanity. What wonderful words

(Col. 2:9)! He is not only a man anda servant, but that person lying in the

manger is both man and God essentially,not separated one from the other, but as born

of a virgin. If you separate them, the joy is gone.O You boy, lying in the manger, You are truly the Godwho has created me, and You will not be wrathful withme because You come to me in this loving way—a moreloving way cannot be imagined.

Luther’s Christmas Sermon, 1527

All artwork by Francisco Ordaz, from “The Very First Christmas”© Concordia Publishing House

DECEMBER 2004

Art by Francisco Ordaz

The truth is, God cannot be truly known apart fromthat God in the flesh, that God in a box, that baby in themanger.

Against the claims of religious relativism, Scripturedeclares that the Triune God has revealed Himself in allHis fullness in bodily form in Jesus Christ. To knowJesus is to know God, and apart from Jesus God cannottruly be known (John 1:14,18; 5:37–38; 14:6–9; 15:21–24;1 John 4:6 and 2 John 1:9).

This is how God is with us—in the human flesh ofJesus. More than that, this is how God is for us—in thehuman flesh of Jesus.

It pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness

should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things toHimself; by Him, whether things on earth or things inheaven, having made peace through the blood of Hiscross (Col. 1:19–20, NKJV).

Jesus traveled the path of the Virgin’s womb to thecross. He came, God and man, so that He might makepeace between God and man at the cross.

Just as God lay in the manger, so God hung on thecross. Just as God lay in the manger, so God lay in thetomb. Just as God lay in the manger, so God came outof the tomb alive to stand among His disciples. Just asGod lay in the manger, so God ascended in glory andwill return to raise the dead and judge the world.

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

He is here with usBut Jesus is no longer in

the manger. Jesus is no longeron the cross. Jesus is no longerin the tomb. Where is our God inthe flesh to be found today?Solomon’s question remains, “WillGod indeed dwell on the earth?”And the answer remains the same.

Yes, God will dwell on earth.God is still among us as He was inMary’s womb, in Mary’s arms and inthe manger. God is still among usas He was on the cross, in the tomband, raised from the dead,among His disciples.

Every Sunday, Jesus speaksthese words at His Supper, “Thisis my body given for you. ... Thiscup is the new covenant in myblood, which is poured out foryou” (Luke 22:19–20).

Is this just a clever twisting ofwords? No it isn’t.

The same body that was inMary’s womb, in Mary’s arms, inthe manger, on the cross, in thetomb, resurrected among thedisciples and is sitting at the righthand of God is in the bread andwine of the Lord’s Supper. Stilltoday, this is how God is with us;this is how God is for us.

Paul tells us: “As often as you eatthis bread and drink the cup, youproclaim the Lord’s death till Hecomes” (1 Cor. 11:26, NKJV). This istrue. As often as we receive theLord’s Supper, Jesus’ conception,birth, death and resurrection forsinners are proclaimed. And as oftenas these things are proclaimed, theyare delivered. Forgiveness, life andsalvation are found nowhere elsebut in Jesus, God in the flesh.

The words of the Christmashymn sing not only of Christmasday, but of every Sunday, everyLord’s Supper:

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see. Hail th’ incarnate deity.Pleased as man with men to dwell,Jesus, our Emmanuel.

The angel told the shepherds thatif they went to Bethlehem andlooked into the manger, they wouldfind God in the flesh.

So it was, when the angels hadgone away from them into heaven,the shepherds said to one another,“Let us now go to Bethlehem andsee this thing that has come topass, which the Lord has madeknown to us.” And they came withhaste and found Mary and Joseph,and the Babe lying in a manger.Now when they had seen Him, theymade widely known the sayingwhich was told them concerningthis Child (Luke 2:15–17).

This Christmas, you won’t findJesus in the manger, or on the crossor in the tomb. You will only findJesus where He has promised to befound. You will find Jesus whereverHis incarnation, death and resurrec-tion for sinners is purely proclaimedand rightly delivered. You will findJesus in His Word and His sacra-ments. And, just like the shepherds,where you find Jesus, you findGod—God in the flesh, God withyou, God for you.

DECEMBER 2004

Rev. Todd Wilken is host of the nationally syndi-cated radio program“Issues, Etc.” and itsweekday edition in St. Louis on radio stationKFUO–AM.

Art by Francisco Ordaz

T he same body that was in Mary’s womb,in Mary’s arms, in the manger, on the cross,

in the tomb, resurrected among the disciples and is sitting at the right hand of God is in the

bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper.

Steve Prezant/MasterfileTHE LUTHERAN WITNESS

by Craig Parrott

This article is adapted from twoof the 14 “letters” in the author’sbook For the Faint of Heart: Hopefor the Hurting, which he wrotewith the hope “that hearts andminds will be redirected to God’spromises and to His Grace.”

“Michelle” is fictional, and theauthor suggests the reader inserthis or her own name when readingthese letters.—Ed.

What can we do about thedoubts and fears that canbeset us as Christians?

DOUBT,FEARS

AND

FAITH

Dear Michelle,

Unfortunately, it is quite commonin the church today for people toparade about as if they had no wor-ries or wonderings. As a sign of“strong faith,” people seem to put onairs that they have a firm hold onlife.

Compound this false front withthe fact that very few people—even Christians—risk getting closeenough to others to become nakedbefore them. What if they find outwhat I am really like? What if theysee that I am really a small, fright-ened little boy inside a man’s body?What if they discover the intensestruggles I have with vile thoughts?What if they discover how much Idon’t know and how much uncer-tainty lies within my heart over thethings I think I know?

A Christian counselor onceopened my eyes with the words, “Iwould rather be a sincere, mediocreChristian than a fake good one.” As Ihave traveled a little farther down

life’s path, I have discovered that“real” people don’t have all theanswers. They don’t even flinchwhen they say, “I don’t know.”It’s as if they have grown morecomfortable than the “aver-age” human with life’s mys-teries.

And almost withoutexception, the most-real peo-

ple I have met have experienced

seasons of intense suffering anddoubting.

One of the most profound andinfluential persons in my life (yes,he was a friend with whom my soulwas stripped bare) told me that lifeis a good proving ground for faith.He encouraged me to let myself feelpain and to admit fears. He said themore I long, ache, and groan, themore I will thirst for God and thenext world. He was right.

By now, perhaps, you are begin-ning to see that doubts and fears candraw us closer to, rather than driveus farther from God. We often havea misguided view of growth. Wethink it means feeling better orimproving somehow. Growth mightbe seeing ourselves as God acceptsus in Christ. We are no longer undercondemnation (Rom. 8:1), and weare “without blemish and free fromaccusation” (Col. 1:22).

Rather than resting in answers, weshould be even more content to rest

in Him who has all the answers!There is a profound differencebetween the two. The former will notquench our thirst or lead us to peace.“Let not the wise man boast of hiswisdom or the strong man boast ofhis strength or the rich man boast ofhis riches, but let him who boastsboast about this: that he understandsand knows me” (Jer. 9:23–24a).

Later, Jeremiah declares God’s

promise, “You will seek me and findme when you seek me with all yourheart” (Jer. 29:13). In my life, I havemore fervently sought after Godwhen I was beset with all sorts oftroubling doubts and fears. A curso-ry glance at Scripture will revealthat you and I are in good company.

Jeremiah, Job, David, Moses,Abraham and Paul all faced hugequestion marks in their lives. Threetimes Paul asked God to take awayhis thorn in the flesh. God respond-ed, “My grace is sufficient for you,for my power is made perfect inweakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).

Paul concluded that when he had come to the end of his ownresources, it was then that he hadfound his real strength in Christ. You seem to be in a similar place,Michelle. Perhaps you pray oftenwhat the father with the possessedson asked of Jesus, “I do believe;help me overcome my unbelief!”(Mark 9:24). I know it has been afavorite petition of mine over theyears.

Your question leads us to one ofthe least discussed truths about ourChristian journey in this world: weare at war. Far from the misguidedworldly view that Christianity isjust another path to peace andprosperity in this life, the real storyof a Christian is often the opposite.Our sinful flesh and new spirit rageagainst each other within us. Innertension and turmoil persist in theminds and hearts of Christiansfighting the good fight. Contra-dictions and conflicting voices areall around.

Rom. 7:14–25 is an excellentdescription of this battle. This strug-gle, this back-and-forth teeter totter-ing, is not experienced by unbeliev-ing captives—P.O.W.s —prisonersof the world. Think about the impli-cations of this last statement andyour question, Michelle.

Be on guard against this tempta-tion from the flesh: putting faith inyour faith. The object of our faith—

DECEMBER 2004

The fact that you are now struggling withsuch a fear, I think, is a good sign. It shows

that you know what is most important in life.

With such troubling doubts andfears, am I still a Christian?

Jesus—is far more important thanthe amount of faith we have. As Paulsays in 2 Cor. 3:5: “Not that we arecompetent in ourselves to claimanything for ourselves, but our com-petence comes from God.” This isalso why Jesus says, “I tell you thetruth, if you have faith as small as amustard seed, you can say to thismountain, ‘Move from here to there’and it will move” (Matt. 17:20).

I like to use this analogy withstudents: If half the class put great,infinite trust in me to take a calculustest for them (I didn’t advancebeyond algebra!), and the other halfput feeble, hardly visible trust in theclass valedictorian, who would bebetter off after the tests are graded?

Look at the One in whom you andI place our weak and puny faith. Hecreated this universe by speaking.He sent a worldwide flood. Hewalked on water. He raised the dead.He rose from the dead. And Heinvites you and me to cast all ourcares on Him, for He cares about us!Read 1 Peter 5:7.

And He promises, after we havepresented our requests to Him, thatHis peace will guard our hearts andminds in Christ Jesus. See what Hetells you and all who trust in Him inPhil. 4:6–7. He is faithful and He willdo it.

I hope in my next letter to delvefurther into your concern. For now,let us cling to God’s precious promis-es in His Word.

Your fellow warrior, sometimesbattered and bloodied, but alwaysand ultimately on the winning side,

CraigP.S. “The Lord is close to the bro-

kenhearted and saves those who arecrushed in spirit. A righteous manmay have many troubles, but theLord delivers him from them all” (Ps. 34:18–19).

“A bruised reed he will not break,and a smoldering wick he will notsnuff out” (Matt. 12:20).

Dear Michelle,

To lose one’s faith is the scariestthought for us to have. After all, ithas eternal consequences. To loseour Savior and Lord is to lose every-thing. Without Him we have nothing:no love, no hope, no joy, no peace,no future, no purpose. And yet, thefact that you are now struggling withsuch a fear, I think, is a good sign. Itshows that you know what is mostimportant in life. You know thatsomething far worse could happento you than your present tribulation.

You have pinpointed the heart ofthe real fight in this world: Am Igoing to trust myself, or trust God?Our flesh is always seeking the pro-gram that works or the plan that isfoolproof. It is a subtle effort toavoid having to lean on God, even ifwe piously ask Him to show us theway. He is the way (John 14:6). It isso easy to forget that fact.

What suffering eventually showsus is that we can’t control our life.We can’t control others. We can’tcontrol circumstances. Such a propo-sition is at first extremely frighten-ing. (Remember, we creatures like tofeel in control!) However, over timesuch realization liberates us adoptedchildren to trust God and love oth-ers. Our time and energy is muchbetter utilized doing those twothings than trying to do the impossi-ble: control the uncontrollable.

Looking to our weak selves andour own feeble efforts would guar-antee nothing but uncertainty(“Have I done enough?”) or despair(“I can’t do what needs to be done!”).Granted, there might be moments ofpride when we experience briefsuccesses of meeting some legalisticstandard. Eventually, however, wewill second-guess even our best

efforts. So, is it clear that we can’tprevent ourselves, or anyone else forthat matter, from losing faith? TheGood News is that “what is impossi-ble with men is possible with God”(Luke 18:27). Fortunately, He hasgiven us some pretty weighty assur-ances in His Word.

“I give them eternal life, and theyshall never perish; no one can snatchthem out of my hand. My Father, whohas given them to me, is greater thanall; no one can snatch them out ofmy Father’s hand” (John 10:28–29).

“He will keep you strong to theend, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ”(1 Cor. 1:8).

“Now it is God who makes bothus and you stand firm in Christ. Heanointed us, set his seal of owner-ship on us, and put his Spirit in ourhearts as a deposit, guaranteeingwhat is to come” (2 Cor. 1:21–22).

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, theauthor and perfecter of our faith”(Heb. 12:2a).

“Being confident of this, that hewho began a good work in you willcarry it on to completion until theday of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).

Our salvation, from start to finish,seems to be God’s doing and respon-sibility. That is a good thing! Withmen it would be impossible, but withGod all things are possible (Matt.19:26).

The evil one is always trying toworm his way in and steal some ofthe glory from God. Satan appealsto our fleshly pride and tempts us tothink that we contribute, that weearn, that we have something to dowith being saved. Listen to Paul: “It is because of him that you are inChrist Jesus, who has become forus wisdom from God—that is, our

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

I am afraid of losing my faith.How can I prevent that?

righteousness, holiness, andredemption. Therefore, as it is writ-ten, ‘Let him who boasts boast inthe Lord’” (1 Cor. 1:30–31).

I have a final thought on thisquestion, Michelle. If you read thefirst chapter of Genesis slowly—especially verses 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14,15—you will notice a repeatingpattern of “And God said,” followedclosely by “And it was so.” Afteralmost 10 years of teaching thatchapter to high school seniors, itfinally dawned on me that such aclaim can be made only by God.

Think about it: If God says some-thing, it will happen. I can’t makethat claim, for I havebroken somepromises. Idon’t knowanother

human being who can make thatclaim, either.

Sometimes people have goodreasons for not following through onstatements made. Illness or badweather or fatigue or simple forget-fulness wipes out a good intention.And sometimes people have poorreasons for not following through:vengeance, selfishness, and paybackcome to mind. Not so with God. Heis forever faithful and totally trust-worthy.

You and I may rest in His lovingarms as we go to sleep tonight.The pressure is off. Jesus is carry-ing our burdens. He has said it,and He will do it!

Being held with you in His grip ofgrace, Craig

P.S. “And my God will meet allyour needs according to his gloriousriches in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

“He who did not spare his ownSon, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him,graciously give us all things?” (Rom.8:32).

DECEMBER 2004Steve Prezant/Masterfile

Craig Parrot teaches atDenver Lutheran High Schooland is a member of PeaceLutheran Church in Arvada,Colo. His book is available at captivatingrock.com .

Our salvation, from startto finish, seems to be

God’s doing and responsibility.That is a good thing!

THE LUTHERAN WITNESS

O little town of BethlehemHow still we see thee lie!Above thy deep and dreamless sleepThe silent stars go by. ...

Cradled in the mountains fivemiles south of Jerusalem, the vil-lage of Bethlehem was a quiet littletown where people raised sheep forthe temple sacrifices for thousandsof years.

Read these passages fromScripture, then answer the ques-tions below:

Gen. 48:7; Ruth 1:2, 19–22; Ruth 4:11; 1 Sam. 16:1–5 and 12–13:

Who is buried there? _______________________________

Who called Bethlehem home? _______________________________

What role do they play in God’splan? _______________________________

Yet in thy dark streets shinethThe everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the yearsAre met in thee tonight.

For another thousand years,Bethlehem remained quiet. Kingsclashed and plotted, sometimesmoving in and around the town, butnothing much changed. But Godhad plans for the town. From thefollowing Scripture passages, whatdoes God tell us of His plan?Gen. 49:10: _____________________

_______________________________

Ps. 132:11: ______________________

_______________________________

Is. 7:14 and 9:2–7: _______________

_______________________________

Jer. 23:3–6: _____________________

_______________________________

Micah 5:1–5: ____________________

_______________________________

SearchingSCRIPTURE

How silently, how silently

The wondrous Gift is giv’n!

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of His heav’n.

Roman rule had brought a period of peace and safety to theMediter-ranean world. People couldtravel safely from one end of theMediter-ranean to the other. TheGreek language was spoken bymost of its citizens.

Cities such as Rome andAlexandria had grown to perhapsmore than one million residents.Commerce surged around theworld and a hunger for spiritualthings drove many people. The timewas just right for God to act.

According to these passages,what did He do?Rom. 5:6: _______________________

_______________________________

Gal. 4:4–5: ______________________

_______________________________

But why Bethlehem? Read theseverses and write your answer.Luke 2:1–7: _____________________

_______________________________

Matt. 2:2–6: _____________________

_______________________________

Who came to celebrate the birth?Matt. 2:1–2: _____________________

_______________________________

Luke 2:8–20: ____________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

After the birth of Jesus,Bethlehem went back to sleep.

Rev. Robert E. Smithis electronic resourceslibrarian at ConcordiaTheological Seminary,Fort Wayne, Ind.

O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEMby Robert E. Smith

Once in awhile, a church fatherwould live there and pilgrims wouldcome and go.

Today, Bethlehem is caught inthe conflict between Israel and thePalestinians. There’s little peacewhere the Prince of Peace enteredthe world.

What kind of peace did theangels announce that firstChristmas? What kind of peace hasthe Church sung about forcenturies? Use these verses ofScripture to write your answer: Is. 53:5, John 14:27, John 16:33 andPhil. 4:7:_______________________________________________________

O holy Child of Bethlehem,Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angelsThe great glad tidings tell;Oh, come to us, abide with us,Our Lord Immanuel!

Illustration by CPH

O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM

(83) FEBRUARY

2003 13

Rev. Random Name ispastor of Holy CrossLutheran Church,Anytown, USA

DECEMBER 2004

from the PRESIDENT

layering of sacred and secularobservances creates celebrationsthat vary from nation to nation,and from culture to culture.”

For those of us who bear thename “Christian,” Christmas isquite simply, but most significant-ly, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus, born inBethlehem in Judea, is the centralfigure of Christianity. He is the Sonof God, divinely conceived by theHoly Spirit and given human birthby Mary, the wife of Joseph, acarpenter from Nazareth.

Holy Scripture’s messageregarding Christmas enables us tomeet the challenges and opportu-nities referenced above. Indeed,proclaiming the truth and joy ofChristmas to an unbelieving worldis possible only through the Wordof God, including the followingwords that bring “tidings of com-

fort and joy.”Announcing that

Mary would be themother of Jesus, theangel said to her, “Donot be afraid, Mary, foryou have found favorwith God. And behold,you will conceive inyour womb and bring

forth a Son, and shall call Hisname JESUS. He will be great, andwill be called the Son of theHighest; and the Lord God willgive Him the throne of His fatherDavid. And He will reign over thehouse of Jacob forever, and of Hiskingdom there will be no end”(Luke 1:30–33, NKJV).

Following the birth of Jesus,the angel said to the shepherds,“Do not be afraid, for behold, Ibring you good tidings of great joywhich will be to all people. Forthere is born to you this day in thecity of David a Savior, who is

We in the Christian Churchhave many opportunitiesand challenges in pro-

claiming the truth and joy ofChristmas to a world that has amuch different perspective onChristmas than do we in theChristian faith.

For example, in searching theWeb for information aboutChristmas, commercial announce-ments popped up first, includingone advertising a special wine withthese words: “This Christmas givepresents of hard-to-find, ultra-premium wine delivered monthlyas long as you like. A unique andmemorable gift.” And then therewas the one for Christmas at Wal-Mart: “Large assortment and every-day low prices. Shop now!”

Another Web site gave informa-tion about Christmas around theworld in these words: “In actuality,

Christmas customs around theworld reflect the variety of culturesthat celebrate the holiday. Forsome people, Christmas is primari-ly a holy day marked by religiousservices. For others, gift giving,feasting, and good times figuremore prominently. At its root,Christmas celebrates one of thefundamental events of Christianity,the birth of Jesus. However, thecelebration of Christmas alsoincorporates many secular cus-toms that have been handed downthrough families and borrowedfrom other cultures. This complex

A BLESSED CHRISTMAS ...

Christ the Lord. ... And suddenlythere was with the angel a multi-tude of the heavenly host praisingGod and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,goodwill toward men!’” (Luke 2:10–11,13, NKJV).

Prophesying the life-giving workof our Savior, the prophet Isaiahwrote, “Surely He has borne ourgriefs and carried our sorrows; yetwe esteemed Him stricken, smittenby God, and afflicted. But He waswounded for our transgressions,He was bruised for our iniquities;the chastisement for our peacewas upon Him, and by His stripeswe are healed” (Is. 53:4–5, NKJV).

Terry and I extend to each ofyou our warmest personal greet-ings and assurance of our prayersthat you and your loved ones willexperience the peace that passesall understanding during thisblessed season of the year! Ablessed Christmas to you all!

Jerry KieschnickLives Transformed through Christ,in Time ... for Eternity!John 3:16 –17e-mail: president@lcms.orgWeb page: www.lcms.org/president

P roclaiming the truth and joy of Christmas to an

unbelieving world is possible only through the Word of God ....

NKJV ©. Used by permission.