Martin Luther’s seal symbolizes the rock-solid confession of the Reformation. It was not about Luther. It was about Christ and His cross at the center of everything. Christ enlivens our hearts, makes us holy, gives us joy, and has won eternal life for us. We have a firm foundation of refuge and strength to stand on because Christ is our rock.

The devil and his demons have already been cast down from the courts of heaven by St. Michael and his angels! The devil can no longer accuse because Christ's righteous blood shed upon the cross covers all of our sin. Moreover, what a comfort it is to know that the angels of our Lord of Sabaoth fight for us and that any accusations of the tempter that we face today are nothing but the fleeting attempts of a conquered foe whose "time is short" (Revelation 12:12). The final victory on the Last Day by our Lord of Sabaoth is a foregone conclusion.

Paul’s life was wrapped up in Jesus–in His suffering, death, and resurrected life. Christ is committed in all that He has said and done for us. Christ always remains faithful, even if we are faithless. The Jesus who knew Paul is the same Jesus who commits Himself to and loves each of us. His promise to be faithful to and love His people went all the way to the cross and will never stop.

At the end of the day, our service to the Lord can never repay Him for our salvation, let alone accomplish it. It is merely our duty to serve and obey Him. Our vocations are the arenas where the Lord works through us to accomplish His purposes. So when we think about all that we have done when the sun sets each day, all the glory goes to God, who has given us the work and, above all, has saved us by Jesus’ redemptive work.

In life and in death, Lazarus was comforted by the Word of the Lord. while the rich man sought only comforts that did not last. The rich man, even after death, believed that Lazarus was there to serve him and his family. His family already had everything they needed to find the comfort of God: the Law and the Prophets. We have everything we need today. Whether rich or poor, true comfort is found only in God’s Word made flesh, Jesus, who has indeed risen from the dead

The Lord declared that judgment was coming upon those in Israel who tipped the scales in their favor and dealt deceitfully with the poor. However, the scales of God’s judgment cannot be rigged. Our attempts at good deeds will never outweigh our sinfulness. Yet Christ provided what Martin Luther called the greatest exchange when He took the full weight of our sin to the cross and gave us His righteousness in return.

The crucifix can bring about many different reactions. On the one hand, it reminds us of the suffering and death that Jesus encountered upon that Roman form of execution, the horror of our sin, and God’s wrath poured out upon it. On the other hand, the crucifix is, above all, a reminder of the lengths to which Jesus was willing to go to have us as His own forever. It is a symbol of His outstretched love, as He shed His own blood to forgive and save sinners.

Christ’s cross stands in contrast to the world, even as it shapes the lives of His disciples. We all have our own crosses to bear, and to deny them is ultimately to deny Christ. Death comes before resurrection. Yet in God’s baptismal grace, we daily die to sin and are raised to the newness of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:4).

Seats of honor at a wedding feast are not taken. They are given by the host. So also, our honor before God is not something that we take. It has been given to us by Jesus, the Son of God. Even though Jesus deserved the greatest seat of honor, He took the shame of the cross on our behalf. But He was exalted. He rose, ascended, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Graciously, God "raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6).

Our crucified and risen Lord has ascended to the right hand of the Father and is "the mediator of a new covenant." His intercession is perfect because He is the perfect Son of the Father. He intercedes for us on the basis of the blood that He shed once for all on the cross (Hebrews 10:10). Because of Him and Him alone, we have confidence that we stand righteous before God today and forever.

Jeremiah's prophecy declares the difference between God's Word and the soothing words of false prophets. The fierce judgment against sin in God's Word is like fire meant to lead to repentance. For out of God's mercy, the baptism of fire was poured out on our crucified Lord as He willingly received the judgment of God upon all sin in our place. Therefore, all who are in Christ, baptized by water and the Word, have passed through the fiery judgment and into eternal life.