6-4-2017

Good Morning All,

         Titus 3:4-5; ” But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”

    “Veni, vidi, vici.”  This short phrase is the “official” report that Julius Caesar gave after a very short rebellion.  Caesar told, in these three words, how the war went.  “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Short and sweet, a complete report of a war that barely was.  Caesar told it in a simple matter-of-fact method.  He arrived at the region, he surveyed the situation and the he launched his attack.  The efficient general gives an efficient report.

   As we look at our text, this is an apt description of Jesus.  Jesus appeared.  The word used here is our word “epiphany” or to make known or to come to light.  Jesus came into the world bringing the light of hope.  He came bringing the wondrous news of God’s new covenant where God himself paid the bill which we owed.  He came as that wondrous covenant.  He came to bring the reconciliation of man back to God through his grace and his mercy.  He came to bring life to sinful man by removing the stain of sin.

    He saw.  Jesus came into this world to live the life of a man.  Jesus was like us in every way except for sinning.  He experienced the same pains, the same fears, and the same uncertainties of our life.  This is a tremendous blessing to us.  We have a God who has experienced our life.  He knows what it means to be human.  He knows what makes us weak and where we need the most comfort and the most support. When we cry to him in our pain and anguish; he knows our pains and comforts us.

    He conquered.  Jesus came and defeated the devil, sin and the power of the world.  He overcame all those things which separated us from God.  He conquered so that we might have life.  He conquered so that we would have hope.  He conquered that we might have peace.  We no longer live in fear of tomorrow.  We no longer need to live a life struggling to try and earn eternal life.  We have it as a free and precious gift from Jesus our Savior.  He conquered so that the victory is ours given to us as we are marked with the sign of His Baptism where he washes away our sins and regenerates and renews our soul. 

    So as we wait the time we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we want to remember why he came.  He came to conquer; to conquer the devil and to rescue us from his control.  He came to claim us as his own dear brothers and sisters.  We are his by virtue of our Baptism through which God claims us with the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus came, he saw and he conquered that we may have eternal life and the hope for his comfort in this world.

Dear Father in heaven, we give you thanks for coming to be a man and conquering for us so that we might have life.  Keep us strong in the knowledge of our salvation and give to us the peace which only you can.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret