Good Morning All,
“And it comes with the Good
Housekeeping seal of approval!” Most
television commercials used to end that when.
It was the coup de grace of the advertising world. If you had any doubt about the quality of
this product well, this should calm your nerves. It went without questioning that the Good
Housekeeping seal of approval was the standard that things were measured
by. It also used to be Underwriters
Laboratory or Consumer’s Digest. These
were the measures by which every manufacturer wanted to get the seal of
approval from. It was the standard that
one could claim to be selling the absolute best product available. It was marked with the seal that represented
quality and value.
You and I have been given the seal by
God. He has sealed us in our Baptism
with the blood of Jesus and in this event, God delivers all the promises that
He has made to us. Our “yes” from God
comes to us in the resounding voice of all that Jesus did/ does/ and will do
for us. By his keeping of the
commandments, by his life, death, resurrection and ascension, Jesus began the
great “yes” that God spoke to us, and we are his sealed redeemed children. So, we look forward to the completion of all
of God’s “yesses.” The time when all of
creation is freed from the bondage of sin and death is finally destroyed and we
are reunited with all the saints who have gone on before us.
We look forward to this but until then we
live with the guarantee of that promise.
We have the down payment, the guarantee in our heart, of the Holy
Spirit. This is a sign as well that God
is pleased and blesses us with his Spirit.
It is through this Spirit that you and I are able to withstand the
devil’s lies and attacks. The Spirit,
alive and active in us, is proof of God’s yes; it is proof of our being sealed
by God, given his approval for our life.
Given his seal to show that his love for us has redeemed us and made us
his. We have eternal life; we will
always have it and since we are guaranteed this, we can live a life that is
full of the certain hope that nothing in this world can ever take that from
us. God’s great gift is ours
forever. God’s great love gives us true
peace, that sense of comfort and rest that comes to those who no longer
fear. We need not fear because all our
sins are forgiven, and we have God’s seal on us to give us the victory.
Gracious Father, through Jesus, you tell us yes and give to us new life
and new hope. You free me from the power
of the devil and bring me into your eternal kingdom. Be with those who are unsure or are lost
bring them to know with certainty that your mercy sustains them and that you
give them peace. These good gifts all
come from you. In the precious name of
Jesus, our ascended Lord we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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