January 2026

At the end of January we had a storm that reminded me of God’s promise to Isaiah: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Is. 55:10-11) Boy, did God send us snow in abundance at the end of January! With it He will water the earth, for that snow will eventually melt, providing water for the seeds and plants that await the warmth of spring. This is God’s ultimate purpose for the storm, and not that it humble us and give us sore backs.

 What is God’s purpose for His Word, as He sends it forth to us in our congregations through His pastors and in our homes as we read it? It does humble us, for it reveals that we are not simply spiritually weak; we are spiritually depraved, polluted because of our sins. “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment,” says Isaiah (64:6a). Notice: even our righteous deeds, the good things that we do, are polluted before God! For He knows and sees the sinful thoughts and desires that are in our hearts, and they corrupt everything we do. And so, “We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away… You have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.” (Is. 64:6b-7) This is true… and we need to know this, that we might not trust in our own righteousness.

 So: this is the reason, then, why God sends forth, like the snow, His Word: to make us melt away before Him in fear and sorrow? It is a reason, yes; but, it is not the ultimate reason. God ultimately sends forth His Word to be Gospel (good news) for us; that we might know of His Son, whom He sent to us and for us, and know of our salvation in Him. In Isaiah 60 God says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.” The apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 1:30 sums up what we have in Jesus: “because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” And so, Martin Luther sums up God’s ultimate Word, His Gospel, in this way:

“we confess in our Christian Creed: “I believe in Jesus Christ.” He “comes from above”; He is not of the earth but from above… He was not conceived by an earthly being but by the Holy Spirit from above. He brings heavenly things with Him; He becomes man, dwells and lives on earth, prays, fasts, and does good to many. Reason, in its ignorance, says nothing about this. No man has ever descended from heaven, been conceived by the Holy Spirit, suffered under Pontius Pilate, or died for the whole human race. We must all join the little children in confessing: “We believe in Jesus Christ, who was conceived, was born, and suffered.” This Man’s work alone accomplishes everything. All that we are and have is of the earth, but He who is from above does it all with His death and blood. Even one little drop of His blood helps the entire world; for this Person is very God, begotten of the Father from eternity. He holds the ransom money for me, not for Himself. He was not born, nor did He suffer and die in order thereby to become the Son of God; for He was this already. No, He suffered and died that I might become a son of God through Him and that I might derive my righteousness, wisdom, and sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30) from above.”

 The apostle Paul puts it this way: “in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Gal. 1:26-27) Rejoice in this Word! Rejoice to hear it and believe it! As you do so God will water you by this Word and bring forth from you the fruits of His salvation in Christ, to the glory of His name.

 In Christ Jesus, our Lord,

Pres. Beinke

In Christ Jesus, our Lord,

Pres. Beinke