Midweek Advent Service, December 6, 2023 - 7 PM Central Standard

Mid-Week Advent Service, 

December 6, 2023, 7 PM Central

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Mid-Week Advent, Wednesday, 7 PM Central

The Hymn # 240             Father Most Holy     
The Order of Vespers                                         p. 41

The Psalmody            Psalm   14                     p. 124
The Lection            

Sermon Hymn # 410             Jesus Lead Thou On

The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer                         p.  44

The Collect for Peace                                        p. 45

The Benediction                                                   p. 45

The Hymn # 558            All Praise to Thee

• Reformation Seminary, as a name, can be included in the Bethany Lutheran Church bank account. Tomorrow - Zoom and cell phone. 
• In treatment - Kermit Way; Randy Anderson; ; Pastor Jim Shrader (surgery) and Chris; Sarah Buck; Lori Howell; Dr. Lito Cruz and his father. 
• Callie and her parents; little Aaron with the heart problem;
• Those suffering from emotional and metabolic stress.

Isaiah 7:10 Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Announcements and Prayers

• Reformation Seminary can be named in the Bethany Lutheran Church bank account. Tomorrow - Zoom and new cell phone plus Magic Jack.
• In treatment - Kermit Way; Randy Anderson; ; Pastor Jim Shrader (surgery) and Chris; Sarah Buck; Lori Howell; Dr. Lito Cruz and his father. 
• Callie and her parents; little Aaron with the heart problem;
• Those suffering from emotional and metabolic stress.

 Gospel Preaching - Old Testament

    I always gain startling new insights from going over Luther's Sermons (Lenker edition). I have a new focus now, bolding the statements that people might want to quote or memorize. In looking for statements for laity and pastors, I find myself struck by their harmony with the entire Bible (unknown among most clergy and laity today). 

    My latest shocking and pleasant surprise was Luther's statement about the Old Testament being the real Scriptures and the New Testament serving as sermons about the Old Testament. Nothing builds wonder and awe more than reflecting on those key passages and phrases. Some thoughts -

1. Adam and Eve receiving the Gospel when being kicked out of Paradise.
2. The difference between Abel and Cain - faith and works.
3. The Son of God (The Word of the Lord) speaking to Abraham about faith (Genesis 15) and in John 8 saying, "Abraham saw Me and he was glad." and "Before Abraham was, I AM."'
4. The many appearances of the Son in Exodus, especially during the Exodus.

We should spend time in wonder and awe, considering just these four examples, but there are many more. If people can say, "How did that civilization construct such enormous pyramids, mines, temples, and waterworks?" and omit what happened in the ancient days of the Bible.

    When people look at Isaiah to find fault, they carry their wounded feelings around. Things do not look smooth and consistent like a dime novel. They object. They go around telling people what is wrong with Isaiah. They get so upset that they invent two Isaiahs, first Isaiah 1-39, 2 Isaiah 40-66. Is the ironic lost on them? That is the same number of books in the Bible, 39 and 27, for 66 books. Isaiah 40-66 is one long Halleluiah chorus, also offensive, too joyful in contrast to the early chapters. 

     They invent what was never there - two Isaiahs - but miss the two great predictions of the Virgin Birth of Jesus in Isaiah 7 and His divinity in 9. They are so dense about Isaiah 7 that they leave "virgin" alone in 7 and footnote it as "or a young woman." The RSV has gone back and forth on that wording alone, several times. A young woman having a baby - that is not a miracle. Needless to say, the RSV was the new Bible that got this going, unveiling their actual faith - Unitarianism or worse. Now they have "worse" too.

    The density comes out for them in John 1, because they criticize John for "omitting" the Virgin Birth when he is revealing in detail Jesus as the Creating Word. The Four Gospels have the Virgin Birth twice, which should be enough, and greater glory in John 1. "But John was written 300 years later!" That is false and a foolish attack against the Bible itself.

    That is the ultimate pratfall of the clever ones who teach the Bible and Church Growth. They leach away their own faith by clinging to false teachers of various styles. Once they begin mouthing like braying jackasses, they are stuck in enforcing their own greatness. I ran into one Harvard PhD who was startled by what he did not know. He lost his professor job (LCA) and became a parish pastor. 

    The most famous Harvard guy came to Yale to say "Paul did not teach the Gospel to the Jews." The great Malherbe told his classes that this was absolutely phony. Can a highly polished Harvard Dean be wrong? Definitely. He went back to Sweden as a bishop and was fired! That took some doing!

    We are not lacking Biblical wisdom in America. The books are out there, and no one can absorb the depth of the King James Version. 

    

     

  

Previous Bethany Lutheran Church Vimeos

The end.

Boxes of KJV Bibles

Byzantine Bible - The Greek, Apostolic New Testament Scriptures were preserved by the Christian, Greek Byzantine Empire, which lasted 1100 years.

We see Big John on our walks almost every day. Like Bob, he remembered Sassy's name better than mine at first - and loved to call her as soon as we came around the corner to Joye. In good weather, we sit and watch the neighborhood with his wife Pat and her son Sam. 

John asked me about a Giant Print Bible - and he emphasized KJV - the only version he would read. Large is now called giant, so I said, "Super Giant Print?" Yes, that was what he wanted. He really liked it because he could no longer read ordinary print. I repeated his favorite phrase - "Welcome to my world."

A few weeks later, he asked, "Do you still have access to those Super Giant Bibles? KJV, mind you. I need one." I said, "John, I just got you one." He grinned and said, "I gave mine away to a friend." Soon the ante was up to a dozen at a time. I just delivered another box when he said, "Good, because I gave mine to someone else."

His basic approach is to ask people if they have a Bible. Often the answer is no. Would they like an easy-to-read Bible? Yes, and they grin ear-to-ear when they get theirs - children and Hispanics alike. 

We have given away 50 Bibles at least, and the KJV is pan-denominational, the most uniting of all the Bibles in print.

When he told me recently that he needed another dozen, I was delighted to find a lower price from the same ChristianBook.com source. I drove the box over to him, and he opened it to find they were not Super Giant but Giant - which is not what I would call Giant. There was no desire to send them back ($10 each) so when I drove the Super Giant replacements over, John began wondering if I had to mail the mini-Giants back. 

"Is there a need for this smaller size?" John started telling me about a friend who needed six of the ten. I said, "Sure. We have members who love the KJV, and they want to help, so we have a fund."

The buoyant salesmen talk about every benefit except relying on the effective Word of God. That comes to people in conversation, blogs, artwork, Bible-reading, and even in the Means of Grace in church.

Thoughts about the King James Version of the Bible - From Classmate Lawrence Eyre

 "I enthusiastically recommend The King James Version by Gregory L Jackson:

The King James Bible

Remains without peer among

English translations.

Beauty and truth sing

With unmatched clarity in

Stately cadences.

Gregory Jackson's book

The King James Version tells

The blessed story."

Lawrence Eyre, Moline High School 1966, Yale College and Yale Divinity School

Book and Kindle - The King James Version

They Found a Use for the Governor of Michigan - in China!

 

China Taps Governor Gretchen Whitmer To Lead Lockdown Enforcement

Do Not Believe the Numbers - Not That Many Care

 

Many secular actions follow the same path as found in the denominations and parishes today. For instance, to enhance the lawn, people have nitrogen compounds sprayed on, sometimes with green dye added. For very little money they can mow leaves into the last grass cutting and build the soil.

The church leaders follow the spray on method. They promote enthusiasm - in the classic and current forms - and extol their excitedness. Luther's Biblical concept of enthusiasm is declaring doctrine apart from the Scriptures - as in Objective Justification aka General Justification aka Universal Justification aka The Justification of the World aka Universal Objective Justification (extra dye). Without the faith generated by the Gospel Word, there is no grace, no forgiveness, no eternal life.

The self-promoting "conservative" Lutherans want to comfort themselves and their victims by declaring they are good and noble while the rest are apostates. Boo, ELCA. But the "conservatives" agree with ELCA! What sign of apostasy is greater than denying the Chief Article of the Christian Religion? Note - not the Chief Article of Lutheranism, but the Chief Article of all Christians - Justification by Faith. What began in Genesis 15:6 is illustrated and fulfilled in all the Scriptures, Old and New Testaments.

KJV Genesis 15:5 And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness.

But the "conservatives" deny this in Romans 4 and its summary in Romans 5:1-2. In their drunken stupidity, so full of themselves and fermented drinks, the "conservative Lutherans" try to make the rest of Romans 5 argue against the entire Bible. 

Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz emphasized the Chief Article, embedded in the Book of Concord. The greatest spiritual leaders of the Christian Church - Luther, Melanchthon, Chemnitz - hardly get a nod. But the WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC bow, scrape, and slobber over the fetid Calvinism of Fuller Seminary and Trinity Divinity School. They have no faith, so they have no growth.

 The cowardice of WELS is monumental.

Hogs Strength and Conditioning Coach FIRED!

 

 Wisconsin knows how to inspire the team. "We're going to need a bigger stadium!"

"Walker was one of Arkansas’ first hires once Pittman was named the head coach. He received a raise in March to $425,000 and his contract was extended until February 2024."

A Cure for What Ails Us, From Esselstyn - Father and Son

I was looking for nutrition advice while I was eating beans, vegetables, onions, green pepper, peas, blueberries, and walnuts for lunch. I looked for Dr. Joel Fuhrman videos and found this TED talk from Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.

Note the information below, a different Esselstyn - the surgeon's son!

• Heart Disease
• Breast Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Diabetes
• Obesity

Those are the top diseases in America and they absorb 75% of our country's health care cost.

The video below is a bit raw but no different than a visit to a doctor.

Cancer Prevention - G-BOMB Foods

 

 The article is below, verbatim.

Every woman can personally fight against breast cancer. Women must know they are not defenseless in the war to end breast cancer. Scientific studies show there are powerful preventive lifestyle measures to protect against breast cancer. One must not rely on mammograms for early detection as the only defense as they do not offer significant benefits. Staying slim and active, focusing on healthful natural foods, and avoiding the disease-causing foods of the Standard American diet are strategies women can use to win the war on breast cancer.

Unleash the immune system’s special forces with G-BOMBS

As I describe in my book Super Immunity, G-BOMBS (Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries and Seeds) are the foods with the most powerful immune-boosting and anti-cancer effects. These foods help to prevent the cancerous transformation of normal cells, and keep the body armed and ready to attack any pre-cancerous or cancerous cells that may arise.

G — Greens

Green vegetables (the cruciferous family in particular) contain compounds with anti-cancer properties and substances that protect blood vessels. Cruciferous vegetables, which contain phytochemicals, inhibit a wide range of cancer-promoting cellular processes, including angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth), which is needed for tumor growth and fat tissue growth.6-9 Eating cruciferous vegetables regularly is associated with decreased risk of breast cancer and has even been shown to increase survival in women after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

It is important to also note that these greens also promote healthy vision and reduce diabetes risk.1-5

B — Beans

Beans are unique foods because of their very high levels of fiber and resistant starch; carbohydrates that are not broken down by digestive enzymes. A recent analysis of ten scientific studies has shown that the higher your fiber intake, the lower your risk of breast cancer. 12-17

The fiber and resistant starch in beans reduce the total number of calories absorbed from beans,10-11 reduce cholesterol levels, and are converted by healthy gut bacteria into many substances that protect against colon cancer.

O — Onions

Onions, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives, and scallions not only lend great flavor to meals, they have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular and immune systems, as well as anti-diabetic and anti-cancer effects. 18-21 These vegetables are known for their characteristic (and eye-irritating) organosulfur compounds, which slow tumor growth and kill cancer cells.

Eating onions and garlic frequently is associated with reduced risk of digestive cancers. 22-23 These vegetables also contain high concentrations of anti-inflammatory flavonoids--antioxidants that contribute to their anti-cancer properties.18,24-26

M — Mushrooms

In a recent Chinese study, women who ate at least 10 grams of fresh mushrooms each day (which equates to about one button mushroom per day) had a 64 percent decreased risk of breast cancer! 27 All types of mushrooms have anti-cancer properties.28-34

Plus, mushrooms are unique in that they contain aromatase inhibitors--compounds that can block the production of estrogen. Aromatase inhibitors are thought to be largely responsible for mushrooms' preventive effects against breast cancer. Even the most commonly eaten mushrooms (white, cremini, and Portobello) have high anti-aromatase activity. 27,35-36

Mushrooms also contain powerful angiogenesis inhibitors.33,37-38  Keep in mind that mushrooms should only be eaten cooked. Several raw culinary mushrooms contain a potentially carcinogenic substance called agaritine, and cooking mushrooms significantly reduces their agaritine content. 39-40

B — Berries (and Pomegranate)

Berries’ plentiful antioxidant content helps reduce blood pressure and inflammation, prevent DNA damage that leads to cancer, protect the brain against oxidative damage and stimulate the body’s own antioxidant enzymes. 41-46

Berries and pomegranate are anti-angiogenic foods, and have anti-inflammatory effects that may protect against cancer and other chronic diseases. 47-53 Pomegranates (similar to mushrooms) is one of the few foods that contain natural aromatase inhibitors; substances that inhibit the production of estrogen, which can reduce breast cancer risk.54

S — Seeds

Seeds and nuts are healthy fat sources that increase the absorption of nutrients in vegetables in addition to supplying their own spectrum of micronutrients including plant sterols (which help to reduce cholesterol), minerals, and antioxidants. Some seeds — sesame, chia and flax in particular — are rich in lignans, plant estrogens that protect against breast cancer.

In one fascinating study, women were given flaxseeds daily after being diagnosed with breast cancer and reduced growth and increased death of their tumor cells was found after just 4-5 weeks.55

Instead of Breast Cancer Awareness, make it Breast Cancer Prevention! Eat your G-BOMBS every day!

 

References

Joel Fuhrman, M.D. is a board-certified family physician, seven-time New York Times bestselling author and internationally recognized expert on nutrition and natural healing, who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional methods. Dr. Fuhrman coined the term “Nutritarian” to describe his longevity-promoting, nutrient dense, plant-rich eating style.
 
For over 30 years, Dr. Fuhrman has shown that it is possible to achieve sustainable weight loss and reverse heart disease, diabetes and many other illnesses using smart nutrition. In his medical practice, and through his books and PBS television specials, he continues to bring this life-saving message to hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

The Scandals Continue - WELS Is Quick To Whitewash Their Own Felonies

 

Archbishop Weakland and his priests taught at Wisconsin Lutheran College - and WELS claimed it was a "private luncheon." Hahahaha. Weakland was caught up in a predator scandal before he lectured at WLC.

US Bishops Promote a Protégé to the Rapist Theodore McCarrick.

Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout will head up of all things the bishops’ child protection committee. 

by George Neumayr

I

***

GJ - Read the article to see how predators have become cardinals and have promoted bishops to follow in their steps.

 WELS SPs are noted for absolving felons.

WELS began scrubbing Hochmuth off the Net as fast as they could - but not fast enough. SP Mark Schroeder publicly absolved Hochmuth of all sin - without contrition on the part of either scoundrel.

Sammie, MLC - WELS School of Ministry graduate

The First Sunday in Advent, 2022.

 

Bethany Lutheran Church, 

10 AM Central Time

The First Sunday in Advent, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Vimeo Link Is Here

Vimeo Player:

The Hymn #  4  God Himself Is Present
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul: 

O my God, I trust in Thee.

Let me not be ashamed: 

let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Yea, let none that wait on Thee: be ashamed.

Psalm. Show me Thy ways, O Lord: 

teach me Thy paths.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19 

Collect

Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come, 

that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

The Epistle and Gradual 

Gradual

All they that wait on Thee shall not be ashamed, O Lord.

V. Show me Thy ways, O Lord: 

teach me Thy paths. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Show us Thy mercy, O Lord: 

and grant us Thy salvation. Hallelujah!

The Gospel 
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 290      We Have A Sure Prophetic  

The Awakening

The Hymn #306:1-6              Lord Jesus Christ
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #68            The Advent of Our King 

Prayers and Announcements

• Randy Anderson's treatment and scan, Pastor and Mrs. Jim Shrader, Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes. 
• Our media ministries - Alec Satin, Norma Boeckler.
• Midweek Advent Service, 7 PM Wednesday.

KJV Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

KJV Matthew 21:1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

 Norma A. Boeckler

First Sunday in Advent - Viet Dietrich

Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank Thee, we bless and praise Thee forever, that Thou didst send Thy Son to rule over us poor sinners, who for our transgressions did justly deserve to remain in the bondage of sin and Satan, and didst give us in Him a meek and righteous King, who by His death became our Savior from sin and eternal death: We beseech Thee so to enlighten, govern and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may ever remain faithful to this righteous King and Savior, and not, after the manner of the world, be offended with His humble form and despised word, but, firmly believing in Him, obtain eternal salvation; through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Awakening

Introduction - The Son of God and Time

Luther on the Old Testament -

8. This promise to the patriarch was later more minutely set forth and more widely circulated by the prophets. All of them wrote of the advent of Christ, and his grace and Gospel, as Peter in Acts 3:18-24 says: The divine promise was believed by the saints prior to the birth of Christ; thus, through the coming Messiah they were preserved and saved by faith. Christ himself (Luke 16:22) pictures the promise under the figure of Abraham’s bosom, into which all saints from the time of Abraham to Christ’s time, were gathered. Thus is explained Paul’s declaration, “Now is salvation nearer to us than when we first believed.” He means practically: “The promise of God to Abraham is not a thing for future fulfillment; it is already fulfilled. Christ is come. The Gospel has been revealed and the blessing distributed throughout the world. All that we waited for in the promise, believing, is here.” The sentence has reference to the spiritual day Paul later speaks of ¾ the rising light of the Gospel; as we shall hear.

We tend to neglect the concept of the Son of God existing and being the same from the beginning of time. Thus, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever - Hebrews 13:8.

That was fully revealed in John 8, for Jesus speaks of Father Abraham, the father of faith in the Savior, seeing Jesus in the future and being glad. This outraged the opponents, because they knew exactly what He meant - He was God then and is God now.

"Before Abraham was, I AM." If we want to know where the apostasy is, simply note the outrage when the basics of salvation are taught. The Lutheran sects of today remain outraged by Justification by Faith, and always hide behind the skirts of Holy Mother Church, the institution or corporation, rather than the Good Shepherd, the costumes, titles, and pageantry rather than the Gospel conveyed by the Spirit. 

Because of the Spirit always at work in the Word, we can read the plain words of the Apostolic Text (KJV), know, and experience what is taught. The factory worker, the engineer, the shopkeeper, the mother, sometimes even the pastor can comprehend Jesus the same, yesterday, today, and forever.

KJV Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

The Old and New Testaments are welded together, our distinctions coming from our notion of time. The rationalists jump up and down and say, "Paul was mistaken! He imagined that the End was coming immediately. How can we believe anything else from Paul?" They teach their falsehoods and smirk about what they have laid out as the truth. The conclusion is - if they are not outright atheists - everyone is forgiven and saved, no matter what - except for those who "cling to their Bibles."

Nothing is funnier than people who lose their child-like faith in order to settle into a lifetime of teaching falsehood. The Jesuit in the Vatican (Francis, SJ) is as bad as the Lutheran Jesuits, so clever they can teach left, right, and in the middle when it suits them. That might be the origin of their names. They pretend to be Jesus-like, and wear the suit - Je-Suits. But it is a costume and not reality.

Romans is the doctrinal letter, written for all the congregations, so they can teach the Gospel and its application. "The glory that was Rome is of another day."  Salvation is not peace on earth but forgiveness of sin and eternal life, because of faith in Jesus, the Son of God. Civilizations crumble but the Gospel remains forever.

12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

The sleep analogy is perfect for Paul's warnings. Then, as now, night was avoided - only used by thieves and pagans in their demonic rituals. As one officer said, "Only cops and robbers are out at 4 AM." 

Whatever is done from faith is light, and whatever is done in the spirit of this age is darkness. That seems exciting for many, until the emptiness overwhelms them and their fun becomes an addiction, their addiction a heavy chain dragging down life.

13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

This should tell us a lot - that people revel in being dishonest, in suiting themselves while harming others, bragging about the strife they cause. We all thought things were bad 10 years ago, but that was nothing compared to now. No one expected Satan Clubs in our public schools, even though Christianity was treated as a disease. Several members were shocked that it happened in my home town - Satan Club or Clubs as an after-school activity. 

No one can imagine mutilating young children (or anyone) in the quest for another gender. But that is widespread and growing worse, after starting with children of Hollywood celebrities.

Natural law is simple to understand - God commands what is good for us. The Second Table - about our relationships to others - tells us how to have a peaceful and respectful life - because God says it is good for us and all others as well. 

Sound doctrine (literally healthy doctrine) weighs on some. They pursue what their "itching ears want to hear" 2 Timothy 4.

It is all one loaf of bread, however it is sliced. Sound doctrine leads to caring for others. Self-centeredness leads to hurting and alienating others. Challenging false doctrine and evil is now considered disturbing the peace, rocking the boat, and upsetting everyone, but we got to after-school Satan clubs by saying nothing, doing nothing, insisting on staying asleep. Vast penalties are paid for this.

14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Luther:

33. Now, in Christ we behold only the true armor of light. No gormandizing or drunkenness is here; nothing but fasting, moderation, and restraint of the flesh, incident to labor, exertion, preaching, praying and doing good to mankind. No indolence, apathy or unchastity exists, but true discipline, purity, vigilance, early rising. The fields are couch for him who has neither house, chamber nor bed. With him is no wrath, strife or envying; rather utter goodness, love, mercy, patience. Paul presents Christ the example in a few words where he says ( Colossians 3:12-15): “Put on therefore, as God’s elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any, even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye: and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to the which also ye were called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

There is only one Truth, and that Truth emanates from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the God-Man who shows us and teaches us what the Truth is, because He is the Light, and He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. No one comes to the Father except through Him. 

That means, when we consider what God is and teaches, and what He has done for us through the Savior, all our challenges, difficulties, and troubles are consigned to Him and shaped by Him for His glory and our greater faith in Him. 

Nothing is so small and insignificant that God overlooks it, and nothing is so daunting and fearsome that God cannot deal with it according to His wisdom. No miracles today? Miracles are all around us, starting with Jesus rising from death and ascending to Heaven. If He can die as a criminal and rise from death, what is left that is greater than that?