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Even though we are still facing the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the hardships it has brought, we can always give thanks to the LORD our God because he is our refuge, our strength, and our help in distress.

Before he was crucified, Jesus was mocked and ridiculed, and even today people around the world mock and ridicule both him and his teachings. Because of all of that, it may be hard to see him as a king, let alone the king of all creation. Through the first epistle to the Corinthians, however, we see how and where he is ruling today, and we know how and where he will rule on the Last Day.

Christians today are often persecuted or ridiculed, and it may seem like God is not paying attention. However, God is still in control, and he still keeps his enemies in line and uses them for our benefit. We look to God's use of the prophet Isaiah and the Babylonians before, during, and after they conquered Jerusalem to see this in action.

Throughout history there have been many governments, leaders, and judges, all of which were flawed and did not always provide true justice. However, our final judgment will be performed by God, and his judgment is perfect. While that is terrifying for non-believers, it is very comforting for believers.

Jesus instructed the disciples to be as "shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves" when he was sending them into the world, and still today this applies to Christians everywhere. We look at Martin Luther during the Reformation and the apostles for guidance and examples to help us be on guard and witness to others.

Jesus told the Parable of the Wicked Tenants to the chief priests and the Pharisees and ended it by telling them "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces its fruit." However, we can apply this parable to ourselves, since, as members of the priesthood of all believers, we are the ones that produce the fruits of faith.

Everyone begins "stuck to the couch" and unwilling to do God's work due to our sinful nature. However, through faith we eventually "get off the couch" and go to work spreading the good news of salvation to the world.

The apostle Paul encourages us to conduct ourselves in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ, but what does that mean, and how do we do it? It means that we should exercise our heavenly citizenship, and in order to that we must know what the gospel of Christ is, which requires us to be anchored in the Word of God.

There are many things in our lives that are neither commanded nor forbidden by Scripture; we call these "adiaphoron," meaning middle or indifferent things. Yet it is often in and around these things that we sin against our brothers and sisters in Christ.

As members of the priesthood of all believers, we are not necessarily called to be prophets like Ezekiel. However, we are called to be on the watch for our friends, family members, and neighbors and to warn them when they are in spiritual danger.