Every Christian who is honest with himself or herself knows the reality that we have not achieved all that our Lord expects of us. We struggle to do good but all too often we fail. We want to love and serve but miss the mark. What are we to do?

In a devotional book titled On Giving Advice to God–Devotions on the Wisdom of God and the Foolishness of Man the author, Daniel Deutschlander, writes:

“So then, what counsel is there for the ‘flawed saint’? It is the counsel that the best and worst need to hear again and again. Look more at Jesus than at yourself! Look more at his wounds than at your own. Look even more at his grace than at your guilt. Look more to the end of the struggle than just to the battle of the moment. For he sees and knows you. He rejoices in your times of standing by him in his afflictions, whether those be his afflictions inside of you as you struggle or those he endures from mockers and unbelievers in the world. Flee every day to the temple of his Word and often to the sanctuary of his Sacrament. There alone you will find strength to continue both the struggle against obvious sin and the struggle against despair and total surrender. There you will find peace in the midst of war, pardon in his presence, and strength in his promises. . . . Remember that it is not our struggles that doom us. It is our surrender, ultimately the surrender that gives up not just on self, but more important, on Jesus and his gospel.” (p. 145)

1 John 2:1–2 (NIV) "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

Pastor Aufdemberge

Pastor Kneser

Pastor Wempner

Pastor Zarling