"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another." (Hebrews 10:23-25)

At the printing of this newsletter, we stand in the middle of Lent and soon we will be standing at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday. During this season Christians we are to be about the business of spiritual reflection. We are supposed to look at ourselves, our lifestyles, and our conduct in light of the Ten Commandments and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we do this we come to see just how weak and sinful we really are and how mercifully our Lord is in forgiving us all our sins.

But the process of reflection does not end here. Repentance means a turning around - - literally "About face!" As a result of our Lord’s forgiveness and His gift of the Holy Spirit and the Word and Sacrament ministry, the Christian sets out to do something, namely to modify his or her behavior in a good faith attempt to avoid falling into sin again. In the Order of Confessional Service the pastor asks, "Do you promise that with the aid of the Holy Spirit you will henceforth amend your sinful life?" and the congregation is to reply, "I do promise." This the natural response to being forgiven is to set out to do better.

Roman Catholic theology, working from Aristotle’s ethics, teaches that a person becomes good by developing good habits. Thus penance is not only about decreasing one’s time in purgatory, but it is also about increasing one’s goodness. Lutherans are not opposed to good habits. Lutheranism rightly teaches that good God-pleasing habits are the result of true faith and repentance, not the cause of faith and repentance. "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit." (Matthew 7:18-19) Aristotle and the Roman Catholics have put the cart before the horse.

Going even further than traditional Roman Catholic Aristotelian philosophy much of modern psychology, parenting advice, and educational theory tells us that we are to be about the business of building up our self-esteem and the self-esteem of our children by providing positive affirmation apart from what we do. So even if our children fail to do good, we feel compelled to praise the child for at least trying, even if it is plainly evident that the child didn’t try at all. To say to a child, "you failed because you did not put forth a real effort" and to command them to put forth an honest effort next time is deemed unhealthy for the child’s self-esteem. It is interesting that the more we have attempted to build up one another (apart from our conduct), the more depression, mental illness, and suicide have increased. Recent studies have shown that children who grow up in clean and well-ordered homes tend to do better in school, work, and relationships. Are these effects produced by the fact that the house is clean? No. "Doing better" in all areas of life is the result of good work habits, which in turn produce good effects.

Webster’s Dictionary defines "habit" "as an acquired pattern of behavior that has become almost involuntary as a result of frequent repetition." Good habits are essential to Christian welfare, especially as it concerns our families and children. The good, according to the Scriptures, is that which is done in faith in Christ Jesus. The "good" is not an abstract concept (as is the case in some schools of philosophy). The good is that which is believed (God’s Word) and that which is done toward our neighbors. "Let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith." (Gal. 6:10)

Hebrews chapter ten urges us to "consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another." Of all the habits that we ought to develop in ourselves and in our children, the most vital to the Christian life is the habit of worshiping our Lord in churches where His Word and Sacraments are rightly preached and administered. In Hebrews chapter ten "absence" from the church service is deemed as a bad habit. On the other hand, attending church services and stimulating another in love, good deeds, and church attendance is a good habit. The first and greatest duty of a parent is to foster the good habit of church attendance (in an authentically Lutheran church). Among other good habits that ought to be developed in the Christian home is the habit of prayer. "Our children should be taught the habit of reciting [their prayers] daily when they rise in the morning, when they go to their meals, and they go to bed at night; until they repeat them they should not be given anything to eat or drink." (Large Catechism, Preface to the Lord’s Prayer)

Reading the Word of God, the Small Catechism, the Lutheran Confessions, good theology books, and great and edifying literature should be another habit that should be cultivated among us. We should also produce in our children, church members, and especially church workers good work habits. Laziness is one of the great problems in the church among the general membership and "professional" church workers.

So much of our culture is about instilling and honoring bad habits. Too many of our churches support bad habits. Our schools today, public, private, and religious do not and cannot implement the kind of discipline needed to produce good study and classroom habits.

One of the marks of good parenting is the good habit of training children in good habits. The same is true of a congregation and a pastor. Immanuel Lutheran and Pastor Craig Stanford are suppose to be about the business of training our members, young and old alike, in good spiritual and temporal habits. Among them, regular worship, hearing and learning the Word of God, receiving the sacraments, supporting, performing, and displaying the good arts, hard work, and all the other Christian virtues.

From the General Prayer for the Church; Blessed Lord, who hast caused all Holy Scripture to be written for our learning grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them . . .