I believe that Jesus is my Lord. My “Lord” is the one who “owns” all that I am, who is the only begotten Son through whom God loved the world and loves it still. Jesus is my Lord because of his incredible love for me and this broken world, that he suffered death on the cross and was raised so that we might have life in the shalom God intends for all. My benchmark in scripture is grounded in Paul’s declaration in 2 Corinthians 5:21: ”For our sake God made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This is the Gospel, the fantastic good news that seems too good to be true. Still, the Word of God calls me into faith as I join with other followers of Christ and would be believers, prayerfully confessing, “I believe, help my unbelief.” The Holy Spirit nurtures and shapes my faith through the means of grace: in the wet grace of Baptism which claims me in God’s promise, “you are beloved; you are mine”; and the Holy Meal where God’s love and promise are freely given and received in faith, “for you, for your forgiveness.”