Psalm 13

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

  How long will You hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?

  How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.

  Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in heath;

  my enemy will say, "I have over come him, and my foes will rejoice when I fall."

But I trust in Your unfailing love;

  my heart rejoices in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

  for He has been good to me.

NIV

I must tell Jesus!

Once when I was talking on the phone with a Christian woman who was in the last stages of Lou Gehrig's disease, I found myself groping for words to comfort her.  Finally I realized the best thing I could offer was simply the comfort of Jesus, so I sang for her a favorite hymn:

I must tell Jesus all my trials
  I cannot bear these burdens alone
In my distress He kindly will help me
  He ever loves and cares for His own
I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!
  I cannot bear my burdens alone
I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!
  Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.

The problem of suffering is not about some thing but Someone.  It follows that the answer must not be some thing but Someone.  Besides, answers are for the head.  They don't always reach the problem where it hurts - in the gut and in the heart. Jesus reaches us where we hurt.

If someone is struggling through a disease or a divorce or the death of a loved one, point them to the Savior, whether through your testimony, your words of encouragement, a shared memory, a poem, a Scripture passage or a hymn.  The answer to our deepest longings when we hurt is...Jesus.

Joni Eareckson Tada, "More Precious Than Silver," November 11 devotional reading

I trust when dark my road

In God, my faithful God, I trust when dark my road
Great woes may over take me, Yet He will not forsake me
My troubles He can alter; His hand lets nothing falter

My sins fill me with care, Yet I will not despair
I build on Christ who loves me; From this rock nothing moves me
To Him I will surrender, To Him, my soul's defender

If death my portion be, It brings great gain to me
It speeds my life's endeavor, To live with Christ forever
He gives me joy in sorrow, Come death now or tomorrow

O Jesus Christ, my Lord, So meek in word and deed
You suffered death to save us, Because Your love would have us
Be heirs of heavenly gladness, When ends this life of sadness

"So be it," then I say, With all my heart each day
Dear Lord, we all adore You, We sing for joy before You
Guide us while here we wander, Until we praise You yonder

Join us this weekend for worship at Life in Christ.  Saturday worship at 5 pm; Sunday worship at 8 and 11 am.  I'll be preaching and Holy Communion is celebrated at the early service.  Hope to see you!

Connected to Christ

Because Christ is the head of the church and we are His body, what happens to Him is what happens to us.

Scott Murray, "Memorial Moment," 4/24/13

What makes for a good prayer?

God's Word and promise makes your prayer good, not your devotion.

Albrecht Peters, Commentary on Luther's Catechism - Lord's Prayer, page 15

How do you want to meet God?

Whoever refuses to meet God as the Savior had better get ready to meet Him as judge.

John Jeske, "From Sinai to Calvary," page 153

What we really need

We all need God above us and others beside us.

Pastor Frank Starr