How an umbrella demonstrates a confident faith

Maybe you've heard the story of a small town that was facing a dilemma.  They were facing a severe drought.  The farmers were going to lose crops and that meant a loss of revenue and the means to support their families.

The town decided to hold a prayer meeting.  Great and passionate prayers were prayed to the Lord.  
While this was going on, someone noticed a little girl who was standing all alone in the back of the church.  She was holding an umbrella.  When asked why she brought it along, the girl replied, "To keep the rain off of me."

That's a good example of faith.  The girl didn't know when it was going to rain.  But she was sure that the Lord would answer their prayers.  She was going to be ready when the clouds opened up and the rain came tumbling down.

In Psalm 6, David is facing a whole host of problems.  He is troubled by his sins.  His enemies are pressing down upon him.   And he feels abandoned by God.

But then in verse eight, the psalm takes a curious turn.  Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping,  The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.  All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.  (vs.8-10)

Before God has had time to answer this prayer, David is confident that God hears him when he prays and God will act to bring protection and peace of mind and heart. 

It's kind of like bringing an umbrella to a prayer meeting to ask for rain.

David's faith is such that he trusts in God - to forgive, to save, to protect and to punish.

This is a faith to pray for.  And God will hear that prayer and answer it.  Through His means of grace - Word and Sacraments - God strengthens our trust in Him so that we believe that He will act at just the right time in a way that is best for us.

What's going on in your life today? What are you facing that is causing fear? Where do you need some help and protection?

Let your God hear from you today.  Just like David, God will hear your pleas.

You might keep an umbrella nearby.  You never know.... 

Works or faith?

Read this short passage this morning and just had to share it with you.  It comes from the "People's Bible - Galatians, page 51):

Works are man's doing.  Faith is accepting what God has done in Christ.

What a beautiful but simple way to describe that great teaching that a person is justified before God by faith alone, by Christ alone, without any help of our own.

Praise God for His Law and Gospel!

This week's TGW

 

TGW stands for Treasuring God's Word.  If you're crunched on time this week, take a moment to read a short text from the Scriptures, read a quick synopsis of what's going on and then pray.  Hope you have a blessed week Treasuring God's Word!

TGW – November 29-December 4

Monday, November 29, 2021                                           Read Joshua 2:1-15

Our text reads like a suspense story.  Joshua sends out spies to Jericho.  Their presence is reported to the king.  Rahab reacts quickly hiding the spies.  She confesses faith in the Lord.  She gets them to promise that she and her family will be safe when warriors come to take the city.  The spies are safe.  Pray: Lord, protect me from those who seek to tear me away from You.  Amen.

 

Tuesday, November 30, 2021                                           Read Joshua 2:16-24

The spies could have painted a bleak picture of their trip.  The king knows the Israelites are near.  The city is highly protected.  The river could be difficult to cross.  Instead, the spies report, “The Lord has without doubt given the entire land into our hands.”  Pray: Lord, just as Joshua and his people trusted in Your promise to give them the land, help me to trust You, believing that Your plans for me are good.  Amen.

 

Wednesday, November 31, 2021                                    Read Psalm 4:1-8

This psalm’s subject is familiar – David is seeking God’s protection from his enemies.  David begins with “Answer me when I call to You.”  So confident that God hears his prayers, he writes at the end, “I will lie down and sleep in peace.” Why? “For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”  Pray: God, in my time of suffering, remind me that my hope is in You.  Amen.

 

Thursday, December 1, 2021                                            Read Matthew 9:1-13

We confess in the Creed that Jesus is true God.  Only God could read the hearts of His opponents.  Only God can forgive sins.  Only God can completely heal a paralytic.  The crowd saw this miracle and were “filled with awe.”  Too bad the teachers of the law couldn’t feel the same.  Pray: Lord Jesus, as You called Matthew, thank You for calling me through the Gospel.  Amen.

 

Friday, December 2, 2021                                                  Read Matthew 9:14-26

What do the Ruler and the sick woman have in common? Faith! Both believed that Jesus had healing power and that he was the answer to their prayers.  On top of all the miraculous things Jesus had done, He now demonstrates that death is no obstacle for Him.  Pray: O Jesus, strengthen my faith so that I might trust You in all things.  Amen.

 

Saturday, December 3, 2021                                             Read Galatians 1:11-24

The theme of this section of Galatians is clear – Paul is making a defense of his apostleship. Paul points out that he received the Gospel from Jesus alone; he did not receive this Gospel from Peter, James, or the other apostles.  He concludes that he, the one determined to destroy the faith, was now proclaiming the faith in Christ alone.  Pray: Lord, strengthen my faith as I worship in Your House this weekend.  Amen.

Tis the season...

for Advent!

The word "advent" derives from the Latin word, "adventus," meaning "coming."  During its earliest observances, Advent was a period of 40 days of repentance, fasting and prayer as new believers prepared for their baptisms.  Today, we keep one eye on how we are living out our life in Christ and the other eye fixed on the clouds as we look for the coming of Jesus in power and majesty.

Have a blessed Advent, my kind friends.

Divided and enslaved by sin

This week I've been using for my devotional reading the "Divine Hours."  The Collect for the Week seemed to hit on the head, so to speak, the root for all the troubles our world is facing.  The prayer goes like this:

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in Your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the world, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under His most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

I find it interesting that I no longer hear a phrase that was often used to sum up people.  It was something like "people are basically good."  Unfortunately, no, people aren't basically good.

We want things our way.  We want others to follow our way.  We become angry when people won't follow our way.  We feel we have every reason to strike out, verbally or physically, if people don't reform themselves and see it our way.

But Jesus Christ has freed us from such thinking.  The new life that began in us at our baptism, the washing away of the sin that separates us from God, has freed us to live a new way, following the will of the Lord.  We put God first.  We love as Jesus loved.  We love our neighbor in the same way we love ourselves.  We reflect the love of Jesus to the world and show that there is another way to live, a different way to go.

In this life we face opposition to God's way.  But as the Collect says, one day we will live under the most gracious rule of Jesus.  Our King of kings and Lord of lords will gather us together, all who confess Jesus as Savior and Redeemer, and rule over us for all eternity.  Hatred, selfishness and evil will be banished forever.  We have something to look forward to, something we can hardly imagine now.  But God has promised it to all who seek to live His way.  

Motivated by the love of Jesus, let us seek God's way and will and show the world there is a different way to live.

A most powerful word

Is there any word more powerful than giving?

Thanksgiving

Forgiving

Caregiving

Life giving

Everything that matters in living comes down to giving.

Ann Voskamp, "Be the Gift," page 38

A little (very little) Thanksgiving humor

Stop me if you've heard this one:

My family told me to stop telling Thanksgiving jokes, but I told them I couldn't quit "cold turkey."

A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery story but she couldn't find one big enough for her family.  She turned to the stock boy and asked, "Do these turkeys get bigger?"  "No ma'am," he replied, "they're dead."

Question: What do you call a turkey on the day after Thanksgiving? Answer: Lucky.

Question: What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter? Answer: Pumpkin Pi.

And finally...

Question: What do you call a running turkey? Answer: Fast food!

Enjoy those left overs, kind readers.  The Friday after Thanksgiving is Christmas decorating day in our household.  I'd better get ready 'cause I've lots and lots of boxes to carry in from the garage.  My dear sweet wife believes in the saying, "go big or go home!"

Have a blessed day!!