God is not helpless!

If you've seen the film, "Chariots Of Fire," you know of the courageous faith of Eric Liddell.  I found this quote from him particularly encouraging:

Circumstances may appear to wreck our lives and God's plans, but God is not helpless among the ruins.

Life is like a long distance race

Author Joni Eareckson Tada, in her book, "Overcoming Adversity," wrote about a volunteer at her ministry, Joni and Friends, a high school students named Clay.  Clay cheerfully packed boxes and stuffed envelopes and just generally offered himself and his time wherever it was needed.

However, Joni noted, Clay's passion is running.  During cross-country season Clay didn't volunteer many hours of service.  Every hour he wasn't in school, he was out running.  The folks at Joni's ministry would report seeing Clay out running in the wee hours of the morning, piling up the miles.

When she had the chance, Joni asked Clay a question that had been on her mind for a long time: what is the most difficult part of a long-distance run? She thought it would be either the first mile or so as the runner is getting mentally prepared to run a great distance or at the end, when you're body is exhausted and you feel like you can't run another step.

Clay's answer surprised Joni.  He told her it was the middle portion of the run, "when you're out of range of those cheering voices at the start and finish lines.  It's that long, grey middle distance that saps your strength and your will.

Life has been likened to a long-distance race.  And there are times in our lives, especially when we seem to be in that middle distance, where the race is much more difficult than we could have imagined.  A health problem, financial struggles or self-esteem issues can all seem like reasons for giving up.

If you are in need of refreshment for the race called "life," be sure to read Psalm 42 sometime this week.  Hope in the Lord leads to praise.  Love from the Lord leads to prayer.  Verses 5 and 11 seem like a refrain worth singing: Put your hope in the Lord, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Can God both love and discipline?

Pastor Frank Starr, in his series, "Life for the Way," offers a good answer.

Some Christians maintain that wrath and punishment is inconsistent with a God of love and mercy.  But this view strips God of His holiness, which hates sin and cannot countenance it.  God's grace has made a way for us to escape His wrath by providing Jesus as our substitute.  On our behalf, the Savior on the cross bore the full weight of God's wrath against our sin.

The writer to the Hebrews speaks of the Lord's discipline in chapter 12:4-17.  But the writer offers the greatest reassurance for believers.  We "share in His holiness," that is, God sees us in the righteousness of Christ that we received in our baptism.  But like a loving father, our heavenly Father disciplines us to "struggle against sin."

What is the result of this disciplining work? We "strive for peace" with all those in our circle of friends and with everyone.  In this way others "see the Lord," and God is glorified.

Luther says, "Let's Go Fishing"

Philip Melancthon, the great Reformation theologian, once said to Martine Luther, "This day you and I will discuss the governance of the universe."  What Luther said in reply was unexpected.  "This day you and I will go fishing and leave the governance of the universe to God."

From "Our Daily Break," March-May, 1996

YOU are the light of the world...the salt of the earth

A favorite singer/songwriter of mine is Sara Groves.  A few years ago she released a song entitled, "You Are the Sun."

You are the sun shining down on everyone
Light of the world giving light to everything I see
Beauty so brilliant I can hardly take it in
And everywhere You are is warmth and light

And I am the moon with no light of my own
Still You have made me to shine
And as I glow in this cold dark night
I know I can't be a light
Unless I turn my face to You.

The song still resonates with me.  Because I wrestle every day with the desire to gratify my own sinful nature, I am just like the moon.  I have no source of light.  I am cold.  I am dark.

Such would be my sad state today except for this: As the time approached for Him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.  (Luke 9:51).  Some have said that Jesus "set His face" toward Jerusalem.  He kept His appointment at the cross where He suffered and died.  He endured the darkness of Calvary.  He suffered for our cold hearted ways.  In His resurrection from the dead He triumphed over the prince of darkness.  And now, in all His brilliant glory, Jesus calls us to be salt and light.

You are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13).  Salt is a preservative.  It provides seasoning.  Jesus seasons us with His rich mercy and grace so that we might go out into the world and extend the same mercy and grace to others.

You are the light of the world ((Matthew 5:14).  And as we turn our faces to our Lord and Savior, the Light of the World shines His light upon us.  He has made us to shine.  As we do so, all those around us may be able to see the difference Christ makes in us.  They feel the warmth of His love in our words.  They see the brilliance of His compassion in our actions.  All this happens when we turn our faces to Jesus who is warmth and light.

Be salt! Be light! May the light of Jesus' love reflect off of you and into the lives of everyone you meet today.

Why be in God's house?

One Sunday, the pastor of a church in Florida gathered the children in front of the altar for the children's message.  He began by asking the question, "What does the word 'holy' mean?"

After a pause of a moment of two, a little girl raised her hand.  She answered, "Being holy means that you do what your mother asked you to do the first time!"

Children's messages were always fun for me..  You never know what priceless answers you just might get to one of your questions!

But the main reason I love being in the Lord's house on Sunday is because this is the place where we encounter our gracious and merciful God. 

David writes in Psalm 27: One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what is seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

In Psalm 84, a chorus sings: Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.

As the pilgrims made their way to the Temple during times of religious celebration, they would sing: I rejoice with those who said to me: 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'.

Not only is the Lord present in His house, He showers His people with rich gifts of grace - His Word of forgiveness, His very body and blood in, with and under the bread and wine of the Sacrament and the rich renewal of the Holy Spirit who comes to each of us in the Gospel.

I pray that the time you spend this week reading and meditating over God's Word lead you to exclaim on Sunday, "I love the house where You live, O Lord, the place where Your glory dwells!"

The greatest distance in the world

What's the greatest distance in the world? Not the miles across the Atlantic or down to Antarctica, but the distance between the human head and heart.  Those 18 inches are the most difficult in the world.  Why? Because only God the Holy Spirit can travel them.  Millions hear about Jesus Christ as their only Savior, but only some believe.  The rest shake their heads in rejection or nod in seeming approval, only to go their own ways.  Their ears have heard but not their hearts.

What about me? Can I say with my heart, "Jesus is my Savior whom God raised from the dead?" Can I say with conviction: "His death counted for me.  His resurrection assures my resurrection.  Because He lives, I also will live, body and soul, in heaven some day?" Then thank God the Holy Spirit.  Through the gospel he carried the message from my head to my heart.  My faith is His gift.  Through that gospel He still works when my faith wavers to bridge the distance between head and heart.

The Spirit helps me travel another distance, the one between my heart and mouth.  When Jesus has moved from my head to my heart, then he'll also move from my heart to my mouth.  I'll proclaim gladly what I believe and thank Him for it.  I'll tell others what I believe and ask them to join me.  By God's grace it'll be head to heart to mouth, with the name of Jesus my precious Savior.

Richard E. Lauersdorf
"Together with Jesus - Daily Devotions for a Year"
Northwestern Publishing House