What does it mean not to trust God

Not trusting God for your daily needs is like having a wealthy father who is willing to lavish thousands of dollars on you, yet not being able to trust him for money in an emergency.

Martin Luther, "Faith Alone," September 13

Pastors - love your sheep and lambs

Bonhoeffer once wrote: A pastor should never complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people or to God.  A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God.

Wise words, indeed.  CFW Walther, the first president of the LCMS, said that a pastor should see his call to a Christian congregation as a call to paradise.

What to do when some in your congregation aren't very Christ-like?

Start by taking a look in a mirror? The pastor can start by asking himself, "Is there something I've done or failed to do to cause this person or people to behave in an ungodly way?" If so, repent and seek the Lord's forgiveness and restoration.

Secondly, communicate.  Speak to those who seem to be causing trouble.  Perhaps they are troubled but something you are unaware of and this trouble is impacting their life and how they treat others.

Thirdly, pray.  Ask the Lord for His help.  Seek His wisdom and strength.  And remember all the other times you went to the Lord with a problem and discovered that He already was at work in resolving the trouble - even before you asked Him.

May the Great Shepherd of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ, help all of us under-shepherds to love our flocks - His sheep and lambs!

Some good advice for preachers

What have I been doing all this time? If I'm going to take twenty or thirty minutes to say something I can say in ten minutes, maybe I'd better say it in ten minutes.

Musician John Coltrane, quoted in "Making Records," pages 35-36

Thoughts about My Master

While I sit at my Savior's feet, as the crowd did that day (see Mark 6:34), for what am I hungry? Do I think of Him the way the anonymous poet did who wrote:

My Master was so very poor, a manger was His cradling place.  So very rich my Master was, Kings came from away to gain His grace.

My Master was so very poor and with the poor He broke the bread.  So very rich my Master was that the multitudes by Him were fed.

My Master was so very poor they nailed Him naked to a cross.  So very rich my Master was, He gave His all and knew no loss.

But, oh, the gain when my soul is fed by Him!

From "Together with Jesus, " Richard E. Lauersdorf, from a devotion for February 25.

Jake - the Coyote's worst nightmare

We live in west Peoria.  Even though we're in the city our neighborhood has coyotes.  Once I wondered why the coyotes were still in the area.  One of my neighbors answered, "They were here first.  That's why."

After a good night's sleep, we let our dog, Jake, out so he can take care of business, if you know what I mean.  He no more than took a few steps out onto the porch when he stopped and stood very still.  He was in attack mode. I thought he'd seen a rabbit.  Jake likes chasing after them, I imagine, with the hope that some day he'll catch one (fat chance!).

I looked over and I didn't see a rabbit.  It was a coyote and a good sized one at that.  Before I could grab Jake and get him back in the house, he was off after the coyote.

I kept calling, "Jake! Come!" But he ignored me.  Fortunately, the coyote wanted no part of Jake.  Quickly it jumped over our four foot backyard fence.  If Jake were just a little bigger, I'm sure he would have jumped the fence as well.  Instead, all he could do is bark.  I can't really interpret what a dog's bark means but I'm fairly certain that Jake was saying something like, "Don't come into my backyard again.  No! No! No! I'm big and ferocious and I will make your life miserable.  No! No! No!"

Soon the excitement was over and we managed to get Jake back in the house.  We gave him several treats and commended him for his bravery.  

Jake is now taking one of his many naps.  I wonder if he'll dream about how he chased a whole pack of coyotes off our property with just a single ferocious bark?

Something to ponder this weekend

We are spiritually weakened by the pace of life, the lack of community, and the lack of time and energy to cultivate our relationships with God and our fellow man.

Dr. Richard Swensen, "Margin," as quoted in "Imagine 5:16" page 142

Have a blessed weekend!

What is faith?

Faith is willing to abandon all earthly guarantees and rely solely on God.

Paul Wendland, First Chronicles - The People's Bible Commentary, page 300