Remember your baptism?

When we are unmindful of our special status as God's baptized, it is easy to live in the "insanity" of our sin.  Our days become a meaningless bunch of hours, we lose sight of the importance of our relationship with God, and we begin justifying lax behavior and attitudes toward work and those we love.

Kurt Senske, "The Calling,: pages 91-92

Is...There...Any...Hope?

Years ago an S-4 submarine was rammed by a ship off the coast of Massachusetts.  It sank immediately.  The entire crew was trapped in a prison house of death.  Every effort was made to rescue the crew, but ultimately all plans failed.  Near the end of the ordeal, a deep-sea diver, who was doing everything in his power to find a way for the crew's rescue, thought he heard a tapping on the steel wall of the vessel.  He placed his helmet up against the side of the vessel and he realized it was the Morse Code.  He attached himself to the side and he spelled out in his mind the message being tapped from within.  It was repeating the same question: Is...there...any...hope?

That's a question we've all asked at least once in our lives, isn't it? Is there any hope...for my marriage, for finding a job, for earning a college scholarship, for an early retirement? Someone has said, "We can live forty days without food, eight days without water, four minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope."

Take some time today to read Psalm 39.  There you’ll find David is faced with asking the question, "Is there any hope?" He had been trying to keep a stiff, upper lip, so to speak, by remaining silent during a very painful time in his life.  Then he pours out from his heart all the impatience and frustration he is feeling.  But by the time we get to verse seven, we learn that it has been helpful for David to have been very honest with the Lord.  He responds with what we might call a "trusting prayer" that is fueled by the hope he has in his Lord.

God has given you and me that same hope.  We don't worry about our standing with God because Jesus has made us right and acceptable to our Father.  We don't despair about our future because Jesus has prepared a place in heaven for us.  We don't allow present day problems to consume us because Jesus has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.  In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  (Romans 15:4)

We have hope!

Forgiveness is the air we breathe

Pastor Frank Starr wrote a  series of devotional book entitled, "Light For The Way."  The books are over 30 years old and out of print.  But I've found them to be a good tool for daily Bible reading.

I have copies a number of Starr's comments over the years in my journals.  I especially appreciated this one on forgiveness:

The Lord's forgiveness and restoration is the air we breathe, and breathing this air inspires us to share forgiveness and restoration with those around us.

"Light For The Way," Book 1, page 72

God - a DIY project?

More and more people describe themselves as "spiritual."  The term can mean many different things to many different people.  I imagine such people standing before a cafeteria counter taking a little of this and a little of that and when they get to the end they've created a god that they can be comfortable with, a god that makes no demands, a god that can be put on a shelf, so to speak, that can be taken down when needed.

Here's another quote from Ray Comfort's book, "Faith is For Weak People."  He describes very well what happens when we make god a DIY project:

When we create a god in our own image, we predictably shape him to conform to our sins.  This is what you will hear someone say they believe in God and almost in the same breath say that it is a woman's right to choose the death of her unborn child.  That god doesn't mind murder.

Hard words to hear.  However, one of the dangers of a DIY god is that it naturally lets us do what we want to do, without consequences.  And when life's troubles pay a visit, how does a homemade god offer comfort, provide strength and give assurance of being present in the lowest of times?

Worship the one true God, one not of your own making.  Worship the God who made you, gives you life and provides for your every need.  Worship the God who is full of love, so much so that He gave His one of a kind Son, Jesus, to redeem you of your sin, so that you didn't have to face the God of judgement.  Worship the God who won't abandon you in your time of trouble nor leave you to figure out your way to heaven. 

I'm a guy whose DIY projects usually end in disaster.  How good to know that our God needs no assembly required.  Instead, we echo the words of the psalmist: Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.  Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting YOU ARE GOD! (Psalm 90:1-2)

Have you spent time in prison?

I’ve spent some time in prison.  I was there because I put myself there.  It was so stupid.  I couldn't sleep.  I was anxious and distressed.  My heart was restless.  My stomach was tied up in knots.  It was horrible.

I was being held captive in a prison of fear.  Afraid of an individual.  Afraid of the trouble the person might cause me.  Afraid of the hurt the person might cause others.  I didn't want to see the person.  Didn't want to have anything to do with the individual.  I would have been glad if they had just gone away.  But that wasn't going to happen.  And I was going to have to deal with this person.

God had mercy on me, His weak and silly child.  God sprung me from my prison cell.  The key that he used to unlock my cell door was His Holy Word.  I read the words: When I am afraid, I will trust in You.  In God, whose Word I praise, In God I trust; I will not be afraid.  What can mortal man do to me? (Psalm 56:3-4)

In these precious words the psalmist was reminding me that faith trumps fear! There was no reason to pull closed the cell door of my self-imposed prison.  God is greater than my fear.  He is more powerful and wise than any of my adversaries.  According to the psalmist, God had my back, so to speak.  I didn't have to be afraid of the troublemaker.  God was with me.  Praise His comforting Word! How grateful I was to my Lord and Savior for springing me from captivity.

The apostle Peter wrote: Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.  Trust God.  He does care for you.  Tell Him about your adversaries and your problems.  And don't be afraid.  Walk before God in the light of life.  (Psalm 56:13)

Love Is All You Need

The key to reaching those who are perishing in their sins is love.  It casts out all fear.  If you are afraid to share your faith, don't pray for less fear.  Pray for more love.

Ray Comfort, "Faith is For Weak People," page 22

The power of prayer lays where?

I was watching a TV preacher the other day tell his viewers, "There's power in prayer so pray!" He seemed to be saying that the one who prays has the power to make things happened.

I like Michael W. Newman's viewpoint much better: Jesus also bid His disciples to pray.  The power of prayer is not as much in your speaking as it is in God's listening.  Implicit in prayer is the promise that God hears you and responds.  When you are overcome by anxiety, you can cast your cares upon your Lord and Savior, being confident that He will carry the burden and lighten the load.

From, "Hope When Your Heart Breaks," page 192

Where are You, God?

Do you have a favorite psalm? My guess is that most folks would choose the 23rd Psalm, the Good Shepherd psalm.  Others might pick Psalm 121 because of the assurance of the Lord's watchfulness over our lives.  Psalm 1 is a favorite - it speaks of how the Lord brings growth in our new life in Christ.  Psalm 51 is David's prayer of repentance, a psalm we can all relate to.

Psalm 77 has become a favorite of mine.  As I read along, I sometimes feel as though Asaph, who served as a temple choir director, was reading my mind.  The psalm is very personal.  Asaph asks the question that Jesus would later cry out from the cross: "Why, O God, have You forsaken me?" This is the most personal of questions.

Asaph doesn't offer specifics, only that he must be dealing with some very personal problems.  As he looks at his present circumstances, he wonders if God has abandoned him.  He simply can't believe that God would "reject forever...never show His favor...forgotten to be merciful...withheld His compassion?" (verses 7-9)

Then a beautiful shift in attitude and thinking takes place in 77:10.  Rather than continuing to dwell on his present problems, Asaph begins to think about and meditate upon the Lord's mighty deeds from the past.  As he does so he is comforted and his faith is strengthened.  He remembers that God is "holy...performs miracles...redeemed Your people."

Asaph realizes that God has not abandoned or forsaken him.  Notice 77:19: "Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, though Your footprints were not seen."  Asaph might not have seen God but He could trust in the Lord's promise that He is near to His people (see Deut. 31:6).

Does it seem that God has forgotten you? Are you wondering if God has withdrawn His grace from you? Read Psalm 77.  Read it again if you have to.  Asaph knows how you feel.  He knows something else - you can trust the holy God.  He has redeemed and saved you from sin, death and the devil.  He won't stop being your loving Lord and Savior.

What Jesus does for your reputation and mine

There are some people with which we prefer not to be connected or associated.  It may be because of their worldview or personality or sinful behavior.  We stay away from such folks.  To be connected with such a person might negatively impact our own reputation.

That's why a paragraph from, "Reading Romans with Luther," by R. J. Grunewald caught me eye.

Our Savior doesn't worry whether our reputation might damage His.  He knows exactly what our reputation will do to His reputation.  He justifies us, the ungodly, because its His reputation that changes us - His work that makes us righteous.  (page 19)

These words remind us that Jesus is the actor in our lives.  He does for us what we could not do for ourselves.  He suffered the punishment due us because of our sin.  He rose from the dead and makes it clear that we need not fear death.  He defeated the devil so that the evil foe cannot run roughshod over us.  The perfect God does it all for imperfect people. 

Just as Jesus had no hesitation to have lunch with a tax collector (see Luke 19:1-10), so He does not hesitate coming near to us, having fellowship with us at His Table, being on call at a moments notice as we speak our prayers.  All this He does without thought of His reputation being sullied or called into question. 

His reputation does change us - sins exchanged for righteousness, a selfish way of living replaced with new life in Christ, love for self given up for loving God and loving our neighbor.

Live out your new life in Christ today with joy!

The Joy of Being Used By Jesus

You have a new purpose in Christ.  God purposefully uses you through everyday tasks: God uses your hands to feed, protect and care for others; God uses your honest labor to bless your community; God uses your mouth to speak comfort, truth and love; God uses your ears to hear the hurts and hopes, fears and failures of your neighbors.  And God uses you to bring Jesus to other useless runaways, thereby making them useful again.

By Trevor Sutton, "Being Lutheran," page 209

You think your job is tough?

Think your job is tough? You should have walked in Moses' sandals.  His job was to lead God's people, the Israelites, from Egypt to the Promised Land.  Working in a nitroglycerin factory would have been less stressful!

The people rejoiced when God miraculously delivered them from slavery.  They sang with Moses when God destroyed Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea.  They praised God when He promised to establish a covenant which would make them a people to be envied by all other tribes and nations.

But the Israelites could also be, as God described them, "a stiff-necked people."  You've heard the phrase, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going?" When thing got a little difficult for God's people, they would moan and complain, and use Moses as their whipping boy.  They accused their leader of having brought them out to the desert so they could die of thirst.  They whined of having no food to eat; then when God provided them with good food, they complained that they were tired of the same old menu.  How was it that Moses could put up with these people?

Moses got frustrated, even exasperated from time to time.  But he would soon calm down and get back to his job, leading God's people to the land the Lord had given them.  Moses was able to do so because He had a personal relationship with God.  He communed with the Lord.  He spent time in God's presence.  Moses once even reflected God's radiance to the Israelites.  When the going got tough, Moses got back to His ever-present God.  He trusted the Lord.  The Lord was with him.

You are just as blessed as Moses.  Remember this great hymn of the church? Jesus, priceless treasure, source of purest pleasure, truest friend to me.

Our greatest treasure in this life is the Lord Himself.  No matter how tough life becomes for us, we too have a personal relationship with Jesus.  It began with our baptism.  Through His suffering, death and resurrection, He redeemed us and made, through faith, righteous before the Father.  He is with us always.  He has sent the Spirit to guide us.  He is preparing a place for us in heaven and will come again to take us to be with Him forever.  Don't despair, my friends, in these tough times.  Just as Moses communed with God, so you have fellowship with God, now and forever.

How to see the cross of Christ

If one follows the New Testament, we will come to recognize that the cross is actually a revelation of the depth of human sin and the depth of Divine love.

"Martin Luther in His Own Words," page 114

God has a wonderful plan for your life

Keep this in mind: God does have a wonderful plan for our life in heaven - wonderful because, with unmitigated delight, we will enjoy everything He then has in store for us.  And He has a wonderful plan for our lives now, on earth - wonderful because, with deep gratitude, we can value everything He is doing in us and through us in the midst of severe trials and acute sorrow.

Larry Crabb, "When God Makes No Sense," page 59

Speak, O Lord, for your servant is listening

I don’t’ remember to say it every time.  But I believe a good prayer before reading of studying the Bible are the words that young Isaiah:  "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

Yesterday, as I was reading Psalm 80, it seemed that the Lord really got my attention with verse 19: Restore us, O Lord God Almighty, make Your face shine upon us, that we might be saved.

Restore us, O Lord God Almighty...  To restore something is to return it to its former condition.  Israel prays that God Almighty will restore the nation and its land from the near total desolation of the land by the hands of their enemies.

Interestingly, this verb in the Hebrew language can also be translated, "to restore to life."  The consequence of sin is, as Paul writes to the Romans, "death."  (Romans 6:23).  When Jesus came to atone for our sins, His death and resurrection restored "life" to you and me. (Also Romans 6:23 - read the entire verse).

Make Your face shine upon us...  These words take us back to the Old Testament book of Numbers and the blessing that Moses gave to Aaron and, in turn, Aaron would give to the people of God.

We, too, cherish receiving the blessing and promise of God as it is usually spoken at the end of each worship service.  Through faith in Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection and being clothed in Jesus' righteousness, we are certain that God looks upon us with grace and loves us just as a father loves his child.

That we may be saved...  Asaph and all of Israel are looking for a king who will come and save them from their oppression.  The psalmist prays this petition three times, in part, because as he writes, there doesn't seem to be that leader in their midst and God's help is desperately needed.

God, in mercy, sent His Son to be our King (this is one part of Jesus' three fold office of being our Prophet, our Priest and our King).  Our King governs us, His church, in grace and will one day lead us into the kingdom of heaven.

How wonderful it is when God speaks to us through His Word, His promises of forgiveness, new life and salvation give joy and light to our lives.  Say it again, O Lord: Restore us, O Lord, God Almighty; make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved!

God's Hidden Paths

Psalm 77 is a favorite of mine.  Verse 19 gives me so much comfort.  You should check it out.

Here is Martin Luther's take on this Psalm:

The 77th Psalm is a psalm of instruction.  The psalmist uses himself as an example of how to find comfort when affliction comes and the conscience is troubled, as if God is angry with it.  He says that he was so troubled that he could not have any sleep or even speak.  But this comfort follows: The psalmist can fight off the thoughts with which he futilely suffered, and he can grasp instead the thought of the mighty works of God in the histories of old.  Here we find that God's work was to help the miserable, the troubled, and the abandoned, and to throw down the self-secure, proud scoffers, for example,when He delivered the children of Israel from Egypt.  

For this reason His paths are called "hidden."  He is there to help when we think that we are totally abandoned.  We should learn this well.  God intends by this psalm to show us and teach us His manner of helping, namely that he never abandons us when things go ill.  Instead, we should wait upon His help at that time with the greatest confidence and not believe our thoughts.


From, "Reading the Psalms With Luther," page 181

Unpromising Recruits - Like You and Me

From author Phillip Yancey:

I cannot avoid the impression that Jesus prefers working with unpromising recruits.  Once, after He had sent out 72 disciples on a training mission, Jesus rejoiced at the successes they reported back.  No passage in the Gospels shows Him more exuberant.  "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, 'I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.  Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure'."  From such a ragtag band Jesus founded a church that has not stopped growing in nineteen centuries.

From, "The Jesus I Never Knew," page 100

If you're going to brag, brag about Jesus

You know how it is with reading the Scriptures, right?  You can read a passage or chapter a dozen times and then in the 13th reading you have one of those enlightening moments and you wonder, "Why didn't I see that before."

That's what happened to me today as I was working my way through 2 Corinthians 11.  The apostle Paul is dealing with the frustration of some false prophets who have begun to exert a deadly influence over some of the Corinthians.  These "super apostles" as Paul mockingly calls them, have come to Corinth to preach a different Gospel than the one preached by Paul and they have attacked Paul's credentials.  These opponents have spent much time boasting about their spirituality while tearing down Paul's ministry.

In chapter 11, Paul goes on the offensive - but he hates every moment of it.  To boast of what he has done in ministry is to stoop to the level of his opponents.  To boast about oneself is, according to Paul, "foolishness."  The world and worldly people brag about themselves, how wonderful they are, how much they know, how spiritual they are.  As you read the chapter, you almost feel the sense that Paul has dirtied himself, stooping down to their level.  Paul would always rather point to Jesus Christ - for in Christ there is forgiveness, salvation, righteousness and peace.  

For some reason I hadn't really caught the impact of chapter 11 in my previous readings.  We are all tempted from time to time to boast of our accomplishments (or what we think are accomplishments).  For me, this often happens when I've been with another person or group of people who are loudly and proudly boasting about something they've done.  But Paul makes it clear - you stoop down to the level of those around you when you choose their tactics instead of simply letting what God has done through you speak for itself.  I have a feeling I'll be pondering Paul's words all day and probably offering a prayer for forgiveness for all the times I boasted foolishly.

Here's a helpful admonition from a beloved hymn.  Let it be a reminder that if we're going to brag, brag about Jesus.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
  Save in the death of Christ, my Lord
All the vain things that charm me most
  I sacrifice them to His blood.

From "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" Lutheran Service Book, #426, verse 2

Do you worry?

If so, join us this Sunday at LICL.  Come and hear what Jesus has to say about the value of worrying. Sunday at 8, 9:30 or 11 am (or attend worship this afternoon at 5 pm).

God bless your day!

Walking across Abbey Road

In 2011, Sherri and I walked in the footsteps of the most famous band in popular music history.  Yesterday, was the 50th anniversary of the day the Beatles were photographed for the cover of the Abbey Road album.  Six photographs were taken of the Fab Four as they went back and forth across the street.  I am barefoot a la Paul McCartney.  After that, we walked over to Paul McCartney's home in St. John's Wood.  He wasn't home.

What counts the most?

It is not ability but faithfulness that counts.

Fredrich Zundel

Preach the Gospel and use words!

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes...  Romans 1:16

It is St. Francis who is to have said, "Go out today and preach the Gospel...and if you must, use words."  It is such a nice thought.  Our loving works done for our family, friends and neighbors demonstrates the change Jesus has made in us.  Some believe this is the best witness of the power of the Gospel to others.      

What is the Gospel? The Gospel is all about Jesus Christ - His suffering, death and resurrection for the redemption of the world.  The Gospel is good news, the best news anyone can hear.  The Gospel is all about words - words regarding the salvation that is God's free gift to those who believe in Jesus - the way and the truth and the life.

The life that St. Francis is speaking of is one that is motivated by the Gospel.  The love of Jesus changes us and moves us.  We want to be salt and light to the world.  We want to love our neighbor as Jesus first loved them and us.  We want to let our light shine in a world full of darkness and sin so that more and more people will come to know and trust Jesus to be their Savior from sin and death.

In Acts, chapter 8, Phillip used the words of the 5th Gospel - Isaiah - to help the eunuch see and believe in the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."  Paul wrote to the Romans that the "Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of the world."  The Gospel is all about the Word - Jesus!

Maybe we should think of it like this: Go out today and love your neighbor…and when the opportunity presents itself, speak the Gospel.

Tell how Jesus changed your life in your baptism, washing away your sin and adopting you into His family.  Share how the Holy Spirit opened your eyes to see Jesus in His power and love as you read your Bible daily.  Explain how Jesus gives you hope even when life’s circumstances threaten to drain the hope out of your life.  Speak of Jesus’ promises to forgive sins and mistakes, gives peace and rest for anxious hearts and provides every assurance that His gift of eternal life removes the fear of death.

So, go out today and show the power of God's love at work in your life.  Let people see the difference that Jesus makes.  But also be ready to speak His Gospel of love and forgiveness to those around you.  Preach the Gospel...and use words to do it!

Regarding wisdom

Wisdom involves putting into practice in everyday life the truths God has taught us.

Jane Fryer from the Today's Light Bible, published by Concordia Publishing House

Known by God

O Lord, You have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar.  You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar…Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.  Psalm 139:1-2, 7-10

Marsha Kaitz, a psychology professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, did a test to see how well mothers know their babies.  According to the Associated Press, the 46 mothers chosen for the test had all given birth in the previous five to 79 hours.  They had all breast fed their newborn.

Each mother was blindfolded and then asked to identify which of three sleeping babies was her own.  Nearly 70 percent of the mothers correctly chose their baby.  Most of the mothers said they knew their child by the texture or temperature of the infant's hand.  The woman apparently learned the identifying features during routine contact, said Kaitz, because they weren't allowed to study their babies to prepare for the experiment.

70 percent of the Moms could identify their children.  That's pretty impressive.  Even more impressive is Almighty God's ability to know His children.  It's 100%!

That's the word from the psalmist David.  David writes it clearly - God knows you through and through.  From the time your alarm clock goes off in the morning until you switch off the bedroom light at night and hit the sack, God knows what you've done, where you've been and what you've said.  There is no place where you can hide from His Spirit.  There is no darkness that can conceal you.  From the moment of your conception until this very moment, God has you on His heavenly GPS screen.

And that's good! When we're honored for our hard work on the job, God knows and rejoices.  When we pound the pavement seeking any kind of a job, God is aware and is with you.  God's searching knowledge of us leads us to put down our guard and be transparently honest with Him.  His Law shows how we have offended the Lord and so His Spirit leads us to repentance and faith.  His Gospel reassures us of the Lord's forgiveness and salvation.  We have His promise - the Lord will lead us in the way everlasting.  Just a few of the blessings that come from being known by God.

Use the forks, Luke!

            The continuing popularity of the Star Wars franchise amazes me.  The first film, “A New Hope” was released in 1977.  Since then, seven more movies have hit the big screen.  Billions of dollars have been spent on Star Wars merchandise.  Contributing to that cash haul are my three oldest grand boys.

They love Legos.  And they love Star Wars.  So what gifts do they want at Christmas and birthdays?  Star Wars Legos!  They spend hours putting together starships and storm troopers.  Their allowances are saved until they can go shopping for – you guessed it – the newest Star Wars Legos sets.  But anything that can keep them off a video device of some kind is fine with me.

            This latest wave of Star Wars mania reminds me of a story.  Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kanobi are in a Chinese restaurant having a meal.  Skillfully using his chopsticks, Obi-Wan deftly dishes himself a large portion of noodles into his bowl, then tops it off with some chicken and cashew nuts.  All this is done with the consummate ease you’d expect from a Jedi Master.

            Poor, old Luke, on the other hand, is having a nightmare.  Unable to use his chopsticks properly, Luke is dropping his food all over the table himself.  Obi-Wan looks at Luke disapprovingly and says, “Use the forks, Luke.  Use the forks.”

            Of course, Star Wars buffs know that the phrase, “use the forks,” is a play on words.  In the first Star Wars film, Luke is constantly reminded to “use the force!”

            We are presently in that time of the church year sometimes known as “The Green Season.”  These Sundays after Pentecost focus on spiritual growth.  Every celebration of Pentecost is a timely reminder for the people of God to let the force – the Holy Spirit – be about His construction work in our lives.  The transformation of the apostle Peter from frightened disciple to powerful preacher and witness demonstrates the real force the Holy Spirit is as we live out our life in Christ.

            Think of it:

·         The Spirit calls us by the Gospel to enable us to take hold of all the spiritual blessing which are ours in Christ.

·         The Spirit gives us the saving knowledge and confident faith to believe that Christ is our Savior and to trust in Him alone for forgiveness and salvation.

·         The Spirit transforms our entire lives so that our desire is to put off sin and live lives filled with the fruit of the Spirit.

The Sundays after Pentecost remind us of the tremendous force the Holy Spirit is in our lives.  Jesus promised His followers that we would not be left alone.  In John, chapter 14, Jesus said: “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.”  (verses15-16)  

            The Father and the Son sent the Spirit to make us holy by bringing us to faith in Jesus and filling us with the desire to show and share the love of Jesus with others.  May the Holy Spirit always be with you!  And if chopsticks give you trouble – use the forks!