I resolve...

I resolve...

To focus my reading on Jesus.  I have a wonderful daily devotional called "Together With Jesus," written by pastor and author, Richard Lauersdorf.  The devotional is singular in purpose - to help the reader see with greater clarity how Jesus is the center of our life and worthy of our undivided attention.  Lauersdorf is a fine writer.  I'm amazed at how he, in a few paragraphs, can show Jesus as our Savior, Redeemer, Brother, Intercessor, and the only way to heaven.  I look forward to spending another year with this book.

Read through the Bible this year.  I have done this daily exercise before but in the past few years I've found it hard to stay focused and do the reading appointed for the day.  Fortunately, tomorrow offers a fresh start and I intend to begin each day with my devotional and the daily Bible reading.  Truthfully, I can't wait to get started.

I've thought about adding to this list but frankly, if I can do the two things listed above my new year will be full of blessings.  Growing closer to Jesus impacts every other aspect of our lives.  No matter what you plan to accomplish this year, put Jesus at the top of your list.  May 2020 be full of blessings for you as you cling to the promises of God.  

God has mercy on failures

Have you started taking inventory of 2019 yet? How did the year go for you? Can you remember any successes you might have had? Something you wished you had done better? Is 2019 a year you'll never forget or one that you never want to revisit.

Every Sunday during Confession and Absolution I'm reminded of the fact that I'm a failure.  God demands that I keep His commandments.  But there isn't a day that goes by that I don't shatter all 10.  I don't always love God or my neighbors as much as I love myself. To be righteous before God, I need help, lots of help.

During this Christmas season, we celebrate the coming of God into the world in the form of the baby Jesus.  We marvel that God would leave the glories of heaven to join us in a world that does not work right, that is filled with sin.

As sweet as the Christmas story is, never lose sight of the fact that the coming of Jesus was our only hope of ever becoming righteous and acceptable before God.

I like how Jane Fryer put it: "He (Jesus) had to come to us; we could not go to Him.  The old covenant was flawed; we were.  We could not keep God's commandments.  We could not even want to do that."

So, the Christmas story is not only sweet but necessary.  We needed someone to come and lift up us failures.  We needed mercy.  God granted exactly what we needed in the babe of Bethlehem.

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:22-24: There is no difference, for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  

"All have sinned..." All have failed.

But God has mercy on failures like you and me:  When the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

I know a few people who have sold things to pawn shops because of financial needs.  A couple of them, when money was more available, went back to the pawn shop to retrieve what they had given up.

Isn't is good to know that despite our failure to keep the Law, God did not give up on us.

Jesus "redeemed" us from the guilt we feel because of our failures.  He acted so that we did not have to be afraid of death and the punishment for sin that we would receive.  Jesus paid for our failures and sins at the cross.  Through His resurrection we, who put our faith in His, have been declared "not guilty." of all that would separate us from God forever.  That's Good News!

So, I confess my sins.  I am reminded that I have failed God and my neighbors.

But then comes the absolution, God's sweet words: "I forgive you!" My burden is lifted.  My sins have been covered by what I needed - Christ's righteousness.  A failure no more! Now, I'm free to live out my new life in Christ.  To place God first, my neighbors second and myself third.

2019 had its share of blessings and disappointments, just like every year.  But one thing hasn't changed.  Christmas is our reminder that God has mercy on failures. All the more reason to celebrate the birth of our newborn King, our Jesus.

Amen!

Church! Stand United! Stand with Jesus!

Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed.  And a house divided against itself falls. (Luke 11:17)

How true are these words of Jesus.  One spouse has an affair with another person.  The other spouse finds out the truth.  The marriage is destroyed by unfaithfulness.  One business partner disagrees with the other.  They each try to enact their own business plan.  Neither works  The business falls apart.  The coach draws up a play to win the game.  The star player has his own idea about how to score.  The player forces the action and tries to win the game by himself.  He fails.  The  team loses.  Coach and player are divided.  Team harmony is destroyed.

Take a look at Luke 11:14-26.  Jesus drove a mute demon out of a man.  The crowd marvels at the miracle.  Who has the power to do such a thing but God.?  You would think that such compassion would move the people to unite behind Jesus.  Such is not the case.  Some of those looking on claim that Jesus could only do such a thing with the help of "the ruler of the demons."  Really? Would the devil want Jesus driving out the demons that oppose His message that the Kingdom of God has come?  Nevertheless, the devil's goal is to drive a wedge between Jesus and those who need to hear the Lord's message of forgiveness and salvation.

It's not just unbelievers the devil has his sights set on, so to speak.  The devil must dance around the fire every time he can create discord in the church.  One church has two pastors.  The devil tries to create division, causing people to line up in support for one or the other.  What church can be effective when the church has drawn up sides?  Two ministries vie for a certain place in the facility.  Does the devil leave such a situation to work it out for itself? He stokes the pride of the leaders of each ministry so that neither give an inch.  And the work which each ministry plans to do falls apart.

Church! Stand united! Church! Come together! Martin Luther had it right when he wrote, "The old evil foe now means deadly woe."  A church that fails to stand as one, a church where ministries function as special interest groups, only concerned with their own work, will lose all effectiveness.  And then, people who need to hear the Gospel only receive other messages, none with the saving power that points to Jesus alone who can forgive sins and give eternal life.

"United we stand.  Divided we fall."  Stand together, church! Stand with Jesus!

When you find yourself in times of trouble...

All of us have people in our lives that have influenced us or made a lasting impression on us in some way.  Because of their faith in us or love they've shown to us, we consider such people our heroes.  We look up to them.  We admire the example they set for us.  We want to be like them.

One of my heroes is Father Tim.  I've never met him in person.  In fact, he doesn't exist - except in the pages of the Mitford series of books written by Jan Karon (which if you are one of the few people in the world who haven’t read series yet, make it a New Year’s resolution!).

Father Tim is the pastor of the Lord's Chapel in the fictional town of Mitford, North Carolina.  Each of the Mitford books follows the life of the humble and devoted pastor as he cares for the people of his little community.  I appreciate the fact that Father Tim knows what people need the most - the Word of God.  And he uses the Psalms very effectively in his ministry.

For example, as Father Tim sought to minister to a young man who had been abandoned by his mother, he prayed Psalm 32:8b - "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."

When searching for encouragement, Father Tim remembered Psalm 69:19 - "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."

To the individual near death, the first verse of Psalm 27 was Father Tim's prayer: "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"

You can't spend enough time in the Psalms.  Luther loved sitting down with his psalter.  The comfort and hope he drew from the Psalms was good medicine for those stressful and dangerous days of the Reformation.  I pray that you find verses and chapters from the Psalms that give you comfort in troubled times and peace when your heart is troubled

This Christmas make like a shepherd

(The Shepherds) feared God above all and from Him came the Good News, His Good News. The shepherds followed and found and carried on the telling of the message they had received.  They took it from God.  What He said had happened, and they believed, most incredible of all, that this birth was for them, the birth of a Savior who is Christ the Lord.  For them and for you, yes, for you.  That is how much God loves you.  It happened, and you have been told.

"Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel," page 31

O Come, All Ye Unfaithful

The hymn, "O Come, All Ye Faithful," is often placed at the beginning of Christmas Eve or Christmas Day services.  To me, it's a song of invitation - "Come", join us as we add our voices to 'choirs of angels' in songs of praise to Jesus, who left His heavenly throne to be our Immanuel - God with us.

But my experience is that many of those who will come tonight are what we call "C & E Christians," those who attend church at Christmas and Easter.  That's it - twice a year.

Maybe I should be grateful that such folks make that much of an effort.  But to cut yourself off from the gifts that God brings to worship: a Word of forgiveness, His presence at the Table, His name placed on the faithful through the Benediction that brings each service to an end.  Worship is filled with God's gifts of grace, mercy, peace, comfort and hope.  Why would anyone turn their backs on such blessings?

So, the unfaithful will show up tonight.  And, again, I'll be praying that the Holy Spirit will work through the Word to change indifferent hearts in strong, beating hearts of faith, joyfully singing, "Jesus, to Thee be glory given."  I'll be praying that I'll see such folks next Sunday and the Sunday after and the Sunday after.

But as I sit here typing this blog entry, I realize that I should not be so hard on the "unfaithful."  How many times have I been unfaithful.  Times when I failed to draw on the strength of God's Word when being tempted...when I counted on something or someone else to give me pleasure or happiness...when I had my prayer list right in front of me but got distracted by something and didn't pray.

Without the grace of God working in my life (and yours too) I would be lost in my unfaithfulness, destined only for God's judgment.  But God didn't leave me that way.

He sent His Son Jesus to make us faithful.  Jesus took our place under the Law, kept that Law perfectly but then took upon Himself our unfaithfulness and was punished for it at the cross.  In return, the Holy Spirit granted us faith through the Gospel to see Jesus as our Savior, the Son who made us right with the Father.

We are made faithful by Jesus alone without any help of our own.

We all need to be in worship tonight, whether we come twice a year or 52 times a year.  We can't hear enough the Christmas Story and be reminded how the humble Jesus came into this world with just one thing in mind - to carry out His Father's will to save us from our sins.  On this night nothing else matters - not the gifts not the family gatherings, not even Grandma's special recipe for gravy!

So, join us tonight at either 7 or 9 pm and again tomorrow morning at 10 am at Life in Christ.  We'll celebrate the birth of the child who through His life, death and resurrection gives us eternal life.  We'll sing "O Come, All Ye Faithful," joining our voices together on that glad refrain: O Come, let us adore Him, O Come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Snapshots Around Bethlehem

In April 2018, Sherri and I and a group of 30 people took a trip to the Holy Land.  We visited most of the sites I was interested in the Dead Sea, Jordan River, Sea of Galilee, Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, and so many more.

            One place I looked forward to experiencing was Bethlehem.  I wanted to stand in front of the Church of the Nativity and try to image what that evening was like when Joseph and pregnant Mary pulled into the little town.

            Unfortunately, the square was buzzing with people, the Church was absolutely jammed, and we waited two- and one-half hours for a 60 second look at the place where the blessed birth of the Christ child was to have taken place.  I was glad to be there, but it wasn’t exactly the experience I had hoped for.

            After the trip, Sherri and I had amassed a very large collection of pictures.  As we went through each picture, I tried to image what kind of pictures I would have taken if I had been there in Nazareth (another place we visited) and in Bethlehem that night.

            SNAPSHOT: We see a man named Joseph lying on his mat.  He appears to be sleeping peacefully.  But actually, he is dreaming.  An angel of the Lord appears to him with an important message: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.

            SNAPSHOT: We see a hollowed-out cave in a hill behind the village of Bethlehem.  It appears to be a stable, a place where animals are kept.  What we don’t see is what is happening inside the stable.  Joseph is there, caring for Mary as she gives birth to a son.  She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

            SNAPSHOT: We see a rag-tag group of shepherds, gathered around Mary and Joseph and the baby.  They have wonder in their eyes and joy in their hearts.  They rushed to the stable because of the message of the angel: I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.

            This Christmas holiday I pray that you get plenty of great snapshots of family and friends celebrating the joy of the season.  And I hope you’ll be able to set aside some time to review and meditate upon all the SNAPSHOTS of the Babe of Bethlehem who did exactly as the angel said He would.  Picture Jesus and picture forgiveness of sins, peace with God the Father and the promise of eternal life.  That’s a SNAPSHOT worth keeping around the whole year long.

How to bless Jesus

From a sermon by Martin Luther on the Nativity of the Christ:

Many in this congregation think to themselves, "If only I had been there! How quick I would have been to help the Baby! I would have washed His linen.  How happy I would have been to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger!

Yes, you would! You say that because you know how great Christ is, but if you had been there at that time you would have done no better than the people of Bethlehem.  Childish and silly thoughts are these!

Why don't you do it now? You have Christ in your neighbor.  You ought to serve him, for what you do to your neighbor in need you do to the Lord Christ Himself.

Taken from "Hear I Stand," page 354

The Greatest Gift Of All

A few years ago a friend shared with me the story about the young boy who wanted a bicycle for Christmas.  All the other kids in the neighborhood had bikes.  He wanted a bike.  The boy's mother, trying to be helpful, encouraged her son to pray to God about this request.  So that's what he did.  "Dear Jesus, could You see to it that I get a bicycle? All my friends have one.  Amen."

Each night the boy prayed the same prayer.  But the praying didn't seem to help.  How could he be sure God would give him the gift that he wanted the most? Then the youngster got an idea.

When his mother wasn't looking, the boy snuck into the living room, found the little manger scene which was set up under the Christmas tree, and put the statue of Mary in his pocket.  He rushed to his room, closed the door and knelt by the bed.  He prayed: "Jesus, if you want to see Your mother again, I'd better get that bike!"

This kid brings new meaning to the phrase, "Desperate times call for desperate measures!"

The good news for us is that God is without peer when it comes to gift-giving.  His gift of the Christ-child is a prime example of how God gives to you and me.

*In love - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son...(John 3:16)

*Freely - "It is by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of yourselves, it it the gift of God..." (Ephesians 2:8)

*Perfectly - "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:5)

It seems like every Christmas there is always one gift that has to be returned - wrong size, wrong shape or wrong color.  Praise God for His "one size fits all" gift of "eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!"  (Romans 6:23)

God is with us!

The lights were dimmed and the candles gave off a warn and welcoming glow.  My fellow students and I were positioned on the steps leading up to the chancel area of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Tucson, telling in Scripture and song the story of the birth of the Christ child.  We sang with all the faith and joy our hearts could muster:

O Holy Child of Bethlehem

  Descend to us we pray

Cast out our sin and enter in

  Be born in us today.

I didn't appreciate then what I do now - we kids were given the opportunity to proclaim a message that provides hope in the best and worse of times.  God is with us! 

We need not be afraid - God is with us!

We can live each day with courage - God is with us! 

We can trust even in the face of adversity - God is with us!

Let this truth plant its roots deep in your heart this Advent - God is with us!

We hear the Christmas angels

  The great glad tidings tell

O come to us, abide with us

  Our Lord Immanuel!    

Stories Behind the Songs and Hymns About Heaven

The Advent season brings with it the reminder that as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we look forward to His second coming when the righteous will be gathered together and taken into the Kingdom of heaven.

The church loves to sing these great gospel songs about heaven.  But have you ever wondered about the people who wrote the songs and what happened in their lives to inspire them to pen such timeless songs?

Ace Collins' new book provides the answers.

For example, John Newton, the author of the classic, "Amazing Grace," was a slave trader.  It was a lucrative business, a business in which only the truly immoral practiced.  On one trip, Newton happened up a copy of the book, "The Imitation of Christ."   The book revealed what a poor, miserable sinner he had become.  Later, Newton found his ship heading straight for a hurricane.  He fell to his knees and asked God to spare him and the passengers.  He promised to amend his life.

Suddenly, the hurricane dissipated,  and Newton and the people were saved.  Newton kept his commitment and eventually pastored a church.  His song touched many hearts but then one addition was made to "Amazing Grace" and Newton had nothing to do with it.  I'd tell you more but you really should get your copy of "Stories Behind the Songs and Hymns About Heaven."  It's a fascinating book and would make a wonderful gift.

Book supplied for review by Baker Books

Viva Vox Jesu!

"Viva Vox Jesu" - the living voice of God - is what we hear when His Word is read and preached.  The Word of Jesus is both a written and an oral Word.  This Word, though written in words inspired and canonically received, is also spoken and heard within a community called the body of Christ.  This voice is a living voice, for by it Jesus Christ is present for us bodily...we acknowledge that God's Word is God's food for hungry pilgrims who have journeyed in Christ through a baptism of His death and resurrection toward the final destination of full communion with Him in heaven.

Arthur Just, "Heaven on Earth," page 199

For You!

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people."  This joy is not just for Peter and Paul but for all people.  Not just to apostles, prophets, and martyrs does God say, but to you, "Come, see the baby Jesus."  "Fear not," said the angel.  I fear death, the judgment of God, the world hunger and the like.  The angel announces a Savior who will free us from fear.  Not a word is said about our merits and works, but only of the gift we are to receive.

Martin Luther, from "Martin Luther's Christmas Book," Fortress Press

The Greatest Gift Giver

Did you hear the story about the kid who wanted a bicycle for Christmas? All the other kids in the neighborhood had bikes so he wanted one too.  The boy's mother, trying to be helpful, encouraged her son to pray to God about this request.  So that's what he did.  "Dear Jesus, could you see that I get a bicycle? That's all I want for Christmas.  Amen."

Each night the boy prayed the same prayer.  But the praying didn't seem to help.  How could he be sure that God would give him the gift that he wanted most? Then the youngster got an idea.

When his mother wasn't looking, the boy snuck into the living room, found the little manger scene which was set up under the Christmas tree and put the statue of Mary in his pocket.  He rushed to his room, closed the door, and knelt by his bed.  He prayed, "Jesus, if you want to see your mother again, I'd better get that bike!"

This kid brings new meaning to the phrase, "Desperate times call for desperate measures!"

The good news for us is that God is without peer when it comes to gift-giving.  His gift of the Christ-child is a prime example of how God gives to you and me.

He gives in love - For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son...John 3:16
He gives freely - It is by grace that you have been saved and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God...Ephesians 2:8
He gives perfectly - Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

It seems like every Christmas there is always one gift that has to be returned - wrong size, wrong shape or wrong color.  Praise God for His "one size fits all" gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 6:23).

Discouragement is...

Discouragement is a heaviness of heart that comes from feeling the weight of those problems piling up on us.

Jason Meyer, "Don't Lose Heart," page 15

What's in a name?

Amelia & Oliver - what's so special about these names? They were the most popular names for infant boys and girls born in 2019.

How were you named? After a parent or grandparent? In honor of a family friend or close acquaintance? Were your parents looking for a unique or one-of-kind name? Was it because of the special meaning behind your name?

When it came to their first born, Mary and Joseph did not have any input into the choice of the name.  God the Father already had a name chosen.  An angel informed Joseph that the baby conceived in Mary would be named Jesus, "because He will save His people from their sins."

The name, "Jesus," means "the Lord saves."  Our Savior God lives up to His name!  The apostle Peter said as much when he proclaimed, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." 

Salvation was the mission of the tiny baby whose birth we soon celebrate.  Like the Samaritans we, too, exclaim, "We know that this Man is really is the Savior of the world."  That's what makes the name "Jesus" special to us.  The Lord saves you!

A Prayer for the Young Baptized

For the last couple of months I've been studying the basics of Christian faith with a young lady and her grandparents.  It has been a joy to have watched the Holy Spirit work through the Word to bring and nurture her faith so that she is unashamed to confess Jesus as her Savior and Lord.

Tomorrow, she will be baptized.  Water and the Word will bring about a cleansing of sins and grant to her forgiveness of sins, new life in Christ and the promise of eternal life.  It will be a day of celebration for our church.

I found a prayer in "Teenagers Pray," published by Concordia Publishing House.  I pray that it will be a prayer that this young lady will use often.  It also can be prayed by anyone who has been baptized.

Dear Heavenly Father, I speak joyfully because I know You love me, because through Baptism You have made me a member of Your family.  I thank You for all the rich blessings that are mine because I am baptized - for the forgiveness of sins, for saving faith in my Savior, Jesus, and for the ability to live a God-pleasing life.  Like the man of Ethiopia after his baptism, I go on my way rejoicing.  I have not earned these blessings, but You have given all as a free gift of Your great love for me.  For this accept my sincere thanks.

I am sorry that I sin against the promises I made at my Baptism.  Forgive me these sins for Jesus' sake.  Send Your Holy Spirit to strengthen me in my faith and in the power to fight all sins and temptations.  Give me a joyful hope in Your promise of eternal life.  Help me lead others to You that they also may receive the everlasting blessings of Baptism; in Jesus' name.  Amen.

It's not Do...But Done!

It was the question of the rich, young ruler of Matthew, chapter 19.  It was the question I was asked by a visitor to our worship last Sunday.  "What good thing must I do to be saved?"

The apostle Paul's answer is not what most people expect to read or hear.  Paul writes to the Ephesians that our salvation is not a matter of do but done.

Take another look at Ephesians 2:8-9.  Note that we are saved by:

Grace alone through

Faith alone in

Jesus Christ alone without any

Works of my own

Even the good works we might do in order to try and impress God are not our own.  Paul writes that God prepared those good works in advance for us to do.  Such works flow from a heart filled with gratitude for God's free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus.

This is good news! Eternity is not dependent on heeding the advice from Oprah's latest self-help guru or doing an extreme makeover upon yourself so that you meet the expectations of our post-Christian world.  Trust Christ Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.  He offers His gift without strings attached.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.  Good news indeed!

What you can learn from a tuning fork

If you take two C tuning forks, tap one and simply hold it next to the other, the one that wasn't tapped will begin to resonate.  It's like that with our hearts as well.  Sometimes when we hear God's Word, something inside our hearts starts to resonate.  That's because we were created to hear His Word.

Dr. William Lane, as quoted in "The Walk," page 22

Don't Lose Heart review

This is a gem of a book.

In six chapters Meyer touches on those circumstances and feelings that can bring about discouragement - feeling overwhelmed, defeated, worthless.  He also addresses how a person can approach their past, live in the present and look toward the future without fear.

I appreciated how Meyer used personal stories and illustrations to complement the Scriptures and demonstrate to the reader that God is still at work in us and for us no matter how discouraged or depressed we might be.  Meyer understands how it is impossible for people to live without hope.  But he also knows where hope can be found - in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The hope of Jesus is powerful enough to see anyone through times of discouragement.

This book would be an excellent gift.  Do you know someone who is struggling with discouragement? Share with them a copy of "Don't Lose Hope."  It might be the best gift that person will receive this Christmas season.

Find your peace in the Prince of Peace

Peace is not the absence of difficult circumstances; it is the presence of the Prince of Peace.  He often deals with difficult circumstances not by taking them away but by giving us more of Himself.

Jason Meyer, from "Don't Lose Heart," page 141