The Lord Is My Shepherd

Psalm 23 KJV; 20th Sunday after Pentecost: The Shepherd's Psalm a prayer of affirmation that the Good Shepherd is with us.

As The Psalmist Prays

Psalm 27:7-14 KJV - As the psalmist prays so shall we pray trusting in the goodness of God to deliver us.

Only God Knows All Things

Romans 11:32-36 KJV

Wise Choices

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. (Psalm 90:12 KJV)

Life is short. Humans make a lot of mistakes. We can make a lot of wrong choices. Some of those mistakes can be avoided by doing what is right. Some of those mistakes have major consequences.

God help us to make better choices in this new year. Help us to choose wisely who or what we will follow. Help us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the light! Help us to live life in his light! Amen. 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

God's Blessings Upon You

Psalm 67 KJV

God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.

That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.

Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

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Numbers 6:24-26

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Amen!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Lift Us Up

 

"The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places." 

(Hab 3:19 KJV)

On some days life can be pretty rough. Troubles and obstacles can bring us down. On those days we pray that the Lord will lift us up and lead us through the tough times.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Help our feet to walk in your high places. Amen.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Gift Of Life

 

Psalm 16 KJV

Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.

O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.

I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

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On this Holy Saturday we remember that Jesus is the way to life. He is the only way to life in the peaceful presence of God. And... only he can and has shown us the way.

Throughout Lent we have followed him on his journey to the cross. We observed his final earthly entrance into Jerusalem with much fanfare. We grieved when his followers deserted him and one was responsible for betraying him. Our hearts were torn open when we once again heard of his torture and death on the cross for our sakes. Today we wait for the celebration of his resurrection of our Lord and our Savior.

We followed him to the cross and grave with sadness; but, tomorrow our hearts will be filled with joy as we celebrate his resurrection from the dead. We rejoice because we know that in his suffering all who believe in him are forgiven their sins and will receive life everlasting in the presence of Almighty God.

So many emotions have run through our hearts and mins us these last weeks as we remembered his life, his death, and his life now among us as he leads us on the path of eternal life.

With sorrow we know that his suffering and death was rightly our suffering and death. But, we also rejoice for a love so great that he was willing to do that so that we might have and truly live life. 

Let us give thanks to Almighty God this and everyday for the gift of life through His Son Jesus the Christ. Amen!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Acceptable In His Sight

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 KJV)

Psalm 19 is one of my favorite prayers from scripture. I pray it before just about every sermon or message that I share aloud. Pastors like to talk and sometimes the words of our lips can get away from us as we jump from topic to topic on subjects that have more to do with personal agendas than anything that will glorify God. We are all sinners, sanctified in Christ Jesus. As sinners, we ought to pray that the Lord, himself, will guide our lips and our hearts in a way that is acceptable to him.

Lord, God, help us to speak those things that will be acceptable in your sight. Amen.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Grace, Mercy, Peace

 

Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

Greet one another with an holy kiss.

 All the saints salute you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 

                                                                                     (2 Cor 13:11-14 KJV)

About two thousand years ago St. Paul closed his second letter to the Corinthians with words of encouragement. He encouraged them to be of like minds and to live in peace. 

Today we need to hear and take heed of that same encouragement as we pray for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and communion of the Holy Spirit to be with us all. 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

How To Pray

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

(Matt 6:9-13 KJV)

How Great Is His Love

 

When Israel was a child, I loved him,

and out of Egypt I called my son.

But the more they were called,

the more they went away from me.

They sacrificed to the Baals 

and they burned incense to images.

(Hosea 11:1-2 NIV)

I'm thinking that there are a lot of parents (and grandparents) who can relate to this. Sometimes, the more you love a child, the more they pull away. It's as though they honestly don't want to be loved. I don't get it. But, sometimes, it seems, that is the way it is. They wander off seeking love from those who do not, cannot, or will not love them instead of living in the warmth and love that is being freely given to them.

God loves us and calls us to be His children. So what is so difficult about living in His love?

May God help each and everyone of us to realize the great love He has for us. Open our eyes, Lord! Open our hearts, LORD! Help us to receive the love you have given us through Jesus Christ, our LORD. Amen.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Servants Of All

For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.

And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. 

                                                                                (1 Cor 9:19-23 KJV)

As servants of Christ we become servants to all. Servants of God do not lift themselves up above others. The only one they lift up is God. When we lift ourselves up over others, we make ourselves into a god; a false. Christians do not idolize or worship any man or woman. 

Paul did not consider himself to be above others; although he could have as he had stature in the world of that time both as a Jew and as a Roman citizen. He considered himself a servant of God; a servant sent to deliver the message of Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead for all who would believe in him.  He delivered the message of forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah.

We are created equal, each with his own gifts. None is greater than another. We do simply what we are called to do, use those gifts for the gospel's sake. In order to share the Gospel it is most helpful not to be lording our lifestyles over another's. It is most helpful to humble ourselves and meet people where they are.

There is only one God. He is the only one that we lift up. We do not idolize politicians, media celebrities, sports figures, religious personalities, or anyone else. That would be idolatry. And, we definitely need to ensure that no one is making a false idol out of us!

So save the applause and say Hallelujah, all praise to the living God, Amen!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Faithful Promise

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

                                                                                 (Heb 10:22-23 KJV)

We have been given a beautiful world to live in; friends; family. We have received many gifts in this world. Sometimes; though, things can get a bit dreary. Sometimes, things can get really rough. There can be a lot of challenges and a lot of trials in this world. Sin, sometimes, takes a stronger hold of our lives than we'd like.

But, we are not without hope. All is not lost. In Christ we have received forgiveness of sin. In Christ, we have had our hearts sprinkled from evil consciences. In Christ, we have been redeemed. We have been reconciled to God our Father and have been made whole. We have received the fruit of God's promise though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God's Peace - Pr. J 

Deliver Us From Evil

THE LORD'S PRAYER
The Seventh Petition.

But deliver us from evil.

What does this mean?--Answer.
We pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all manner of evil, of body and soul, property and honor, and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven. Amen.

What does this mean?--Answer.
That I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven and heard; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray, and has promised that He will hear us. Amen, Amen; that is, Yea, yea, it shall be so.

(http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php)

 

In this petition we pray that we be kept from all evils that plague this world. Martin Luther in the Large Catechism wrote: "But this petition he has put last, for if we are to be protected and delivered from all evil, his name must be hallowed in us, his kingdom come among us, and his will be done. Then he will preserve us from sin and shame and from everything else that harms or injures us."

 

Therefore; all of the petitions in the Lord's Prayer must be prayed with a sincere faith that God hears our prayers and answers. We cannot expect to be kept from evil if we do not revere God's name which is who and what He is; if we do not desire to live in his kingdom; or if we do not desire that his will be done among us here on earth. His will is for our good. If we do not desire his will to be done, how are we to expect that we are to kept safe from the evil one? It would be tantamount to jumping into a bonfire and expect not to get burned. Of course, all things are possible with God. But, it's probably not the best idea to be testing him. Jesus wouldn't, why would we think we can or should?

 

So we pray the Lord's prayer with faith and all God's people say Amen; that's the way it is. We give thanks for in His mercy He has heard our prayers and answered.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Every Eye Will See

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Cor 13:12.

My hearing is slowly leaving me. My eyes see more dimly as time passes. Yet, the truth is that as I age the light of Christ seems to shine brighter and brighter each day. That's a good thing!

As with so many of you, my hope is not in this world; but, in the Kingdom of God, where we will see, face, to face, our loving Father who has received us to Himself.

Life lived in this world can be fraught with loneliness, pain, and suffering. It can very much be a place where confusion reigns. However, for those of us who have been granted to see even dimly the Kingdom of God in Christ Jesus, we can know peace as we look with hope for the day when we will know fully the awesomeness of Almighty God; when we will see Him face to face. We look to the day when every knee will bow before the throne of God. (Rom 14:11)

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

Rev: 1:7

God's Peace - Pr. J