Trust The Lord Above All

Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

                                                                           (Jer 17:5-8 KJV)

A confession for this morning:  As I child I trusted just about everyone. As a young adult, who got burned many times by others, I began to trust no one. But, as I grew to know the Lord I began, once again, to trust others. I could trust others not because humankind is so trustworthy or good; but, because God is. Too often human beings will take the road that they think will benefit them no matter how much it might damage others. But, the Lord does not. He who loves us and cares for us was willing to die that we might be forgiven for the very sins that we commit against our neighbors out of selfishness and greed. 

I trust the Lord to take care of things that I cannot control and the things that others would take control of to the detriment of not just myself but humankind as a whole. I have been able to regain trust  in others because above all my faith, my love, my trust is in the Lord. While others would lead us to useless salt lands the Lord will make us to lie down in green pastures and lead us beside still waters. (Psalm 23)

I have learned the lesson, though, that when others willfully go against God's good will for others it is not the time to sit back and allow them to have any type of authority over myself or anyone else. There are times that we must stand up for what is good and right even if it requires a sacrifice on our part. God; after all, often does work through his people. 

We can live and work and even play with others because before them all we trust the Lord who loves us and gave himself for us.

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord "for he is good and his mercy endureth forever!" (Psalm 136)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

We See Dimly

"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinth 13:11-13 NRSV

What a glorious day it will be when we shall see the Lord face to face. But, for now we have faith, hope and love as we wait for the day when the shadow is gone; the shroud is removed, and the fog is lifted so that we will see His full glory as we stand before Him.

No matter how dimly we might see now; it is better than not seeing or knowing Him at all. May God open our eyes that we might see and know Him more clearly each and every day.


God's Peace - Pr. J

We See Dimly

"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."                                                                                                        1 Corinthians 13:11-13 NRSV

We wait with anticipation for that glorious day when we see the Lord face to face. But, for now we have faith, hope, and love as we wait for the day when the shadow is gone; when the shroud is removed; and when the fog is lifted so that we will see His full glory as we stand before Him.

No matter how dimly we might see now; it is better than not seeing or knowing Him at all. May God open our eyes that we might see and know Him more clearly each and every day.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Study The Word

Christ Lutheran Church Adult Sunday School

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:14-17 NIV)

We can never know everything. We can read the Holy Scriptures front to back many times and still not know it all. Therefore; we continue to study the word given to us. We continue to teach it.

When I was young, I was told that when we stop learning, we die. I have always enjoyed reading. But, as I have gotten older two things have happened. I do a lot of reading on my computer as I can enlarge the print and see it much easier. Books can be purchased and downloaded. There are also many free sites that one can go to. I usually read an online Bible for my devotions. And, when I need or want to go to the Book of Concord (Yes, I am Lutheran) I use an online one of that, as well, as I can find things much easier by doing a search in the book. 

The second thing that has happened as I have aged, is that I am more selective in my choices of reading material. While, at one time I read a lot of fiction, what I read now is mostly for learning or study purposes. There is enough fantasy in the world around me to make me not desire any more drama. Although, I have to say that I am finding a lot of what is being presented today as non-fiction to be very fictitious. I am more interested in truth and that is what I find in the Holy Scriptures. Therefore; the Holy Scriptures are what I read and study over and over again.

Every Sunday morning our adult Sunday School meets at Christ Lutheran prior to worship. It is an awesome group! We are presently studying Paul's letter to the Romans. We don't always care for some of the things that Paul's writings relay to us. We debate it. We even try to justify our own take on his words, at times. But, in the end, we usually come to the conclusion that we don't know it all. We don't understand it all. We must continue on studying the Holy Scriptures for whether we "get it" all or not these words we read are God-breathed and useful for teaching and training even us older children of God so that we may be more equipped to serve our God.

We would love to have you join us so that you with us we might all gain a better understanding of our salvation through faith in Jesus the Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Greet The New Day

Sunrise on Flagler Beach, FL.

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;

    where morning dawns, where evening fades,

    you call forth songs of joy.  Psalm 65:8

I'm a little bit late today. I was on Flagler Beach greeting the new day at sunrise with my granddaughter, who turned eighteen today. She is very excited about becoming a legal adult. A new day, a new era, has dawned for her so it was fitting that she should be up at 5:30 am so that she could begin her day celebrating with the rising of the sun.

My prayer for her is that she will always, every minute of every day, rejoice in the Risen Son, as well.

Let us all thank God for the new day that He has given to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. Happy Birthday, Cassie!