He Will Come Again

Mark 13:26-27, 32-33 KJV; Do not fear the things to come. Rejoice, for Christ is with us now and he will come again in full glory.

Let The Weeds Grow

Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43 KJV; Parable of the wheat and the weeds. Let the weeds grow and pray for them.

He Will Pick Us Up

Psalm 91:11-16 KJV; 4th Sunday after Pentecost; When we slip and fall the Lord will pick us up from off the ground.

He Created All Things

Psalm 8 KJV; Trinity Sunday; He created all things in the heavens and earth. God help us to care for all that he created including our friends and neighbors and don't forget the answer to the question: "Who is our neighbor?"

Do You Recognize Jesus

Luke 24-13-35; 3rd Sunday of Easter; Do you recognize Jesus when eating at his table?

Bless The Lord Oh My Soul

Psalm 103 KJV; Bless the Lord for all that He has done.

The Shepherds Told What They Had Seen

Luke 2:8-17 KJV; The Shepherds Told What They Had Heard And Seen. Jesus, the child born in Bethlehem is our Savior and Lord.

No One Knows The Hour!

Matthew 24:36-44 KJV; Devotion for 1st Sunday in Advent. Are you as prepared for Christ to return in full glory as you are for Christmas morning?

He Finds The Lost Sheep

Luke 15:1-10 KJV Our Lord seeks us out to bring us home to the Kingdom of God.

Strangers Are Welcomed: Jesus Is Welcomed

Reading from Genesis: 18:1-19 KJV When we welcome strangers are we welcoming angels unaware or maybe we are welcoming Jesus.

How Marvelous Is His Works!

Psalm 8;  How Marvelous Is His Works!

Jesus Said No

The Just For The Unjust

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

                                                                (1 Pet 3:18-22 KJV)

The just one, Jesus the Christ, died for us the unjust. He sacrificed his body for our sakes. 

Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom while he walked upon the earth as true man. Then he sacrificed himself for all of the unjust; for each and every sinner that we might live in that Kingdom in the presence of God. St. Peter tells us that even in death he went and preached the spirits who were in prison; those who had been disobedient in the days of Noah.

The Word of the Lord is meant to be preached to every nation; to every man, woman, and child that they too might hear the Good News and believe.

It is by hearing the Word that we come to faith and by faith alone in the Word alone who is Jesus the Christ we are saved.

Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

God The Father and Creator Of All

Bond Falls, MI - I spent much time there as a youth

 PSALM 8 KJV

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:

All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

+++

By the time you read this the North American Lutheran Church's Lutheran Week in Corpus Christi will have ended yesterday.  I have written a weeks worth of blogs in advance so I have more time to be with the friends I haven't seen in years. 

The theme this year is "God The Father Creates." Indeed he has and he does. He rested on the seventh day; but, then there was the eighth. God is always at work, watching his children, watching his creations, leading us, protecting us, guiding us in the way that he would have us go. 

His creation is not only evidenced by the vast number of those who follow him and let the light of Christ shine through them. The whole creation around is a wonder to behold. What music we have been given in the singing of the birds that entertain us on quiet evenings. The majesty of the mountains and the seas are breathtaking. And, the prairies display such wonder with their beauteous sunsets. The beauty and majesty of his whole creation is so vast there are no words that can express it fully. 

Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth!!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

We Are All Called According To Our Gifts

Pr. John Henry (United Methodist) sharing the Good News
Pr. Jimalee Jones (my mentor and friend)
and Bp. Alex Malasusa 
(Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania)
at my ordination.

"And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. 

And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them."                                                                                                                                                             (Mark 6:1-13 KJV)

Today we find many smaller communities without anyone to preach the word; to share the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. Congregations find themselves wondering what are they to do without a pastor. How are people supposed to come to faith if there is no one to share it with them? (Rom 10:17)

St. Paul Lutheran Seminary has come up with one potential solution. That is to train lay people from individuals congregations. It is not easy to preach in one's own congregation as even Jesus had a hard time in his home town. But, sometimes there seems to be no alternative. We, as those first disciples were sent out, are all called and sent out to share the great news that through Christ we are reconciled to our Father in heaven and to one another. We are called to minister to those who need assistance of any sort. "We have no pastor" is not an excuse. Call one from the Body of Christ, from your own congregation. Even considering this can be scary. What if people reject me? Guess what? Some will. They will reject Jesus. They will reject you. Shake the dust off your feet and move on. Others will not reject Christ! They will gratefully hear this Good News that you share with them. Those few who will receive the Word with joy and thanksgiving are well worth the bit of trouble others might try to cause you. And, you will also rejoice in the presence of the angels!

Jesus said, "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." (Luke 15:10)

St. Paul Lutheran Seminary is in the process of setting up a six-week online preaching course for laity so that worship can continue in places where ordained clergy have not answered the call to serve yet. Over the years, I have heard from a lot of people that they could not possibly stand up and preach in front of a congregation. The truth is: many cannot. Some will simply freeze up and not be able to speak. Not everyone has been given the gift or the call to do this. But, many who have been gifted and called are ignoring the call. I, myself, ignored mine for many years. Since that time I have also trained others to go out and share their love of God and what Christ has done for them in nursing homes and senior housing. The call to share the Good News is not limited to a church building. The Great Commission is given to everyone whether it is one on one with a neighbor or someone you meet in the grocery store; within the context of a congregation,  a house church, senior housing, a nursing home, or a park. Prepare and go and tell!

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matt 28:18-20)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Will You Lose Your Soul?

"And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
 

                                                                                  (Mark 8:34-38 KJV)

What indeed will it profit you if you gain riches beyond measure; even if you gain the whole world, but lose your soul? What will it have profited you if in the end you lose it all including your soul?

Christ lost his very human life in order that we might live eternally in the presence of God our Father. He was willing to give it all for us. Would we turn our backs on this precious gift and grab for the pleasures of this world in exchange for a life of peace and of joy in the presence of Almighty God?

Consider carefully what or whom you will serve!  

"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)

Do not fear the losses you might endure in this world as you serve the Lord; but, rejoice for the Lord has promised you life in his presence through the gift of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Therefore; let us "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing." (Psalm 100:2)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Spirit Told Him To Go

"And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus."

                                                                                   (Acts 8:26-35 KJV)

Philip heard the Spirit send him to the eunuch and so he went. He did not make excuses for not going. He did not say I have other things to do right now. He did not say I will wait for the eunuch to come to me. He just went so that he could help the eunuch understand the word of God. Philip preached Jesus to the Eunuch.

The Spirit calls and sends each and every Christian to go and share with others that Jesus is the Christ. Will you listen? Will you go?

"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom 10:14)

Listen to where the Spirit sends you and then go wherever he sends and tell about the love of God through Jesus the Christ, our Savior and Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Be Released From Your Prison

Be Released From Your Prison

 

Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.

And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.

And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.

When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.

And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. 

                                                                             (Acts 12:5-11 KJV)

Locked in a cell; yet, freed by a miracle of God. God sent angels to unlock the doors of Peter's jail cell and to lead him out safely. If he can do this why would we doubt that miracles can happen and unlock any chains of bondage; whether physical or spiritual, that we might find ourselves in through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord?

Peter thought he was merely having a vision; maybe imagining his escape,  from prison. But, he was not. In Christ, we too are released from the bondage. Receive the truth, who is Jesus the Christ. Trust him to free you and let those chains of bondage fall to the ground.

May God bless your day and lead you to freedom in Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Rewriting Truth; Changing History

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour." 

                                                                                        (Psalm 8:3-5 KJV)

"For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.

But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?

Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."

                                                                                     (Heb 2:5-9)

How can we know that what others are telling and teaching us as the truth is the genuine truth?  

I have someone close to me who has been insisting that the history of the world bogus. Much of it he claims is made up and we have been teaching lies for generations. History has been rewritten for whatever odd reason.

I use to just smile when he told me this. I am no longer so confident that our history has not been rewritten. Over the last year I have witnessed the rewriting of current events on a massive scale. The rewriting of current events will one day be a false representation of history taught to generations to come. I witnessed "peaceful riots" on television with fires burning in the background, private and government property being destroyed, and people abused and attacked. These things are being written into our history by the media as mostly peaceful demonstrations. I have too often heard from mainstream media as well as in social media how politicians have said or done this or that horrible thing. But, when I go back to watch and hear the actual footage of what that politician actually said, I find that it is not at all what he or she actually said.  It boils down to slander. It boils down to lies. It comes down to rewriting history as it happens. It would be most prudent for us before we slander anyone to go and look for that footage or pull up the proposed legislation and read them before we buy into and perpetuate the rewriting of what is actually being done.

Facts have a way of being changed by people telling the story. It's been going on for generations; probably even since the world began. We need to be careful though that while in search of the truth that we don't buy into another lie.

One of the Biblical truths that has been changed over time and causes me to be most uncomfortable is a false narrative that so many Christians consider to be the truth. Quite a few Christians suppose that when we die we become angels. I have not found scripture to back this up. I am not really sure where this idea came from since angels and humans are two different created beings. Scripture tells us that man was created lower than the angels. And, then in 1 Corinthians 6:3 we are told that man will judge the angels. We simply do not become angels when we die.  I wonder why angels can be so glorified in our mind that we so desire to be like them; to be them. Although Jesus came to earth as true man, lower than the angels (Heb 2:7) through his suffering of death for us he was glorified. (Heb 2:9) And, how awesome is it that according to St. Paul our bodies will be glorified like that of Jesus'! 

"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." (Phil 3-20-21)

Is that not enough for us? 

I have often pointed to a children's fiction book that was published in the 1960's and later became a movie as one example of the false narrative. There have been many others since and probably many before then that I am not aware of. This particular piece of fiction was titled "The Littlest Angel." Some of you might even find this book in the children's section of your church library. In this story a little boy dies and he goes to heaven. In heaven he has become an angel and gifts to the newborn baby Jesus a little box of his treasures. It's a lovely story told to children and unless someone tells them otherwise it instills in them the idea that we will all become angels when we die. It seems to me that we have been indoctrinating others into believing fiction at a very early age without even being aware of it.   

The point of my blog today is a reminder that we ought to be careful what stories we tell or repeat. Not everything you read or hear on television, no matter how widely acclaimed the source is, is the truth. Who can tell what consequences the world might suffer when we revise the truth and our history to fit our personal agendas? 

We were not created to be angels; not in this world or the next. We are human beings who make mistakes and who sin often. As Christians it would be incumbent upon us to seek the truth in all things.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Glory Of God - Merry Christmas!

Luke 2:7-19 KJV

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

+++

May this day as you celebrate the birth of our Saviour be truly blessed.

God's Peace - Pr. J.