Pray For Those In Authority

1 Timothy 2:1-2; Philippians 4:6-9 KJV: Pray for the authorities that we might live in peace. 

We Don't Go To God; He Comes To Us

Genesis 11:1-9 KJV

The Greatest Landowner

They Feared Jesus March 1 2022

Servant To All

And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. (Mark 9:35 KJV)

And... that is exactly what Jesus did. He did not use his power or authority to laud it over us. He became as a servant to all people when he suffered and died on the cross for our sins. The King of Kings suffered and died for us so that we might live in his Kingdom; in the presence of God Almighty.

He who was without sin was willing to suffer and die for the sinner.

The King of heaven and earth made himself to be last for us. He became our servant so that we might have life. May God help us to live lives serving others; putting the needs; putting the very lives of others before our own desires.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Wait, Watch, and Pray

Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. 

                                                                     (Mark 13:33-37 KJV)

Today is the observance of Christ the King. The gospel according to Mark is a reminder that he will come again. This time not as a humble man; a man without even a home of his own, who is willing to sacrifice his all for us.  This time he will come as King of Kings will all authority and power. 

Next Sunday is the beginning of Advent. It is a season that we are also encouraged to watch and wait. It is reminisce of the years that God's people waited for their savior. We wait not only for the day of the celebration of his birth; but, are encouraged to pray, to wait, to watch for the day when he will come again in full glory.  We are encouraged to be prepared for that day.

Christ has come. Christ is here. Christ will come again. Pray that he not find us sleeping. 

Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. (Eph 5:14)

  

God's Peace - Pr. J.

There Is One God

And God spake all these words, saying,

I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

                                                                       (Exodus 20:1-6 KJV)

You shall have no other gods! The giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses by God is the Old Testament reading for the third Sunday of Lent (Mar 7, 2021). Theses Commandments remind us how we are to love God and others.

They begin by reminding us that there is only one God and that He is to be first in our lives. It makes no sense to me that anyone would worship anything or anyone other than the creator of all things; the author of life. Why all the foolish incantations to things that are beneath even humankind? Why depend and trust celebrities or politicians that would give themselves authority when in reality they have no real authority? They cannot save you! In way too many instances they worship themselves and put their own agendas before God's. 

There is only one God who has authority over all things. There is only one God who was willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son to save you.

Even as God spoke to Moses, He speaks to us through His word. Listen to Him! Love Him above all others! Worship Him alone and live life!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Vengeance is God's

For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

                                         (Hebrews 10:30-31 KJV)

Those who do not know Christ often call it karma. In other words what goes around comes around. We most often get to suffer consequences for our own bad behavior. In Paul's letter he wrote that God is in charge of vengeance. Vengeance is one of those negative things that will come back around and bite you if you for some reason you imagine that you have the authority to avenge anything or anyone. God is in charge of vengeance. Yes, we are to call out injustice for what it is. We do have recourse for injustices done to us or others. There are legal and civil means both in the world and in the church for justice to be served. We do not have to be perpetual victims.

I have found, over the years, that those who take vengeance out on others usually  prefer not to use authorized legal means because they themselves do not desire to have their own crimes found out.

Vengeance is God's. It is not ours. 

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

                                                                          (Matt 22:37-39)

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.  (Luke 6:35)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

He Is Home! Thanks Be To God!

Rejoice evermore.

Pray without ceasing.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

                                                                             (1 Thess 5:16-18 KJV)

Giving thanks this morning that my husband was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. He is home! Thanks be to God!

We are so thankful for the staff at Advent Health in Palm Coast and Daytona Beach. The doctors on staff did not send him home when at first they did not find anything serious. They kept looking until they found the cause and took steps to fix it. 

I am thankful that he was able to be released yesterday. When I got to Daytona Beach yesterday, the hospital was on lockdown for about an hour. Visiting hours were restricted to 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and only for those who had medical authority for the patients. Those restrictions will probably tighten up in the near future. 

There is a lot of trouble in the world today. But, good people with integrity  also abound. Let us consider the good that is all around us. Let us give thanks to Almighty God as we live in the hope of God's good will concerning all of us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Sing Of His Mercy

But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

                                                                             (Psalm 59:16 KJV)

King David, the one who as a boy slew the giant Goliath, lifted up the Lord as his and as Israel's defense against their enemies. He was a powerful king. Yet, he knew that his power came from God alone. This great king sang of God's mercy for he knew that God was his only defense and refuge in the days of trouble. David was a sinner just like the rest of us; but, he had the wisdom to know who God was and he knew that he and we are not. He placed his trust and his hope in the Lord alone.

If one with so much authority gave glory to God for all that God had done for him and for the people of Israel, why is it so difficult or us to see and turn to Him as our refuge and defense?

Trust the Lord in your time of need and sing aloud of His mercy every morning!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Who or What Abides In You?

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." (John 15:5,8 KJV)

It is only in Christ that the Father is glorified. All power and authority resides in him. His disciples are those who abide in him, that they might bear much fruit. The works of Christ's disciples will always glorify our Father in heaven and not themselves. 

There are three tall (about 100 feet tall), beautiful pine trees in my backyard. At least, last summer they were beautiful. Something bad abides in them. They are called tree beetles. The trees are dying. There is nothing left to do. They are so huge that there is no pesticide that can heal them. They will one day fall to the ground unless we have them removed before then. We have protected the other trees in the yard with pesticides that will protect them from the beetles. The three though were noticed after the beetles had already invaded them and began abiding in them.

Be careful then what you allow to abide in you. May Christ abide in you and you in him that you might have life!

"Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

                                                                                   (Matt 7:19-21)

May the fruit that is produced be produced by the abiding presence of Christ for it is by him that the Father is glorified. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Fear And Love

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. (Prov 9:10 KJV)

John wrote "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 John 4:7-8) Indeed, God is love. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

This implies strongly that those who do not believe will not inherit eternal life. John further wrote: "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18) Jesus himself said: "..., I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

God has given us life and He alone has the authority to decide whether or not we will inherit eternal life in His presence. He will know whether you believe and trust that Jesus died so that you might be reconciled to God for all of eternity. God alone, will know how much you love Him.

The knowledge of how all knowing; all powerful; how holy our creator actually is ought to cause us a little pause in the way we respect Him. The knowledge that He loves us enough to send His only begotten Son to be executed for our sins ought to be enough to stir us to love Him in return. When we live in that kind of loving relationship all fear disappears. 

May the world come to know and love Him who first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Merry Christmas!

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6 NRSV)

Presents will be given and received this morning as people around the world celebrate Christmas. People will be celebrating the birth of Christ into the world for us. Prayerfully, they will be celebrating the Holy Day and not merely the holiday that has become very secular. For unto us the greatest gift has been given; Jesus Christ, that baby born in a manger, Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Have a very blessed Christmas!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Who Is The Anti-Christ

  Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

  But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

  As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life.

  I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. 

                                                                                                            1 John 2:18-27 NIV

So, exactly who is the antichrist? According to St. John the antichrist is anyone who would deny
that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Son also denies the Father. Whoever denies either is a liar and the antichrist.

                                       

Next question: How does one deny that Jesus is the Christ? Response: By trusting in our own good works for our salvation. When we trust the world, ourselves, anything or anyone before Jesus the Christ we are denying him; we are denying his power and authority to save us.

The antichrist is not some mythical being. Generations have looked for this one and pointed their fingers at various political or religious leaders saying, "he is the antichrist; these are the last days." Pointing the finger at one person only distracts us from looking within ourselves to see who it is that actually abides in us. Is it Jesus the Christ or the antichrist?

May the Word of God abide in us and we in him. May God help us to trust Him above all others.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Submit To Authority For The Lord's Sake

Do not use your freedom to sin.

Do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil!

"Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the
supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves." 1 Peter 2:13-16 NIV

This weekend we are celebrating the holiday known as Veterans' Day, formerly known as Armistice Day. We celebrate as not just protests are breaking out across this country; but, riots. There is upheaval because not everyone is willing to accept the results of the process for elections that we have been using for a good many years. I have not always been happy with the results of presidential elections. In fact, I was near tears on a couple of occasions. One of the occasions was when a Republican that I did not care for took office. The other occasion was when a Democrat won. I was very shaken when Ronald Reagan won the election. I was so shaken that I had nightmares. One night, as I was tossing and turning, I came under conviction and I heard this message from the Lord, "Judy, you do not have to like him. But, you do need to respect him." I paid attention and with time I learned that the media had painted him in a really bad light and I had believed them. He was not who they said he was. He was not the anti-Christ and the world did not end.

We do have a democratic process in this country. For good or bad, we have a system and we, the people, have a right to vote. That right came at the expense of many good men and women who fought for our freedoms many long years ago. Our freedoms continue because many good men and women are willing to lay down their lives so that not just we; but, people around the world might live in a just society; free from tyrannical governments and free from the minority of tyrannical people who would trample on the freedoms; the rights, of others to get what they want and to get it now. These freedoms came at a price to others. Let us not take them for granted by abusing them.

We give thanks to God that every citizen of this country is granted certain freedoms and rights under the constitution. But; God, nor does the majority of the country, expect us to use our desire for personal freedom to do whatever we want or to trample on the rights of others. Let all God's people strive to do what is right and not use our freedom as an excuse to do what is wrong. We are not to use our freedom as a cover-up for evil rather we are to strive to do good. We are to strive to be reconciled to one another in Christ Jesus. It is God's will that by doing good the ignorant talk of foolish people will be silenced.

We may not always like everyone and everything; but, may God help this country to learn to love even as God loves us, to respect one another, and to realize that whether we like it or not, God is in charge. Jesus is the true King.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Pray For Our Leaders

Pray that our leaders might also desire peace among all the people they serve.

"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."  1 Tim 2:1-2 NIV

Just one more day before election day. Many of us have already voted. It's been a rough election year for both the candidates and the voters. It has been very divisive. There has been a lot of name-calling and bullying from both dominant parties. I have a feeling this will not stop when the election is over. But, those of us who would like to live a little more peaceful and quiet lives pray that it will.

Paul, in his first letter to Timothy, encourages to pray for all people including those in authority for, not just their sake; but, for ours as well. No matter what happens on Election Day, let us pray for all of those who are in the running so that peace may prevail and that's God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

As the elections seems to get nastier each election year, let us also pray that God would bring a sense of civility not just to the candidates; but, to all people so that we might hear a little more debate and a lot less slander that we might make more informed decisions, based on the truth and not slander or lies, in the future.

God's Peace - Pr. J

"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chron 7:14

What Is Our Mission?

Faithful Stewards of the Word

Pr. John Henry, Pr. Jimalee Jones, Bp Alex Malasusa

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:18-20

I include the words of Jesus in what is known as the Great Commission in many of my sermons to remind us what the Church is really all about. Sometimes, I fear, we forget and need to be reminded.

"Back to the Future: First Century Principles for the Twenty First Century" is the theme for the Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ's annual convocation that will be held in Denver this week. The annual gathering is a time for members of LCMC from all around the globe to gather together in worship and fellowship; to exchange ideas; to lift one another up in Christ with the good news; and to reexamine our individual and corporate ideas of what Jesus calls us to and how to do.  ("Just do it!" Don't debate it! As the Spirit of Christ abides in us; he does it for us, through us. Trust him!)

The exchange of ideas; rededicating ourselves to the mission that we have been called to and exploring how this can be done locally are all well and good. But, usually putting these "good ideas" to use means that we have to take a good look at ourselves: where we have been; where we are now; and, where we are going. When we do that we will usually find areas that need a bit of changing, sometimes some hard changes.

Sadly, what I have experienced over the years is that when the ideas; when the possibilities for growth in Christ are brought back to the congregation any changes that might be good for the growth of the local church are put on the back burner. Business continues as usual with members continuing to lament their deteriorating congregations. Lutherans largely hate change and they will fight to keep it the same old, same old, even if it means putting their congregation into a state of hospice.

The church grew in amazing ways during the first century. The shepherds were not so worried about making people comfortable or making sure that their preaching did not intrude upon the private secular lives of those who were listening. They were focused on preaching the truth so that the sheep would be fed and saved. There are no new programs or new buildings or new people or new anything else that will help your congregation to grow unless those who have been chosen or called to serve have received new hearts. The church on earth has one purpose and that is to reach out to all people with the good news of the Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If things haven't been working well for your congregation; if mission has been put on a back burner and you are slowly (or maybe quickly) dying, maybe it's time to take a good look at what those first Christians focused on. Was it the building made of brick and mortar (there actually was none) or were they more interested in building up the Body of Christ, which is the Church?

May God help us to trust the power of His Spirit, that we might be good stewards of the Word, sharing the Good News with all people and spending less time focusing on our how we can save ourselves. We cannot save ourselves. Only God can save anyone.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Storms With Jesus

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Matt 8:23-25

We all have weathered a storm or two or many more. There is a theology running rampant out in the world that tells us that if we are really Christians life will go smoothly; we will have everything that we want; all will go well for those who love Jesus.

The truth is: the followers of Jesus will encounter many storms. In fact, once you begin to truly follow him, you may find yourself  in more storms than you thought was possible and you will live and your faith will be strengthened, through them all.

Following Jesus, means being willing to love and serve God above all things; as well as, loving and serving our neighbors. That's not always looked upon kindly in a world that is all about "me, me, me..." No one likes to be reminded that there is more to life than looking out for "number one" all of the time. No one likes to be reminded that sin abounds in the world and that one might be assisting in the propagation of sin by those who deny the authority and the love of God. And... so there will be storms where the Christian walks. There will be storms around us; because, even as Jesus was rejected so shall the faithful follower of Jesus be.

If you're going to follow Jesus onto the seas, you should take stock and know that storms will surely arise. But, God, in Christ Jesus, will be with you in that boat.

Be not afraid for God is with you through the storms that you encounter for following Jesus.

God's Peace - Pr. J