Are We Better Than Other Countries?

Amos 6:1-7; Maybe we make too many decisions for others that are not our decisions to make...

How Marvelous Is His Works!

Psalm 8;  How Marvelous Is His Works!

Only God Knows All Things

Romans 11:32-36 KJV

Put Not Your Trust In Princes

Psalm 146 KJV

Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.

While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:

Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:

The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:

The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

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Put not your trust in princes! What a reminder these last few weeks have been of that! Our rulers too often do what they think will get them elected or reelected or keep their prestigious appointments with no mind paid toward those who will suffer because of their decisions.

May God be with and have mercy on all who have been left behind because of the decisions of our leaders! May God have mercy on all of us.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Where Were You?

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
                                                                                   (Job 38:1-8 KJV)

Where were we when the Lord did all these things? Were we there advising God? Were we even there to witness it? Of course not! We were not there. He is the creator and we are his creation. Who are we to question his motives? Who are we to consider that we might have more insight; more knowledge; more wisdom than God? Who are we to judge God? Who are we to be making decisions that clearly go against his will for humankind? 

The Lord is our God. He is the only true God, the creator of all of the heavens and earth. Listen to him! 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Wait On The Lord

Psalm 27:11-14 KJV

Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. 

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Way too often we try to get those things, including the outcomes, that we want. We want what we want and we want it now. But, those things that we desire are not always what we need or what is best for us. It may seem like too much hardship or struggle to have to wait to work things out the right or the best way so we rush things and the end does not always end up the way that we anticipated that it would end.

Things may feel hard; but, there are times when we must endure and trust in the Lord to see us through. The Lord know what is good for us. Wait on him. He will open the doors that are meant for you. 

Do not make rash decisions to try to get what you want. Be of good courage and wait on the Lord and you will see the goodness of the Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Do What Is Right Or Do Nothing?

"It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid." (Mark 15:42-47 NIV)

At a council meeting of a small congregation of money, one council member during a vote the expenditure of about $100.00 for a non-essential item in the church. The overall church budget was very small. Money was very tight. The Pastor voted no as a similar item could be purchased for about $10.00 or less, citing poor stewardship. The rest of the council voted for the expenditure.

But, this is not about stewardship. It is about why one council member would choose to abstain. It was not a matter of conflict of interest for the council member to vote. Well, I guess there was a conflict of interest. He would not make his opinion known in order to be able to stay on the good side of everyone. He simply did not want to offend the Pastor or the rest of the Council by voting against either one so he chose to do nothing. He just wanted to be a nice Lutheran and not offend anyone.

It was the hierarchy in the church that wanted Jesus out of their way. Yet, it was one council member who was willing to put his own life on the line and stand up for Jesus. Jesus was dead, so how was he going to know if Joseph of Arimathea stood by him? But, Joseph had hope in the Kingdom and it was important to Joseph that Jesus have a proper burial. He went to Pilate, knowing full well that the Council would find out, and asked for Jesus' body so that he could give Jesus' body a proper burial. Joseph was not afraid to do what he felt was right. Neither fear of Pilate or the other council members could keep him from doing what he felt he should and must do.

May God help us to do the right thing and not be afraid of what others will think of us or do to us when we stand up for Jesus and for his whole Church.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Patience

"I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

                                                       (Eph 4:1-3)

 We all go through various storms in life. For many people it seems that life is nothing but one big storm or a series of storms right after another. It can be a struggle for me to be patient with those who continue to make the same mistakes over and over again and wonder why they are having to weather another of life's storms. 

A friend of mine once warned me that I should be very careful what I asked God for because He answers our prayers and we may not like the way in which He answers them. She had warned me against asking God to give me patience. She had asked for patience in caring for her family as many of them were going through some pretty rough storms in life due to very careless decisions. There was no way she could help them any longer when they kept making the same poor choices no matter what she did to try to save them. She had asked for patience and He had answered. He helped her to learn to be patient by refining. As things grew even more troubled in her family she learned to be patient with others even as she continued to love them. She also learned to trust God in all things and to wait patiently for His will to be done.

My friend has gone through a lot of trials. Yet, she is patient and kind and has an uncanny gift for maintaining unity in the bond of peace.

May we all bear one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J

God's Will; Not Ours

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Rom 12:1-2 NIV

Those things that may please man do not necessarily please God. Often when we as human beings made decisions or even offer an opinion we do with our personal best interests in mind. But, God who is merciful and just considers a bigger a picture; a picture so big that we cannot fathom it.

In order to even begin to grasp God's will there must be, by the power of the Spirit of Christ, be a transforming of our minds. Then, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be better able to have a better sense of how we are to glorify God.

A general rule of thumb that I have used when making decisions is this:  Will it glorify God or is the purpose to glorify me? When making decisions for the church the rule is this: Will it glorify God or is it meant to satisfy and glorify the church on earth? You see, we will usually pick what is most comfortable for us. Without the transformation of our hearts and minds, we will most often decide to take short cuts. There were no short-cuts for Jesus on the road to Golgotha and it was not a comfortable and easy journey. But, what Jesus did, he did for the sake of many because it was his Father's good and perfect will.

Only those who have had a genuine renewing of the heart and mind, by the power of the Holy Spirit, are able to begin to discern our Father's good and perfect will, for without the transformation that is brought about by the Holy Spirit we will always decide for ourselves. Without the Spirit of Christ to lead us on our journey's, we will most often take what appears to be the easy road.

May God empower us through the Holy Spirit to know and do His good, pleasing and perfect will for His glory!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Wisdom To Make Right Choices

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
    and nourishment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:7-8

We often make poor choices. We do it hastily, without considering the bigger picture. We often make these poor decisions based on what we want now without considering what is really good for us and others around us. When we make wrong decisions that are based mostly on our feelings and what we think will make us happy, we get to experience the results of those decisions, whether the short and long term consequences are good or bad. Some of those decisions affect our physical condition. Some of them affect our emotional, mental, or our spiritual health negatively. Some affect our whole beings.

The Lord knows what is good for us. He has, indeed, given us guidelines and a path to follow.

May God grant us the wisdom to see the path that He has set before us and empower us to make the right choices.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Decisions

Whom or what shall we follow? What do we want out of this life? Where are our priorities?

At the present time, my husband and I are considering whether we should purchase yet another home; this time in Florida. We have looked at one that would suit us. I will need to turn in the paperwork to get approval for it tomorrow.

This morning, as I prepare to be installed as the pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in Bunnell, I am thinking that it would be more beneficial to just live in the RV. I am not sure if I want another commitment to more property in this world.

Pastoring a congregation is a huge commitment and worldly attachments tend to distract us from what God calls us to do. Even the simple (or not so simple) act of looking for a new home takes away time that good be better used in service to God.  I am also not sure where God will call me in a year or two or three. I cannot help but wonder this morning if owning a home here in Florida would become a hindrance in my willingness to go wherever and whenever He would call?

When Jesus called those first disciples to follow him, they dropped everything. They left their homes, their families, their vocations to follow. It seems like it was such an easy thing for them. Yet, today, it is not easy. The law will bind us to many of the commitments we might make. It is not so easy to get out of some of them. Too many worldly commitments makes it much more of a challenge to seek first the kingdom of God and follow Jesus in the Kingdom of God.

May God help us to always be ready to follow wherever and whenever He would call.

God's Peace - Pr. J