To Be With Christ Is Far Better

Philippians 1:20-24 KJV; To be with Christ is far better; but, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

Instruct Those Who Would Hear

He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.

Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

                                                                                                     (Prov 9:7-10 KJV)

There is only one God. As our Small Catechism teaches we: "We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things."

This one God loves us and was and is willing to give all to us. Not everyone understands this nor does everyone want to. There are times, after a person attempts to share the Good News that our God would have everyone receive, that one must shake the dust off of their feet and walk away. There are plenty of others yearning to hear the Good News of the kingdom through Jesus the Christ. They yearn for it so it would behoove us to ensure that they get to hear it. 

"And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet." (Matt 10:14)

God grant that the ears of all people be opened to hear this Good News and to receive it as a blessed promise to them through Jesus Christ our Lord and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Trust God And Know Peace

Proverbs 3:1-12 KJV

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:

For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

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There is a path that leads to peace. Our Lord has shown us the way if we would only listen to Him. I have fallen off that path more than a few times. Thanks be to God for loving me enough to lead me back to the path that He has set before us! 

I have learned over the years and after being corrected by God more times than I can count that the way to live a peaceful life is to live trusting that the Lord will provide for us and by  honoring Him for all that He is and for all that He does. 

I have found that it is best to listen to Him rather than my own desires. The Lord provides all things including a peace that surpasses all understanding. (Phil 4:4-8)  As a young married couple so many decades ago my husband and I often struggled trying to make ends meet. We struggled and didn't get most of the things we desired. We did not get any extra conveniences. But, we were never without our daily needs being provided for.

It is a wise move to listen to the Lord and trust Him. Follow in the way that He has shown you and live in peace.

God's peace be with you always - Pr. J.

Love In Deed And Truth

"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18 KJV)

I have witnessed a lot of not so loving actions over the past year.  It amazes me that so many profess that we have to have more unity and love; that if we love we will strive for justice for all people. When in fact they speak of love; but, their actions show otherwise. 

Riots that included damage to personal property of others and attacks on others do not in anyway show love of neighbor nor does it show justice. Calls for unity while verbally attacking people who do not agree with one's principals or lack of principals. Verbal attacks can very well be deeds as they are attacks against the spirit. Physically or verbally attacking those who will not compromise their beliefs by encouraging harmful and or sinful behavior is not in any way a show of love. It does do much harm.

We can talk about unity, peace, justice, and love 'till the cows come home. Yet, if out of one side of the mouth we speak of these things and out of the other side comes hatred and false accusations we are only deceiving ourselves when we claim that we love. But, we are not and cannot deceive God regarding the state of our hearts. Until we actually start acting in love toward one another it is just fruitless talk and often harmful speech. 

Jesus showed his love and mercy for us by dying on the cross for us. May God help us to love one another not just with words but in deed and truth. And, may God help us to not compromise the truth. Only when we live in the truth will there be any real semblance of peace and love. We need to quit justifying our sinful behavior by trying to put the blame on others. 

A word of wisdom regarding mercy and truth from Proverbs: 

"Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." 

                                                                                    (Prov 16:5-7)

A man's way pleases the Lord when he shows love by acting upon both mercy and truth.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Our First Love

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 

                                                                                     (Luke 2:25-32 KJV)

Believe it or not there are people in this world whose greatest desire is to see Jesus; to be near to him. Both Simeon and the prophet Anna had waited for that day. When Jesus was brought to the temple for the purification rites, their greatest desire was fulfilled. Simeon was overjoyed. At long last, he had met the Savior face to face.

I know that for many people it may be hard to believe that Jesus really is the center of some of our lives. He is our hope and our salvation. We trust in none other than Jesus for our salvation; for life. We are able to trust others; because we trust him first. We are able to love others; because he first loved us. He is our life and our salvation. Because of him, we can live in peace.

For some of us, it is difficult (at times) to understand how anyone would not put Jesus first. Why anyone would not give thanks to God as often as possible for the precious gift of our beloved Jesus is impossible to fathom. Life just goes a whole lot better when Jesus is at the center of our lives.

In St. John's Revelation, he is told to write to the angel of Ephesus and warn the people that Jesus holds the fact that they have forgotten their first love against them. (Rev 2:1-7)  Our first love is (or should be) our Lord and Savior. You shall love the LORD your God above all things. In this you will know peace.

May God grant that we should all have the faith of Simeon as we wait for the day when we shall see Jesus with our own eyes.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness or Wealth?

"As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. 

O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters." 

                                                                                     (Jer 17:11-13 KJV)

In the seventeenth chapter of Jeremiah we find that the hearts of the people had sin engraved on them. They trusted in things of this world. They lusted after and trust in wealth. They would do anything to get it, depriving the poor, spending their very life and breath in the pursuit of wealth and happiness. 

Who can blame them? We all desire some joy and happiness in our lives. But, the truth is that these things do not come from wealth. They do not come from having "stuff." The sooner we learn that the pursuit of money does not equate with happiness, the better off we will be. In the end we will lose any and all ill-gotten gain.

Real joy comes from being in relationship with others, with God. I have always appreciated that Thomas Jefferson changed John Locke's pursuit of life, liberty, and property, in the U.S. Constitution to the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Property does not necessarily equate with happiness. Just think about the upkeep that goes with more property.. and, the taxes! Think about what happens when greed pervades society! All kinds of sin accompanies greed. Yet, multitudes have hearts so hardened like stone that greed and envy are engraved deeply into them. And... they are miserable! They desire more, but they do not know what that more is. 

Our hard hearts are a problem for us. But, God promises that He will remove our hearts of stone so that sin will no longer be engraved on them. 

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Ezek 36:25-27)

“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 17:7-8)

There is an answer to our loneliness and sorrow. The answer is Jesus Christ, our LORD, who loves us so much that He was willing to die for us. May God bless us with hearts filled with His love for Him and for one another.

God's Peace - Pr. J

I Am Still Here!

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.

For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

                                                                                      (Phil 1:20-24 KJV)

Have you ever woke up and thought, "Oh, I am still here!" Life is a privilege, indeed! We get to live and to love. For the most part, we get to enjoy life. We get to enjoy the world around us. But, we also know that there is something even better and that is to be with Christ in his full glory. And... that is a promise to all who believe in him.

St. Paul loved the Lord. Although he had once despised Jesus and persecuted his followers; once he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his whole life turned around and he desired to live life with Christ. So it is with many who love Jesus today. We long to be with Jesus! We long to be with the one who loves us so much that he was willing to suffer horribly and die so that we might be forgiven all of our sins and live in his presence.

The good news is that we do not have to wait until death to this world to live with him. He is with you now. He will be with you always. We can live in his peace no matter what this world throws at us. 

It would be very nice. It would be absolutely awesome to depart and to be with him even as St. Paul desired to be with him. But, it is also pretty awesome to abide in the flesh in this world and to also be able to abide in him. It is also a privilege to be able to bring the good news to those who do not know Jesus. It is a privilege and it is needful for followers to make more followers of Jesus so that all may look to the day when they will depart to be with Christ in the fullness of God.

God's Peace - Pr. J

To Live Is Christ!

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. (Phil 1:21-24 NIV)

Jesus tells us, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) I often wonder what the motivation of those who profess to be Christians is for showing up to worship on occasional Sunday mornings. Is it the fear of death or the love of life who is Jesus the Christ?

I pray that it is the latter. I hope that for the whole Christian Church on earth we can all say with St. Paul that there would be no greater pleasure than to be with Christ; to live in his complete love, to live in his life! Yet, while we are here on earth let us all be fruitful laborers that many would come to know the love of God in Christ Jesus.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Do Unto Others

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets." Matt 7:12
You have heard the saying: "what goes around, comes around." Others refer to it as karma. What really is happening is that when you treat others with disrespect they most likely will treat you in the same manner that you have treated them. It is human nature. People simply have a hard time showing respect for those who disrespect others. When people break the rules of society, there are usually consequences set in place by society as a whole. I dislike this word, karma, immensely. I think a better word for this might be justice.

"Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his faithful ones." Psalm 37:27-28

Show respect for others and they might show respect to you. Love others and you will be loved. Do good to all people that it may be well with you and them; that we might all live in harmony and peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Desire To Depart And Be With Christ?

Safely home means you made it home; but, does not mean you

escaped all trials and tribulations in the getting there.

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. (Philippians 1:20-24 NIV)

I have just finished reading Eric Metaxas' Bonhoeffer Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a very good book to read. In recent years, I have not read much literature outside of the Holy Scriptures for at least a couple of reasons. First, I really haven't found much recent work that was worth reading; and secondly, my poor eyesight requires me to wear bifocals which are a bother and to continually adjust the position of the book in order to see the letters. But, when this book was given to me I felt I should at least try. In the reading of Bonhoeffer I recognized another reason that has probably steered me away from reading too much. That reason is because "good literature" is born out of the human condition and the human condition is not in such a good state. What I see in the world around me today is bad enough without being reminded of even more sorrows.

Bonhoeffer brought me to tears more than once as I read about Dietrich's struggle to discern the will of God and then to do it for the good of the people. He strived to be faithful to God and to his call as a child of God and as a pastor. He was unwilling to serve in the German Army, not because he was afraid of dying; but, because he would not participate in the murder of innocent people. Yet, at the same time he was willing to put his own life on the line as he conspired to assassinate Hitler.

I read with tears over and over again the words from a sermon that he preached while he was pastor in London:

No one has yet believed in God and the kingdom of God, no one has yet heard of the realm of the resurrected and not been homesick, from that hour, waiting and looking forward joyfully to being released from bodily existence.

Dietrich knew and desired to be at home with our Father in the Kingdom prepared for us. Yet, very much like St. Paul, while he lived in the flesh here in this world he was willing to serve God and humankind whenever and however God directed him to serve even if it meant being tortured and executed. Executed; after all, would return him home to our Father.

Yes, I wept much through the reading of the book. I wept to see such great love in a man for our God and for all of humankind.  Such love seems so rare.

God help us to love enough to be willing to sacrifice our personal needs so that the will of God is done through us for the good of others.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Training Children

"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it."  Proverbs 22:6

I am not sure about the wisdom from Proverbs 22:6. I have seen evidence to the contrary. I have seen parents who have been just awesome parents raise their children up in the church; in a loving family. I have known parents who have lovingly taught and disciplined their children and yet...? What went wrong. One child might not depart from the way they were taught to go; while another does depart. The truth be told parents are not the only influence on our children today. They are not even the main influence any longer in many cases. There are schools and peers who are not being raised up in the way the Lord would have them go to influence them. There is television and all sorts of social media that they can get their hands on to lead them down the wrong path. Even if parents monitor what they watch or listen to or read at home. Parents do not have the capability from shutting out the negative influences when they are not with them. 

But, then again I have seen children who head off in the wrong direction and when they are old; they remember what they were taught and return to the Lord.  Maybe we just have to give it more time and more patience and more love and lots of prayers that they will all return to the way that their parents and our Father in heaven would have them go.

Tell That Devil To Leave; For You Have Been Saved By God's Grace

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph 2:8-9 NIV)

Often we cling to sins that we may have committed years ago. That's not to say we keep repeating them. But, sometimes, no matter how hard we try to forget them, we do not. The devil seems to enjoy showing up when we least expect it to remind us of our past acts against God and against humanity. And... we continue to live in our guilt.

There is nothing we can do to undo those sins of our past. We cannot "fix" them by the works of our hands. Hopefully, we will strive to keep from repeating them. But, no matter how hard we might try; our sins cannot be cancelled out by anything good we might think we do. Just about when we think we might be balancing the scales the devil will rear his ugly head and remind us of yet another sin that we need to atone for. It's a never ending cycle. Do not fall for the devil's tricks. You have been saved by God's grace alone through faith alone.

It is time to quit living in the past; carrying the sins of your past. Your sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus (and so have your neighbors so quit dwelling on theirs). There is only one way that you can be saved from your past or your present sins. By the grace of God you are saved through faith. Salvation is not something that you earn. Salvation is a gift from God. Have faith that this gift is for you. Receive it! Live in this truth and tell the devil to depart in the name of Jesus Christ for your sins are forgiven.

God's Peace - Pr. Judy