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

Genesis 11:1-9 KJV

Declare His Glory

Psalm 19::1-3

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

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The heavens and the earth declare the glory of God. May all God's people do the same!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Saved By Faith

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

For years Martin Luther struggled with feelings of guilt. He could not accept that there was nothing that he could do to receive God's love and God's forgiveness for his many sins. He truly worked hard to do enough to earn God's grace. He finally understood. By reading and translating scripture into his own language he finally  understood and accepted that fact that he could do nothing; that there were no good works by which he could earn his own salvation. That is the work that Christ did on the cross for all who would believe. 

Martin Luther finally came to understand that by grace we are saved through faith and that is purely a gift from God. There are no good works that we can do to be saved. Christ did it all for us! 

Thanks be to God for his mercy his great!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Salty

You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. (Matt 5:13 NRSV)

I am a salt eater. I like seasoning in my food. My husband tries to avoid salt for health reasons. But, I do not. Often, when cooking, I will sneak a pinch in. I would rather have it absorbed into the food and not tossed on top of it. Tossed on top, the food becomes way too salty and the flavor of the food itself is lost.

I, like the food I eat, can be a bit "salty" at times. Sometimes, I have to apologize for seasoning my attitude just a little too much. But, I do not intentionally add salty language or attitude for the sake of effect. When I exhibit "saltiness" it is a part of who I am. It is mixed in with the rest of my personality or being.

My saltiness is particularly exhibited when I encounter Christians who claim to be Christians; yet, their lack of saltiness for the Lord and their false gods are clearly visible. Yes, I get a bit defensive and a little offensive when false gods rear their ugly heads in the world and "Christians" around me.

Long ago, I figured out that God did not intend for his people to be door-mats to be stepped upon like the salt that has been thrown out in Jesus' parable. He expects us to stand up and do the right thing. He expects us to worship Him and to follow in the footsteps of the one who died that we might live with Him.

I do not anticipate losing my saltiness. Sometimes, we have to be a bit salty so that the Word and will of God is known by others. We're not of much use if we sit around and let the Word of God be ignored or disrespected. If anything should be trampled under foot, it should be the false gods that we have a tendency to gravitate towards.

May your life be filled with the salt of life. May the Lord, the One God, fill you with His Word, with His truth, and with His life.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

No Cursing, Please!

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Eph 5:1-2

Children learn by what they see and hear. One teaching method I have noticed is adults trying to teach what not to do even while the adult teacher does it themselves. All too often, I have witnesses, adults correct children for swearing by swearing at them. Sure doesn't sound too loving to me and I'm thinking that particular teaching method  probably does not work all that well.

Some of the nicest people I know throw that f... word along with other off-colored slang randomly into their speech. I don't get it! Doesn't sound very Christ-like to me. Can you imagine Jesus using words like that? I can't.

In the past, when I taught confirmation classes, I tried to explain what curse or swear words are. There are many words that are so commonly used by the culture around us that some of the young people have had no clue that some of the words that they use daily are totally inappropriate. Many of these words actually take God's name in vain. Using vulgarity shows disrespect not only toward others; these words disrespect God and the person using them, as well.

We are sinful human beings and prone to slipping from time to time. But, life here in this would be so much more loving and peaceful if we could all be more Christ-like examples to children or to anyone around us. Maybe we could all work a little harder to erase a few of these curse words from our vocabularies and ultimately our cultures. Let us be imitators of Christ so that as our children learn from what we say and do; they too will learn to live more Christ-like.

May God help us to live in love, without using language to belittle or hurt others; rather, using language that will express our walk of faith in Jesus Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J

No Swearing!

The Second Commandment.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.

What does this mean?--Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

(http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php)

I confess that every now and then my lips will release a word or maybe two or three that should not be spoken. I am very aware that I have sinned as soon as something slips out of my mouth that ought not to have.

It is troubling; though, that it seems that there are so many who do not even recognize when they have taken God's name in vain. I am pretty sure that they love Him; but, for some reason they don't always recognize when they are speaking against Him. Sometimes, it needs to be brought to their attention.  

Yes, sometimes I find myself asking others not to be swearing. No, I do not always ignore it when people take God's name in vain; when they blaspheme His Holy Name. I will ask them to please not take my God's name in vain; to not blaspheme against my God. I usually stress "my God" in attempts to make it clear that because of their language they have made it evident to me and others who might have heard that He is not their God; that they do not worship Him. If He were their God, they would not be using His name in such a manner.

There have been times I've been in discussions (usually with younger family members) and I've gotten responses like OMG or Oh My God! (Father, forgive me for even writing it as an example.) My response to that is usually "I am not your God" and I walk away. To use this phrase so lightly or in anger or frustration with someone is to take God's holy name in vain.

I find the language today atrocious. There is very little respect for one another and definitely not for God in many conversations. His name is thrown around like it was something cheap and disposable. It is even used in conversations to bully others; to persecute them.

I have also been known to use the phrase "speak with integrity" on rare occasions. Admittedly, the lies have to be pretty bad before I do that. I have let people know that if they want me to understand what exactly is going on they will have to get their stories straight. Sometimes stories get so twisted, in order to justify one's own actions, that it can be difficult to glean the truth from the tale. This lack of truth-telling also blasphemes the Name of God when it is one who claims to bear the name of Christ that is speaking.

His Name is above all names and it is eternal. It ought not be used in rampages meant to hurt others or to justify our own sinful ways. It can and should be called upon for the healing of the nations. Use it wisely. May the Lord our God bless the words of our lips that we might glorify His Holy Name in all that we say and think and do.

God's Peace - Pr. J

I Am Is Who He Is

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Isa 7:14

The incarnation of God, as foretold by Isaiah, as foretold by Isaiah is not such a great mystery as some would make it out to be. Jesus; after all, is God. God can do what He pleases. He created the heavens and the earth with His Word. He confused the language of the people at Babel. He brought the Israelites out of bondage to Egypt. The list of the awesome works of God goes on and on.

God can do whatever He wants when He wants. He is God! He wanted to save the whole world from ourselves so He came to earth, born as a baby in a barn, so that He could walk in our shoes. As true man, He faced the same temptations as we face and overcame them. For about thirty-three years, He lived life as one of us so that when He was killed by us, He might also save us by His death and by His resurrection.

Many say this is a great mystery. But, just because we can't comprehend every detail of the incarnation of God does not mean it is a great mystery. A mystery is something that we have to figure out. We don't have to figure anything out. It is as plain as the noses on our faces. God is God. He is who He is. He can do anything and all things. That is not a mystery. It is also not supposed to be a secret. So, go and tell. Go and tell the world that our Savior, Jesus the Christ, who is God incarnate, has come to set us free to be His own beloved children.

God's Peace - Pr. J