God Is Our Help In Times of Trouble

Psalm 46:1-3 KJV with brief meditation. There is no need to fear. God is with you.

He Forgets Our Sins

Psalm 25:1-10 KJV

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

+++

How many things have you done that you wish you could forget that you ever did? We can't go back and not do them. They cannot be undone. The world may them forever against you. But, God does not. Even as he forgives us our sins; he can use them to help us grow. He can use those things to turn around and follow in the way that He has shown us through Jesus the Christ, our Savior and Lord. Through Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit he has put within our hearts the desire to do what is good and right in His eyes.

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."  (Heb 10:16-17)

Those things that we wish we had never done will come back to haunt us now and then. We will never completely forget the wrong that we have done. But, the word of the Lord tells us that the Lord our God out of His great mercy and love for us forgets them. The slate has been wiped clean by the blood of Jesus the Christ.

Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The New Covenant

 

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. 

                                                                               (Jer 31:31-34 KJV)

The promise of a new covenant has been fulfilled. It was sealed by the blood of Jesus. The old covenant was too much for humankind. We could not keep our end of the agreement. We could not keep the law. But, this new covenant is not dependent on our promise. It is not dependent upon our good works or the keeping of the law. This new covenant is solely dependent upon our God who can and does keep His promises. It rests solely on God's grace alone through faith alone. 

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (Eph 2:8)

In Christ your sins are forgiven and you are reconciled to God our Father for all of eternity!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Follow In The Way

Psalm 25:1-11 KJV

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.

+++

Forgive us our sins and teach us your ways! So often we desire for the Lord to help us out of a fix that we've gotten ourselves into. Yet, we fail to acknowledge that we have gotten ourselves into the trouble we find ourselves in because we have not listened to him and followed in the way that he would have us go.

Of course, that is not the only reason we find ourselves with trials. But, it is one and one that we can avoid by listening to God; repenting of our sins; and following in the way that He would have us go loving and serving him and the people around us. 

God grant that we trust in you; that we should trust in your word and listen to it with our whole hearts and souls.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

A Grand Entrance

On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. 

                                                                          (John 12:12-13 KJV)

The beginning of Holy Week...

Jesus is treated like a king as he enters Jerusalem to celebrate the passover. The people go out to greet him shouting Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel!

Ah, yes! What a grand entrance. But, how is he treated by the end of the week? 

He is betrayed by his treasurer; one of his followers.

He is denied.

He is deserted.

He is tortured.

He is crucified.

What are you doing this week? Although most congregations will not be having any worship services in their buildings; will you be remembering what our Lord suffered for us? Will you remember as you celebrate Easter Sunday in your homes that there would be no Easter; there would have been no resurrection without Good Friday; without the events of Holy Week?

Let us thank God for sending us His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins and remember this week and every day of the year, with thanksgiving, for the events of Holy Week.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Jesus, Remember Me!

   

   Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 

   One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

   But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
   Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

   Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 

                                                                                                (Luke 23:32-33, 39-43 NIV)

Whenever I hear or read this promise of paradise to the criminal, I cannot help but smile. It is such good news! The criminal hanging on a cross next to Jesus asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus comes into His Kingdom. The criminal knows that Jesus is about to die. They are both being executed. The criminal knows and acknowledges that he is a sinful man and deserves the punishment that he is receiving in this world. He will die to this world for his sins. Yet, his request of Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom testifies to his faith in the Kingdom of God where Jesus will reign is met with good news. Jesus comforts the criminal by assuring him that he will enter into paradise. What good news! He is forgiven his sins. Although; he is about to die, the criminal will live in the paradise of God for all eternity.

Thanks be to God! All who believe, who trust in him, will enter into paradise; into His Kingdom. It does not matter what you have done or what you have left undone. By faith, your sins are forgiven. The promised paradise is received and entered into by faith that we are forgiven our sins and welcomed in the home of our Father, through the sacrifice of Jesus for us, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." (Eph 2:8)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Remember the Sabbath

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." (Exodus 20:8 NIV)

My husband and sons were logging together. Logging can be a pretty expensive business. We sometimes joked that it was just a hobby as it often felt like they were paying to work rather than earn livings since equipment breakdowns can get pretty expensive. On occasion, they would decide that they needed to work on Sunday morning rather than worship in order to make up for time lost due to the weather or equipment breakdowns. Every time they decided to do this they would have another piece of equipment break down on that Sunday morning. Do I think that God was punishing them for working on Sunday? No. I think that because they did not heed His word to rest on the seventh day that they were exhausted and when we work tired and troubled; accidents; problems occur. God does not give us the commandments so that He can punish us. The commandments are for our own good.

 

It has been many decades since I realized what this holy-day of rest meant for me. I can get pretty cranky at times. During a particularly trying period of my life I came to realize that if I did not attend worship on Sunday (or maybe Saturday evening) I was pretty difficult to live with the rest of the week. By Friday, nobody, including myself, wanted to be around me. I need to receive the means of grace, the Word and Sacrament of Holy Communion, in order for me to be a bit more graceful towards others. I need to be able to find rest in Christ in order to be refreshed for the upcoming days.

 

Thanks be to God, He has given us the gift of the holy-day to gather with the saints and hear His sacred Word.

 

God desires good for you. Receive the good gifts of His Word and the Sacrament of Holy Communion. These gifts are available, without cost, for you at your local place of worship. Do yourself, your family, and your friends a favor; go and listen to Him; receive His Word; receive the Lord in the Sacrament of Holy Communion! Join others in worship every seventh day, no matter which day that happens to fall on.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Remember Your First Love

   To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who hold the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I known your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
   Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and removed your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
   Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
                                                                                                                   Revelation 2:1-7 NIV

Bishop Frederic Baraga, missionary to the Ojibwa during the 1800's, often reminded the people to "remember their first love." In his vision, St. John was instructed to warn the church at Ephesus about their falling away from their first love, who is Jesus the Christ.

Whenever we put anything or anyone before our God, we are committing idolatry. God must always come first and everything else will fall into it's proper place. How often we neglect to put God first in our lives! It is so very disheartening to see those who profess to be Christians putting so many other things of this world before worship and service to God.

The message to the people of Ephesus there is both a warning (law) and a promise (good news). Jesus, in John's vision, commends the church for their hard work and perseverance; for the fact that they cannot tolerate wicked people; and have confronted those who claim to be apostles and are not. Even as they are being commended for their faithfulness in these areas; they and we are being warned against idolatry.

"Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (vs 7)

May God help us to be victorious in keeping the Lord as our first love.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jesus, Remember Me!

"We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
                                                                                                                       (Luke 23:41-43 NIV)

The criminal on the cross was about to be executed alongside Jesus. He knew enough to confess his sins. He made his death-bed confession. He also believed, even knew, who Jesus truly was. This criminal had enough sense to confess his sins and ask Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. Jesus answered his plea with an affirmative. Today, today you will be with me in paradise.

Jesus has come into his kingdom. It is not something that going to happen at a later date. He lives and reigns now. Why is it that humankind has such a hard time recognizing this? Jesus is King. Why is it that humankind, even Christians, have such a hard time recognizing that their egos are preventing them from confessing their sins; from receiving forgiveness; from entering into the Kingdom of God, even today? Is it lack of faith? Or, maybe it really is overinflated egos that prevent us from believing that their is someone greater than ourselves; one that can save us; one that can bring us peace?

I don't have the answers as to why one would rather lift up themselves and deny Christ and not enter into the paradise; the Kingdom, that Jesus has prepared for all who believe in him.

One criminal refused to repent and derided Jesus as they both hung there. The other confessed and turned his eyes toward Jesus that he might live, even though within hours he would die. Egos must die in order for us to live.

May God help us to live life in unity in His Kingdom, even today.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Remember The Sabbath

The Third Commandment.

Thou shalt sanctify the holy-day.

What does this mean?--Answer.
We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.

http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php#tencommandments

 

My husband and sons were logging. We sometimes joked that it was just a hobby as it often felt like they were paying to work rather than earn livings since equipment breakdowns can get pretty expensive. At times, it is so expensive it feels like you are paying to work. On occasion, they would decide that they needed to work on Sunday morning rather than worship in order to make up for time lost due to the weather or equipment breakdowns. Every time they decided to do this they would have another piece of equipment break down on that Sunday morning. Do I think that God was punishing them for working on Sunday? No. I think that because they did not heed His word to rest on the seventh day that they were exhausted and when we work tired and troubled; accidents; problems occur. God does not give us the commandments so that He can punish us. The commandments are for our own good.

 

It has been many decades since I realized what this holy-day of rest meant for me. I can get pretty cranky at times. During a particularly trying period of my life I came to realize that if I did not attend worship on Sunday (or maybe Saturday evening) I was even more difficult to live with the rest of the week. By Friday, nobody, including myself, wanted to be around me. I need to receive the means of grace, the Word and the Sacrament of Holy Communion, in order for me to be a bit more graceful towards others. I need to be able to find rest in Christ in order to be refreshed for the upcoming days.

 

Thanks be to God, He has given us the gift of the holy-day to gather with the saints and hear His sacred Word.

 

God desires good for you. Receive the good gifts of His Word and the Sacrament of Holy Communion. These gifts are available freely for you every Sunday at your local place of worship. Do yourself and your family and friends a favor; go and listen to Him; receive His Word; receive the Lord in the Sacrament of Holy Communion! Join others in worship every seventh day, no matter which day that happens to fall on.

Help us, Lord, to seek and find rest in You.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

An Unexpected Journey

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. Mark 1:16-19

I watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey again last night. It was probably the third or fourth time I've seen it. I can't remember, for sure, how many times it's been. In fact, I didn't remember many of the scenes, so it was like watching it for the first time all over again. I first read the book forty-two years ago - a little strange that I can remember that!

I love that little hobbit, who took a chance; left his family and friends; left the comfort and safety of his home (most unlike a hobbit) to go on a very unexpected journey with some very strange traveling companions.

My life has been a strange and unexpected journey. By the time, I was thirty-five years old my life had been more full than I could ever have imagined it could be. I was ready to go home to my Father's house. But, the journey goes on. Yes, I have had to leave behind family and friends on more than one occasion. But, wherever I have been, I have found people to love and who care about me.

I have also had to face much adversity, including more than a few proverbial monsters. Adversity comes with the territory. Facing dragons and orcs happens; confronting evil happens, when one is in the company of Jesus. But, do not be afraid! God is with you! What can be more awesome than that?

It's been quite a journey! A journey that has not quite ended and never will as long as I stay in Jesus' company. Won't you come with me? Won't you walk with Jesus? I promise the journey with him is far more exciting than walking alone or staying at home where there is a perceived comfort and safety in this world. With him, you will know real peace regardless of the turmoil around you.

When Jesus called those first disciples, they didn't say, I have to do this or that first. They didn't say I have other obligations. They left everything and everyone behind to begin a very unexpected journey. There lives did not become peaches and cream. But, they were definitely action packed as they learned how to fish for people.

God's Peace - Pr. J