Turn Us!

Psalm 80:7-18 KJV 

Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.

Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.

The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.

She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.

Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?

The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.

Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;

And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.

It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.

So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.

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This country, this world, is in need of a lot of help. There is no president, no earthly ruler of any kind that can save us. We must turn back to God. Sadly, no matter how hard we try we cannot do that. Only God can change our hearts. We need him to turn us around. It is by his grace alone that we are saved. May he take away our hearts of stone and fill us with a new spirit. 

May we all be blessed with the same blessing that the Lord told Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to bless the children of Israel. 

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

                                                                                      (Num 6:24-26)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Weary Wait Upon The Lord

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

                                                                                     (Isa 40:28-31 KJV)

I am waiting. I am waiting for the Lord to renew my strength. I can walk. I can still kayak. But, running is pretty limited! Recently retired; having grown faint and weary of having to spend so much time and effort with so many issues  that had nothing to do with proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom through Jesus the Christ.

The church on earth must return to the main thing: proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To do otherwise only makes for faint and weary children of God. To do otherwise will cause the various congregations and denominations to fall. And, rightfully so if they will not trust the Lord.

After the Christ's crucifixion, the disciples hid out in an upper room. They waited in fear for the authorities to come after them. They continued to wait even after they saw the resurrected Lord. They waited to be endued with the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised would come. The Holy Spirit came and they were lifted up. Their strength was renewed and they were dispersed to spread the news that Jesus is truly the Messiah, the Savior of the world. They were empowered, even in the face of death, to spread the news that Jesus lives.

Most of us do not face death for sharing that Good News. I often wonder if  the reason that we are not more energetic in sharing that Good News might be  because we aren't really persecuted. After all, here in the United States, we are not in danger of dying for sharing the love of God in Christ Jesus. 

Consider the Christians around the world who are persecuted; who are imprisoned; who are put to death for their faith. Have they not been strengthened to confess Jesus as Lord in the face of their oppressors? 

What will it take for those who claim to be Christians to stand up with their brothers and sisters around the world and without fear enthusiastically tell others that Jesus died so that they might live; that they might be reconciled to our Father; our Creator, in heaven? 

I confess, I have grown weary. I long to see the day when Christians are empowered in this country to not just worship out of obligation on Sunday mornings; but, let the world around them know that Jesus is Lord every day of the week.

We live in a beautiful world. God has created it most magnificently. But; I confess, that on too many days I feel very weary of this world and particularly the lack of faith in the one true God that I witness around me. But, I also trust that "...they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Be Reconciled In Peace

"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." (Lev 19:18 NIV)

What good is it to be angry with others? There is a righteous anger that strives to set things right peacefully without any vengeful intent. But, there is the most prevalent anger that causes even more anger and unrighteousness to occur. This unrighteous anger will only destroy us as we seek to destroy others. 

It is better to live in peace than in constant anxiety, fear, or anger. When unrighteous anger prevails there is no room; no time, for love. There is no room in our hearts or the time for a relationship with God and with others.

To be reconciled to God and one another is the very reason that Jesus died for us. He died so that our sins might be forgiven; so that the divide between us would fall; so that we could live united peacefully in God's presence now and for all eternity.

Let his death not be in vain. Let us live in peace not striving for vengeance out of anger.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Guarding The Gate To Paradise

Vernon Weand 1938-2017

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."   (John 14:1-3 NIV)

I have been preparing a funeral service for one of the many faithful members of Christ Lutheran Church this morning. Vernon was also a Marine. It has been many years since Vern actively served as a Marine. But, the Marine Corps has a saying "once a Marine, always a Marine" so today we are commending into the hands of Almighty God a U.S. Marine.

There is this rumor that says that U.S. Marines guard the gates to paradise; to our heavenly home. But, I assure you that it is just a rumor. I do not think that God would make any Marine who believe in Him guard His gates while the rest of us are inside walking around and talking with Jesus. Marines usually don't mind a celebration and I am also pretty positive that they will be at the great banquet feast in our Father's house; rather than outside guarding the doors. 

Jesus told his followers that he was going to prepare a place for them in our Father's house. He has and he returns for all who believe to take us to our heavenly home.

May God grant comfort and peace in the knowledge that all who believe; even though they die; yet, shall live.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Water Necessary

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

We need water to live. Anyone who has shown up in the emergency room to find out that they were dehydrated and needed much more water to be well knows the reality of our bodies need for water. One glass of water a day just doesn't do it. We need to continuously be replenishing our bodies with water.

When Jesus sat down near the well tired, the Samaritan woman had offered to draw water from the well for Jesus. (John 4:1-26) He took this opportunity to tell her that he could give her living water; water that would sustain her, not just for a few hours; but, for all of eternity.

Water, clean water, is necessary for life here on earth. But, Jesus, who provides living water, is necessary for the refreshment of our souls. This living water is necessary that we might live eternally in the presence of the very one who provides this living water.

Ask and you shall receive. Drink and you will thirst no more. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Why Is There No Room In The Inn?

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:6-7 NIV

What does this mean? What does this mean for you?

Traveling, Joseph and Mary found themselves without a place to sleep. In labor, Mary had no place to give birth except for in a barn.

When I first began traveling cross country alone so many years ago, I would just pull into a road side park, lock the car doors, and sleep when I became tired. I did not see a need to find an inn as I would only be sleeping for a few hours at the most. Today, this is not something that I would do. Today, I find an inn and sleep for a good five to six hours before I travel again. I do this not just because I'm aging and know that I need more than a couple of hours of sleep before I'm rested enough to drive; but, because today, it is much more dangerous to be sleeping alone in a roadside park. It's just not a good idea. It is also illegal in many areas of the country.

In the midst of the winter, when temperatures drop, my sense of what the homeless endure is heightened. What can be done for the homeless? In the north, where temperatures tend toward freezing and below, there are many towns and small cities without even one homeless shelter. There are no "inns" for them. Larger cities don't appreciate the homeless sleeping in tents or in makeshift shelters in their midst. Some even take away their tents or destroy their shelters. I get frustrated at the naivety of posts on social media that suggest we could build decent looking tiny, tiny houses for the homeless. That's a great idea. But, most of these suggested tiny shelters have no running water and would not be allowed in most of the country because of local zoning laws. We need to do more!

What is a world to do to help those who have no place to lay their heads at night? Why is there no room in the inn?

God's Peace - Pr. J