Mary And Martha

Reading from the Gospel of St. Luke 10:38-42 KJV Mary and Martha; practicing the presence of God with unceasing prayer no matter what you are doing.

Love The Lord

Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:

That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 

                                                                                            (Deut 6:1-9 KJV)

Loving and serving the Lord is not just for the hour you might sit in a church building one day a week. We are called to love him with our whole hearts, our entire souls, and with all of our might all of the time. Do the people around you know that you love and serve him? 

Our love is evidenced by what we say and do. 

Praise the Lord in all things; in what you say and do and at all times that others might in turn come to love Him as well.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

We Get To Serve The Lord!

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.

Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee! 

                                                                             (Psalm 71:17-19 KJV)

It has been about thirty-two years since I asked God to allow me to serve Him and to teach me how He would have me serve Him. I did not care what would happen to me so long as He opened doors that I might serve Him. My own stubbornness has made me veer from this path on more than one occasion. I have failed to do His will too many times. It has been an awesome journey. But, despite my advancing age I am convinced that He is not finished with me yet. He will continue to show me the way; opening doors and empowering me to do His will; to share with others the great things that He has done.

I retired from pastoral ministry a few years ago. Retirement for me was a mistake. Since that time I have wandered about feeling lost without the many opportunities to serve Him. Fortunately, He has opened a few doors. I am most fortunate for having the privilege to serve Him on the board of Sola Publishing this past year. Recently the opportunity opened up for me to serve Him further working with St. Paul Lutheran Seminary. As my hair grows grayer with each birthday and I am not as agile as I once was there are always opportunities to tell others; to teach others about the great and awesome things that God has done for us.

Thanks be to God for the privilege of serving Him.

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.

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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.

Repent; The Kingdom Of God Is At Hand

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.                                                                                                              (Mark 1:14-15 KJV)

The good news, the gospel, is this: "The kingdom of God has come near." It has come near for you. It is at hand. It is not some far away place. It is at hand! Into this dark and dreary world the kingdom has indeed come. 

We pray as Jesus taught us to pray: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (Matt 6:10) What does this actually mean for us?  By the grace of God the Kingdom of God has broken into this dark and dreary world. 

The Kingdom of God is at hand and it can be realized as we reach out, with the love of God, in the will of God, to love and serve our neighbors. Notice that immediately after Jesus is baptized and is then tempted by Satan, he begins his ministry proclaiming this good news of the Kingdom. Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God and then he proceeded to show us God's will for our lives in that kingdom as he reached out to make whole the people he encountered; so that they might live life on earth even as it is lived in heaven; loving and serving God and one another..

May you live life in the Kingdom of God, even today. May His will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven.

God's Peace - Pr. J

One Body

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:15 KJV)

Let us depart from the idea that we must take care of ourselves first; that we are number one. The first is God. When we abide in Christ we are members of his body joined together with all others who confess that Jesus is the Son of God. 

When Christ abides in us and we in him we are one with one mind serving the Lord and one another. Each member of the body has its particular gifts given to us by God so that the body might be edified and grow in Christ Jesus.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Thankful For Your Charity

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth..." (2 Thess 1:3 KJV)

This morning as I begin my day, I am thankful to God for the multitude of faithful men and women around the world. We do not live and serve the Lord in a vacuum. We are not alone. We have a crowd of witnesses with us who are always willing to witness to the love of the Lord by loving and serving those who are in need.

Charity, it is said, begins at home. Charity, indeed, must be exercised at home. But, it cannot stop there. Charity is inspired by our faith in the one who loves the whole world enough to die for all people. Because Jesus was willing to give even his life for us; those who love him are willing to give to others.

This morning, I thank God for all whose faith in God is strong enough to give unconditionally to those who suffer without any concerns for their own self-centered needs.

May God bless us all with faith, love, and charity that the world might know our living God.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

WORK WITH INTEGRITY!

One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. (Prov 18:9 NIV)

I and many others (but, not all) of my generation were taught by our parents to put our all into the work that we do. Whether we volunteered or were hired to do a job, it was about integrity and honor; it was a lot about keeping a good name. 

Today, I do not get to witness that integrity in the work place so much. There is often no loyalty to the one who has hired you. It is just a job after all; something necessary to help you to exist in this world. Why, one might wonder, should I do a great job at something when a good enough job will get me by? To do a "just so" job; to not even attempt to complete it to the expectations of the one we are serving, is the same as stealing from them. We are stealing our wages when we do not work for it; but, sit around thinking of ways to get out of doing everything we are asked to the best of our ability. We are destroying their livelihoods while we sit around and steal ours. 

The same goes not just for the business world; but, for the church and any other charitable non-profit as well. Whether we are employed and drawing a wage or volunteering and garnering recognition do it for the love of God and for the love of others, not half-heartedly because it is an obligation that you have made. 

But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. (1 Sam 12:24)

I was taught and taught my sons that work is such a part of our lives that we should enjoy it. We ought to put our whole hearts into what we do, so that we might our whole lives lives most fully. From what I see of the way my sons work, they both learned that lesson well.

May the work of your hands be blessed, as well.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Last Of All

“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:35-37 NRSV)

So who exactly does the world want to welcome: Jesus, God the Father. the little child? 

For a whole lot of the world, these words from Jesus are absolutely worthless. A large part of the world thinks more of themselves than any of these. Believing and following Jesus calls us to be last in the world. Following Jesus means to open our arms to all and that includes the little children. Our comfort; our convenience does not come before serving others according to their needs. 

Jesus was a servant to all. He healed those who were sick. He raised them from the dead. He fed the hungry. He washed his followers' feet. Our Lord, was willing to die that we might live. Our Lord and our King; was willing and even desirous of serving humankind that we might be welcomed by our Father into His presence; not just for life after death; but, so that we could live in His glorious presence even today.

The firstborn of creation; the firstborn from the dead (Col 1:15, 18) became last; the servant of all for all of God's children.  

May God help us to put the lives of all God's children, young and old, before our own comfort and convenience.

God's Peace - Pr. J

He Knows

If you faint in the day of adversity,
   your strength being small;
if you hold back from rescuing those taken away    to death,
   those who go staggering to the slaughter;
if you say, “Look, we did not know this”—
   does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who keeps watch over your soul 

   know it?

   And will he not repay all according to their 

   deeds?

                                  Proverbs 24:10-12 NRSV

He does indeed keep watch over us and knows all things. He knows whether we have protected the innocent or supported our neighbors. He knows if we have turned our backs on others in order to protect ourselves; in order to keep our own lives safe and prosperous.

God knows what is in our hearts and minds. He knows if, rather an trust Him to be with us in the day of adversity we hold back from rescuing others. He knows when we see calamity fall on others and we pretend that we do not see in order to go on with our own self-serving lives.

He knows whether we are about serving others or ourselves.

May God help us to have the strength and the courage to stand beside the innocent who are being attacked in any manner.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Wisdom Listens to Gain Knowledge

The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
let the wise listen and add to their learning,

and let the discerning get guidance—

Proverbs 1:1-5 NRSV

Over the years, I have learned something that can totally frustrate me. I can teach all that I want; but, unless the person that I am attempting to teach is listening; they will learn nothing. They will not grow in knowledge if they are busy thinking about and focusing on other things while they are being taught. If you are in worship or in a small group, listen to the word of God imparted through by those who are serving or speaking. If you are out in the world, take the time, to be still and listen to what others have to say.

It is the wise person who would be still and listen in order to gain knowledge. 

May God help us to have a greater knowledge of his will for us and for all people so that we might serve him and his children more fully.

God's Peace - Pr. J