Jesus Is Lord

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

                                                                                        (1 Pet 5:6-11 KJV)

We are not gods. Maybe, lords of our households; but, not the King of the Universe!  But, even as lords of our households we can really mess up and cause problems for ourselves and those who live with us. The devil is aware of that and uses it to his advantage as he seeks to devour everything and everyone around us. It behooves us to trust God to open our eyes to see the evil that the devil purposes to use us for and to fight against it. We fight not with our own power; but, with the power of the Spirit of Christ in us. Jesus is the only one who has been able to resist his power. We must humble ourselves and trust in that power. He is after all the King of all kings and has authority over everything and everyone.

Let not the devil use us to devour those around us. God help us to not empower the devil by falling into the trap of judging others and causing more division. But, by the grace of God who has called us to His eternal glory through Jesus Christ, strengthen us so that we may stand against the wiles of the evil ones. For, he is like a wolf in sheep's clothing creeping up on those who are unaware to steal the peace that only God can bring to us.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

                                                                                      (Eph 6:10-12)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Visiting Angel

"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." (Heb 13:1-2 NIV)

Whenever I read or hear these verses I am reminded of "Michael on The Way." Michael was a visitor to a congregation that I served years ago. I had only been there a couple of months. Michael was homeless, traveling, "on the way," from North Dakota to Florida for the winter. (The northern states are really not good states to be homeless in the winter.) He stopped to worship with us, coming in after the service started with his paper bag and guitar case in hand heading straight for the front pew - definitely not Lutheran. I was a little nervous. No, not because of him. But, because my sermon repeated verse 2 "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Would we see the sermon lived out by the congregation that day, I wondered. Michael fidgeted a lot during the service.

During the sermon it appeared that he was leaving when he stood up. I stopped and introduced myself and asked him to stay so that we could visit after the service. When he told me his name was Michael, I got even a bit more anxious given the context of the sermon. My first thought on hearing his name was "archangel." He stayed. The congregation had proved to be very welcoming, indeed. He got lots of hugs during the sharing of the peace! He and I went out to breakfast afterwards to a place he had been asked to leave a couple of hours earlier. He had also visited another congregation in town that morning; but, only for a few minutes. He had not been welcomed there. I brought him down to the main highway after breakfast that morning so that he could continue his journey to places much warmer.

I asked the council at our next meeting to pray with me for Michael's journey. They agreed to also add him to our prayer list where he stayed for a few years. Not all of the council had been aware that Michael was really a homeless man. Since, they did not know me that well; they had thought I had set the whole thing up to go with the sermon. But, only God can mastermind events that well! It was a good lesson for me. I learned that day that the congregation I was serving truly did love and respect their neighbors, even the strangers. I also learned (again) that God is truly in charge and works things out for the good of those who love Him.

God's Peace - Pr. J