Why Jesus?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Rom 8:35 KJV)

I was blessed in being able to take some time away this week to attend the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) Pastor's Conference in Orlando.  The theme was "always be ready."  Be ready for what?  How about always be ready to share what you believe?  Always be ready to share the good news with others.

One of the speakers, Rev. Dr. Dennis DiMauro, wondered if we were prepared to respond to someone wanting to know what is so different about Christianity, what is so great about Jesus.  Rev. DiMauro summed it up in one word: love!

Nothing, as Paul wrote to the Romans, can separate us from the love of Christ! It does not matter what we have done or even what we do today or will ever do. Jesus will always love us. He loves us so much that even knowing how we would reject him and deny him over and over again he was willing to be persecuted, suffer, and die so that we might be reconciled to our Father in heaven.  It is not something that we can earn for ourselves. But, he could. He did it out of his great and unconditional love for all human-kind.

Other religions tend to have some kind of works based system whereby we can earn our way to heaven by our works. Some believe that we can change ourselves. No... It does not work that way. We are sinners through and through. There is nothing we can do to pay for our sins. Ours sins have been washed away by the blood of Christ painfully; yet lovingly, shed on the cross for us. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone!

What is so different about Jesus! Jesus loves us enough to die for us and nothing can separate us from his love! While we were dead in our sins he gave his us his all. He gave us his life. He gives us life. He gives us love.

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