I Need The Son Even More Than The Sun

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 

It is about time! It is time for the daylight hours to get a bit longer. Today is the winter solstice. Last night I slept for at least ten hours. By the time the summer solstice rolls around, I will be sleeping about six hours per night if my old patterns continue. The reality is that I need the sunlight to live. I need a lot of it to be fruitful. But; even more than the sun, I need the Son. 

Without the Son the world cannot live in the light. Nothing good can come about without the Son. He came to dispel the darkness so that we might live; really live. He came so that the people living in darkness would see a great light and on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light would dawn. (Matt 4:16) It is time to wake up and live most fully in the light of Christ. In the light of Christ we can see the way to eternal life. In the light of Christ we can see his footsteps and follow him to the place that he has prepared for us. 

I, for one, am most grateful that I will be seeing much more of the sun each day for the coming months. But; more than that, I long to be able to see the light of Christ in the world around me, more and more each day.

May the light of Christ shine on you and in you and through you more and more each day so that others may see the light and glorify our Father in heaven. (Matt 5:16)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Sing His Praise

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God." (Col 3:15 NRSV)

Sometimes, it seems, we can share the Word of God and His love with all that we have in our inner being; but, it reaches deaf ears. It is met with rudeness and even anger. There are many who just do not know how to react to genuine love.

What to do about this? We are to continue doing what we have been doing. We are to continue sharing the Word with all who will listen. Do not be afraid of slander of any kind or vicious attacks. You are a child of God and He will be with you always; no matter what befalls you.

Let us always sing songs to the Lord with joy and gratitude in our hearts for all that he has done. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Conspiracy To Turn You Away From Jesus

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." Matt 7:15

Oh... for sure... there are more than a few false prophets lurking about and some not lurking. Many are out there in plain view; just turn on your television set and you will hear them.

Some of the false prophets are not so mellow as sheep. They don't even pretend to be sheep. They pretend to be the shepherd who is concerned for your safety. But, if you listen closely you will find another agenda. They will bombard you with gloom and doom. They shout from their microphones that the world is ending. They will present some pretty huge conspiracy theories when in fact they themselves are the conspiracy as they would instill fear in your heart and turn your focus away from your first love who; hopefully, is Jesus the Christ. But, the sheep that belong to the Good Shepherd will not buy into these conspiracy theories. We will not fear them for we know that Jesus is with us and for us. We do not fear the end. We know that the end is nothing to fear as it will only bring a new beginning and so we focus on living life; living life in Christ.

And, then there are those false prophets who do, indeed, come to us in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. The come to us with soft spoken (a few even sickening sweet) voices to lure us away from the truth. They present to the world a new Gospel; a gospel where Jesus is not "the way." He is only one way. Be aware! Stay away from those who would tell you there are many ways. As a conspiracy of man, it is meant to make the false prophet rich in both pocketbook and esteem. As a conspiracy of the devil it is meant to turn you away from the one true God.

Neither the heavy handed or the sickening sweet prophet need be pastors, either. Remember, Jesus said beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing. These false prophets can be clergy; but, they can also be the supposed sheep within a congregation. They can also be one who claims to follow Jesus; but, hasn't seen the inside of a church building in years. Sheep in wolves clothing come to us in many ways. No matter what their agenda or method is; all false prophets conspire against you to drag you down; to pull you away from the one who truly loves you. Do not listen to them! Keep your first love close in your heart and mind so that the devil cannot sway you. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Do Not Be Afraid!

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life."  (Matt 6:25-27 NRSV)

There have been times in my life when I have been quite confrontational when it comes to injustice. Where others were shrinking back and warning me that I should too for safety's sake, I have advanced. I did indeed consider the worst case scenarios before I advanced. What is the worst thing that could happen to me? What is there to fear? Nothing, not even death. I have eternal life.

When considering a new venture; whether it be a new job or investing in a project or a person or whatever challenge the day might bring; again, the same question: "What have I to fear?" Nothing. Life in this world is temporary. It will all pass. I have eternal life.

Jesus knowingly went forward to the cross; to his death, that we might live. He could have gone in the other direction. He could have; but, he did not. He did not shrink back from saving the world; even though much of the world would reject him. He did not pretend that everything in the world was okay. He was willing to give even his life because the world was not okay.

Do not fear. Our Father in heaven loves you. Believe this and you will have nothing to fear. You will be much more able to attempt to make radical changes within yourself and in the world around you with the knowledge that God is with you and for you. The world may abandon you. You may even lose many things in this world that you now treasure. But, there is nothing to fear. By faith, you have received eternal life.
 
May God help us to always stand in His truth; in His Way, no matter what possible dangers may lay before us. May He help us to remember that we have nothing to fear for through God's own Son, Jesus the Christ, we have eternal life.

God's Peace - Pr. J

The Lord Is My Shepherd And King

What's so good about a shepherd king? What's so good about having a king that knows how to lead the flock? Everything! The ability to lead others even through the darkest shadows of the valley of death is a very important trait for someone who would be king or maybe president. The ability to protect and comfort them when times are troubling is an awesome trait for a ruler.

David was a good shepherd and a great king. But, we have one who is even greater. He is the King of Kings. He looks after us as only a good shepherd can. He will reign over us forever.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

                                                                              Psalm 23

 

What's so good about a king who is also an experienced shepherd? Everything!

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Great Things For Us!

"For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name." (Luke 1:49)

Mary was beside herself with joy and wonder at the amazing things God was doing in her life. Wonder and joy are probably not the only words that could be used to describe how Mary felt. Anxious, nervous, afraid might be a few other descriptions. We like to think that we are at least in charge of our own lives; of our own destinations. But, God blessed Mary with a gift that she had never requested; one that she never could never had anticipated. Her life and ours was forever changed by this gift. In her, God's Son was conceived. Through her, God's only begotten Son was born.

God gave this gift of His son not just to Mary; but, to the world. He has done this great thing for all of us. Thanks be to God for this precious child born to save us from ourselves. May God continue to do great things for us; turning us from ourselves to love and serve the living Lord.

The Savior lives! He is risen! He is risen, indeed! 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Joy Inspite Of Dark Days

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
    which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
    they do not know what they stumble over.

Prov 4:18-19 NRSV

I stayed up a little later than usual last night. Consequently, I ended up sleeping in later than usual, as well. It does not seem to matter whether it is the Upper Peninsula cold or Florida warmth; these darker days of winter definitely affect my need for sleep. I woke up this morning thinking about joy probably because this coming Sunday is the "Sunday of Joy."  But, also during the darker days of Advent I could; most of us could, use a little bit of joy injected into our lives.

I have a pretty good idea why our forefathers designated it as the "Sunday of Joy." First, we are getting closer, only a week a way from the day that we celebrate when the Son of God is born as Son of Man. That is Good News, indeed. It was a very dark world when he was born. He came to be the light that would open our eyes and hearts and minds to the knowledge of our Creator and Redeemer; so that we might follow in the righteous path.

It is also probably called the "Sunday of Joy" because the days are getting shorter and shorter and the darkness is getting longer and longer each day. In the darkness there is much gloom; so we do all that we can to insert a bit of joy into life so that no one despairs.

Soon, very soon, the darkness will be replaced with light. All will be changed (next week) and the days will get brighter longer; even as everything got brighter when Jesus was born to the world. There will still be darkness. But, the light will overcome the darkness as the light shines brighter and brighter until the day that he shall come again. This time in full glory!  In this we rejoice!

God's Peace be with you and may you serve Him always with a joyful heart!

Pr. J

Wisdom of the Elders

Arlene's wisdom helped
to guide me for many years.

"The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
    but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
    but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse."
                            (Prov) 10:31-32 NRSV

The wisdom of our elders should not be neglected. It should be listened to. It should be heard. I admit, I did not listen well when I was young. Yet, it still amazes me that so many will neglect to listen to the wisdom learned through the life's lessons of the elders. Instead, many turn to their peers or even those who are much younger who have experienced even less than they have. I am not discounting the knowledge or the wisdom of the younger people. I am merely wondering why someone would so totally ignore what has already been proven.

Much grief would be averted if we listened to one another; especially if we listened to those who have already learned life's lessons.

May God open our ears and our hearts to hear and receive wisdom so that we might live abundant lives in righteousness.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Standing Inside The Fire

Sassy Cassie standing inside the fire.

photo by Uncle "John Arthur Photography"

"And I will put this third into the fire,
    refine them as one refines silver,
    and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on my name,
    and I will answer them.
I will say, 'They are my people';
    and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.'” Zech 13:9

When she was younger, I called her Sassy Cassie. She can still be a pretty sassy at times. She, as most of us do, has fought the refining process as well as she could. Thankfully, God is patient and loves all of his children continuing always to soften our hearts toward Him that we might live abundant lives in Him. The refining is not easy on the person that is being refined or on anyone around them. But, it is better to withstand the fiery ordeal of refining than to never step inside of those refining fires. It is better to withstand the refining process while young so that as we grow old, we can joyfully say, "The Lord is my God."

For most of her life, I have reminded Cassie to "live life." Life is much more pleasant when we get up and actually experience the awesome life and all the gifts that God has given us. Focus on truly living life in Christ and you will know joy and peace.

Garth Brooks reminds us in his song:
     Standing outside the fire 
     Standing outside the fire 
     Life is not tried it is merely survived 
     If you're standing outside the fire

Do not fear the refining fires. God is with you even in those fires. Live life!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Children of God

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children."  (Gal 4:4-5)

Children are an awesome blessing. They can be a lot of work, though. Our our attempts to bring them up in the way they should be going doesn't always work the way that we planned.

We have a Father in heaven. We have been adopted as His own children; redeemed by His only begotten Son to be His children. I have often wondered what God, my Father, thought when I really did stuff that were not in His plans. Does he get as frustrated as I do when the children I care for are straying? I am sure that He is not all that pleased when we do things to our neighbors' and our own detriment; when we do not love as He loves us. As children of God we try to please Him even as our own children try to please us. We all fall short. We don't always do what we ought to be doing. We don't and our children don't always do what is best for us and for the people around us. But, we keep on loving even as our heavenly Father loves us.

All who believe are the children of God. May He help us to follow in His Way.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Be Who God Made You To Be

Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3:2-4 NRSV

Although, it keeps commerce going, I have never quite understood the need for anyone to have major amounts of piercings or to change the color of one's hair every few weeks. I do not comprehend the need for the wearing of someone else's name on one's clothing. It makes me think that the person is not comfortable with who they are. I can't quite get why someone would need to wear make-up that would disguise the person that God made them to be. I'm not saying that I think women shouldn't wear any. But, I would think the purpose for make-up would be to enhance one's features and not to mask them.

God has made everyone and every one is precious in God's sight. Let the world see the person God created you to be. There is nothing more beautiful than a child of God who exudes the loving and gentle spirit that comes from knowing that you are a child of God.  

May God help each of us to cherish the lasting beauty of the gentle and quiet spirit of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

We Are Family

"But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matt 12:48-50 NRSV

Following worship this morning, we will all sit down to a ham dinner. We will sit down together as family; as brothers and sisters in Christ to enjoy a simple; but, delicious meal at Christ Lutheran Church. 

I realize that in today's world "family" is not what it use to be. Many rarely sit down for a meal together. Many families never take the time to talk to one another; to listen to their loved ones. These are people we love. Why don't we take the time to fellowship with our families; both inside and outside of the church? 

When you were baptized into Christ; you became a child of God. All who were baptized into the Body of Christ are members of God's family; brothers and sisters; children of our heavenly Father. Let us not neglect to actually be; to live like family, in more than name only. 

"And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Heb 10:24-25

God's Peace - Pr. J

Gracious Speech

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." Col 4:6

Each morning, I spend a few minutes reading the news online. I don't usually turn on the television because I do not like to start my day listening to commentators who do not know how to be gracious or to speak with integrity. I do not like to start my day listening to any politician or their supporters who season their speech with way too much salt and who have no clue what the words tact or graciousness mean. All of those accusations without an iota of evidence is really becoming wearisome. Many reporters forget that in this country we are innocent until proven guilty. According to scripture there needs to be witnesses in order to convict. There is so much bad news, both in content and in presentation, that I have find it needful to not read or listen to very much of it.

Each morning as I read the news, I stumble across at least a few errors in grammar, spelling, facts, etc.. Because of these errors false information is often given. I know and confess that I make an awful lot of grammatical and spelling errors in these daily blogs that I write. I am also not always the most tactful. I do not have an editor. I write like I speak and consequently mistakes are made. I am not a professional writer. I spend very little time in writing these blogs as they are a hobby. I do not make a living writing these blogs. However, I do believe that professional reporters and editors who are paid to communicate the news to us ought to actually edit what they are writing before they print it so that the news is communicated to us accurately and without attempts to get us to worship their gods as they try to shove their personal bias' down our throats.

Communicating properly is a gift that is greatly needed in our news media, indeed in the world. Yes, a little salt in the news is a good thing. But, a little more graciousness would help others to hear and understand more clearly.    

May God help us all to be a bit more gracious when we open our mouths or place our fingers on a keyboard in attempts to communicate ideas or facts.

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. Just wondering how many grammatical errors I just made..

He Will Come Again

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." Matt 24:29-31 NIV

It is Advent. No, it is not Christmas. It is the time before Christmas; the time that we prepare to celebrate that Jesus, our Savior, came to us as little child born in a barn. During the season of Advent we remember how Israel waited and watched and prepared themselves for the Messiah. He came humbly to us and he died a horrible death on the cross at the hands of the very people who had waited so long for him to come. In these weeks before Christmas we hear John the Baptist call us to repentance; to turn around and worship the one true God; to recognize that Jesus is the only one who can save us. 

Jesus came to us as a little child. During the Advent season we focus not just on his coming as that little child; but, the promise that he will come again in great glory. Hopefully, we are preparing for that day. Scripture would remind us that it will be a joyous day for his elect and definitely not so joyous for those who have rejected him; turning their backs to him, to worship other gods. I know... I have heard it before. "But, I don't have any other gods!" The truth is we all worship something. We all have something that is our ultimate concern. Each Advent season I look around and I grieve as I recognize that most often that ultimate concern is ourselves. We want our backs patted and our bank accounts padded. The Advent season for many is more about making themselves the center rather than making Jesus the center; the reason for the season. We can fake it all we want. We might be able to deceive some of the people all of the time. But, God know our motivations. He knows whom we love. He knows whom we worship. He knows what our ultimate concern is.

I pray that you are preparing your heart for the day when he will return to gather his elect. Please remember that Jesus is the reason. It's not about me. It's not about you. It is about the greatest gift that was ever given to humankind, Jesus the Christ, our Saviour and our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Living Life; Enjoying Life!

What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live..." Eccl 3:9-12

Live life!  I can't even begin to count how many times I have told people to live life; enjoy life! I believe some think, "who is she kidding? She's a Christian and a pastor. What can she know about fun?"  My fun may not be like a lot of people's idea of fun; but, I do know about enjoying life; about enjoying the numberless gifts that God has given me.

Among His gifts to us are His people. Yes, there are times I truly prefer to be alone. I prefer to be alone so I can be alone with God and take the time to listen to Him to enjoy His presence. But, I also enjoy being with His people. Often people will ask me what days I have off so they don't call or "bother" me on my day off. What they are not understanding is that I do not work to live, I actually do live to serve. That may be a bad thing to some. It is a good thing for me. I do not mind in the least having someone in crisis call me at 3 a.m.. I would be offended if they did not and I found out later that they didn't want to "bother" me. Other than spending alone time with God, there are very few things that bring me more pleasure than being with and serving God's people. I do know what makes me happy and that is serving others and helping them to know the peace and the joy that only God can give. Ministry is not just a job. It is a way of living life.

It is time to truly live life! Love God and lovingly serve one another!

God's Peace - Pr. J