God at Work

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,

for those who are called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

A third grade Sunday School teacher was making the point with her class that God was omnipotent – that He was able to do anything.  She asked the class, “Is there anything that you can think of that God cannot do?”  There was silence.  Then one little boy held up his hand.  Somewhat frustrated that the point had been lost on this little boy, she asked, “Well, just what is it that God can’t do?”  “Well,” replied the boy, “He can’t please everybody!”

As sinful human beings, its easy for us to blame God when we’re not happy or when things aren’t going the way we think they should.  When we’ve prayed for something and haven’t gotten the answer we’ve been looking for, it’s tempting to be displeased with God.

In the midst of difficult times when we become displeased with God, we need to be directed back to God’s Word.  In His Word, God gives us His sure and certain promises that we can hold onto no matter what we face in life.  One of these promises is found in Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”  Even in the most difficult of times, God is at work for our very best!

Not only is God at work for our very best, He’s also given us His very best.  God has given us the tremendous gift of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.  Through His life, death, and resurrection we have the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life.  Later on in Romans 8 we are told that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus! 

These are the sure and certain promises of God that we can hold onto no matter what we face in life!

Remember

My soul also is greatly troubled.  But you, O Lord, how long?  Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love…The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.  All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

Psalm 6:3-4, 9-10

 

Memorial Day serves as a great time to remember and honor those currently serving in our nation’s military, those who have served, and those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom.  We thank God for their service!

 

Memorial Day causes all of us who live in this country to stop and reflect on the blessings of freedom that God Himself has passed on to us through the generations.  It is also a day to remember the One who laid down His life for us so that those who have laid theirs down for this Nation may reclaim it for eternity through their belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  And we pray to God that no life given in the defense of this country is ever given in vain because God is working through this Nation, this freedom, and this people, to share the truth of Jesus Christ as Savior – as we work every day to be one Nation under One God and Savior.

 

There will be many stories of remembrance shared this weekend about all our nation’s historic battles from the Civil War to the wars we are currently fighting in the Middle East.  In all of those battles - under great duress - heroes stepped forward, history was made, freedom was secured, and our Nation prevailed.  We need to remember the lives of the men and women who have gone before us.  Many go unremembered and some have only been vaguely considered in these many years.  It is far too easy to forget.

 

There is one battle that we, as people of God, must never forget:  The battle on the hill called Calvary.  That battle makes a difference in all the rest of our daily battles; it makes a difference as we face the uncertainty of terrorist threats; it makes a difference in our grief and in our joy; it makes a difference in our temptation and in our tears; it makes a difference in our remembrance and in our rejoicing.

 

The sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and His victorious resurrection brought the greatest hope and freedom to the world.  Julia Ward Howe’s Battle Hymn of the Republic speaks of this in stanza four: “In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me; As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free, While God is marching on.”  Thank God for Good Friday and Easter!  They are to be remembered, revered, and proclaimed as the greatest of all memorial days - for Christ is Risen!  He reigns on high as King of kings and Lord of lords.  One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God.  Until then, we remember and rejoice.

 

Amazing Grace

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9

The one word that may best describe what our entire lives as Christians is all about is - GRACE.  Grace is the unmerited favor of God – God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.  It is this grace that enables us to have the peace, joy, comfort, and everything we need!

We are reconciled – or at peace – with God because of what Jesus did for us through His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection.  Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  Peace is certainly ours – and its ours by Grace!

Joy has its source in Grace!  True and lasting joy is found in the gracious gift of Jesus Christ – our Savior from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  Without the precious gift of Jesus, the joys of this life would be temporary and fleeting.  But thanks to Jesus, we have a joy that lasts into all eternity – and its all because of GRACE!

We also have the comfort that comes from forgiveness.  We have been forgiven by a God who holds no record of our many sins, but instead loves us unconditionally.  Psalm 103:11-12 says, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Micah 7:18-19 says, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?  He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.  He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot.  You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”  God delights to love us and to forgive us – for we are His precious creation!

Truly, in Christ we have everything we need for this life and all eternity – so rejoice in God’s amazing gift of grace!

 

I Think I Can't!

“I will put My Spirit in you and you will live...then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.”

Ezekiel 37:14 

One of the most beloved children’s books of all time tells the story of a little train that faced obstacle after obstacle but it finally mustered up enough courage, strength and fortitude to steam up the track saying, “I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.”  At that point, the little train conquered its fears and inadequacies and the train powered itself to do all the things it could never do before.  That story recalls the human spirit - something deep within that drives a person to overcome failure to be a success.  Our human nature likes this story because it gives hope that the underdog can become champion.  It’s the American rags to riches story.  All WE have to do is get in touch with our inner spirit and we will succeed.

This story pumps us up with the thought we can do anything if we just set our mind to it.  But on the Day of Pentecost, which we celebrate this Sunday - God reveals a completely different story.  We confess that we CANNOT by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or even come to Him. There is NOTHING within us - no inner spirit - that can break the bond of our sinful nature and come to a saving relationship with Jesus.  That’s why Jesus promised to send the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Helper, the Counselor, because apart from the Vine we can do NOTHING.

If you ask someone to define the Holy Spirit, you may hear anything from a “feeling” to a “presence” to a “ghost” to a vague “something or another.”  But through the Bible, we know exactly who the Spirit is.  The Holy Spirit is God continuing His saving work in our midst through the Third Person of the Trinity.  The Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies us in the one true faith.  He lives in us, works through us, and makes us followers of Christ so that other disciples can be made.

May the grace, mercy and peace of God so fill us with His Spirit that we may know the life God has in mind for us.

 

Life and Death Announcement

Yesterday was the yearly celebration of Good Friday - the day our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ willingly went to the cross to pay the price for our sins.  This year Good Friday coincided with another important day in the church year celebrated every March 25th, the Annunciation - the announcement of the Incarnation by the angel Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:26-38).  Having the Annunciation fall on the same day as Good Friday shows us that it truly as a life and death announcement.

First, it was an announcement of life.  The Lord of all creation would become a part of it.  Mary would give birth to the Savior of the world.  Gabriel said to Mary, "You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High."  The promise of the Messiah would be fulfilled through this announcement of life.

The Annunciation was also an announcement of death, and that is where Good Friday comes in.  Good Friday is the reason Jesus was born.  It was the culmination of His life and ministry.  Jesus said in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost".  Jesus was born to die - born to be our Savior.

Of course this life and death announcement ends with the victorious announcement of life - Easter!  Christ lives - and because He lives we live, now and for all eternity.  That's what the Christian life is all about.  We are baptized into Christ - baptized into His life, death, and resurrection.  Death has been swallowed up in His victory! 

Take joy and comfort in knowing that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus - you have received an announcement - forgiveness and eternal life!



Cry Out to the Lord

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Psalm 34:17 

There are many things in life that cause us to cry out to the Lord.  When we hear news that a family member or close friend has died.  When relationships fail.  When financial difficulties loom and anxiety is high.  When the diagnosis of a disease comes as a surprise.  When a loved one falls away from their relationship with the Lord.  These and many more situations all lead us, as Christians, to cry out to the Lord.

What a wonderful blessing and gift we have in prayer.  We are invited to cry out to God about anything at any time.  We have the blessing of knowing that as we cry out to God in prayer, He hears us.  More than that, He answers our prayers according to what He knows to be best.

In the midst of all the struggles and difficulties that this world brings, we may not always feel that God is listening and answering our cries for help.  Well, if there is an expert on “crying out to the Lord”, it’s David.  David reminds us in Psalm 34 that when we cry out to God, we certainly are not wasting our breath!  God hears and answers prayer!  The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit! 

As Christians we know full well that we are not somehow exempt from disappointments, temptations to sin, and other difficult experiences.  Yet, we have the marvelous promise that God is near to us and He indeed saves us!  Augustine writes, “A great mystery, Brethren.  God is above all:  you raise yourself, and touch Him not; you humble yourself, and He descends to you.”

Remember each and every day the great blessing and privilege we have to pray to the Lord!

What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit; Oh, what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!

LSB #770

 

Rejoice!

This is the day that the Lord has made;

Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Psalm 118:24

There is an interesting story about world-class violinist Joshua Bell from January 2007.  A couple days after playing to a packed house where people paid up to $200 for a ticket, Bell changed venues.  He put on street clothes and played outside the L’Efant Plaza Metro station.  Bell was taking place in an experiment from the Washington Post.  During Bell’s 45 minute performance outside the metro station, only 7 people stopped to listen.  A stampede of tourists passed by in that time frame, but only 7 had stopped to listen to this world-class performer play the violin.

The point of the story is that a lot of times we miss the blessings that God gives us each day!  Part of it could be that we don’t notice them or that we simply take them for granted.  Thanks be to God – for He still daily showers us with His grace every day…even when we don’t notice or acknowledge it.

Every day we can say along with the Psalmist – “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”.  Each and every day we can rejoice that we are children of God – His beloved!  We can rejoice in God’s promises to take care of our every need of both body and soul.  And we can rejoice in the accomplished fact of our salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

 

The Value of Life

I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well.  (Psalm 139:14)

This Sunday we celebrate Life Sunday – a day that we set aside to look at the value of life as a wonderful gift of God.  When you look in the mirror, do you say along with the psalmist, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made”?  Did you know that you are wonderfully made?  It’s true – God personally created each and every one of us!  Psalm 139 tells us that God knitted each of us in our mother’s womb.   

The fact that God has created us each by hand and breathed into us His life-giving breath shows us just how valuable life is – and how valuable you are!  What an amazing difference that makes in our lives!  Satan though, loves to show us the effects of sin – to show us our frail bodies that are slowly dying.  The devil says to us, “How valuable could you be?  You sin constantly, your bodies are full of imperfections, you fight and quarrel even with your closest family members – how valuable could you really be?”

God answers that question by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior.  We are so valuable to God that we couldn’t be bought with silver or gold – but only by the blood of Christ.  1 Peter 1:18-19 tells us, “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” 

So the next time you look in the mirror, remember the words of Psalm 139, and rejoice in the gift of life our Heavenly Father gives us – and rejoice in the fact that you are His creation – fearfully and wonderfully made!

 

Resolution Check-Up

How are you doing on your New Year's resolution?  I know we are only twelve days into January, but that doesn't mean resolutions are still being followed.  The statistics are pretty amazing when it comes to New Year's resolutions.  Almost half of Americans make a resolution each year.  Out of those, only one out of three keeps their resolution through January.  Over the course of a year the statistics say that only 8% of people are successful in keeping their resolutions.

With such low success rates when it comes to New Year's resolutions, we can be thankful that our life in Christ is not lived in that kind of way.  As Christians we can rejoice in the fact that we are not saved by how well we live up to God's standard for our lives.  We are saved by grace alone as Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9. 

We are all sinful and in need on God's forgiveness.  That is why we take joy and comfort in what Christ has done for us through His life, death, and resurrection.  The victory over sin, death and the devil and the forgiveness and salvation Christ won is given to us - free of charge, without any merit or worthiness in us.

So back to New Year’s resolutions.  We’ve all made them, and we’ve all broken them.  Some of us have made new ones and already broken them, and some of us have given up on the whole idea.  But instead of making a resolution that is all up to you - make one that relies upon God to be at work so you can do everything in Christ.

Our resolution, then, is not the one we make and fail to keep, but the one God has made for us.  God the Father made a resolution to send His Son to secure us unto life everlasting.  Jesus made a resolution to live, die, rise and intercede for us 24/7 - and He does.   The Holy Spirit made a resolution to create and strengthen faith within us.  God is faithful and He does it!

 

 

Baptized into Christ

A lot of times we talk about the gift of life – and it certainly is a precious gift.  But, we don’t hear much about the gift of death.  Perhaps that’s due to our realization that death really isn’t much of a gift.  At least, its not a gift we’d typically want, and with good reason – death is our enemy.  But St. Paul speaks to us about Baptism in such a way that it gives the gift of death….and life!

In Holy Baptism, Christ bestows on us the gifts of His death and resurrection.  Holy Baptism is all about gifts – gifts from your Lord and Redeemer to you.  And yes, those gifts include both His death and His resurrection.  Without Christ’s death, Baptism would have no power, for the forgiveness that it bestows is dependent upon His sacrifice on the cross.  Likewise, without Christ’s resurrection, Baptism could never give you life everlasting, because the power of sin, death, and the devil would be proved stronger than even God.

We’ve been rescued from sin, death, and the devil – not by our work, but by the Lord’s work and mercy.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has become flesh in order to die for our sins on the cross.  But, Christ is risen!  He lives forever!  He has died and risen for all the world – and for you and me.  That is what Holy Baptism is all about.  In Baptism, we were buried with Jesus Christ into His death.  In His death, He suffered God’s judgment for our sins; in Baptism He joined you to that death.

Instead of the scourge and nails, you only felt a splash of water.  But by that water and His holy Word, when God looks at us, He no longer sees our sin: He sees those whose sins are gone, because – with Jesus – we’ve already died to sin.  And “the one who has died has been freed from sin” (Rom 6:7)

In Holy Baptism, Jesus also joins us to His resurrection.  While God originally created Adam and Eve to live eternally, the wages of sin is death – death of the body and soul.  Jesus has conquered death, and conquered death for us!  While our body must suffer the wages of sin in this world, we already have eternal life in Christ Jesus.  We are alive!  We have new, eternal life!  That’s what it means to be baptized.

We do not declare, “I was baptized”, but “I am baptized”.  It is the difference between saying, “I was alive” and “I am alive”.  We are baptized and so we are alive – forever!  We live in the newness of life right now.  It makes a difference in how we face the day – knowing that not one failure, not one mistake, not anyone’s words of hatred – nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord – for we are the Baptized children of God – His beloved.

Your baptism birthday is the most important day of your eternal life.  It is our defense against satan who accuses you of your sin.  It’s our spiritual marker that defines our identity.  It’s our frame of reference to see the world from an eternal perspective rather than merely a temporal one.  We bear the mark of the cross of Jesus claiming us for eternity.

As long as we have sinful flesh, we still face death of our body unless the Lord returns first.  The spector of death is a haunting thing, and as it approaches we can be sure the devil will use it as his final attempt to make us doubt our Lord’s promises.  At such times, should you wonder whether or not God loves you, remember the answer and say, “I am baptized.  Jesus has joined me to His death – and He also joined me to His resurrection.  Just like sin, death is not my master – for is death no longer has dominion over Jesus, then it has no dominion over me.  Just like sin, death is like that would-be robber who would seek to destroy me; but it is also a conquered enemy, one that Christ will use to deliver me from this world and raise me up to eternal life.”

Thanks be to God – the gifts of Christ’s death and resurrection are real, certain, and everlasting.  Without any merit or worthiness in us, Christ our Lord has suffered death on our behalf – taking all the power away from sin, death, and the power of the devil and all the circumstances of life that discourage us.

Beloved of God, it’s not that you were baptized – but you are baptized.  It’s not that you were alive in Christ, but that you are alive in Christ.  It’s not that you were forgiven for all your sin, but that you are forgiven of all your sin!

All this is yours, because Jesus has joined you to Himself, to His death and resurrection.  Baptism is all about the gifts and all those gifts remain yours – now, and forever!