Confidence in God's Presence

And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink from Him in shame at His coming.  If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.  1 John 2:28-29

Children of God, rejoice – for we have confidence that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God abides with us now and for all eternity! 

The world in which we live is full of questions and doubts – especially now in light of the coronavirus and its effects on our lives.  People look at the world today and doubt that God even exists.  In the midst of all the hardships of life –illnesses and disease, failed relationships, financial struggles, stress, and natural disasters – people tend to question the existence of God.  Even those who believe in God, sinfully tend to doubt His love and presence in our lives.

As Christians, we have the wonderful message to proclaim that God truly does exist – and more than that, He is not a distant God, but a loving God who abides with His creation.  This is where we get our confidence as children of God: God did not leave us in the sin and despair of this world.  Instead He sent His one and only Son to become flesh in order to redeem the world by living a perfect life on our account, dying the death our sin deserves, and rising victoriously from the grave to win the victory over death for us.

God continues to abide with us through every day of our lives.  Not one moment goes by that God is not right beside us.  God is also present with us through His means of grace – Word and Sacrament.  Through His Word, God speaks His faithful and true promises and the Holy Spirit gives us the gift of faith to believe and hold fast to the promises of God.  In our Baptism, we were marked by God as His children – as the water combined with the power of God’s Word washed away our sin and clothed us with Christ’s righteousness.  And in the Lord’s Supper – Jesus Christ is truly present with us as we partake of His body and blood which were given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins.

As God abides with us, we can live our lives with confidence - knowing that when we see God face to face we will not shrink away from Him in shame.  Instead we can stand boldly in His presence – clothed with Christ’s righteousness – as His children.  It is this knowledge that enables us to live each day – not in fear or doubt because of the hardships this sinful world brings – but in the blessed assurance of forgiveness, life, and salvation which is ours through Christ.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;

What but Thy grace can foil the tempters power?

Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?

Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.

(LSB 878)

All Things For Good?

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.  When we're faced with the fear and uncertainties that have arisen due to the Coronavirus outbreak, it's easy to for us to direct our anger at 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 - even in the midst of a pandemic - 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!

Through the Storm

And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?”  Matthew 8:26-27

At Home Readings: Matthew 8:23-27   Psalm 107:1-29

Imagine following Jesus around during His earthly ministry.  You witness leprosy healed!  You hear the power of Jesus’ Word as He heals the centurions servant!  And if that weren’t enough, Jesus shows you His power over the devil and his demons as He cast out demons with His Word. 

One day, you find yourself on a boat with Jesus.  Jesus is sleeping when all the sudden a massive storm strikes.  You’ve been through storms before, but this one seems different. Quickly, you wake Jesus and plead for help.  He says some troubling words, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”  How do you react to this?

The disciples reacted, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?”  Many times we read this and wonder why the disciples would even ask a question like that?  Didn’t they know Jesus had this kind of power?  Why couldn’t He calm the storm?

“What sort of man is this?”  He is Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God – our Savior.  He is the One who has power over sin, death, and the devil.  He promises that He will lead us and protect us.  With Him, we need not fear – He will get us through the storm!

Heavenly Father, Lead me and protect me through all the storms of life.  Amen.

Reflecting in Lent

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

In the season of Lent, the Law is ever before us.  We are reminded of the many things that we have placed before God in our lives.  We are reminded that we normally have our minds and hearts fixed not on Him but on our own pleasure and convenience.  It is easier to watch television than to pray.  It is more convenient to love gossip or the lusts of the flesh than His cross.  For family bickering, there is always time.  For His Word and a family devotion, well, perhaps later.  It is time now for the sports page, not for a page in the Bible.

It gets worse.  We imagine in our total wickedness and depravity that we are NOT totally wicked and depraved.  We actually think that we really don’t deserve what He endured; and we yawn or are maybe even irritated when someone points it out, especially during Lent.  We vainly assume that somehow or other there is at least a scrap of merit in us for which we should not have to suffer and for which He should therefore not have had to suffer either. 

So foolish are we, to put it another way, that we imagine there is some good in us that does not require His journey to the cross.  It’s just another way of saying that deep down inside we think we have actually helped Him somehow, at least once in a while, at least sometime or other.  That may be the greatest sin of all and the one we are least likely to recognize, much less confess.  It is the sin of thinking that at least a little bit in us needs no forgiveness and, yes, is even deserving of some eternal reward.

Yes, the Law is certainly all around us.  This penitential season of Lent is the time when we look at our sins and reflect upon them – realizing that it is those very sins that gave Jesus the death sentence we deserve!   From beginning to end, all that Jesus does on His journey to the cross - He is doing in our place, in our stead, on our behalf.

We know that our Lenten journey ends with the sweet message of the Gospel.  It ends with us beside the empty tomb of Christ, where we celebrate the forgiveness, life, and salvation that are ours through His life, death and resurrection!

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.

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.”

May we remember each and every day the great blessing and privilege we have to pray to the Lord – knowing that He hears our cries and promises to answer with what He knows is the very best for us!

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

The Character of His Kingdom

This Sunday we enter Holy Week with our celebration of Palm Sunday.  In his Sermon for Palm Sunday of 1534, Martin Luther said: “This is the reason why Christ entered Jerusalem as He did ¼ to point out the manner and character of His kingdom.”  The manner and character of the Kingdom of God is not embarrassing humiliation, but humble service. The manner and character of the Kingdom of God is not bold demonstrations of weapons and war, but everlasting peace. The manner and character of the Kingdom of God is not pride, but grace.

The Old Testament prophet Zechariah knew it well: “Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” As Jesus actually did what Zechariah had prophesied all those years ago, He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey demonstrating that this King and His kingdom were different. He came to bring peace. But that peace would come at a price.

It all started with what theologians call the humiliation of Jesus. That is, that He took on human flesh and though He was still God He did not always or fully use His Godly powers. Wrapping Himself in the fleshly clothing of a human being was Jesus’ first step toward the cross. Moving from the glory of heaven to the humility of earth meant that Jesus would ultimately do what He was called by His Father to do. Though He could have waved away the devil or produced miracles that would have taken Him off of the path to our salvation, He set His face to Jerusalem.

This humiliation is described for us in Philippians 2: “¼though (Jesus) was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  There is no greater humility than God dying a criminal’s death on a cross.

That’s why He starts holy week on a donkey. He comes in peace to fight a war with every evil that would try to win us over. He comes in peace to fight a war with all the spiritual forces that attempt to take us down. He comes in peace to make His way to death on a cross where He wins the war over sin, death, the grave and the devil. He clothes Himself in flesh, death and the ultimate humility to exalt us into the space of the Father’s grace. His humility means that we are forgiven and free. It means that the war has been won for us. It means that though we don’t deserve it, in due time we will be exalted to the heavenly places according to the mercy of our loving God.

Our King, indeed, comes to us, in the greatest humility of all, to take our sin and have it placed on Himself.   Each of us earned the punishment that Christ humbly and willingly accepted on our behalf.

We earn it every time we put someone or something else before God, every time we take His name in vain, every time we fail to keep the Sabbath holy, every time we dishonor authority, fail to love as we have been loved, every time we gossip, slander or tear others down to make ourselves look good, every time we lust or covet.  How many times is that?  If you’re like me, you’ve lost count.  But losing count doesn’t change the fact that each and every sin earns the Cross, the punishment and the shame that we can’t pay.  Thus our cry of Hosanna - Lord, save us.

Don’t ever lost sight of your humble King, His love and His care for you because Jesus never lost sight of you and the Cross He would climb - for you - where He would pay the price to earn you the peace and forgiveness that you and I rely upon every day. 

In Jesus Christ, you now have everything - the forgiveness of sin, adoption as God’s children, and are heirs to the riches of heaven for eternity.  You stand firm in this humility because it is the mind of Christ, your Lord and King, now and forever.

Palm Sunday we are reminded that as Jesus humbly rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, He humbly rode into our lives on the waves of water and the Word. He came that day to deliver to us the forgiveness He had won on the cross. When He made us His own with simple water and God’s own Word, we too were clothed in Godly humility. We were made to be the ones in the world who help, serve, comfort, care, give and love.

            With the grace and strength of God alone, may all of our lives bear witness to stand in the humility of Christ for the sake of sharing His Kingdom that mends broken lives, forgives guilty hearts and makes a difference in the world around us for eternity.

What's Real?

What is real?  When it comes to college basketball, may say that “March Madness” is when the REAL season begins - all that has gone on since November has just been a prelude.  Opening Day is when the REAL baseball season begins and the seven weeks of Spring Training are just a warm up.  Sometimes we live out our discipleship in the same way - as if our lives now are some sort of false reality - but some day in heaven - that will be reality.  Or more commonly, just the opposite - as if the lives we are living now are the reality and life beyond the grave is the reality that’s a bit fuzzy.

           

On this day in the church year, we end the season of Epiphany and begin the transition into the season of Lent - Transfiguration Sunday.  “Trans” means “change”.  The definition of a real disciple of Jesus could be stated as the one who is changed by what they learn and believe and then look to share the same Christ who has changed them.

           

Reality is where we come into contact with Jesus.  We need to see and hear Jesus, only Jesus, in order to bring our lives into a sharp focus where we can discern reality from myth.  Our lives here on earth and our eternal lives are both real, and both NOW.

           

Jesus took three disciples up the mountain and there the disciples were made eyewitnesses to Jesus “Transfigured” into all His majesty and glory.  They were able to see Moses and Elijah in glory - just as their Old Testament Scriptures had said - confirming that God’s Word alone is real.  They heard from the voice of God that reality was found in listening to Jesus, God’s Son.  And then Jesus led them down the mountain with the instruction not to tell anyone until His resurrection - because the reality of the mountain of transfiguration FOR THEM would not occur until Jesus visited another mountain - Mt. Calvary - where the glory of God is revealed in the salvation of His people through the death of His Son in our place.

           

In God’s plan for His saving glory, we are changed form dead in sin to alive in Christ, from enemy of God to child of God.  We were changed through the reality of Baptism.  And yet, the Church, the collection of believers and disciples of Jesus Christ, continues to be under attack that we are “out of touch” with reality.  The world wants to speak FOR God rather than listen to Him; the world gives you discipleship YOUR way rather than following Jesus alone.  The period of time that we are living is called “postmodern” and one of the premises is that REALITY no longer can be determined.  There is a sudden fascination with the para-normal, with forces of evil, and in turn, the claim that there is no absolute truth or reality.  God’s Word is clear - there is a spiritual battle at work where satan is looking to make his own disciples.  He is busy in this postmodern era proclaiming and even rebuking the Church when it comes to God, His Word, His Commandments, and His work.

           

Satan can’t handle the real truth because he is a liar.  In the beloved hymn of Luther, “A Mighty Fortress”, he talks about one little word can fell satan.  What is that word?  Some say Jesus or grace, or faith, Cross, love, life - these are all great words - but not the “little” word that Luther had in mind.  The little word Luther intended was “liar”.  The devil knows truth, but he cannot speak the truth.  All he speaks is lies.  And this world in which we live has exchanged the truth for a lie.  So let’s not talk about God’s commands - putting God first, holding God’s name sacred, worshiping God every single week, honoring those in authority, no murder, adultery, stealing, dishonoring others, coveting - the commandments of God cause tension.  Let’s not confront the sin we see in others - that makes us look righteous and judgmental; lets not hold up a high standard of discipleship - because no one else is doing it.  These are all lies of satan.

           

That’s why God thunders from heaven - “This is My beloved Son - listen to Him!”  The Church beats to a different drum because we are listening to a different voice.  Jesus is our reality and the change He has brought to our lives is the reality we live by and in, now and for eternity.

           

How do we grow as disciples?  Disciples are not made in a day.  It’s a life-long process.  While we may experience our ups and downs, God is present with us in both.  We are in a process - growing up in Christ.  So often we hear, “Grow up”, to mean something we need to do.  But hear it in the real sense today - “Grow up in Christ” means remaining in the hands of God where we become His disciples disciplining the world in the midst of all that we face always pointing to Jesus.  Reality is where we come into contact with Jesus.  Daily listening to Him in His Word and living in His promises of grace, forgiveness, life and salvation.  When the world says, “Get real”, may your thought, words, and deeds point to Jesus.  And rather than accept the lies of the devil and this world, rest in the hands of Jesus where you are transformed and grow up into Him as real disciples.

           

Each disciple is different by the grace of God.  How you are formed and grow is as unique as you are individually.  But what we all have in common as disciples is Jesus.  We are told to listen to Him and block out the lies of this world that offer a false reality that is here today and gone tomorrow.  WE are disciples in process - growing up in Christ and being fed in our discipleship.  Not that’s real!