Devotions from Pastor Strucely
No Substitute for the Gospel
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
Romans 1:16
Why would anyone be ashamed of the gospel? Why does Paul feel the need to say he is not ashamed of the gospel? Are you ashamed of the gospel?
What is the gospel? “It is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” It is the good news that God forgives sinners like you and me for Jesus’ sake and promises us life in heaven. You would never be ashamed of that, right?
And yet, there likely are times you are ashamed of the gospel or times when you don’t trust its power.
1. When there’s a failure to communicate
One of the hardest things about talking about the gospel is that a lot of people just don’t “get” the gospel. It doesn’t make sense to them. It doesn’t mean anything to them. It just sounds like foolishness.
Paul talks about that in 1 Corinthians: “Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. “
If there’s a failure to communicate, how can you share the good news? You might think you have to dress up the gospel or find a backdoor way to get there. Convincing arguments and apologetics have their place, but ultimately we have the promise that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. There’s no substitute for the gospel when it comes to changing hearts.
2. When The Gospel doesn’t get anything done
Speaking of changing hearts, one of the reason you might become ashamed of the gospel or doubt its power is because you don’t see any real change. You don’t see any action. And I’m talking about action in yourself or in other people.
What’s the solution? It’d seem that people need to be told. Just tell them what to do—or dress it up as an invitation—and things will start happening.
The problem is that there’s such a great temptation only to tell others or yourself what to do. To bow to the idol of results and to be ashamed of the gospel because it’s not getting things done.
Paul writes about this in 2 Corinthians 3: “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” The old covenant was the Law of Moses. The law of “Do, do, do.” What does Paul say happens when the law reigns and the gospel goes unused? “The letter kills.” It is the gospel that gives life.
Have you considered, then, that the problem is often not that people don’t know what to do or that they don’t think they don’t have any good works to do, but that every Christian retains their sinful nature—this sinfulness which still resists the call of the gospel?
The solution, then, is not more law, but more gospel. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). The gospel is the only true motivator. Let the law do its most pressing work: putting that sinful nature to death. And let the new person daily arise through the preaching of the gospel. After all, it is the power of God. “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
There is no substitute for the gospel of Jesus. The law can’t save us. The gospel does. The law can’t produce fruits in us. The gospel does. Do not be ashamed of the gospel. Lean into it. Treasure it. Proclaim it.
Back to School
Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.
She will give you a garland to grace your head
and present you with a glorious crown.Proverbs 4:5-9
A lot of kids are starting school by us today. Others will be starting later this month. Pray to God that he would give you motivation to learn and to use the gifts he’s given you to the best of your abilities.
What does the Bible say about school? The wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, wrote the words you see above.
Solomon was a man of learning. We hear in 1 Kings 4, “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. … He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five” (1 Kings 4:29,32). He was an accomplished poet and songwriter.
We also hear, “He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish” (1 Kings 4:33). Solomon was a man of science.
And he encourages us to get wisdom and understanding, too. To know the world around us, the world that God has created. If you read the book of Proverbs, you’ll see his encouragements for understanding the world and the people who live in it.
Jesus gives us that same encouragement. He said to his disciples when he sent them out on mission work, “Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). In other words, know how the world works, know how people work, without falling into sin.
After all, we do still live in this world, though we are not of this world. There are plenty of religions that’ll tell you to detach yourself from the physical world. But not Christianity. Instead, we’re encouraged to understand the world we live in. Understanding doesn’t mean condoning its flaws.
And there are two reasons for this. One is that life will not go well for us if we don’t understand how the world works. If we live with a pie-in-the-sky attitude that everything will just work out, that the world needs no interaction from us for us to continue on living here. Solomon would say that’s foolishness.
The second, and more important reason is this: We need to understand this world so we may tell the world about the good news of Jesus. If we’re ignorant of what’s going on in the world, how will we tell the truth about God’s law and sin? If we’re ignorant of what this world needs, how will our gospel message ever dig deeper than “Jesus loves me”?
Our goal for studying this world is to come closer to God. God tells us much in his Word. But he doesn’t tell us everything. And yet, Solomon reminds us what’s most important in all our learning. Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
Be the Church
What does this popular phrase mean? “Be the Church.”
The intention of this slogan is to say Christianity isn’t supposed to be limited to church buildings. That Christians are supposed to go out into the world and live as Christ asks them to. It’s a bit antiestablishment, too, depending on whose lips it comes from.
But is there a difference between going to church and being the Church?
As Lutherans, we are very good (or at least we ought to be) about stating that the operative word for individuals is not “Do,” but “Done!” In other words, our full confidence for salvation comes from the fact that Christ has died for our sins and Christ has risen to give us life. Even when our own lives fail to reflect our name as Christians, we still have confidence before God because Jesus has paid it all.
It seems, though, that we reverse this when talking about being the Church. As if the operative word for individual Christians were “Done,” but the operative word for the Church is “Do!” As if the primary purpose for the Church is to serve.
Wrong.
Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 5:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Ephesians 5:25-32
The primary reason God gathers his Church is to serve his Church. We confess as much in Martin Luther’s “Explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed”:
In the same way [the Holy Spirit] calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
In this Christian church he daily and fully forgives all sins to me and all believers.
Martin Luther, Small Catechism, “Explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed”
What Jesus says in Mark 10:45, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,” he still means. This is the primary purpose of the Church. Being the Church is not opposite of going to church. Being the Church means gathering around Word and sacrament. It means BEING served by your Savior. It means BEING cleansed, washed, called, gathered, enlightened, sanctified, kept, and daily and fully forgiven. The primary purpose of the Church is not to DO but to RECEIVE.
Then—and only then—can the Church “be the Church” in the secondary sense. Then—and only then—can the Church serve her Bridegroom and Head, Jesus Christ. In reverse order, we are demanding fruits from a rotted branch. In the biblical order, fruits flow naturally from branches connected to the Vine.
So pray for this:
That the Holy Spirit would continue to gather YOU with his Church around Word and sacrament for the continued reassurance of forgiveness so that then (and only then) you may be equipped to be the Church in the world.
That the Holy Spirit would gather OTHERS with his Church around Word and sacrament for assurance of their forgiveness so that THEN (and only then) they too may be equipped for works of service.
The gospel does its work. Let it enlighten, empower, and equip.
God Wants Us to Use Salty Language
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:6
It’s true!
Now before you go spouting off four-letter words, God doesn’t mean salty like a sailor. What he means is making your conversations interesting.
So interesting that he’s a part of the conversation.
How easy it is to limit our conversations about God to certain times or places. We talk about God at church. But even there we might limit his conversations to the worship service and Bible study. Where else do you talk about God? Are you having a hard time coming up with any other examples?
No wonder our conversations are so bland!
“Man, it’s a hot one.” “Yeah, hottest I can remember.” “Ok, see ya.”
“What’d you do this weekend?” “Nothing much. Hung out with family. You?” “Yeah, same.”
Boring!
But the point isn’t to make our conversations more interesting from our perspective. It’s to make them more interesting from God’s perspective.
You see, what God is most interested in is the saving of souls. 1 Timothy 2:4, “[God] wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” When our conversations center on the truth of Jesus learned from Scripture, people’s faith grows. “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).
Now God isn’t asking every conversation to be a sermon about Jesus. But he does want our conversations to demonstrate what it means to live in the freedom Jesus brings. To be full of grace.
How often aren’t our conversations full of something else? Those conversations about finances or the children. Those conversations at work. Those conversations at the bar or by the pool. Those might be spicy conversations, but they aren’t seasoned with God’s salt. Thank goodness the salt of the gospel overpowers the spiciness of our sin-filled conversations.
But then there’s the bland conversations. A lot of words are spoken, but not much is said. Ask yourself, “What would change if I salted my conversations with grace?”
“It’s a hot one.” “Yeah, thank God for air conditioning.”
“What’d you do this weekend?” “Hung out with family mostly. We went to church together.” You can even share what you heard about what Jesus has done for you.
We want to share the good news about our God with others. Right? And we’re often afraid of giving a whole sermon on what Jesus has done. Instead, lead them to see Jesus in your everyday conversation. Salt them slowly, so that when the Holy Spirit makes them ready, they’ll be ready for the whole truth.
The Power of (Toxic) Positivity
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4
“Just stay positive.” “Good vibes only.” “Everything happens for a reason.”
Is your life poisoned with toxic positivity? Our culture today puts great value on always maintaining a positive attitude. And I mean always. It’s an attitude that says no matter what happens in your life, good or bad, you’ve got to put on a happy face.
So, even if you cry in the darkness, when the camera’s on you, you’ve got to be smiling. Otherwise, people won’t want to be around you. You’ll harsh their good vibes too much.
Do you see the problem?
Do you see the problem this creates for Christians?
Paul says in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” It’s a beautiful reminder of the hope outside of ourselves we have in Christ Jesus. It gets twisted into a hope inside of ourselves.
If you aren’t rejoicing in the Lord always, does that make you a bad Christian? It’s easy to read this verse and think, “If I’m not experiencing pure joy in my life at all times, even through hard times, God's blessing isn’t on me.”
Here’s the rub. No one—not even Christians—experience pure joy in their lives at all times. But because we set up this idea that Christians should always be positive thinkers, we feel we have to hide the negative parts of our lives. “Just put on a happy face.”
And it’s often not enough to just hide negative experiences. We feel we have to highlight—even exaggerate—positive experiences. Social media certainly hasn’t helped in this regard.
Deep down we feel as though positivity proves God's love for us. We think, “God wants me to happy. Therefore, I should be happy.” And if I want others to know God's great love, they have to see how happy his love makes me.
Always.
What a burden! This isn’t what God wants. Toxic positivity can only lead to a warped sense of reality, to sweeping life’s problems under the rug, and to unbearable feelings of guilt and shame when you negative experiences rightly cause you negative feelings.
Toxic positivity harms our neighbor, too. “Good vibes only” literally means, “Don’t bring your problems to me.” Toxic positivity calls into question our neighbor’s faith when they can’t hide their pain anymore. Toxic positivity creates inauthentic relationships because no one reveals their true self. This isn’t what God wants.
What God wants is for us to rejoice. Be careful. Rejoicing isn’t the same as feeling joy. Paul doesn’t say, “Don’t worry. Be happy.” He says, “Rejoice.” Joy is a feeling. Rejoice is an action. You can do the latter without having the former.
Rejoicing ultimately stems from what Paul mentions a few verses later. “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). Jesus told his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (John 14:27).
Jesus’ peace is different from the world’s peace. Paul explains it in Romans 5, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
The cause of our rejoicing is ultimately our salvation from the negative experiences we deal with. We have the hope of the glory of God. Our sufferings now produce perseverance which leads to character which leads to hope. This may not produce a feeling of joy within us. It may not immediately put a smile on our faces. But it does allow us to rejoice, that is, to boast in the hope we have, that no negative experience or negative feeling can keep us away from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Then we may better “carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Now, rather than sharing positive platitudes, we may “comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:4). We “rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15), understanding that this earthly life has both negative experiences because of our ongoing struggle with sin and positive experiences which come from our Father above.
So, let there be no doubt. Forced positivity often sours into toxicity. Positivity that seeks its source in us changing our mindsets, “choosing to be happy,” hiding all bad vibes will always poison the well. We don’t believe in the power of positive thinking. Rather, we rejoice in the Lord because he has promised us hope in Jesus.
The Bible is About God's Agenda, Not Yours (Part 3)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17
For the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at how we misuse the Bible to promote our own agendas. This last one is perhaps the most vital to understand. A great Lutheran theologian, C. F. W. Walther wrote a whole book about The Proper Distinction of Law and Gospel. Actually, it was a series of lectures given to seminary students recorded by some of his pupils.
#3 YOU CONFUSE LAW AND GOSPEL
The Bible contains two main teachings of God. The law tells us what God commands us to do and what God forbids us from doing. It tells us what reward we will receive if we obey and what punishment we will receive if we disobey.
On the other hand, the gospel only promises. God’s law demands perfection. Though we fail to be perfect, God’s gospel promises perfection and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
Keeping God’s law and gospel separate is difficult. To start again with the most glaring example of error, we only need to look to those who teach that both the gospel and the law are necessary for salvation. That is, that though we are saved by Christ, we must complete our own salvation with good works. Do you see what happens then? The gospel is gone, because if salvation depends on my works, the promise does me no good. “If by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6).
But confusing law and gospel is more than just saying works are necessary for salvation. It is also calling gospel that which is actually law. 1 Corinthians 13 is a prime example of that.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
We see that word “love” and immediately think that’s gospel. Indeed, it is God’s love for us shown most clearly in Jesus Christ our Savior that motivates us to love. BUT, if we say that our love for others, commanded by God, is gospel, then we have made our love a condition of God’s love for us. Then God loves because we love and not, as Scripture states, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
But calling law and gospel by the wrong names is not the last way to confuse law and gospel either. We also confuse them by emphasizing the law over the gospel. The gospel of salvation is the chief teaching of the Bible. Yes, both God’s law and his gospel are found in Scripture. Yes, they both have divine origin. But the law serves the gospel. The law is not the master nor are they equals.
The law serves the gospel in two ways. First, it reveals our sin to us (Romans 3:20), so that we see our need for salvation outside of ourselves. Second, because the gospel motivates us to love (1 John 4:19), God's law teaches us how to show our love to him and to our neighbor.
Let’s make it clear what’s meant by emphasizing the law over the gospel. It’s not that the gospel isn’t preached at all. It’s that it becomes a secondary teaching to the law. It’d be like a sandwich with two thick fluffy pieces of bread and one slice of thinly-cut deli meat. Yeah, the meat is there, but you can barely taste it through all that bread.
Overemphasis on the law shows up in one of two ways. The first way is fire and brimstone preaching. 95% of the sermon is spent on how bad the sinner is. How much they deserve hell. How they better shape up and fly right or they’ll miss out on salvation. Then at the end, the gospel comes in out of nowhere to save the day. But with all that emphasis on the law, the sinner is left wondering whether they really can be saved. Finally, the desire to be saved comes more from trying to escape hell than from the promise made by God.
The second way is taking the gospel for granted. Taking for granted the fact that because the listener is Christian, they already know Jesus died for their sins, and they don’t really hunger for forgiveness. What they hunger for is direction. Such preaching tells the branches of the tree to bear fruit without first watering the roots. Such preaching causes spiritual starvation. What people need chiefly and daily is the truth that their sins are indeed forgiven.
It is so easy to fall into the trap of emphasizing law over gospel because we want to see fruits in ourselves and in others. We still want to do, do, do. But we need to understand why we want to do what God commands.
It is not out of obligation. If it is out of obligation, then we still think that we must earn God’s love.
It is not because it is simply the right thing to do. “Be good for goodness’ sake.”
It is because of God’s great love for us. Aha! God’s great love for us is the gospel. The gospel motivates us to return thanks to God by obeying his commands (1 John 5:3). The again serves the gospel-motivated heart by giving instruction on how to love God back.
Keeping the proper distinction between law and gospel is essential. The gospel frees us from the burden of the law. It frees us from the burden of guilt for not doing everything the law commands. It keeps us from relying on our own works, from trusting in our own subjective experience. It proclaims Christ who died for our sins and promises us eternal life in heaven. Now, because Christ has given us eternal security, “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
The Bible is About God's Agenda, Not Yours (Part 2)
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”Matthew 15:8,9
Last week, we started looking at how we are tempted to use the Bible to promote our own agendas rather than God’s. The first way we talked about was not actually using the Bible at all except as a prop for what we want to say. Today, we’ll talk about a second way we use the Bible to promote our own agendas.
#2 YOU APPLY WORLDLY PRINCIPLES TO BIBLICAL TRUTH
We gain a lot of worldly knowledge outside of what Scripture tells us. And that’s ok. God doesn’t tell us everything we need to know about this world in his Word. He leaves much of his creation for us to explore and come to understand on our own.
However, for us there’s a great temptation to put the study of God (theology) on the same level as other fields of study (history, science, philosophy) and to let them interact in a way that’s illegitimate.
Take, for example, one of the most egregious ways this is done. The Bible teaches that Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. He rose again on the third day. But history, science, and philosophy would not agree. Modern history records no resurrections. Science says once you’re dead, you’re dead. Philosophy posits that a physical resurrection doesn’t even really matter. Instead of allowing the Bible to speak the truth of the resurrection, following history, science, philosophy, and reason, many have denied the resurrection. In addition, many have tried to find the “true” meaning behind the resurrection accounts in Scripture on the basis of history, science, philosophy, and reason.
There’s a temptation for everyone to apply worldly principles to biblical truth. For example, Jesus commissions us, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). And rather than focusing on the tools Jesus gives us immediately after—”baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”—we sometimes fall into the trap of looking to the world of business and marketing and the principles that come from there. We put our confidence in our plan, our strategy, our goals, rather than in the gospel which is “the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
But that plan, that strategy, and those goals ultimately won’t change people’s hearts. They won’t change people’s hearts from unbelief to faith. They won’t properly motivate people to do God’s will if they aren’t gospel-based. They may not even necessarily line up with God’s will if the end goal isn’t the salvation of sinners. That’s why God urges us to place our trust in the tool he has given us: the gospel, the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.
The Bible is About God's Agenda, Not Yours (Part 1)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16,17
It is really easy to make the Bible say what we want it to say. People have used Scripture not just to warn about the sinfulness of overindulgence on alcohol, but to claim any use of alcohol is sinful. In the past, people used the Bible to defend slavery in America. Some people still use God’s Word to defend racism today. Sinful people often twist the words of Scripture, take them out of context, or change the intended meaning of the words to fit their own agenda.
Do you do this? It’s easier than you might think. Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at how we fall into the trap of using the Bible to promote our agendas rather than God’s agenda.
#1 You don’t really use the Bible at all
It might sound strange to start a list about misusing the Bible by saying you’re not using the Bible, but this is an easy trap to fall into. Since God reveals himself in the Bible, we want to talk about him based on what he says in his Word. Yet, somehow other ideas about him can sneak in to our thinking.
The popular phrase “God helps those who help themselves” comes to mind. That phrase isn’t found in Scripture. Truly, God wants us to use the gifts he has given us. He wants us to work. Many times the book of Proverbs condemns laziness. BUT, “God helps those who help themselves isn’t in the Bible.” And in many ways, it is antibiblical. In the matter of salvation, God helps those who CAN’T help themselves, poor, miserable sinners whose only hope of salvation is a Savior outside of themselves. Even in the matter of providence, it is God who “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).
Another way you might promote your agenda simultaneously with and without the Bible is by leaving the Bible a closed book. You speak from a platform as a Christian, even speaking ideals with a moral veneer, but they aren’t truly biblical. They only sound biblical because we so easily confuse morality, even non-Bible based morality, with biblicalness. In other words, if it sounds right to my ears, it must be biblical.
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”Matthew 15:8,9
The most obvious danger of talking about God and the Christian life without actually using the Bible is that it’s all too easy to say something God doesn’t say. As human beings, we have a natural bent toward works-righteousness. We want to do something for God to earn his blessing. We have a tendency to add to what God says to attain greater piety or to soften God’s law so that we can actually fulfill it.
But God’s agenda in Scripture is to give us his blessing, not make us earn it. He gives us his righteousness through his Son Jesus Christ. Jesus has fulfilled the law, as written, as intended, in our place. God’s agenda is to forgive us, first and foremost.
And as his forgiven children, then he calls us to follow him. He doesn’t ask us to do whatever amazing things pop into our minds. He gives us clear direction in his Word about what he wants us to do. Since he has brought our hearts near to him through Jesus, how much more we want to honor him with our lips and our hearts by sticking closely to his Word.
The Divine Call
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
Acts 13:1-3
What is a call? Right now, I’m holding two calls. One to Atonement in Plano, TX, and another to Pan de Vida in Grove Garden, CA.
The Bible teaches us that every Christian is a priest of God. We hear in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
As priests of God, we can all share God’s Word, we can pray, we can even forgive each other’s sins in the name of Jesus.
But from among the priesthood of believers, God also calls public ministers of the gospel. We hear in Ephesians 4:11-13, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
The word public in public ministry is the key word. As priests, Christians work privately. That doesn’t mean secretly. It means they go out as an individual Christian, representing no one but God.
The public minister, on the other hand, goes out as a representative of a congregation. This is where the divine call comes in. We see in Acts 13 (above), that the Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to be missionaries. That’s the divine aspect; it comes from God himself.
But in these same verses, we see that in his Church, God most often calls his public ministers through a congregation. In Acts 13, God does not say, “They’re going.” He specifically says, “Set apart for me….” He gives the congregation the gift of being able to call people as public ministers.
How does this work? How is it a divine call if the human congregation does the calling? From what the Bible tells us, it is the power of the Holy Spirit working through the congregation to send out the call. What a comfort to know that the Holy Spirit is behind the call. What a privilege God gives to his people to allow them the right to choose their public minister.
I am holding two calls. It’s important to recognize the new call does not negate the old call. If that were so, every pastor would have to leave the congregation where he is serving to go to the congregation that is calling him to come. Both my calls, my call to Atonement and my call to Pan de Vida, have the backing of the Holy Spirit and the congregations who have called me.
So, what now? For my part, I am deliberating where my gifts can best be used. This is not something I can do on my own. First, such a decision requires prayer. Since this is a divine call, a call from the Holy Spirit, it will be the Holy Spirit who gives the best wisdom for my decision. This is a comfort to me. I humbly ask for your prayers as well.
My wife and I also discuss what this means for our family. It is not my decision alone. Wherever I serve, we will continue to do God’s will living under his grace.
I also invite the input of both congregations. Because it is God’s people who call me, I need to hear what God’s people are calling me to do. It is a given that both want me to serve them with Word and sacrament. But the input I receive help me to see how best we go about this gospel ministry.
What a comfort it is to know that God calls his servants to proclaim the good news of forgiveness and eternal life in his Son Jesus Christ. Take comfort in the process God has given for supplying public ministers to you, knowing that this is not simply human decision, but a divine call from God himself.
Rules for Thee, Not for Me
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
Romans 2:1-4
Rules for thee, not for me. Have you heard that clever rhyme before? It gets bandied about when people think those in authority make laws for others to follow but don’t follow those laws themselves.
We might take the accusations against the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for example. Allegedly, during COVID lockdown in the UK, he and members of his staff held parties, even though no one was supposed to have large gatherings. If true, it would appear Mr. Johnson was practicing, “Rules for thee, not for me.”
The truth is we find this game easy to play, too. We condemn a sin. But when we find ourselves committing the same sin, we can somehow find all kinds of excuses to explain why it was okay for us to sin, when it is not okay for others. We have our reasons, and they are good reasons. No one else has a good reason to sin like that.
Take extramarital sex for example, that is, sex outside of God’s design for it to be a gift for man and woman in marriage. When others do it, it’s because they’re giving into their sinful desires. When you do it, it’s because you love each other and want to show that love even though you’re not married.
Or cohabitation, that is, living together as though husband and wife even though you’re not married. When God established marriage (Gen. 2), he intended that kind of companionship to be enjoyed by husband and wife, not by unmarried people. When others do it, it’s because they’re blatantly ignoring God’s command. When you do it, you can come up with all kinds of reasons. Because you want to test out the marriage before committing. Because it makes financial sense. Because in your perspective this is the best solution.
One more example. Holding grudges. When others hold grudges against people who’ve hurt them, it’s because they’re being petty or unloving. They just need to let go and forgive. But when you hold a grudge, it’s because that person deserves your wrath. They deserve to be punished.
There are two options then. Either accept that the sins of others may have valid excuses behind them. Or accept that there is no excuse for sin, either your sin or theirs, as God says through Paul.
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things
Romans 2:1
Do Paul’s words sting? They should. God accepts no excuse for sin. There is no good reason to break God’s law. What guilt! What shame! For we hold ourselves up as moral paragons while condemning the actions of others, the same actions we ourselves do. “Rules for thee, not for me.” What hypocrisy!
We realize, then, the complexity, the mire, the muck of sin. There are many times when it feels like we have no choice but to fulfill our sinful desires and to make every excuse for it. We try to treat sin as a simple yes or no question, but the truth is sin still clings to us so deeply we often can’t even avoid it. “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (Romans 7:24).
Tune into Romans 2:4. “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” We often don’t see consequences for our sins immediately. Sometimes it takes many years. Sometimes there aren’t any consequences.
But we should not take that to mean that what we’re doing isn’t sinful. God has told us what he considers sin. Instead, understand the reason for God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience. He is kind, forbearing, and patience so that we may repent.
God wants us to repent of our sins. To give no excuse but to simply say, “I have offended the Holy God.” He wants us to turn away from our sins. He invites us to turn to him for forgiveness of our guilt, our shame, our hypocrisy. If there were no hope for forgiveness, there’d be no need for his patience. But for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ who died to cover our guilt, shame, and hypocrisy, he patiently waits for us to come to him to be cleansed. “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25).
Go for the Gold
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.
1 Corinthians 3:11-13
Paul had to deal with many problems in the congregations in Corinth. They were opening approving of sin, for one. But the major problem in Corinth was that they Christians were divided.
They found all kinds of ways to divide themselves. In 1 Corinthians 11, we hear there were divisions among rich and poor. In chapters 12 through 14, they were divided over spiritual gifts. Maybe the biggest division, however, was their division over pastors.
Paul refers to this in chapter 1: “My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’”
In his second letter to the Christians at Corinth, he’s still dealing with divisions, now caused by false pastors who have come.
That’s why Paul reiterates in 1 Corinthians 3 who is the foundation of the church. “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord.
Living in Texas, we all know what a bad foundation can do to a house. Cracks start showing. Doors won’t shut or won’t stay closed. A shifting foundation can even cause pipes to break.
First, Paul reminds us that we are built on the foundation that does not shift, sink, or crack. If our hope were built on anything less, we would be standing on sinking sand. We are built on Jesus Christ and what he has done for us—he has freed us from slavery to sin and called us to live a new and holy life.
So what is Paul talking about? Building on this foundation with “gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw.” A foundation is meant to be built on. You can say our ministry plan builds on the foundation of Jesus. But there are different ways to build.
Paul lists two categories. First, the precious stones. Then, the flammable materials. And their flammability is the key point. He’s saying, you can either build with precious stones that will last, which serve the gospel, serve God and neighbor, or you can build with wood, straw, or hay, which serve only to prop oneself up, which have little value for the kingdom, which will be burned up on the Last Day.
Paul writes in verses 14 and 15, “If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”
It’s hard to say exactly what Paul means by the reward here. Both the builder of what survives and what is lost will be saved as long as they are built on the foundation of Jesus. But how much better not to be the one escaping through the flames!
So as we consider our ministry plan now and in the coming year, we “go for the gold.” We will be ready to cast aside the wood or hay or straw that do little in service of the work God has given us. We will dedicate ourselves, not just our money, but our talents, and especially our time to the gold, silver, and costly stones.
God invites us to build on top of this foundation, his Son Jesus Christ. He makes us partners in the work of the kingdom. We will go forward in his name to proclaim the good news of salvation in 2022-2023 and beyond.
Jesus is Not Training Wheels
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Galatians 3:1-6
Little Billy was ready. After a whole year of practicing in the driveway, riding around the neighborhood, he was ready to ride his bike without training wheels. His dad unbolted the wheels from his bike, and off little Billy went, down the road, leaving Dad in his dust.
His first ride was going smoothly. He passed Mrs. Patterson’s house. He rode up to Big Bertha, the hill at the end of the street.
Big Bertha was aptly named. Not only was she tall. She was steep. She already had the skinned knees of many boys and girls on her record. But little Billy pumped his legs as hard as he could. He made it all the way to the top.
There was just one problem. To get home, little Billy had to descend Big Bertha. He remembered what his dad said, “If you don’t think you can do it, just get off your bike and walk.”
But little Billy knew he could do it. He turned his bike around and point the wheel down Big Bertha. He took his feet off the ground. He didn’t even need to pedal. Gravity was doing all the work. Whee!
Then, the handlebars began to wobble. Little Billy tried to correct, but now the bike was swaying side to side, from one curb to the other. The bike moved faster and faster. He was heading straight for a tree. CRASH!
The bike was mangled. Little Billy’s arm broken. Good thing he was wearing his helmet.
Little Billy got a little too big for his britches. He was overconfident. He thought he was more advanced than he was.
The Galatians had the same problem.
Paul asked them, “After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” The basic gist was that though they’d been made alive in Christ, they didn’t really need Christ as much now as they needed to complete their salvation by living a good life.
We do the same.
It’s all too easy to start to put Jesus in the background. To start to think of yourself as some kind of super-Christian who, yeah, still needs forgiveness, but really just needs to be pointed in the right direction. Who already knows about salvation, so why can’t we talk about how we can live better, more fulfilling lives?
Do you see the problem?
Tempted by the devil, we disconnect our Christian lives from Christ. Reading the Bible becomes an exercise in self-help instead of a love letter from God. Faith grounds itself more in my own works and life situation instead of the work and life and death of Jesus. If salvation moves to the background, my own life to the fore, then I run the risk of losing my home in heaven. I grow too big for my britches and when life goes downhill, I’ll crash and burn.
We never stop needing Jesus. Specifically, we never stop needing Jesus’ sacrificial work on our behalf. Jesus is not training wheels, just equipping us to someday head out on our own. Jesus is fount of salvation from sin, the cleansing robe of righteousness, finally, yes, the motivation to live a God-pleasing, not me-pleasing, life, not to earn my place, but because he has given me my place.
Ride with Jesus your whole life through. Return to him for the rest and restoration you need in a world that skins your knee, breaks your arm, or worse. Live in his grace and mercy. You still need him.
The Three Hardest Words
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32
“I forgive you.” They shouldn’t have, but those three words shocked me when my seminary professor included them in an email. I had emailed him an assignment past the due date. They were the first three words in the email. “I forgive you.”
Why were they so shocking? Again, they should’ve been expected. But this was just a late assignment. Late by maybe a few hours. No big deal. The words “I forgive you” added more gravity to the situation. This wasn’t only a slip of the mind. A minor mistake. It was a sin.
Those are the three hardest words. “I forgive you.” On the one hand, we might struggle to say, “I forgive you,” when someone has committed a heinous sin against us. How can you possibly forgive that sinner for what they’ve done to you? How can you let go of the desire for justice and vengeance in exchange for mercy and grace? Paul gives the clue, “As in Christ God forgave you.” In Christ, your justice was pronounced and God’s mercy shown to you and to the whole world, including to the sinner who sinned against you.
Logically, we would say, “I forgive you,” more freely for the little sins. But we don’t, even for these. And maybe the struggle is a little bit different. It’s not because the sin is too big to forgive. Instead, we see it as too small to need forgiveness. We don’t want to make a bigger deal out of it than it is. Instead, we say, “No worries.” “No problem.” “It’s ok.”
Is it ok?
Was it no problem?
That sin, however small, still hurt. It still offended you or embarrassed you. It still took something from you.
Small sins stack up without forgiveness. Those little offenses chip away at your relationship with the offender. It may seem kind and compassionate to simply excuse someone else’s sins, but that kindness and compassion are only for that moment. Underneath, the festering further expectation of hurt or offense leads to less compassion and fewer kindnesses.
Instead, forgive. Say the words, “I forgive you.” Reflect on what you’re giving them. The same amazing gift God has given to you, you can give to the person who comes to you for forgiveness. You can reflect the image of God you are.
One more thing. We also struggle with the words “I forgive you” because it’s not naturally part of the language we speak. It’s certainly not the language of the world around us. Here’s the shocker. It’s not even really a part of the language of Christians! As much as we focus on the forgiveness Jesus gives us, we still struggle to add that phrase to our vocabularies.
So, here’s the Holy Spirit’s encouragement through Paul: Forgive each other. Say, “I forgive you,” to each other. As we practice the forgiveness God gives us in Jesus, those words will become part of the language we speak. The Holy Spirit will empower us to speak those words. He will empower us to ask each other for forgiveness. And as we do this, we will understand better what it means to live under grace.
Always on My Mind
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Deuteronomy 11:18
I was listening to a podcast the other day, and one of the hosts made a remark about The Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. This wasn’t news to me. I already knew this. I hadn’t technically forgotten it. But until the host mentioned it, it was locked away in the part of my memory where that kind of trivia is stored. When he brought it up, it unlocked that piece of info for me.
We learn all kinds of things as we grow and even after we become adults. If what we learn never makes it out of short-term memory, it gets lost and has to be learned again. But if what we learn makes it into long-term memory, it can be stored there for years, decades, even the rest of our lives. Even people suffering from a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s or dementia often lose their short-term memory before their long-term memories.
This is why we start teaching our kids about Jesus very young. We don’t want them to learn about Jesus long enough to pass a test. We want them to know him their whole lives. It’s why we spend two years with our 7th and 8th graders talking about the foundational truths of the Bible. We want them to remember these things for their own comfort and salvation.
Over our lives, we learn so much and experience so much that much can be forgotten. Beyond that, even if the memory isn’t forgotten, it gets locked away like The Beatles and Ed Sullivan until something—a word, a smell, an image—unlocks that memory again.
This is why God encourages us to “fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads” (Deuteronomy 11:18). Even if we haven’t truly forgotten what we’ve learned, if we’re not keeping ourselves in a place where the memory of what he’s taught us is unlocked for us, it stays chained up the back of our minds unable to be recalled. The teaching we’ve received does our faith no good if it isn’t accessible. It does our hearts no good if its comfort is locked away. Come and let God’s Word remind you of what you’ve already been taught.
And one more thing. Memory is quite faulty. It’s easy to misremember, even to falsely remember. Again, this is why we fix God’s Word on our heads and hearts. He has revealed his truth to us so that we may know with certainty his plan to save us through Jesus, so that we may know his will for us, and so that we may know the truth that sets us free.
Life Under God's Grace Isn't a Zero-Sum Game
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
Luke 12:22-31
What’s a zero-sum game, you ask? A zero-sum game only has a certain amount of points. Each player competes to win points. The more points one player has, the fewer the other players have. Basketball is not a zero-sum game because each team is allowed to score as many points as they can.
My favorite card game, Sheepshead, is a zero-sum game. There are only 120 points available for each hand. In Sheepshead, both sides compete to see who can win the majority of the points. If a team gets 61 points, there’s no need to keep counting (except to earn bonus points). The winner has already been decided. The other team can’t win more than 59 points. There aren’t any more points available.
From our perspective, we often see life as a zero-sum game. We focus on the limitations of resources and products. If someone else has more money, that means there’s less money out there for me. If I buy a product, that means there’s one fewer product for another. We even apply zero-sum game theory to areas outside of the economy. Basic zero-sum game theory states, “If someone has, someone else does not.”
This leads to constant competition. Competition for resources, products, your place in line, rights, and so on and so forth. But does God see life as a zero-sum game?
First of all, grace is not a zero-sum game. It’s not as though if God forgives the sins of a mass murderer, that sure takes up a lot of grace, there might not be enough grace left to cover my sins. The Bible tells us, “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given” (John 1:16). There is so much grace, we receive not only more grace than we deserve, but even more grace than we need.
Second of all, God’s love is not a zero-sum game. It’s hard for us to understand. Our love-in-action has a limit. I’ve been a father of two for almost six months now. Though in my heart there’s no limit of love for my children, there is a limit to how much love I can show to my two kids in time spent together, in service to them, etc. If I spend time alone with Nicholas, that’s time I’m not spending with Ava. And not to mention trying to find time for my wife, too.
But God’s love is not limited. It’s not limited by extent. It’s not limited by time. It’s not limited by space. God can and does love all of us. We don’t have to compete for God’s love or attention. “God is love” (1 John 4:16). He has enough love to give to us all.
Third of all, God’s blessings are not a zero-sum game. We tend to see the blessings of life as limited. If someone else has, then I don’t have. Then, we worry. But God does not see things that way. Your Father in heaven knows what you need (Luke 12:30). And he provides for you. He doesn’t worry about where these things will come from. He doesn’t worry that if he provides for you, he won’t be able to provide for someone else. That’s not a problem for God. He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
Life under God is a non-zero-sum game. There is more than enough grace, more than enough love, and more than enough blessings for everyone under his care. Don’t worry how God will figure it all out. He can. He will. He has.
And because he has, you don’t have to treat life as a zero-sum game either. Trusting in God’s infinite love and grace, be gracious and generous with the blessings he gives you. Your Father knows what you need to do so.
Mammas, Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Pastors
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:14-17
There’s an old country song that implores mothers not to let their babies grow up to be cowboys. After all, “cowboys ain’t easy to love.” They like, “smoky old pool rooms and clear mountain mornings.” “He ain’t wrong; he’s just different.”
And the chorus sings:
Mammas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys
Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks
Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys
'Cause they'll never stay home and they're always alone
Even with someone they love
This week at our pastors’ conference, we heard there are 167 pastoral vacancies throughout our national church body. In addition, there are 143 churches without a pastor. That’s up about 20% from six months ago. It’s up over 150% from five years ago.
The main for this, we were told, is that many older pastors have been retiring. In the 70s and 80s, large numbers of pastors graduated from our church body’s seminary in Mequon, WI, classes of 40 or 50 men. In recent years, those numbers have been much smaller, often classes of 20 men.
I don’t write this so you’ll have pity on your pastor. But pastoring isn’t the most attractive or lucrative career. You don’t make a lot of money (that’s obviously not the point). You’re down in the trenches with people at their worst. It can be draining. 80% don’t make it ten years in the ministry. 91% say they’ve experienced burnout from ministry.
Not to mention all the statistics about pastors’ families.
So, why would any mamma want her baby to grow up to be a pastor?
The passage at the beginning of this devotion was written to a man named Timothy. He was a pastor. He followed St. Paul around, learning how to be a pastor from him. But Paul mentions this training began long before he even arrived in Timothy’s hometown of Lystra. “You know those from whom you learned it,” Paul tells Timothy. He wrote earlier in this letter, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5). It was the faith Timothy’s grandmother and mother passed down to him that first equipped him to become a pastor.
And it was this faith that motivated Eunice and Lois to encourage Timothy to enter the ministry. Yes, it would be hard. But it would be incredibly worthwhile work. “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:9,10).
Everything this Sunday comes together. It’s Mother’s Day. It’s also Good Shepherd Sunday. Mammas, let your babies grow up to be shepherds under the Good Shepherd to lead people to eternal life in his name.
But even if your babies don’t grow up to be pastors, teach them like Eunice and Lois did. Share the faith you have with them so that they will be firmly grounded in Jesus. Show them how to serve alongside pastors so that when they grow, they also serve in God’s kingdom. Teach them the value of eternity over the temporary so that the kingdom of God may continue to grow according to his will.
There Still is Room
There still is room! There still is time! Now is the time!
“Seat check!”
Living in a dorm taught me one thing. If you want to keep your seat in the TV room, you have to you yell, “Seat check!” Otherwise, when you get back from fetching your popcorn, someone else will be in your seat, and there won’t be any room to sit.
Have you wondered if there’s still room for you at church? Maybe you’ve been away for a while, and you didn’t yell, “Seat check,” the last time you were there. Now, you don’t know if you’ve been replaced or forgotten, or if there’s any room left for you.
Maybe it’s been a really long time since you’ve attended church. As in never. And you wonder if there’s room for a person like you among all the people who’ve been going to church the whole time you haven’t.
Good news! There still is room!
There still is room! His house is not yet filled;
Not all the guests are there.
Oh, bring them in! Their hunger shall be stilled
With bread, yes, bread to spare.
Go, call them from the lanes and byways,
From winding roads and crowded highways.
There still is room! There still is room!“There Still is Room” - Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal #565, stanza 1
Jesus told a parable of a great banquet (Luke 14:15-23). A man invites many guests to his banquet. He sends out his servant to tell his guests everything is ready.
All the guests make excuses!
When the man hears this, he is furious. He sends his servant out to find the poor and needy, the beggars, the lame, the blind. He wants guests to come to his banquet.
When even that doesn’t fill his banquet hall, the servant tells him, “There still is room.”
And he sends out his servant again to find anyone who wants to come to his banquet.
Jesus sends out his servant to you. He invites you to come to his banquet. He wants you to trust in him for forgiveness and life. He will not throw you out. He will let you in.
There still is time! The Master’s voice still rings,
And all his heralds plead:
“Oh, hide beneath the shelter of his wings
Against the time of need.”
The gracious call is still extended;
The day of grace is not yet ended.
There still is time! There still is time!“There Still is Room” - Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal #565, stanza 2
“But what if it’s too late?”
What if you have been gone too long? Hasn’t the banquet already come and gone? Has the invitation expired?
We hear in Hebrews 4:
Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
Today is the day of God’s invitation. As long as you have breath, he calls to you: “Come in! Come in!” He wants you to be here. He still extends his invitation!
Now is the time! How fast the moments fly!
How soon each hour is gone!
You virgins, hear and heed the midnight cry;
Look for the break of dawn.
The Bridegroom comes; prepare to greet him.
Rise! Trim your lamps! Go out to meet him!
Now is the time! Now is the time!“There Still is Room” - Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal #565, stanza 3
Though there still is time, we don’t know how long the time will be. The days are short until Christ comes again.
Jesus told another parable about ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). They were waiting for the groom to come for his bride. They were going to be part of the bridal procession.
It was late at night. Five of the virgins brought lamps with extra oil. The other five brought lamps but no oil. The groom took so long to show up, they all fall asleep.
When he finally arrived, they all got to their feet and lit their lamps. But the lamps of the five who brought no oil started going out right away. They asked for oil from the others, but there wasn’t enough. They had to go find a place to buy oil in the middle of the night.
Meanwhile, the groom arrived. The five virgins with oil for their lamps followed him to wedding venue.
Later, the other five arrived at the door. The knocked and knocked. The groom answered. “Let us in,” they said.
“Truly I tell you, I don’t know you,” he replied.
Jesus is coming soon! There still is room, and there still is time, but now is the time. Come in before the door is shut. Jesus’ invitation to you is genuine and sincere. He calls you out of this dark world into his wonderful light. Hear his voice. Follow him to his great banquet.
The Blame Game
No one wins the Blame Game. Except God.
Genesis 3:18-15
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
It’s a favorite game the world over. Everyone plays it. It’s millennia old. If it came in a box, it’d say something like, “For ages 0-∞.” You’ve played it. I’ve played it. It’s the Blame Game.
The Bible records the first time people played the Blame Game. God told Adam and Eve they could eat from any tree in the garden of Eden. Except one. They were not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden.
Satan disguised himself as a serpent. He tempted Eve to eat. She took the fruit and both broke its flesh and God’s command in one fell swoop. Adam, who silently stood beside her through this whole ordeal, received the fruit from her hand and too broke God’s command.
Instant guilt (They had sinned). Instant shame (They were naked). Instant fear (They hid).
God comes looking for them. “Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?” God asked Adam.
Adam knows God knows. He skips over admitting his own guilt and passes the blame to his beloved wife. “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Don’t miss it. Adam is already a Blame Game champion. Two attacks in one shot. His wife. And God. “The woman you put here with me.”
God plays the long game. He moves on to Eve, “What is this you have done?”
She, too, can pass the blame. “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
And thus began a classic game played in homes, in schools, at jobs, just about anywhere.
It’s almost our first instinct when we’ve done something wrong. Is it totally someone else’s fault? Can I at least get someone else to share the blame and lessen my responsibility?
But we don’t limit our blame-passing to just covering our wrongs. We even blame when we haven’t done what’s right!
“Why didn’t you help them?” “They’ve never helped me.”
“Why didn’t you speak up for your friend?” “No one else was.”
“Why don’t you come to church anymore?” “Somebody said something I didn’t like.”
Like Adam, we can even blame God!
“If you hadn’t taken my loved from me, I’d know you still loved me.”
“If you gave me more time, I could serve you better.”
“If you hadn’t made me this way, this wouldn’t have happened.”
No one wins the Blame Game. The blame can’t truly be passed. The burden isn’t lightened no matter how many shoulders carry it. The blamer eases their conscience but strains their relationships.
No one wins the Blame Game.
Except God.
You see, God knew all along that the way to win the Blame Game was not to keep passing the blame. It was to accept it. He told the devil, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
And then, he sent the one and only Son of God to take the blame of the whole world. Even though everyone else was to blame, God blamed Jesus. He sent Jesus to the cross. He sent Jesus to hell. He sent Jesus to the grave. And by taking on the blame on himself, Jesus, the Son of God, won! He crushed the serpent’s head!
He won forgiveness for your guilt. He covered over your blame. He wrote your name in the book of life.
For Jesus, winning the Blame Game didn’t only mean winning for himself. It meant winning the game for everyone. It meant winning the game for you.
He removed the blame instead of passing it on. He lightened the burden by taking it all himself. He renewed your relationship with God.
Do you want to pass the blame? Pass it to Jesus. He willingly accepts it for you. Repent of the wrong you have done and the right you have not. And trust—yes, trust—that he has removed all blame from you forever.
A Place for Healing
It’s time to trade in your Sunday best for a hospital gown.
“I have seen their ways, but I will heal them ….
Peace, peace, to those far and near,”
says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”Isaiah 57:18a,19
A pastor I know often says, “Church is not a museum of saints; it is a hospital for sinners.”
But that can’t be true, right?
After all, we wear our Sunday best. Even if ties and jackets have been exchanged for polos and blue jeans, you’d never wear your Saturday loungers to Sunday service.
The same could be said of the clothing we use to hide our hearts.
Sure, we all confess we’re sinners at the beginning of worship. That’s dress code. But we’d never let anyone know about last week’s big sin.
Yes, we usually walk in with a big smile on our faces, glad to be there. We’d never reveal the brokenness, the pain, or the anguish underneath. And even if we do give a little peek, we can’t sound the depths of our sadness in front of everyone. “Fine” is the standard response.
Indeed, we greet one another and have fellowship. But we’d never let anyone see the anxiety underneath, the worries, the fears, the doubts.
It’s time to trade in your Sunday best for a hospital gown.
God doesn’t invite us over to his house so we can show each other how healthy we are. He invites us over to heal us. The church is a place of healing. Here he washes away every spot and stain of sin, even last week’s big sin. Here he restores union and communion between you and himself and your fellow believers. Here again he declares you his child, graciously inviting you to cast all your cares on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
Take him up on his invitation. Receive the medicine he gives you. Come and be healed!
Teach Me to Pray
Luke 11:1-4
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
The story goes that Martin Luther was sitting for his regular haircut. His barber, also a member of his church, was a man named Peter. And on this occasion, Peter had a question for Luther. “How should I pray?”
In typical Lutherian fashion, Martin Luther didn’t just answer his question with a few simple words or instructions. He sat down and wrote a 64 page treatise on prayer (at least it is 64 in this edition). In it he recommends using not only the Lord’s Prayer, but even reading through the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed. Doing so brings to mind thoughts and ideas of what to pray.
We see that Jesus’ disciples also asked him how to pray. Apparently, they got the idea because they’d seen John the Baptist teach his followers to pray. In answer, Jesus gives them the Lord’s Prayer.
Do we have to use the Lord’s Prayer and only the Lord’s Prayer? Of course not. There are plenty of examples of the believers praying other prayers in the Bible. There are many ways to pray, whether it’s a prayer from the heart or a prayer someone wrote.
And we have this special comfort, too: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God …. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:26,27,34). Both the Spirit and the Son speak to the Father on our behalf. Indeed, “your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8).
Imagine! Parents might tire of their kids always asking them for something. But God tells us to ask him for anything, and he always means it, always answers for our eternal good, always has his ears open to our prayers for Jesus’ sake.
So, pray! God is listening.