January 29, 2012

While preparing to be a pastor at the seminary I had the privilege to hear Dr. Guido Merkens, the pastor of a large Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas. I remember hearing Dr. Merkens teach that we live in three worlds. The first we live in for about nine months. The second we live in for about seventy or eighty years if we have the strength; some even longer. The third world we live in for eternity.

Dr. Merkens noted, that when we leave one world to go into the next, many do so fearfully, sometimes with much crying. Before it’s born, a newborn baby is warm and comfortable inside of its mother, perfectly content with the sound of its mother’s heartbeat and the constant supply of nutrition. When you think about that, it’s no wonder that babies cry as they experience the traumatic event of leaving that comfortable place and entering into the unknown and cold and far too bright second world.

But we get used to living in this second world, and many of us even get so comfortable here that we are fearful of the idea of leaving this world and entering into the next.

Dr. Merkens commented that he expected that the moments just before his death and the first few moments just after his death could be pretty scary because of the uncertainty that comes with being human and because the newness of any first time experience can be scary. But he also believed that because of Jesus, it would only be a few moments before his fears would be gone and he would begin to enjoy tremendously the gift of life with Jesus.

Before He died on the cross for our sins, Jesus once said, “I am going to prepare a place for you. … and … I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

I recall one other thing that Dr. Merkens taught, and that was that our life in that first world prepares for the life in the second and that our life in this second world is to prepare us for life in eternity.  During this lifetime, we are prepared for eternity as we hear the message of God’s love for us in Jesus and believe in Him as Savior.

Through the use of His means of grace, God strengthens our faith to make it through the dangers and trials of this life unto life eternal. And that life is a wonderful gift. We treat it as something wonderful when we help others to prepare for eternity by sharing the good news about that gift. Amen.

Remember! - God is Good - All the Time

January 23, 2012

In last week’s thought for the week, I told you about the wonderful gift of everlasting life that we have because Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

Dr. Robert Hughes of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia told a story about his father to emphasize the gift Christ has given us. His father was a coal miner in northeastern Pennsylvania. And every morning before the miners would go down into the mines, it was his father’s job as safety inspector to check the mines for methane gas. Every morning he would descend into the mines, taking with him the safety light, and begin to go through the darkened tunnels checking out each of the shafts of the mine. If the light of the safety lamp would so much as flicker, he would have to run for his life because that meant that the deadly methane gas was present. And then, every morning after checking out the mine, he would rise to the surface where all the miners would be gathered around waiting expectantly, looking for the safety inspector and waiting for him to announce that it was safe to go down into the mine.

After Dr. Hughes told this story, he would then say, “That’s what Christ has done for us. Coming up out of the depths of death, Jesus has announced to all who are gathered here in this life on earth, that it’s okay, it’s safe. You can enter into death, into the darkness and the unknown. It is safe, Jesus says, because I have been there and checked it out; I have experienced death, but I have overcome it, and I will be with you, in death even as I have been with you in life.“

Now, death is an enemy, make no mistake about it. Death was not a part of God’s original plan for Adam and Eve. Death separates a person’s body and soul that God created to be together forever. But we must always keep in mind that death is a defeated enemy. The victory over death has been won by Jesus and He shares that victory with all who trust in Him.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:25-26)

Remember! - God is Good - All the Time

January 16, 2012

Some of you might know that I once taught at St. Paul Lutheran School in West Point. Their school mascot is the eagle. And one year when I taught there my students contributed to a class gift for me and purchased a small ceramic statue of an eagle. Now, considering the fact that I was in a classroom with 7th and 8th grade students, what I chose to do with that gift was not wise. I chose to display it on my desk. And as you might imagine, it wasn’t too long before someone accidentally knocked it onto the floor and it smashed into pieces. The damage was so extensive that no one was able to glue it back together.

In chapter 5 of Paul’s letter to the Romans we read about another gift that was damaged beyond repair. God gave Adam and Eve the gift of life when He created them in His image, holy, and without sin. And it would have been a life of perfect joy forever with God there in the Garden. But that gift of life was damaged when Adam and Eve disobeyed the one command God had given them: “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

That sin of Adam and Eve killed all people. Sin entered the world through the sin of one human, and with that sin, death came to all people. And no one can deny the reality of sin. Sin is in the world. God told us that the wages of sin is death. And we know that sin is in the world because people die.

We can also say that the damage done by the sin of Adam was so extensive that no one was able to undue it. But the apostle Paul knew that Adam was a pattern of the one to come. And so he was inspired to write,” For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”Just as the action of one man brought death to all, so also the action of another man brought back to all the gift of life. Because Jesus was not just a man but also the Son of God, He was able to undue the broken-ness of sin and repair the damage that had been done to the gift of life.

Through faith in Christ and His saving action of dying for us on the cross we know God’s everlasting love for us. Our differences with God are reconciled and our sins are forgiven. Beginning at the time of our baptisms, God gives to us the gift of new life through faith in Jesus.

Unfortunately, not all receive that gift. Some reject it. Some don’t even recognize that they ever lost that gift. But that gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, does overflow to many.  And those who do receive it are overjoyed that the lost gift has been received once again. And though we may not always treat it that way, Christians value that gift of forgiveness of sins and the life and salvation that comes with it more than anything else.
 

Remember! - God is Good - All the Time

January 9, 2012

NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN GOD; THE ONLY GOD WHO IS AT THE FATHER’S SIDE, HE HAS MADE HIM KNOWN.  John 1:18

In early December when we had snow on the ground, I looked out my back window to see one set of footprints across my yard.  They were the footprints of a rabbit. I could tell exactly where he had come from and where he was going.

And I wondered about the footprints that I am leaving. We talk about the carbon footprints all the time, but I am thinking of another set that we leave behind.  As I live my life can people see where I have come from and where I am going?  And am I making a difference in their lives? How am I influencing the people around me?

As I am fully retired now, I think about where I have been and the people I have touched.  I think about their lives and how I have been a small part of them. And I pray that their faith is solidly founded upon that One who has made Himself known to us in His incarnation, death and resurrection, but who continues to reveal Himself in Word and Sacrament.

We see His footprints all around us and within us.

What kind of footprints are you leaving?  How are you influencing the people around you?

Blessings on your day, 

January 2, 2012

JESUS LOOKED AT THEM AND SAID, “WITH MAN THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE, BUT WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.”  Matthew 19:26 

Two days ago 2011 came to a close and 2012 began.  No doubt there were regrets about 2011.  And I am sure there is a great deal of optimism about 2012.  We have plans. We have adopted resolutions. Things are going to be different in this new year.  I pray that we all have a good year in 2012.

But I also know that in my life will come failures and disappointments. I won’t always follow through on my plans. And I know how quickly I will disregard my resolutions.  Those are some of the things that I read into the words above – that are impossible for us. We can’t always keep our promises. We don’t always complete our plans. We don’t always bring to fulfillment our desires.

But OH, how our God does!  God had plans. He made promises and resolutions and He has carried through on every one of them. He has completed all His plans for our salvation. We just celebrated how He fulfilled them in Jesus Christ. And it’s in Jesus that He offers and gives us forgiveness for our failures and our sins.

So He wants us to look ahead to this new year with hope and joy and peace. He’s there to help us make things possible.

Blessings on your day,