Jesus

Jan

2020

God came to a world in need

Originally posted on The Electric Gospel on December 29, 2019.

God came to a world which needed him

by David Sellnow

It was a time when international power dwarfed the day to day lives of everyday people. The world managed to avoid an all-engrossing global war; there was a general peace, of a sort. But that peace was maintained only by fear of what giant military might could do. Meanwhile, outbreaks of violence and suppression of revolution regularly dotted the map.

It was a time when political rulers made promises to appeal to the masses, while at the same time doing what was most advantageous for maintaining their own rank and position. The most brutal leaders would go as far as using imprisonment or death to eliminate threats to their power.

It was a time when a fraction of the world’s population controlled the bulk of the worlds’ wealth, and the poor and working classes struggled to maintain their existence.

It was a time when women were dominated by men and had to navigate societal institutions in which men held sway, and when dominant peoples and groups subjugated minority populations and disadvantaged groups.

It was a time when differing religious and philosophical systems competed for people’s loyalties. Some beliefs were accepted in society; others were ostracized. Persons could be persecuted for following beliefs that went against accepted norms, and attacks by one religious group on another were not uncommon.

It was the world of the Roman Empire at the beginning of the Common Era. Augustus ruled as Caesar, maintaining the Roman peace by the force of Roman armies. Augustus famously would bemoan the loss of some of his legions in battle vs. Germanic tribes in the Teutoberg Forest, but in most places, Rome ruled with an iron fist. They also granted leeway to local rulers that served their purposes, such as Herod in the province of Judea. Herod was the kind of man willing to slaughter even babies in order to protect his own position (cf. Matthew chapter 2). In the Roman world in those days, the top 1½% of the population controlled 20% of all existing wealth, according to Walter Schiedel and Steven Friesen, writing in The Journal of Roman Studies (Volume 99, November 2009). The majority of individuals eked out a living, and as many as one in five persons across the empire were held in slavery (Ancient History Encyclopedia). Religions and philosophies varied across the empire, while at the same time a cult of religious reverence for the emperor himself was beginning to take shape.

It was into this sort of world that God intervened with his incarnational presence. Jesus was born, God in the flesh, as God’s response to all that was (and is) wrong with the world. In response to brute power, God displays his power in love through the gift of Christ. In response to an economy of inequality, God establishes mercy and charity as the way for persons to interact with one another. In response to religious division and confusion and worship of persons and things of this world, God offers a Savior who answers all persons’ religious hopes.

The descriptions at the beginning of this message about what the world was like in those days may well have reminded you of what the world is like in our time today. That’s not surprising. “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The good news is that the Savior, Jesus Christ—who entered our world in those days when “Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world” (Luke 2:1) and when Herod ordered the death of all baby boys in Bethlehem because it was said the King of the Jews had been born there (Matthew 2:2-8, 16)—Jesus remains God’s gift to the world today and always.

It is not with perishable things such as silver or gold (or any material things) that we are redeemed from the empty way of life that is otherwise common to the human race. Our redemption is in Christ, who was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for our sake. Through him we believe in God, and so our faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1:18-21).

Jan

2020

Faith cries out

Originally posted on the Electric Gospel on November 10, 2019.

Faith cries out

by David Sellnow

What happens inside your soul when crisis or disaster strikes your life? How do you feel? What do you say? Let me share with you words of pain from someone whose faith was put to the test by devastating losses. When life hurts, have you ever screamed thoughts like this?

“Why didn’t I die at birth, my first breath out of the womb my last? … I could be resting in peace right now, asleep forever, feeling no pain.”
“I hate this life! Who needs any more of this?”
“God, how does this fit into what you once called ‘good’? … Can’t you let up, and let me smile just once …before I’m nailed into my coffin, sealed in the ground, and banished for good to the land of the dead?”
“Please, God … address me directly so I can answer you, or let me speak and then you answer me. How many sins have been charged against me? Show me the list—how bad is it? Why do you stay hidden and silent? Why treat me like I’m your enemy?”
“My spirit is broken, my days used up. … I can hardly see from crying so much. … My life’s about over. All my plans are smashed, all my hopes are snuffed out.”
“Why do the wicked have it so good, live to a ripe old age and get rich? … Their homes are peaceful and free from fear; they never experience God’s disciplining rod.”
“God has no right to treat me like this—it isn’t fair! If I knew where on earth to find him, I’d go straight to him. [But wherever I go, he’s not there.]”
“People are dying right and left, groaning in torment. The wretched cry out for help, and God does nothing, acts like nothing’s wrong!”
“I shout for help, God, and get nothing, no answer! I stand to face you in protest, God, and you give me a blank stare! … What did I do to deserve this? … Haven’t I wept for those who live a hard life, been heartsick over the lot of the poor? But where did it get me? I expected good but evil showed up. I looked for light but darkness fell. My stomach’s in a constant churning, never settles down. Each day confronts me with more suffering. I walk under a black cloud. The sun is gone.”

Have you ever had thoughts like that in the midst of trouble? If you have, does that mean you aren’t a good Christian? If you scream at God when you feel like God has disappeared from your world, have you failed the test of faith? Should you be more like Job, famous for his faith when afflicted with suffering? He lost his family (his adult children were killed). He lost his wealth. He lost his health. And yet he spoke with rock-solid conviction. Job’s famous words were written down and inscribed in a book forever: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another” (Job 19:25-27 NRSV).

Perhaps you are more like Job than you realize. All of the words I quoted to you at first — words of complaint, of accusation against God, of desperation and wanting to be dead — those all were words of Job. (Bible quotations were from The Message, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Referenced verses – Job 3:11,13; 7:16; 10:3,20-22; 13:20-24; 17:1,7,11; 21:7,9; 23:2-3,8-9; 24:11-12; 30:20-28.)

Job’s words of resurrection confidence are surrounded in Scripture by many words of grief and doubt and heartache. People speak of “the patience of Job” — and yes, the patience of a faithful heart remained alive in Job. But that patience of faith existed in the midst of the frayed nerves and tortured soul of a life under horrible strain. Job’s wife is often criticized for telling her husband to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9) when everything fell apart for them. But I’m sympathetic toward Job’s wife. She was a mother who lost her children and could not be comforted. Her heart was overwhelmed with pain. And Job, too, struggled with that pain. Job wrestled with God in his heart, and went back and forth in his thoughts. The same person who expressed all the anger and hurt I shared with you a few moments ago also said:

“Even if God killed me, I’d keep on hoping.” (Job 13:15 The Message)
“All through these difficult days I keep hoping, waiting for the final change—for resurrection!” (Job 14:14 The Message)
“Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding? … God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. … Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” (Job 28:20,23,28 NRSV)

Isn’t that the way that faith is in our lives? We go back and forth in our thoughts, between hurt and hope. We cry out to the Lord, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) If you read the Psalms, you’ll hear words of joy and praise as well as words of anguish and questioning. If you listen to Jesus himself, hanging on the cross, you’ll hear him scream, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) as well as, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46 NRSV). You’ve likely seen this same thing in the lives of Christians you have known, or in your own hearts as God’s people fighting the good fight of faith. I’ve sat with a woman outside the intensive care unit, where her husband was going through organ failure after diabetes had done decades worth of damage to his body. I’ve sat with the family of an Air Force colonel who died in a tragic plane crash — not in battle, but while assigned to supervise younger pilots practicing for an air show. Things happen that seem senseless, merciless, unfair, intolerable. We cry out in distress and anguish, and at the same time call out to God in hope. When God seems to have abandoned us, that’s when we cling most urgently to his promise that he never will leave us, never will forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5).

Martin Luther spoke often about how God reveals himself to us in hidden ways, in the midst of pain and suffering and the cross. We tend to want God to show himself by big and bold and obvious blessings happening in our lives. But more often, God’s deepest work on our hearts happens through difficult things we don’t want to endure. In his Heidelberg theses (which he composed when under pressure to defend his teachings), Martin Luther said this:

“Now it is not sufficient for anyone and does no good to recognize God in his glory and majesty, unless he recognizes him in the humility and shame of the cross. Thus God destroys the wisdom of the wise, as Isaiah 45:15 says, ‘Truly, you are a God who hides himself.’”

God’s greatest work in this world was accomplished when God seemed to be absent from the scene, when Jesus was hanging on a cross, dying in shame, with people shouting obscenities at him. That’s not where people thought they’d find God. Yet that was how God had chosen to show himself and to save the world, through Jesus’ suffering. And in our own lives too, we are drawn closer to God, made more dependent on God, when facing life’s agonies and, ultimately, death. So when the difficult days come, yes, we will cry, we will scream, we will hurt. But we also will trust God is working in his own mysterious ways to draw us closer to himself and to draw us on in the direction of heaven. Because ultimately, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 NRSV).

The fact that we have faith doesn’t make us immune to hurt. Sometimes we forget that. I’ve known some Christians who’ve undergone a great loss or catastrophe, and they paste on a smile because they think a Christian should never be sad. They don’t allow themselves to grieve because they think grieving would mean they weren’t expressing hope. They may shed a tear at the funeral, but the day after they expect themselves to be putting all the sadness behind them. That’s an artificial understanding of our Christian hope. We don’t pretend we aren’t hurting. We acknowledge the full reality of pain and suffering, of sin and death, of the grave and loss. And at the same time, we cling to hope in the power of the resurrection. Think of Jesus, who broke down in tears when his friend Lazarus died – even while he knew he was going to raise Lazarus back out of his grave. Jesus felt death’s pain even when he had the power to overturn death. We need not gloss over the ugliness and bitterness of awful things that happen to us in this world. In the midst of that ugliness, we still seek God’s face (Psalm 105:4) and believe in his mercy.

When you’re facing loss, hardship, heartache, tragedy, it’s normal for you to cry out in pain. The great patriarch Job cried out again and again, begging God for answers. God remained silent for a time, but he did hear Job and he did finally answer him. And God hears you when you cry too. God is helping you even when you have a hard time feeling his support. He reminds you of his promises. His Spirit helps you hang on and have hope. Maybe you don’t have the patience of Job. Then again, even Job didn’t have the patience of Job! But all of us, as God’s people, will join with Job in confessing our faith. We say:

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another” (Job 19:25-27 NRSV).

That is our confidence, our cry of faith, even when this life is so often so full of so much pain. We cry with hurt, but we also cry with hope. How our hearts yearn within us!

Jan

2020

Jesus turns and looks at us

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on April 14, 2019.

Luke 22:54-62:

He denied Jesus, saying, “Woman, I don’t know him.” They seized him [Jesus], and led him away, and brought him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed from a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard, and had sat down together, Peter sat among them. A certain servant girl saw him as he sat in the light, and looking intently at him, said, “This man also was with him.”

After a little while someone else saw him, and said, “You also are one of them!”

But Peter answered, “Man, I am not!”

After about one hour passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Truly this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean!”

But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the Lord’s word, how he said to him, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” He went out, and wept bitterly.

Jesus turns and looks at us

by David Sellnow

That look of Jesus when Peter denied him – what did that look look like? Luke only tells us that Jesus looked at Peter, he doesn’t specify how he looked at him. But from what has been revealed to us about Jesus, we can know something about that look.

It could not have been a look of shock or outrage. Jesus had known exactly what Peter was going to do that night. He had told Peter in advance about how he would deny his Lord three times. Everything was playing out just as Jesus had said it would go. So Jesus was not taken aback by what Peter was doing. His look at Peter was a reminder. His eyes said what he had already told Peter in words earlier that night: “You will deny me three times.” Jesus didn’t have to say anything further. Peter knew Jesus had spoken the truth. Peter was reminded that Jesus is the Truth.

It could not have been a look of spite or hatred. Jesus was not doing what he was doing because he hated Peter or anyone involved in what was happening. Jesus came into this world because God so loved the world. Jesus “loved his own who were in the world; he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). And he demonstrated his love for us in that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). While Peter was sinning against him, denying him with curses, Jesus still loved Peter and was reaching out to him. When Jesus looked at Peter, it could not have been a look of indignation.

It could not have been a look of rejection or condemnation. “For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him” (John 3:17). And specifically toward Peter, Jesus had shown his constant love and care. Earlier that night, before telling Peter the prophecy about how he would fall into denial, Jesus had said to him: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when you have turned again, establish your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32). Jesus did not desire to condemn Peter. His overriding concern was to preserve Peter, to save him. Even if we are faithless in our actions, Jesus “remains faithful; for he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). So says the promise of Scripture. And Jesus made good on that promise to Peter. Satan sifted him like wheat, that’s for sure. But Jesus held on to Peter. With just one look, through the doorway, out into the dim light of the outer court, Jesus grabbed hold of Peter’s eyes and his heart. And Peter ran out and wept bitterly. He was ashamed. He was acutely aware of his failure of faith. But he had hope. He had a Savior who had told him he was going to fail but that he would be brought back. He had a Savior who led him to hear the rooster’s crow as a warning. He had a Savior who in the darkest moment looked at his friend with a look that showed that he knew Peter, that he loved Peter, that he was seeking Peter’s soul.

Like Peter, we also have our failures, our cowardice, our weakness of faith. But as with Peter, our Lord does not look at us with outrage or hatred or condemnation. The look in Jesus’ eyes is the look of the eternal God who stooped down from heaven to stand trial in our place, the look of someone who was willing to suffer unimaginable pain and horror for our sake, the look of a Savior who was willing to give himself up completely in order to win us back to our Father in heaven. We have been turned back to Jesus by his redeeming look at us, again and again. So with renewed strength, we can strengthen our brothers and sisters.

All Bible quotations from the World English Bible (WEB).

Dec

2019

Go and make disciples

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on May 30, 2016.

Go and make disciples

by Jacob Heyn

What is the mission of the church? This question is simple to answer. Jesus himself gave us this mission when he said, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). The Lord repeats the mission when he says, through the apostle Paul, that he “wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Now, we might ask the question that Pontius Pilate asked Jesus (John 18:38): “What is truth?” Jesus himself answered this question (even before it was asked) when he told Pilate that “everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). Truth is everything that Jesus tells us. Everything that we read in the Bible is the truth that we are to share with the world.

As Christians, we have heard the message of the truth, the truth that both tears us down, but also builds us back up. The truth hurts us by telling us that we are sinners and that there is nothing we can do to be saved. It tells us that because of our sins, God is going to punish for all eternity in hell. And yet the truth doesn’t stop there. It tells us that despite all of our sins, God still loved us even though we messed up his perfect creation. He looked at us in our sin and how we failed every day trying to earn our way into heaven, and he determined to do something to help us. He didn’t want to send us to hell for all eternity; he wants us to be with him in heaven. He did what no one else could. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to be our substitute. Jesus, though he was tempted just as we are, lived the perfect life that we could not even dream of doing (cf. Hebrews 4:15). He then willingly took the blame for all our sins, for all the sins of those who came before us, and for all the sins of those who will come after us. He took the punishment that was meant for us and died for all our sins. He didn’t do this for himself so as to better himself; he did this for us so that we could be with him in paradise.

And Jesus’ story didn’t end with his death. After being buried in a tomb on Friday, on Sunday he rose from the dead, sealing his victory for us. Because of his resurrection, we know that we will live again with him in heaven. This is just amazing! A God who is perfect and demands perfection—who is just, punishing those who deserve to be punished—chose to take our punishment, the punishment that we deserved, because he loves us so much. Words cannot describe the feeling that one gets when hearing this message. It makes one want to just tell everyone about it! We just want to share this feeling with everyone we meet. Jesus’ words, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” may seem like a command that one must obey, but it’s not like that. His words give us a commission that we want to carry out, because the love that we receive from Christ through this gospel message is something that we are eager to share with the world.

Dec

2019

Don’t go fishing with the devil

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on February 17, 2016.

Don’t go fishing with the devil

by Sarah Allerding

The devil likes fishing. He likes to take us fishing for our past sins. When he catches them, he holds up the fishing line and dangles our sins in our faces. He says, “Look what you did all those years ago. Remember doing that? That was bad, you sinned against God. You don’t deserve forgiveness. You are not good enough. You can’t be forgiven. You are a bad person.” The devil likes to put doubts in our minds. He wants us to despair about our sins. He wants us to think we can’t be forgiven.

If we were left to ourselves, the devil would be right. We would be in a completely hopeless state — on the way to hell. That is not where it all ends, although that is what the devil wishes. Jesus took every one of your sins on himself and suffered the punishment for them in your place. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus paid the price in full for our sins. When our Savior died on the cross, our sins were forgiven. When he rose from the dead, our sins remained buried. God no longer looks at our sins. He has put them far away from us. “You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). Picture God hurling your sins into the sea, never to be seen again. The deepest part of the ocean is over six miles deep. That is very far away. God has given us a great picture to show us that he has forgiven our sins and will no longer hold them against us. Instead of drowning in our guilt, our guilt has been drowned. Because of what Jesus did for us, he doesn’t see sin when he looks at us. He sees our Lord’s perfect righteousness.

Next time the devil wants you to go fishing for your forgiven sins, tell him no. Tell him that your Savior died to pay for those sins. Tell him that Jesus rose victorious over sin — your sin. Your sins have been forgiven. For this reason, the devil has no right to torment you with them anymore. You are at peace with God.

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Dear Jesus, thank you for dying to take my sins away. Thank you for rising victorious over sin, death, and the devil. Next time the devil wants to take me fishing for my past sins, please remind me that they have been forgiven. They are farther away from me than the deepest part of the sea. I no longer need to let them bother me because you have forgotten them. In your name I pray. Amen.

Dec

2019

Forgiveness brings peace

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on January 29, 2016.

Forgiveness brings peace

One of the readers of this blog sent a moving account relates what it’s like for a person when his view of God is misshapen by persons who fail to focus on God’s great love for us in Christ. Author’s name is withheld because of the deeply personal nature of the account.

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To live without forgiveness is to live without peace. It is going through every day wondering if you have been good enough. Day after day, you constantly have to make sure you did everything you were supposed to do. When you go to bed at night, things that may have been left undone may creep into your head as you drift asleep. You must make sure you have done every little thing that you may have not done right. If you do not, says your conscience, you might go to hell if you die.

Someone in your life holds grudges against you. You never can seem to get this person to forgive you no matter what you do to make up for what angered him or her. The silent anger of this person burns against you even though you beat yourself up as a terrible human being. You are told that you should feel terrible. You are told that it is good to feel that way. You are never told you are forgiven. You “know” that you are hopelessly wicked. You get upset with yourself, believing you are a very bad person. How can you ever be good enough? Your soul is tormented by the thoughts that maybe you are not sorry enough for your sins, or maybe you really don’t have faith. You don’t know where you will end up if you die. The thought of death can bring terror that will rob you of sleep.

The fears of what God may do to you rob you of so much peace and scare you so much, you push them out of your mind. You try to stay busy with things so you don’t have to think about your terrible situation. You try to push your fears out of your mind–but they won’t leave. There is no peace, at least it has not become a reality to you.

You imagine God like the person in your life who held grudges against you, whose silent anger burned against you and turned a deaf ear to your cries for forgiveness. You fall into sin and feel that God has turned his back on you. He is not there to help you because he wants nothing to do with you–at least that is what you feel. You feel God’s anger burning against you as you beg for forgiveness. You feel that God will not listen to your prayers because you have been too bad. Life in this sinful world as a sinner is torture. Your conscience screams in pain.

Then something happens. Someone helps you learn about forgiveness and even says, “I forgive you.” You are shocked in a good way. You see that there are no strings attached and you don’t have to earn this forgiveness. You learn that is the way God forgives. Jesus came to die for you, before you ever were sorry for even one sin. He wants you to be his precious child. You learn that you do not need to try to pay for your forgiveness by beating yourself up. In fact, you can’t pay for your forgiveness. It is impossible. That is why Jesus came and paid for all of your sins. He took them all on himself and died so you would be forgiven. You are completely washed by Jesus’ blood. When God looks at you he no longer sees your sin, he sees Jesus’ perfect righteousness. Your forgiveness is not dependent on how sorry you are. It is not dependent on your faith’s strength. It is a fact that was completed a long time ago when Jesus said, “It is finished.” His resurrection is proof that you are forgiven.

Forgiveness is so wonderful for you. You like to just think about the wonderful things God has done for you! You think about Jesus and how he died for you and how amazing that is. Because of your past when you lived in the law, without forgiveness, you see forgiveness as something completely amazing.

Forgiveness brings peace.

Dec

2019

What’s in a name?

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on December 25, 2015. As a gift for Christmas day on The Electric Gospel, an international student from one of my courses offered her perspectives on names given to the Christ child.

Four Names for the Messiah

by Eunseo Yang

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

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Names have meaning. In Korean, ‘eun’ means grace and ‘seo’ means words, so my name (Eunseo) could mean “words of grace.” In my language, 군사부일체 means king, teacher and father are one (like trinity). It emphasizes the authority of such persons in society and that father, teacher and king offer the same merciful grace.

In Isaiah’s prophecy, although the Messiah is given four names, he is only one.

He is our Wonderful Counselor. He himself is a wonder, and he solves for us things we cannot solve or explain. He counsels us through troubles, overcoming them by his strength. He guides us with his wisdom.

Since we are weak, we cannot stand against troubles on our own. But Mighty God supports us. There is nothing he cannot do. He does miracles that are impossible to be explained by human science or power.

The Messiah is also called Everlasting Father. What does that mean in reference to Jesus, God the Son? The term “father” is being used like the Korean term I mentioned. He is father in the sense of king and leader over us. And his leadership never ends. Jesus lives forever and leads us to life in heaven. Jesus is with us always, in life and in death.

And this same Jesus is the Prince of Peace. “He will reign … with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Isaiah 9:7). Imagine no wars, no strife, no disasters. With Jesus’ kingdom, it’s not imaginary. His government is real. When Jesus rules our hearts, peace comes to us.

Jesus has many names – and every name is true. He is love itself, King of kings, our Savior. Through him we have victory against evil.

What names that God reveals for himself in the Bible have the most meaning for you?
Explain why these names are meaningful for you.

Jesus, you are everything to us. Keep our faith focused on you always, trusting your wisdom, your power, and your leadership. Bring peace to our hearts. Amen.

Dec

2019

Welcoming Jesus’ return

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on May 22, 2015.

Jesus is coming back … Are you ready?

by Allison Wessel

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, in the seventh petition we ask God to deliver us from evil. The Small Catechism explains that in this petition, we are asking God to deliver us not only from the evils of this world, but also to take us to heaven. In part, it’s a prayer asking for the end of this world to arrive.

So are you ready to exit this world? Are you ready to leave behind the old familiar and enter the new and unfamiliar? As you pray the Lord’s Prayer, do you ever catch yourself thinking: “Quickly come, Lord Jesus, but, please wait until after I graduate from college,” or, “Quickly come, but please, Lord, let me get married first.” If we are honest with ourselves, sometimes we are tempted to place a greater value on the priorities of this world than on the perfect treasures of heaven. We find ourselves yearning to have all of the great experiences that this world has to offer. We think, “There are so many things I have yet to experience in this life, Lord. Could you hold off your second coming just a little longer?”

As human beings, we struggle with the tension between time and eternity. We sometimes feel that life is good, because it’s all we know. We get caught up in all the good things of this life, and we forget that we have something much greater coming to us. Or, when our faith is weak, we may even fear the coming of the Lord, fearing things that feel unknowable. We will live forever – how can that be possible? Our human logic can’t comprehend eternity, so, naturally, the thought of living forever may scare us.

Allow me to offer an odd analogy.

If you’re familiar with the storyline of the movie, The Matrix, you know that the basic plot is that—some two hundred years into the future—all humanity is enslaved by robots. The machines use the electricity produced by human bodies to create energy, since air pollution has gotten so bad that the sun’s rays are obscured from the earth’s view. To enable the robots to use the humans without causing them to rise up against them, they create a false reality into which the humans have been “plugged.” Those humans who are plugged into the matrix see and live in the world as they know it, which is only an illusion. They lead a false life, and it’s only after they’ve been unplugged that they can know what the world is really like.

I use this analogy not only to show how much of a sci-fi geek I am, but to make a connection with life on this earth. This earth’s life can be compared to life in the matrix, where everything we see and know is only a shadow or illusion. The reality of a perfect life can only be known beyond the grave. This analogy is flawed, I realize, because those of you who know The Matrix know that, once unplugged, the real world is horribly drearier and the living situation much worse than in the glamorous false world of the matrix. But the point is that everything tangible in this life doesn’t last forever. Sometimes, weakened in our faith, that great fear of the unknown will lead us to cling to the things of this life. In The Matrix, even Neo, who is the savior-character, is reluctant to respond to the call he receives from the real world, urging him to come to grips with reality and wake up. At first, he wants to go on living as he always has, in the world with which he is most familiar and most comfortable. He would rather remain ignorant and blind to the truth. But it’s after he’s been unpleasantly thrust into the real world that he discovers his full potential and becomes The One, the person destined to save the remnant of humans left on earth from the robots. Again the analogy is flawed, but in a similar way, we are not really of this world and can’t possibly know all that we will become in our true home in heaven. The Bible says that God “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). Who knows what that entails? But it can only mean good, of course. The apostle John assured us, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

We can’t begin to comprehend the wonders and the treasures that God has in store for us. But we do know that the Lord’s coming will not be a day on which to tremble in fear, or a day that we wish would hold off for a little while longer. The day of the Lord’s coming will be a day on which to rejoice, a day leading to something better than anything we have here on earth. Isn’t that what being a Christian is all about, after all? Our short, little lives on this earth are merely a prelude to the life of perfect bliss that awaits us in heaven.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Dec

2019

Lambs in the Shepherd’s Care

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on August 29, 2014.

Emily Eckley originally wrote this message for young children as the intended audience, but the message is appropriate for all of us, at any age. We never cease to be little lambs in the care of our good shepherd.

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I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb

by Emily Eckley

Isaiah 40:11 “He tends his flock like a shepherd; he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart.”

Did you know that sheep are not very smart animals? A sheep cannot find its own food or water. It cannot protect itself to stay safe either. That is why sheep and their lambs need a shepherd to take care of them. The shepherd shows his love for his sheep by leading them to new fields with fresh grass to eat and clean water to drink. He also protects the sheep from danger, like wild animals who may want to hurt the sheep, and keeps them from wandering away or getting lost. The sheep trust their shepherd because he does such a good job taking care of them.

We are Jesus’ little lambs. He is our shepherd and we need him. You and I cannot do much for ourselves, but Jesus gathers us in his arms and carries us close to his heart. Jesus takes care of our earthly needs by blessing us with food and water and other necessities. More importantly though Jesus takes care of our spiritual needs. We, like all people, were born sinful and still sin every day. There’s nothing we could do to earn God’s love. But thank God! Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. Our shepherd Jesus lovingly brought forgiveness to his lambs. That includes you and me and the rest of the world.

Having Jesus as our shepherd makes our hearts thankful and glad. Sometimes sickness or trouble causes stress in our lives. That’s when we need to lean on Jesus our shepherd the most. God’s promises in Jesus enable us to overcome sadness and fear, putting a smile back on our faces because we know and trust that nothing on this earth, not even death, can take our shepherd’s gift of heaven away from us. Nothing can make us happier. Praise the Lord that we are Jesus’ little lambs!

Prayer: Dear Jesus, we thank you for being our loving shepherd and carrying us in your arms close to your heart. Please help us and all of your lambs to live free from fear with a smile on our faces knowing that no matter what troubles we face on this earth, you will take us to be with you in heaven one day. Amen.

I am Jesus’ little lamb,
Ever glad at heart I am;
For my Shepherd gently guides me,
Knows my need, and well provides me,
Loves me every day the same,
Even calls me by my name.

Day by day, at home, away,
Jesus is my Staff and Stay.
When I hunger, Jesus feeds me,
Into pleasant pastures leads me;
When I thirst, he bids me go
Where the quiet waters flow.

Who so happy as I am,
Even now the Shepherd’s lamb?
And when my short life is ended,
By his angel host attended,
He shall fold me to his breast,
There within his arms to rest.

(The Lutheran Hymnal 648)

Dec

2019

God’s help in our weakness

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on June 27, 2014.

Starting this week (and for several weeks to follow), The Electric Gospel will feature spiritual pieces written by participants in an online workshop that I led in the craft of Devotional Writing.

This week’s message comes from Gina Grove. Gina has members of her family diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, “the second most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, [which] causes a progressive decline in mental abilities. … In Lewy body dementia, protein deposits, called Lewy bodies, develop in nerve cells in regions of your brain involved in thinking, memory and movement [motor control]” (MayoClinic.org). Gina’s devotion is written for persons in early stages of dementia as they look ahead at the struggles to come in their mental lives.

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When Words Fail

by Gina Grove

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. Romans 8:26 (NIV)

Word salad. For someone who’s munched on salad most of my life, this is one I wouldn’t willingly order. Imagine a conversation where each word is a stand-alone piece of lettuce, a hunk of celery, a random cherry tomato. All the pieces are there, but they are tossed and disconnected.

I’ve been told that this is something to expect with my dementia. I’ll know what I want to say, but my brain will scramble the words and syllables. A confused offering of sounds with no apparent meaning will come out of my mouth.

It’s terrifying to think I won’t be able to articulate what I want someone to know. “I love you.” “I wish you could stay longer.” “I miss my sisters so much.” Or that my simple requests will go unheeded: “I need a sweater.” “I’m thirsty.” “The TV is really loud.” My failing mind will send failed messages to my lips.

Loving family members and caring providers will do their best to pick through the pieces of my salad to find meaning. I hope I won’t realize they can’t understand me. Will their non-specific responses of “Mm, hm” and “Really” be enough for me to feel heard and understood?

So who am I if I can’t speak? Who am I if I can’t express my thoughts and feelings? I am still a child of I AM–the God who is and was and is to come. I am a child of the eternal Father, who loved me enough to send Jesus to cry out on my behalf. When I can no longer speak here on earth, my Savior will continue to plead my case before my Father in heaven. “We have Jesus Christ, who has God’s full approval. He speaks on our behalf when we come into the presence of the Father. I John 2:1 (GOD’S WORD® Translation)

God has spoken and, by the cross of Christ, I am forgiven. He has promised that this season of confusion is temporary. As horribly scary and frustrating things may become, Jesus has promised that one day I will stand before his throne in heaven, singing loudly and clearly with the angels. My days of word salad will be transformed into the most beautiful songs of praise: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive . . . honor and glory and praise!” Rev. 5:12 (NIV)

Dear Lord, until I get to heaven and sing clear songs of praise to you, comfort my spirit, calm my fearful heart, and keep me close to you. Amen.

God came to a world which needed him

Faith cries out

Jesus turns and looks at us

Go and make disciples

Don’t go fishing with the devil

Forgiveness brings peace

Four Names for the Messiah

Jesus is coming back … Are you ready?

I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb

When Words Fail

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