John 8:31-33

“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’” vss. 31-32

From the beginning many more people have been attracted to Jesus than have actually remained with him. It was true during his Galilean ministry, and it remains true today. The most typical example can be found in the hundreds of crusades that have been held in arenas, stadiums, and churches around the world. They’re known for the thousands of people who make “decisions for Jesus” and who soon fall away. Some report having been “saved” again and again, but to no avail. Of course, the same phenomena is seen in youth confirmation classes. Often the rite of confirmation has been held on Reformation Sunday with dozens of white-robed confirmands. All make their promise to be faithful to Jesus and most are never seen in a worship service again. So why is there a reluctance to continue in the word of grace that comes from Jesus? For confirmands the answer is easy. They thought the ritual was a graduation ceremony and not a commencement. And that’s probably what happens for many folks–their commitment was a last step, something they’d finally decided to do. Jesus said that belonging to him was like being born again, the first step on a lifelong journey of love. And those who understand that will stay connected. In Jesus there is both truth and freedom!

Thought for the Day: How do I stay connected to Jesus?

Romans 3:25-28

“For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.” vs. 28

Paul is clear that all are made righteous by grace, the free gift of God in Christ Jesus, but he also wrote that each person is made righteous by faith, and sometimes this confuses us. We’re forever trying to remember if justification is by grace through faith or by faith through grace. It’s hard to keep it straight, and it’s good to know that our phrasing really doesn’t make any difference to God. But if we’re really interested in such things it’s helpful to remember that grace is what God does, and faith is what we do.  So of course salvation is by grace–it’s God’s gift. And faith is our trust in what God has done! Without faith we won’t believe that we are justified by grace. So both grace and faith are important, and really, both are gifts! But some folks muddy the waters a bit by implying that faith is a work. They say things like, “Unless you believe that Jesus is your personal savior you can’t be saved.” And that’s a misrepresentation of the gospel. We have salvation by grace, period! Our lack of faith can’t negate that! There are all kinds of people with no faith–and they too have salvation. Now it’s sad that they have no faith, we often wish they did believe–but we should never believe that God’s grace does not extend to them. After all, it is a gift! 

Thought for the Day: When did I start trusting in grace?

Romans 3:19-24

“For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” vss. 22b-24

For Paul it was obvious. Since we’re all sinners no person could ever be made righteous by obedience to the law. At its best all the law can do is make us aware of our sin–so if we truly want to be righteous, we’re going to have to look for another way. And, guess what, Paul knew another way! Like a proud parent he announced to the Romans and to any one else willing to learn, that the other way is GRACE, the free gift of God made possible through Christ Jesus. We don’t have to work to be righteous, God makes us righteous! We have to admit that this is pretty incredible news–at least sinful guys like Martin Luther thought it was. Luther was so ecstatic that he let his hair grow long and wrote the Small Catechism. He started writing about this good news in Wittenberg, where he was teaching, and within a few years was producing enough material to keep five different print shops busy with his treatises and books. Sadly there are some who regard grace as dangerous, and who are now embracing exclusionary tactics that are nothing more than warmed over law. Of course it won’t work! There is no other way to the heart of God than through GRACE, freely given and freely received through Jesus Christ!

Thought for the Day: When did I fall in love with GRACE?

Psalm 46:8-11

“He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. ’Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.’” vss. 9-10

Martin Luther lived most of his life in Electoral Saxony, during some of the most tumultuous times in European history. Suleiman the Magnificent, one of the greatest Muslim conquerors, had brought his troops to the gates of Vienna, and was being resisted by the combined armies of the Holy Roman Empire. During those same years there was a Peasants Revolt, one that was brutally repressed by the ruling classes, nobles who had found inspiration in Luther’s “Against the Murderous, Thieving, Hordes of Peasants.” Luther lived precariously, not always on the “right side,” knowing that at any time he could be arrested and charged with heresy. In that context, Luther found comfort in the words of Psalm 46, and used it as the framework for his most famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” We can’t use all that Luther said and did as our guide for these confusing times, but we can join with him in turning to the psalmist. And when we don’t know what to pray for, we can always repeat his familiar refrain, “Be still, and know that I am God!” Even while chaos continues, and the shadow of death grows even darker, we know that God is, and always will be, and in God there will be restoration.

Thought for the Day: How do I know I’m on the “right side?”

Psalm 46:1-7

“The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” vss. 6-7

As the war between Israel and Hamas continues, tensions are rising throughout the Middle East, and the ripple effect is felt throughout the world. While it is true that the conflict has been replaced by more mundane concerns in the hearts of many, leaders know that we are at a dangerous point. As in the days of the psalmist “the nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter.” What’s really scary is that the proposed solutions to the crisis that have been bandied about for the past 75 years now seem, not only improbable, but impossible. Where once agreements seemed feasible, there are currently none even on the table. Major combatants are involved in what seems to be a zero-sum game and are unwilling to yield any competitive advantage. If that thinking persists, it seems the results will be chaos, not a particularly hopeful scenario. For the psalmist hope could only be found in the everyday presence of the Lord. And while many may scoff at that notion, people who trust that God is our refuge and strength, know that out of chaos can come a new creation. And so we continue to pray that the Spirit of God would soften hardened hearts and minds, and that this senseless slaughter would quickly come to an end.

Thought for the Day: What is a zero-sum game?

Jeremiah 31:31-34

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” vs. 33

The book of Jeremiah is full of laments. The prophet was no fool and he could see that the old covenant that Israel had taken so much pride in just hadn’t worked. They had more laws than anyone could keep track of, and the people had paid little attention. They manipulated the ordinances, added to them, and mostly ignored them. In fact their whole sacrificial system had become corrupt. So Jeremiah lamented the past! But he hadn’t given up! He looked forward to a new covenant,  one with laws that would be written on people’s hearts, and not on tablets of stone. That vision of a new relationship with God is no pipe dream. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ and the presence of God’s Holy Spirit millions of people are living under that new covenant all over the world. United, not by external laws, but by empowering grace, these people have a God connection that is intimate and full of power. We see them everyday, everywhere we go. They have killer smiles, tender hearts, and spend their days pouring out unconditional love and tending to the needs of others with sacrificial service. They know that God is, and that they are God’s people.

Thought for the Day: When did the law get written on my heart?

Matthew 22:18-22

“Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’” vss. 20-21

Jesus seems to imply that some things belong to the emperor and that some things belong to God. It’s a clever answer to the question asked by the Herodians, and they’re puzzled about how to respond to it, so they just go away. We might like Jesus’ response but it isn’t necessarily what most people believe. In general, folks in our day think that all things belong to them, and they don’t like to give any of those things away. We really resent giving them to the emperor in the form of taxes–we pay as little as we can. And most of us don’t like giving our things to God either–in our minds that’s voluntary, and if we can avoid such giving we do. Of course the truth of the whole matter, and this is what makes this story fun, is that all things do belong to God. And once we figure this out, we are able to adopt  generous lifestyles and our lives are transformed. Instead of trying to figure out how to hang on to stuff, we dream up ever inventive ways of sharing it with others and giving it away. And once we discover the joy of giving we can’t imagine why it took us so long to get started.

Thought for the Day: When did I discover the joy of giving?

Matthew 22:15-17

“Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” vs. 17

Taxes have always been controversial. American colonists hated it when the English levied taxes on them, particularly since they had no representation in the parliament. In fact when the English put a tax on the tea that was to be unloaded in the Boston Harbor, the Sons of Liberty, in the dead of night and in front of hundreds of people, boarded the three English ships, battered open the shipping crates, and threw all the tea into the harbor. Some say that their Tea Party triggered the American Revolution. So when the Herodians came to Jesus with a question about the legality of taxes there was a potential for real conflict. If he answered “yes” he would lose favor with the people. If he said “no” he could be accused of sedition by the Romans and arrested. At least that was the intention of Jesus’ antagonists. But Jesus, knowing full well what they were up to, devised a clever response that took the wind out of their sails and left them speechless. Jesus knew that taxes are one of the necessities of life, and expected that his followers, as long as they were in this world, would be paying them in one form or another. And while we always tend to believe that taxes are too high, they are generally used for the common good, and that’s a benefit and a blessing to everyone.

Thought for the Day: Are taxes a blessing or a curse?

1 Thessalonians 1:6-10

“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.” vss. 6-7

It’s easy for congregations to begin to think of the church in narrow and parochial terms. A pastor gathers a community of believers who begin to worship and who then organize themselves in councils and committees. Sacraments are performed, children are taught, and offerings are taken to support the mission of the congregation. For most of those people their group is the church, and often they don’t have a strong sense of responsibility to the larger body of Christ. When there is a budget item for support of a synod or national body, there will sometimes be attempts to keep that number as low as possible. One of Paul’s purposes in writing to the Thessalonians was to remind them that they were having a powerful influence on other congregations–they had a mission beyond themselves. How wonderful it is when our communities of faith understand those connections. Not only is our local mission expanded but we can become inspirations for one another. The Church of Christ is not just our local group but it’s a network of congregations spread all around the globe, and together we are the presence of Christ for the world.

Thought for the Day: How can congregations help each other?

1 Thessalonians 1:1-5

“We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” vss. 2-3

Prayer is one of those great mysteries that are a part of our life in Christ. Most people, even those with minimal faith, use it at one time or another to make their requests known to God, particularly if it’s a matter of life or death. Many have it as a part of their daily routine and use it regularly for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Paul mentions regularly in his letters that he prayed for the people in the congregations he had started. And from his words we discover that prayer isn’t just for connecting us with God, it’s a marvelous tool for connecting us to our faith community, even those who are at a distance. But Paul didn’t just pray for people, he told them that he was praying for them! We would do well to imitate his practice in our own prayer lives. There is no better way to build cohesion in relationships than to tell others that they’re in our prayers. Of course we can’t pray for everyone, but we can pray for some, and when we tell them, it’s as though we’ve kissed their souls. And it’s not just some thoughtful and kind expression of love, something actually happens! Spiritual connections are made that, quite simply, can never be broken.

Thought for the Day: What happens when I tell others I am praying for them?