Joy in the Telling

Just admit it.  You get a little bit of a thrill out of it.  Someone does something wrong, and you find a little bit of joy in telling them off.  It's okay to admit it.  You're human.  You're going to find joy in pointing out the faults and flaws and sins of others.  Just admit it.

This week, I have been engaged with the prophet Jeremiah.  I've been reading through his words as part of my preparation for Advent.  And throughout the early part of his message, there are some themes that definitely come to the forefront.  God's people had sinned.  They needed the message of repentance spoken to them.  They needed to have the error and sin of their ways pointed out to them.

Now, you might think that Jeremiah would find some joy in that.  After all, in our day and age, you simply have to turn on the TV to see people shouting about the sins and faults of others.  Some do it for attention, others do it simply because they like to see others knocked down a peg or two.  And why should Jeremiah be any different?  He's human like us, right?

The thing is, you almost get this sense that Jeremiah will faithfully point out what God's people have been doing in their sin, but it's with a sense of regret.  It's almost as though Jeremiah doesn't want to do it, and not just because he knows how the people will react.  He doesn't seem to get any joy in telling God's people off.  It doesn't seem to boost his ego or make him seem to be better than they are.

No, Jeremiah hates that he has to speak this message to God's people.  And in that, we find much that would guide us in wisdom.  Jeremiah sees the need for God's people to hear the message of repentance, yet he hates the fact that it has to come to them.  Because he has been set aside by God to do this, it's not like Jeremiah is gaining anything from pointing these matters out.  There really is no joy in the telling.

I've know quite a few people in my life who seemed to take some amount of joy in letting others know about their faults.  I've even seen that in myself from time to time.  And that's where Jeremiah reminds me that I really shouldn't find joy in pointing out people's faults or flaws.  Sure, they may need to hear about it, but not in such a way that it boosts my ego, or makes me seem to be better than they are.

As I think about this matter, it truly strikes me just how humble God looks for His people to be.  Not only in the pattern of our lives, but even in the way that we show others their sin and fault.  Always with an eye toward God's reconciliation and forgiveness, and not in order to make ourselves more than we ought.  Another hard lesson from the Bible!

A "Prophetic" View

One thing we must acknowledge right at the beginning of this post: the Bible is a really large book.  I really feel for the person who doesn't have any experience with the Bible who decides to read it one day, and then starts to do so in typical book fashion.  That is, start at the beginning and work your way through to the end.  Sure, the first part is pretty exciting, as Genesis and even Exodus have some exciting stories.  But then, once you get part way through Exodus, things can really start to bog down on you.  Lists of "do's" and "don'ts" fill the pages, and even the most devoted reader may start to find excuses not to read.

One thing that the size of the Bible has led to is an overlooked view of the books toward the end of the Old Testament, those books known as the prophets.  The things that people find most familiar about them are the little quotations that we come across in the New Testament.  We hear of their foreviews of Jesus, but really don't know much more about them than that they spoke those words.  As for the time in which they lived, or the reason for the words they spoke, or even the general theme of their messages, these are mostly unknown.

I've asked around a bit over the past few weeks about what people know about the prophets, and have found that most people seem to have what I am calling a "romanticized" view of the prophets.  That is, they think that the prophets were wise, well-respected men who spoke as though they had most of their attention on the future in Jesus.  In general, people seem to think that they were liked, almost to the point that the people of their day would be waiting breathlessly for their next words.

That is hardly the case for most of the Old Testament prophets.  To put it bluntly, the life of a prophet, while blessed in the eyes of God, was not an easy one to live.  Most prophets were not liked, and even had attempts on their lives.  Tradition has several of them dying in rather harsh ways, such as Isaiah being sawn in half.  People like Jeremiah were despised, imprisoned, called traitors to the country, and even seen as blasphemous to the people.  They lived on the edge of society, proclaiming God's justice and wrath, as well as God's grace and favor.

For anyone who wants to get an idea of what some of the prophets went through, I would always suggest reading through Jeremiah.  If his story doesn't give you a clearer picture about what it means to speak God's Word to people, then I don't know what will.

Voices on the Edge

Over the past few weeks, I've been giving a lot of thought to our upcoming Advent season.  In our tradition, we typically add Wednesday worship times to our regular Sunday times.  What I have typically done is have two separate themes, one for Sunday and one for Wednesday.  This year is the same.

For Sundays, my plan is to focus on the words that we hear each week from one of the Old Testament prophets.  Just for kicks, I'm going to call my "series", "Voices on the Edge."  I chose this name because that is really what the prophets were.  They were not the well-liked, acceptable people that we so often tend to think they were.  They said things that people didn't want to hear.  They were often despised, and their messages often placed their lives in danger.  They truly were voices on the edge of society.

The thing that has struck me throughout my time of preparation for this series is just how "on the edge" God's voice really is.  So often we tend to think of God as someone we would want as our best friend.  Many of our hymns and songs paint a picture of God walking alongside us, gentle and caring and not saying anything "mean" to anyone.  And while there are elements of that which contain a degree of truth, the fact is, God also says things that so often seem to push His voice to the edge.

That's one of the interesting things I see in Jesus.  People wanted to be close to Jesus.  So many people liked what He said and what He did.  And yet, it seems that they were turned off by the things He said and did just as much as they liked them.  Jesus would proclaim things like God's compassion and grace, but would also proclaim God's justice and wrath at sin and wrongdoing.  Because of these dual messages, people found themselves drawn to Him while, at the same time, repelled by what He was saying.

That same message is found throughout the prophets.  As we hear the familiar words which come with the Advent and Christmas seasons, it would do us good to be reminded that the words they said weren't exactly loved and accepted by the people of their time.  It is only in retrospect that we can see the importance and impact that their words had on the coming Savior, whose birth we will be celebrating in about a month. 

Those voices on the edge show us God in the various ways that He reveals Himself.  Sometimes they draw us to God, especially as we see His compassion, grace, and promise.  Sometimes they repel us, as we hear about God's justice and the wrath that comes because of our wrongdoing.  And then, sometimes, we find ourselves joining those voices out on the edge, clinging to God and His spokespeople through faith.

Sunday's Message

Yesterday, we celebrated the Last Sunday of the Church year.  Here is the message that was heard at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church yesterday.

We all face the reality that, in life, things wear out.  I’ve had this pair of blue jeans for quite a while, and as you can tell, they are starting to show some signs of wearing out.  That big rip in the knee kind of gives it away.  I’ve also got a few shirts that match up pretty well with it.  When I wear them while I’m working around the house, we always hope that nothing comes up that would require me to run to the store in these, since they aren’t exactly in the best condition.  I’ve worn them long enough and hard enough that they have just started to wear out.

I also notice this fact applies not only to my clothes, but even to my body.  We have times where Rachel will go down to sleep, and we’ll end up delaying our bedtime for one reason or another.  When we do that, what invariably seems to happen is that we get to sleep, and then, about an hour later, Rachel decides that it’s time to wake up for a diaper change and a little refueling for the night.  I’ve noticed that I’m just not as able as I used to be to shake off the weariness and do everything that she needs us to do as easily as I used to.  In some ways, I’ve noticed that my body shows a few signs of some wear and tear on it.

You’ve probably noticed something like this, too.  You get something new, some new clothes, or some new shoes, and then you spend the first part of their life breaking them in.  Then, about the time they start to get comfy, you start to noticed the hems that are losing their stitching, or the shoelaces as they start to get frayed.  Comfort enters in, but shortly after we get to that point of comfort, it’s just not too long before they wear out.

That’s the same kind of picture that Isaiah paints for us in the words we heard from him today.  Toward the end of those few short verses, we have him describing what we know to be the end of the creation we live in.  The heavens vanish like smoke.  The earth wears out like a garment.  All who live within this creation end up dying in a similar fashion.  This world we live in wears out, in a sense.  God created it in the beginning, but since the fall into sin, and the curse that was pronounced upon the land, things have aged.  While we see great cycles of renewal and new birth as the seasons move along, we also see that a lot of creation seems to be wearing out.  It’s as St. Paul describes it in one of his letters.  The whole creation is groaning.  It’s waiting to give way to the new creation, the one that God has promised will come, in which He will make everything new once again.

Things wear out.  The earth wears out.  And all because of a curse.  You and I are pretty familiar with the reason for this curse.  It all came into being because the first man and woman had one basic rule to follow and they didn’t follow it.  But rather than pronounce His curse upon them, God did something unexpected.  He cursed the ground.  It would produce thorns and thistles as the man would work it, but it would also be a creation that would wear out.  Not only did mankind need to be remade into a new creation, so did the very creation.  And throughout the history of God’s people, that day of the death of the old creation and the birth of the new creation came to be known as the Day of the Lord.

You and I now know this Day of the Lord in a slightly different way.  We know it as the day when Jesus fulfills His promise to re-appear, to call all the dead from the grave, and to give eternal life to all who put their faith, hope, and trust in His sacrifice for them.  And on that day, God has given us the promise that He will be making everything new.  The old creation that groans under the burden of the curse will be refined through the fire of God, and a new creation will emerge.  That new creation will be free of the curse, a perfect creation just like the first one that God made so many centuries ago.

But the creation isn’t the only thing that will be made new.  You and I have the promise that we will also be made into a new creation.  The pains and burdens of this world will be burned off, as though by fire, and we also will be refined into a new creation.  Everything that would call for God’s wrath and condemnation will be swallowed up, just as it has been through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Everything in you that would wear out and grow old will die.  The new creation that God makes you to be through the waters of your baptism will arise, free of the stain of the curse, free of sin, and perfect. 

Because Jesus has come, and because He has given His life and then reclaimed it in His resurrection, you already have that new creation within you.  When God’s Word was spoken over you and the water was poured out upon you, you became a new creation.  Everything that you will be on the Day of the Lord, when Jesus calls you from the grave, is already present there within you.  You are a new creation.  Yes, the complete fulfillment of that promise has not yet come to be.  You will get to experience that on the Day of the Lord, when God makes the whole creation, including you, into a new creation.  It’s present within you, as God’s gift to you, but has not yet come into its full fruition.

But on that Day of the Lord, on the day when the heavens vanish like smoke and the earth is worn out like a garment, you will be made completely into a new creation.  You will receive new, lasting things from the hand of God, because of what Jesus has done for you.  As St. Paul also says it, you will be clothed in a new kind of clothing, that of Christ Jesus Himself.  When Isaiah says that God’s righteousness draws near, and that His salvation is forever, that’s the very thing that you will be clothed with.  And those things will never wear out, just as you are raised into a new kingdom that also will never wear out or vanish like smoke.

That’s the promise of God that we celebrate today in what is so cleverly called the Last Sunday of the Church year.  That creative name means that we are closing out the year as we celebrate it here in God’s kingdom.  Next Sunday we will kick off a new year with the introduction of Advent.  But today, we celebrate the end of our Church year, and as we do, we do it with the reminder of the promise of Jesus, that He will reappear and claim His own in His new creation.

New things.  No longer will we have to be content with things that will eventually wear out, like the knees in a pair of jeans, or like the soles of shoes just about the time they start to get comfortable.  That’s the hope that we look forward to when the Day of the Lord arrives, when our Lord Jesus reappears to be faithful to His promise to you in your baptism, and to raise you up to new life with Him forever.  Every day that we live in this world, we move a day closer to that promise of newness.  With everything that we see wear out in life, we can be reminded that God has made a promise to make everything new.  God’s righteousness and salvation shall come, and they will never come to an end.  And that is what you will be clothed in forever.

Out with the old, and in with the new.  I don’t know if we could come up with a better theme for the Last Sunday of the Church Year.  But it really is an appropriate slogan for today.  Everything old in you will be out, and through Jesus, everything will be made new for you, courtesy of Jesus in His life, death, and resurrection, courtesy of your baptism, and courtesy of the promise that Jesus has made to you, that He will reappear and make all things new.  Amen!  Come quickly, Lord Jesus.  Amen!

Reading the Bible and Being Christian

As a pastor, one of the things that I regularly encourage people to be doing is reading the Bible.  We live in a day and age where access to the Bible is really not that big of an issue.  I've downloaded a few versions on my Kindle, and can pretty much access any translation from the internet.  So it's not that access is an issue as it has been in centuries past, where literacy was low and books were practically non-existent.

But over the past few years, I've given a lot of thought to this issue.  Why do we encourage people to read their Bibles so much?  In part, we really do want people to know what God says.  It's far easier to interact with people in their spiritual needs when they have an idea of what God has really said on the pages of the Bible.  Sure, they may not like what it says, or disagree with what it says, but it's known, and that makes the discussion at least a little bit easier.

However, I have found that this emphasis has also had an unanticipated effect.  On occasion, there have been those who would say that such an emphasis actually served to create a greater sense of guilt, since it wasn't their habit.  And some of these are long standing church people.  As I have encountered that on occasion, it also makes me wonder if an emphasis on reading the Bible is a good thing if it only serves to grow people's guilt.

On top of that, we also face the reality that there are many things in the Bible that are not easily explained, and that the Bible itself is structured in such a way that a straight-through reading likely won't make the most sense to someone who doesn't know it well.  (Plus, it's a big book, which makes it a challenge to read through the whole thing anyway.)  A guide often proves to be a helpful thing, but still fails to paint a complete picture of everything that God says, and often doesn't give answers to the questions that people have as they read through it.

Finally, I wonder if such an emphasis is mostly a modern "problem" that hasn't had to be addressed by God's people over the course of time.  I say it's a modern problem because most of the time between the writing of the Bible and now has been marked by illiteracy.  People knew what they heard read to them during worship times.  Very few individuals had the ability to read, much less access to books or scrolls.  Would we say that those people were "less" Christian because they didn't have the ability to read the Bible?  I would hardly say so.

In my mind, that's why it is appropriate to encourage people to read their Bibles, but to understand that the vast majority of learning God's word is still going to take place in what is read during worship times together, and in the preaching that takes place.  God's Word was given as a spoken word, and only after it was spoken did it become a written word.  The "spoken-ness" of God's Word should always have priority.  That places a great deal of emphasis on what is preached, and so a well-constructed sermon will always be the best vehicle for the Spirit to do His work as God's Word is preached and expanded upon for God's people.  It's not wrong to encourage people to read, but overall, we face the reality that the preached and spoken word will continue to have more far-reaching impact than any amount of encouragement to read on their own.

Getting back into the swing of things

Just over a week ago, something very significant happened in my life.  My little girl turned 6 months old.  Now, while that is rather remarkable in and of itself, I've also noticed that her 1/2 year old benchmark has brought about a few changes in my life, and that of my wife as well. 

We've both started to get "back" to somewhat of a routine in our house.  For those who know us, you probably know that we both are fairly routine kind of people.  Prior to the little girl, we had our weekly routine, and there wasn't really a lot of straying from it.  This involved work, exercise, making food, cleaning house, doing laundry, and all of those other mundane things.  We had fallen into a system where they were getting done and we knew when and where.

Alas, the little girl brought some fairly major disruptions to that routine.  Rather than Sunday afternoon laundry, it became doing laundry whenever we could get a load in.  Instead of regular exercise, it became "get a run in when you can", even if two or three weeks went by in between.  (By the way, I've checked in at my gym on a couple of occasions over the last six months, and have been embarrassed by how much time has gone by between my visits there.)

I realize that life is always going to have interruptions, and that simply having a little one that turns 6 months old won't bring back what was happening before.  However, I have also realized that my efforts at blogging have been affected.  And that's part of the reason for this post.  My intent is to get back to blogging 5-6 times every week.  Plus, I'm thinking that I will start publishing my sermons on here on Sundays as well, so there may be even as many as 7 per week!

Sometimes interruptions are understandable.  Sometimes they require that we carve out time for those things that are important.  While I won't pretend that blogging is up toward the top (such things as family time, food, work, prayer, Bible reading, and household chores will always be higher than blogging), it is my full intention that I stay faithful to it.  I have found that it helps me clarify my thinking simply by putting my thoughts down on "paper", so to speak.

Of Government and Faith

Today marks an important day in our nation.  Every four years, we have the opportunity to elect the person who is the face of our government.  More frequently, we also get to elect those people who will represent us in our particular areas, both to the federal government and to the local state governments.  In doing this, Christians show their regard for the institution of public governing that God has instituted for our good and well-being.  For this reason, it is good that Christians get out to the polling stations and cast their vote.

However, even as we go out and elect leaders, as Christians we need to keep something in mind.  These are earthly servants, who are going to be self-serving and self-focused sinners even as they work for the good of the people they represent.  Yes, they are going to make choices at times that are more based upon their chances of re-election rather than the good of the whole people of the nation.  Yes, they are going to make choices that are guided by their hearts, and we will not always agree with them.  And yet, God calls us to pray for them, to support them, and to share our thoughts and concerns with them.

One thing that we also need to remember is that the governing of this world IS NOT GOD.  In our day, it truly saddens me to see how many people put their hope for their well-being in those who govern rather than turning to the God who has made all things, and who loves His creation enough to institute the offices of those who govern.  However, no matter how good a leader may be, or how bad, that person, or the whole system, simply cannot provide care and for protection for every person under their authority.

God does do this.  While He does it in great ways, such as the nourishing of the world and the sending of the seasons to grow crops, He also does it through the hands and feet and mouths and generosity of His people.  Truthfully, I find myself disheartened at times by the care for people that the Christian Church has left to the governing authorities.  In many instances, we Christians should be at the forefront of those institutions and programs designed to care for those in need and want.

It sounds so obvious to say it, and yet, it seems like our expectations really do betray our thoughts.  The government is not God, and never will be.  While they fulfill a role that is there at God's behest, they are merely one part of God's work in this world.  So remember that as you head to your polling station and cast your vote.  And may God still show His working in this world through His people as they rely upon God and His presence in their life, in order to show care for others.

Just a few things that are floating around in my head today.

• We observed All Saints Day yesterday.  It's a great reminder that we are part of a fellowship that transcends time and place, that is all connected to our head, Christ Jesus.  We had the opportunity to remember many who have gone before us in faith, and to remember that we are connected to one another in a unique way in Christ.
• I also used the holy day to remind God's people that THEY are also a means of God's presence in this world.  When Christians go out into the world, they do so as an indication that God remains actively at work in the world.  When they gather with one another, they literally bring God's presence with them.  That's a good thing, and so we should, in many respects, "get over" thinking that the call or visit of a fellow Christian is an invasion of our privacy.
• My heart goes out to the people of the East Coast.  So many of them have suffered great loss.
• I'm reminded that we are God's children and that there is a lot of potential in all of us.  In particular, since we are a new creation, that means that God's Spirit actively works in us and through our hands, feet, mouths, wallets, and other ways to do His work in this world.  
• Reflection and prayer and Bible reading are never wastes of time. 

That's what's floating around in my head today.  Maybe tomorrow will be a bit more coherent of a post.

What it means to be a child

Yesterday I spent a few minutes thinking about this coming Sunday.  In my congregation, we will be observing All Saints' Day.  It's a day that is set aside to remember those who have gone before us in the faith, and who have now received their eternal inheritance with God in Jesus.  In many ways, this is a very moving day to observe, as many churches will read out the names of those that have died to this life and to sin, and now live with God.  Those names bring back memories of dearly loved ones, of people that we knew well, and with whom we get the joy and privilege of spending eternity.

Part of my reflection for this day came from the words of 1 John 3:1-3.  In there, John refers to believers in Christ Jesus as "little children."  It's a very endearing term to use, especially with the pictures and images that come along with it.  We are the children of God.  We are the people who are loved by God.

As you think about the life of a child, we see some of those same reflections in our lives as Christians.  A child is (usually) pretty proud of his or her parents.  A child doesn't want someone talking bad about the parents.  A child is happy to see parents, and looks to the parents to care for them, to give them what they need, and to provide for their well-being.  In all of these, the reflection of God should be pretty obvious.

Being a child also means that you find a lot of joy in life.  For many children, the world is simply filled with wonders that are out there to discover.  I would even say that it's kind of sad when we lose our sense of wonder in this creation of God's.  When we cannot find joy, is it because we have become too focused on our self-importance?  Do we risk losing the joy and wonder of seeing God's handiwork if we're too focused on our own stuff and life?

Being a child means that you are dearly loved.  It means that you have "Daddy", who is there to take care of you and to stand up for you.  And here is where we see that God is the best "Daddy" imaginable.  Not only has He provided for all that we need in life, He even goes so far as to give up His best in order to make sure that we belong to Him.  That's what Jesus and the cross and the resurrection is all about.

In the end, being a child means that we are loved.  Even though that love may not be revealing its complete form among us now, it still spills over into this life.  And so, in our interactions with one another, it would be great if we could all see each other as little children, children who are dearly loved by the Father.

Called To Serve

Hey all, I know it's been a long time since I last posted anything.  Specifically, it's been since October 14, according to my blog listing.  That's way too long, and even though I have had some decent reasons, it's a reminder that blogging is a way of life and not some mere hobby.

Part of the reason I've been away is that I have been issued a call to serve another church as their pastor.  Oak Road Lutheran Church in Lilburn, Georgia, has issued that call to me.  What that means is that I currently hold two calls into the ministry.  Obviously, that is a situation that cannot last long.  So for the past couple of weeks, my wife and I have been praying and considering where God's guiding hand is leading us to minister and serve.

It's a great and rather humbling thing to realize that God may be calling me to serve in another place.  I have been at my current congregation in Logan for almost 11 1/2 years.  That's practically unheard of for a first call, it seems.  Even I have been surprised at times at how long I have been ministering here.  And yet, in so many ways, it has been relatively easy to see God's hand at work throughout.  Relationships have been built, people have come to faith, children have been baptized and instructed, and God continues to do a great many things here. 

I've been praying and deliberating about this for a couple of weeks, and plan to have a direction sometime in the next couple of weeks.  Until that time, I would appreciate all the prayers and thoughts that could be lifted up as I consider where God's guiding hand is leading. 

Peace in Christ,
Scott

October 14 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Seventh Commandment--You shall not steal.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbors money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.

Matthew 5:42--Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Devotion--One thing that God desires from His Church on earth is that all the people who make up that Church would look to the good of one another.  While we are each individuals who have been saved through God's grace in Christ Jesus, God forms us all together in one body, that of Christ Jesus.  That body serves to look to the good of one another, just as God has looked to our good and has served us.

Part of that good involves looking to protect or even improve the gifts that God has given to our neighbor.  We may look at the differences that are found in how God has provided for our fellow members of the body of Christ, and at times, we may even think that God is unfair in His distribution.  Some seem to have more than others.  Some work hard only to get a little, while others may seem to coast by and receive much more than what seems fair.

And yet, God's will in this matter doesn't change, regardless of how God distributes His gifts.  We have the opportunity to look to the good of one another, and to help one another improve and protect what God has given.  

Now, if we lived in such a way that we shared all things equally, this would seem to be pretty easy to do.  We would easily see the benefit of looking to improve and protect because it would come around to assist us.  But when it doesn't seem to serve us in any particular way, we often have a difficult time justifying why we should do so.  Plus, we may not have many ideas on how exactly we would go about helping our neighbor improve and protect his gifts from God.

Might I suggest that we simply start by looking to do something that adds value to our neighbor and his things?  If he is working on a project, maybe we can assist him in its completion.  If he needs assistance in the upkeep of his place, we can offer a helping hand.  As we engage the creativity that God has put inside us, we will probably find many different ways that we can help to improve and protect our neighbor's gifts from God. 

October 13 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Seventh Commandment--You shall not steal.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.

Hebrews 13:16--Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Devotion--One common refrain that is often found in the Christian church is that we are saved by God's grace, not through the things we do.  This is the truth, especially as we find it in God's Word.  We cannot do enough good to ever be right with God.  Our being made right with God falls fully upon His doing, which He has done through Jesus and the cross and the resurrection.

However, far too often, this line of thinking is taken to a false extreme.  That extreme says that, since we aren't saved by the good we do, we cannot be compelled to do good.  There is a mindset out there that almost says that it's bad to do good, since that might give a false emphasis on "earning" our way to be right with God rather than fully trusting that Jesus has done it all for us.

And yet, we find the exhortation to do good throughout the Bible.  We don't do good in order to be right with God, but we do it for the good of one another.  That's what the verse above is encouraging us to do.  Do good, because that is in line with the will of God.  God's will is not merely to save us so that we can continue to do the same things, or to live an unchanged life.  God's will is to save us so that we can be a blessing and do good for one another.

Helping our neighbor improve and protect his possessions and income is one way that we do that kind of good for one another.  This kind of doing good is fully in line with God's will.  Attempting to do good in order to win favor with God, or to consider ourselves more "right" with God, is not the kind of good that is in line with God's will.  Rather, it is the good that comes from a caring, compassionate heart for one's neighbor.

What good is there that you can do on behalf of your neighbor today?  How will you go about taking up that opportunity?  

October 12 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Seventh Commandment: You shall not steal.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbors money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.

Leviticus 19:35--You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity.

Devotion-- What kind of trust do you place in someone who steals from you?  If you went to a grocery store, and the clerks were all authorized to add an extra 10% to your bill for their own pocket, what would you think of that store?  Would you continue to shop there?  Why?

Theft cannot help but to break down relationships.  The lack of trust that springs up from theft is extremely difficult to overcome.  If you disagree, then let me ask if you would allow someone who was put in jail for embezzlement to oversee your checking account.  Chances are, you would look at their history and come to the conclusion that they couldn't be counted on to be trustworthy.

Anything that leads to mistrust will inevitably break down relationships.  And theft is one sure way to create mistrust.  I think any of us would be hard-pressed to find an example where taking something from another person actually served to build up the community.  We simply have too firm a grasp on the things that God has given us to allow them to be handled by someone who may disagree with our possession of them.

The flip side of this coin is that helping our neighbor to protect and improve his things serves to build up trust.  When others see that we are genuinely concerned for their good and well-being, the foundation for trust is laid.  And as that trust grows, so also does the community.  And that shows us, in some small way, some of God's intended meaning behind this commandment.

October 11 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Seventh Commandment--You shall not steal.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.

For the Bible reference, please read Acts 5:1-11.  You can probably just scroll over the reference here to read it.

Devotion--This commandment seems pretty cut and dried.  Don't take things that don't belong to you.  While we may find ways to haggle over the definition of possession, one thing that God makes clear is that some things belong to us, and most everything else belongs to others.  God distributes these according to His will, and to steal is to say that we disagree with God's will and distribution.

Yet, the meaning above also gives us something else to think about.  Part of stealing happens when we have the opportunity to help our neighbor "improve and protect" his things, and we fail to do so.  We steal from him when we idly watch someone harm his property.  We steal from him when we could help him to improve the things he has, and we instead stand idly by.

In some respects, that seems like a rather harsh assertion to make.  Who of us hasn't seen someone who could use a helping hand and chose to move on without giving any assistance?  To give a very common example, who hasn't passed by some litter on the side of the sidewalk and left it there rather than picking it up?  We didn't help our neighbor (whether it's the local municipality or our actual neighbor next door) to improve and protect.

Why would that be considered stealing in God's eyes?  Could it be that, when He has given us the gifts, abilities, and opportunity to assist, and we keep it to ourselves, that we are stealing something that God desires for the good of another?  Could it be that the good that we can do in some way belongs to our neighbor, and if we keep it to ourselves, we are stealing from him?

Truth be told, we have so many opportunities to do this each day that we can never take them all up.  This is where the forgiveness of God flows richly to us.  We recognize that we cannot perfectly do everything this commandment calls for.  So we give thanks to God that He did not withhold His hand and assistance, but gave it freely through His Son, Jesus.

A Few Random Thursday Thoughts

I realize that it's been a while since I did a blog post that was merely a blog post and not a devotion of some kind.  I should probably make much more of an effort to do these.  It's a reminder to me that blogging is not just a thing that you do from time to time, but is, in some ways, a whole lifestyle, and one that you have to dedicate yourself to, and to make time to do.

It's been remarkably busy around here lately, mostly because of a somewhat intense travel schedule that I've been keeping.  So far this fall I've had trips to the Atlanta area and to Colorado, and still have one more trip upcoming.  When I travel, I try to get everything taken care of ahead of time, so that means cramming in some extra work before I leave. Not offering that as an excuse, but saying that it has impacted my blogging life in some rather intense ways.

So what's been on my mind lately?  One thought that has been there has been along the lines of figuring out how we discern God's will in some of the particulars of life.  We know that there are some major areas of God's will that are fairly plain for us as Christians.  God has redeemed us and given us new life through the cross and resurrection of Jesus.  God provides what we need to sustain our lives each day.  The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.  All of these are, in some respect, God's will.

Most Christians don't really question those too much.  When it gets tricky, though, is when it comes to specifics and particulars in life.  For a college student, the question may be, is it God's will to study chemistry, calculus, or engineering?  For a single person, it may be, is this person the one with whom I will share my life?  For a congregation, it may be, is it God's will that we engage in a particular type of ministry, or does God have something else in mind?

In some ways, I want to say that God's will may not be fully discernible in any of these particulars simply because they don't involve something that would go against God's will.  For the student picking a major, engineering isn't "sinful" and chemistry "righteous".  God can be actively working through that student regardless of their major.  Same thing for the single person, and for the congregation.  While they live within the guidelines of God's will, they also recognize that God can work in whichever way they go.

That's one of the reliefs that we find as God's people.  God can work through our life, regardless of some of the choices of direction that we make.  Sure, some may open up more opportunities than others, but God can work in each of them.  And, even as we engage in those opportunities, we also realize that God's will continues to be done as He daily renews and re-creates us through the washing waters of baptism.

October 5 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Fifth Commandment--You shall not murder.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

Proverbs 31:8--Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.

Devotion--You may have noticed, as you have been reading the various meanings of the commandments, that there is almost always a negative part of the meaning (describing the things that we do not do) and a positive part of the meaning (describing the things that we do in keeping the commandment).  We see this in particular with the fifth commandment, as it describes our help and support of our neighbor in his need.

That's not something that we may often think about.  Of course we know that murdering is wrong in God's eyes and against the commandment.  But it's probably not often that we think of those times when we've had the opportunity to help someone by caring for their needs, and we've neglected to do so, and seen that as a breaking of the commandment.  Our tendency is to focus on the "Do Not" parts rather than the "Be Doing This" parts.

As we think about the fifth commandment, how can you work for the betterment of one of your neighbors today?  One of the things we will realize as we think about the commandments in this way is that we will never run out of ways to do this.  We have so many neighbors as we live in this world, and there are so many needs, and we are limited by our time and our resources and our abilities.  Of course, we can never take up every opportunity that presents itself, and we are thankful for God's forgiveness for that through Jesus and the cross.

At the same time, we recognize that there are those opportunities that we can do something about.  We can promote the betterment of our neighbors and their lives.  When we come across an opportunity and we have the resources, we can and should work to help them in such a need.

How can you promote the betterment of your neighbor today?  This week?  How can you show someone else that this is God's will for them in their life?

Prayer--Lord God, Your commands are not only about the things we are to avoid, but about how we take action according to Your grace.  Help us to see those opportunities in which we can serve our neighbor and demonstrate our love toward them.  May we be active in these, for the sake of our neighbor, and for the sake of Christ.  In His name we pray.  Amen.  

October 4 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Fifth Commandment--You shall not murder.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

1 John 3:15--Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Devotion--In yesterday's devotion, I introduced the thought that anger and hatred is seen the same as murder in God's eyes.  We see that in the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5, and we see it again in this verse from 1 John.  In God's eyes, hatred toward another is basically murdering them in our thoughts.

I want to pull this into the realm of our relationships, rather than strictly focusing on how God sees this.  Think about this for a moment.  When you harbor hatred toward someone, how do you tend to act toward that person?  How does your hatred essentially murder that person in so many small, untold ways? 

Think about how you speak about that person.  When you hate someone, you tend to talk negatively about them.  You destroy their reputation when you speak in such a way about them, and you poison the minds of others toward that person.  In terms of reputation, you murder that person by your words.

Think about how you think about that person.  Can the person you hate ever do good in your eyes?  Don't you tend to find fault in everything that they do?  Aren't you always suspicious about what they are doing?  Don't you question their motives and motivation, and tend to assume the worst about them?  You murder that person in your mind each time you do this.

As people who are called to build up and encourage others, how can hatred ever accomplish this?  As people who have been shown God's grace, how can our hatred ever convey God's grace through our thoughts, our words, or our actions?  Simply, they cannot.

That's why John speaks so strongly about hatred.  Hatred has a tendency to negate God's grace, in the life of the person toward whom the hatred is directed, and even within our own lives.  To put it in a more simple way, it is almost impossible for hatred and grace to coexist.

How has hatred damaged relationships in your life?  What opportunities do you have to receive God's grace, which covers your hatred, and then, to let that same grace change you and your heart toward that other person?  How can you see that process begin today?

October 3 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Fifth Commandment--You shall not murder.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

Genesis 9:6--“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

Devotion--When God created mankind, He did so in the "image of God".  In some way, a reflection of God is found within every human being.  We recognize that this image has been permanently broken and fallen in the fall into sin, and yet, we still must come to grips with the fact that God created us in a way that is patterned after God Himself.

This is why God speaks so strongly about the taking of another's life.  When this happens, we destroy one who is patterned after God Himself in some strange and mysterious fashion.  This is not merely distasteful to God, it is something that He firmly hates, and which calls for His wrath and condemnation.  And then, in such places as Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus even goes so far as to include our thoughts of anger toward others as an element of murder.

Most of us who read this blog have likely not literally taken the life from another person.  However, most of us find ourselves guilty of harboring anger toward another, which Jesus equates with murder.  And that's why this commandment speaks to all of us.  We have have found ourselves guilty of this sin, and that means we need God's grace and forgiveness greatly.

God is a God who has forgiven through Jesus and the cross.  We have our hope through that loving action for us.  That's also why we take seriously what God says about anger and murder.  We look within ourselves in an effort to remove the outward stain and actions that betray that anger and murder, and we even battle against our vengeful thoughts.  So today, as you think about anger and murder, how can you reflect upon that image of God that the person toward whom you feel anger is patterned, and how can you deal with your anger in a productive way?

Prayer--Lord God, You forbid murder, and You equate our anger at others with murder.  Forgive me for this sin in my life, and give me Your Spirit to battle against the thoughts, words, and actions of anger in my life.  May I look upon those at whom I am angered, and see one who is created and patterned after Your image, and then deal with them accordingly.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.  

October 2 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Fourth Commandment--Honor your father and your mother.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not despise our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

Romans 13:2-- Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Devotion--As we go about living our lives, it is inevitable that we will encounter the authorities that God has established.  Throughout the Bible, we see that God has established these for the good of society and for the general welfare of us all.  Granted, not all authorities follow this God-given direction, and in such cases, we offer our prayers for changed hearts.

As people who have been forgiven by Christ Jesus, and who have been given new life through the waters of baptism, we have the opportunity to teach and instruct others about the honoring of authorities.  We can show them that it is God's will and design that we have authorities over us in life, and that we respond to them with honor, that we serve and obey then as is necessary, and that we even grow to love and cherish them.

We have the opportunity to teach others about this.  In some ways, that may mean that we each need to reflect upon our own thoughts toward those in positions of authority.  Do we have attitudes and thoughts that need to be adjusted and brought in line with God's will?  And then, how can we go about teaching others those same things as we have opportunity?  How can you show them that the authorities in their life are indeed a gift from God, and are there according to God's will and design?

I pray that you will not only take up the opportunity to reflect on your view of authorities in your life, but that you also look for opportunities to teach others about what God says pertaining to authorities.

October 1 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Fourth Commandment--Honor your father and your mother.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

Titus 3:1--Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work

Devotion--When Paul was writing these words to Titus, he was probably saying something that wouldn't have been very popular to hear.  Let's face it, authorities are never really all that popular in the minds of most people.  While we recognize that they fulfill necessary functions for the protection of society,  there is usually a good dose of fear and animosity that gets directed toward them.  No one wants to be the person pulled over by the police officer, or sentenced by the judge, or who has to pay taxes to support a government that seems to do as much wrong as good. 

But in Paul and Titus' day, authorities were likely even more feared.  In many instances, they had the pretty immediate authority to put you in prison or even to have you killed, and the burden of proof was nothing like what we experience today in North America.  Indeed, Paul could be telling Titus here to teach the people not only to obey God's mandate to honor authorities, but to take such an action to help preserve their lives.

While we may not face the same dangers from the authorities, we need the reminder that they are still put in place by God.  No, they aren't perfect, but they are there for our good and well-being.  And that's why part of our life together as Christians involves our encouragement to one another to honor and obey the authorities.

In your life, what kind of opportunities do you have to encourage others to honor the authorities?  It may involve teaching your children, or questioning that coworker on why they feel the need to drive recklessly.  It may mean that you have to learn a bit about what the authorities actually do so that you grow in your appreciation for their work and service.  But what can you do this week to help others grow in honoring authorities?

September 30 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Fourth Commandment--Honor your father and mother.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not despise our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

Romans 13:2--Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Devotion--When sin entered into the world, so also did the need for enforcing laws that would serve to protect society.  One of the very first episodes in the Bible demonstrates this need, as Cain, in a moment of hatred, kills his brother Abel.  Almost immediately, we see that the entrance of sin into the world also creates a need for authorities to enforce God's will and rules and laws.

In our nation, we have many different authorities who oversee our daily life, and who seek to serve and protect us and our neighbors.  They have a sacred duty, even as they serve in a very secular realm.  After all, as the verse above from Romans indicates, they are serving in an arena that God has established.

So what happens when we despise parents and other authorities?  Not only do we endanger the lives of our neighbors, but we also fight against something that God Himself has established for our own good.  In essence, when we resist the authorities, we're also resisting God.  And none of us could possibly hope to prove that doing this is what God has in mind for His people.

Are there ways in which you are guilty of despising the authorities?  Are there some areas of your life that could use a little reflection, to see what your attitude toward the authorities betrays?  The truth is, we all have these inside us, and that's why we are so thankful for the loving sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, who truly is the authority above and behind all other authority.

September 29 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Fourth Commandment--Honor your father and mother.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

Ephesians 6:2-3--“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

Devotion--I remember clearly one time when a fellow Christian was talking to me about her mother, who was elderly and not doing so well.  In the course of our discussion, I asked her the question, "What does it look like to honor your mother?"  It seemed rather apparent that this wasn't something that she had given a great deal of thought to.

What does it look like to honor our parents?  Maybe you haven't thought much about that question either.  Does it mean that we do what they say?  Does it mean that we respect them for what they did in raising us?  Does it mean we follow them blindly, and never question what they say?

I hope you give some thought to this question today.  Up front, I want to say that I don't have the "correct" answer.  But I can say that God's Word gives us a few clues as to what it looks like to honor our parents.

Listen to them respectfully, and learn wisdom from what they have been through.  When the things they say and tell you to do are in agreement with God's Word, then do them wholeheartedly.  Remember that they have sacrificed much to raise you, and take that into account in your interactions with them.  Pray for them regularly, giving thanks for what they have done, and lifting up the concerns that they have in life.

God's Word gives a promise to this commandment, and I'm convinced it's not only for the people to whom the commandment was initially given.  When families find themselves in harmony, life does go much better.  When the home is a caring, loving environment, everyone tends to do much better.  And while that may begin with the parents, it is also impacted by the way we honor, love, and obey our parents.

September 28 Catechism Devotion

Third Commandment--Remember the Sabbath day, by keeping it holy.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.

Hebrews 10:25--not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Devotion--The repeated call for God's people to be together, especially when it comes to worship, should come as no surprise.  One thing that we find throughout the Scriptures is that God cares for His people in a very incarnational way.  He does it through other people.  While God can surely perform great miracles to care for His people, more often He does it through the hands and heart of other people.

That is a great comfort to us, to know that God cares for us through His people.  And yet, we also need to remember that God works through our hands and heart in caring for other.  We are not only receivers of God's care, but we also have abundant opportunities to be providers of God's care.  And that is why our presence is needed when God's people gather together.

As you gather for worship at the next corporate worship time, who is there who needs your presence?  How will you discover what their need is, and then, how will you go about filling that need in their life?  You can do so as one who has been claimed by Christ Jesus, through His life, death, and resurrection, and through your Baptism.  Now you can show that same care in the midst of God's people.  So how will you do that next time you are with them?

Prayer--Lord God, help me to have eyes that are open to the caring that I can do when Your people gather together.  May I rejoice in the gifts and care that You provide to me, and may I equally be giving of those gifts as others have need.  Let my hands and heart demonstrate Your care as I care for Your people.  I ask this in Jesus' name.  Amen. 

September 27 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--Third Commandment--Remember the Sabbath day, by keeping it holy.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.

Acts 2:42--And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Devotion--Why did those early Christians find it so important to regularly gather together?  Well, we could probably think of a number of reasons.  They were just beginning to discover what it meant to be God's people, and how Jesus' life, death, and resurrection was a part of that.  They were the minority in pretty much all the places they lived, and needed the mutual encouragement of each other in times of adversity.  They wanted to learn more about what their faith meant for their lives, and the best way to do that was to gather together to talk about it and work through situations in life as they arose.

Perhaps you can see how things may have changed in the centuries since then.  For many of us, we have at least some background in the Christian faith.  Perhaps we attended Sunday School and catechism class.  We've worshiped with some degree of regularity in our lives.  We live in a nation where we may not necessarily be the minority, at least in cultural terms.  So some of the reasons that the early Christians may have gathered may not necessarily be the same for us now.

And yet, don't we still need regular encouragement in the living out of our faith?  Don't we need to be growing in our understanding of what we believe, and how that impacts all parts of our life?  Aren't there times when we need to get together and lament the fact that so many around us just don't seem to understand what it means that we are God's people?  Don't we still need strength and encouragement for the journey of faith?

There is a very personal component to our worship times together, in which many of these concerns and needs are cared for.  We pray for each other.  We encourage each other.  We teach each other about our faith and life.  We are strengthened by God for the journey of faith and life.  And we all need these as we walk through life. 

September 26 Catechism Devotion

Third Commandment--Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.

Matthew 11:28--Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Devotion--Jesus gives the promise that we can find rest in Him.  One of the chief ways that we find this rest is through His perfect life, death, and resurrection, where He made us right with God.  We don't have to go out of our way to make God happy with us.  God has already taken care of that for us through Jesus.

And yet, we find a great number of other burdens that we deal with as we live life.  Burdens of relationships, of possessions, of work.  Burdens of the consequences of sin, of the consequences of our words, and of our actions.  We suffer through many of these, and find them like a heavy weight that we carry around on our shoulders and in our minds.

So when Jesus makes the promise of rest, it sounds good.  But we can also struggle with exactly how we find the rest He promised.  Will He miraculously take it away from us?  Where is that rest found?

As we think about the third commandment, it seems that one place we find that rest and relief is in the company of our fellow believers.  We need to hear that we are forgiven, and we hear it from them.  We need support and encouragement for the struggles of life, and we find it in their words and presence.  We find it as we are reminded of God's grace toward us as we hear God's Word, and as that Word is proclaimed to us.  We find that rest as we remember our gifts in Baptism, and as we receive the body and blood of Jesus Himself.

Prayer--Lord Jesus, You have promised to give rest to us when we are burdened.  Help us to see that You give us that rest through our fellow believers, and through the means by which You give us Your grace.  May we often be found meeting with one another, and finding Your rest at such times.  Amen.  

September 25 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--3rd Commandment--Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.

Leviticus 23:3--Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation.  You shall do no work.  It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.

Devotion--A theme throughout the Bible is the gathering of God's people regularly.  Whether it be in the synagogue, in peoples' homes, or just the usual gatherings for prayer and worship, God makes a point that His people need to be together regularly.  They are people who have a common faith, who have a common future, and who need daily encouragement in the walk of life that pertains to that faith.

Yet, for many Christians, the day of gathering can seem to be somewhat optional.  We are always on the lookout for something better or more pressing to do (like sleep, or watch football, or go skiing or camping, or the like).  We have the tendency to think that our relationship with God is okay, and God won't miss us this week (or the next, or for several months in a row at times).

While the gathering of God's people is important for us as individuals, we also need to ask ourselves one other question.  Since God is so insistent on this point, are we gathering together for His benefit, for our benefit, or for someone else's benefit?  A simple look at those three options should point us to something rather startling, as we think about it.

Do we gather for God's benefit?  We are His whether we are in the gathering, at home, on the lake, in the mountains, or anywhere else on God's green earth.  God doesn't need us to be there with His people since God knows us intimately, knows where we are, and knows where our hearts truly are.

Do we gather for our benefit?  God has made us His own through our baptism.  Do we need to have that faith regularly strengthened?  Sure, and the gathering of the saints is one way that God works that in us.  But we can get that in other ways outside of the gathering, even if they aren't God's preferred way. 

Do we gather for the benefit of others?  By this point in the devotion, you've probably thought that this was where we were heading.  Truthfully, it's not so much that we gather for God's benefit or for our benefit, but that we do so for the benefit of our fellow believers.  They need our presence to speak a word of comfort to them.  They need us there for the strengthening of the body (which never takes place individually, but only when we are all together).  They need us there because our faith is something we have in common, and we humans need the community of each other in more ways that merely the building up of our faith.

So why is your presence important at the gathering of God's people?  Sure, it carries great benefits for you, but it's probably even more vital that you be there for your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Our love for God is reflected in great ways by the way we demonstrate that we love our neighbors as ourselves, and we have the great opportunity to do that when we gather with them.

September 21 Catechism Devotion

Catechism--2nd Commandment--You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

Matthew 7:21--“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Devotion--The words of Jesus in the verse above should bring a bit of a shock to all of us who wear Christ's name upon us.  It points out that there may be those who truly think that they are Christians, and yet who are not part of the kingdom of heaven.  The quick thing that I'll point out in that regard is that Jesus shows us here that our hope is really is more about what God has done for us, and that our faith clings to Jesus' action, than it does to anything that we would do.

 As we look out our lives, it is inevitable that we will discover some ways that our lives do not accurately reflect that we wear Christ's name.  When we engage in sinful behaviors, or even when we find ourselves doing things that bring offense to our fellow Christians, our lives do not reflect that we wear Christ's name.  In that circumstance, we essentially are "deceiving" by God's name.

What does this look like in your life?  Are there any actions or behaviors that you find yourself making excuses about when it comes to explaining why you should be able to do them?  Or do you even find that your Christian life is more about a certain type of morality than it is about a living relationship with God through Jesus?  As you look through your life, you will undoubtedly be able to find numerous examples of these.

I want to give you some reassurance first.  Your life with God is more about God's faithfulness to you than it is your faithfulness to Him.  We can never be so faithful as to have no worries about our standing with God.  However, God's faithfulness toward us is undying.  That's the meaning behind the cross and resurrection.

Part of our lives as Christians is to accurately reflect God in our lives.  That's why we look for these areas that may be deceiving by God's name.  It's not for God, but it can prove helpful to our faith walk, and can be a means of giving glory to God on the part of others in our life.

September 20 Catechism Devotion

1st Commandment--You shall have no other gods.  What does this mean?  We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

Philippians 2:13--for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Devotion--It's mostly hidden from our eyes, but God is actively at work in our lives, and in everything that happens around us.  In one way, this is a good thing.  Were God to completely reveal Himself as the holy and just God, everyone who has the taint of sin upon them would be destroyed.  So God's hidden-ness actually serves to protect us from condemnation.

However, we also have some difficulty with the hidden-ness of God.  It comes from the fact that there are way too many times when we simply cannot see what He is doing.  When we face a significant challenge in life, is God telling us to take another path, or is He teaching us to persevere?  Because God is hidden, we cannot always see what He is doing clearly.

Sometimes it also takes another person to see what God may be doing in our own lives.  We get lost in the proverbial forest simply because all we can see are the trees.  We see the immediate circumstances, and fail to see how the larger picture can actually be at work for good in our lives.  And that's where we greatly benefit from the help of another believer.

In that same vein, we can also be the one who helps another see the active work of God in their lives.  Since we put our trust that God is actively at work in this sinful world, we can point out that activity to one another, especially when a brother or sister cannot see it clearly.  And quite often, what we see can be the very source of comfort and help that they need to endure through the circumstance they currently face.

In your life today, who could use your eyes to see God's activity in their life?  What can you point out to them?  What might their eyes be blind to seeing simply because they are too close to the circumstances?  Having seen that, how will you communicate what you see in a way that directs them to God's gracious work in their lives?

Prayer--Lord God, You are actively at work in this world all the time, though our eyes may be blind to seeing that work.  Help our eyes to see that work in the lives of others, and may we be of help to them in seeing that gracious action.  By Your Spirit's work, give us the words to speak to point them to Your gracious action.  We ask this in Jesus' name.  Amen.