Who ya talkin' to?

One of the traditions in my Lutheran heritage is the speaking of "creeds", statements about our faith, which describe who our God is and what we know He has done for us through the Bible.  In fact, it's a very rare Sunday or worship service that goes by without one of the three basic creeds of the church being spoken (those three are the Apostles, Nicene, and the rather lengthy Athanasian creeds).

Part of the tradition of the speaking of these creeds is to have every stand for them.  We then tend to speak them as we face the front of the church.  In many ways, this is a good thing to do.  Part of the confession of what our faith consists of is made to our God.  In that way, we are praising God for what He has done, and for who He tells us that He is.  And our response is to acknowledge our faith by declaring what we believe about Him.

But in recent years, I have also taken some slightly different approaches at times with the speaking of the creeds.  True, these are the confession of faith that we make to God.  But we also make this confession to one another, as a reminder of the faith that we share, and of the fact that God has done this for each of us, and we are part of the Church together.  On those occasions, I have actually had the people of God face one another and speak of their faith to one another.  Our confession of faith unites us together as the people of God, since God has done His work for us all.

I'm also planning to have God's people do something else in the not too distant future.  Rather than facing the altar (which is our way of speaking to God) or facing one another, I will have the people of the congregation turn toward the walls of the building.  We will then speak our faith out toward the community that we are part of.  I see this as a good thing to do.  After all, we live our Christian lives in the context of the various communities that we are part of.  As we live our lives, we strive to live in such a way that our lives declare our faith.  Our confession of faith is directed also toward those who are not part of our gathering of faith.

Our Christian faith is not intended to be something that is kept under wraps and only revealed in connection with our fellow believers.  It's a statement that is made as we encounter the people of the communities in which God has placed us.  My hope is that this simple exercise grows us as we think about how our faith is an important part of our life, not just when we gather, but as we go forth into a community, declaring our faith and boldly proclaiming our God.

Money, Friends, and Reaching Out

There's a very interesting verse in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 16:9, found in the context of a parable that reads in Luke 16:1-13) in which Jesus says to make friends for yourselves using unrighteous mammon (a word we often translate as wealth), so that when it fails, those same friends will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

One of my favorite questions is "What does this mean?", and you can truly ask that about this story and saying.  It almost sounds like Jesus is saying that we should use our money to make people become our friends, and that they will then welcome us into the eternal kingdom.  If you take that at face value, it almost sounds like everyone gets to be there, and you are welcomed because you used your wealth to make friends with them.

This is one of those instances where we should not take an individual verse out of the overall context of the surrounding story or parts.  In fact, we actually don't get to the full meaning of this whole story until we reach the very end, where Jesus sums up what He is saying.  This story concludes with the somewhat well-known saying, you cannot serve two masters.  You cannot serve God and money. 

That helps to give a bit of an idea about why Jesus would say to use wealth (mammon) to gain friends.  In the end, you are either going to serve your wealth, or your wealth will serve you.  Since we are a people who are bought by the blood of Jesus, He rightfully is the one that we serve.  There is no room to serve Jesus, and also to base our life on what all we can get or buy. 

Since that is the case, what is the proper use of wealth (mammon)?  It serves us.  It helps us to get what is needed to sustain our lives.  However, God often gives more than what is needed for the basic necessities of life.  So what do we do with what's left?  That's when Jesus tells us that we would be shrewd to make use of it in the spread of the Gospel message.  Our wealth becomes a means of connecting with our communities, and bringing Christ into those connections.  Our wealth serves the Gospel, and as God works through those connections, He draws people to Himself by His Spirit. 

That's when we see the full meaning of this story and verse.  When our wealth serves God, God's Spirit often will create faith in the hearts of those whom we call friends.  As that Gospel message takes root in them, they receive God's grace in Jesus.  Our wealth has then served the Gospel in bringing them into the eternal kingdom, where they will give thanks for our wise and shrewd use of our wealth in seeing to their eternal life. 

We simply cannot serve both God and our wealth.  So why not turn the tables on our wealth and see that it serves a greater purpose, that of the Gospel message and eternal life?

When Death Calls

Today I had the opportunity to minister to a family who had lost a dear husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.  This same man was also one that many called "Pastor" during his life.  He served in WWII, and then led a life in which he served God and God's people in the office of the ministry. 

Death calls to all of us.  It doesn't matter the life that we live.  Death will inevitably come to visit us.  Only one has ever claimed to have a cure for death, and even in that, He didn't say that it made you immune to death.  He said death would be overcome, and He did it Himself by not only dying, but by rising back to life.  Now, death no longer has any claim or hold on Him.  And because of who He is, He has the power and authority to extend that same gift to any that He so chooses.

Death calls to all of us.  It's frightening, and for good reason.  Death is unnatural.  God did not create His creation with any intent of death being a part of it.  However, sin demands death.  Disobedience demands death.  Justice demands death.  And since God is a God of perfect justice, when He looks upon a sinful creation, He has to demand death.

The thing is, God is not content to simply let death call to us and make an end of us.  Jesus rose from the dead to live a new life, one that never ends, and is perfect in all respects.  And Jesus sends His Spirit to give that gift of new life to those who receive it.  While that call does call for a change in our lives, that change is a result of the gift we receive, and not the means by which we receive this gift.  It remains a gift that Jesus gives, and that He desires to extend to every single one of His human creation.

That's where the joy came in for today, for the family who said goodbye.  In reality, it isn't goodbye.  It's "see you soon."  God doesn't do away with death, but instead, He changes it.  For His redeemed, faithful people, death becomes a gateway to a new, perfect, everlasting life, and not THE END.  It ushers in a new life, not merely bringing one to an end.

Death calls.  I not only hope and pray that you have heard the voice of the one who conquered death when death comes calling to you, but that you also find ways to share that message and declare it in your life to others.  The reason that this is so important: Death will call all of us.  And Jesus wants all to know that they can have perfect, everlasting life, through what He has done for them.  Just like that message was in the life and mouth and heart of the servant to whom we said "goodbye" today, may that same message be in all of our lives and mouths and hearts.

Living The New Life

One thing I often get asked about are ways that a Christian can live out their faith in a way that extends beyond the self.  How do I live my faith without being offensive, but with a desire to see opportunities to share that faith in witness to Christ Jesus to others?  It's a good question, and one that I love to hear from people.  It means that their eyes are open to more than just their own standing with God.  It demonstrates a heart that yearns for others to know the great gift of forgiveness and new life that we have received in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

Since this is something that continues to come up in ministry, I'm going to start a new weekly "series" of sorts.  I'm planning on calling it "Living the New Life."  I call it this because these kind of questions and answers aren't ways that we make ourselves right with God, or even that we do to please God.  Instead, I see these as ways that the new self, created by God in the water of baptism, wants to live before God and before neighbor.  So don't take these as ways to improve yourself, or to be in better standing in God, but as ideas for what opportunities the new life has to live out our faith in Jesus as our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer.

Today I want to start off with something that may seem really simple, and may not even seem to be all that impactful.  Yet, I see it as one way to watch doors open by the Holy Spirit, and a way in which our eyes and hearts can become even more open to the opportunities that God presents in life.  The suggestion: a prayer walk.  And no, I don't mean something that you get a lot of people lined up for, and then going around praying out loud as though you're part of a parade.  I mean a personal or even small family sized prayer walk.

A lot of people have gotten into the "getting fit" trend.  Walking is a great way to do it, and I know of a lot of people who go for a walk on a daily or weekly basis.  So this suggestion merely adds one element to it.  As you walk, why not offer up prayers on behalf of the people, businesses, our households in the area that you are walking through?  If you walk through your neighborhood, why not ask God to pour His grace into those households?  Why not ask Him to open up doors where you can demonstrate your neighborliness in Christ to that household?  If you are walking through a park, why not ask for God to show His grace to the people or families that you pass?  Likewise, if you walk through a mall, you can do the same thing, and even extend it to the businesses in the venue.

Again, this seems like a small thing.  Yet, the new life in you in baptism wants to demonstrate love for neighbor, and prayer is one of the ways to demonstrate that love.  And you never know what will happen as God listens to your prayers.  He may even put one or two of the people in your path with an opportunity that the Spirit is creating.  He may simply be opening your eyes and heart up to those that you may not have thought of as neighbors before.  He could simply be preserving those for whom you pray, planning to work through the impact of another, and yet preserving them in line with your prayer. 

It may seem small, but our God often does great things through small means and packages.  Praying is natural for the new life that God has created in you through your baptism.  And, if you were looking for an added benefit, walking is also good for you, demonstrating some good stewardship of the body that God has gifted to you by His grace.

Who is my neighbor? part 4

Continuing our look at one of Jesus most well-known parables in Luke 10:25-37, today I want to paint a bit of a different picture than where we have gone so far.  Up to this point, I've focused on the background of the parable, where the lawyer asks Jesus about eternal life.  I've looked at the priest and the Levite, who failed to show compassion, and at the Samaritan, who demonstrated great compassion.  But today, I want to take a bit of a different angle when looking at these words.

Remember, Jesus was speaking these words in a particular context, at a particular time, and for a particular purpose.  Essentially, Jesus answered the lawyer's question "Who is my neighbor" not by giving him a definition of his neighbor, but by demonstrating what it means to be a neighbor to others.  Pulling the meaning to us, it's not to ask "who shall I serve as my neighbor", but rather, "how can I be a good neighbor to those around me?"

There is also a deeper meaning to this parable that moves beyond the meaning to that lawyer on that day.  When we look at the primary people of the story, one of the things we can realize is that we are that broken, beaten man on the side of the road.  That's our natural condition in God's eyes, to some degree (and I would say that God's viewpoint would see it even worse for us).  We're unable to help ourselves, unable to fix ourselves, and are simply laying there dying on the side of the road.

That's when we see God in human flesh, Jesus, come along.  He sees us on the side of the road, and Jesus has great compassion on us.  He carries us to the place of healing (instead of an inn, we might picture a cross and an empty tomb), where He pays the full price for our healing.  And then, He makes the promise to come and make everything better as we receive our healing. 

In that respect, we gain a lot when we see ourselves as the beaten, broken man, and Jesus as the Samaritan.  True, that isn't the natural "fit" of the parable as Jesus told it to the lawyer, but it is a quite apt example of what Jesus came to do.  And it serves to remind us that we have a God who has restored our health, who has paid our price, and who has promised to return for us.  What a great joy to think about!

Who is my neighbor, part 3

Once again engaging God's Word, we're looking at the pretty well-known parable of Jesus, known as the Good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:25-37.  For today's post, I want to focus primarily on the figure of the Good Samaritan.  Who is this mysterious, compassionate man?  Why would he help a poor beaten man, even at his own expense?  Why does he even care about this guy?

To be fair, Jesus rather challenges the lawyer when He makes the Samaritan the good guy in the parable.  Samaritans and Jews simply did not get along well.  When the nation had been exiled, some had been left behind in the country.  Since they were few in number, they ended up marrying the people of the nations around them.  So when the nation was re-populated by the full-blooded Israelites, these half-blood (at best) Samaritans were looked down upon.  They weren't really seen as God's people.  They had done that which God had said not to do, when they had married people of other nations. 

In many respects, Samaritans were despised, especially in relationship to true Israelites.  So when Jesus tells the parable and makes a Samaritan the good guy, well, that would just be plain offensive.  It would be like a Democrat telling a story, and making a Republican out as the good guy (or vice versa). 

Jesus makes a very important point here, even as He uses a Samaritan as the good guy.  Care and compassion can be found in even the most unlikely of places.  I've known any number of "rough" people in my life, and they have had truly great moments of compassion.  Compassion is not found only in the people of God, but to some degree, it's present in every single part of God's human creation.  Everyone has the capacity for compassion within them.

In one respect, that's the point that Jesus is making here.  God is a God of compassion, and He has created all human beings with the capacity for compassion.  God actually does take great joy in seeing His people live out compassion.  Now, to be fair, this isn't the thing that makes us right in God's eyes.  This is simply living as God created us to live.  It's only in God's compassion toward us that we are restored in His eyes, a compassion that He gives through Jesus and the cross and resurrection.  And yet, God does indeed take great joy in seeing His human creation demonstrate compassion, even when we discover it in the most unexpected of places.

Who is my neighbor, part 2

Yesterday's post talked a bit about the background and context of the famous "Good Samaritan" parable of Jesus.  A lawyer, who would have been well-versed in the law from Moses, asked Jesus about what to do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus responded by asking him what the Law said.  The lawyer responded, love God and love your neighbor.  Jesus told him to do this and he would live.  And then, in an effort to justify what we can only assume to be a lack of love toward his neighbor, the lawyer asked Jesus, "who is my neighbor?"

Jesus responded with the parable that so many people know as the Good Samaritan.  Truth be told, there are a lot of elements in this story that we could cover.  But for today, I want to take some time to focus on the first two characters who pass the man who had been beaten and robbed and left for dead.  They bear some consideration as we ponder the question, "Who is my neighbor?"

Jesus mentions a priest and a Levite passing the beaten man.  Each of them walks to the other side of the road.  But I want to point out an interesting detail about these two.  Both of them would have been involved with the religious life of the people of Israel.  In fact, they likely would have held positions of respect.  They had significant duties to attend to on behalf of God and for His people. 

But you notice something interesting.  Jesus doesn't really give us a reason for their lack of compassion.  I'm sure many have assumed their motivations, both good and bad.  But for Jesus, the very plain and simple fact is, they didn't stop.  They left the man there.  They surely failed to love their neighbor as themselves. 

That's what I'm going to call a negative example.  These two men in Jesus' parable are examples of what NOT to do.  Love for one's neighbor does NOT involve simply leaving them there on the side of the road in their broken condition.  The example that Jesus is painting for this lawyer is that we can say for sure that failure to demonstrate compassion to others is a failure to love our neighbor. 

Tomorrow, we'll jump in and take a look at the Samaritan.

Who is my neighbor?

One of the more well-known stories that Jesus told from the Bible is that of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).  It's a story that has been preached upon many times, usually with some kind of an emphasis on our care for our neighbor.  We often have found ourselves compared to either the priest or the Levite, people who had an opportunity to help a poor, beaten man on the side of the road, and yet, who refused to help.  We're then encouraged to be more like the man who actually stops and helps the man, who sees to his needs, and brings him to a place of healing.

In future posts, I intend to get into the meaning of this story (parable) a little more.  There's a great deal of depth to this that often goes unseen or unnoticed, and I'd like to highlight some of it for you.  But before we get into that, I actually want to take a bit to introduce the whole reason Jesus told this story.  He didn't just come up with this story on a whim, but told it to convey a very particular point.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus often had people come to Him with hard questions, looking for Him to have an answer for them.  Some people came with honest intentions, wanting to know what God really did think.  Others came looking for a way to trap Jesus in His words, to find something to use against Him when an appropriate time arose.  As we look at the context surrounding the different stories or parables that Jesus told, we get a bit of a better picture on why He would tell that particular story.

This is also the case with the Good Samaritan.  A few verses prior to the beginning of this parable, we have a lawyer approaching Jesus.  Remember, this isn't a lawyer like the ones you and I are familiar with.  A lawyer in that day was more along the lines of an expert in God's law.  This man would have known the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) extremely well.  He would have been highly educated in everything God had spoken to Moses, and so would have been someone that others looked to when they had questions.

This lawyer asked the very pertinent question about what it took to obtain eternal life.  After all, this was the promise that God had made.  So how does one go about getting hold of it?  And Jesus responded by asking him what he knew from the law of God.  The lawyer fell back on the summary of the commandments.  Love the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.  Jesus very bluntly told him that if he did this, he would live.

It seems that this wasn't the answer the lawyer was looking for.  He knew that already.  Maybe he thought that Jesus had some further insight into it, or maybe Jesus would take a different approach than what had been taken before.  He just couldn't take that easy of an answer.  There had to be more.  And so, almost in desperation, he asked the question that led to Jesus telling the parable.  "And who is my neighbor?"

That got to the heart of the issue for the lawyer.  Who do we consider to be our neighbor?  If part of the fulfilling of God's command is to love our neighbor as ourselves, then it helps to know who our neighbors are.  So as we continue our journey through this story, we'll look at how Jesus answers this question, and what the parable says about our neighbors.

Sermon from May 19

Here is this past Sunday's sermon.

Pentecost, Confirmation, And Responsibility

For some of you, it’s a date that occurred quite some time ago.  For others, it may not have been all that long ago.  If it happened to you when you were very little, chances are that you don’t have a memory of it.  I know that I personally don’t remember the details when it happened to me.  I do know the date, March 24, during the same year I was born.  For others of you here, it may have taken place when you were a little bit older.  But regardless of when it took place, it was a life-changing event.

What is it that I’m talking about?  The date of your baptism.  On that date, you were brought before God and God’s people, and something rather significant took place.  God extended His promise to you as the water and God’s Word combined to touch you.  When that happened, you were made one of God’s own people.  You became a child of promise.  God’s promise was extended to you, and God doesn’t take the promises He makes lightly. 

But you also weren’t alone on that day, especially if you happened to be very little.  Sure, God’s promise had been extended to you when the baptismal waters touched you.  But how were you to know about that promise?  How would you find out what it means to be a child of God’s promise?  On that day, as you were baptized, there were people there who committed themselves to the task of nurturing you in that faith that you had just been baptized into.  People such as parents, guardians, and godparents made a commitment to God and to you to make sure that you knew that you were a child of God’s promise.  They made a commitment to make sure that you knew what that promise meant for you.

They took that responsibility upon themselves.  And for most of us who were baptized at a very young age, we probably had times in our lives where we didn’t really get that very much.  In my own life, I can recall any number of times when I didn’t really want to get up and go learn more about my faith.  I can recall a few times where I questioned their wisdom in getting me up and dressed just to go sit through church and Sunday School.  And I would imagine that there were those times for pretty much all of us.  While our parents or guardians may have taken that responsibility seriously, we probably didn’t make it all that easy on them a few times.

And yet, many of us are here today because they took their responsibility seriously.  And yes, I have been kicking that word around quite a bit this morning already.  Responsibility.  It’s something that others took upon themselves on our behalf for those of us who were baptized at a young age.  And in some other respects, that’s a key word for us today, especially for the five students who will be confirmed in their faith today.  Responsibility.  

The ritual that we are observing today has several different intentions behind it.  In the Lutheran church, we observe confirmation as the end of a time of instruction in the content of our faith.  The class works through Luther’s Small Catechism, along with quite a bit of Bible reading, to see what we believe, and why we believe it.  Once we have worked our way through that, the moment of truth arrives.  Those who have been attending the class are then ready to say that the faith into which they were baptized is their own.  They know more about it now, and are ready to claim it as their own.

But along with that, there is something more.  Having been instructed, they are also ready to take up the greater responsibility for the continued nurture of their faith life.  Up to this point, it had been primarily directed by others.  Mom and dad bringing them to church and youth group.  A friend that had invited them along the whole time.  But now, once they have completed the instruction time, they are ready to take responsibility for their own continued growth.  And that’s what we observe today.

Today, our confirmation students will be standing before us to declare that they are equipped and ready to take responsibility for the continued nurture of their faith life.  They will be making a number of statements.  They hold to God’s truth that the Bible is the word from God to us human beings.  They will declare that they hold our understanding of what God says as one that is drawn directly from the Bible.  They will declare that they want to be known as a person who holds to that faith, and who intends to hold on to that faith all the way to the time when God brings their life in this world to an end.  They will declare that they are people of God’s promise, and will continue to be so, and will strive to continue to grow in understanding what that means for their lives.

So the continued nurture of their faith life will be their own.  They will take up the responsibility and bear it on their shoulders.  And this brings us to one of the awesome things about our God and the people to whom He extends His promise.  Sure, they are taking responsibility for their faith, but in doing that, they are also not alone.  Yes, God has connected them to Himself through the water of their baptism, and yes, today they are stating that they are taking responsibility for their faith life.  But they also don’t take up that responsibility as though there is no one else to nurture and guide them.

As God’s people, we continue to bear a responsibility toward the nurture of their faith life as they continue to grow.  And I use the word “continue” there very intentionally.  It takes practically the whole body of Christ in any given congregation to nurture and grow the faith life of our children.  In fact, it’s worth recognizing the different roles that many of you have had in the nurture of the faith life of our students.  How many of you have had the chance to teach them in Sunday School?  Vacation Bible School?  Confirmation class?  How many of you have welcomed them when they come to God’s house for worship, or for Bible Study?  How many of you have sat beside them at a meal, or encouraged them during an activity here?  We could keep going on and on about how many of you have had the opportunity to interact with them and to help grow them in their faith over the years of their life here.

Today, your responsibility toward them does not end.  Sure, the primary responsibility shifts from the shoulders of their parents and caregivers onto their own shoulders, but your responsibility toward them continues.  As part of the body of Christ, every single one of us here has a responsibility toward them, to continue to encourage them in their faith life and walk, to equip them as God gives us the opportunity.  We’re part of the body to challenge them to grow to greater levels of maturity in their faith.  And not a single one of you is exempt from that responsibility.  Sure, you may not have had an opportunity to interact with them, and there could be a number of really good reasons for that.  But as part of the Body of Christ, the same Body of Christ that they are part of, you also bear that responsibility toward them.

In fact, right about now, you might be expecting me to pull out my little poster, right?  Connecting Community And Christ.  Confirmation day is really a little bit about doing this.  Our students declare that they are prepared to take responsibility for their faith life.  But they are still part of the community.  It falls on their shoulders, and also on all of our shoulders, to maintain and build up those connections with one another.  Since Jesus has seen fit to give up His life for all of us, washing us all the water of baptism, and in doing that, extending His promise to us, and making us part of His body, that means that we are all connected together as a community.

So our students take responsibility for their faith life.  An important thing for us to remember is that they are still part of the body.  Jesus gave up His life for them, just like He gave up His life for you.  Jesus purchased and won them, just like Jesus purchased and won you from sin, death, and the power of the devil.  Jesus has given the assurance of new life to them by rising from the dead, just as He has given that same assurance to you by rising from the dead.  

We still have a responsibility to our students, as part of the Body of Christ, to nurture and grow them in their faith and life.  And today, they are saying that they are ready to take up some measure of that same responsibility.  Sure, we can’t just take that whole level of responsibility and dump it upon them all at once.  In some ways, they will need to be nurtured to understand exactly what it means to have that responsibility.  In fact, that’s something that we all need continual nurturing in.  We have responsibility for our faith lives, but we also benefit by remembering that we also have a responsibility toward our fellow members of the body of Christ.  We are all people that Jesus has died to redeem.  We are all people that Jesus has made His own through our baptism.  Jesus has given us a community, the Body of Christ, to nurture the hope and the faith that He has given to us.  Our whole community is what it is because of Jesus.

And since Jesus has made every single one of you into a new creation, you see the value of the other members of the Body of Christ.  Part of our new creation in Jesus is that we see the need for our connections to one another.  We connect with the community because we recognize that, even though Jesus has rescued each of us, we also need one another for our continued nurture and growth.  And today, as we welcome our students into that same responsibility, we recognize our role in it, and welcome them to share that responsibility with us.

With that great joy in our hearts today, we give thanks to God that He continues to provide the opportunity for us to encourage and support one another in the faith.  I ask that you join me as we pray for our Body of Christ, and specifically, for our students who assume greater responsibility upon themselves today.

Gathering Meaning From Stories

Every single one of us has a story.  The stories of our lives are varied and interesting.  In some ways, these stories really tell a lot about who we are, what has shaped us, and help explain why we are the person that we happen to be.  Stories carry a great deal of meaning, and convey much when we tell others about our stories.

If you've spent any time at all reading the Bible, you also have noticed that it is filled with stories.  Those stories form and shaped the people of the Bible, just as they continue to form and shape us today.  We hear the stories about our ancestors in the faith, and some of those stories really resonate with us.  We hear other stories, and they don't really impact us all that much.  Some stories that we hear teach us something, and others, well, we might not know exactly what to make of them.

But all stories have meaning.  Sometimes our challenge in approaching the Bible is discerning the meaning behind the stories we read there.  Some of these stories seem pretty easy to understand.  We read the story of the Good Samaritan, and we're encouraged to help others in need.  But even when we come across a story that seems to be easy to understand, such as this one, we're often confronted by an even deeper meaning.

For example, let's go back to that story of the Good Samaritan.  It sure does seem to be a story about stopping to help others in their needs.  That's actually biblical, too.  We're told to love our neighbor as ourselves, and we see God speaking a lot about this.  And there are times in our lives where we need that encouragement or exhortation.  If we cannot seem to find opportunities to love our neighbors, a story such as this one reminds us that we probably are missing quite a few of these, just like the Levite and the priest.

However, as in so many of the stories of the Bible, there's an even deeper meaning.  For a moment, think about yourself as the one on the ground, beaten and robbed and left for dead.  Who stopped by to pick you up?  None other than our Lord Jesus Himself.  Who paid the full price for your recovery to health (and by health, I mean fully restored you to the Father)?  None other than Jesus Himself.  Who has promised to come back and take care of anything else that might come up along the way, and who will cover all of your continued care?  None other than our Lord Jesus Himself.

At first glance, that meaning of the story might not jump out at us.  That's why it's so good for us to remember that we can never fully plumb the depths of everything the Bible teaches.  On top of that, it can be challenging at times to put into words the meaning of the stories.  We tend to like bullet points much more.  But as you engage in God's Word, enjoy the stories.  Take them to heart.  Seek the meaning that is there, and ask the Lord to continue to deepen your understanding of the level of meaning that He shares with you in His stories.

Confirming the Faith

This coming Sunday, our congregation will be pleased to witness the confirmation of five of our young people.  They will stand before God's people to confess the faith that they have been baptized into, that they have been instructed in, and which is theirs.  As they prepare for this joyous day, I thought I would put a few thoughts about confirmation into a post.

What, exactly, is confirmation?  In my personal library, I have a number of books that seem to point to different answers.  For some, the view is that confirmation is the primary education that young people receive in the faith.  They learn about the Scriptures and about God.  They learn what Jesus has done, and what He continues to do.  They learn a lot of content, and when they have assented to that content, then they are confirmed.

Another view of confirmation is that of ritual.  It's a rite of passage, a time in which a young person is instructed in their faith, but more importantly, at the conclusion of the ritual, they are brought into a more meaningful relationship with the congregation.  For many congregations, this is the time at which the confirmands are first administered the Lord's Supper.  They pass through the ritual in order to receive this gift of God's grace.

Yet another view is that of responsibility.  Up until the time of confirmation, the young person faith is the responsibility of the parents or guardians.  They are the ones who see to it that the young person is brought to instruction, and brought to worship, and raised up in the faith.  But once the young person is confirmed, they assume that responsibility for their own.  Instead of relying upon mom and dad to nurture their faith life, they assume that responsibility on their own.  Not independent of the rest of the congregation, but they bear the primary responsibility.

Is there a right answer in these different views?  Is there a wrong answer?  In my experience, I see a little bit of each of these going on with confirmation.  I don't believe that confirmation instruction should rely solely upon the pastor or the teacher, but takes place throughout the life of the young one.  Sunday School, worship, youth group and activities, all of these are geared toward the nurture of the faith.  But perhaps most importantly, the family is the center at which the majority of this nurturing takes place. 

Then, the students go through a period to ensure that what they know and believe is in line with the Bible.  They learn and memorize Bible verses and portions of Luther's Small Catechism in our tradition.  Typically, the pastor or another faith-grounded individual leads a period of instruction to ensure that they believe according to the Scriptures.

Then, as this time is brought to a close, the students are ready and equipped to take responsibility for the continued nurture of their faith life.  It isn't a graduation, but rather, an acknowledgement that they have the tools to continue to grow.  They leave their father and their mother, in a sense, and assume the primary responsibility for their continued growth.  True, they still rely on their family a lot, just like they still rely upon the congregation for their nurture.  But now the responsibility falls on their shoulders.  They are ready to claim the faith, to declare it their own, and to ensure that they continue to grow.

Thoughts?  Differences?  Comments?  All are welcome.

What "Compels" You

I typically make use of the English Standard Version of the Bible in my use.  It's a bit more of a literal translation of the languages that the Bible was written in.  There are other versions that aim for a more simple, "colloquial" translation.  In other words, the first strives to be more true to the actual wording of the original language.  The second aims for the intent of the original, but uses the more common language for its translation purposes.

Why bring that up?  Because in a few instances, it makes a very big difference in how you translate a verse.  For example, the verse that I want to use for today's blog post is from 2 Corinthians 5:14, where Paul writes, "For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died."  The key word in this verse is 'controls.'  If you look in the New International Version, a much more common and colloquial version, it says that 'the love of Christ compels us...'  Two related, but different words with vastly different intents behind them.

For the purposes of today's blog, I actually like the NIV translation a bit more.  The love of Christ compels us.  In other words, what is the driving force behind what you do, and why you do it?  Do you do what you do as a Christian because you are compelled by a great love that Christ has for you, and therefore you have a great love for others, or do you do what you as a Christian because you are controlled by Christ?  I don't know about you, but I would much rather be compelled to love because I have the great love of another that is directed toward me, rather than to think that I am controlled by that one.

In fact, as we think about it, control seems to have more to do with the law.  You control someone to get them to do what you want them to do.  Compel has more to do with the Gospel.  You do it because you see what you have already received.  I'm forgiven, therefore I'm compelled to forgive others, rather than, I'm forgiven, therefore I'm controlled to forgive others.  That changes the whole dynamic of our lives as Christians.  Are we compelled to love and good works because of what God has done for us as our Father and Creator, and as our Redeemer, or do we do it because we're supposed to, because God forces us to?

In other words, are you compelled or controlled?  And I guess we could ask the auxiliary question.  What happens if you are neither compelled nor controlled to love and do good works?  That's an issue of having the old sinful nature remain in control of your life, rather than that of the Holy Spirit.  But that's for another post.  For today, what compels or controls you, and which is the driving force in your Christian life?

Initiating Reconciliation

In light of yesterday's post, one question that I know people tend to have revolves around who initiates the reconciliation process.  Common assumptions tend to flow in both directions.  There are those who think that the process should be initiated by the person who is the affected one.  After all, they are the one that is being bothered by the problem or the conflict.  They have the hurt feelings, and so they should take the first step forward.  That's one side of the argument.

The other side of the argument looks at the person who caused the issue in the first place.  After all, they were the one that did the damage.  They spoke the hurtful word, or did the hurtful action.  It seems natural that they should then be the one that should make the initial effort to correct things.  This line of thinking tends to go like this.  They did it, so it's their responsibility to make things right.

So which one is the correct one?  That may seem to be the burning issue.  But here's the thing.  Asking the question in that way tends to direct us to the one to whom we should point the finger when conflict or hurt feelings are unresolved.  We want it to be someone's fault.  And from a biblical standpoint, I believe that's why God's Word doesn't give us an answer to a question phrased in such a way.

So what does God's Word say?  Well, let's look at a couple of places to see.  In Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus talks about the person who remembers that their brother has something against them.  They should leave their gift at the altar, and first go and be reconciled.  That would seem to suggest that it's the person who initiated the conflict.  If that person's brother has something against him or her, then they are to seek that person out to resolve the conflict.

However, when we look at 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, we see a somewhat different picture.  There Paul talks about the ministry of reconciliation.  In Jesus, God took the initiative.  God was the one who had been "hurt" by our sin, and God took the first steps.  Likewise, the apostles weren't waiting for the sinful world to come to them for reconciliation, but were going forth on God's behalf to be reconciled.  This would seem to suggest that the person who was hurt should be the one to initiate the process of reconciliation.

So which is it?  The way the Bible seems to paint the answer is this.  It's the one who realizes that reconciliation needs to take place.  In that respect, the responsibility doesn't fall only on the person who initiated the conflict, or on the person who suffered at the hands of the other.  It falls upon the one who first realizes that reconciliation needs to take place.  That person then approaches the other person/people to initiate the process. 

So if you find that reconciliation needs to take place, it falls upon you to be the one to initiate the process.  It doesn't matter if you were the one hurt, or the one who did the hurting.  Once you realize that reconciliation needs to take place, start out down that path toward forgiveness.

Dealing with Hard Feelings

One of the sad realities of this fallen, sinful world is that people will inevitably have their feelings hurt over one matter or another.  Sometimes it's something so seemingly small, like a word taken out of context, or even when someone fails to smile at us or say hello to us.  Other times, the hard feelings are truly "earned", as when someone says something to us with the intent to bring hurt or pain.  But by and large, I would dare say that most of the time when we encounter hurt feelings, it comes because of a breakdown in communication between two or more people.

So what do we do when this happens?  Well, first, we should realize that there are typically two perspectives to this.  The one side is that of the person who has the hurt feelings.  They are on the receiving end of whatever happened.  But there is also the perspective of the person who caused the hurt feelings, whether they intended to or not.  And one thing I have found, quite often, is that the person with the hurt feelings tends to nurse those feelings in silence, and quite often, the person who caused the hurt feelings doesn't even have an awareness that they caused hurt feelings.

As Christians, we are people who have been reconciled to God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  Because we have been reconciled, we also seek to reconcile with others, especially those who share our faith in Christ Jesus.  We don't want to let hurt feelings linger, knowing that they are very damaging.  We want to bring them out to the light of day, so that we can work on them, deal with them as necessary, and then move forward in the love and forgiveness of Christ.  Not only is this the way that God would have us deal with these things as Christians, but we also see that there is value to this as we live our lives.  It's much more energy-consuming to maintain hurt feelings or anger toward another than it is to be reconciled.  It's much nicer to live life when you aren't trying to avoid someone, but instead look forward to seeing them.

In 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, St. Paul writes about the ministry of reconciliation.  It's what God wants for all people of the world, not only for Christians.  That's why we strive toward reconciliation as Christians.  In fact, this is such a vital role in our lives as Christians that I typically find it very helpful to lead congregations through the whole reconciliation process, even when there aren't major conflicts to be dealt with.  We will always have conflict and hurt feelings in life.  Knowing what God has done to forgive them, and knowing what we can do as God's people to be a people of reconciliation, truly does help the body of Christ move forward together.  May we be about this, for the sake of Christ our Lord!

The Role of Ritual

I often find myself going back and forth between two somewhat 'competing' viewpoints.  This inner conflict comes to light especially when I think about the role of rituals in our Christian lives.  On the one hand, I tend to love ritual.  You know what's coming.  You know the proper response.  It's kind of like when I leave my keys and my wallet in the same place each night.  I know where they are, so when I get ready in the morning, I don't have to look over the whole house, wondering where I put them.  The ritual keeps things familiar and comfortable.

On the other hand, there also seems to be a role for creativity.  Ritual can lend itself somewhat to stagnation.  When you are always doing the same thing, it can get somewhat stale.  I have my routine when I take my shower in the morning.  But every once in a while, I like to do things in a different order.  What if I wash my hair before I shave?  Radical, I know!

Ritual helps ground our lives.  Nowhere is this more true than in our worship of God and the rituals we attend to as God's Church.  We have a number of rituals that we attend to.  Baptism.  Confirmation.  Our order of worship.  All of these have a particular pattern or order to them.  In many cases, it isn't just the pattern, but even the very words that we speak that are the same.  They become a source of comfort.  We know what's coming, and there is comfort in the familiar.

However, there is also a danger with the ritual.  The danger is that we fail to recognize what is actually happening as we venture through the ritual.  We fall into the habit, and it starts to lose some of the meaning behind it.  For example, so many of us likely know the Lord's Prayer by heart, so much so that we may not even think about the words that we are saying.  And when we don't think about what we are saying or doing, we start to take the ritual lightly.

Notice, though, that I didn't say that God takes it lightly.  God will still do what He does through the ritual, even if we don't happen to recognize His action and meaning.  It's more of our problem than God's problem.  And that's where the role of creativity comes in.  Every once in a while, it's good for us to have something a little different or new entered into the ritual.  Not to simply be doing something different, but to jog our minds and to make us think about what we are doing, and why we are doing it, and what God is doing through it.  Then we grow in appreciation for what is happening in the ritual and its meaning.  And, in the end, that's a pretty good thing.

Taking Education Seriously

Every year, I get the joy and privilege of teaching young people about the content of their faith.  At the end of our time together, they get to confirm that they believe the faith into which they were baptized, and they also get to acknowledge that they are ready and willing to take responsibility for their faith life.  Mom and dad no longer are to be the driving force for their continued presence with God's people, and in coming with God's people to receive His grace.

One of the things that I have noticed over the years is the difference in how serious the parents take this education.  It probably shouldn't be that big of a surprise to see that the parents who took it seriously tend to have kids that are more prepared to take up the responsibility of their faith life.  Those parents who didn't take it seriously, or who just made efforts to drop their kids off and that was it, well, in the end, those kids tended to be the ones that wandered furthest away.  While there are exceptions to each of these, the general pattern speaks pretty powerfully that the commitment of the parents will tend to have a rather large emphasis on what happens with the kids.

In writing the Small Catechism, Martin Luther wanted to have the people of Germany become knowledgeable about their faith.  And in the writing of the Small Catechism, he makes it very plain that this knowledge is not to come primarily from the pastor or the priest.  It's the responsibility of the head of the household.  Each section begins with "As the head of the household should teach his family in a simple way", or something along those lines.  Parents who take the education of their kids seriously tend to have kids that also take their education seriously.

Sadly, in our day and age, Christian education seems to be simply one more thing among the many choices that are available for kids.  Even more sadly, more and more parents are letting the kids be the ones who do the primary choosing of these.  What becomes important is what the kid wants, rather than what the parent thinks would be most beneficial.  And what kid is ever going to choose a class over soccer, or baseball, or football, or whatever other activity there is?  The role of the parent is of the same importance that it always has been.

I'm always looking for good ideas on how to encourage parents in this, and to emphasize the importance of their say-so in their kids activities.  If anyone has any good suggestions, I'm always open to hearing them!

Daily Life, Part 4

This coming Sunday, our church will be reading about the apostles choosing Matthias to take Judas' place as one of the twelve.  As I think about this particular reading from Acts 1:12-26, there are a few things that I think speak powerfully to our lives as Christians.

One of the things about the twelve was that Jesus called them to follow Him.  Jesus chose them.  Jesus had something in mind when He called each of them by name to come be one of His apostles.  Throughout His ministry, Jesus prepared them for that calling.  He told them things such as, the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.  Following His resurrection, He reminded them that He had been sent to bring forgiveness, and then told them that He was sending them, just as He had been sent.

In choosing His apostles, Jesus was seeking to take the message of His life, death, and resurrection, and to connect it with the people of the world.  The apostles would be the means of the delivery of that message, by word of mouth, and then, by the written word.  In the sense of the written word, they continue to be sent by Jesus for that task, as we focus and reflect upon that message of Jesus for our hope and salvation.

Jesus calls us still to be His disciples and followers.  And, in a sense, Jesus still sends us out, just like He sent those original apostles.  True, we are sent in a bit of a different fashion.  We are not sent to the ends of the world, except for those who truly feel God's leading in that direction.  But we are sent back into the lives that God has given us to live.  We're sent back to the lives of our families, our coworkers, our fellow students, and the people of our community.  In a way, we are Jesus' apostles to the people of our community, sent to bring them the message of forgiveness through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

We're chosen to connect our community and Christ.  And the way we do that is not through spectacular events and the like, but through the normal daily channels that God gives us to live in.  We're chosen to live that life, and to be bearers of the Gospel message in that life.  We don't have to go out searching for places to share God's Gospel message.  Instead, God brings them into our daily lives as we live out the roles and vocations that God has given us. 

Chosen to connect.  It's really that simple.

Daily Life, Part 3

Continuing our look at our daily life and how it is pleasing to God, today I want to dive into something a little more mundane.  A couple of posts ago, I wrote that we don't have to go on mission trips to the ends of the earth in order to live a God-pleasing life.  God is, first of all, pleased with our lives when we are found in Christ Jesus.  As we live the new life that Jesus has given us, we are pleasing in the sight of God.

As a second angle, God is also pleased as we live according to His design and desire for life.  It's not on the same "level" as when our lives are found in Christ, and yet, God takes pleasure in that life anyhow.  But today, I want to bring it even closer to home.  We may wonder how our lives can be pleasing in God's eyes as we go about our daily lives.  Today's post is dedicated to that thought.

Follow me, if you will, through just a brief part of your day.  You wake up in the morning in your house.  You give thanks to God that He has brought you and your family safely through the night.  You've already started the day in a God-pleasing fashion.  You remembered who is responsible for your life, and you've remembered the role you play in your family.  Nice job, good start.

Today is your day to make breakfast, so you proceed to the kitchen and get on with the task of preparation.  Good job!  God has given you the role, at least for that day, of providing breakfast for your family.  It's not the most thrilling thing in the world, and yet, it's the task that God has for you that day.  Fulfilling the role that God has given you is indeed pleasing.

After breakfast, you head off to work.  As you go about your day, you strive to faithfully do the tasks that your job demands.  Good job!  God has given you a role to play in your employment, and you are striving to faithfully live according to that role.  That's pleasing to God, as you go about the task that He has given you.  And in a way, it doesn't matter if you love your job or hate it.  God has still given you those roles to play at that particular time, and so He is pleased when you fulfill them.

On your way home, you stop by to visit an ailing friend.  You said you would do a couple of chores that he is unable to do until he recovers.  Good job!  God has given you a role that you have agreed to play in relation to your friend, and you are doing it.  That's pleasing to God.  He has given that task to you for a time, and you are being faithful in seeing it through.

I could continue to walk through this day with you, but by now, I hope you begin to see the picture emerging.  Day by day, God gives you so many roles to play.  As you strive to live according to their demands, your life is pleasing to God.  True, it's not exactly the same as when your life is pleasing as it is found in Christ, but God does take delight in His people when they fulfill the roles that their lives call for.  Sometimes they are rather boring and mundane.  But even the most boring and mundane thing can be pleasing to God when you fulfill it according to His design and desire.

Daily Life, Part 2

Yesterday, I wrote a little bit about the life that is pleasing to God.  In way of review, we can see this God-pleasing life from two angles.  The first angle is that our life is God-pleasing when we are in Christ Jesus, who lived, died, and rose for us.  God is pleased with us when our life is found in Jesus.  The second angle involved the living out of our lives in this world, as we strive to live according to God's design and will.  Today, I want to expand on that line of thinking a bit.

For some reason, the thought often seems to arise in the minds of God's people.  If I'm going to live a God-pleasing life, I have to something, well, extraordinarily Godly.  I'm always amazed at the number of people that seem to think that a godly life involves some extraordinary thing like going on a mission trip to feed hungry people in Africa, or to take part in crusades in India, or to furnish smuggled Bibles into China.  When we start to think that a God-pleasing life takes place only when we do something like that, we really do make it out to be something that is extremely difficult.

I've started to respond to thoughts like that with a question.  Do you find that God calls for that biblically?  I have yet to come across the Bible verse that states that God is pleased with our lives when we go to another country to do some extraordinary thing.  Now, is God pleased with activities of that kind?  Of course.  I'm even convinced that He puts such things into the hearts and souls of many people, who gain much when they do those things.  But to give the idea that such activities are the norm for a God-pleasing life, well, I don't find much biblical support for that.

So what does constitute a God-pleasing life in Christ for the regular, every-day person?  For starters, I think a brief look at the Commandments gives a good starting point.  Not only from the standpoint of asking, Do I avoid the things that the Commandments say not to do.  There's also the standpoint that asks, what activities can I be engaged in that bring this Commandment to life?  And as a guide for this, I encourage people to look at the definitions from Martin Luther's Small Catechism.  There is almost always a two part answer.  The first part looks at what I am to avoid.  If I am commanded not to steal, then I don't steal my neighbor's stuff.  But that's not the end of it.  It also means that I am to help my neighbor to protect and improve the things that belong to him.  I don't just stand idly by while thieves break into his house, but help him to defend his home.  When I see him outside working to improve his home or his car, I offer to help him in that.

One thing this points out to us is that we will always be able to find more opportunities to engage in the things that are according to God's will and design.  Again, I encourage you to remember that this angle alone doesn't bring you into a God-pleasing life.  The life God gives in Jesus is the one that is truly pleasing to God.  And yet, God takes great delight when we, as His people, also strive to live according to His design and will.

Daily Life

How do I go about living a God-pleasing life?  It's the question that untold number of Christians have asked throughout the centuries.  It's a question that continues to be in the mind of many Christians still today.  And there have been a lot of different answers that have been given to this question.  Some have been great answers.  Others have been sadly lacking in their response.

From one standpoint, we need to ask what would actually constitute a God-pleasing life.  What makes God happy?  Is God happy when we live according to His design and will for life?  Well, yes, He is.  However, that's not the full answer to the question.  After all, there are many in this life who live according to His will and design, and yet still stand outside of God's grace and gift of new life.  So it can't be quite that simple.

That's where we find that Jesus is a part of this God-pleasing life.  Jesus lived the perfect life, died the death that we deserve in our place, and then rose to life again to give us the hope and promise of new life.  As we hear about what Jesus has done for us, and as God's Spirit gives us the gift of belief in His action, God makes a new creation within us.  God gives us the gift of a new life, a life we share with Jesus.

When we share that life with Jesus, that also is pleasing to God.  Living as a forgiven child of God causes God to rejoice.  Our life is God-pleasing because we are in Christ Jesus.  But what if our new life is found in Jesus, but we aren't perfect?  What if we believe that God has forgiven us in Jesus, but aren't the new, perfect creation that He wants for us to be?

That's where this question then becomes very personal toward us.  Let's say that you are a child of God's, given new life through Jesus, and you strive in your life to live according to God's design.  Is God pleased with your life?  Yes.  You are in Christ, and you are also striving to live according to God's design.  In a sense, we could say that this life is doubly pleasing to God.  It is not only God-pleasing because of Jesus, but because our new creation also seeks to live in harmony with what God says.

Now, let's say that you are a child of God, given new life through Jesus, but you are rather careless with God's desire and design for life.  In fact, let's say that there are times where you know what God's design is, but you blatantly and willingly live contrary to it.  Are you still pleasing to God?  Well, in the manner that you have new life through Jesus, yes.  But as you continue to live in active, willful rebellion toward God and His design for life, you may find that you are living rather dangerously.  The Bible doesn't tell us when exactly you cross that line into losing your new life, and so no one in this world can truly tell you if or when you have crossed that line.

In the next post, I plan to add some more to this thinking.  I pray that this gets you started thinking about what it means to live a God pleasing life.

Celebrating the Wrong Things

There has been a lot of news out there lately for the same-sex community.  From the Supreme Court essentially saying they weren't going to make a ruling on the status, to the recent news of the NBA player who has declared his homosexuality, there has been a lot of news out there.  And as you watch the various programs, to a large degree, there is much support in our nation on this issue.  Even many church bodies and people have shown their support to such issues.

One of the reasons that I have heard for Christian support of same sex issues is because God is a God of love.  If two people love each other, then God is all for it, because God loves love.  And while it's a biblical truth that God is love, there are some distortions that take place when only God's love gets the focus.

God is also a God who believes in right and wrong.  Shoot, God Himself is the one who made right and wrong.  And God has spoken in His Word quite often about many of the things that are wrong.  In fact, if you read through the whole Bible, you won't find a single instance where God says it's a good thing when people are going contrary to what He says.  Yes, He calls same sex unions a sin, just like He calls adulterous unions a sin, or lying a sin, or using God's name as a curse word a sin.  And God takes that seriously.

The problem we have is that we don't always want to agree with what God says.  In our day and age, we can't even assume that most people in our nation actually know what God says.  They may say that God is a God of love, but they probably don't know many other characteristics of God.  And because they do not know God, or know what God says, they simply are unable to celebrate the right things, or to celebrate what God says is good.  To do that, you need to know what God says is right and wrong, and what is worth celebrating.  And today, far too few people (yes, even people who regularly attend Christian churches) know the things that God says are right and wrong.

Ignorance often leads to celebrating the wrong thing.  I believe that there are many in our nation who support certain popular stances, not out of malicious intent toward God and Christians, but simply because they are ignorant of what God really says.  And we Christians don't really do ourselves any favors when we knee-jerk react toward them.  A well-thought out response is almost always going to be better received than an off-the-cuff reaction.  But far too many Christians have had a microphone or camera put in front of them, and then they reacted without giving a lot of thought to how they were saying what they were saying.

Yes, our society celebrates the wrong things quite often.  As Christians, it serves us far better not to simply react, but to give some thought to the responses we have toward these celebrations.  True, most of the time, even a well-thought-out response will not be received well.  But that should never be our excuse for sloppy thinking or for not even thinking before we speak.

Music, Faith, and Hope

Everyone has their favorite type of music.  Everyone also has other kinds of music that you can tolerate, and then there are the kinds that you really don't care for.  Sometimes these come up in surprising mixes, but overall, I would dare say that we each have a fairly unique set of musical preferences.  We may stray from them from time to time, but overall, our preferences tend to stay pretty consistent.

Music speaks to us, in some way, far deeper than mere words.  I honestly don't know what it is about music, but when you add notes to words, it stirs something up inside of us.  It moves us.  It seems to reach deeper into places that we may not have expected.  Music reaches in and stirs up the soul, which seems to give greater life to the words that are attached to those notes.

The Bible celebrates music.  True, music is not the message of Good News from God.  Music is one of the creation gifts that God gives.  Music doesn't make us right with God, but is something God has given us for the enjoyment and enhancement of life.  And so, when that gift is connected with the saving word of God in the Good News, it becomes a gift of creation that also speaks into eternity.

The number of musical expressions of God's word seem limitless.  Sometimes the music is faster, and other times slower.  Sometimes it consists of longer ballads, and sometimes shorter repetitions.  Sometimes it extols God, and at other times, it whispers prayers from the depths of our souls.  But when that word of God is attached to those notes, we find the convergence of our souls being stirred while being connected to the redeeming God.

The next time you are listening to your favorite music, think about why it seems to touch you the way it does.  How can that same music be added to God's Word to truly move your soul and connect you to Christ?  You might be surprised at just how powerful God can answer that question and stir your soul as He delivers His hope and salvation to you.