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        Greetings to you all in the name of our good Lord and Savior.  I wanted to share with you that I can now say I have been pulled over on the way to church.  Sunday morning I was pretty tired.  I almost fell asleep standing in the shower I was so tired.  However, I got dressed, grabbed my cup of coffee and headed down the road.  I was doing pretty good staying awake even though I was tired.  I was about half way when I saw a cop sitting in the median.  I drove by him with no troubles.  After I got a ways past him, he causally pulled out and started driving behind me.  I had set cruise at the speed limit so I just kept going.  For half a second I dozed off and I just barely crossed the white line on the shoulder.   I quickly corrected myself and reached for my coffee.  However, I noticed flashing lights in my rear view mirror.  So I pulled over and he pulled up behind me.  He came up to my window and said he saw me cross the line and just wanted to make sure I wasn't falling asleep.  I told him I was OK and had just drifted a little.  He asked me where I was going, so I told him, "Highland.  That's where my field work church is."  We got into a causal conversation about me being at the seminary and serving at Hope Lutheran every Sunday as he looked over my license.  He was very friendly about the whole thing and even made the comment we need good ministers.  He shook my hand, told me to be careful, and let me go on my way.  The funny part is for the first time in my entire life when a cop pulled me over, my heart wasn't pounding.  I was actually cool and comfortable because I knew I hadn't done anything wrong.  So I didn't get a ticket or anything and can say I have been pulled over on the way to church.
       The not so funny part is as I drove away I realized I hadn't asked him if he was a Christian.  Here I had a beautiful chance to do just some subtle witnessing, and I dropped the ball.  If I could redo it, I would have asked him if he was a Christian, and seen where the conversation went.  I also wish when I told him thank you and have a good day, I would have offered to pray for him at church.  I should have told him that I would pray for his safety as he spent his Sunday doing his job.  I did pray for him even though I didn't tell him I would.  I just need to get into a better habit of not missing chances to witness.
        I did get a chance to share some good news with the visitor we had in church Sunday.  He has been a Lutheran his whole life, but it was still good to have him in Bible Study with us.  My study on the introduction of the Psalms and Psalm 1 went much better this week.  We got through some pretty important stuff and I think they are enjoying it.  The one lady told me I give her so much information to think about its a good thing she has a week to reflect before she comes back for more.  I asked her if I was throwing too much at her at once and she said no she liked it, it is just so much to process.  So I hope our study continues to go well.
       I did want to share with all of you a wonderful resource that is available.  If you go to I Tunes U and search for Concordia Seminary, we have our own page.  Here you will find all kinds of amazing resources.  The ones that most of you might get the most enjoyment out of are the Lay Bible study Institutes and the Chapel Sermons.  The Lay Bible study Institutes are seminars that professors lead for lay people in the evenings on campus.  I have attended a few of them and they are normally always very good.  The Chapel sermons are just that, sermons from the daily chapel services.  I love this feature because days I don't make it to chapel, I can still listen to the sermon.  I just thought I would share that with you so you know it is out there.  If you need help finding it let me know.
       My thought for the day is one of the points we covered over Psalm 1.  I am not sure if I shared this with you last quarter when I was in Psalms and Writing class, so if I did I apologize.  However, I think it is really cool so I will share it again.  This was a test question and the following response is my answer that got ten out of ten points.
     What is the Theology of Rivers in the Bible?
              Starting with the Psalter, the first place we see a river is in Psalm 1.  In verse three the imagery of a tree transplanted by a canal describing the righteous.  Some places translate this as planted, but from Psalm 92 we know it is really transplanted.  Also, this “river” is actually a canal of waters.  This means it is hand dug, flow controlled, and most likely not going to run out of water.  It is a constant and intention supply of water for these trees so they can flourish.  Then we can look at the first river in the Bible, which is in Eden.  In Genesis two, we see this garden as paradise for Adam and Eve; they have everything they need in the garden, including this river that is their water supply.  It is the source of life for the whole garden because everything needs water to stay alive.  This “life source” comes from the garden which is also where Adam and Eve walk with God and are in His presence.  So the theology of a river in the Bible is that it flows from God’s presence (temple)  and gives life.  In Ezekiel 47:1 the water is flowing from the temple.  Again, this river that flows out and gives life is literally flowing out or bubbling up from the temple, God’s house.  We can see this in the New Testament too.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus is seen as the perfect Torah and Temple.  In John 1, the word became flesh, shows Jesus as the Torah, and later in John 1, Jesus is actually referred to as the tabernacle.  He is the traveling temple of God.  Then in John 3:5 Jesus tells Nicademus that unless you are born again of water in order to enter the kingdom of God.  In John 19:28, Jesus says I thirst.  This is ironic because the one who is the temple of God from which the river flows has dried up.  As He hangs on that cross with all the sin of the world on Him, He has dried up.  However, in John 19:36, when Jesus’ dead body is speared, the blood and water come gushing out.  This is the river that flows from the temple and gives all life.  Jesus has paid the price for all sin, and this is the new river of the new covenant that gives life to all.  This is the very river that flows that allows our baptism of water and the Word to give us the life of Easter morning.  Finally in Revelation 22, we see the new Jerusalem and once again the river of water of life flows from the throne of God and from the Lamb.  This is the theology of rivers in the Bible. 

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Please be with all of us, that we may use the opportunities you give us to share Your good news.  Help us to read, study, and learn Your Word so that we may be rooted in our faith so we share the true message with everyone we meet.  Give us Your Spirit to be with us at all times.  In the name of Your Son we pray, Amen.