Psalm 28

“To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me.”

The way the first line of this psalm is worded makes me chuckle.  David is the author, and as I read verse one, I get this mental picture of David standing in front of a giant rock, yelling at it to not be deaf.  Think about it, David calls God his rock, and says he calls to Him and asks Him to not be deaf.  It seems illogical.  All rocks are deaf because all rocks are non-living things that cannot hear.  Out of all the things David could have compared God to in this line, why a rock?  Why not a concerned listening father, or a wise elderly man who always has time to listen?  Why not a rabbit, dog, or some other animal that has excellent hearing?  Why a rock when the idea is he wants God to hear him? 
            Well I cannot know exactly what David is thinking, but the first thought that comes to my mind is because rocks have played a key role in David’s life.  David uses a few small stones to kill the giant of Goliath. He was so good with a sling shot because he had used that same weapon and stones as ammunition to fend off wolves while guarding his father’s sheep.  David hides in the caves and rocks many times as he is fleeing from King Saul who is determined to kill him.  Rocks are a part of the landscape in the Middle East, and David had spent quite a bit of time amongst them, learning to use them as shelter from the weather, as hiding places, as weapons, and I imagine for many other parts of his normal life.  So to David, rocks symbolize safety, they symbolize defense, and they bring him comfort and peace. 
            So David, when trouble seems to find him, when his enemy, whether that be a wolf, Saul, or anyone else, is seeking his life, he heads to the rocks.  So why compare a God who is hearing him cry for help to a rock, because the rocks are the best help he has ever had.  Rocks are always there; they are always present in the landscape.  Rocks will never betray him, and he knows he can depend on rocks to do what they have always done. 
            This is why I believe David compares the God he is crying out to, to rocks.  He knows God is always there, God is always with Him no matter how far he has to flee, and he knows God is His defense.  Just as surely as he can find a rock to throw in the middle of his landscape, he knows he can count on God hearing his cries.  For me, David comparing God to a rock in the Middle East, would be like someone here in Duluth comparing God to a tree.  You can’t throw a rock without hitting a tree. (Yes that was an intended pun).  David knows God will always hear him just as surely as the rocks all around him will.  So it may be silly to think a rock can hear you, but for David, rocks are dependable, and a sure defense.  And so God, who always hears us, is always there with us, and is our most sure defense, is a rock we can cry out to.   

Advent Sermon - "O Come, O Come"

Greetings,
Here is my Advent sermon from last Wednesday.  The theme was "O Come, O Come" based on the song, O Come, O Come Emmanuel. 

Advent blessings to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who is Immanuel. Amen.
    Our text for today comes from Isaiah 7 verse 14: “There the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” SFOT
    Ahaz, king of Judah, believes he is in a helpless situation. Being king ain’t easy is what they say. You are responsible for the lives of the people in your nation, each decision you make is a huge gamble, and you constantly have enemies trying to end your kingship. Ahaz finds himself in this very predicament. The two kings to the north, of Israel and Syria, seem to be joining forces and their next move in Ahaz’s mind is as clear as day. They are coming to attack him, and with two armies together he doesn’t stand a chance. If he wants to remain a king, and alive for that matter he must do something.
    This is his mindset when Isaiah comes to him as a prophet of God. Isaiah gives him great news that God has promised these nations will not stand against Jerusalem. God has promised Ahaz is safe as King, but warns him that is he is not firm in faith, he will not be firm at all. God even goes so far as to tell Ahaz to ask a sign from God in order that he may know this war will not happen. What an awesome turn of events. Ahaz, shaking in his boots, now has God’s word he and his country is safe. And to top the cake, he can even ask God for a sign.
   But Ahaz, already having made up his mind that He would find his own way to survive this war, arrogantly tries to act pious and says that he will not test the Lord. Can you imagine, God gives you a beautiful promise, and instead of just trusting in His way, you trust in your own human capabilities.
    Well maybe we can imagine this, or at least I can. How many times have you felt hopeless, trapped, buried, burdened, or captive. Whether it be your own sinful doing or the enemies of this world holding you down, I think we have all been stuck in a situation that seems inevitable to smoother us and not let us back up. In fact, we have probably all found ourselves in countless situations like this.
    The stress of that extremely busy life not only has you feeling exhausted, but makes you question if you are doing anything right at all.
    The fear of failing or letting down your loved ones, leaves you frozen and unable to make a decision one way or the other.
   Your struggling relationship that seems to have no hope of surviving the hurt and pain it has endured, leaves us thinking divorce and a new start is our only option.
    Crippling debt leaves you living pay check to pay check for too long, and suddenly being desperate for even just the slightest financial peace causes us to think maybe a few immoral decisions is our only choice to survive.
   Being the provider for your family may have you feeling trapped in working a job that burdens your conscious, but hey it’s a paycheck.
    Addiction to that favorite sin has you feeling trapped beyond your own ability, and yet guilt shames you into thinking you have to break the habit on your own without anyone else finding out. These are just a few examples.
    But almost every time, we try to get creative, we think through every option possible of what I can do, how can I fix this, how can I get myself out of this hopeless situation. I got myself into this, I have to get myself out. Or, everyone is counting on me to do the right thing and keep everyone happy, so I have to do this just right. And we get so dug into that mind set, that even as we read through our devotions, or sit in the pews at church, the Word of the Lord goes in one ear and right back out the other. It doesn’t change our game plan at all.
    Now, you might be thinking, Pastor, I’ve never had a prophet of God come to me and tell me that everything is going to be fine. I wish I did, then I would trust and believe. Or Pastor, I have never once been offered the chance to ask God for a sign to prove He is with me and will keep His promise to me.
    Well, that’s sort of true. You have never had Isaiah tell you that God will allow you to ask for a sign, but you don’t need to. See, the sign that God promised to Ahaz, was not just for him. When Ahaz refuses to ask God for a sign, God says, alright, I’ll give you the sign. It will be a better sign that you could have ever asked for. And it will be a sign for all people. This sign will change everything.
   This sign that God chooses to send, truly is a sign for all people in all situations. The virgin shall conceive and bear a son and His name shall be Immanuel. As we heard in our Gospel reading from Matthew, Immanuel means God with us. God promises to send Himself as a sign. And He does.
    We are less than two weeks away from Christmas, when we will celebrate the virgin bearing a son, who is to be named Jesus and who is Immanuel, because He is God with us. God sends His own Son to come be born in the flesh and dwell among us. Because we as God’s people are all the same in flesh and blood, Immanuel himself partook of the same things, becoming flesh and blood. And Jesus, who is Immanuel will give us the greatest sign of God’s promise to us. The angel Gabriel told Joseph that you are to name the baby Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. And this is exactly what He came to do. He came, for the entire purpose to die… for us… for you. As he took on flesh and blood to be like us, through death He has destroyed the one who has the power of death, that is the devil. And through His death he has delivered us from the slavery of fear of death. He went to that cross, allowed himself to be nailed to it, lifted high for the whole town of Jerusalem to see, to pay for every one of your sins and every one of my sins. So that when we look to the sign of the cross, we remember Immanuel. We can always trust God is with us, because He has not only saved us from our sins, but He who himself has suffered when tempted, is able to help us who are being tempted.
    So, when we find ourselves in those helpless situations, when we feel buried, burdened, captive, and hopeless, it is not up to us to free ourselves. It is not up to our own creativity or power, it is not up to our ability to fix it. When we are in those predicaments of life, we look to the cross, and we remember the sign God has already sent us. We put our trust in the baby in the manger named Jesus. We know He is Immanuel, He is God with us. And just as God promised He would send us this sign who is born, Immanuel Himself promises us He will be with us always to the end of the age.
    Tough situations will continue to be a part of this life. We will continue to find ourselves in the consequences of our sins. We will still find ourselves in situations beyond our control. There will be bad days, and sad days, and frustrating day, and even hopeless days. But during those times, instead of feeling alone, instead of getting stubborn and thickheaded, instead of trusting in yourself, trust in the Lord. Look to the sign He has sent for you. Look to the cross and simply pray, O Come O Come Immanuel. And Know that God is with you, Immanuel took on flesh and blood to be there for you, to pay for all your sins, even your sins of pride and trusting in yourself. There is no situation God can’t save you from, there is no sin God won’t forgive you for, and there is no amount of shame and guilt that God can’t remove from you. He can and will save you from anything, not matter how desperate or hopeless it may seem. God has sent you the sign to prove to you, He is always with you.
    And because He is always with us, we always have hope! Salvation has nothing to do with your actions. Eternal life is not dependent upon how well you can avoid or get out of tough spots. Salvation and eternal life are yours through faith alone. Salvation and eternal life are yours because they have been won for you by Immanuel, who is God with you.
    God sent His Son, the son born of the virgin, Jesus who is Immanuel, to ransom you from the captivity of sin, to show you the path of wisdom and teach you the way, to free you from Satan’s tyranny and give you the victory over the grave, to open wide your heavenly home, to give you pardon and peace.
    And all of this is yours through faith, as you look to the sign of the cross, as you look to the sign of son born of the virgin who is Immanuel. As we sing O Come O Come Immanuel, we pray that God come be with us, that God would help us through all things in life, and that God would give us the faith to trust in Him above all things. And we know our prayer is answered. Because He has come. Immanuel is born, He has set us free, He has defeated all our enemies, He has saved us from our sins, and with the hope of eternal life, we know everything will always be more than OK.
    As that good news hits our ears, our hearts rejoice! Rejoice Rejoice! Immanuel has come and shall come again to thee, O Israel.
    In the name of Immanuel, God with us. Amen.

Psalm 15

     I think we may give the people of God of the Old Testament, Israelites/Hebrews/Jews, a little too hard of a time for works righteousness. I mean if you only had the Old Testament to go off of, would you really get the point that it is by faith alone you are justified? When looking Psalm 15, it seems like how we live and act is exactly what matters. The psalmist asks the question of who will sojourn in your tent, and who will dwell on your holy hill O God. Basically he is asking who will be part of the people of God in this life (sojourn in tent refers to tabernacle and God’s presence amongst His people here), and who will be part of the righteous people in the afterlife (dwell in the presence on His holy hill, another view of what we would see as heaven). So who will be the people of God and be in His presence both in this life and the next? Then when you look at the answer, it is all about how one lives and acts. The one who walks blamelessly and does what is right. Well what does that mean? Well it means you don’t slander, do evil, take up reproach, put out money at interest, or take a bribe. Instead you swear to your own hurt and do not change, you speak truth in your heart, and when you do these things you are part of God’s people. So in order to be part of God’s people and to be in the presence of God, I have to live a life like this and be this type of person. I have to do these things in order to be saved. It is all up to what I do and how I live that determines if I am part of God’s people right? That what this psalm is saying isn’t it?
      This is where I think it is not that far off to see passages or psalms like these this way. However, when you use the rest of the Old Testament you can see this is not true. When you go back to the covenant with Abraham, God is the only one who walks between the animal halves showing He and He alone is responsible for keeping the covenant. It is not dependent on what Abraham and His followers do. There are many other examples that show God is still the subject of the one salvation is dependent on. So, what do we do with these passage and a psalm like this that seem to be going against the Christian message of how one is saved? We remember that even in the New Testament Jesus gives us lessons on how we are to live. He says that the world will hate us for His name sake. Well how will the world know we are under His name? How will they know we are the ones they hate? Because as Jesus says in John 15:19 “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” The world knows to hate us because we do not live like the rest of the world. We do not look like the rest of the world by the way we live and act. Is this because we think our actions are what save us? No, absolutely not. However, because we know we have our salvation from God, now we live a life of loving obedience to our Lord who has redeemed us. So do we still have a certain way we live and act? Absolutely. God doesn’t need our good works, but our neighbor does. It is not for our passive righteousness, but it is for our active righteousness. (If you don’t understand these terms, please ask and I will further explain the Two Kinds of Righteousness). So if someone who doesn’t know the whole story of salvation and of God’s people were to read this psalm alone, could they think works righteousness is a correct teaching? Yes, but we who do know the who story and the whole Gospel message understand passages like this one in the correct light. So, we should help those who don’t to better understand what this passage is saying. It is basically asking how do you recognize one of God’s people? Well they will look this, not because this is what saves them, but because since they already know they are saved, this is how they live. The only thing left to do is to ask yourself, do people recognize you are a Christian by the way you live or only when you tell them you are a Christian? Maybe this psalm is the perfect reminder that we as Christians do strive to live good lives. Again, not for salvation, but out of loving obedience to the God who gives us our salvation.

Psalm 28

Psalm 28:1

“To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me.”
     The way the first line of this psalm is worded makes me chuckle. David is the author, and as I read verse one, I get this mental picture of David standing in front of a giant rock, yelling at it to not be deaf. Think about it, David calls God his rock, and says he calls to Him and asks Him to not be deaf. It seems illogical. All rocks are deaf because all rocks are non-living things that cannot hear. Out of all the things David could have compared God to in this line, why a rock? Why not a concerned listening father, or a wise elderly man who always has time to listen? Why not a rabbit, dog, or some other animal that has excellent hearing? Why a rock when the idea is he wants God to hear him?
      Well I cannot know exactly what David is thinking, but the first thought that comes to my mind is because rocks have played a key role in David’s life. David uses a few small stones to kill the giant of Goliath. He was so good with a sling shot because he had used that same weapon and stones as ammunition to fend off wolves while guarding his father’s sheep. David hides in the caves and rocks many times as he is fleeing from King Saul who is determined to kill him. Rocks are a part of the landscape in the Middle East, and David had spent quite a bit of time amongst them, learning to use them as shelter from the weather, as hiding places, as weapons, and I imagine for many other parts of his normal life. So to David, rocks symbolize safety, they symbolize defense, and they bring him comfort and peace.
      So David, when trouble seems to find him, when his enemy, whether that be a wolf, Saul, or anyone else who is seeking his life, he heads to the rocks. So why compare a God who is hearing him cry for help to a rock, because the rocks are the best help he has ever had. Rocks are always there; they are always present in the landscape. Rocks will never betray him, and he knows he can depend on rocks to do what they have always done.
      This is why I believe David compares the God he is crying out to, to rocks. He knows God is always there, God is always with Him no matter how far he has to flee, and he knows God is His defense. Just as surely as he can find a rock to throw in the middle of his landscape, he knows he can count on God hearing his cries. For me, David comparing God to a rock in the Middle East, would be like someone here in Duluth comparing God to a tree. You can’t throw a rock without hitting a tree. (Yes that was an intended pun). David knows God will always hear him just as surely as the rocks all around him will. So it may be silly to think a rock can hear you, but for David, rocks are dependable, and a sure defense. And so God, who always hears us, is always there with us, and is our most sure defense, is a rock we can cry out to.

Thanksgiving & Birthday

     Greetings in the name of Christ.  This last week was truly a blessing.  Pastor Tim was super generous and let me go home for a quite a few days for the holiday.  So, Wednesday I drove down to Omaha to JoAnna's home.  We had the whole family home, with Tim flying in to surprise the parents and Nate and the boys driving out from Colorado.  It was a fun day of eating, watching football, and playing cards.  Really, that's what we did for three days straight.  It was a laid back, relaxing, enjoyable time spent laughing and appreciating the family the Lord has blessed us with. 
     Then, Saturday was my 29th birthday.  I cannot believe 29 years is gone and done, but as I spent 8 hours in the car Wednesday, I took some time to thank God for every part of those 29 years.  18 years growing up in Adair - filled with so many friends, playing football and golf, working countless jobs around town, growing up in church every Sunday, being the baby of an awesome family, and loving the small town life in the heartland of the Midwest.  4 years in Seward - meeting all new people, making and building life-long friendships, joining the golf team, working building and grounds, hunting and farming with local families, and growing in both my education and faith.  3 years in St. Louis - discovering a deep passion for the ministry and the Word, growing so much in my education and faith, building a brotherhood of friends that will never end, working in almost every department on campus, working for a farmer, playing intramurals and pick-up sports, enjoying the endless entertainment options of a big city, and even maturing a little as an adult.  1 year in Brookings, South Dakota - enjoying the best vicarage I could have ever asked for, getting the opportunity to love and be loved by so, so, so many amazing people, working both with the church and the college students, getting to use what I learned at the seminary in real life, developing my preaching and teaching skills for the ministry, becoming a part of so many families I still dearly miss, wrestling with the kids every chance possible, accomplishing lots of remodeling and carpentry projects with the trustees, and falling in love with a college town that has that small town feel in a great state.  3 years field work at Hope Lutheran in Highland, Illinois - getting lots of opportunities to preach, lead liturgy, teach Bible study and grow as a seminary student, having a great relationship with an awesome mentor Pastor, being fed every Sunday, and being blessed to know the people there.  2 years at Peace In Christ in Hermantown - receiving the perfect call to an absolutely amazing church, working with and learning from an exceptional senior pastor who God has clearly worked through to build such an amazing congregation, working along side one of the best DCE's in the synod, continuing to grow as a pastor and a Christian man, building relationships with so many awesome family and friends, being blessed to own my first home, taking advantage of multiple opportunities to fish, hunt, and spend time in the woods and on the water, and loving every single day of my life where I hope to be for a long time. 
     The good Lord has made it clear to me over and over again, He is with me wherever I go, and He will continue to lavish His grace and love upon my life through countless blessings of people, relationships, opportunities, abilities, and simple joys of life.  I love that my birthday is always right around Thanksgiving, because every year as I reflect on another year of life, it always comes down to thanking God for how awesome and amazing and wonderful He has made my life for me.  I have never done anything to deserve the best life a guy could ask for, which is simply one more reminder that God's grace is just that - undeserved favor and gifts.  And my 29 years has been filled to the brim and are even overflowing with God's richest grace.  So, all I can do is say thank you and try to share that grace with others.  Thank you Lord, thank you for everything! 

Psalm 32

     Greetings in the name of Jesus.  It is just past the half way mark of deer season and I have yet to get anything.  Although, to be fair it is hard to shoot a deer when you sleep in most mornings.  I hope to go sit more this week and hopefully have some meat for the freezer.  We still have snow on the ground and it is cold.  I truly believe winter is here for good, but that doesn't bother me too much.  Ice is being made by the day now, and smaller lakes are already think enough to go do some fishing. 
     Here is another psalm devotion:

Psalm 32:1-2 “Blessed is the one whose transgression if forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
      I don’t know about you, but most days my guilty conscience hears these beautiful words of David’s psalm with doubt and fear. These encouraging and uplifting words make me feel smaller than a grain of salt and more worthless than a speck of dust. Blessed is the man whom the Lord counts no iniquity, boy, wouldn’t that be nice. Wouldn’t that be awesome if I were a man whom the Lord could look at and say, “You have no iniquity to count son.” My heart aches as I think about how amazing it would feel to be that man, to live with that hope and joy. Nevertheless, my guilt-ridden conscience is all too quick to remind me of the very long list of wretched and grievous sins I know I have committed in the las day or two. That list could fill pages of a notebook and as I mentally picture how disturbing those sins would look actually written out in ink, I sink even lower knowing there is no way I could ever be the blessed man spoken of in this psalm.
     Have you ever felt this way? Has the weight of your sin ever caused you to honestly believe your transgression is not forgiven, your sin in not covered, and the Lord is definitely counting ALL of your iniquity against you? I know I have, in fact, I often feel this way. Now you might ask, how can I, a pastor who is supposed to be a living example of a faithful God-fearing man, doubt God’s forgiveness. Well, the answer is because I know my failures. I know my sin, my faults, my iniquity, and my transgressions. I know all too well that they are real! I have never once thought I was any less of a sinner than any one of my members sitting in the pews. To be brutally honest, most days I feel like they should be preaching to me since they clearly have this Christian living figured out more than I do. Here is my confession: I am a sinner. A horrible, wretched, stinking, filthy, miserable, should be damned to hell sinner. And nobody knows it better than me. Therefore, that’s how my sinful nature, along with Satan whispering in my ear, allows my conscience to convict me and beat me down by telling me these words of a blessed man will NEVER be speaking about me. If that was the end of it, I would be left with no hope at all.
     However, God is good, and His Spirit is a beast of a work horse. No matter how down I get, no matter how hard my guilt tries to make sure I can never hear these words as good news, the Spirit wins. He continues to work through the Word, and He is able to shine the light of Jesus into my dark despair. Really, most of the time He makes me feel guilty for feeling guilty. The doctor once literally told me I have the thickest skull he had ever seen. So, I know it takes a lot to beat the truth into my thick-head. I like to picture the scene from Tommy Boy where I am the fat guy standing there smarting off and the Holy Spirit is the skinny guy with the 2x4 in his hand. He has to beat me over the head to knock some sense into me. But when He does, the Gospel floods in and takes over. I quickly admit how foolish I was to think my sin was bigger than Jesus Christ, the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world. See these verses from this psalm don’t say blessed is the man who has no sin. No, they specifically say blessed is the man whose transgression is FORGIVEN!!! Whose sin is COVERED!!!! We are all rotten, miserable, death-deserving sinners. It is the one who is forgiven by Christ, the one whose sins are covered by His blood who are blessed. And just like that I am reminded that is me. I am the very one these words are speaking about. All of the relief, the comfort, the hope that comes with being blessed is mine!
     I am blessed, even though I am a horrible sinner, because by the cross of Jesus Christ my transgression is forgiven! I am blessed, even though I sinned this very day, because the blood of Christ has covered me and all my sin! I am blessed because as the Risen and Living Lord Jesus looks at me, He sees His own name on me and counts no iniquity because He has personally paid for it already. I am blessed by the one and only Savior of the world, not because I deserve it in any way, but only by the grace of Jesus who hears my confession and trades His perfect righteousness for every last one of my wretched sins.
     I don’t know about you, but today the Spirit has cleared my conscience to allow me to hear these beautiful words as hope-filled words of life! These encouraging and uplifting words make me feel like I am sitting beside the King of the World who is smiling down at me with love and pride. Blessed is the man whom the Lord counts no iniquity, boy, isn’t this nice. It is so awesome to be a man whom the Lord does look at and say, “You have no iniquity to count Son.” My heart rejoices as I think about how amazing it is to be a blessed man, to live with this hope and joy only found in the grace and love of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I hope you feel the same way and know you are blessed through Jesus! Amen.

My Return - Psalm 18

     Greetings!  Wow, 8 months.  It has been 8 months since my last post.  I will admit, I needed a break.  I let this blog become more of a chore than an enjoyment.  So, I took a little break from writing; however, I did not intent for it to last that long.  Nevertheless, I have decided I miss writing here.  So, I plan to at least once a week post a Psalm devotion.  I might post more some weeks, but I want to start out with realistic expectations so that it remains a source of enjoyment for me.
     It would take a thirty page book to fill you in on everything that has happened over the past 8 months, so I will just say - life is great!  Spring brought another amazing Easter celebration and awesome confirmation class.  The summer flew by so fast I hardly even noticed it.  I did join a local country club and played in their league which may have been one of the best parts of my summer.  It is a working man's club, and all the guys I met are so down to earth and great guys.  We had an Abbott family reunion in Colorado in July, which already seems like ten years ago, but it was so much fun to see all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousins' kids that I either haven't seen in years or had yet to even meet.
     This fall was super exciting around the church as we celebrated the congregation's 25th Anniversary in September with two weeks of events and celebrations.  Then the whole month of October was focused on the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation with more celebrations and fun activities.
     We got 10 inches of snow on October 27th, so it was a white Reformation and Halloween.  I didn't mind though because the snow was perfect for deer hunting which opened this last weekend.  I went to deer camp with the guys but didn't get anything.  I still have two weeks left to hunt on my property though.
     With all the craziness and extra stuff this summer and this fall, I really fell out of any kind of personal writing.  Now that things are settling down again, I really want to get back to my Psalms devotions.  So, here is the first one on Psalm 18.


     Psalm 18:6 “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From His temple He heard my voice and my cry to Him reached His ears.”
     I spent this last weekend in the woods hunting. I love this time of year, especially this year since we got snow early, it was perfect for deer hunting. However, being out in the woods makes you think about this line from David’s psalm. When we leave camp to go sit in the woods hoping to have a chance to shoot the big one, we really don’t go all that far away. Our stands are all probably less than a mile from camp. We each go our own direction and walk down the different trails to our spots. As you walk away from camp, you notice that because the woods are so thick, it doesn’t take very long until you no longer hear the generator back at camp. You no longer hear any other voices, really you hear nothing but your own feet crunching through the snow. Then once you get to your stand, get settled in, and finally sit still and silent, you hear nothing. And because I am so accident prone, I thought about the fact that if something were to happen, even if I shouted as loud as I could, I don’t think anyone would hear me. Now, before you go all motherly on me and get worried about my safety, I do carry my cell phone which surprisingly does get some signal even way out in the woods. I also have my rifle and all hunters know that three shots in a row is the signal of distress. We are close enough to hear each other’s rifles. (This is also why you always want to kill your deer in one or two shots, so someone doesn’t come looking for you after hearing three shots only to discover you're just a lousy shot. 😊)
     Back to my point though, I could yell at the top of my lungs and not a soul would hear me. Three other guys all within a mile radius of me, would have no chance of hearing me. And yet our God is only a whisper away. You wouldn’t even have to vocalize the call to Him, and He would hear it. How awesome is this! No matter what we are going through, whether it is physical distress of an accident in the woods, an emotional distress of sadness or loneliness, or a spiritual distress of feeling attacked by the evil one, God is always there. His ears are always able to hear our call of desperation. Because even though He sits on His throne in Heaven, He is closer to us than anyone else. He is always with us and that is why He is our strength, our rock, our fortress, our deliverer, our rock of refuge, our shield, our horn of salvation, and our stronghold. No matter what distress you may be going through right now in life, no matter where you find yourself, no matter who else is there, cry out to the Lord. Trust in Him and call on Him for help. He is there with you, He will hear your cry, and He will help you.
     I am thankful the Lord kept me safe through yet another hunting trip out in the woods, but I am even more thankful that no matter what, I know He is always listening and I can call on Him in any distress of life. I love you O Lord, you are my strength. Amen.

Psalm 123

“Our Soul has had more than enough of the contempt of the proud.”

      The definition of contempt is the feeling that a person or thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn. How can something be beneath worthless? What would drive someone to intentionally make another person feel beneath worthless? And yet, while we can ask these questions in genuine wonder, every single one of us is too fully aware that this actually happens in real life. We have seen instances where someone bullies another person into believing he isn’t worth the air he is breathing. We have seen someone belittled so badly she feels smaller than the very atoms that make up her physical body. We have heard insults that could cut clean through the biggest hearts. These “proud” people who view themselves as more important, smarter, prettier, stronger, and just plain better in every way for some reason feel the necessity to make sure that worthless person knows exactly where he or she falls into place.
     For those people who have been held in contempt by the “proud”, they can let these attacks, insults, and beatings drive them to honestly believe they are worse than worthless!!! These people question their very existence. They doubt that they were even made for a purpose. They tell themselves they are a waste of space, a waste of breath, and would be better off dead and buried under a manure pile.
     Notice how the psalmist emphasizes this disgrace, our souls have had more than enough. It’s not that our souls have had a little bit of this, it’s not even that our souls have had enough of this. Our souls have had more than enough of this!!! The reason we have had more than enough of this is because the littlest bit of it is more than enough. This is evil in its purest form. Satan loves to demean human life, make people feel worthless, and cause people to question the purpose of their existence. The reason is because he knows our worth and our purpose come directly from God. God is the one who sets our worth on us. God is the one who calls us into the life He gave us for His divine purpose. So, when people are shamed, bullied, and treated with contempt, causing them to doubt their worth and purpose, it causes them to doubt their relationship with God. This is exactly what Satan wants.
    Our souls have had more than enough of the “proud” doing the devil’s work of damaging people’s relationship with God. Two simple facts put things into perspective. First, the “proud” are the ones who have determined their life’s worth according to human standards. They may be rich, good looking, or popular here on this earth, but God’s word makes it clear they have their reward already. They are living at the pinnacle of their lives as they strut around this world thinking they are on top. There is nothing for them to look forward to, and they will discover one day 60 to 80 years of a proud earthly life is worthless compared to an eternal life in paradise. Second, Jesus came to save the lost. He came to lift up the lowly, give eternal riches to the poor, eternal health to the sick, and worth to the ones the world calls worthless.
     Our souls have had more than enough contempt from the proud, because know our worth comes from the Son of God who showed us exactly how priceless we are to Him. Through His death and resurrection, He has declared our worth and our purpose and no human can take that away from us. So we keep the attitude of a servant, loving those around us, hoping to show the lost they are loved. They are loved not only by us, but by the one who first loved us enough to give us our worth and our purpose of serving others.
 

     So as we read this psalm, we pray with the psalmist, “Lord, have mercy on us, as we strive to live a life of love, serving others, so that they may find their own worth and purpose, just as we have, in You and Your Son alone. Amen.”

Keep Calm and Carry On

"Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!  Be their shepherd and carry them forever." Psalm 28:9

        Have you seen these signs or logos before? I feel like recently they have been flooding the internet. You see it or some creative version of it on t-shirts, coffee mugs, or posters in offices. I had no idea where it came from or why it has gained so much popularity lately. Well I had to research and discovered it originated from the British Government before World War II in 1939. Apparently, they hung posters of this saying around to help boost morale for their people. As to why it has become so popular again, I am not exactly sure. My best guess would be that even though we aren’t scared of an opposing military force dropping bombs on us, our society still needs a morale boost as we are aware of all the chaos happening in our country every day. It’s not our government promoting this saying, it is just everyday people who want to remind themselves and those around them that no matter how bad things may seem, life goes on. For most people who do not have the good news of the Gospel, this is their only hope that even in the midst of chaos, they just keep carrying on.
     David while writing Psalm 28 is also trying to boost morale. David is actually more along the lines of being at war as he flees for his life from King Saul and his military men. However, David gives a slight but very important twist to the Keep Calm and Carry On slogan. He is talking about calling out to God while the wicked and his enemies surround him earlier in this psalm. Then in the very last verse, David is speaking directly to the Lord, and extols Him to be the shepherd of Israel and carry them forever. As I read that line about the Lord carrying us as our shepherd was when I thought about it being the slight twist to the keep calm and carry on slogan. If us carrying on under our own power is supposed to boost our morale and make us feel better about situations we cannot control, how much more does the idea of being carried by the one who is in control of all things boost our calmness. David, as he is fleeing for his life, keeps himself calm not by reminding himself to carry on, but rather by reminding Himself that he has a shepherd who is carrying him.
     So the next time you find yourself in a stressful, fearful, or chaotic situation, instead of calming yourself with a t-shirt or coffee mug that says, “keep calm and carry on”, try calming yourself by praying to the Lord, “I’ll be calm as You carry me on”. And then you can be calm and trust that the Good Shepherd, who has laid down His life for His sheep, is carrying His people forever. Jesus has you in His hands now and always, and that is our comfort that life will go on. Life certainly will go, for the rest of eternity, because no amount of evil or chaos can overcome the Shepherd who has defeated all enemies with the sacrifice of His own life. The British and all those non-believers can keep calm and carry on, but you and I who know we belong to the Good Shepherd will keep calm and be carried on forever. Amen.

Happy 2017

     Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ.  Happy 2017!  Come on, I am only a month and a half late.  So as you can imagine, life has been busy.  We survived the Christmas season, which already seems like a year ago.  Christmas Eve services were awesome.  We had the three services again at 4, 6, and 9.  Then since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, we did have a Christmas morning service.  The choir did a cantata to replace the sermon and they did an amazing job with it.  

      Then right after the new year, I took a little vacation time.  My friend got married down in Nebraska and I was a groomsman.  So I took off a few days early to go see some folks in South Dakota.  It was good to catch up with all of them and see them again.  Then I was in Wayne for the wedding and had a blast there.  Then I finished off the trip by swinging down through Omaha to see Ava, JoAnna, and Steven.  Then I hit Adair just for a few hours to see mom and dad before making the long trek back north again.  It was a great week and a nice get away after the holidays.  

       Then I just back from an ice fishing trip with 11 other guys from church.  We went up to the Lake of the Woods on the Canadian border.  We took 8 guys last year for one day of fishing and had a good time.  This year we bumped it up to 12 and stayed for two days of fishing.  We had really good fishing the first day, but then it was super slow the second day.  It is for sure a new yearly tradition though and I look forward to it already.  

       My latest big project has been designing and building the new church website.  Everyone always says,"I didn't know you knew how to do that."  And my answer is always the same, "I don't."  I have learned more about websites and coding and all of it in the past month than I thought I would ever know.  It has been kind of fun, but pretty much every hour I'm not working on something else, I am playing around trying to learn more, finish more of it, or improve what I already have done.  Look for the official release to come right around Ash Wednesday.  

      Other than that, it is still cold and snowing here.  We got four inches of snow yesterday night, and then another three inches yesterday day.  It's always fun to scoop both before you go to work and as soon as you get home again.  I really don't mind though.  The chickens are definitely ready for warmer weather so they can be outside more again.  

     I am going to try to get back into posting more things on here and apologize for the break.  Hopefully a few of you are still checking in once in a while.  Blessings to you and the rest of your 2017.  See perfect bookend theme!  

Psalm 115

Psalm 115:4-7 “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.”

     It’s almost Christmas!!! Crazy how fast it came upon us again another year. Hopefully, you remember what Christmas is all about. It’s not the gifts, the tree and decorations, the food, or even the family. Christmas is all about that baby boy in the manger who was born for you and for me. As I was reading Psalm 115, it immediately drew my attention to this very point. As you read through the verse listed above, listen to how they speak directly to Christmas.
     The psalmist is speaking about idols and talking about how worthless they are. They are made of silver and gold. Sure, they may be in the image of a man and have legs, arms, and a face. However, the gold ears are not able to hear your voice, the gold eyes are not able to look at you and see you, the silver arms and legs can’t move. What good is a statue that can’t hear you, can’t see you, and can’t move or do anything at all. It truly is worthless, so why would you want that for your god? I mean a god is supposed to be in absolute control of all things. How can a statue that can’t move in control of anything?
      As you are thinking about how idols can’t do any of those things, it also turns our focus to the fact that our God is not like those idols. And Christmas points us directly to that truth. That baby boy in the manger, he had eyes that could see Joseph and Mary’s smiling faces. Eyes that could see the shepherd’s leaning over the manger amazed at what they saw. That baby boy had ears that could hear Mary’s soft voice comforting him. Ears that could hear the cattle moaning, the donkeys braying, and the sheep bleating. That baby boy had arms that swing and move as Mary tried to keep him swaddled. He had legs that could kick and stretch full length for the first time being outside the womb. That baby boy had a mouth to coo and squeak like happy babies do. He had a nose that could smell both the good smells of Mary and Joseph and the bad smells of the animals.
     Then especially as that baby boy grew up, we see those arms and legs in action. He not only travels miles from town to town walking on his feet, he even walks on water. His hands not only felt the water of the Jordan river and the wood of fishing boats, but they touched people as he healed them and forgave them. His eyes saw the unfaithful actions of the Pharisees, but they also saw the tears of grieving people, the loyalty of friends, the desperation for the people to be near him. His ears heard many ridiculous questions trying to trap him, but they also heard the pleas for mercy from crippled and scared people. His nose smelt the smell of dead fish, but also smelt the beautiful smells of anointing oils running down his face.
     That baby boy in the manger, who grew up to be a man, had real eyes… and real ears… and a real nose… and real hands… and real feet. Just like mine and just like yours. This was no worthless idol that had no power to move. This was the Son of God, born in the flesh of man, who had the power to walk and touch, but also had the power to conquer and control. That baby boy in the manger is the living evidence that our God see us, hears us, speaks to us, reaches out to touch us, and walks to be near us. We do not have a worthless idol for our god. We have the one and only God, almighty and truly in control of all things. And He was born as a man to show us He is real, He is in control of all things, and He is our God in whom we have all hope, joy, love, and trust.
     The final thought I had was an idol of gold or silver could be dropped or hit with a hammer and it would break. That worthless idol has no power to put itself back together again. It by its own power could ever be healed or fixed. It was created by man and would have to be fixed by man. However, that baby boy, the living God, was broken and even killed on the cross. But since he was not created by man, it wasn’t up to man to fix him. Since he is the Son of the Almighty God, he was able to fix himself as e rose from the dead on Easter morning. Even after his resurrection, he still had his eyes to see the disciples scared for their lives. He had ears to hear them call him Lord. He had real hands and feet marked with the nail holes.

Advent Encouragement

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Psalm 122:1

     Happy Advent Season! Advent is Latin for “coming”, and it is the season we prepare ourselves for the coming of our King on Christmas morning! Now I know this is the busiest of busy times of the year. Most likely you just got done traveling for or hosting Thanksgiving with family. Now it’s a mad dash to find all the presents on sale. Get them wrapped. Get the tree up. Get the house decorated. Then it’s only a few weeks until all the Christmas parties and family get togethers start taking over every weekend. You are busy, I get it.
      However, we are busy here at church as well. We have our cookie sale this Saturday, Wednesday nights are now busy with dinners and an extra worship service each week, we are hosting a Christmas party on the 16th, we have the preschool Christmas program on the 18th, the Sunday school Christmas program on the 21st, and then comes the big day we all have been preparing for with three worship services on Christmas Eve and one more on Christmas Day. Normally we do not have a Christmas morning service here at Peace in Christ, but because Christmas falls on a Sunday this year we are still having the late service. There are so many opportunities to come worship, eat, serve, and gather at church in the next 25 days!!!  Hopefully every church is this busy and active during this season!  My question for you is will you have the same attitude as King David in Psalm 122?
     David starts this whole psalm by admitting he was glad when the people said they wanted to go to the house of the Lord. So, when it comes to four or five extra worship services, four dinners, a cookie sale, and two Christmas programs, all on top of your regular Saturday/Sunday morning services during this season of Advent, are you going to get tired of all this extra “church stuff”, or are you going to be glad to come to the house of the Lord again and again? I hope you are glad! I hope you see each one of these “extras” as a chance to truly prepare yourself for the celebration of your King, the one and only begotten Son of God, being born in the flesh. God literally became just like you, in order to save you! If the good news that Christ is born, the Word of God has become incarnate in the flesh, doesn’t make you glad, I don’t know what will. If coming to the house of the Lord to hear you have salvation and eternal life in your Savior and King Jesus Christ doesn’t make you glad, again I don’t know what will. If you are too busy with the hustle and bustle of all the holiday requirements to come spend time in the house of your Lord who was born for you, I think you are missing the whole point of this entire season!
     I know you are busy, and I know you have a hundred and one things to get done by yesterday. However, there is also a reason we have extra opportunities to come to the house of the Lord during this busy season. We all need those extra opportunities to come just be in the presence of our God, to forget about all those things “we have to do” for a few moments, and to set aside all that stress and focus on preparing ourselves for the real reason for the season. Instead of grumbling that we have to go church one more time, I pray this Advent season you can be like David and genuinely be glad that you get to go to the house of your Lord one more time. I pray we can all gather together with happy hearts and rejoice in the fact that our King is born! Our King has won our salvation and eternal life through His death and resurrection. And our King is coming back to end all sin, suffering, and death! So, from a pastor, I lovingly encourage us all together, “Let us go to the house of the Lord to hear His good news as often as possible during this busy season!” – and hopefully you are glad to hear this!

Happy Thanksgiving

   Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ.  Happy Thanksgiving.  I preach tonight at our Thanksgiving Eve service at 6:30.  Then drive six and a half hours to mom and dads.  The whole family is going to be there.  All of us getting together is happening less and less now that we are all working adults living in Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, and Minnesota.  So I am very excited to see the boys and Ava.  Oh, and the rest of the family too!  It is a short trip for me driving down tonight and coming back Friday night, but worth it to see the family.
    We have been getting lots of snow here.  We were spoiled with such a long, nice fall almost all the way through November.  But now that winter is here, it is coming at full speed.  I love the snow and have thoroughly enjoyed tracking the deer movement through the fresh snow in my yard.  However, this is the first Minnesota winter where I actually have to shovel snow.  Last year, I had a heated garage and the plowing was always done for me at the apartment.  I have had to shovel the drive way twice this year and it is a decently long driveway.  However, it is also a good workout to shovel it.  The chickens don't like the snow very much; although, they are getting better about going outside even in the cold.  They finally laid their first two eggs!  Now I just have to get them trained to lay the eggs in the nesting boxes instead of on the ground.  Silly chickens.
     Well, as Thanksgiving is tomorrow and my birthday is Friday, I most certainly have an abundance of things to be thankful for.  I never dreamed that as I turned 28, I would own 17.5 acres of woods with a house, garage, and chickens, my own tractor, a car and a truck, and be blesses with lots of other material possessions.  I am so thankful for the career I have as an ordained minister at an amazing congregation with an awesome staff to work with.  I am so thankful that I am alive and healthy after some of the craziness of this year.  I will take a wicked scar on my arm being the worst thing left from a week in the hospital, nothing to show for falling off a roof, and making it safely through another hunting season.  God has blessed me every day for 28 years, and I am so content with where my life is, that the next two days will be a time of reflection and giving thanks to God.
    I pray you are just as content with your life, and can see how abundantly God has blessed you no matter where your life is at as well. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Psalm 67

      Praise the Lord the election is over. Someone had to win, someone had to lose, and now we move forward. However, for some reason unknown to me, there is still so much hatred, anger, and division lingering. Fingers are being pointed, blame is being dealt out abundantly, and nothing has even actually happened yet. Maybe it is my laissez faire attitude, but I don’t think who our president is worth all the fuss that I have not been able to avoid.
     One of the most frustrating arguments I have seen way too many times is that equality is being thrown out the window. So many people honestly thought the candidate who lost (I refuse to mention names) was going to bring equality for all people (meaning mostly LBGT, immigrants, women, etc.). And now that the other candidate won (you know who), that equality is never going to happen. Now I could rant and rave for about thirty-six to two thousand pages on why I agree or disagree with that whole ball of wax. Instead I want to just turn to the Psalm.
      Psalm 67 verse 4 says: “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity.” I wish every citizen of our country would hear those first nine words about being glad and singing for joy. I wish we could stand together as one people and be glad about everything that is still good in our country thanks to the blessings God continues to shower upon us, but I won’t hold my breath either. The psalmist tells us exactly why we can be glad and why we can sing for joy – because there is only one God and He will judge everyone with equity. He judges all people the same way. See right there it is – equality for all – exactly what everyone wants and is so strongly opinionated about. Except, I have a feeling all of those upset people disgruntled by the lack of equality for everyone in our country, are probably the very ones who do not want God’s equity. God’s equality is not about everybody getting to do everything you have ever wanted no matter what life style you choose. God’s equality is not about mankind deciding citizen’s rights. God’s equity in His judgment, where all mankind truly is equal, is about your faith. Are you part of His kingdom through faith in His Son or are you part of the kingdom of darkness through your rejection? Are you living according to His Word as a result of your faith or are you living a life of sin to spite God and His ways? This is the judgement that will come to all people, perfect equity, perfect equality, alleluia!!! And so we, the people of God, can be glad and sing for joy because we know we will be judged as faithful – not because of what we have done but because of what Jesus Christ has done for us and through us! However, anyone actively rejecting the faith of Jesus Christ probably would not be glad or sing for joy as they will find out His judgment of equity means wrath and condemnation for all non-believers. Equality for all. Equal eternal life for all believers, equal eternal death for all non-believers. That is God’s equality, that is God’s equity. So we as the people of God can be glad, we can sing for joy. Because we know God’s equity for us is only possible through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be glad and sing for joy because you as a believer are saved in Jesus Christ. And share God’s equality with all those angry upset people, so that Lord willing more can be brought into the Gospel of Jesus Christ and come to know God’s equity rather than the world’s equality.

Psalm 36

      I am not too arrogant to admit that there have been times in my life when I strayed quite far from a Christian life style. The temptation of temporal pleasures caused me to not only sin, but dive in head first into the downward spiral of a sinful lifestyle. The more I partook of that certain sin of that time, the more I wanted to keep doing it. So, when David starts this verse with “transgression speaks to the wicked, deep in his heart,” sadly enough I know exactly what he is talking to. Transgression has a way to spark a fire in the heart of a sinner that can cause him or her to want nothing more than to fuel that fire. And as one feeds that fire with an immoral lifestyle, he or she is actually foolishness enough to think they are getting away with it. Because they can keep it hidden from family, friends, and people, they think their iniquity cannot be found out. Either that or they are so enthralled with their iniquity, they really believe no one would blame them for it even if they did find out. And while you are desperate for more of your sinful passion, there is absolutely no fear of God in your thoughts. This is a pattern that is extremely hard to break. And for those who have never known the steadfast love of the Lord, it can be almost impossible to get out of the grasp of this soul-consuming transgression. And there are so many vices, sins, and passions that transgression can use to pull you into its trap.
      Fortunately enough for me, I have known the steadfast love of the Lord. Even while I was running fiercely away from it, I always knew it was there. And in fact, it is the steadfast love of the Lord that is the only thing that can overcome and defeat transgression. Listen to how David compares this transgression that takes over, controls, and dominate to the steadfast love of God. Transgression has the power to overtake the wicked, fill his heart, and cause him to react; however, the steadfast love of the Lord doesn’t just have the potential to fill, it does fill. And not just the heart of a few men, but all of creation. Extending to the heavens, like mountains reaching the clouds, His love fills every part of creation, both man and beast. Instead of lying in bed plotting trouble, the children who know this love, feast on the abundance of His house. They see the light and receive from the fountain of life. Instead of lurking in the darkness desperate to get their next fix to feed something they can’t control, the upright leap in the light, happily receiving their fill of what is generously given to them. The steadfast love of the Lord not only trumps transgression, it is the refuge from it. The upright who have escaped transgression’s death grip find their refuge in the Lord. And as David prays in verse 11, once one is safe in the steadfast love of the Lord, they never want to go back to their old wicked ways. They never want that arrogance to come back over them again. They never want those temptations to drive them away from the presence of the Lord again.
      Even Christians find themselves being drawn into transgression's webs, and you may have dark spots on your record of life. However, the steadfast love of the Lord is always bigger. The steadfast love that Jesus Christ won for you you by dying on the cross erases all those dark stains. His love will always trump transgressions bests efforts. Transgression has power, but it is limited. God is all-powerful that can rescue anyone from even the tightest clutches of evil. Christ has overcome the darkness so that you can always be in the light. Your heart has evil tendencies, but Christ died to claim your heart as His own and fill it with His steadfast love. If you are caught in that downward spiral of transgression right now, call on the Lord and beg Him for His steadfast love to come rescue you, bring you back into the light, and be your refuge. If you have been in that spiral before but still feel ashamed of those previous acts of evil and arrogance, trust in the steadfast love of the Lord. His forgiveness is REAL! Which means those sins are not only forgiven, they are completely gone. Quit dwelling on your tainted record and start feasting on His abundance! If you are in the refuge of His wings, feasting on His abundance, living in His love, still continue to pray this psalm. Let this psalm be a reminder that transgression is a real enemy, but also a reminder that it is a defeated enemy. Pray that you may not be swept back into those old sinful habits, but rather remain and abide in the steadfast love of our Lord! Amen.

Psalm 42

       My soul thirsts for God! In this psalm, the psalmist is speaking of thirsting for God. Then the psalmist gives us the context. He isn’t so blessed and so happy with life, that he has been too busy to make time for God and that is why he thirsts. No, it isn’t that life is so good that he is missing God. His food night and day are tears. Others looking in see how awful his life is and the only thing they can ask is where is your God. His life is so miserable, so terrible, as he cries day and night, and it seems like God has forsaken him altogether, that this distance from and lack of God is driving his thirst. Life has hit rock bottom and he knows what is missing is his relationship with God.
      Now the part that really got me as I read this psalm again, was verse 4. I have read this psalm many times, and normally my mind goes to deer hunting right away. However, this time as I focused on this content of why his soul thirsts, verse 4 stuck out. I want you to think about one of those times in your life, where you truly thought you were at rock bottom, tears were your food, and it seemed like God was nowhere to be found. Or even if you knew God was there with you, you felt like you had no real connection to Him. Ok, now in that moment, did you reminisce on past times when your faith seemed so much stronger, when your relationship with God seemed so much more vibrant? As you are wallowing in sadness, loneliness, and despair, your mind wandered back to a childhood memory of a full church on Christmas Eve with everyone singing those favorite Christmas hymns so loud you had chills. Or you remembered your favorite Easer when the lilies seemed extra white somehow, the alleluias rang louder, and the joy of thinking about Christ rising from the dead was overwhelming. Or maybe you remembered just an average Sunday morning service where the people singing, the sermon hitting a cord with you, and the overall worship just left such a memorable impression you can’t forget it. Looking back at those joyous, ecstatic, heartwarming memories of your faith life then, can make you ask yourself the same thing the psalmist asks in verse 5, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?”
       In the moment of your sadness, your loneliness, and your despair, those memories of unforgettable worship services of the past can make you question if you really believe any more. The stark contrast between these two moments in your life can cause you to doubt your faith is even still alive within you. However, remembering those worship services can also lift your spirit. It can remind you that you do believe and you do have a faith that has burned in your soul before, so why are you so doom and gloom now soul? It can put things in perspective for you, and as you remember how strong your faith was back then, can strengthen your faith to not doubt, but trust. You can end up telling yourself in full confidence, “Hope in God.” Hey, that’s what the psalmist does. He is in utter distraught, he remembers the times he used to praise the Lord in full joy, and he realizes, why am I so down and blue. I wasn’t praising an idol, I wasn’t praising a worthless item, I was pouring out my soul to the God of my salvation. And even though life is in a rough place right now, I don’t need to doubt. God hasn’t given up on me. He isn’t far from me. Stop doubting, stop pouting, and hope in God. For I will again praise God because he will carry me through this rough patch. Even if my earthly life were to end because of this hardship, I will praise Him again because He is my salvation. I am saved in Him, He is my God, and I will hope in Him as I know I will praise Him always.
      So, when you find yourself in those tough times, and you remember the glorious past of your rich and thriving faith life, don’t let it cause you to doubt. Instead, let it remind you to hope in God. Let it be your reminder that you will praise God again because no matter what happens He is your salvation. When your soul thirsts, and you remember how you used to pour your soul out to Him, let your reviving drink that replenishes your soul be your hope and trust in God. For He is your salvation. His Son’s death and resurrection is your salvation. Praise be to Him. Amen.

Psalm 65

Psalm 65 – Due to Him
      When you have to pay dues for something, you want to know exactly what you are paying for. None of us would be very happy with getting a bill in the mail for an amount that we owe without any explanation of what it is for or why we owe it. In fact, for most of us, the phone call would happen very quickly if we did receive a bill without any explanation.
      Well in Psalm 65, the psalmist tells us that praise is due to God. This is what we as His people owe Him. Our praise. However, the psalmist doesn’t just hand us this bill without any explanation. No, actually he uses the next 12 verses to very clearly lay out exactly why God is due our praise.
      Forgiveness, dwelling in His presence, the goodness of His house and holiness of His temple, righteousness, hope, creation, joy, water, provisions, and care, and this is just the very quick cliff’s note version of what the psalmist is telling us. For everything God has done for us, everything He continues to do for us, and just because of who He is as our God and the creator of our universe, He is most definitely due our praise.
       We were actually just discussing this in our Bible study on prayer the other night, that Luther writes in several places that our praise is the ONLY thing we can give God. He owns every physical thing already, we can’t do good works without Him, so there is nothing at all that we can actually give to God other than our praises. And as the psalmist reminds us in this psalm, God is absolutely, positively, most definitely due our praises. He created the world we live in, He gave His people the promise of a Savior to atone for their sin, He sent His Son Jesus Christ to be that Savior who died on the cross for the sin of the world, and He called you and me into that salvation giving us our eternal life in Him. We owe Him more than we can ever imagine. He is due our praises. So, take some time today to give God a few of the million praises He is due. Praise Father, Son, and Spirit, one God now and forever, Amen!

Psalm 97 - Light Show!

Best Light show around!
      In college I had a friend who did the light shows for all of the drama department shows. He could do some amazing things with just lights. Then you go to professional concerts and see the cool things they do with their light shows. And sadly enough, I’ve lived in Minnesota long enough now to comfortably use the Vikings as an example. In the Vikings new stadium, when they scored the first official touchdown in the new place, they turned off all the lights and had purple and yellow LED’s flashing on the roof. It was quite impressive and I was only watching it on TV.
      Light shows can fascinate us. However, the coolest light shows are still those of the universe. From shooting stars, to the northern lights, to lightning storms, our universe has some pretty epic light shows itself. Have you ever seen one of those really bad storms in the middle of the night? One where the lightning is so constant and so bright, it seems like it is day light out even in the pitch black of the storm. Living in the woods of the northland, I can tell you it is dark at night. Even when there is moon light, the trees block so much of it, it is still pitch black out on a clear night. On a cloudy night, good luck seeing your hand in front of your face. (Truthfully I love this part of my property). So image how dark it can be with thick, black thunderheads rolling in overhead. And yet, somehow the amount of lightning strikes can make you think it is high noon in a western movie where the sun is so bright you can see the single bead of sweat rolling down their cheeks of the two cowboys squinting their eyes at each other. While this can be terrifying because those storms normally come with winds and damage, it is impressive none the less to see that kind of “light show” right in front of you.
       Now listen to verse 4 of Psalm 97. This psalm is so interesting because it is describing the reign of God and it is terrifying and awe-inspiring all at once. Verse 4 in particular, talks about the lightnings of God lighting up the world. And you know, it is brighter and more impressive than even the fiercest storm anyone has ever witnessed in this world. That intense storm you thought of during the previous paragraph doesn’t even begin to compare to how bright the world is as non-stop lightning strikes go out from the presence of God to bring His light into the darkness of this world. The very next line even says, the earth sees and trembles. It’s the feeling of being so scared you couldn’t possibly look if you wanted to, and yet being so intrigued you can’t take your eyes off of it.
      Even though we haven’t seen this amazing light show of the lightnings of God lighting up the whole world, we have seen the most impressive light show God has to offer. Instead of lightning bolts, this terrifying and awe-inspiring light show consisted of a baby born in the manger with a star shining bright above. It consisted of a bloody man being hoisted high up on a hill for all to see even as the sky grew black. It consisted of a sunrise revealing folded clothes in a tomb. The light show of the world that should make us so scared we couldn’t look even if we wanted to and yet at the same time so intrigued we can’t take our eyes off of it, isn’t a storm or lightning or a star or the sun, but rather the Son as he was born in the flesh only to be killed on the cross. It is the Son as He stood alive outside His own tomb and as He ascended into Heaven. This light of the world as He calls Himself, truly is the reign of God. And it is just as terrifying and awe-inspiring as anything we could ever experience. It is terrifying because the wrath of God for our sin was so serious it covered the light of the world in darkness. It caused the Father to be so angry He couldn’t even look at the light of the world as He hung on the cross darkened by our sin. And yet it is so awe-inspiring because it is the forgiveness of those sins and He is the light that the darkness could not overcome. He is the light of the world as He reveals God’s love and salvation to all of creation. He is the reign of God as He sits on His throne, living and active, in control of all darkness. He is the most impressive light show we will ever see as His life, death, and resurrection is what allows us to see our eternal life right in front of us.
       So lightning is still awesome. I hope to still see more northern lights living up here. However, the greatest light show that terrifies me and yet I hope I never take my eyes off of is Jesus Christ, the light of the world and the very reign of God that the earth sees and trembles. Rejoice in the Lord, and give thanks to His holy name! Amen.

Psalm 134 - Come whenever you can to bless the Lord

Psalm 134:1

“Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord.”

If you aren’t aware of my process for these psalm devotions, I read a psalm and the first thing that jumps out at me or really hits me it what I ramble on about for about 700 words and hope it’s actually worth reading through a second time. As I read Psalm 134, the thing that hit me was the phrase “who stand by night in the house of the Lord”. It struck me as odd. Who stands in the hose of the Lord at night? Night is a time for sleeping, laying down, at the very least sitting and relaxing. So who stands at night? And especially in the house of the Lord? So I took another sip of coffee to help my brain really turn on for this morning, and tried to think what this phrase could possibly mean. Then it didn’t take very long to realize this actually makes a ton of sense.

Why would you go to the house of the Lord, for the Israelites returning from the exile (since this is a psalm of accent), the house of the Lord would be the temple. For us, the house of the Lord would be church. Now for the Israelites, I believe they would go to the house of the Lord at night for two reasons. {Disclaimer this is just my own thoughts – no actual proof}. One, because when you live in an extremely hot climate, night time was the cool time of the day to gather together indoors. Two, because you work all day so then you head to the temple during the evening after work. This is when it struck me and I really felt quite silly. I spend several evenings a week at church into the late hours of the night. Why? Because that’s when people are free from work and other responsibilities. We have Bible studies, small groups, council and other board meetings, and even worship services (advent and Lent) in the evening. People come to the church at night because they have been at work all day and evenings work best to gather at the house of the Lord. I see this every week, and yet it took me far too long to realize this phrase of standing in the house of the Lord by night isn’t that strange at all.

So who is the psalmist talking to in this psalm? You! And me! And everyone who is going through real life. Pretty much anyone who isn’t a monk who hides in seclusion, praying seven times a day and reading scripture non-stop. In my mind, this psalmist is speaking directly to the average Joe, the basic believer who has a real life, who has to work for a living, who has a family and kids, who understands time is limited and goes by quickly, and yet still makes time to come stand in the house of God by night. The people who have a million things going on in their life, but still dedicate an hour or more to come to church other than Sunday morning. For all the busy parents who get their kids fed and in bed and then one of them slips out to make the evening Bible study or meeting. For all the hard working people who come straight from work to make our supper and Advent services. For all the young adults working two jobs but still make praise band practice once a week. The psalmist is calling all believers, to come! Come, bless the Lord. Even if you have to do it in the wee hours of the night, still come lift up your hands to the holy place. Find that time, no matter when it is, to come gather together as His people and bless His name. And as you do so, may the Lord bless you! I could be wrong with all of this, but to me this psalm makes perfect sense as I live and see Christians striving to give time to God, no matter when that time might be. And like the psalmist, I pray that God may bless them as they do so.

Psalm 64 - God the Pulling Guard

As I first read this psalm, particularly verse 3, I noticed a word play that I wondered if it was an intentional pun. When David talks about the wicked “whetting” their tongue, is of course the idea of using a whetting stone to sharpen their tongue like a sword. However, it also made me think of a phrase we used to say in football, “Lick/Wet your chops”. So this is why I wondered if this was an intentional pun of whetting you tongue or wetting your tongue.

In football, we mostly used this phrase for pulling guards. In our eight-man formation, on certain plays our offensive end would leave the defensive end unblocked. Now a defensive end’s whole job is to get across the line, into the backfield, and disrupt the play as much as possible (while still containing the outside for you football-savvy people). Most plays his job is hindered by the offensive end blocking him. However, on these certain plays when he is left unblocked, he can freely come across the line and has a perfectly clear line of sight at the backfield. This is where our coach would say, “he’s just wetting his chops” thinking about the big play he is about to make. Basically, that end is so excited for the free chance to light somebody up, he starts salivating thinking about it. However, little does he know, this is intentional and that the pulling guard is headed straight down the line for him. The pulling guard coming down the line, is usually unseen by the defensive end who is giving his full attention to the backfield. So the guard gets a free shot at full speed to take that end off his feet and completely out of the play.

This is why this psalm and word pun made me think of this right away. David is talking about how the wicked are getting everything ready for the attack, they are laying traps and have everything ready just like that defensive end thinks everything is set up perfect for him to make the big tackle for a loss. However, David talks about God shooting the enemy with arrows suddenly, much like the pulling guard taking that end out of the play without the end even knowing what happened. This probably makes much more sense if you have played football and know what this really looks like in real life.

Regardless though, we all can understand the point. Our enemies watch us, they get their tongues good and sharp ready to tear us down, belittle us, attack us, and lay traps for us to fall into. But we aren’t as defenseless as we seem. The backfield isn’t threatened by that charging defensive end because they know what he doesn’t, that they are protected by that pulling guard. We aren’t threatened by the wicked looking to attack us, because we aren’t as defenseless as we seem. We know that the wicked doesn’t, that the “pulling guard” of our God is headed straight at them, shooting them with arrows, wounding them suddenly, taking them out of the play altogether. We have the protection of the one true God of the whole universe. And unlike a human lineman who sometimes forgets to pull, or is too slow on his execution to get to the end, God never misses, He never fails, He is always there to protect us from the attack of the wicked. Then once God has protected us from our enemies, all of mankind will fear our protector. They will use their “sharp” tongues to spread the word of how we were saved by God instead of for future attacks.

And what will we do? We will use our sharp tongues to rejoice in the Lord. We can take refuge in Him, trust Him, and know we are perfectly safe in Him. With that kind of confidence in our protector, we can truly rejoice and exult!!