The Good Shepherd

 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want...many of ou probably know where that comes from and could probably continue on with it. It is Psalm 23. What a blessed Psalm it is (then again, each of the Psalms are a blessing for us in our lives). Psalm 23 is probably one of the best known passages of Scripture, ranking up there with John 3:16. 

I write this on Sunday, April 25. Today is the 4th Sunday of Easter. On this Sunday in the Church Year, we remember that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11) He is the Good Shepherd who watches over us each day. He is the One who is there for us, when the devil comes, seeking to devour us. He is there for us as the world around us seeks to lead us astray, onto the paths that do not lead to life eternal. He is the One who is with us day after day, night after night, every minute of the day.

Unfortunately, we often stray away from the Shepherd and the path of eternal life. We see that tuft of grass on the other side of the path (a temptation), and we wander off after it. We really don't even think about what that temptation might do to us in our lives. All we can think of is that we really think that temptation is going to be so wonderful that we just can't live without it. In truth, we cannot live with it. Wandering from the path into sin, leads only to death and damnation. 

That is why we need this Good Shepherd. He seeks us out. He comes to us in our sin. He finds where we have strayed to. He looks for us where we have willingly gone to because we wanted to sin instead of following Him. That is our Good Shepherd.

Not only does He seek us out in our sinfulness, He gives up His life for us. That is the most glorious thing about Good Shepherd Sunday in the middle of the season of Easter. The Good Shepherd faced the devil, the world and our sinful nature as He went to the cross, to suffer and die for us. He destroyed the power of the grave over us as He rose victorious from the dead. The Good Shepherd has laid down His life and took it up again for us, for our salvation. 

The Good Shepherd, crucified, died and risen, is there to lead us day after day. He is leading each one of us, as we are the sheep of His pasture. (I just want to be a sheep, baa, baa, baa - if you know the song, it will resonate through your thoughts at this point.) Following the Good Shepherd is the most wonderful thing that can happen in our lives. Listening to His voice, we find comfort in the midst of all this chaos in the world today. We hear Him speaking words of peace and comfort to us. And we follow Him.

I encourage you to read Psalm 23 again today. It is the Introit for this Sunday. I encourage you to read John 10 once again. Yes, a portion of that will be the Gospel reading today. And I encourage you to follow the Good Shepherd today and throughout this week. I will be right there with you. Baa!

Spring brings...so much

 Sunshine! Oh how it makes you feel so much better. Don't you just love seeing the sun rise each morning? As I sit here looking out the window, I see that it is going to be a nice day. At least it is starting out that way. It is cool out, true. But it is also going to be such sunny day. 

Sunshine and spring brings - grass cutting. Yes, it is that time again. Have you mowed your grass already? Or have you had someone else mow your grass? We have not. But it looks like it is going to be time to mow. After that first time of mowing, the season is on. Week after week, the lawn will need to be mowed. It won't stop growing. So with the first pull of that rope, the turn of the key, the sitting on the seat or pushing of that handle, it will be at least 6 more months of mowing. Keep that in mind! Over and over again, you will need to have the yard mowed. 

I am glad to see things getting green. I am happy to see the flowers blooming. I am thrilled to see the trees leafing out. The new life - wait, that makes me think of another new life - a new life that is given through my risen Lord Jesus Christ! As we celebrate Easter (celebrating day after day), the new life given through the living Lord Jesus Christ is a blessing. Rejoice! Jesus is alive! And because Jesus is alive, you live as well. Through faith in Jesus Christ, faith in the living Lord, you are assured that each day you are not alone. Christ is with you. He lives for you. He gives you forgiveness, strength in life, and peace in knowing that when this life comes to an end (which it will), you will live forever with Him in heaven. And the day will come when this frail body will rise from the dead and will no longer be frail and weak. It will be glorified and sinless. Living with the Lord forever! What a blessing that is for each one of us.

Step our onto your porch and listen to the birds. Look up into the sky, and see the beauty of the blue. Look at the bushes and trees and celebrate new life. And then, say a prayer of thanks to the Lord for the new day. Excuse me, I think I will step outside. Have a great day.

The Emotions of Easter

 "Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!"  On Easter Sunday, our congregation (and probably most Lutheran congregations across the country), sang that hymn. We began with darkness, "Go to Dark Gethsemane," and the reading from John 20. Then the lights came up, the bells rang, the Christ candle was lit, and the peace of Christ was shared among those present. And then, the brass began. Hearts swelled, and the organ joined with the brass and we began to sing. What a glorious moment it was!

As we began singing that first verse, the emotions of the day came rushing into my heart and mind. It became difficult to sing. Tears welled in my eyes (yes, as a guy, I am admitting that). My heart was overwhelmed with the message of the day. Jesus Christ is risen! He is alive! And at that moment, that message came to life. As the song continued, I was able to join in with singing. Praising God for the wonderful message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 

Jesus is alive! He who was crucified, who died, and was buried, came back to life on that Sunday morning. In His resurrection, He said to us, "As I live, you shall live also." I know for sure that I am saved by grace through faith, faith in the resurrected Jesus Christ. I know that when I die, I will be with my Lord in heaven. I know that when Jesus returns on the last day, this body, which will be buried in the ground due to death (unless He returns before I die), will rise from the dead. It will be glorified. I will physically enter into heaven, body and soul, sinless, made whole, just as Jesus said that it will happen. 

I praise God for the assurance, the life, the hope that this message gives to me and all people. Believe in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, and you too shall be saved and shall live forever with Him in eternity. The message is sure. I can go through my day with an assurance that I have a living Lord guiding and strengthening me. I want everyone to know this good news. I want everyone to know that as terrible as things can get in this world and life, there is hope to be found in Jesus Christ. 

I know that my Redeemer lives! What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, He lives, who once was dead, He lives my ever living Head. Thank You Jesus, for rising from the dead and giving to me and all who believe in You, hope, strength, comfort and peace. 

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Waiting with anticipation

 Saturday is a day of waiting. A day of anticipation. A day of...

Let me step back for a moment. Today is Saturday, April 3, 2021. What does that mean? It means that for me as a Christian, it is Holy Saturday, the day that comes between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Good Friday is the day when Jesus Christ was handed over to the Romans by the rulers of the Jews, put on trial before Pilate, condemned to die and was crucified. He was hung upon that cursed cross. It was meant to cause Him to suffer. It was also meant to cause Him to die. You did not hang anyone on a cross and then take them down before they died. The cross was meant to kill. Period. So on Good Friday, Jesus died (no it wasn't called Good Friday then). He was then taken down from the cross by Joseph of Arimethea and then laid in the tomb. He was left in that stone cold tomb, wrapped in cloths and spices, a corpse, with no life, left to decompose. That was Friday.

We know that on Sunday, the 1st day of the week, Jesus rose from the dead. He came back to life. He did not decompose like they thought He would. He did not remain in the tomb like they expected Him to. He rose. He came back to life. When He did, He kept His wounds as a way to show who He was (remember that it took Thomas seeing and touching those wounds for him to believe it was Jesus). Other than that, Jesus did not look like a person who had been dead and came back to life. What did He look like? Like Jesus, except with the scars in His hands and feet and the hole in His side. 

Good Friday and Easter Sunday - between them lies Holy Saturday. What happens the is day? It is a day of waiting and a day of anticipation. We wait for Easter, though we know it is coming. We anticipate the excitement of Easter morning. And yet, we must wait. 

Waiting with anticipation - that describes the life of the Christian. We wait in anticipation for the moment when we will pass from this life to that eternal life in heaven. We wait in anticipation for the resurrection that will take place when Jesus returns. We wait in anticipation for the return of Jesus. We wait in eager anticipation all through our lives. 

And as we wait, we have an assurance. That is that Jesus is alive. He is in heaven. He is interceding for us to the Father. He is with us. He is forgivening us. He is watching over us. We are never left alone with Jesus being right there with us. We are assured that of this. And it helps us each and every day. It lifts us up. It encourages us. It carries us. It fills us. A living Jesus gives to us the confidence to face each day - with all the ups and downs, goods and bads, health and sickness, joy and sorrow. 

All of that is because Jesus rose from the dead. In Him we have everything that we need. 

But today, we wait in eager anticipation. It is Holy Saturday. Good Friday happened. Easter is coming. And we wait in anticipation.