Rejoicing that you are forgiven

In Sunday morning Bible class we are studying the book of Philippians. If I was to say what the theme of Paul's letter to the church in Philippi might be, I would say it could be found in the words, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice" (Phi.4:4 ESV) As Paul writes to the believers in that Roman city, he was encouraging them to rejoice in whatever the situation of their lives.

Rejoice! Rejoice! I will say it again rejoice. God is good. All the time. All the time. God is good. Rejoice in all that He has done for you. Live in the joy of the Lord. Celebrate the wonder of what God does for you day after day. The life of the Christian is a life of joy. Paul lays all that out and helps you and me to know how to go about living our lives. Rejoicing in Christ, we go about our day.

It isn't that he is saying that everything in this life is going to be good and sunny. He showed again and again that he lived in the joy of the Lord. Read Acts 16, the time when Paul and Silas first went to Philippi. It was far from a joyous time. In fact, Paul gets frustrated by the servant girl that was possessed by the evil spirit, the one that kept following him around, telling everyone that Paul was serving the God in heaven. It sounds good at first. Hurrah! The word is proclaimed. But then it started getting on his nerves. Imagine someone who is always there, talking, interrupting you, telling others part of your story. Everytime you sit down to talk to someone, there was that person, chattering away. Sometime making sense, sometimes not. Driving you nuts. Paul finally tells the evil spirit to leave her - in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Savior, the Victor! Hurrah! Freedom. Freedom for Paul. Freedom for the gal. Everyone was happy. Except for her owners. They lost a fortune no longer having a slave girl that could foretell the future. They got upset. They got so upset that Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten with rods and thrown in prison. Rats! That is terrible. How awful. 

So what do they do? They sit in prison and sing and praise God. They pray. They talk about the wonder of the message of Jesus Christ. They sing some more. They rejoice in the Lord. Always. Even in prison. Even when hurting from being beaten. Even when abused. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice.

But what if I don't rejoice? The question was raised, "What if I am not very good at that attitude when I am sick and suffering? What then?" Does it mean I am not a very good Christian? Does it mean I have missed the point of the sermon? Does It mean that I need to go back to confirmation class and learn some more stuff? What does this mean? (All right, that was thrown in for all you folks who remember Luther asking that question in parts of the catechism.)

It means that you are human. It means that you are a sinner. It means that you have the very same need that Paul had, that the folks in Philippi had - you need your Savior. 

Understand, I am not saying that you not rejoicing is a sin. That is not what I said. It is not a sin to not feel joy in every situation. It is not a sin to be upset. It is not a sin to be filled with dread in a situation. It is not a sin to be overwhelmed by what is going on. It is not a sin to sit in that prison at night and cry. 

What it shows is that you, like everyone else, need Jesus. You need what He brings to each person, hope, peace, comfort, healing, strength and a whole host of other things. 

I answered the question (after thinking), with this thought.

I face a difficult situation. I face a hard time. I face a life-threatening disease. I face the challenge of the day. And at times, I do so poorly. I get upset. I grumble. I growl at those around me. I tear others poorly, saying harmful and hurtful things that are not filled with rejoicing. I hurt others feelings. I do and say sinful things because I am upset, unable to rejoice. 

When I realize I am doing that, I need to stop and first and foremost, ask God to forgive me. I am wrong to act that way. I might be upset. I might be filled with fear. I could even have terror of the unknown filling my thoughts and actions. But I need to admit I was wrong, asking God to forgive me.

Then I need to talk to those I have treated poorly (the wife, husband, children, parent, friends, nurse, cleaning lady, food service working, whomever), and tell them, "I am sorry. I was wrong for treating you that way. I was reacting to how I was feeling at the time. It was not right. Please forgive me. Please try to understand me. Please help me as I go through this difficult, hard, terrible, awful, deep sorrow time." In that situation, while you might be unable to rejoice, you are able to show that being a Christian doesn't mean that you won't sin, you won't say the wrong thing, you won't hurt someone's feeling with unkind words. Being a Christian is realizing that, admitting you were wrong (making no excuses) and asking the person/s to forgive you. 

That becomes a witness to the life of the Christian. Being a Christian does not mean that you won't get upset in a situation. It means that you will admit that you acted wrongly and ask for forgiveness from the one you have wronged. Being a Christian means that you will face how you act, apologize for it, and then try to change how you act.

Rejoice in the Lord always! Yes, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will try to rejoice in each situation. I will seek the joy of the Lord. I will have difficult times. I will fail at it (because I am a sinner). And I will be forgiven by my Lord Jesus. The Spirit will help me to change. 

So, in the end, I come back to "rejoice in the Lord always." You are forgiven. You are loved. The Lord watches over you. That, is what we share with others. 

A full moon makes me think

 Opening the door to let the dogs out this morning, I looked to the west, and saw the full moon. What a beautiful sight!

To see the full moon reminds me of how the Lord has put together this wonderful world, solar system, and universe. Each month, you can know exactly when the full moon will take place. It is not a surprise. It isn't - well, I wonder when the full moon will be? Will it happen this week? Perhaps today? No, it is regular, constant, and will always be that way. Every 28 days, we can be certain the full moon will take place. That also means that every 28 days, there will be a new moon. 

What is my point? God has made the natural laws, laws that we do not control but that we can figure out. There are those who spend their time figuring out these things. Scientist are able to figure things out. Sometimes it is pretty easy and done very quickly. Other things are much more difficult to figure out. We have seen that with this corona virus. We think we have things figured out. Then we realize that we don't. It has taken time to figure out this virus. And we still don't have that done. Welcome to fallen world. Viruses, disease, body failings, all are a part of this fallen world. This has been shown to us again and again. Just as we think we are in control, we come to realize we are not. Over and over again we are taught that the more we know, the more we think we control this world and all the things that take palce, the more we realize that we are not in control.

So if we are not in control, who is? God. Plain and simple. God is always in control. Never does He turn His back upon any one of us or anything that is taking place. He is with you, with me, with everyone. Notice I did not say He is with those who believe in Him. I said, He is with everyone. He takes care of all people. He watches over all people. He cares for and loves all people. That is the wonder of God. You and me, we like and care for those who are in our circle of family and friendship. If we don't like someone, we often don't take care of them (which is wrong! God wants us to care for all people, but as sinners, we fail miserably at this.). The eternal God is not like that. He cares for all people, believer or not. He loves all people, for all have sinned and fallen short of His will. He sent His one and only Son to suffer and die for ALL people, to pay for the sins of all people. Then He sends the Holy Spirit to each person to bring them to faith in Jesus. Unfortunately, people can harden their hearts, turn their backs upon Jesus and not believe in Him. (Here we get into objective and subjective justification, but that isn't my point today).

In this world, in our lives, we are assured that Jesus is our Savior. We are assured that God is with us. We are assured that the laws of nature that are sure and certain. 

I thank God for the full moon, because it reminds me that He is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Provider, the One who takes care of all people and this entire world, day after day. Thanks be to God.

(All right, so I rambled some today. That is what happens when I start typing. I am not like God, I don't know what is going to happen at all times. Have a great day.)

Cleaning up the yard made me think

 I don't know about you, but I think of things at strange times. The other day, I was out cleaning up the yard. This is something that I need to do regularly. Penny and I have two large dogs, Zeb is a golden retriever and Wrigley is a chocolate lab. As such, they leave many things around the yard. And it is important to clean up that which they leave. 

As I was picking up the yard, I began to think. Cleaning the yard up of that which they leave around is much like life. What do I mean? Let me put it this way.

As I go around the yard, looking for the gifts that they have left in the yard, I have to watch my step. I need to pay attention to that which is laying around. Just when I think I have it all cleaned up, I find another one that I missed. As I am stepping around, I have to be careful where I walk, for I can accidently step into their mess. Some of the mess is old and some is new. No matter how careful I am, I will miss some, and I will step in other (yuck). When I have it all cleaned up, it will begin all over again. The dogs will begin to leave things for me to clean up again. And if we do not clean it up regularly, we will soon have a gross, nasty, messy yard in which we don't even want to walk. I know this sounds kind of gross, but bear with me.

Isn't that just like life? Our lives are much like that. There is always the yucky sin that we leave laying around. It is gross. It can create such a mess for us in our lives. We try to avoid the mess, but often we find ourselves stepping right into it. We think that we have it all cleaned up, only to find there is some sin that we have missed. Some sins are old and some are new. Some aren't too messy and others are totally and completely nasty. And just when we think we have the yard of our life cleaned up, more is left. Sin just keeps coming back, it needs to be cleaned up all over again. If we fail to work at cleaning up the sin in our lives, it just gets nastier and messier. 

Daily, we need to return to that very place that cleans up the sin in our lives - our Baptism. Daily we return to those blessed waters, that clean us once again, washing away the mess of sin. If we don't return to the Lord, to our Baptism, the mess of our lives just gets worse and worse. Soon our lives are filled with sin, messy, nasty sin. The Spirit takes our lives and cleans us daily in the water of Baptsim. We confess our sins, and we are forgiven for those sins. He cleans our lives. He washes us daily. And we can't stop. We need to return to our Baptism over and over again. Being cleaned by the Lord.

Those were the thoughts running through my mind the other day as I cleaning up the yard. Yes, even in the nasty job that needs to be done, you can find the love of God. He gives that cleansing and love to us. Stop at this moment, return to your Baptism, and let the forgiveness of the Lord wash you clean.

Then it happened!

 It was October 4, 2021. The day started like most other days. The sun came up. The birds sang their songs. The squirrels were skittering about looking for the acorns and other nuts that they could store away in a various ways - in the trees, buried in the ground. People were up and moving, heading to work, to school, to the store, to the coffee shop. What a lovely day!

Then it happened. No one saw it coming. Suddenly, out of nowhere, it stopped. And there was nothing you could do without it. Facebook crashed. No warning. Nothing. 

I sat there looking at my screen. Nothing. Run the diagnostics. Still nothing. Now what would I do? My day came grinding to a halt. I did not know what people were having for breakfast or lunch. I did not see the sunrise from around the nation. I did not get to see pictures of dogs, cats, giraffes, elephants or birds. I was shocked. I was sitting there, just looking at the screen.

All right, so that isn't really what happened. Yes, Facebook crashed. But life went on. I still accomplished the tasks that were needed. I was able to do the work needed. 

And yet, there were some of the positive things that were missed. I missed the positive posts about how God was with me and was going to help through the day. I missed the posts that told me about how someone needed a pray because of the struggles or illnesses they were facing. I missed getting caught up with what took place in someone's family. I missed seeing how the Gospel was being shared in a variety of ways by a variety of people. 

We can complain about Facebook. Yes, there are problems with it. Yet, there are also good things. When Facebook came back, she was able to post about the butter braids being delivered on Tuesday for Noah's Ark. I was able to see that another person was growing stronger after the treatments for cancer. I am able to share a prayer each day. Friends were able to show the wonder of God in sunrise as they proclaimed His glory. 

So Facebook went down. We survived. It came up later in the day. And we went on. 

And now, it is time to stop, and write a prayer that will be posted shortly. I pray that you will see the blessings of God in your life, in your day. Share that love with others, as you share your posts on Facebook!

A Surprise on Sunday morning.

 The morning started as it does each week. Bible study, worship and ready for the rest of the day. Arriving for church on Sunday morning, the tables were still set up for Clythia Brown's funeral lunch. Dave B. and I took the time to reset the tables for Bible study. Judy H. asked if we were supposed to do that. I did not understand what she was meaning. Of course we were. It was time for Bible study so we set the tables up like the were meant to be, as they were each week. There was going to be a Henke family thing, I was told. OK. But we still have Bible study. Normal morning.

The family was present as we moved Shirley Rex, Penny's mother, to Clarinda. Claud and Jim were there. Rach, Matthew and Chelsey were also there. So great being able to worship with the family. Having mom here will be great being able to worship with her. So the morning was normal. I could smell the food being cooked for the event taking place. I didn't think anything about it. I was enjoying spending time worshiping with the St. John family. It is good to be here.

As the service ended, folks were leavning. Only they weren't I did not realize it but they were heading downstairs. I was greeting folks and they were leaving, so I thought. But they weren't. They were heading down for a party. What party? I didn't even see it happening. The kids came out, and we were going to the local Chinese rest. for lunch. They were going to go get a table. That made perfect sense, considering there was 12 of us and they don't have a lot of big tables. Another piece of the puzzle.

Penny was looking for me. I was doing my normal stuff. I wanted to check to see who someone was, if they signed the friendship register. Talked with Casey about it. He helped me figure out who it was. Penny and I headed down to get our things from the office and head to lunch. I figured mom must have been with Claud and Jim, since they brought her to church. 

One last thing, Penny says. You need to go downstairs. OK, I said. And I didn't even think about it. As we walked downstairs, I asked what the folks were doing down there. Then I found out. It was a surprise party that Penny had been planning for the last month. I was completely surprised. I had no idea that it was taking place. No idea at all. 

I was overwhelmed. I cannot express my appreciated for the outpouring of love that was shown . I guess it isn't so bad turning 60 years old. I can say that. Instead of the 21 anniversary of my 39th birthday, it is my 60th birthday. The Lord has blessed me.

I want to thank Penny, Rach, Matt, Chelsey for the surprise. I thank the various members of the congregaiton who worked with Penny - Sandy, Jackie, Jessica, Judy, and a whole host of other people. I thank all of you who were able to come and celebrate with me. I thank those of you who weren't able to make it but sent your best wishes in a variety of ways. I want to thank my St. John family for this outpouring of love. 

And I thank the Lord for bringing me to this point of my life. He has blessed me day after day. He is with me in all that goes on. And He is the One who brought me here. Thank You, dear Lord. Thank you.

Now, I move into this new week, with a new feeling of love, and friendship. I am hoping I can return that love to all. 

A little rambling

All right, I have to face it. It doesn't seem like it could be possible, but it is. When I think about it, I am not sure how real it is, but then I look at the facts, and I know that it is true. I am now 60 years old. I have been alive for 60 years. That is amazing to me. I know that for those of you who have more years under your belt than that will say, "I would love to be 60 again." I had someone say the other day that they would love to go back and be 60 again. That is interesting. I know that when I look back at different ages, 20, 30, 40, or 50, I don't think I would want to go back and redo those years. Why? I would probably make more mistakes than I did originally. I would try to outsmart myself and cause myself more issues than I did when I was living those years. I look back at the things that were going on in those years, and I give thanks to God for the life that I had then. I rejoice that I have had the experiences that I have had to make it to this age. 

Sixty years is a lot of years. I look at that number and realize that it really is amazing. I look at the way the Lord has taken me through the years, and all of that has made me the person that I am today. I have been with Penny since I was 17. We started dating in high school. And now, here we are, 42 years later, still together, still in love, still wouldn't want to spend our lives with anyone else. I say "we" here because we both feel this way. She has been the love of my life, and when I say that, I really do mean it. Out of 60 years of life, she has been a part of it for 42 years, married to me for 37 years, putting up with me in the good times and bad times, in happy days and grumpy days. What a blessing it is that the Lord has given to me. She truly is my heart and my life. The only one that comes before her is my Lord Jesus Christ. And it is that love of Jesus that makes it possible for me to love her.

I look at it and realize how blessed I am to have two wonderful children, both of whom are in their realy 30s. They have been with me for half my life. That too is amazing. God has blessed me with two wonderful children, with two great in-law children. I am so blessed. I don't know what I have done to be so blessed. And then I realize, it has nothing to do with what I have done. They are blessings given by my Lord Jesus Christ without any merit on my part. 

So here I sit, thinking about having been alive for 60 years. I look back upon those years. I reflect on the blessings that the Lord has given to me. I rejoice at the way He has watched over me in more ways than I could every have asked. I thank the Lord for what He has done for me. I praise His name as I find myself with knew knees, new vision, and the same body. I look at life and know that the Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord, for giving me the things I need, the sun and the rain and the 60 years! Amen.

One day later, 20 years later.

 Apple butter. It was cooked and canned. The kettles were cleaned. The fires were out. But in New York City, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, PA, the fires continued. The smoke filled the air. Death. Destruction. Horror. The nation sat in shock, having watched over and over again, the planes, the towers, the collapse and the outcome. 

I remember that time. I had to quit watching the news reports. It finally was overload. I had to shut the news off. Enough was enough. It wasn't that I did not care. It was emotionally overwhelming. 

Yet on the next day, 9/12, there was a sense of unity in the country. People standing together. That part I did not need to turn off. To see politicans standing shoulder to shoulder, Republican, Democrat, Independent. All standing there in support of the United States of America. There was community after community coming together, supporting the nation, singing the Star Spangled Banner, waving the flag.

More than that, they began to pray. People were praying. Over and over again, people lifted up their hearts in prayer. They turned to the Lord. They asked Him for strength, for comfort, for healing, for help. Soon, wherever you went, you would see signs saying "Pray for America." Churches opened their doors, and people came. Special services were held, and people came. It did not matter what day of the week or what time of the day, when a church had a special prayer service, people came. They prayed. They turned to the only One who was their Rock, their strength.

Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its water roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. This became the word that gave people comfort. I thought of the hymn, "A Mighty Fortress." Indeed, God is our very present help in trouble. On 9/12, and the days following, this really became real for many people They saw the Lord as the One who could bring them comfort and help in this time of national tragedy. 

I look at this and know that the Lord is my comfort, my strength, my help in everything that goes on in my life. Not just on 9/11 and 9/12, but every day. Each day, I trust in the Lord. Living in a broken world, a world where pain and suffering is a reality, it is only the Lord that can guide me through each day. That is why I praise His name. I look to the cross of Jesus Christ, I look at the empty tomb, and I know, Jesus is the Victor. He has defeated our greatest enemies, sin, death and the power of the devil. He has overcome my fears. He has defeated my enemies. 

In His hand I live. In God I trust. He alone is my Savior, my strength, my comfort. I praise His name.