Thankful "Have-nots"

Deuteronomy 8:10 (ESV)

“You shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.”

You hear a lot in our world about the divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” between the wealthy and the poor, between the 1% of the world that has most of the world’s wealth and the 99% who get the rest.  Now I am not trying to play down these concerns.  But it struck me this week that the idea that I “have” anything is an illusion.  I was packing for an overnight trip with my brother in-law Dean.  I was thinking about the fact that I needed to pack very little for this trip.  Other than my CPAP machine I packed everything I needed in my backpack.  Then it hit me.  “You think you are taking very little on this trip, wait till you die.  On that trip you get to take only what you “own” - which is absolutely nothing. 

The idea of “having” things, of “having” anything, at least in the sense of owning something is an illusion.  You and I don’t own anything.  The homes we live in, the clothes we wear, the money in our wallet, the cars we drive, the food we eat, our jobs and even the ability to work –  everything is a gift from God.  None of it belongs to us.  It all belongs to Him.  He gives to us or perhaps we should say, He loans to us “everything we need to support this body and life.”  I am a Have-not.  We all are.

That is such a important realization for each of us.  It is the soil from which grow thankful and generous hearts. Think about what Moses wrote in the verse from Deuteronomy 8.  He didn’t write, “You shall bless the LORD YOUR God for the good land” you have.  No, Moses wrote, “You shall bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.”  Everything we have is a gift from our Father in heaven. Thanksgiving is not the sum total of your possessions.  Thanksgiving is the fruit of how gracious, generous and giving God is.  No matter how much or how little you or I have been given, there is reason for thanksgiving. His gifts are all more than we could ever deserve.  We are “thankful have-nots” - every one of us. 

Let me take that one step farther.  That fact enlarges our understanding of how one gives thanks.  Giving thanks becomes more than a few words in prayer or in worship.  It becomes the act of giving to others as generously as God has given to you and me.  The word is thanksgiving after all. It’s amazing isn’t it?  When we look at the stuff in our lives as things we “have”… as ours – then we become defensive about the whole idea of giving – because “it’s mine. You can’t keep asking for what’s mine.  My resources are limited.”  That’s all changes when we realize that we have nothing, and that we are cared for by the God whose resources are limitless. All our stuff is a gift from Him and there is always more in His storehouse.  Trusting Him and His giving heart, we are free to give… to give generously to others as He has given to us. The greatest compliment a parent can be given is to see their son or daughter trying to be just like them.  The greatest thanks we can offer to God our Father is to love and to give as He has given to us.  That’s the joy of being a “thankful have-not.” 

The Perfect Prayer for the Age of Terrorism

“This, then, is how you should pray… Thy kingdom come…”

Matthew 6:9a & 10a

I have to admit that once again I am conflicted.  Since I heard about the terror attacks in Paris, my thoughts, emotions and reactions have been pulled in many different directions.   My first reaction was anger – anger at the evil of what those terrorists did in Paris. Like many I have wanted swift retribution.  I’ve wanted the borders closed here and in America, stopping the flow of refugees from the Middle East.  But then my conscience speaks and reminds me that 99 out of 100 of those refugees are just people fleeing for their lives, looking for someplace safe for themselves and their children to live.  I am reminded of what I heard Ed Westcott (Director of LCMS World Missions back in the 1980s) in a sermon when refugees were coming to the USA on boats from Cuba and many college students were coming from other countries to study in America.  There was a lot of fear and resentment among Americans.  It was in my heart too until Dr. Westcott reminded us that many of the people coming to the US were from countries where we could not take the Gospel.  Now God was bringing them to us in America.  He was giving us the opportunity to tell them about Jesus.  Then when they returned to their home countries they would take the Gospel with them, to places where we could not go.  This is true right now – in the midst of this crisis God is bringing people to us from places we can’t go with the Gospel. 

So all the emotions are there – anger, fear, resentment, compassion, love, a desire to think and feel and act towards all involved in a way that reflects who our God is! I bet many of you are conflicted like me.  What should we do?  Well when I am confused I find that the best thing to do is take it to God in prayer.  In fact Jesus Himself has already taught us a simple prayer to use in this age of terrorism – “Thy kingdom come…”

That prayer brings together all our conflicted thoughts.  On the one hand Government is a part of God’s kingdom.  With this prayer we are asking Him to guide our governments to react properly, to punish evil doers and protect us from harm.  We are praying for our Lord to end terrorism, to do justice and restore peace among nations.    That’s the proper God given work of government.  . 

“Thy kingdom come…” We are also asking our God to bless and grow His kingdom of grace… to bless the work of His church in telling the good news of His love and forgiveness. God is bringing all these people to us.  So we pray to Him - “Lord help us, as believers, to extend Your kingdom by telling them about Jesus, about His death and resurrection, about the grace and forgiveness He offers to all who believe.”  We are praying for God’s Spirit to work faith in the hearts of those He is bringing.

“Thy kingdom come…”  With these words we are especially praying for ourselves, for God to work in our conflicted hearts. Luther explained this prayer in his Small Catechism. “The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.”  In other words, “Lord by your Spirit be at work in my heart that I might repent of all evil, turn to you in faith and follow you.  By Your grace rule in my heart that I might think, speak and act towards others in accordance with Your love towards me.”

“Thy kingdom come…”  Finally, with these words we are asking our Lord to do the one thing that will restore justice and peace, once and for all.  With these words we are praying the final prayer found in the Bible, at the end of Revelation - “Amen! Come Lord Jesus.”

Am I saying that we should pray that God should at one and the same time, work through government to punish the evil doers and at the same time use us to share His love with everyone, even the terrorists?  Are we praying for Him to turn every heart towards Himself, even the hearts of those who hate us? Yes!  This prayer says all those things.  It’s the perfect prayer for the age of terrorism.  “Thy Kingdom Come!”  Amen!

Do You Have a Logo?

Galatians 6:14 (ESV)

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

I bet you recognize these corporate logos easily – McDonald's, Nike, Disney, Target, Coke, Pepsi.  These logos do exactly what they are supposed to do.  We see them and immediately we think of the company, what kind of company it is and what that company sells.  These logos are inextricably tied in with the identities of the companies they represent.

That got me to thinking.  If I had a logo, what would it be?  Well believe it or not, the first thing I thought of was my head.   Often times if I am wearing a hat, people who know me will walk right by me without seeing me.  People who have known me all my life will have a hard time picking me out in a crowd or from a distance.  But if I remove my cap, people who know me recognize me almost instantly.  I guess you could say that my bald head is one of my logos.  Shoot one my good friends, when he was in high school gave me the nickname that has stuck with me for years – PB.  It’s a play on my professional initials and my baldness.  PB can stand for Pastor Braun or Pretty Bald.  Strange as that may sound, that seems to be one of my logos.

If you think about it, we Christians are identified by a very strange logo – the cross!  How strange is that? After all, the cross was an instrument of cruel torture and death.  The worst criminals were executed on cross.  Death by crucifixion was a gory, bloody, excruciating way to die. The cross is the ancient version of the electric chair, the gas chamber or the hangman’s noose.  Yet we Christians places crosses at the center of our houses of worship.  We hang various versions of crosses on the walls of our homes.  We wear them as jewelry around our necks and on rings.  And just as people seeing the golden arches think immediately of McDonalds, so when people see a cross they think of Christianity.

When you think of what the cross is, it seems a very strange logo indeed.  Yet when you realize what Jesus did on his cross, this isn’t strange at all. The cross is the perfect logo for our faith.  It tells you a lot about what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  For one thing, the cross reminds us of just how deeply serious the problem of our sin is – so serious that we could never make up for it. We could never pay the debt we owe.  The only way we could be saved is if God paid the price of our sin for us.  That’s what He did – giving His Son Jesus to die for our sins on the cross.  The cross is thus also a tremendous reminder of just how much God loves us.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son…”  That one and only son Jesus “loved us and gave himself up for us” on the cross.  The empty cross reminds us that we “have been given a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  

Yes the cross is the perfect identifying logo for you and me as Christians.  The cross is the most perfect witness to the world of what Christianity offers to everyone that is makes it different from every other religion – A God who knows we can’t make our way back to Him so He comes down to us.  He takes on our flesh and blood, lives the life we fail to live, dies in our place and rises again the third day… A God who stoops down that He might lift us up…   Like the Apostle Paul, this is a logo we should wear gladly for all to see – “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified to me and I to the world.”  (Galatians 6:14)

When is Helping Really Helping

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ…

Each one should carry his own load.”

Galatians 6:2 & 5 (NIV)

I haven’t brought you out here in a while. (For those of you reading and not watching the video – look at the picture posted with this post)  You may remember that last year in Advent I brought you out here to show you a building they were tearing down.  Well it is almost a year later and as you can see they are now in the midst of constructing a brand new building. 

You will also notice the huge cranes that are here on this construction site.  They are why I have brought you out here one more time.  I think these cranes can help us understand two verses, Galatians 6:2 & 5 that are sometimes a very confusing.   At first glance these verses seem to contradict each other.  How does it make sense that in verse 2 St. Paul encourages us to “carry each other’s burdens” but then in verse 5 he writes that “each one should carry his own load?”  The key is in understanding the difference between a “burden” and a “load.”  That’s where these construction cranes come in.  The purpose of these cranes is lift, carry and put in place objects that are way too heavy for the men to carry themselves.  These cranes are not used to lift the smaller items that the workers can carry.  There you have it.  A “burden” is something too difficult or too heavy for a person to carry himself.  A “load” is something one person can handle. 

Paul in these verses is answering the question, “When is helping really helping?”  As a Pastor I have been asked many times, “How do I know when I should help someone?  How do I know if by helping I am doing more harm than good?”  The answer is in understanding the difference between a “burden” and a “load.”  Let me give you a couple of examples.  I had a parent call me once who was very frustrated with how her son was doing in college.  I asked what was going on.  She said, “He keeps getting himself in trouble.  Each time, I call the school and argue his way out of that trouble.  Then two weeks later he is in more trouble.  He’s not getting his work done for class.  He’s flunking.  I have tried everything.  I have even written his papers for him.  None of it helps.”  This is a good example of someone whose help is doing more harm than good.  Her son needed to face the consequences of his actions and learn how to deal with them.  He didn’t have to, because his mom was doing it for him.  She was carrying his load and it wasn’t helping. 

One more example – a friend of mine, Dick Lasch, had a neighbor who fell off of a ladder and broke his back.  This neighbor was completely immobilized for several months.  During that time Dick went over once a week and mowed the man’s lawn, and did other things for the man which at that point he couldn’t do for himself.  Dick was helping to carry that man’s burden. When the man got healthy again, Dick stopped because now the neighbor could do it for himself. 

In other words, helping people with struggles they can’t handle by themselves and at the same time allowing them to struggle with the things that they can handle – that’s when helping is really helping.  Paul says that this “fulfills the law of Christ.”  After all this is what Jesus does.  He allows us to deal with the struggles and decisions that we can handle. We are perfectly capable of making right choices, and so forth.  Sure we can pray to him for guidance.  But ultimately he doesn’t make those choices for us.  He allows us to carry life’s load and so learn to walk faithfully with Him. However the burdens of life – the things we can’t handle – sin, addiction, temptation, death and more – those he carries for us.  Isaiah says it so clearly, “He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows… He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds we are healed.”  That’s what He did for us on the cross.  He took up our burdens.  That’s also why He places us in churches and gives us one another.  He knows that there are different kinds of burdens that we need help with.  So He gives us each other to care, to listen, to hold each other accountable – to be His presence in each other’s lives – Jesus through us carrying each other’s burdens.