Thursday, January 25, 2018

The Tale of Two Rocks


“that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel”
1 Samuel 17:46b


When you are gone, what will people remember about you?  What will be your legacy?  What will be the central theme and message of your life?  What will they put on your tombstone?  I think about that every time I visit a cemetery.   The older the tombstone, the more likely it is that there is almost no one left who remembers the person buried here.  So when I am gone – will anyone remember me?  Or more importantly, if they do remember me, what will they remember?

That’s why I brought these two rocks with me today.  I picked them up when I was in Israel a few years ago.  This first one is a piece of marble I found washed up on the beach at Caesarea Maritima.  Caesarea Maritima is the ancient man-made port constructed by one of the greatest builders Israel has ever known – King Herod the Great.  Herod built all sorts of amazing palaces and fortresses around Israel.  He built the temple in Jerusalem, the one that existed in Jesus’ day.  He built a man-made mountain with a palace on top, just outside of Bethlehem.  It was called the Herodium.   This is most likely where John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded.  Herod the Great built Masada – a virtually unreachable and impenetrable fortress on a high plateau near the Dead Sea.  Herod’s construction projects were enormous.  His palaces and fortresses dwarfed those of the Caesars.

Why did Herod do all this?  Well basically he was out to make a name for him.  He wanted people to know that there had been a Herod and that he was amazing. 

Then there is this rock.  You will notice that I have it wrapped in a sling shot.  I picked up this round rock in a creek in the Valley of Ellah.  The Valley of Ellah is where young David picked up five smooth stones like this one.  Then he took those stones out to face, and kill the giant Goliath.  Why did David do this?  He gave the reason in 1 Samuel 17. He didn’t go out to make a name of himself.  David went out to face Goliath “that all the world may know that there is a God in Israel.”  He went out so that the name and reputation of His God might be exalted, that people throughout the world might know of Him.

Now I want you to think about these two men.  I have this piece of marble because all of Herod’s great palaces are now ancient ruins.  What do most people remember or know about Herod?  Most only know that he had a few baby’s killed in Bethlehem.  Otherwise he is largely forgotten.  But David?  Still today people tell and teach the story of little David who only went out with five small stones like this one and slew the giant Goliath.    We tell and retell David’s story, marveling at the great power of God.  After all David could never have done this on his own.  It was God working through him that brought Goliath down.

I keep these two stones on my desk and I share them with you today as a reminder.  If I make my life all about wanting people to know and remember me, then it won’t be very long and my legacy will be the same as those names on a tombstone – No one will remember me.   But if your life or mine is about letting people know about Jesus, it won’t really matter that they remember us.  For knowing and believing in Jesus people will know the good news that God loves them so much He gave His Only Son so that they might have everlasting life.  Then they can take that good news and share Jesus with others – passing on a legacy that will impact generations to come… an eternal legacy.

You know maybe I should ask my kids to leave my name off my tombstone.  Just write these words there – “The fellow buried here just wants you to know that God loves you so much He gave His Son Jesus to die for you and rise again, that you might have eternal life.”    That’s something worth remembering for all eternity.  

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Miserable?


Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Romans 7:24-25a


“O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor MISERABLE sinner, confess to you all my sins…”  Those are the opening words for the confession of sins, that I have been reciting in worship since I was little. I often use them in my own personal time of prayer and confession.  They are found in The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship and the Lutheran Service Book. They must be pretty commonly accepted.  Yet I have been asked about these words again and again, throughout my ministry.  One lady called me to ask that these words be removed from our confession, because she was NOT a miserable sinner.  I have had a whole class of confirmation students who were troubled because of how harsh and negative the words sounded to them.  We even talked about these words in a recent Bible class.

That’s why I decided to look up the word “miserable” in the dictionary to see if it belongs as part of my confession of sins.   Here is what I found.  One word used to describe “miserable’ is the word Paul uses in Romans 7:24 – the word “wretched.”   “Wretched man that I am,” He writes.  He is lamenting the fact that no matter how much he wants to do the right thing, he fails.  Even worse he writes, “the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”  Yes, that’s me.  Webster also says defines the word “miserable” as “causing misery, discomfort or suffering.” That reminds me of the story about a girl who tried to defend her sin to her pastor by asking, “who am I hurting?”  He proceeded to list off 10 different people who were hurt by what she was doing.  “Last of all,” he added, “there is me.  I was supposed to be out golfing today instead I am here with you.”   It’s true.  We don’t sin in a vacuum.  Bad temper, gossip, greed – whatever it is makes others miserable.  The dictionary goes on to say that the word means to be “inadequate.”  Is that not what Paul means when he writes that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God?”  Finally, Webster adds the words “shameful and disgraceful.”  Are there things you have done or said of which you are ashamed… things you try to keep hidden from others?   Yes, it appears to me, that the word “miserable” is an accurate description of what sin has done to us.  The word belong in the confession of sins. 

Now I understand St. Paul’s words in Romans 7:24, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”   Thank God there is an answer to that question.  There is someone who can save me from my misery.  That answer is not found in Webster’s dictionary.  That answer is found in the Bible.  That someone is found in a manger in Bethlehem and preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.   He is found healing the sick of Israel.  He is found suffering and dying in misery on a cross, then dead and buried.  Finally, He is found alive, risen from the dead and now ascended into heaven.  That someone… that answer is Jesus.  Jesus did all that to deliver you and me.  He did all that take our place in life and death, that we might have His place in the Father’s heart. He did all that to pay for our sins, and to conquer death for you and me.  Thanks be to God, Paul cries out in answer to his own question – Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Because of what Jesus did the words that describe you and me are changed.  “Miserable sinner” is not the whole story nor the end of the story.  Because of Jesus there are other – better words.  You are “loved by God.”  You are “forgiven.”  You are “God’s child.”  You are set “free.”  You are “saved.”  You are “delivered,” “redeemed,” “reconciled” and “justified” before God. Those are some great words – much better than “miserable.”

So why say that word each Sunday in our confession?  Because we need to be reminded just how much damage our sin has done and still does.  Only then can we fully appreciate what God did for us in His Son Jesus.  Only then can we know the full comfort of Romans 8:1 – “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Looking Through Your Father's Eyes


“You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.”
Mark 1:11


3 of our four kids, 2 of our 3 in-laws and 5 of our 6 grandchildren will be in our new home this weekend.  In fact, five of them – Ben, Anna, Kyah, Dillan and Hailey – arrived last night.  Last night as we stopped for a bite, and this morning at breakfast – it was just fun to watch them.  As a father, father in-law and grandpa, I could not be prouder or more thankful for the family God has given to Linda and to me.  Thinking about that on the way into church this morning, my mind wandered to my own dad… to something one of my uncles told me at dad’s funeral.  He said, “You know Wayne, you were the apple of your father’s eye.”  That was true but not just for me.  My dad loved and was extremely proud of all of his kids and grandkids.  Knowing his love really matters to me, because there are days when I look at myself and I really struggle to like myself… days when I need to look at my life through my father’s eyes, because I struggle to see what he saw in me.

I think there are a lot of us who struggle with that.  Let me ask you - How do you see yourself?  The eyes through which we look at ourselves have a big impact on how we live life and how we get along with others… even impacting what kind of relationship we have or don’t have with God.   I read story this past week about a reporter who at one time looked at her life through the prism of her success.  She wrote, “I sometimes hear Christians talk about how terrible life must be for atheists. But our lives were not terrible. Life actually seemed pretty wonderful, filled with opportunity and good conversation and privilege.”  In other words, she looked at her life and thought, “What do I need with a god?”  Then there is the young man who grew up with a lot of criticism.  Still today he looks at himself through those lenses and believes he can’t do anything right.  10 people will compliment him but he will obsess about the one negative comment. There was the woman was abused verbally for so long that she came to believe all the negative things her husband said about her.   Some see themselves through the lenses of experience.  Based on their life experiences they expect either that they will always succeed or are afraid to try because they are afraid they will always fail.  I told you about the man who committed adultery.  He looked through the eyes of his own conscience and God’s law and was convinced God would never listen to his prayers again.

That’s why baptism is so important, well actually two baptisms are so important – the baptism of Jesus and your baptism.   Those two baptisms are closely related.  I love the story of our Lord’s baptism.  He comes to the Jordan river to be baptized by John the Baptist.  As he comes up out of the water “He saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are My Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  Those words, spoken by the heavenly Father to His Son Jesus are so very important for you and me.  After all Jesus wasn’t baptized to wash away His sin.  He had no sin.  He was baptized because of your sin and mine.  He came to John, to offer Himself as our substitute.  He came not just to stand beside us in the water, but to stand in our place.  That was the mission of Jesus.  He gave up His place in order to take our place in baptism, and in death.  Then He rose again that we might have His place in heaven… His place in the Father’s love.  When His Father spoke those words to Jesus at baptism, the Father was accepting His Son’s offer.

That’s where your baptism comes in.  At Your baptism, God gave to you a place in His family… the place won for you by the sacrifice of Jesus.  Because of Jesus, at your baptism your heavenly Father said to you, “You are My Son, My daughter, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”  How can that be?  Because in baptism when God looks at you, He doesn’t see your sin.  He sees His Son Jesus.  That’s so important.  I know that most of us struggle at one point or another, with liking, let alone loving ourselves.  That’s why these two baptisms are so very important.  For in the baptism of Jesus and your own baptism, God invites you and me daily to look at ourselves through different eyes… through His eyes… He reminds us that in spite over everything, no matter what our experiences, no matter what others say, no matter what we have done – we are free to like ourselves… to love ourselves.  After that’s how He sees us.  In God’s eyes, because of Jesus, You and I are His well-loved children… He is pleased to claim us as His own.  It makes a difference to see yourself through your Father’s eyes. 

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Out of the Boat with Jesus


“Peter replied, ‘Lord, if it’s You, tell me to come to you on the water.’  ‘Come,’ He said.”
Matthew 14:28-29


I don’t think I have ever explained the name of my blog – “Out of the boat with Jesus.”  It’s based on the story of Peter walking on the water towards Jesus.  When I was in the process of praying about what to do with the call to go and serve in Germany, I was really struggling.  To be honest, I was afraid to go – to move away from America, to move so far away from our kids and grandkids.  I was afraid to go and live in a different culture.   I was afraid to sell our home (which would have been paid off by retirement if we had stayed at Lamb of God) and with it, to sell most of a lifetime of belongs.  During that time of prayer and struggle, the Lord kept confronting me with the story of Peter walking to him on the water.  As the day of decision drew closer, Peter’s words became my prayer.  “Lord, if it’s You… if this call to Trinity Frankfurt is from you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

God answered that prayer on the morning of the day Linda and I were to make the decision.  That morning I received a message from our son Jon, who lives in Indonesia.  He told me the story of how his wife Dora had struggled over the decision to leave Indonesia and go to China for two years to study Chinese.  She was worried about what happen to her church’s Sunday School if she moved away.  Would anyone step in to oversee it after she left, or would it just die?  Eventually she decided to trust God and go.  Then Jon wrote, “Dad, because she came to China, that’s where she and I met.  And now we are married and we have Kellan (one of our grandchildren.)  And Dad, God did provide someone to take over the Sunday School.  My point is that if you go, God will take care of Lamb of God and he will take care of all of us, your family.  If you stay, He will take care of Trinity.”  The message I heard was this – You can trust Jesus!  My prayer had been, “Lord, if it’s you tell me to come to you on the water.”  That morning, in my son’s message, I heard what I believed was our Lord’s answer.  Jesus was saying to me, “Come.”

Now you know that many, when they read this text, focus on Peter’s faith.  The message often is that as long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus he was fine.  But when Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, and focused on the dangers around him, he started to sink into the water.  Therefore, we are told, the lesson is that you should always keep your eyes on Jesus.  That is true.  However, I think that there is an even greater message for us in this story.  That message has to do with the focus of Jesus – that even though Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, Jesus never took His eyes off of Peter.  When Peter cried out, “Lord, Save me!”  Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught Him.”

As you know, Linda and I did get out of the boat and go to Germany.    It remained a hard and scary thing to do.  There were moments when we took our eyes off of the Lord.  But He never took His eyes off of us.  He gave us a wonderful loving church family at Trinity, most of whom knew exactly how hard it was to move far from home to live in a different culture.  They were patient.  They loved us.  They helped us come to love the international life.    During our time, there God brought Jon and Dora to nearby Hungary for two years, as well as Steven (our youngest) to study for a year in Cambridge.  All our kids, as well as other friends, were able to come and visit us.  Oh we never stopped missing our kids and grandkids, but our Lord always had His eyes on us, and was always there to catch us.

Where is the Lord calling you to get out of the boat and come to Him on the water?  Are your kids leaving home to go to college and suddenly the nest is empty?  Are you having trouble finding a new job?  Are you moving?  Thinking about getting married?  Facing a tough decision about the future?  Only you know the name of the winds and the waves that scare you.  In the midst of all this know a couple of things.  First, you’ll never walk on the water unless you get out of the boat.  Second, you don’t get out of the boat alone.  You get out of the boat with Jesus.  When those scary moments come, when you have taken your eyes off of Him, Jesus will never take His eyes off of you.