Be Christlike.

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” Philippians 2:5

This passage from the Apostle Paul should be such a vivid reminder for each of us every day along our journey to have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.  We shouldn’t be thinking in the ways of this world but be considering our thoughts, words and actions to be what Jesus would be doing in a similar circumstance.

Jesus didn’t appear on this planet to live for Himself.  His entire earthly life was dedicated to serving us and giving each one of us the most important gift of all; His life to rescue us from sin, death and the devil.  It was all about Him for us, and we should strive to do likewise.  Our world tells us it is all about ME and not about you, or our neighbor or about Jesus.

Would you consider helping to provide a meal for this young child attending the Lutheran school in Ouanaminthe?  There are those in this world that will tell you to send her clothes, a radio, an MP3 player and a host of other North America ‘necessities’ but what she really needs is Jesus and some food.  Pastor Daniel Paul and a staff of teachers are providing for her Christian education and you can help to provide her daily food.  Thank you for considering supporting children in Trinity/HOPE school feeding programs.

Back in the day, I was given a piece of paper from Gov. Kay Orr and it had a hymn that matched well with a Luke Schnake message that she heard and also a few other events that had taken place along my journey.  The hymn is titled ‘May the mind of Christ, my Savior’ and these words were written by Kate Barclay Wilkinson sometime before 1913.

“May the mind of Christ, my Savior, live in me from day to day, by His love and power controlling all I do and say.  May the Word of God dwell richly in my heart from hour to hour, so that all may see I triumph only through His power.  May the peace of God my Father rule my life in everything, that I may be calm to comfort sick and sorrowing.  May the love of Jesus fill me as the waters fill the sea; Him exalting, self abasing, this is victory.  May I run the race before me, strong and brave to face the foe, looking only unto Jesus as I onward go.  May His beauty rest upon me, as I seek the lost to win, and may they forget the channel, seeing only Him.”

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Stop complaining.

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” Philippians 2:14-15

I read somewhere that complaining is a sure sign of spiritual immaturity as a lack of faith is being shown by the person doing the complaining.  The reasoning was that if we place our trust in our Triune God, He has our best interest in His plans.  If I am constantly complaining about my provisions, my family, my house, my job, my church and my life then I cannot accept God’s will for my life.  A complainer will cry, rant, kick and scream until they get their way and when that moment arrives, they are generally still not happy.

A friend and I had coffee recently and we talked about how this world seems to place so much time in negative thoughts, words and actions.  Have you seen any positive political ads recently?  Have you seen any positive comments from either of the political television or radio programs in the past twelve months?

The opposite of complaining is praising.  The opposite of grumbling with the gifts that God has given to you is giving thanks for all that He has placed on your plate.  The child in the attached photo attends the Lutheran school in Cap Haitian.  The smile on her face is a sign of happiness and giving thanks for somebody like you who has blessed her day with a meal; the only meal of her day.  She won’t complain that she got rice and beans yesterday, today and tomorrow; it is food!!! 

I close today with the words from the song ‘It is well with my soul’ that was written by Horatio Spafford in 1873.  He wrote the song following the sinking of the steamship Ville du Havre which carried four of his daughters which was crossing the Atlantic.

“When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.  Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed his own blood for my soul.  My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!  My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!  And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul.”

Been complaining lately?  Consider all that He has lavished upon you.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

No grumbling.

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” Philippians 2:14-15

Nine years ago, I was blessed to have been able to watch over my then 9-month old grandson; a back in the day memory.  It struck me that while watching him on the floor, enjoying, complaining, enjoying, complaining and just how well he takes after me; and possibly some of you who are reading this today.

Aren’t we all just natural complainers?  It is in our genes; our sinful genes.  Our Triune God gives us everything that we truly need to exist; food, shelter, clothing and family.  He takes care of us each and every day but we still find time to complain about something.  When I was still gainfully employed and in the workforce I could find something to complain about my job.  Children complain about their parents, husbands complain about their wives and wives about their husbands.  People in the pews complain about their pastors and politicians; they complain about everything.  From the Old Testament to the New Testament to today; man has always found something to complain about.

Nine years ago, my grandson wanted me to hold him, put him down, hold him, put him down, hold him and I wanted to shout at him “Miles, what do you really want?” but of course all he heard me say was “blah, blah, blah.”  Miles in not a perfect grandchild, I am not a perfect grandfather and his parents are not perfect parents either but Our Heavenly Father loves us just the way we are.  He does not always give us what we may want but rather gives us what we need.

The children in the attached photo are from Cap Haitian and they are getting their Trinity/HOPE lunch.  They don’t need pizza, chicken nuggets, corn on the cob or hamburgers; they need food.  This meal will provide them with all the nutritional elements that their young bodies need; their teachers provide them with a message of Hope of their risen Savior and a Heavenly Father who loves them and continues to provide for them.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Amazing sights.

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.  I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”   Revelation 22:16

Our Heavenly Father has given us some pretty awesome things to appreciate while living on this planet.  Watching your children taking their initial breath is truly special.  Standing in awe of the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, the autumn colors in the Niobrara River valley and watching the waves of the ocean crashing on the beach are memorable sights.

Simple things like watching a colorful sun dropping into the horizon in the evening or getting up early to catch the sun rising in the morning are also treasures to be captured.  The attached photo was taken just after sunrise in the Arcahaie District one quiet morning in 2002 and it reminded me of God giving me another day to serve Him.

With every coming day, He has given each of us another opportunity to spend time here dwelling within His creation serving Him with the gifts and talents He has provided to each of us.  As the sun rises in North America it is also rising in Haiti and children attending Christian schools are offering up prayers of thanks for Him and for you and for the Morning Star who is the Savior of this world.  The hymn ‘How Lovely Shines the Morning Star’ was written by Philipp Nicolai in 1597 and verses 1, 6, 7 are a wonderful way to close this morning.

“How lovely shines the Morning Star!  The nations see and hail afar the light in Judah shining.  Thou David's Son of Jacob's race, my Bridegroom and my King of Grace, for Thee my heart is pining.  Lowly, Holy, great and glorious, Thou victorious Prince of graces; filling all the heavenly places.  Lift up the voice and strike the string.  Let all glad sounds of music ring in God's high praises blended.  Christ will be with me all the way, today, tomorrow, every day, till traveling days be ended.  Sing out, ring out triumph glorious, O victorious, chosen nation; praise the God of your salvation.  Oh, joy to know that Thou, my Friend, art Lord, beginning without end, the First and Last, Eternal!  And Thou at length O glorious grace!  Wilt take me to that holy place, the home of joys supernal.  Amen, Amen!”

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Your pattern.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is; his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Romans 12:2

My youngest of two children turned 40 yesterday and the others in this world suggest that I am now older than dirt.  And, there are a few parts of my present body that would agree with that assessment.  Consider for a moment what pattern your life resembles.  Our parents provided a lifestyle for each of us; our friends may have twisted our fabric in a few different directions.  When we left our parent’s home, the direction that we followed surely added a few new wrinkles to our pattern and where you and I are today.  So where are you today?  How would another person describe your life?

The girl in the attached photo, Lizette, lives in Ouanaminthe, Haiti.  Her home has a dirt floor, no electricity or indoor plumbing.  She has three changes of clothes until she outgrows them.  Her school has a dirt floor, corrugated metal siding, no electricity or indoor plumbing.  Her meal of the day cost a quarter.  She knows that Jesus loves her.

For practical purposes, you and Lizette only have one thing in common, you both know that Jesus loves you and your Heavenly Father provides for you daily.  You probably require much more each day than she does; electricity, clean water, furnace, air conditioner, food, different clothes, transportation and entertainment.  But dear friends, in your abundance, you have been blessed to share with Lizette so that she may have one meal every day she is in school.

The following two verses from “A mighty fortress is our God” by Martin Luther describe this world, the forces that threaten to crush us and that one sweet word, “Jesus” that has more power than all the darkness of this world.

“And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us: the Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, one little word shall fell him.  That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; the Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth: let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.”

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Living sacrifice.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true and proper worship.”  Romans 12:1

One of the first images that comes to mind when I read this passage from Romans was the choir at Bon Barger Eglise Lutherienne in Caredeux.  This photo was taken in October 2010 which is the year of the earthquake and sad to say, there were several voices missing.

I was blessed to have sung with this group on a few occasions while living in Haiti.  I am not certain if my voice was pleasing to God in the proper sense, probably brought joy to Him listening to my broken Creole; I tried.

When I look at the faces in the choir, see photos of the children attending that school here and also think about several of you…the term ‘living sacrifice’ comes alive.  Turning lives over to our Triune God is certainly not an easy thing to do; it is the right thing to do.  This world will provide ample reasons why not to turn your life over to Christ and follow the foolishness of this age and the lies of satan.

Thank you for your sacrifice that feeds His children in Haiti.  Thank you for the sacrifice you daily give to Him in the face of this world.  The following Offertory is sung by me every morning in my devotion as it reminds me of how important it is to always remember to joy of Salvation and I hope it is a part of your daily prayers as well.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me, cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit.  Amen.”  Lutheran Hymnal

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Send me.

“So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”  2 Corinthians 5:9-10

If you were to go to ‘http://www.trinityhope.org/how-can-i-help ‘ you will find several options; Donate, Endowment Fund, Sponsor a School, Volunteer or Pray with us.  Quite often our North American culture get the idea that service to God must be an "up front" kind of activity.  To many, the activity has to be fun and also be about ‘me’ when serving God.  Too many of us, our pastor is ‘serving’ God.

After seeing the attached photo showing Quincy getting ready to snap a photo of children from the Lutheran School in Ouanaminthe it seems like that would be a lot of fun.  Just a heads up; Quincy is now in his last year at the LCMS Seminary in St. Louis.  When some who want to go to Haiti find out that it is very hot and humid and work involves walking and the water temperature is generally the same as the outdoors; then it doesn’t seem like the thing to do.

There are many Trinity/HOPE volunteers and only a very small percent have actually made the trip to Haiti.  Our mission teams give a devotion to the children, work through a quality control checklist, take lots of photos, check attendance records, take more photos and share the love of Jesus with the children, teachers and administrators.  How can I help?

The truth is that much of our daily life is spent serving God's purpose; in fact, our greatest impact might come out of a small act of faithfulness.  God's followers shouldn't underestimate or minimize the scope of ministry.  It only takes a quarter to feed a child.  If you have a pocket full of quarters you could probably feed this group of children at Ouanaminthe.  If your Bible study group were to take up a collection each month you could probably sponsor a school.  What role are you meant to fulfill today?  Prayerfully commit to serve the Lord in everything you do.  I close with words to the song ‘Send me’ by Twila Paris.

“If I close my ears to the feeble cry of the poor man's child as he passes by me.  I can mark Your word there will come a time when my cries will fall on ears like mine.  Here am I, Lord, send me; here am I, Lord, send me.  Father in Heaven show Your mercy, send me.  That his hope should die this was not Your plan.  You have willed that I would become Your hands, Lord.  When I feel Your pain and it fills my eyes when my heart is Yours I will stand and cry.  Here am I, Lord, send me.  Here am I, Lord, send me.  Father in Heaven show Your mercy, send me.  Send me in a humble spirit broken for the weaker part.  Send me where the need is greater, send me with a servant's heart.  Here am I, Lord, send me.  Here am I, Lord, send me,  Father in Heaven show Your mercy send me.”

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Love your enemies.

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” Luke 6:35

If we are supposed to love and do good to our enemies it would seem that we should do the same to our friends and family.  To my way of thinking most of us would give a plate of fresh cookies to our enemies but the ones we would offer to our loved ones might have frosting or double chocolate chips.  I remember that when I was probably ten or eleven there was a particular winter when we had a lot of snow in Seward and I shoveled snow off the sidewalk in front of houses on my block and a woman two houses from my house, Mrs. Victoria Boals, asked if I would do her driveway that cold day after I finished everyone’s walks as her husband was not well.  I gladly did and she said that she would like to pay me, but didn’t have any money and presented me with a plate with a few cookies.

This verse from Luke reminds me of the phrase ‘random acts of kindness’; how many opportunities have you been given along your journey to reach out to a person in need of a random act of kindness?  How many dead auto batteries were in need of your jumper cables?  How many items in the grocery store were dropped along your journey that you took the time to stoop down, pick up and return to their owner?  How often have you given assistance to another human being when it wasn’t expected?

The Haitian word for kindness is ‘bonke’.  Albert Schweitzer said “do something wonderful, people may imitate it” when asked to give an example of the word kindness.  Random acts of kindness come in many different forms; the attached photo reflects one.  This child who lives in Ouanaminthe is carrying a plastic bowl with his daily meal of rice and beans that is in hands because somebody donated a quarter.  This small random act of kindness will take place in the lives of over 33,000 children in Haiti today.

I doubt that few if any of the Trinity/HOPE supporters are seeking to be repaid for their kindness and many of the donors that I know are the type of people who would say that it is better to give than to receive; their random acts of kindness are not just limited to children living in Haiti.  There is a quote by Margaret Cho that defines the person responsible for this bowl of rice and beans; “Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else’s life forever.”

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Victory!

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  1 Corinthians 15:57

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘victory’?  Victory, noun; (1) win: success in a contest against an enemy or opponent, or a particular contest or battle that is won (2) success: success in overcoming a difficult situation or an obstacle "Being able to get out of bed was a small victory in her struggle against the illness."

Watching these children from Merrotte walk across a gravel yard from the kitchen to their classroom holding onto their daily lunch is a victory.  We cannot imagine what kind of difficult situations or obstacles they have gone through when not in school.  I have slept in a back room of the Church located here on several occasions and I can tell you that the vodou drums beat very long and loudly in Merrotte late on Saturday night; pounding out a beat to attract evil spirits from near and far.

These children attending Christ the King Lutheran School in Merrotte have a smile on their face because they have Jesus!  They have a smile on their face because they have their meal for the day in their hands as promised!  The vodou priest cannot claim their spot in Heaven.  The vodou priest lied when he told them there would be no food at school on this day.

There are 16 children in this photo.  Thank you for sending four dollars for their lunch on this day.  What seems to be so little to us is such a large victory for them.  Barney Warren wrote a hymn titled ‘Victory’ in 1897 and its words are a wonderful way to close.

“Hallelujah, what a thought!  Jesus full salvation brought, victory, victory; let the pow’rs of sin assail, Heaven’s grace can never fail, victory, victory.  Victory, yes, victory.  Hallelujah! I am free, Jesus gives me victory; glory, glory! hallelujah!  He is all in all to me.  I am trusting in the Lord, I am standing on His Word, victory, victory; I have peace and joy within, since my life is free from sin, victory, victory.  Shout your freedom everywhere, His eternal peace declare, victory, victory,  Let us sing it here below, in the face of every foe, victory, victory.  We will sing it on that shore, when this fleeting life is o’er, victory, victory; sing it here, ye ransomed throng, start the everlasting song: victory, victory.”

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay

Saints will rise!

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.  See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”  1 Thessalonians 5:14-15

God willing, Trinity/HOPE will have feeding programs in 160 schools in this school year, and maybe a few more in February.  It takes countless hours of work in Haiti and here in North American to get a school feeding program up and running.  It is not as easy as wiring funds to Haiti so they can go purchase beans, rice, oil, tomato paste, two pots and some charcoal and voila, you have a feeding program.  Filling bowls in the kitchen at Gros Morne didn’t just take place; it took quite a while for these bowls to be filled.

If North American volunteers were idle there would not be a feeding program; the weak would not receive assistance.  Our brothers and sisters in Haiti have countless days of work to do in preparation before their school can be considered ‘ready’ for a feeding program.  Trinity/HOPE doesn’t just ‘give’ bags of beans of rice to a school as that would not be a sustainable program.  In the same train of thought, the Christian church in Haiti doesn’t just ‘give’ out Bibles and move on, they teach the Bible as many cannot read.  The Christians in Haiti continue to memorize Scripture readings and recite them in Church and give thanks for a Savior named Jesus who has saved them from the vodou priest, death and the devil.

Don’t be idle but seek to do good where ever possible.  There is a song by the Kingsman titled ‘Saints will rise’ that is a wonderful reminder of what awaits us all when our work on earth is ended.

“When our work on earth is ended and the time has come to go; saints will rise, saints will rise.  Headed for that blessed country that is Heaven I am told.  Saints will rise, saints will rise.  Saints will rise on that hallelujah morning when we hear that trumpet sound.  I’m a going up to see King Jesus, saints will rise, saints will rise.  Have you made your preparation; are you going to that land?  Saints will rise, saints will rise.  Jesus gave His life a ransom so that you could join that band.  Saint will rise, saints will rise.  I’m a going up to see King Jesus, saints will rise, saints will rise.”

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you…Jay