You got more!

“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12

Have you ever known any people who were disappointed because the neighbors went on a cruise over Christmas, or got a brand new Hummer, or diamonds, or a winter home in Hawaii, or the vaccine, or a pony or some other gift that screamed ‘WOW’ to the neighbors?  Not fair!!!

One of the world's great ironies is that the lost souls in this world often view Christians as being deprived of the so-called ‘good life’" not realizing that believers are the only ones with life; they seldom are able to grasp the fact that true joy, peace, contentment, and the ongoing enjoyment of life are possessed by the children of God alone.  They are the ones who come up to you when you are seemingly walking through the valley of the shadow of death and despair and ask ‘how can you possibly get through this?’ 

We have a Savior who is Christ the Lord.  These children living in Haiti have this very same Savior.  Before we look at ourselves with pride because we have this Savior, remember that we are chosen by God through no works of our own; we are covered by God’s grace.  Our Savior has given us the direction of sharing this message of the way to salvation with the lost souls of this world; no matter who they are or what they happened to have bought themselves for Christmas.  I close with the words to the hymn ‘Send Thou O Lord to every place’ which was written by Mary Gates in 1888.

“Send Thou, O Lord, to every place swift messengers before Thy face, the heralds of Thy wondrous grace, where Thou Thyself wilt come.  Send men whose eyes have seen the King, men in whose ears His sweet words ring; send such Thy lost ones home to bring; send them where Thou wilt come to bring good news to souls in sin, the bruised and broken hearts to win; in ev'ry place to bring them in where Thou Thyself wilt come.  Thou who hast died, Thy vict'ry claim; assert, O Christ, Thy glory's name and far to lands of pagan shame send men where Thou wilt come.  Gird each one with the Spirit's Sword, the sword of Thine own deathless Word, and make them conquerors, conquering Lord, where Thou Thyself wilt come.  Raise up, O Lord the Holy Ghost, from this broad land a mighty host; their war cry, "We will seek the lost where Thou, O Christ, wilt come."

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

Nearing home.

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.” Psalm 67:1-2

I’ve been re-reading the book ‘Nearing Home’ by Billy Graham for the fourth time, partly because I wanted to read it again and see how it impacted me since I am a year older than I was when I last read it and also because I found that it was a wonderful book to read as your journey, like my journey, will come to a close one day.  There was a story by Dr. Graham in which he shared a memory about Albert Einstein with his publicist in 2000 and I would like to share that with you today.

"I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century.  Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger.  When he came to Einstein, he reached in his vest pocket.  He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets.  It wasn't there.  He looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it.  Then he looked in the seat beside him.  He still couldn't find it.  "The conductor said, 'Dr. Einstein, I know who you are.  We all know who you are.  I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it.'  "Einstein nodded appreciatively.  The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets.  As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.  "The conductor rushed back and said, 'Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don't worry, I know who you are; no problem.  You don't need a ticket.  I'm sure you bought one.' Einstein looked at him and said, 'Young man, I too, know who I am.  What I don't know is where I'm going.''
The children in the attached photo attend the Lutheran School at Bois Marchand; their tickets have been punched and thankfully they know where they are going and are reminded every day they are in school and in prayer.  They live in a place where many of their neighbors follow the drums of the vodou priest and recruit souls for satan.  Too many in our world aren’t sure where they are going.  Thank you for helping to share the message of the Savior of this world through your prayers and gifts.  I close today with the words to the hymn ‘May God bestow on us His Grace’ that was written by Martin Luther in 1524.

“May God bestow on us His grace, with blessings rich provide us, and may the brightness of His face to life eternal guide us that we His saving health may know, His gracious will and pleasure, and also to the heathen show Christ's riches without measure and unto God convert them.  Thine over all shall be the praise and thanks of every nation, and all the world with joy shall raise the voice of exultation; for Thou shalt judge the earth, O Lord, nor suffer sin to flourish; Thy people's pasture is Thy Word their souls to feed and nourish, in righteous paths to keep them.  Oh, let the people praise Thy worth, in all good works increasing; the land shall plenteous fruit bring forth, Thy Word is rich in blessing.  May God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit bless us!  Let all the world praise Him alone, let solemn awe possess us.”

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

Christmas.

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”  Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy.  When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.  Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.  The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.”  Isaiah 52:7-10

The appointed Old Testament reading for Christmas Day is from the 52nd Chapter of Isaiah and speaks of the coming Savior and the comfort and peace that He will bring to us.  When this passage was written the people of Israel were displaced from their homes and were in bondage because of their disobedience.  Their situation sounds familiar to me, as today we are living here in North America; living lives that are separated from our Heavenly home.

I heard a favorite Christmas song recently, ‘I’ll be home for Christmas’ and its lyrics reminded me of where we all should long to be.  “I'm dreamin' tonight of a place I love even more then I usually do, and although I know it's a long road back; I promise you I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me.”

We have heard the messenger and we shout for joy, just like the watchman; we rejoice knowing that the King is Alive, the Lord lives, reigns and brings peace to the entire world.  The Savior of this world came to bring salvation to all who repent of their sins and call upon His Holy name.  We rejoice for God is here, and peace has come!

“Christmas Eve will find me where the love light beams.  I'll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams.”  The members of my immediate family are residing in Heaven and I will spend another Christmas with my children and grandchildren here on Earth, wearing our masks, waiting and dreaming of a time when Christmas will be spent in Heaven.  Merry Christmas.

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

Memories.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Luke 2:8

Sixty-three years and one week ago, my father was killed in an automobile accident a mile north of York, NE.  I was seven, my sister was 13, my mom was 37 and in an instant on that morning, she became a single parent, a week before Christmas.  We lived on a farm south of Seward, NE with 20 dairy cows, wheat planted and acres where corn would be planted.  The Christmas program at St. John’s Lutheran in Seward was a very sad moment for us that year.  I still remember that it was a moonlit evening and a thousand stars filled the sky for the three of us.

That was in 1957 and sitting here today in Normal, with this pandemic hanging over most everything, I wonder what it must have been like on the night that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  To really get a true image you need to drive several miles out into the country, away from all of the lights and look heavenward.  There were nights, when I lived in the Sandhills of Western Nebraska when the night was so still that I could literally hear my heart beat and listened to goose bumps ‘pop’ on my back as I looked up nto the black void.  The stars appeared to be bright shining diamonds hanging in the sky and that is a time when God is so close that one can almost reach out and touch His hand.  While living in Petionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince it was possible to go onto the roof of my apartment and gaze at the stars since there was no electricity; and there too, the stars seemed so close that a person could almost reach out and rub against them and feel the closeness of our Heavenly Father, Creator.

The Son of God came to earth on a still, quiet night; oblivious to many.  Too many people in our world today will not spend time considering the importance of His birth, His life, His death and resurrection.  It seems so difficult to separate ourselves from the activities of this world to stop for a few moments and give thanks for His coming to be our Savior.  I close today’s devotion closes with the words to the hymn ‘Silent Night’ that was written by Joseph Mohr in 1818.
“Silent night! Holy night!  All is calm; all is bright, round yon Virgin Mother and Child.  Holy Infant, so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.  Silent night! Holy night!  Shepherds quake at the sight; glories stream from heaven afar, Heavenly hosts sing, Alleluia.  Christ, the Savior, is born!  Christ, the Savior, is born!  Silent night! Holy night!  Son of God, love's pure light radiant beams from Thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.  Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.”

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

That small baby.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5

Who was this baby born in Bethlehem?  Do you know his name?  Was this little newborn really the promised Messiah?  How would this small baby lying in a manger in Bethlehem save the world?  The Angels told the world that this was indeed the Savior of the World.  The world had trouble accepting this truth at that time and still wrestles with this truth today.  In Matthew 19:26 Jesus tells the disciples “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Once again, it is not about us, it is about what He did for us on that still, silent night so long ago in a manger in Bethlehem.

His Gospel light shines brightly in this dark world, even with a pandemic surrounding us.  His truth is above reproach.  Our Heavenly Fathers loves all the children in Haiti and around the world, loves you and loves me.  That truth remains in each of us and at this time of year we need to share it with those who have not heard or are helplessly focused on the things of this world instead of the Savior of this world.  I close with the words to the song ‘Oh Holy Night’ what was written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure in 1877.

“Oh holy night!  The stars are brightly shining, it is the night of the dear Savior's birth!  Long lay the world in sin and error pining till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth.  A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!  Fall on your knees; Oh hear the angel voices.  Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born.  Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming with glowing hearts by His cradle we stand so led by light of a star sweetly gleaming.  Here come the wise men from Orient land; the King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger in all our trials born to be our friend.  Truly He taught us to love one another.  His law is love and His gospel is peace.  Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother and in His name all oppression shall cease.  Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, let all within us praise His holy name.  Fall on your knees; Oh hear the angel voices.  Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born.”

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

Goose bumps.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:13-14 (KJV)

Have you ever had goose bumps go up and down your spine and arms when a choir of one thousand voices joyfully sang a hymn that tugged at your heart?  I can only imagine that the shepherds must have been shaking in their sandals while a multitude of voices were praising God out in the open pasture on that still, silent night two thousand years ago.

There were a number of occasions when I sat and listened to the congregation at Bon Berger Lutherienne in Caredeux joyfully sing praises to God in a hymn that went on and on and they had no sheet music to follow…just their hearts, minds and voices singing praises to their Heavenly Father, our Heavenly Father.  What will heaven be like?  One day all of the believers from every tribe and race will be joining together singing praises to our Heavenly Father in one common tongue.  While we wait for that moment, let’s close by reading the words to the hymn ‘Hark the Herald Angels sing’ which was written by Charles Wesley in 1739.

“Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new-born King; peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!"  Joyful, all ye nations, rise, join the triumph of the skies; with the angelic host proclaim.  "Christ is born in Bethlehem!"  Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new-born King!"  Christ, by highest heaven adored.  Christ, the everlasting Lord, late in time behold Him come, offspring of a virgin's womb.  Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate Deity!  Pleased as Man with man to dwell; Jesus, our Immanuel!  Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new-born King!"

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

Shepherds.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 (KJV)

Back in the day, at St. John’s Lutheran school in Seward, NE, when the teachers were selecting children for the speaking parts in the Christmas program, there were many boys like me who just wanted to be one of the shepherds; no lines to memorize, no songs to sing…just stand there by a cardboard sheep, wear a hooded bathrobe and cotton beard and hold a staff.  We just begged to be a shepherd, stand in the background and be oblivious to most all of those in attendance, except our parents.

Why did the Angel appear to them while they were just minding their own business watching their sheep and goats on just another evening outside Bethlehem?  It seems like it would have been better for the Angel to announce the news to a larger group of prominent people in Bethlehem who might have spread the news of this awesome event throughout the region.  Our Heavenly Father chose the shepherds, perhaps because the babe born in Bethlehem would grow up and become our ‘Good Shepherd’ and one day give His life for us on the cross of Calvary.

God’s plans are always perfect; even though this world does not always think that is the case and for that we can rejoice.  By the way, I never did get to be a shepherd; probably because I needed glasses to see where I was going and couldn’t see the flock without them…and there were no shepherds wearing glasses in the account in Luke; God had a perfect plan.  I close today with the words to the hymn ‘While Shepherds watched their flocks by night’ which was written by Nahum Tate in 1700.

“While shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground, the angel of the Lord came down, and glory shone around.  "Fear not," said he, for mighty dread had seized their troubled minds; "Glad tidings of great joy I bring to you and all mankind.  To you, in David's town, this day, is born of David's line a Savior, who is Christ the Lord; and this shall be the sign: the heavenly Babe you there shall find to human view displayed, all meanly wrapped in swaddling clothes and in a manger laid."  Thus spake the seraph; and forthwith appeared a shining throng of angels, praising God, and thus addressed their joyful song: “All glory be to God on high, and to the earth be peace; good will henceforth from Heaven to men begin and never cease."

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

Somebody special.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

The prophet Isaiah told of somebody really special coming to earth.  If you had been standing in a crowd listening to him give the details of this child who would be coming what would you have been searching for in the coming days and years?  Surely not a humble child like the one in the attached photo that lives near Gonaives; the world was not expecting such a humble figure who would judge the world…who would be our Savior.

Today our world has been told of His birth, His ministry, His sacrifice, His victory and have been told that He will return one day and judge this world; too many in this world are still looking for something ‘better’ to meet their needs.  You needn’t look any further than the manger of Bethlehem and the cross of Calvary; share the message of this Savior with the world that is all around you; along your journey and in your family.  I close with the words from the hymn ‘What child is this’ that was written by William C. Dix in 1642.

“What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?  Whom angels greet with anthems sweet while shepherds watch are keeping?  This, this is Christ the king, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing; haste, haste to bring him laud, the babe, the son of Mary!  Why lies he is such mean estate where ox and ass are feeding?  Good Christian, fear; for sinners here the silent word is pleading.  Nails, spear shall pierce him through, the cross he borne for me, for you; hail, hail the word made flesh, the babe, the son of Mary!  So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh; come, peasant, king, to own him.  The King of kings salvation brings; let loving hearts enthrone him.  Raise, raise the song on high, the virgin sings her lullaby; joy, joy, for Christ is born, the babe, the son of Mary!”

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

One more week.

“And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Romans 13:11

The day that we recognize as the birthday of our Savior is a week from now.  I can only begin to imagine what is going through your plans and activities today during this pandemic; lots of last minute things to do.  What do you suppose that Joseph and Mary were doing?

Mary was feeling the baby kicking, punching and stretching inside her and she was probably trying to remain comfortable between walking and riding on a donkey.  Joseph was probably wondering if this was the correct thing that he was told to do by the Angel of the Lord.

While living in Haiti the week before Christmas was spent much like most every other week during the year except that if you sang in a choir you would have a few extra practices to attend.  There were no commercials blasting on the television or radio telling of sales or products that you ‘had to have’ under the Christmas tree.  Christmas was about Jesus, to the believer and un-believer; the vodou followers accepted his birth but denied His resurrection.

I close today with an interesting hymn that an unknown soul wrote around 900 AD.  It was translated by Edward Caswall in 1849 and the title was ‘Vox clara ecce intonat’ but you and I know it as ‘Hark, a thrilling Voice is sounding’.

“Hark, a thrilling voice is sounding!  "Christ is nigh!" we hear it say; "Cast away the works of darkness, O ye children of the day!"  Startled at the solemn warning, let the earth-bound soul arise; Christ, her Sun, all sloth dispelling, shines upon the morning skies.  Lo, the Lamb, so long expected, comes with pardon down from heaven.  Let us haste, with tears of sorrow, one and all, to be forgiven, that when next He comes with glory and the world is wrapped in fear, He may shield us with His mercy and with words of love draw near.  Honor, glory, might, dominion, to the Father and the Son, with the everlasting Spirit, while eternal ages run!”

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

Nobody's.

“God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,” 1 Corinthians 1:28 (ESV)

God sent His only Son to this fallen world to be the only Savior that we can turn to and find the forgiveness that we so badly need.  We have hope because Jesus came to seek and save the lost souls of this world.  There are some in this world that believe it would be wonderful for our Heavenly Father to use only the ‘famous’ people of our time to use their fame, fortune, reputation and deeds to spread the Holy Gospel.  Might be a good plan in the eyes of this world but instead God delights in using people like you, me and these small children who attend Bon Berger Lutheran School in Caredeux to accomplish His work.

Our Heavenly Father uses the ‘nobody’s’ of this world to seek and save the lost and proclaim the Holy Gospel to their closed ears.  He transforms ‘nobody’s’ like you, me and these little Haitian missionaries into ‘somebodies’ as we go about doing His business of bringing more souls into the Kingdom.  I close with the words to the hymn ‘Jesus came, the Heavens adoring’ which was written by Godfrey Thring in 1864.

“Jesus came, the heavens adoring, came with peace from realms on high; Jesus came for man's redemption, lowly came on earth to die; Alleluia! Alleluia!  Came in deep humility.  Jesus comes again in mercy when our hearts are bowed with care; Jesus comes again in answer to an earnest, heartfelt prayer; Alleluia! Alleluia!  Comes to save us from despair.  Jesus comes to hearts rejoicing, bringing news of sins forgiven; Jesus comes in sounds of gladness, leading souls redeemed to heaven.  Alleluia! Alleluia!  Now the gate of death is riven.  Jesus comes in joy and sorrow, shares alike our hopes and fears; Jesus comes, whate'er befalls us, glads our hearts, and dries our tears; Alleluia! Alleluia!  Cheering e'en our failing years.  Jesus comes on clouds triumphant when the heavens shall pass away; Jesus comes again in glory.  Let us, then, our homage pay, Alleluia! ever singing till the dawn of endless day.”

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