Cling to what is good.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”  Romans 12:9

Our love of our Heavenly Father must be sincere.  Our love must not be faked or have a mute or an on/off switch so that we can change situations to fit the need in ‘our’ timing or liking.  We must always strive to detest things that are evil.  We must turn our back on them, walk away when tempted and pray for strength for our resolve and also for those that desire the evil of this world to turn away from the evil foe.

We must continue to seek and cling to what is good.  Clinging to feeding children who live in Haiti and share in our love for our risen Savior Jesus Christ is certainly right and proper.  Supporting the children in Haiti is God pleasing.  Our love for them is sincere and we pray for them as they continue to do daily battle with the evil that vodou priest continues to bring into their lives. 

A familiar song was sung at a celebration of life service that I watched online last week, ‘Beautiful Savior’, and those two words really say it all so simply when trying to describe how precious the gift is that we received from our Beautiful Savior, Jesus Christ.  We strive to cling closely to our Beautiful Savior.  While the author of this hymn is unknown, the perfecter of our faith is so well known.  This hymn was translated in 1873 by Joseph Seiss.

“Beautiful Savior, King of Creation, Son of God and Son of Man!  Truly I'd love Thee, truly I'd serve Thee, light of my soul, my Joy, my Crown.  Fair are the meadows, fair are the woodlands, robed in flowers of blooming spring; Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer; He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.  Fair is the sunshine, fair is the moonlight, bright the sparkling stars on high; Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer, than all the angels in the sky.  Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations, Son of God and Son of Man!  Glory and honor, praise, adoration, now and forevermore be Thine!”

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

HE is nearby.

“I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the lowest pit.  You have heard my voice, "Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief, from my cry for help."
You drew near when I called on You; You said, "Do not fear!" Lamentations 3:55–57

Another week is almost behind us and as we briefly look in the rear view mirror we can see where He was with us and brought us relief when none was to be found.  Heavenly Father, we find relief in knowing that You're here this week, today and will be here next week too.  We talk to You as though You are sitting right next to us.  For indeed, though we cannot see You, by faith we believe You're here.  We would be so lonely without You.  The nights would drag on endlessly; the pressure would be more than we could bear.   You are here with us, and You are in control.  We ask You to take every part of that which makes us who we are; our temperaments, our personalities, our gifts, our drives, our ambitions, our dreams, our failures, our hopes, our sorrows, our disappointments, and everything that makes up life for us.  Father, take whatever we have, take whomever we love, take us wherever You find us, and let it all be set apart to You and for Your work through us.

We ask You to take care of those people and situations that are beyond our ability to fix or change.  Relieve our minds of the worry of it all, because, like thorns and briars that encroach upon a lovely garden and finally choke out its blooms; these things have a way of choking us so that we are unable to hear what You have to say.  We trust You to answer our prayer. In the merciful name of Jesus our Savior we pray. Amen.

HE has plans for you.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

We live in a world that sometimes seems void of hope.  Wars, famine, crime, pandemic, political unrest, pollution, inflation, recessions, etc. can cause us to become easily discouraged when we look at the prospects for our future; discouragement can lead to depression, and depression can lead to hopelessness.

When we are feeling hopeless, we see our circumstances and surroundings through a filtered lens that can cause us to continue to spiral downwards in our emotions and even our attitudes.  In these words from Jeremiah, God says that HE has a plan for you, for me and the children in the attached photo; a plan that will prosper you and not to harm you, a plan that will give you hope and a future.

God has a specific plan for the girl jumping rope at the Maniche School that is located in the Les Cayes District in Southwestern Haiti.  At the moment the photo was snapped, she probably could not tell you what the plan was for her life, but she knows that the Triune God who provides her with a daily meal has something special planned for her, because He loves her.

While the current chaos in Haiti and the challenges in our country may be saying one thing to us, God is saying another; feed my sheep.  While your circumstances may cry out hopelessness, God is saying that He has a plan to prosper and not to harm you.  While we don't know what the future does hold, we know Who holds the future.  We can trust in the goodness of God to care for us and His children in Haiti in the midst of situations that seem hopeless.  Our hope is not in our circumstances, but in God our Father.  That does not necessarily mean that life will always turn out the way we had desired or expected, but it does mean that we can always trust in our Father to love us and watch over 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

An early riser.

“Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.”  Ecclesiastes 11:6

As an early riser, this verse gives me something to hang my hat on when people shake their heads at when they learn that my day typically begins around 4:30 AM.  It is not that I love getting up early; it just happens.  I get up at 3 AM on some mornings.  If you were to call me at 6 AM and there was now answer, I am either in the shower or at the morgue. 

Back in the day while living in Haiti, getting to the office in Petionville by 5 AM meant that I could drive down Delmas with very little traffic to deal with; a good thing.  Leaving my apartment later than 6 AM increased the drive time by thirty minutes at a minimum as vehicles, honking horns and hordes of pedestrians clogged the streets.

Working in the morning when the mind is fresh is generally best for me as the ancient, deceptive inner creative juices just seem to slow down by the late afternoon.  It would seem that this scripture would encourage each of us to work and not be idle from the break of day until sun is setting; stay busy with the time you have been given.  Through all of our labors, do the best we can with what we have been given.  Each of us has been given various talents and endless opportunities to serve our Triune God.  It doesn’t matter if we are young or old, our time and talents are so valuable for doing His work in His world.

Thank you for using your time and talents to feed His children in Haiti; whether it be morning, noon or night; thank you for answering and following His call to feed His children.  I close today with the words to the hymn ‘God of mercy, God of grace’ that was written by Henry F. Lyte in 1834.

“God of mercy, God of grace, show the brightness of Thy face; shine upon us, Savior, shine, fill Thy church with light divine, and Thy saving health extend unto earth's remotest end.  Let the people praise Thee, Lord!  Be by all that live adored; let the nations shout and sing Glory to their Savior King, at Thy feet their tribute pay, and Thy holy will obey.  Let the people praise Thee, Lord!  Earth shall then her fruits afford, God to man His blessing give, man to God devoted live; all below and all above one in joy and light and love.”

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

HE knows your name.

“But now, this is what the LORD says; he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”  Isaiah 43:1

We all have names, and He knows each of us by our own name.  While looking through photos of children in Haiti descriptive words come to mind that could be given as names; names like hungry, tired, lonely, sadness, empty, broken and hurting.  Through North American eyes there really doesn’t appear to be any joy considering their surroundings.

The attached photo was taken at the Messif school in Ouanaminthe on the Northeastern border.  Their school room was dark; it was difficult for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of their room after coming in from outside.  It must have been over ninety degrees in their room a couple of hours before lunch was served.  They sat patiently listening to North American missionaries’ share the love of Jesus with them as their lunch time drew closer.  He knows their names.

Psalm 23 is one of those best known and loved passages in the Bible because it comforts us with the image of a good shepherd caring for His helpless, wandering sheep.  At just the right time, he stands, calls them to follow him and gently reassures them as he walks forward.

Every one of His sheep have a name, and He knows them all.  Each sheep hears that familiar voice and his own name and follows the steps of the Good Shepherd.  Thank you for answering His call to ‘follow me’ and bring food to Messif.  We all have a name and a title; disciple, steward, benefactor, missionary, good and faithful servant.

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

Good afflictions?

God's Holiness, Our Need

by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Psalm 30:4

Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones,
And give thanks to His holy name. (Psalm 30:4)

We come before You, our Father, and we acknowledge that it is Your holiness that draws us to You. And it is that lack of holiness in ourselves that brings from within us such a hunger to know You better. We affirm with Paul that our determined purpose is that we may know Him. That we may progressively become more intimately acquainted with Him. Oh, God, that is what we want. More important, that is what we need.

In a culture that's adrift and in a world that's broken, there is something about Your character that draws us, warms the coldness of our hearts, breaks our stubborn wills. And we stand before You, our holy God, acknowledging that You are pristine, free of corruption, without a hint of sin or transgression.

We are reproved by Peter's words, "'You be holy even as I am holy,' says the Lord." The angels acknowledge You by saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty." You are high and lifted up. You have full perspective and understanding. Your character is unflawed, and we are lost in the wonder of it. We are caught up in the perfection of Your person.

We've never known a Father like You, as good as our fathers may have been. We've never known one so full of compassion and grace and love and mercy. Introduce us again to that this day. Remind us of it again and again, especially when we fail and see ourselves so unworthy. Remind us that none of that blocks Your wondrous forgiveness. Thank You. Thank You.

In the matchless name of Jesus, Your Son and our Savior, we pray. Amen.

Fulfilling your purpose?

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28

How is God working through your life this Monday, to accomplish the purpose for which he gave you life?  I can’t tell you how many times people have remarked that they don’t know what their purpose is in life; why are they still here and not in Heaven.

Why do you suppose that He called you to help feed children in Haiti who will one day bring the message of Hope to just one or two of the people riding in this old truck on a bumpy street in Cap Haitian?  Why do you suppose that your quarter was used to provide a meal for one life who in turn went skipping down that street, heading home while singing ‘Jesus loves me’ and possibly planted a seed in the life of the woman riding in that red truck?  It is a God moment in time; you are called, the child attending one of several  Lutheran schools in Cap Haitian was called and the Holy Spirit is entering into that person riding in the back of the truck.

Last night Alexa played the song ‘Softly and tenderly’ and it was being sung by Merle Haggard on the radio and since he is in my range, we did a ragged duet down in the cellar.  This song was written by Will Thompson in 1880 and it is such a wonderful reminder that daily we are being called by Jesus to come home.  We are being called home as are the children attending school and the lost lives that they are touching.

“Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; see, on the portals he's waiting and watching; watching for you and for me.  Come home, come home; ye who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!  Why should we tary when Jesus is pleading, pleading for you and for me?  Why should we linger and heed not his mercies, mercies for you and for me?    Come home, come home; ye who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!  Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing, passing from you and from me; shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming, coming for you and for me.  Come home, come home; ye who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!  O for the wonderful love he has promised, promised for you and for me!  Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon, pardon for you and for me.  Come home, come home; ye who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!”

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

A quiet and gentle Spirit.

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.  Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.  Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 5:25–6:2

It seems that having a ‘gentle spirit’ in today’s world will place you into the smallest minority.  We strive to live our lives like Christ and ultimately give in to this world…too often.  We are very thankful, Heavenly Father, that in the process of our daily spiritual growth, You remind us of the importance of gentleness: Your Word not only instructs us in what we're to do, it also shows us how to do it.  Help us, Father, to have that kind of gracious, gentle spirit from Paul’s letter to Galatia, especially those of us who tend to be impatient with others who are not as quick on their feet…or those of us who are healthy and lack compassion for others who are not as strong…or those of us who find delight in accomplishments but lack empathy for others who are not as productive.  It's so easy for all of us, if not verbally, at least in our minds, to compete, to look down on others, to complain and to compare.  May we, through Your Spirit's power, become more like our gentle Savior, who promised, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Like our Master and Lord, may our encounters with others be easy and bring light of Hope.  Meet our needs in a very special way, especially our need for a gentle and quiet spirit.  In the name of Your gracious Son Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Life without God.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” Hebrews 12:1

There is a saying that life without God is like an unsharpened pencil; it has no point.  I have given this saying a lot of thought recently while reading some ‘hopeless’ obituaries online; it seems that I am reaching that point in time when it is interesting to see what others have done along their journey.  I can image how it would feel to be sitting there during those celebration of life services and quietly looking at people who I don’t recognize and don’t know if they too are redeemed or are just there at this service in honor of the departed…or the lunch.

These children in the attached photo are a small group of the 394 children attending school at Fonds Parisien and they, like you and me, have God’s Word and we should be moved to put all that hinders us from sharing His Word with the lost in this world; put the trash of this world where it belongs at the foot of the Christ and let Jesus handle it.  It should be easy to do but satan continues to make it difficult.  I read this snippet of wisdom from a friend recently; “When you carry the Bible, Satan gets a headache.  When you open it, he collapses.  When he sees you reading it, he faints.  When he sees that you are living what you read, he flees and when you are about to share the Gospel News with others he will try and discourage you.”  Thank you for helping children like these with your prayers and support as they take the saving message of Jesus Christ to the lost in their neighborhoods.

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

We are one.

“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.” John 17:11

“Ou fe yon sel”.  What image comes into your mind when you consider the message from our Savior in John 17 that says “we are one”?  Next time you are sitting in ‘your’ pew at church spend a few moments, gazing at the Cross, and look at the others sitting in ‘their’ pews; did you sense the image of ‘we are one’ was present.

Back in the day, I was having coffee with a friend in Lincoln and I was sharing that another Lutheran told me that a young man from a non-denominational church had told them when finding out they were ‘Lutheran’ advised that they were not a Christian at all.  Being a Lutheran is not being a Christian?

Farther back in the day while I was living in Haiti, a member from another Lutheran Mission Society that supported a Lutheran Pastor in Haiti indicated that the Haiti Lutheran Pastors that I was working with were not ‘really’ Lutheran Pastors.  Being a Haitian Lutheran Pastor trained at the Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne didn’t mean that they are ‘Lutheran’?

If you turn on the news any given day you will most likely find that our society has become very prolific at pointing fingers, spreading facts that may or may not be true and proclaiming that ‘my way’ is the high way and you are wrong.  What is happening in our world?  We all can’t be right all of the time and we all can’t be wrong; all of the time.  We were all there when the crowd shouted for Pilate to release Barabbas.  We were all there during the scourging.  We were all there when the nails were being driven to hold our Savior on the cross.  We were all there when He said ‘it is finished.’  We were all there; He died for all of us.

The children in the attached photo attend one of the Lutheran schools in Ouanaminthe.  These three boys and three girls are like me; Lutherans and Christians.  Doesn’t matter what this world may say about you, them and me, Christ died for our sins and now in the heat of July, several weeks after we celebrated Pentecost, we join voices and proclaim that He is risen; risen indeed!!!  Ou fe yon sel; we are one!  Thank you for joining me in supporting the Trinity HOPE feeding program at their school.  I thought that a good song to close this devotion would be the words to ‘We are one in the Spirit’ that was written by Peter Scholte.

“We are One in The Spirit, we are One in The Lord.  We are One in The Spirit, we are One in The Lord.  And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.  And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our Love, yes they'll know we are Christians by our love.  We will work with each other, we will work side by side. We will work with each other, we will work side by side.  And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride.  We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand.  We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand.  And together we'll spread the News that God is in our land.”

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