Where are you headed?

“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12

This year is almost over.  How many times were you tempted to change directions this past year?  Question for this last Monday of 2024, do you know where you are headed today?  While that thought was going through my mind after reading the above passage from Proverbs, a story came back from some book that I had read some time ago.  I seem to think it was a book written by Billy Graham.  The story was about Thomas Henry Huxley who was a famous biologist, teacher, author and a defender of the theory of evolution.

The story tells that after Huxley had finished another series of public assaults against several truths Christians held sacred, he was in a hurry the following morning to catch his train to the next city.  He took one of Dublin's famous horse-drawn taxis and settled back with his eyes closed to rest himself for a few minutes.  He assumed the driver had been told the destination by the hotel doorman, so all he said as he got in was, "Hurry up, I'm almost late.  Drive fast!"  The horses lurched forward and galloped across Dublin at a vigorous pace.  Before long Huxley glanced out the window and frowned as he realized they were going west, away from the sun, not toward it.  Leaning forward, the scholar shouted, "Do you know where you are going?"  Without looking back, the driver yelled a classic line, not meant to be humorous, "No, your honor!  But I'm driving very fast!"

There are times in the news we read about our world and probably need to confess that we aren’t sure where we are at the moment but we are headed somewhere really fast.  Our culture; great speed, much motion, rapid movement, but an unknown destination.  It is an old and ironic habit of human beings living in this fallen world to run faster when we have lost our way.  Does that describe you or someone you know?

As we approach the end of this year, do you find yourself in a big hurry?  Are you driving yourself at breakneck speed to get somewhere?  We recently celebrated Christmas and once again were drawn closer to God’s Son.  That was a great direction to go during Advent.  We will have another journey to follow next year during Lent as we turn our thoughts towards Easter.  Each of us have a choice in the direction to proceed and our prayers should be asking the Holy Spirit to lead us in that direction towards Jesus.  You select your speed and head your steering wheel towards Jesus.

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

Be a blessing.

“Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.” Ephesians 6:24
While re-reading the ‘Nearing Home’ book by Dr. Billy Graham the following quote attributed to Carrie Ten Bloom was shared; “the measure of life is not by the duration but by the donation.”  It struck me like that frozen snowball that hit me in the face so many decades ago and gave me a black eye; it still has my attention.

It really doesn’t matter how many years you are blessed with but rather how much you have been a blessing throughout the span of your life.  It seems that is an accurate description of Trinity HOPE.  In a span of over just two decades faithful donors have grown from feeding 46 kids in Tarrasse, Haiti to just over 52,000 in January of this year.  What a blessing that cloud of young missionaries will be to the country of Haiti.  The vodou priests will cringe when they see them coming from their schools but will be thankful when their closed ears hear the truth of the risen Christ and express joy when they realize that their sins are forgiven.  We pray that gangs will finally put down their weapons and repent of their crimes to their neighbors and families in Haiti.  I close today with the words to the hymn ‘Take my life and let it be’ which was written by Frances R. Havergal in 1874.

“Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee; take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise.  Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love; take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.  Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King; take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee.  Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold; take my intellect and use every power as Thou shalt choose.  Take my will and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine; take my heart, it is Thine own, it shall be Thy royal throne.  Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure-store; take myself, and I will be ever, only, all, for Thee.”

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

Not fair! Really?

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

Along your journey, have you ever known any people who were disappointed because their next-door neighbors went on a cruise over the Christmas vacation, or got a new Hummer that crab walks with a new fishing boat, or diamonds 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 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 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

Do you know where you are going?

“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 or skimming through the book ‘Nearing Home’ by Billy Graham 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 about 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 sharing the Hope filled message 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

Merry 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 this 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, many around our fallen world are living lives that are separated from our Heavenly home and seemingly headed farther away from the Truth.  I found this old photo of my grandpa Brinkmeyer (back row, second from left) and his siblings way back in the day.  I wonder what Christmas was like in their day and where thoughts were headed.

I heard a favorite Christmas song on Alexa recently, ‘I’ll be home for Christmas’ and its lyrics reminded me of where we should all 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.” 

I am hopeful that many of the members of my family in the attached photo are in Heaven today, and for me, I will spend another Christmas here on Earth, waiting and dreaming of a time when Christmas will be spent in Heaven with them..and you.  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

Watching their flock by night.

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

To really appreciate what it must have been like on the night that Jesus was born you need to drive out into the country, away from all of the city lights.  There were nights when I lived in 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.  The stars appear to be as brilliant as 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.  Back in the day, while living in Petionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince it was possible to go onto the flat roof of my apartment and gaze at the stars since during that time, 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 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

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 been sitting outside on a clear, quiet evening and had goose bumps go up and down your spine when a 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 fields that still, silent night two thousand years ago.

Back in the day, there were a number of occasions when I sat and listened to the congregation at Bon Berger in Caredeux, Haiti joyfully sing praises to God in a hymn that went on and on and they had no sheet music or a hymn book 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

A birthday is coming soon.

“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 coming next week.  I can only begin to imagine what is going through your plans and activities today; probably lots of last minute things to do.  What do you suppose that Joseph and Mary were doing?  Mary was feeling the baby kicking 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.

Back in the day, while living in Haiti, the week before Christmas was spent much like most every other week during the year for me, 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

God chose the 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 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 living in this fallen 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.  Well, it 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

Angels among us.

“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)

While driving home from Jewel yesterday morning, the group Alabama played the song ‘Angels Among Us’ on the radio and this brought me to think once again about the ‘Angels’ that were there near a couple with a baby in Bethlehem and are also near us today.

The ‘learned’ historians of this world may tell you that the angels that appeared to the Shepherds were actually aliens…from another world.  God did create Heaven and Earth and I suppose you could say that the Angels were from another world…Heaven; but it is hard to believe that they would need to come to earth in some type of a spaceship to proclaim the birth of our Savior born in Bethlehem.

The children in the attached photo attend the Lutheran school in Dondon which is located in the Cap Haitian District in Northeastern Haiti.  They are protected by Angels as their lives are attacked by the evil spirits sent by the vodou priest to frighten them and cause them harm and frequently by gang members.  The Holy Spirit is always in their lives and your life, watching, guiding and providing assurance that we have a Savior who was born in Bethlehem and has prepared a home for us in Heaven and that is the best news we could ever receive while living in a world that would have us believe that we have no hope.  I close with the words to ‘Angels Among Us.’

“I was walking home from school on a cold winter day; took a shortcut through the woods, and I lost my way.  It was getting late, and I was scared and alone but then a kind old man took my hand and led me home.  Mama couldn't see him, oh but he was standing there and I knew in my heart, he was the answer to my prayers.  Oh well I believe there are angels among us sent down to us from somewhere up above.  They come to you and me in our darkest hours to show us how to live, to teach us how to give and to guide us with the light of love.  When life held troubled times, and had me down on my knees; there's always been someone to come along and comfort me.  A kind word from a stranger, to lend a helping hand, a phone call from a friend, just to say I understand and ain't it kind of funny at the dark end of the road that someone lights the way with just a single ray of hope.  They wear so many faces, show up in the strangest places to grace us with their mercy, in our time of need.  Oh well I believe there are angels among us sent down to us from somewhere up above.  They come to you and me in our darkest hours to show us how to live, to teach us how to give and to guide us with the light of 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