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“Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” (Galatians 2:1–10)

Do you think Paul’s ministry among the Gentiles looked like the ministries of Peter and John among the Jews? Highly unlikely. Nor did they have to be the same. What was the same was Word and Sacraments, Law and Gospel, preaching the whole counsel of God, not picking and choosing what suits you.

God’s Word is filled with calls to worship and praise Him for who He is and what He has done. But did you know that a style of worship is not dictated in Scripture? The list of instruments we are told to use in praising God in His Word is vast, but no where in there can I find mention of a pipe organ. Proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and King is a responsibility. But using a pulpit or a style of preaching is never mandated.

We all have our comfort zones, our preferences. That is fine. But that does not mean that other worship styles or songs or attire are wrong. And this is not a novel thought on my part. Lutherans wrote about and affirmed this a long time ago.

VII. [The Church]

¹ It is also taught among us that one holy Christian church will be and remain forever. This is the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel.

² For it is sufficient for the true unity of the Christian church that the Gospel be preached in conformity with a pure understanding of it and that the sacraments be administered in accordance with the divine Word.

³ It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church that ceremonies, instituted by men, should be observed uniformly in all places.

⁴ It is as Paul says in Eph. 4:4, 5, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

(Augsburg Confession, Article VII, Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord)

Did you catch that? “It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church that ceremonies, instituted by men, should be observed uniformly in all places.”  We can be united in Christ even if we don’t all do things the same way. Rather than being critical of each other, let’s focus on the unity we have in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

“I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they praised God because of me.” (Galatians 1:11–24)

As we continue through Galatians, we find Paul asserting that the message that he proclaimed, the message that changed him inside and out, was neither made up nor man made. It came directly from Jesus.

I have had a lot of people tell me that God spoke to them. Some of them told me that in the context of trying to justify their own sinful behavior. “I heard God speak and tell me that it was okay for me to move in with my boyfriend because we really love each other.” Or some version of “I know the Bible says ______ is a sin, but God told me that did not apply to me.”  I don’t think that was God they were hearing (2 Corinthians 11:14).

On the other hand, I have had people tell me that they heard God clearly speak to them about following Him, trusting Him, and living for Him, which resulted in those people drastically changing their lives. They became more committed to being the person God wants them to be. What they heard did not contradict God’s Word, but affirmed it. I have no doubt that God was working in their lives and communicating His truth to them.

When God spoke to Paul, it changed him dramatically. He thought he was being a faithful follower of God by persecuting Christians, but God told him otherwise, and the path of his life was profoundly changed. “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” The change was evident and obvious. Some were skeptical at first, and with good reason. But they could not deny that he was changed.

The last phrase of that passage is especially striking:  And they praised God because of me. What kind of world would it be if that statement were true for every follower of Jesus? And they praised God because of me. I’ve been striving to live that way. I know I don’t always do it, but I am trying to follow God’s leading and live that kind of life. I don’t crave accolades or recognition. I want others to see Jesus and praise Him for who He is and what He has done.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6–10)

Christians don’t always agree. You know that. If we did, there would not be so many different denominations and church bodies throughout the world. It is an unfortunate result of the fact that the church is made up of sinners, myself included. Disagreements cause divisions. It continues to happen within denominations. I read an article over the weekend about an imminent split in the United Methodist Church.

The challenge we have this side of heaven is to remain faithful to the Gospel, the message of God’s grace that calls us and claims us to be His dearly loved and forgiven children, not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus did for us. He died to pay for ALL sin. All sin.

But notice, no where does Jesus tell us that sin is no longer sin. That is one of the greatest perversions of the Gospel the church is facing today. People want to declare that things the Bible clearly calls sinful should no longer be seen that way. That is the issue at the heart of the split in the UMC.

When Jesus died to pay for sin, he negated sins power over us, but not sin itself. It is still with us. When He forgave people, He did not give them permission to sin as much as they wanted. Quite the contrary.

In John 8, Jesus was questioned about what to do with the woman caught in adultery, He dispersed the crowd by telling them that whoever was without sin should cast the first stone. They all left. Jesus then asked the woman:

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11)

Jesus did not tell the woman her sinful lifestyle was acceptable. He told her to leave it. Sin no more. Don’t remain that way. He came to make payment for your sins to give you forgiveness and a new life. Leave your former way of life. Don’t let sin control you. Be led by the Spirit of God.

Sin is still sin, no matter what some in the church or government may say. I will trust God’s Word on that. The same Word that tells me about the forgiveness I have for Jesus’ sake and that encourages me to live a better life in response.

“Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Galatians 1:1–5)

Do you know the difference between a disciple and an apostle?  It is kind of a trick question. You can be both. The first disciples of Jesus became apostles. A disciple is a follower. An apostle is one who is sent.

At the start of his letter to the believers in Galatia, Paul, who was not one of the original disciples, identifies himself as an apostle. He then goes on to define what that means. Jesus sent him to tell others the good news, what Jesus did to rescue us from sin and death. Acts 9 has the record of God calling Saul, who was on his way to persecute followers/disciples of Jesus. Jesus struck him blind, asked why he was persecuting him, and told him to wait for a guy named Ananias to come and restore his sight. Ananias was skeptical, because he had heard a lot of bad stuff about this guy named Saul.

“But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”” (Acts 9:15–16)

God choses people to follow Him and then sends them out to tell others. Disciples and apostles. God called you to faith in the one who lived and died and rose again for your salvation. To whom is he sending you to be His chosen instrument?

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.” (Revelation 5:11–14)

John’s vision of heaven that he attempts to describe for us leaves us with more questions than answers. For that reason, many people shy away from that last book of the Bible. Others go too far with it, trying to proclaim that it tells them when the last day will occur, even though Jesus said we could not know that day or hour.

My approach to this head-scratching book is simple. Take it for what it is. An attempt to describe something out of this world, something outside of our experience, in worldly terms. But it is also part of our loving God’s revelation of Himself to us, so we need to read it as such.

The passage above is being read in churches throughout Christendom today on this Third Sunday of Easter. John shares that in his vision, he observed angels and all other creatures in heaven and on the earth joining in a song of praise and worship to the Lamb who was slain. He’s talking about Jesus, identified by John the Baptizer as “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

The song in heaven says Jesus is Worthy … to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! When you consider what He did for you and everyone else, you reach the same conclusion. He alone is worthy of praise! Knowing that He took our place in punishment, that He paid for the sins of everyone, that He conquered sin and death and the grave and gives that triumph to anyone who believes in Him, we need to declare how wonderful and awesome and amazing that is!

Praise is just that. Saying how good something is. I want to praise Jesus everyday for what He has done for me. And I’m going to a worship service with other Christians today to do just that.

1 Peter 1:17-21 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 

One more day reflecting on this passage from 1 Peter where he reminds us how valuable it is that the Lamb of God was slain for us. Without that, we would have no hope of salvation, but with faith, we have the certainty of eternal life.

Peter brings all of this up to encourage you to live the new life to which you have been called. Knowing what Jesus went through for your sake, applying His atonement to your life through faith, should evoke a response of living for Him. Notice that your obedience to God is the result of salvation, not the cause. You have been redeemed from the empty way of life that would have you believe you must save yourself. Christ died to save you. So you now live for Him.

Something that is amazing to me is the way in which God deals with us in regard to all of the things of this world that we tend to value more highly than Him. You might think that He would tell us to get rid of them all and never have anything to do with them again, but that is not what He says. Rather, He tells us that He gave up His Son for us, and that together with Him He will freely give us all things. The difference is that you are to receive all the things of this world in the proper perspective, not valuing them above the most precious thing you have, Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain for you.

Peter tells us that we are not to trust in ourselves, but that your faith and hope are in God. He also said that you are to live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. With the Lamb slain for you in your experience, you are conscious of what you do. You are strangers in this world in the sense that you no longer fit into the way the world does things. You no longer find the way of Satan appealing, but rather encourage those following Him to repent and believe in the Gospel. Living in the fear of God means you respect Him and marvel at His goodness to you, and you want to do His Will. This will not always be easy. The pressure of the world to conform will be strong.

Years ago I was driving to Austin for a conference. I left early in the morning and stopped at a McDonald’s on the south side of Dallas for breakfast. I ordered an Egg McMuffin and an orange juice. I handed the lady a five dollar bill. When I looked at my change, I noticed that she gave me four ones and some change. I said, “I don’t think you charged me enough.” She looked at me in disbelief and said, “What did you say?” I repeated, “I don’t think you charged me enough.” Astonished, she said, “I can’t believe you said that. Nobody here is ever honest!”

I thought to myself, that’s the way of the world. That’s the empty way of life Peter spoke of. People tend to put more importance on things than on following God. But I can’t live that way. I have been redeemed from that. I have been forgiven and called to live as the follower of Jesus Christ, even in little things.

As I said, it is not always easy to do this. The pressure to go along with the crowd will be great. At times like this, remember that your faith and hope are in God. Remember that Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to redeem you from your sins, to redeem you from that empty way of life. The Lamb of God was slain for you. Live your lives in reverent fear.

1 Peter 1:17-21 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 

Yesterday I ended my thoughts with a question: I wonder if we can ever fully appreciate what Jesus went through in order to accomplish our salvation? You have heard that He went through all the temptations that you do, so you can relate to that. You know that He felt hunger, pain, joy, sorrow. But have you ever considered what He gave up in order to come down here?

For those of you who have small children or grandchildren, try to imagine this situation. Would you send your child into a prison full of convicted murders, rapists and sex offenders? Can you imagine the vile and unspeakable things that those prisoners would do to that small child? If so, can you bear to think of it? Personally, I can’t stand to think of it. I would never consider sending my children of grandchildren into any situation that could prove harmful to them.

That is what God the Father did for you. He sent His Son from the glory and joy and happiness and beauty and safety of heaven into this world filled with sin and corruption. He knew exactly what would happen to His beloved Son yet sent Him here to go through all of that for your sake. Can you fathom that kind of love? That’s the love God has for you.

But rather than valuing God and His love most highly in our lives, mankind has always placed a higher value on the things of this world. Our desire to follow our own sinful nature is what we make most important. In one sense, we want to make our sins our “god.” Our Father in heaven knew that this would lead to eternal damnation for men, so He stepped in to help. He sent Jesus down to pull us up. And the way He did this is something that bears repeating. He took all the sinfulness of mankind and placed it on that spotless lamb. He made the only one to ever live without sin to be sin for us. And then He placed Christ with the sins of the world on that cross for all to see. Jesus went through that anguish so that you would not have to do so … eternally! His death in our place spares us from death. Faith claims His death as your payment for sin. Luther once summed it up this way: “If Christ died with all sins on Him, they can’t be on me.” And it is because of faith that God no longer holds your sins against you. The Lamb of God was slain for you.

1 Peter 1:17-21 Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.  Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 

A Chinese convert to Christianity gave an account of His salvation this way:

I was in a very deep well. I was sinking deeper and deeper and couldn’t find any way out. As I looked upward, I saw a face peering down at me. A voice said, ‘My Child, I am Confucius, the father of your country. Had you obeyed my teaching, you would never have landed where you are now.’ He waved his hand and left, saying ‘If you ever manage to get out of this well, be careful to follow my teaching.’

Then came Buddha, and looking down the well he shouted, ‘My child, you have to quit the condition in which you find yourself. Rest down there where you are. Fold your arms and begin to think. You will find nirvana, the peace which all of us desire.’ I called back and said, ‘Father Buddha, if you could help me get out of here, I would be so thankful. Then I shall with great ease follow your instructions. But in this horrible place, how can I rest?’ But Buddha did not get me out of the well. He left me in despair.

But there came another Man over to the well, a Man full of goodness and interest. And on His face there were marks of great sorrow and suffering. He wasted no time in offering words of comfort from up there but came down to where I was and pulled me out of that terrible clay in which I was wallowing. He lifted me up to the surface. He didn’t forsake me, but brought me to a place of safety. He took off my dirty clothes and dressed me in clean clothes. Then He invited me to follow Him, saying, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ That man was Christ. And that is why I am a Christian. Christ was the only one who descended to the depths where I was. He saved me and has never ceased to have fellowship with me and be my companion.”

That is exactly what Christ did for you and me. To show how intimate His relationship with men would be, He entered the womb of the Virgin Mary and was born as we are. He subjected Himself to all the physical needs of humanity. He lived the life we should live but do not. And then He offered that spotless life as the only sacrifice acceptable for the sins of all men. It is through Jesus Christ and Him alone that we receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He did not tell us to obey Him and then He would help us. He did not say that we must earn His love before He would save us. No, He came to save us, and did so freely. All of the false religions of this world make salvation contingent upon man’s actions. But Jesus tells us that He has done everything needed to make us righteous.

I wonder if we can ever fully appreciate what Jesus went through in order to accomplish our salvation?

Yesterday’s devotion got me thinking about stewardship. It is easy to get a mixed-up attitude about our possessions.

One of my favorite movies is Shenandoah. There is a scene that shows the wrongheaded attitude we sometimes have about “things.” You can watch the clip here. The family has gathered at the dinner table for a meal and the father offers this prayer:  “Lord, WE cleared this land, WE plowed it, sowed it and harvested. WE cooked the harvest. It wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be eatin’ it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you just the same anyway, Lord, for this food we’re about to eat. Amen.”

Is that how you feel? Is that how you act? Sometimes we seem to think everything we have is only because we worked for it. We did it. We leave God’s goodness out of the equation altogether. We discount His involvement in our lives.

For our entire married life, Cheryl and I have tithed of our gross income to our local congregation. Often times, we gave more than 10% of our earnings to carry out the mission and ministry that God has entrusted to all of us. And that does not include the gifts we give to other entities outside our congregation. And God continued to bless us. Tremendously. It all comes from Him anyway, and He keeps giving us more. We don’t miss what we give to Him with grateful hearts.

I’ve heard some say, “I don’t make enough to tithe.” That’s a ridiculous argument. If you can’t trust God and return 10% when you’re making $100 a week you won’t give 10% when you’re making $1000 per week. It comes down to whether or not you believe God’s promise.

It saddens me to think that so many are depriving themselves of the blessings you could have if you would just trust God in this matter.  It also saddens me when I think of how a lack of first fruit giving limits congregations in what they are able to do ministry wise.

After all, that is what we are really all about. We are people who know and believe without a doubt that when Jesus came to this earth, He did it for us. We know that all of our sins and our failings and our shortcomings make us deserving of death, but Jesus took care of that for us. We have been led by the Spirit to believe that the life and death of Jesus paid for our sins and His resurrection from the dead guarantees us life everlasting. We have this faith. We want to respond to this good news with new lives, holy lives, good stewardship lives.

But things keep getting in the way. Our fears. Our uncertainties. Our doubts. Don’t let your fears and uncertainties and doubts rob you of the blessings God wants to give you, the blessings that come from living the new life to which He calls His children. Remember, He is the one who gave you His Son, gave you forgiveness, gave you salvation, and gives you everything else you have. It all belongs to Him.  How are you using what God has given you for Him?

Years ago a lady sat down to write out her church contribution check at the kitchen table. Her five-year-old son came in, looked at the offering envelope and asked, “Mom, who are you sending that envelope to?” Trying to be a model parent and hoping to be a good example to her son, she replied, “This is a special envelope. We are sending money to God.” That little five year old thought about that for a moment like only a five year old can, and then said, “Mom, I hate to tell you, but everything already belongs to God. This is just the part you’re giving back.” If only more of God’s children had that crystal clear understanding of what it means to be a steward and put it into practice.

I pray that all of you will grow in your faith, in your lives as disciples of Jesus, as stewards who recognize that it all belongs to God and who administer it accordingly. God help each of us to live as He would have us live.

This past Sunday morning, Cheryl and I woke up in our own bed after being on the road for a while. We laid there a few minutes before getting up and ready to go to worship. Cheryl asked me, “Why have we been so blessed?” I know what she meant. We have a great home on a small acreage with a pond and wildlife and everything we dreamed about while living in town most of our married life. We are able to travel to see things all over this country, including our children and grandchildren. We have even taken a few trips out of this country before the pandemic and hope to do more of that when things calm down. God continues to shower His blessings upon us. We are very aware that what we have and enjoy comes from Him. David had this same mindset as he was passing the kingdom of Israel to his son, Solomon.

“David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” (1 Chronicles 29:10–14)

When we remember and acknowledge that our blessings are from God, it is a reminder that anything we give to Him or to others come from the Lord in the first place. That is an important understanding to have as we live our lives. We are to be good stewards, good managers of what the Lord has entrusted to our care. That includes not only what we give back to the Lord and His church, but also the way we use the rest of our blessings.

And I cannot think of blessings without remembering the greatest blessing of all I have received through the life and work of my Lord Jesus.

“he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5)

That is the best news ever, what keeps me grounded, what strengthens and empowers me to live every day. I am a forgiven and redeemed child of the living God. He did it all. For me.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. (Psalm 103:1–4, ESV)