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Recently one son-in-law of mine was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. He got a bi-pap machine and it was instant relief for him. I was a bit envious. I was diagnosed with the same thing over twenty years ago. I have tried different machines over the years without success.

For those of  you who don’t know, if a person stops breathing, that is known as “APNEA.” If a person has periods during sleep when he or she stops breathing, it is known as Sleep Apnea. The body is deprived of oxygen, so you wake up repeatedly during the night. The end result is that you don’t feel rested.

After I received my original diagnosis, I saw a television show that described a test to determine whether a person on life-support was living or not. They called it an APNEA test. If the person took a breath within a certain amount of time after the life support was disconnected, they were considered alive. If not, they were considered legally dead. I find it just a little bit disconcerting that they use the same word to describe a condition I have – APNEA – that they use to determine whether or not a person is dead!

That word APNEA sounds funny. That’s because it comes from Greek. Pneuma is the Greek word for breath, wind or spirit. We get other words in English from it, like pneumatics. In English, the “P” is silent; in Greek you pronounce it. If you add an “alpha” or “a” on the front of a word in Greek, it negates it, like “non” or “un” would in English. So this word APNEA, based on its Greek origins, literally means “Without breath, without wind” or even “without spirit.”

To be without breath is not a good thing. Even worse is to be without the Spirit. On the first Christian Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples so that they were able to understand everything Jesus had told them and done. They could then share Jesus with others. The Spirit worked through them and their message to bring about 3000 others to an understanding of who Jesus is and what He had done. They repented, believed and received God’s gift of baptism. It was cause for rejoicing (Acts 2).

Yet something we should realize is that there were more than 3000 people in Jerusalem that day. There were many in that crowd who had APNEA. I say that because that Greek word “pneuma” also means “spirit,” and a form of that word is used for the Holy Spirit. Those who did not believe had “a-pnuema” –APNEA. That word can describe those without faith, who do not believe in Jesus, who do not have the Holy Spirit in their life.

Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3) 

If you have faith in Jesus, it is because you have the Holy Spirit in your life. He led you to that faith. If you do not have faith in Jesus, you do not have the Holy Spirit. You have APNEA.

There are a lot of people in our world today with APNEA, people without the Spirit of God in their lives. What is really discouraging is that they don’t even know they have it.

Many people don’t know they have Sleep Apnea, but there are hints that clue you in: multiple wake ups in the night, feeling tired when you get out of bed, severe sleepiness in the middle of the day. Those who have the other kind of APNEA, living without the Spirit, will also have signs that make that known.

Take a moment to read Galatians 5:16-25. You will find two lists there. The first is the behavior of those who do not have the Holy Spirit in their lives. I mentioned earlier an APNEA test to determine whether or not someone is alive. If you have the kind of APNEA I’ve been describing, life without the Holy Spirit, you will be dead, spiritually dead. And that can result in eternal death if the situation is not changed.

On the other hand, living with the Spirit who brings you to faith in Christ Jesus results in eternal life. You will understand and believe that Jesus lived a life without sin for you, offered that life on the cross to pay for all sins, and gives His payment to you to assure you of forgiveness and life everlasting. Those who have this faith are led by the Spirit, and that should make a difference in the way you live.

That second list in Galatians 5 is called the “Fruit of the Spirit.” Those who have been led to know and believe that Jesus is their Savior will exhibit that fruit in their lives. When you put your faith in Jesus, you do not have APNEA. You live by the Spirit and are led by the Spirit. And if you have the Spirit, don’t live in such a way that you could be accused of APNEA. The Holy Spirit points you to Jesus and the forgiveness and life He gives to you. Live in that knowledge and joy and certainty. Live by the Spirit.

A doctor named Schindler once claimed that half the people going to doctors suffer from the same disease: psychoneurosis. The cause of this disease? Acute anxiety. Worry is also one of the top causes of heart trouble. “Worried sick” is a reality.

This is nothing new. Gypsies said a sad man is a sick man and that sickness is the result of worry. The Greeks used to describe worry as opposing forces at work to tear man apart. The Saxons compared worry to a vicious animal clutching at a man’s throat. Our word “worry” comes from the anglo-Saxon verb “wyrgan” which means to choke or strangle. And of course, the Bible tells us that worry is sinful. Worry is a lack of faith in God’s promise to care for you.

The solution? Don’t worry! Someone estimated that 40% of all worries are about things that never happen and 30% of anxieties are about things in the past that cannot be changed. People spend most of their time worrying about things that they can’t change or that won’t happen! Don’t worry!

Robert Frost said “The reason worry kills more people than work is because more people worry than work.”  If we would put the energy we use to worry into productive activities, that would go a long way toward overcoming the problem of anxiety in our lives.

It is also beneficial to concentrate on today. This is not to say that you should neglect to plan for the future, but that should not become the all-consuming obsession of your life.  If you spend all of your time thinking and worrying about the future, you waste the present. God gives you each day as a gift, time to be used to serve Him. An implication of concentrating on the present is that you won’t spend time worrying about the past. You cannot change what has happened, no matter how much you worry. Much better to simply learn from your mistakes and go on.

One thing from the past you should be thinking about is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Knowing what God has done for you through this act of redemption should remind you that worry is something you can and should live without.

Another suggestion for overcoming worry in your life: Focus your thoughts on God instead of your problems. The prophet Isaiah offers this advice:

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. 

If you think about God’s care and preservation that He graciously and freely provides for you, worry becomes insignificant. Focusing your thoughts on God reminds you that He has provided for all your needs, the foremost of which is the need to be forgiven. By looking at the cross and the empty tomb, you are constantly reminded that God does care for you and gives you what we need. Surely a God such as this will continue to care for you. You have the message of salvation! You know the way to eternal life. Simply trust in Jesus Christ, who has provided these things as a free gift!

And don’t worry.

While I am aware of what is going on in the national political scene, it is not something I follow closely. I know that those in the same party who vilify one another during the primaries often times end up being on the same ticket for the election in November. I would guess that I am like of lot of people in that I don’t think either candidate from the two main political parties is a good choice. People have differing opinions about these matters, and sometimes the disagreements become heated and even violent. We end up treating each other as enemies, forgetting that we are all citizens of the same country.

That carries over into the spiritual realm as well. Often times followers of Jesus Christ from different “tribes” or “denominations” treat each other with contempt and ridicule, forgetting that we all put our faith in the same Savior. I know that disagreements will abound because of sin in this world, but disagreeing with someone does not justify hurtful words or malicious behavior. After all, by virtue of our faith in Jesus, we are all part of the same family. John 17 records the prayer Jesus offered before He was betrayed and tried and crucified. In that prayer, he asked repeatedly that His followers be united, like we read in v.11: 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.

Unity in the body of Christ is what we need here on earth. As we face political posturing and proclamations that continue to attack our beliefs and values as followers of Jesus, we need to remember this: Our Lord and Savior has already defeated sin, death and the power of the devil through His death and resurrection, and He is still in control no matter what is going on in this world.

For many years I have heard peoplwe bemoan the fact that we are no longer a “Christian nation.” I would maintain that being a Christian nation has nothing to do with the person sitting in the White House and everything to do with the people who are followers of Jesus living out their Christian faith and beliefs and values. That pertains to the way we treat one another (John 13:35) and the way we treat those who are outside the body of Christ (Colossians 4:5-6).

John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Colossians 4:5–6 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

As this Easter season draws to a close, we should not forget that the one whose resurrection we celebrate is still alive and still in control.

…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

Acts 4:8-12   Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!  If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is “`the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Do you know why you have the name that you have? Parents sometimes pick names because they like the way they sound, or someone else in the family has the same name, or in some cases it is because of the meaning of the name.

My name is Michael, which was the name of an angel, but I’ve been called a lot of different things. Sometimes people call me “Pastor” but that was my job and not really my name. When I was a little boy, my dad always called me “cowboy.” My mom called me Mikie. My wife calls me “Mike” with a deep west Texas accent that still makes my heart go pitter patter. I have three daughters who call me “Daddy” and the most recent name I was given is “Papa” which is one of the sweetest ones to hear.

In Biblical times, names were chosen for their meaning. Abraham means “exalted father.” Israel means “struggle with God.” Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew “Yeshua” which means “Savior.” There was a significance to the names given. Names today may not even have a meaning.

But even if we do not know what a person’s name means, just the thought of some names can evoke strong emotions. What do you think of when you hear Adolph Hitler or Charles Manson? What about Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Mother Theresa? What about Taylor Swift of Kanye West? How about Donald Trump or Joe Biden? Those names make you think certain things. A name is more than an arbitrary title or a series of letters and sounds. A name stands for the one who bears it.

The most significant name in all Scripture is that of Jesus, the only Savior of the World. In the Old Testament, God promised to make His name dwell in Jerusalem (Dt. 12:5), where the temple was built for His name (I Kings 18:16-20). But now and forever the name of God is bound to the person of Jesus Christ, the one He sent to bring us salvation. There is no other way to the Father, no alternate route, no other option. Those who will not use the name of Jesus will not be saved. But those who call on His name and trust in the person it signifies will receive God’s gift of forgiveness. Jesus is the most important of all names. It is our task to proclaim that saving name because:  salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

That name has been attached to you as a believer in a very special way: Baptism. God’s name was place on you, and as a believer you bear the name of Jesus Christ. Just as you are concerned about your own reputation, you should be concerned with what others will think of Christ because of your actions. Since you have the name of Jesus in your possession, bear it proudly and try to help others come to know Him as well.

Did you hear about the little boy who presented his mother with an itemized bill. He had carefully written down all the things he did around the house, and listed an amount after each thing.  (By the prices you can tell this was a long time ago.)

Mowing the Grass                                 $5.00
Making my bed all week                     $1.00
Going to the store                                 $.50
Taking out the trash                             $1.00
Good grades on report card              $5.00

And so on. The mother took the bill, looked at it, and didn’t say a word. The next morning the boy found the bill on his plate with the money he requested, but he noticed that his mother had written something on the back of it. He read down her list:

For the nine months I carried you             No Charge
The nights I sat up with you                         No Charge
Doctoring you when you were sick            No Charge
Praying for you                                                  No Charge
Tears I’ve cried for You                                  No Charge
Toys, food, clothes                                            No Charge
All my love for you                                            No Charge

 The little boy returned the money and the bill to his mother. When she looked at it, she saw He had written across his itemized list PAID IN FULL.

The love of a mother is wonderful, especially a Christian mother. They take care of all our needs, including the most important need of telling us of Jesus, teaching us to love and follow Him. Christian mothers give us a picture of God’s love for us, how freely He gives us everything, all the while we try to make demands of Him. The sacrifice He was willing to make for us was profound. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32). God’s love provides for our needs constantly, all at no charge to us.

I pay tribute to Christians mothers today, those who have made it their priority to live out their Christian calling in their homes. That is the kind of mother I was blessed with. I know there were times that she and I didn’t get along too well. There were times that I was sure I hated her, and she may have felt the same way about me! Isn’t it funny, though, that I can’t remember why? What I do remember is that she is the one who took care of me. She was the one who made sure I got out of bed and had breakfast before I went to school. She was the one who sat up late to make sure I got home safely. She knew the pain of childbearing did not stop with labor and delivery. She was the one who prayed with me and for me. I thank God for that.

A good mother deserves honor, whether it is the mother who bore you or the mother who bore your children. My wife was and is an incredible mother to our three girls, and we see the fruit of that in the way our girls are living their lives and the kind of mothers they are to their children.

A Christian mother will model the love that God has shown to us. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; [says the LORD] (Isaiah 66:13). That is what God has done: He has comforted us, loved us tenderly, given of Himself for our sakes. He saw us in our need, our corruption, the depravity of our sins, and He reached out to us. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. His death satisfied God’s demand that payment be made for sin. His rising assures you that death has been defeated. This has all been given to you at no charge, out of love.

Many of you first heard this good news from your mother, and she raised you to believe this, even as she did.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Recently I attended a worship service in a congregation that does traditional worship, using the liturgies found in the Lutheran Service Book. They have a wonderful music program at their church and the services are done well.

During the sermon that day, the Associate Pastor was preaching and said something about people getting bored in worship. He said something like: “I understand. After all, it is the same service week after week.” I’m sure there were people who took offense at that. They firmly believe that the services in the hymnal are the only appropriate forms of worship. But I smiled when he said that about it being the same service week after week. Why? Because I thought to myself, “It doesn’t have to be.”

Don’t misunderstand me. I think the historic services of Christendom are wonderful ways to worship and praise God. But they are not the only way, in spite of those who insist to the contrary.

Something from that service I attended even affirmed that point. During communion, their cantor sang part of Psalm 96 in Latin (an English translation was printed in the bulletin). And then he sang in English “Sing to the Lord a new canticle” (many translations of Scripture have “song” instead of “canticle”). Scripture encourages us to worship God in new ways. Even our Confessions tell us worship services to not have to be uniform in all places.

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

Our focus needs to be on sharing the Gospel with people in Word and Sacraments. We need to share Jesus in everything we do, who He is and what He has done for us through His life and death and resurrection. Different people react to different stimuli. We are not all the same. But we all need Jesus. Maybe instead of criticizing those who have forms of worship that our different than ours, we should have the attitude of Paul.

1 Corinthians 9:19–23 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Be all things to all people to point them to Jesus. God help us.

In 2012, Chris Stevens was the first United States ambassador to Libya in a good many years. He was also the first United States ambassador in a good many years to be killed while serving in that capacity. Ambassadors often find themselves in difficult and dangerous circumstances. As representatives their government, they are supposed to be protected and respected. But that only works for people who obey the law. Terrorists see ambassadors as an instrument to draw attention to their cause. That is why Mr Stevens was attacked at the U.S. Embassy and killed.

Of course, Chris Stevens is not the only ambassador who has been in danger. In his second letter to the Christians in Corinth, St. Paul reminded the believers that they were not just individuals, they were ambassadors for Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:20–21 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As those who have been redeemed by Jesus, everything we say and do reflects on Him. We represent Jesus and His Kingdom to the world. We are to share that message that the Savior’s life, death and resurrection assure all who trust in Him of complete forgiveness for sin. Because Jesus has ascended into heaven, He uses us, His followers, to make His appeal to an unbelieving world. We are ambassadors for Christ. And it is a job that is not without danger.
Jesus warned us: “All men will hate you because of me…” (Mark 13:13a). And history has proved that statement to be true. Over the centuries His ambassadors have often been the object of hatred, scorn and persecution. Even today, there are brothers and sisters around the world are being persecuted and killed because they are ambassadors for Christ. They are suffering, but as they do they know their suffering will point people to the Savior. They know and pray they may remain faithful ambassadors for Christ. The second part of that verse from Mark has Jesus reminding us: “…but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Mark 13:13b).

Dear Jesus, You said Your followers would be persecuted. But You also said that those who endure to the end would be saved. Today I pray for those, many who are nameless, who are being persecuted because You have become their Savior. Help them endure and, even while being persecuted, remain Your ambassadors, proclaiming the forgiveness and freedom You have won. This I ask in Your holy Name. Amen.

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. (Ps. 95:1)

I vividly remember Wednesday morning chapel services when I attended Our Redeemer Lutheran School in Dallas. Most often we used the order of Matins, and we would sing words based on the passage above in the Venite. God is the Rock of our salvation! This imagery is throughout the Old Testament.

When Jacob was blessing his sons, he came to Joseph and referred to God as a Rock, calling him “…the Mighty One of Jacob, … the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.” (Genesis 49:24)

When Moses stood on the brink of the Promised Land, he offered a song of praise, and said: “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” (Deuteronomy 32: 4)

David gathered five smooth stones from the brook as he went forth to do battle with Goliath.  And years later, when He was King David, He spoke of God this way: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior.” 2 Samuel 22:2-3

All through Isaiah we find references to God as the Rock, such as: Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal (Isaiah 26:4).

God was thought of as a ROCK because He is steadfast and firm. It is little wonder, then, that when our Lord Jesus appeared on the scene, he was called the ROCK! He is the Chief Cornerstone, the rock of our salvation. He is strong and mighty to save. Jesus is the Rock!

One Easter years ago at Grace, as people arrived to worship they were given a rock like the one in the picture, with a cross engraved on it. That was risky handing them out at the beginning, but thankfully no one threw one at me during the service. I gave everyone those rocks as reminders of Jesus being the rock of our salvation. He is the Son of God who laid aside His power as God to come down here as one of us, live among us, go through everything we go through, and do it all without sin. He then offered His perfect life on a different kind of altar – the cross. The Rock of your salvation let Himself be sacrificed to pay for your sin.

But on that Easter, I wanted them to remember another rock mentioned in the Gospels. After Jesus died, we are told that Joseph of Arimathea secured permission to take His body from the cross and bury Him.

Matthew 27:59-60 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

That should have been the end. That was how life ended. With a burial. And Jesus had declared on Friday, “It is finished.” The price for sin had been paid by Jesus, the Rock of your salvation. It is finished. The stone sealed the tomb. That was it. But wait … there’s more. Jesus rocked the world — the stone was rolled away! Death could not hold Him. He burst from the tomb to announce life everlasting for all who believe in Him.

May you always remember the Rock of your Salvation and how He rocked the world for you!