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The following is taken from something my daughter Bethany shared online a few years ago. She was working part-time in children’s ministry at a Church in the Denver area at the time.

Yesterday was the epitome of a Monday. We were all dragging in the morning getting out the door, and my “to do” list at work was longer than I could accomplish in a week.

The first big thing I decided to tackle was a quick trip to Walmart. When I got back to the office I went to grab my receipt to turn in to our finance manager. My wallet wasn’t in my office. I went to the car, and it wasn’t there either. I knew at this point I left it in the cart at Walmart. I got on the phone with my local Walmart while taking the two-minute drive to get there. They didn’t have anything turned in. The carts had been put away from where I returned my cart.

 Panic set in. I called Scott. I then called the local police office. Everything was in there… my work card, my personal cards, my ID, and of course my IKEA family member card! Maybe that last one doesn’t matter… I figured out how to “lock” my cards on my banking app, so my cards could not be used. Panic…

 Then I remembered we had an Apple air tag on my wallet. Scott started tracking it and someone was moving with it. MORE panic. He’s watching it move across a park. Then it stopped. My wallet was taken to the police station one city over from my work!

 I could not believe it! I drove there right away, and when I arrived I was so excited. First she asked for my ID… I mean really? Yes, she was serious. She went to look for it, and then she told me the strangest thing. Since the wallet was recovered in the other town they told the man who was trying to turn in my wallet to drive to the other precinct. I was angry!! I mean really!!!!???  This kind man was trying to be a Good Samaritan and was told to take it somewhere else!! Are you kidding me?!?

 Tracking the wallet continues, and it stops for about an hour without an exact location pinpointed. (It needs to ping off iPhones to stay updated on location.) I talked to the police again, and they told me to contact them at 2 p.m. if it does not show up anywhere. At 1:30pm I received a call from the local police office. My wallet was there waiting for me. The gentleman dropped it off!! When I arrived they jokingly (this time!) asked for my ID. Everything was in there. Even my $5 cash I had. I was in awe! I asked them to give the gentleman who turned it in my number.

 He called me about 20 minutes later.Dennis was my hero yesterday. He told me he wanted to do the right thing. He didn’t trust people enough to leave it at Walmart, and he apologized he didn’t return it sooner. He had lunch plans he didn’t want to miss. I think I said thank you 20 times in 4 minutes.

 God sent Dennis to me yesterday. God knew I needed to slow down and remember there are good people in the world. Today I am thankful for Dennis. I am thankful for the reminder that God is alive, in control, and He is on His throne.

I thought maybe some of you needed that reminder today, too.

Romans 8:32 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?

1 Corinthians 13  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Two small boys went to the dentist’s office and waited for him to finish his appointments. When he came to the waiting room, the older boy said, “Doctor, I want a tooth taken out, and I don’t want any gas, and I don’t want it deadened because we’re in a hurry.” The doctor smiled and said, “You’re a brave young man! You want a tooth pulled and you don’t want any gas and you don’t want it deadened.” The boy said, “That’s right, ’cause we’re in a hurry.” The dentist replied, “Well, O.K. Which tooth is it?” The little boy turned to his smaller friend and said, “Show him your tooth, Albert!”

I think most of us know people like that. They like to make decisions for someone else, not really concerned about how it will affect the other person. Their only concern is how it will affect them personally. And I’m sure most of you have been guilty of that at times. Selfishness takes control. That is anything but the loving kind of attitude that Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 13. He says that love should be the over-riding influence in the life of the Church. That is our goal! Love dictates our actions!

Some of the last lines written by playwright Oscar Hammerstein include the phrase, “Love isn’t love ’til you give it away.” I think that conveys the sentiment of the kind of love God would have us show. It is not something we keep to ourselves or direct only at our own person, but we are to love others as an expression of the new life to which we have been called. True Christian love is concerned for the other person and seeks their good.

These words were aimed at the church as a whole. The apostle was urging believers to get along with one another in the Christian community. He tells us that it is possible to have all kinds of gifts, to attend worship every week, and still miss the point of this chapter. In the previous chapter Paul wrote about Spiritual Gifts. In the middle of his discussion of spiritual gifts, he starts talking about good ol’ hard-working love. That love is unconditional; there are no strings attached. It is a love that is not earned or bought, but is given freely. He states that love is far superior to spiritual gifts. You need to use your gifts as God intends. You may be very talented, a great speaker or teacher or administrator, but if God’s love in Jesus Christ does not fill and flow through your efforts, they are ineffective. That is why Paul says that love is “the greatest.” Love has the most fruits. Love is where your faith is put into action with fellow men.

Earlier I quoted that phrase, “Love isn’t love ‘til you give it away.” We know this to be true from our own life experience. We have also seen this graphically demonstrated by God Himself in the gift of Jesus to be our Redeemer. We begin to receive and understand the joy of love by remembering where it comes from: God so loved the world (the same kind of love spoken of in our text) that He gave His son to die for our sins (including the sin of not loving) so that whoever believes in Him might have never-ending life.You know this from John 3:16. But there is another verse in 1 John 3:16 that explains this even further:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

The ultimate expression of love was God’s rescue of you and me and all men from hell. That was done through the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His death was accepted by God as the full payment for sin. Through faith, you make that payment your own, and are forgiven. This act of God’s love is at the core of our existence as Christians. It should be our motivation to love others as God has loved us.

1 Corinthians 15:53–57 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A few days ago I shared some thoughts on Victory and Defeat. I’ve done some more thinking about that. I remember growing up that I would watch a program on Saturday afternoons entitled “ABC’s Wide World of Sports.” The host Jim McKay would say during the program intro “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

Lately I’ve been watching lot of college basketball. A recent game between Texas A&M and Ole Miss saw my team, the Aggies, behind the entire game. However, with less than 15 seconds to go, a player who is not normally a starter and who is not known for shooting the long shot made a 3 point basket, giving them the lead, their first lead of the game, and they went on to win. Unfortunately, in their next game, the Aggies lost a game they had led the whole way in the same fashion. The other team beat them with a last second shot!

The cross reminds us that Christ has obtained victory through what the world considered to be a defeat. Jesus was put to death. How can that be a victory? What we have here is Victory in Defeat. I don’t mean Jesus hit a buzzer beating shot. It is much better than that. It does not make sense from a worldly point of view.

You and I know that the cross was a defeat. Although, things are not always as they appear. The defeat is not of Jesus, not a defeat of God – it was His defeat of sin and death and the devil. By the cross, Jesus made payment for sins in order to bring us life. Jesus won the victory through what the world sees as Him being defeated.

The Duke of Wellington led the English forces against Napoleon at Waterloo. News of the history making battle came by sailing vessels to the southern coast of England. It made its way across land toward London by semaphore. Atop Winchester Cathedral, the semaphore began to spell out the eagerly awaited news. A dense fog settled in just as the words “Wellington defeated” were spelled out. The semaphore was no longer visible, and the heartbreaking news of his defeat spread throughout London. Before long, the fog lifted, and again the semaphore atop the cathedral was visible. This time the entire message was spelled out. “Wellington defeated the enemy.”

That is how it is when you first look at the cross It may have appeared that Christ had lost when he died, but the entire message needs to be heard. Jesus defeated the enemy. His death paid for sin. But He did not remain dead. He rose again from the dead to let us know that His victory is for all people. Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness and life everlasting. So we proclaim Christ crucified, the most important truth that people need to hear: God has in Christ reconciled the world to Himself. Jesus won the victory. And that victory is given to all who believe that He is their Savior.

Without faith in Jesus all that awaits us is the agony of defeat. With faith in Him, the thrill of victory is ours. Death swallowed up in victory. Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I remember when my girls were young, less than ten years old, they thought I was their hero, their champion, the one who could fix things and make things right. They would get excited when I came home and want to spend time with me, show me things they had learned and just spend time with me. e

Eventually they all reached the age that they came to the conclusion that I was probably the stupidest man on earth. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t understand how the world worked. So they would shut me out and roll their eyes at me.

At some point, somehow, eventually, I got smarter. They would ask my advice and input on things again. I wasn’t just the old guy who didn’t understand.

Through it all, I have loved my children. Immensely. I have always been fiercely protective of them and tried to shield them from harm. But my love also allowed them the freedom to make their own decisions, which sometimes I did not agree with. But there was never a point that I was willing to let them be harmed. And I would never have willingly let them be put in a position that they might be seriously injured or killed, even if it meant helping someone else.

I know how much I love my girls. I cannot fully comprehend how much God the Father loves us.

1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

I think we spend too much of our lives like teenagers who think God just doesn’t understand the real world in which we live, that He has no concept of what we need or is best for us. Yet the love of our heavenly Father values us, His adopted children, so much that He was willing to sacrifice His Son to give us life. Mind blowing love. Love that I rejoice in even though I am not able to grasp the magnitude of it.

Romans 8:32 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?

God’s love not only rescues and restores and redeems us, it blesses us constantly and abundantly on this side of heaven.

These days, I have regained hero status among my grandchildren. They have not yet concluded that I don’t know anything. I’m taking advantage of that and enjoying it for as long as it lasts. And one of the things I whisper in their ears when they hug me is, “Papa loves you. But Jesus loves you more.” I want Him to always be their true hero.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things– and the things that are not– to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God– that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Yesterday there was a big football game. I didn’t watch very much of it. I found out this morning who won and who lost. The Philadelphia Eagles have bragging rights until the next season begins. They take pride in the fact that they were able to overcome all of their opponents by their own strength and desire and inner resolve. They are the champions.

Victory and Defeat. Those words are used to describe the same thing from different perspectives. Either you gain the victory or you are defeated. And the same is true when we consider what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.

The cross reminds us that Christ has obtained victory through what the world considers to be foolish, weak and lowly things. This victory was obtained through the entire life of Christ, beginning with the fact that He became one of us. And that, of course, is something that the world continues to dismiss as foolishness. To the religious leaders of His day and many of God’s chosen people, Jesus did not appear to be anything special, certainly not the one they had been waiting for, the Messiah.

This passage above was written to the Corinthians because they were a people who prided themselves in their religious knowledge and boasted about it to the world. Paul was trying to remind them that apart from what God had done for them, they were nothing. They were not wise, not influential, not of noble birth. They were not worth choosing. And the same can be said of all of us. God’s Law reminds us that on our own merit, we are nothing in His sight, nothing but defeated and damned without Christ.

When you reach that point, you are prepared to accept the righteousness, holiness and redemption that God has for you. While coming to faith in Christ is something that is in your past, you should not forget about it. Paul encouraged his readers to REMEMBER what they were. You should remember, too. You should daily confess your sins, remember your Baptism, and receive God’s forgiveness. You should rejoice in the foolishness of preaching and the Lord’s Supper, because you know that they are the source of wisdom and forgiveness and life. The very things the world considers foolish, weak and lowly are what God used and uses to bring His salvation to the world.

If you remember, as Paul encourages here, it will change your living, like he wanted the Corinthians to change their living. Afflictions, weaknesses, illness, even death will become reminders of the victory you have through faith in Jesus. God uses things like this to remind us of our own weakness, and that of the world. At the same time, these things remind us of the victory over all things that comes through Christ. Knowing what Jesus has done for you through His death and resurrection, the bad things in life take on a different meaning. Remembering the victory you have in Christ, these things should cause you to look away from yourself and to Christ. You take part in His weakness. You boast in foolish and weak and lowly things because you know the victory Jesus gives.

Someone once asked why do they call it the Super Bowl and proclaim a team World Champions if they know they are going to do it all again next year? While the Super Bowl is played year after year, the Victory that Christ won for us is for all time. It is a done deal. By His death He has destroyed death, and by His rising has brought life and immortality to light. Sin, death and the devil have been defeated. Through faith, His Victory is ours.

I’m about to go in to my Dentist’s office for a routine cleaning and check up. I remember a few years back going in and the lady doing the cleaning was someone I had not met before. When she found out I was a retired pastor, she had several comments and questions about her Bible readings. Of course, she was asking those questions while she had her instruments in my mouth and I was unable to answer!

One of the things she mentioned was that she read a passage that spoke of some of the apostles being married and she said, “I guess I never really thought about them having wives and taking them along with them!” I think the passage she was referring to was 1 Corinthians 9:5  “Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?” While Paul was not married, he tells us that other apostles were, including Cephas (Simon Peter), which we know from the Gospel accounts as well.

While I am not comparing myself to the apostles, after a career as a full-time church worker, I could not imagine what that would have been like if I had not been married. Being single might have made scheduling easier, but I would have missed out on so much joy and happiness. God led me to a fantastic, wonderful, God-fearing wife and has blessed our union with children and grandchildren.

Just so you know, Cheryl knew what she was getting into. She was a preacher’s kid, too, and part of my proposal to her included the fact that I was planning to go to the seminary. And she still said yes!

God knew it would not be good for this man to be alone. To me, this is further evidence of His grace in my life. The same God who loved me enough to provide His Son to be my Savior cares enough to be involved in the details of my individual circumstances. His love and care and mercy continues to astound me.

A study In a South American orphanage a number of years ago determined the importance of human touch and the lack thereof. Because of staff shortages, children who were deprived of emotional and physical contact showed signs of abnormality:  a loss of appetite, being unable to sleep well, a vacant expression in their eyes. It got worse as time went on. Most of them suffered serious psychological damage (Charles Sell, Unfinished Business, Multnomah, 1989).

Many of us have experienced this firsthand. Just a few years ago we had pandemic restrictions, sheltering at home, isolation from the ones we love, not being able to freely shake hands and hug other people. That gave us an accurate picture of what it is like to live without the touch of others. I heard some horror stories of family members and friends in nursing homes who lived like prisoners, totally cut off from human contact. Some had loved ones die and were not allowed to be with them to even say goodbye before they passed. That is not how God intended us to live our lives. He knows we need interaction with others. He also knows we need interaction with Him.

Luke 24:36–49 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

After Jesus had died to pay for sin and had risen from the dead, our Lord appeared to His disciples and encouraged them to “Touch me and see” that He is real and alive. He wanted them to interact with Him on a personal and tangible level. He wants the same for those of us living today. He wants us to experience His presence in our lives, to have life and have it to the full. We know that He died and rose again for us, and that changes who we are. It changes the way we live. It changes the way we die. It changes the way we worship. It changes the way we work. The Resurrection changes everything.

Jesus says to you: “Touch me and see. I’ll show you. My resurrection is for real.” And we all need that reassuring touch. His peace and presence and power are available freely today through the Word and Sacraments and through the fellowship of faith. Even though we are not able to see and interact with Jesus visibly as those first disciples did, He still wants you to “touch and see” Him. Keep in touch.

Recently I have been drawn to the Psalms, and the Lord continues to speak to me His encouraging word. I am reminded of His love for me, which was displayed most clearly in the face of Christ. Knowing that He lived, died and rose again for me, so that I could be forgiven and have the certainty of life everlasting…it just doesn’t get any better than that.

Today, I want you to read Psalm 62. Rather than offering any comments on it, I just want you to read it for yourself and let God speak His words of comfort and assurance and certainty to you.

Psalm 62

1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
3 How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
4 They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Selah
5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah
9 Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong,
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.