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In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. The Flag Resolution passed on that day stated: “Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”  That star spangled banner has changed a bit over the years, but we still observe Flag Day to remind us that we live in a nation that gives us rights and freedoms.

Over the years, a lot more has changed than the flag. Our freedoms have allowed those with different values and beliefs to live alongside us. In recent times, it seems as though beliefs that conflict with those of Christians are being forced upon us by society. That can be frustrating at times, but it is always an opportunity for us to let our light shine.

I identify with the flag of the United States of America. I feel happy and blessed to be part of this nation. But I have an even greater allegiance to something else: my Lord and my Savior. I want to stand under His banner.

Banners are mentioned in Scripture, often as rallying points for groups of people. A banner would identify those who gathered under it. That being said, take a look at the following passages.

Exodus 17:15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.

The Lord Himself, the God of Creation, the God of Salvation, the God who makes us holy, is the one under whom we gather. We want to be identified as His, and He has claimed us as His own dearly loved children. Knowing that is what we are, we strive to live His way in grateful response to having been brought into His family.

Song of Solomon 2:4 He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.

This love song can be understood as describing the love God has for His people, the love that Christ has for the Church. God’s love can also be the banner under which we gather, because John tells us quite plainly the God is Love (1 John 4:8). That love is the reason we have the certainty of God’s forgiveness. It led Jesus to come down here as offer Himself as the payment for the sins of the world.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I am grateful to rally under the US flag. But even more important is that I gather with my brothers and sisters in Christ under the banner of the redeeming love of God.

This past Sunday Bible Class I attended was was on Matt 9:9-13.

Matthew 9:9–13 ⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. ¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” ¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

We spent a lot of time discussing the fact that Jesus ate with sinners. Of course He did! If He didn’t eat with sinners, He would always have eaten alone. It was for sinners, including you, that He came into this world.

Because many in our society are observing what they call “Pride Month,” the pastor asked whether or not we thought Jesus would attend a Pride parade. It made for an interesting dialogue. It is sometimes hard to know the correct way to show love to people caught up in a sin without approving of their sinful behavior.

Today’s world has tried to tell followers of Jesus what it means to love. They will say that if you love someone, you will accept them as they are, including their sin. They want us to condone sinful behavior. And they are sometimes reluctant to be around Christians because they are afraid of being condemned. I remember when the AIDS epidemic was in full force, an organization was established in our county to render assistance to victims. They asked for volunteers to help deliver meals and run errands for people who had this terrible disease. I called to volunteer. When they found out I was a pastor, they told me I was not welcome. Evidently they were afraid that, instead of showing God’s love, I would be condemning and judgmental. I was very disappointed that I could not help, and also that they assumed the worst about those who were followers of Jesus.

I would rather try to follow the example of Jesus. He showed us how to love. He spoke the Law forcefully at times, but He was also gentle and kind. His love led Him to lay down His life to pay for the sins of the world. Paul affirmed that in his first letter to Timothy:

1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

Jesus did not do that so that we would continue to sin or insist on our right to behave in ways contrary to His will.

Getting back to the question: Would Jesus attend a Pride parade? I shared with the class that I could not think of a single time Jesus celebrated or affirmed people in their sins. Instead, He would spend time with sinners and encourage them to “go and sin no more.”

Our pastor shared the thought that while the world says we should love them just as they are, God loves us too much to leave us where we are. That is why Jesus paid the price for sin, so that we could be forgiven and live a new life, starting now.

Our challenge is to show God’s love to those caught up in their sins, along with the message that God has something better for them. God help us to do that in our living.

A few days ago Cheryl and I were driving to an RV dealership to trade our camper in for something smaller. We had already made the deal, so we were delivering our old camper and picking up our new one. We were in heavy traffic on the south side of Dallas when all of a sudden a tire from another vehicle rolled right in front of us and was heading down our lane the same direction we were going. I don’t know where it came from, it just showed up. At first it was going the same speed we were, but then it started slowing down. I was pulling a large trailer with cars on either side of me, so I could not swerve to miss it. I was braking as hard and fast as I could, but was not slowing down quickly enough. We were about to run over this very large tire when at he last second it veered right just enough for me to narrowly avoid hitting it. While I didn’t see it, Cheryl said the guy driving a pickup next to us, who was also pulling a trailer, gave us a thumbs up!

I said a quick thank you prayer while I waited for my heart to quit racing. And my mind started to think how fortunate I was to not have an accident. Two Psalm passages occurred to me.

Psalm 91:11–12 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Psalm 31:14–15 But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.”  My times are in your hands.

Even as I did not see the guy give me the thumbs up, I did not see the angels that pushed that tire out of my lane. I am so grateful for God’s care and those angels who must put in a lot of time watching over me to keep me safe. And I am confident that my life and times are in the hands of the one who created me, redeemed me from sin and death, and made me holy by bringing me to faith in Jesus. I also live with the conviction that when I die, my life and times are still in His loving hands.

I have things I want to do and plan to do while I am still here on earth, but I am also prepared to go and be with Jesus when He is ready for me. I mentioned that to Cheryl the other day, and she said she was not ready for me to go just yet. I know what she means and how she feels. But I also know she is just as prepared as I am because she had placed her faith and life and confidence in the hands of the same loving God.

Romans 14:8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

I pray you have this faith and confidence as well.

Cheryl and I just spent a few days visiting our oldest daughter and her husband. It was a wonderful time. Part of it was spent reminiscing. Rachel reminded me of a children’s message I did years ago that, as is often the case when working with children, didn’t come off quite like I planned.

The message I wanted to share is that even if we cannot see God with us, we always have His Word speaking to us. After a few words of welcome and introduction, I held a  large white sheet in front of me so the children could not see me. I had carefully positioned my hands so that they could not be seen as well. Then I continued talking to the children, which invoked some giggles and laughter. I asked if they knew who I was, and they said “Pastor.” Then I asked, “How do you know it is me if you can’t see me?”  A little fellow named Jon said very loudly, “I can see your shoes!”

Now whether or not he could actually see my shoes is open for debate, but the entire congregation erupted with laughter at that point. And even though it changed the message I was trying to deliver that day, Jonathan made an important point. We have lots of evidence of God’s presence in our lives everyday. A beautiful sunrise. A powerful storm. The cycle of nature with new life every spring. All the marvels of the universe.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

While nature and the world around us tell us there is a God who is in control of everything, it is Scripture that tells us who He is. So many cultures have come to a conclusion that someone or something is in control, and have developed ways to try to appease this “god’s” anger through sacrifice and ritual and obedience. They did not have the true God’s revelation of Himself in His Word to instruct them.

We know from Scripture that God loves us and wants the best for us, so much so that He did what was needed to rescue us from the condemnation our sins deserve. In the Bible we discover this simple truth:  God is love (1 John 4:8). That love showed up when Jesus came to live among us, took on human flesh, lived without sin, and paid for the sins of the world with His death. His victorious resurrection on the third day destroyed death’s power over us, and assures us of eternity with our loving God.

As you see evidence of God in the world around you today – His shoes, if you will – remember what He has told you about Himself in His Word, and rejoice in that Good News.

I ended my last devotion mentioning that we need to share what we know about who Jesus is with those who have not heard or believed in Him. That is not something we are able to do on our own, and we don’t have to do so. We have a helper, God Himself, the Comforter, the promised Holy Spirit.

All three persons of our one true God are mentioned in this verse:

2 CORINTHIANS 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

The fellowship of the Holy Spirit.  “Fellowship” is the same Greek word that is used for “communion” and “union.”  Think about that as you read/sing the third verse of Luther’s hymn (LSB #954).

Who the church, His own creation, keeps in unity of spirit. The Holy Spirit is usually spoken of as the Sanctifier. He is the one who brought the church into existence by bringing people to faith. We celebrated the birthday of the Christian Church last week on Pentecost, remembering the Spirit’s activity on that day. But the Holy Spirit does more than just lead us to faith. He stays with us, and continues to work in us through the Word and the Sacraments to keep us faithful.

Dwight Moody was once talking about the need to avoid sin. He held up an empty glass and asked, “How can I get the air out of this glass?” One man said, “Suck it out with a pump!”  Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass.” After many other impossible suggestions, Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. He said, “There, now the air is removed from the glass.” He went on to explain that our victorious lives as Christians is similar. We do not become acceptable to God by trying to “suck out” all the sin form our lives, but by being filled with the Holy Spirit. He is the one who is able to bring us to faith, the faith that saves. And after we have that faith, the Spirit works to guide us in that paths of righteousness, doing works that are pleasing in God’s sight.

Do not despair if you cannot understand the mystery of the Triune God. The only reason for despair would be if you did not believe it to be true. Because we accept God’s Word in faith, we do all believe in one true God, the God who cares for us, came to save us, and is always with us as our guide and comforter. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 CORINTHIANS 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

The Grace Of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Source of ev’ry grace and blessing. Those words are so true, yet they seem inadequate. God Himself became one of us not only to help us understand who He is, but also in order to take our sins upon Himself. Here we see God as someone we can understand. Yet so many fail to believe in Him. They will not accept the free gift of grace that He offers: forgiveness of all sins, salvation from death, and eternal life with Him.

When Queen Victoria lived at Balmoral Castle, she would often enjoy taking walks disguised as a peasant. On one occasion, she went for such a walk accompanied only by one faithful servant, who followed behind her. Along the road, she came upon a flock of sheep being driven by a boy, who shouted, “Keep out of the way you stupid old woman.” The Queen smiled and said nothing. When the servant reached the boy, he informed the lad that she was the Queen. “Well,” said the boy, “then she should dress like a queen.”

Perhaps many do not recognize Jesus because He did not dress like the King that He was. But then again, maybe not. His first coming was not as a mighty king. He came as one of us, nothing noticeably special or extraordinary about Him. But there was something special. He lived a life without sin, the life we could not live. And those who put their faith in Him have cause for rejoicing. You receive His righteousness as your own. You know without a doubt that you are forgiven. You know that salvation is yours as a gift from God for Jesus’ sake. Yet we also know that there are many in the world who have not heard. Jesus told us to be His witnesses to these people.

Today is Trinity Sunday, the day of the Church Year we focus on the doctrine of the church that attempts to set forth the teachings of Bible about God. Triune, meaning three in one, is the word that describes God’s revelation of Himself to us. Even though Triune and Trinity are not recorded in the Bible, they describe what is said about God. Our God is one God, the only God. Yet He has shown Himself to us as three distinct persons in that one God. While this teaching will remain a mystery to us, something beyond our comprehension, we nevertheless hold it forth as God’s truth and accept it in faith.

Some people have argued that this doctrine was the invention of the early Christian Church, but in fact the multiple persons of God can be seen already in the first verses of the Bible. The creation account speaks of God and the Spirit of God. And a few verses later, God says Let Us create man in Our own image. In the benediction God told Aaron and his sons to use, the one our liturgies normally use at the conclusion of our worship, we hear The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; The Lord look upon you with favor, and give you His peace. (Numbers 6:22-27). Three references to the Lord in the common blessing used in the Old Testament displays that the children of Israel knew something of the multiple persons of our God. And the threefold Holy! Holy! Holy! reference is found in Isaiah, in his vision of the angels circling the throne:

Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Of course, the New Testament sheds even more light on the nature of our God. God reveals Himself most clearly in the person of Jesus, the one who came to pay the price for all sin so that we could have forgiveness and eternal life. At the Baptism of Jesus, all three persons of the Triune God are present: The Father speaks, the Son is standing there in the water, the Spirit descending in the form of a dove. When He commissioned His disciples, Jesus instructs them to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And throughout the writings of Paul we find the clear testimony that our one God is three persons.

On this Trinity Sunday, reflect on and contemplate and marvel at the mystery of the three persons of the one true God, the Triune God. He is the one who created everything, redeemed His fallen creation from the consequences of sin, and does what is necessary to bring us to faith and keep us in that faith.

In the coming days, I will share more thoughts on the three persons of the our one true God.