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Devotions to help you Think about God’s Word and Apply it to your Lives.

Mission Trip – Last Work Day

This is our last day to work on the house in Acuna. The family has been working alongside of us. There will be some finishing items that they will take care of themselves after we are gone, but the major construction will be finished today, Lord willing.

Our crew of 12 and the Director of Casas por Cristo have worked hard. I don’t mind telling you I am tired. But it is a good kind of tired, knowing that you have been doing something for someone else and thereby serving Jesus. I do not ever want to become weary of doing good, knowing what Jesus already did for me.

Here is the passage I am taking with me into the work day.

Galatians 6:2–10 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.  Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.  The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

 

Mission Trip – Last Work Day2022-11-08T06:45:23-06:00

Mission Trip Day 3

We are about to go work on the house in Acuna, Mexico for a second day. We will put on rafters, decking, and shingles. The exterior walls will be covered with chicken wire and stucco. We will also run the electrical inside the walls and then start putting up the sheetrock.

Yesterday we interacted with the family for whom we are building the home. It is a husband and wife pastor team. We are building the home next to the church they serve. We heard a lot of praising and singing and “Hallelujahs” inside the church building while we were framing walls outside. After the worship service, they and many of their congregation came out to watch and help and interact. They also served us a wonderful meal for lunch, something we were not expecting, but much better than the sandwiches and salads we brought with us. Though there was a language barrier, we could see them expressing God’s love to us and we were trying to do the same for them.

Part of my reading this morning again reminded me why we are here.

2 John 4–6 4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

May you walk in love today, serving your Savior wherever you are.

Mission Trip Day 32022-11-07T06:46:29-06:00

Mission Trip

Yesterday was a travel day. Cheryl and I joined our son-in-law and 9 others from his congregation in Colleyville, Texas and travelled to Del Rio, a part of Texas I have never visited before. For the next three days we will help build a house just outside Acuna, Mexico for a needy family. I am not sure how much time I will have to write devotions for the next couple of days, but I will try.

In the early hours of this morning – with that extra hour from “falling back” – I took some time to read God’s Word. I read through 1 John. The following passage reminds me why I am here right now.

1 John 3:16–20 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. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

We are making a concerted effort to share Jesus with actions and in truth. It just so happens that we are building a house for fellow believers in Christ, but we hope our actions will also speak loudly to those who have not yet come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. I am bold enough to ask my readers to pray for the twelve of us down here. Pray for our safety and that we would let the light of Christ shine through us. Please pray for Terry, Bob, Martin, Jack, Richard, Dave, Ann, Abby, Melody, Renee, Cheryl and Mike.

God bless you as you live for Him today.

Mission Trip2022-11-06T06:48:37-06:00

Will You Go?

I was working outside yesterday when I remembered something that happened over 30 years ago. It was early on a Saturday morning, and we had been out late attending a High School football game and a party after the night before. That afternoon we had an event at our church camp on Lake Texoma. I was trying to sleep in, but the phone rang around 7:30 a.m.  One of the members of my congregation, and a dear friend, was going out to the camp early to start getting things ready, but his vehicle broke down a few miles away from the camp.  He asked me what time I was going to be coming out to the camp. In my not-quite-awake sleep stupor I told him I wasn’t going to be heading that way until midafternoon. He said, “Okay” and hung up the phone. I rolled over and was about to try to go back to sleep when Cheryl asked me who had called. I told her, and she said, “What?” At that instant, I woke up and realized that I had just failed my friend. I was ashamed.  I got up, got dressed, and headed out the door. Thirty minutes later I found him on the side of the road next to his old pickup, and we resolved the issue.

On the drive up there, I thought of the Parable of the Two Sons.

Matthew 21:28–32 28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29 “ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Neither son was without sin. The one who refused to work, but relented and went anyway, ended up doing the will of His father. The Greek word translated here as “changed his mind” has a connotation of remorse. He realized he had done wrong in telling the father he would not work, so he did what he was asked to do.

That was me that early Saturday morning. I had remorse for not agreeing to help my friend right away. I knew I was wrong and changed my behavior.

Jesus commends the tax collectors and prostitutes – known “Sinners” – for listening to John the Baptizer’s message, turning from their sins, repenting, and getting ready for the Messiah. That is what we are all called to do: admit our sin, turn away from it and toward the Father, and live the way He asks us to live. We do this because we know that Jesus has already saved us from all sin. He took our punishment, paid our penalty, satisfied God’s judgment, and gives us life eternal. Our response to this Good News should be to live in a way that shows Him how grateful we are.

I’m still trying to do that in my life.

Will You Go?2022-11-03T11:51:40-05:00

Finding a New Pastor

The congregation in Denison that I served for most of my ministry is still searching for the next pastor God has chosen for them. The congregation I have helped a bit in Port Isabel since my retirement is also searching for a full-time pastor. I have prayed for them and all congregations that find themselves in this position. I know that God is at work in these situations.

While going through some boxes stashed in a closet, I came across a clipping from a church newsletter years ago. The author of this letter to Dear Abby was not identified.

Dear Abby:

One of the toughest tasks a church faces is choosing a good minister. A member of an official board undergoing this painful process finally lost patience. He’d watched the Pastoral Relations Committee reject applicant after applicant for some fault, alleged or otherwise. It was time for a bit of soul-searching on the part of the committee. So he stood up and read a letter purporting to be from another applicant.

“Gentlemen:  Understanding your pulpit is vacant, I should like to apply for the position. I have many qualifications … I’ve been a preacher with much success and also some success as a writer. Some say I’m a good organizer. I’ve been a leader most places I’ve been.

I’m over 50 years of age. I have never preached in one place for more than three years. In some places I have left town after my work has caused some riots and disturbances. I must admit I have been in jail three or four times, but not because of any real wrongdoing. My health is not too good, though I still get a great deal done. The churches I have preached in have been small, though located in several large cities. I’ve not gotten along well with religious leaders in towns where I have preached. In fact, some have threatened me and even attacked me physically. I am not too good at keeping records. I have been known to forget whom I have baptized.

However, if you can use me, I shall do my best for you.”

The board member looked over the committee. “Well, what do you think? Should we call him?”

The good church folks were aghast. Call an unhealthy, trouble-making, absent-minded ex-jailbird?  Was the board member crazy? Who has such colossal nerve?

The board member eyed them all keenly before he answered. “It’s signed, ‘The Apostle Paul.’”

We would do well to remember that each of us, lay and clergy, are sinners who make mistakes but have been covered by the blood of Jesus to make us righteous in God’s sight. And God uses us all as His instruments in this world. He does great things through failed and faulty sinners like us.

I will continue to pray for those congregations in the process of finding a new pastor.

Finding a New Pastor2022-11-03T08:20:40-05:00

The Pioneer

A few months ago Cheryl and I were exploring the Smoky Mountains and drove the Cades Cove loop. We took our time and walked most of the paths to homesteads and mills and churches, reading the signs that described the history of the area before it became part of the National Park.

As we wandered around, I had a thought I have had many times when walking through mountains and thick trees and suddenly finding a home: How did they find this spot and why did they decide to stay here?  Those were brave and hearty souls who settled those remote locations. They went through difficult times to be sure, but they found some beautiful places to live.

Hebrews 12:1–3 (RSV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Most translations call Jesus the “Author and perfecter” or “founder and perfecter” of our faith, but the RSV, which I used in parochial school growing up, rendered this word as “Pioneer.” I like that word. It makes me think of a trailblazer, someone who found that good spot and established a home and opened the way for others to follow him to that place. Jesus did that for us.

Those who are traveling through this life are told to lay aside their burdens and the weight of their sin and run the race before them, looking to the Pioneer who blazed the trail for us all. He went through a lot of hardships to establish our home, to open the path that we can follow to eternal life. He endured the cross to pay the penalty our sins deserve. But He did what was necessary, He was successful and showing us the path to the place He has prepared for us to stay with Him for eternity.

As we go through this life following His path, we will also encounter evil and pain and hardships. But we have the promise that He is with us through those difficult times, right next to us, encouraging us to follow Him all the way to our heavenly home.

The Pioneer2022-11-03T08:19:13-05:00

Cracked Pots

This is a Chinese Proverb I came across years ago.

A water bearer had two large pots. Each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his house.

Of course, the pot that did not leak was proud of its accomplishments, for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes me to leak out all the way back to your house.”

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”

When I think about cracked pots, I think of those terra cotta flowerpots that seem to break so easily. Being a person who is reluctant to throw things away, I have found that they will often still hold plants and are quite useful. Thankfully, God has a similar point of view.

2 Corinthians 4:6–7 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

In the Chinese proverb, the cracked pot shared life-giving water. Jesus said that his followers, we jars of clay, have His light in our hearts that should shine through our cracked pots for others to see. He chooses to use us to take His message to the world around us. We need to show Jesus –  His life, His death, His resurrection – in what we speak and in our actions.

Each of us have our own flaws. God will use the cracks and flaws in your life for His purposes. Rejoice that you are a cracked pot who has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and let His shine through you.

Cracked Pots2022-10-31T09:25:42-05:00

It’s All About Jesus

On October 10, 1999, the American cable network A&E started counting down a list of the 100 most influential people (good or bad) of the millennium, from the year 1000 up through 1999. It was compiled by a group of 360 journalists, scientists, theologians, historians, and scholars from all over the world.

Do you know who was first? It was Gutenberg, the German printer who invented movable-type. Second on the list was Sir Isaac Newton, who contributed to physics, math, and the far reaches of the universe. Do you know who was third? Martin Luther. The guy who wasn’t a scientist, who never led an army, ruled a country, or painted a masterpiece. And it was not just the folks at Biography that felt this way about Luther. TIME Magazine put Luther in the second position of 100 most influential individuals of the last millennium. Here are some of the things he did:

  • He stood up to the anti-Scriptural and misguided teachings of the church in his day.
  • He gave people the Bible in their own language.
  • He promoted education for everyone
  • He wrote music
  • He influenced almost every aspect of religious and secular life.

But here is something Luther did not do. He did not want people to call themselves “Lutheran.” In 1522, Luther, in his own colorful way, wrote:

“I ask that men make no reference to my name and call themselves not Lutherans but Christians. What is Luther? St. Paul would not allow Christians to call themselves Pauline or Petrine. How then should I, a poor evil-smelling maggot sack have men give to the children of Christ my worthless name?”

Luther had a way with words, didn’t he? And he took that position because, above and beyond everything else, he used the Bible to point people to the grace of God which is found only in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the world’s Savior. Luther pointed out that the Bible wanted lost and sinful souls to realize that when the Holy Spirit gives them faith in the Savior, there is forgiveness and life eternal. That is why the Reformation is so significant. It is all about sharing Jesus.

When we celebrate the Reformation and the way God used Luther to restore the truth of His Word, we are not pointing people to Martin Luther. We are pointing people to Jesus. And it isn’t about our size or our strength. It is about what God can do. That was the reminder He issued through Zechariah when His people were given the daunting task of rebuilding the Temple after the Babylonian Captivity:

Zechariah 4:6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

As the ones who have the Reformation as part of our heritage, we need to trust God’s power at work in us as we continue to point others to Jesus as the only hope for a fallen world. It is all about Jesus. He alone is our hope for life and forgiveness and salvation.

 

 

 

It’s All About Jesus2022-10-30T06:39:41-05:00

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

This Psalm was David’s cry for mercy after being confronted with his sin of murdering Uriah the Hittite so that he could have Bathsheba for his own wife. David had a man killed so that he could have his wife. David admitted his sin, owned up to it, and pleaded for God’s mercy. This psalm is an earnest admission of guilt. David didn’t try to pass the blame. He acknowledged that he was a poor, miserable sinner, one who deserved nothing but punishment from God. But his words also show that he knew God had promised mercy for Jesus’ sake. Sure, this was long before Jesus had been born, but David believed God’s promise of a Savior. He talks about the salvation God gives. He knew that Good News was for him.

You and I have the same evil in our hearts that led David to sin. Jesus spoke of that in His Sermon on the Mount.

Mark 7:21-23  For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man `unclean.'”

A point Jesus was trying to make is that people spend more time worrying about things OUTSIDE of them while the problem is in our own HEARTS. We are more concerned with appearances than we are with the sinful condition of our hearts. Sprucing up the outside while ignoring the inside would be like spending all your time polishing and waxing your car, but never servicing the engine or changing the oil. Or it is like putting a new coat of paint on a house that has been infested with termites. The outside may try to hide what is inside, but it is still there. Evil resides within us, in our hearts. We need clean hearts. We need to cry out with David, Create in me a clean heart, O God.

God does that, He gives us clean hearts. It is not our doing, but God’s. When you do the kind of soul-searching David did in that Psalm, when you recognize your sin and admit it to yourself and to God, when you have put your faith in Jesus, the Good News of the forgiveness God accomplished through Jesus will be most meaningful to you. Since Jesus has paid the price for sin with a perfect life and an innocent death, God gives those who believe in Him clean hearts.

The heart is the heart of the matter. As is your heart, so is your life. To live the life God desires, you must have a clean heart. That happens when you cling to the promises God has made in His Word. Jesus died to wash away the stain of sin from your heart. Jesus rose again so that you might live in purity before God. He has washed you so that you might respond to God with the actions that come from a clean heart.

Our continued prayer needs to be that God would cleanse and change our hearts to enable us to live a new life as His children.

Psalm 512022-10-29T04:40:26-05:00

Good News/Bad News

On Thursday Cheryl was driving to our youngest daughter’s house to watch the grandkids while mom and dad had a night out. On the way, something hit the windshield right in front of her with such impact that she had glass shards on her clothing. The bad news is that we had just replaced her windshield the month before because of a crack. In fact, this makes the fourth windshield we have put in her car in the 4 ½ years we have owned it. The good news is that the safety glass did what it was supposed to do and she was not harmed. Scared, yes, but not injured. Our lives are all about Good News and Bad News.

There is a Chinese parable that tells of an old man who lived with his son in an abandoned fort. One night the old man’s only horse wandered away. His neighbors all came to say how sorry they were about his misfortune. He replied, “How do you know this is ill fortune?” A week later, the horse came home, bringing with him a whole herd of wild horses. The neighbors came again, this time to congratulate him on his good fortune. The old man replied, “How do we know this is good?” As the days went on, the man’s son began to try to break the horses by riding them. One of them threw him and broke his leg. Again, the neighbors came to tell him how sorry they were about his bad luck. The old man asked, “How do you know it is bad?” A few days later along came a Chinese warlord who conscripted all able-bodied men for his private war. But the old man’s son, with his broken leg, was far from able-bodied and avoided the draft. Once more, the neighbors gathered to rejoice with the old man at his good fortune.  The story continues on in this manner.

That story is the story of all our lives. We may not always have the perspective of that old man, but perhaps we should. We can rejoice, even in bad times, with the knowledge of God’s love, His concern, His care, and His promises to us. With faith in Jesus as our Savior, we are God’s dearly loved children who are always safe in His keeping. We know all these things because the Spirit has revealed this truth to us in the Word. The more you read and spend time with God’s Word, the more you will be comforted and assured by it. We also receive the assurance of forgiveness through the Sacraments. You can remember your baptism and be comforted by knowing God has put His name on you and claimed you as His child. Each time you receive the Sacrament of the body and blood of Jesus, which joins you to Him and to other believers, you are assured forgiveness and eternal life.

Good News/Bad News may be the story of our lives, but it is also the message of Scripture.

  • Abraham – the Good News was God spoke to Him. The Bad News was He wanted Abraham to sacrifice his son.
  • Joseph – The bad news was that his brothers sold him into slavery. The Good News was that God used that to save his family.
  • The Bad News was that Jesus was brutally tortured and killed on a cross. The Good News is that His death has paid for your sins.

Today Cheryl and I will attend the funeral of a dear brother in Christ. The Bad News is he died. The Good News is that he had faith in Jesus, so he is now with his Lord and Savior.

That is the overall message of Scripture: The Bad News is our sin. The Good News is what God has done for us in Christ. Through His sacrifice, we have the certainty of forgiveness and acceptance from God.

Good News/Bad News2022-10-29T04:33:15-05:00

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