revmattil.org

Matthew 5:14–16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Thursday Cheryl and I flew to Lubbock and back for the funeral I mentioned. The service was a wonderful celebration of what God did for Roy (and all of us) in sending Jesus to be our Savior. It was good to see his family and a lot of other friends we had not seen for a while.

After an early morning flight, we stopped in Lubbock for breakfast. As is our custom, we told our server, Victoria, that we were going to pray for God to bless our meal and we were going to pray for her as well. Was there anything in particular she would like us to pray about?  She said she had a friend back home in Hawaii, Gweneviere, whose boyfriend of 5 years complained of a severe headache. She took him to the hospital, and doctors said he had a very rare and untreatable form of cancer. He died that night. Victoria was having a hard time not being able to visit with her. We told her that we were in town for a funeral. And then we held her hands as we prayed. The prayer went something like this.

“Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the safe journey we had this morning. Be with us as we gather to remember Roy and your goodness to him in his life. We also ask you to bless our meal. We pray for Victoria and her friend, Gweneviere. May your strong presence comfort them in this difficult time. Help them to cling to the promises that you kept in coming here to pay for our sin so that we could know your love, mercy, forgiveness and comfort in our lives. We pray this in your holy name. Amen.”

She thanked us and walked away quickly. She was very attentive during the meal, and when we were done, she came by to speak with us again. She said she had already taken care of our meal for us. I told her that was not necessary, but she said it was already done. She also told us she went to the kitchen and cried after we prayed with her, and then thanked us for being such special people. We told her we were just trying to share God’s love with her. She walked away, and we left her a tip that more than covered the cost of the meal, along with a short handwritten note from Cheryl.

That night, after we landed back in Dallas, we took a shuttle to our parking lot. It was crowded. A man, woman and young boy sat next to us. Cheryl was interacting with the boy a bit and visiting with his mom. We had been holding hands the whole time. Then Cheryl rested her head on my shoulder. The lady asked, “How long have you been married?”  I replied, “43 years.” She said, “That’s what I want. I can tell you love each other a lot.”  I said, “God has been very good to us.”  And we visited a bit more.

We often fail to realize the impact our actions have on those around us. Two simple scenes illustrate the opportunities we have to share the love of God in Christ in our everyday conversations.

And please don’t think I am bragging. Absolutely not. You see, Cheryl and I know the wretched sinners that we are. So does Jesus. But we also know what He did for us to be forgiven. And we want others to know it, too. We live in the confidence that He is with us now and we will be with our Lord forever. So we try to live in a way that will let people know, too, so we take advantage of the chances we have to share His good news.

1 Peter 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

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Cheryl and I will be co-hosting a trip to Greece next year with Donna Snow:  “Walk in the Footsteps of Paul.”

Links to the registration and brochure, along with previous devotions, can be found at revmattil.org.  If you want more information, email mike@revmattil.org.

Sometimes you wonder what happens to people. You cross paths with someone, interact with him for a while, but then you lose track of him. You might think of him from time to time, but you have no contact information so you pray that he is doing well and go on with your life.

That happened to me many times. In a few cases, I would hear from that person many years later, but more often than not I was left wondering.

One such individual was someone I’ll call Mike. Mike showed up in my office one day with a lot of questions. He was searching. We talked for quite a while that day. He came to worship services and Bible Class for a time, and then faded away. A while later he started attending again. He made more visits to me in my office. We talked a number of times. I tried to make sure that Mike heard what God had done for him in sending Jesus to live and suffer and die and rise again FOR HIM. If memory serves, he started attending one of my Adult Instruction Classes that would lead to membership, but did not complete the course. I didn’t see him for a while. Then the lockdown for Covid 19 hit, and 5 months later I retired. I have been retired for almost two years now, and I got this message yesterday from Mike:

“Good afternoon. I finally did it. I know it has been a while since I walked into your office. I walked in there on August 22,2017. Today, August 21, 2022, 5 years later I was confirmed at Grace Lutheran Church, Denison, Texas. Lots of love brother.”

Reading that brought a smile to my face. Many times you sow the seed, but do not see any results. However, this time I got to hear what God did, using someone as flawed and sinful as me along the way. I played a small part, but it was the part God wanted me to fill. And I thought of Paul’s words to the church in Corinth.

1 Corinthians 3:6–9 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

God is the one who saves people, not us. We just share the message. And don’t underestimate the importance of doing the task assigned to you. Whether it is planting or watering or whatever, it all needs doing. The Holy Spirit will work through your witness, and God will bring the increase.

Lord, thank you for using me to help “Mike” in his faith journey. Remind each person reading this that You can and will use them, too. Help them sow the seed of Your Word and promises, letting their light shine for you. Amen.

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Cheryl and I will be co-hosting a trip to Greece next year with Donna Snow:  Walk in the Footsteps of Paul.  The links to the brochure and registration form are below.

https://www.artesianministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/10-Day-2023-Greece-Tour-Brochure.pdf

https://www.artesianministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/10-Day-Greece-3-Night-Cruise-Registration-Form-SnowG23.pdf

Hebrews 13:7–9 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace…

Think about the person who was instrumental in helping you understand Jesus and His love. I would imagine you have good memories about that person. While he or she was not perfect, they did a good job of pointing you to Jesus. They told you about His perfect life, His death on the cross, His resurrection on the third day, and what all that means for you. That person made an impact on your life.

I would imagine the person you are thinking of is someone who did not just talk the talk. He or she also walked the walk. That person put his/her faith into action. That person lived with the certainty that while situations and circumstances are constantly changing in our lives, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. That is our constant. The Psalmist put it this way.

Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.

He does not change. His love endures. In any and every episode of your life.

When you think about that person who played a major role in your spiritual development, the writer of Hebrews tells you this: Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. That is some solid advice that we would all to well to heed.

As I was reading this passage, which is part of the Second Reading assigned for this day in the church year, the first part of verse nine leapt off the page for me:

It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace…

This is what we need to hear. This is what I crave when I go to worship. I want my heart to be strengthened by the undeserved love of God in Christ. I want the free gift of God’s forgiveness for Jesus’ sake to fill me. I have to hear that in spite of all my sin and failures and shortcomings, God gives me what I don’t deserve:  the forgiveness, life and salvation that Jesus earned for me. It is good for my heart to be strengthened by grace.

May your heart be strengthened by grace today.

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Cheryl and I will be co-hosting a trip to Greece next year with Donna Snow:  Walk in the Footsteps of Paul.  The links to the brochure and registration form are below.

https://www.artesianministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/10-Day-2023-Greece-Tour-Brochure.pdf

https://www.artesianministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/10-Day-Greece-3-Night-Cruise-Registration-Form-SnowG23.pdf

A lady visiting an art gallery saw the owner receive an anniversary gift. The visitor asked, “Which anniversary.” “Our 53rd.” “That’s impressive. I hope you’re planning some special celebration.” The owner of the gallery smiled and said, “When you have a nice man, it really doesn’t matter.” That is the kind of love that characterizes a Spirit-filled marriage. It is the kind of love Cheryl and I strive for in our relationship. We celebrate anniversary number 43 today. I am fortunate enough to be married to a nice person. Our marriage is not perfect. But with God’s help, keeping Christ at the center of our lives, it has been a lasting source of joy and comfort to us.

A few years ago, back when we were both still working, we were having a very busy time in our lives, arriving home late every day. On one such day, I stopped and picked up her favorite pizza on my way home. She was already home when I got there. I walked in carrying the pizza and asked her, “Who’s your hero?”  Without missing a beat, she said, “Jesus!” While it wasn’t the answer I was looking for at that moment, it was the best answer I could have heard. It is the attitude that a person does not complete you — Jesus does. It is because she loves Jesus that she works at loving me (which I know takes a lot of work most of the time). And it is because I love Jesus that I try to show love to her.

That is not true of all marriages. You may know that first-hand. Some marriages are miserable. Even among Christians. And there are reasons for that. Simply put, the reasons all come down to one thing – sin. But there are also remedies.

When a couple asked me to officiate at their wedding, I had them meet with me several times for counseling and planning. One of the things I always did was spend some time discussing this passage with them.

Ephesians 5:21-31 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church — for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” (NIV)

This is God’s plan for the one-flesh union He intended for us to have. Let’s consider what God says about finding fulfillment in marriage.

1. Fulfillment comes not in taking, but in giving

Whether you like to admit it or not, you are by nature self-centered. You are more concerned about taking than giving. And that works against you in relationships, including marriage. Your sinful nature wants to live as though you are single and independent, not part of Christ’s bride, the church, and not under His Lordship. Your priorities are personal, not communal. You take an attitude and live a lifestyle that puts yourself first and the other person second. That is not the formula for a happy marriage.

When you are only interested in taking and getting, you don’t have the right frame of mind for what God intends marriage to be. However, when you lay aside those attitudes, when you stop thinking just about yourself, you will find a fulfilling freedom that comes through giving of yourself and submitting to one another. “We” becomes more important than “me.”

Giving of yourself is the most precious gift and it deepens a relationship. You experience intimacy – emotional and physical and spiritual – when you give of yourself. But this kind of total and complete intimacy that is part of God’s plan is only possible when you take the attitude that you are no longer two, but one. This kind of intimacy is not possible if one or both have the attitude that they can walk away at any time. That is not truly giving yourself. Giving yourself completely in the marriage relationship is a big risk. It leaves you totally vulnerable and unprotected. Sometimes you get hurt, hurt badly. But if there are two people willing to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, there will also be forgiveness, and the good will far outweigh the bad in their relationship.

2. Fulfilling love comes through Christ

Submission to each other was part of God’s plan from the first. However, sin corrupted marriage along with everything else when it estranged all humanity from God. The only way for us to achieve the proper attitude and mindset comes from Christ. He is the perfect, divine model. Everything He did was motivated by love. He willingly took the submissive role, subjecting himself to the law, taking our sins on Himself, giving Himself over to a shameful death on a cross. He laid Himself out there, completely vulnerable and unprotected, and took the full impact of the punishment our sins deserve. In doing so, He fulfilled God’s design. He carried out the plan for your salvation that God had established from the foundation of the world. In Baptism He washed you and presents you as holy and blameless before God. You are united to Him, made part of His body. Your faith that He is your Savior gives you that peace that surpasses all understanding, the confidence that you are safe in His hands. That is your motivation to live as He lived and love as He loved.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. If the love of Jesus is in your hearts, it will also be in your lives and relationships. Knowing that you have been freed from condemnation will encourage you to stop making your own judgments about others. Having received forgiveness from Christ will give you a forgiving spirit in your life. His love frees you to see beyond yourselves. It equips you to love as you have been loved.

The Lutheran School two of my grandchildren attend has a theme for this school year: Faith over Fear. We live in a scary world. It seems to be much more so than when I was a child, but every era has its challenges. The schools focus in choosing this theme is to help the children understand that God is in control in all things and will be with them.

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

That is good for everyone to remember in your daily walk. God is in control. He will help and strengthen you in all situations. You are in His hands.

Josh Wilson has a song out that is based on Psalm 23. It is titled “Things That I’m Afraid Of.”  If you haven’t heard it, give it a listen. Here are some of the lyrics:

I walked through the valley of shadows
And it scared me half to death
But You’re with me ev’rywhere I go
So I won’t give up yet
My fears would surely kill me
If I didn’t know the truth
The things that I’m afraid of
Are afraid of You

God is mightier than the things that make us tremble here on earth. And He has promised to be with you in all things.  That thought is expressed in another song I like.

How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He has said
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

“Fear not! I am with you, O be not dismayed,
For I an you God and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

(Lutheran Service Book #728, stanza 1-2)

We put our faith in our Savior, who has already given us the victory over sin, death and the grave. For that reason, “Faith over Fear” is a good way to live.

Today a new school year begins for many in my area. Some are already back in classes, others start later this week. It is a good time to remember and pray for teachers. They put in long hours and have a tremendous influence on those entrusted to their care. They are often undervalued and underpaid for the important work they do. Many teachers are also followers of Jesus, and even though they teach in public schools, they are sharing His love in their words and actions. Lord, be with, guide and direct teachers.

It is also a good time to pray for students. Some are nervous and anxious about what is happening. Others think school is just for play and mischief rather than those things plus learning and growing in maturity. Many will be bullied. Lord, be with, guide and direct these students.

Parents, you have a tremendous responsibility raising your children. You know doubt feel that burden. And it can be difficult to be firm and provide the discipline needed. You often question and second guess the decisions you make. Know that when you make mistakes, those were also covered by the blood of Jesus. Accept that forgiveness and keep going, resolving to do better in the days ahead. Lord, be with, guide and direct these parents.

The most important thing parents need to teach their children is about the love of God in Christ. That is what makes all the difference in their lives. Tell them what is means to know that Jesus lived a perfect life for you. Share the wonderful news of Him taking our place in punishment so that we would not have to pay for our sin with our lives. Explain that He rose from the dead to give us eternal life as a gift. Model repentance when you do wrong and show them you need God’s forgiveness, too. Teach them to extend forgiveness to others as well.

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, children will make some huge mistakes. I have seen how this grieves parents, especially when their children are grown and are paying the price for their wrong behavior. I think this verse above can give us hope. If you model Jesus and His love in your home, your children have seen and heard that message. It is still in there somewhere, even if they are living in conflict with God’s ways. And because that message is still in their hearts, the Holy Spirit is still working through that Word. Don’t neglect to keep praying for that to happen in the lives of those you know and love.

Both parents and teachers are role models. I pray you will be ones worthy of imitation.

Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

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Cheryl and I will co-host a trip to Greece next year with Donna Snow: Walk in the Footsteps of Paul.  The links to the brochure and registration form are below.

https://www.artesianministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/10-Day-2023-Greece-Tour-Brochure.pdf

https://www.artesianministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/10-Day-Greece-3-Night-Cruise-Registration-Form-SnowG23.pdf

Someone comes up to you with information you have never heard before. It sounds incredible, unbelievable. But they seem so sure of what they are saying, it makes you wonder whether or not it might be true. You ask, “Who told you that?” or “Where did you hear that?”

Even though it was a long time ago, I remember writing essays and papers for college and seminary classes. It was always important to document your sources of information in the form of footnotes and/or endnotes. The instructors wanted to make sure you were citing credible resources.

Unfortunately, not everyone takes that approach where spiritual matters are concerned. If someone brings a message that sounds appealing and doesn’t require you to change your behavior, that would be attractive. They purport to have new wisdom or information. It sounds wonderful, maybe even too good to be true. Do you simply accept it, or do you ask where the information is coming from?

Jeremiah 23:16–17 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’

There have always been those who tell people what they want to hear. They make a living speaking false words of hope. Prophets for profit. You have to be careful who you listen to and what you believe.

The source I trust is God and those who speak His Word. The one who made everything, the one who promised a Savior as soon as man sinned, has proven Himself to be faithful. He chose a people through whom He would fulfill His promise of a Messiah. He was their God even when they turned away from Him. He cared for them, protected them, rescued them, delivered them. And this was all before He came through in the biggest way.

Galatians 4:4–5  But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

At just the right time, the Messiah came to God’s people so that He could save all people from their sins. He kept the Law we did not keep. He made the payment our sin demanded. And He conquered death and the grave for everyone. If you put your faith and trust in Him, you will be saved. It is the only way God has provided for mankind’s salvation. That is why you always need to check the source. Be careful who and what you listen to.