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One of my favorite Bible stories growing up was about three guys named Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. You probably know them better by their Babylonian names, but I shared these names because they, along with their buddy Daniel, all have a reference to God in them. “-el” is the first part of the Hebrew word for God. “-iah” is a reference to the name God revealed to Moses in the burning bush, often rendered as Yahweh or Lord.  The point is they were all believers who lived out their faith and lived up to their names.

Daniel 1:6–7 Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

Seeing their Babylonian names, you probably know these were the three guys thrown in the fiery furnace. Daniel 3 tells us why. King Nebuchadnezzar had a 90 foot golden idol built and issued an edict that whenever the music played in the city, everyone should bow down to it. These three young men refused to do so, and they were reported. They were brought before Nebuchadnezzar, who gave them another chance to bow to the idol before threatening,

“But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” (Daniel 3:15)

The part that made this one of my favorite stories is the way they responded to the king.

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

Our God is able. Let that sink in. Our God is able. He can do anything. But we leave it in His hands. If He wants to spare us, He will. If He wants to welcome us into His presence, He will do that. He is the one in control. Always. Our God is able.

A noted theologian in the last century was a man who taught at seminary I attended before I was a student there. His name was Martin Franzman. He once wrote: “Good times and good things will not save the church, and they will not save us. Bad things and bad times will not destroy us or the church. The Lamb that was slain alone can save, and the wrath of the Lamb alone can destroy us.” (Martin Franzman, Concordia Theological Monthly, vol. 34, issue 1, January 1963)

We know the one eternally in control. His victory was ultimate and for all time. Through a cross he made payment for the sins of the world. Through faith in Him that payment becomes yours. Through His resurrection He had defeated death and opened heaven for you. Your faith lays claim to that as well.

In the story above, God did spare those three from the furnace, unharmed. In the early days of Christianity, many faithful martyrs were not spared here on earth, but were welcomed into heaven. In both situations, God was in control and did what was best.

Live your lives with that confidence. You know the one in control. Our God is able.

ISAIAH 12:1-6   In that day you will say:  “I will praise you, O LORD.  Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.  Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;  let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy one of Israel among you.”

What’s a person to do?  That question usually has a negative connotation to it.  It implies a bad situation.  I remember an old commercial that said, “You’ve lost you money and all your credit cards–What will you do, what will you do?”  The question implies a sense of despair:  What’s a person to do?

What’s a Christian to do in the world today? This question could certainly be understood in a negative sense in light of what is going on. Immorality is the norm. False prophets are everywhere. We see a callous disregard for God’s laws, with people refusing to even admit that they are sinful. Every kind of perversion is not only tolerated, but encouraged.  What’s a Christian to do?

While we may be tempted to despair, Isaiah gives us a different perspective. This entire passage is a powerful call to a positive outlook on life!  He is referring to life in the time of the Messiah, the Savior.  This is reinforced by the words telling us that God was angry with us, but His anger has been turned away. Why was God angry? The answer is obvious.  We are not what He wants us to be. We do not do what He wants us to do.  Stated simply, we sin. And since we have not done what God desires, He has every right to be angry with us. And yet God’s anger has been turned away because of Jesus Christ.  God has provided for our salvation, our deliverance, our redemption.  The anger that was directed at us was placed upon Christ, thereby turning it away from us. Because Jesus received the brunt of God’s anger, those who have faith in Him have been spared.

What’s a Christian to do? Isaiah gives an answer.

I WILL PRAISE YOU, O LORD.  We will declare that God is the one who has spared us from His own anger. We will speak of how wonderful and great He is.

I WILL TRUST AND NOT BE AFRAID. You have been told all that God did for you in Jesus.  He has shown Himself to be true to His Word, trustworthy in every respect.

WITH JOY YOU WILL DRAW WATER FROM THE WELLS OF SALVATION. Rejoicing should be the a natural result of knowing all that God has done for you.

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD.  Isn’t this something we all too often forget?  It is so easy to take for granted the gifts of God, whether it be His greatest gift of salvation, or the commonplace gift of daily bread.  Thanks to Him should not be slighted, but offered sincerely.

CALL ON HIS NAME. With all that God has done for us up to this point, He is not yet finished blessing us.  He encourages you to call upon Him, making your wants and needs and desires known to Him.

MAKE KNOWN AMONG THE NATIONS WHAT HE HAS DONE. This message is too good to keep to ourselves. It has to be shared.

PROCLAIM THAT HIS NAME IS EXALTED. Isaiah is reminding us to praise the Lord for what He has done.

SING TO THE LORD.  Music is a gift from God, one that can have a powerful, emotional effect. It is  means to tell God how much we appreciated what He has done for us.

SHOUT ALOUD is yet another thing Isaiah exhorts us to do.  This is the kind of shouting we do when we are overcome with joy, when we are so happy we feel like we will bust if we don’t let it out.

The anger of God, justly deserved, has been turned away from you.  God provided His Son for this task.  His death paid for sin.  His resurrection assures you of eternal life.  Through faith, you have in your possession the forgiveness of sins.  So what’s a Christian to do?  Praise, trust and don’t be afraid, be joyful, give thanks, call on His name, make known what He has done, proclaim His name, sing, shout aloud, sing for joy.  Let’s do that!

“Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” People around the world are hearing those words today as ashes are smeared on their foreheads with a solemn reminder of their mortality on this first day of Lent.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” I’ve already heard those words spoken at the graveside of a dear sister in Christ this week, Norma, who was a member of the congregation I served for over 30 years. She was there when I arrived and still there after I retired. And she is now in the congregation of those wearing white robes who surround the throne of the risen and ascended Lamb of God.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” I will most likely hear those words again this Friday at the funeral of another sister in Christ, another lady named Norma, who I knew even longer but not as well as the first Norma. She was a member of the congregation in which my wife grew up, where my father-in-law was pastor. I met Norma before Cheryl and I were married and saw her almost every time we went back to Vernon. We saw her in the hospital a few days before she died. She, too, rests in the arms of her Savior.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Sober, somber thoughts that are based on God’s Word.

Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Genesis 18:27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes…”,

Job 30:19 He throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes.

Ecclesiastes 3:20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.

If that were all the message, Lent and our entire lives would be tragic and meaningless. But that is not the entire message. We observe Lent to remind us what our sins deserve, the penalty demanded, and that someone else has taken that on Himself and paid it for us. Jesus came for that very reason. He did it for you. He did it for me. He did it for everyone. Those who put their faith in Him have this blessed assurance.

Read the words that have been spoken so many times at a Christian burial:

“We now commit this body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subdue all things to Himself.”

Lent is a time to remember our sins, to remember what they deserve, and to thank God that He sent Jesus to give us a way out, a rescue, salvation, and life everlasting.

God bless your Lenten journey this year.

On this day before Lent begins, I want to share a few more thoughts with you on the Transfiguration and Peter’s memory of that event.

2 Peter 1:16-21 16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.  19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.  21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

This passage begins with we did not follow cleverly invented stories… Some translations have “fables” or “tales” or “myths” instead of “stories.” What Peter is referring to is all the other religions of his time and their reliance on the teachings of men and unsupported myths. Peter is basing his confidence on the prophecies of God’s Word, and those prophecies being fulfilled by Jesus, the Word made flesh.

Over 40 years ago the artifacts from King Tut’s tomb toured this country. One of the artifacts in that exhibit was the ancient Egyptian “Book of the Dead,” which gives us an example of what Peter called a “cleverly invented story.” This book gives you instructions as to what you are to say when you are confronted by the judges as you attempt to enter the next life. I guess that goes along with the world’s idea that you will stand before St. Peter at the pearly gates and try to convince him why he should let you in. According to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, this is what you should say:

“I have always shunned evil; I have given bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, a ship to the stranded; to the orphan I was a father, to the widow a husband, to the roofless I gave a home.”

The cleverly invented story is really not all that clever. It speaks of getting your eternal reward on the basis of your own actions. Now you might think those words sound an awful lot like what Jesus says in Matthew’s Gospel when He is talking about separating the sheep and the goats on the last day, and you would be right. The big difference is that when Jesus was listing all the good deeds of the righteous, they were not done in order to be saved or offered as the reason for salvation. The list Jesus gives is what the righteous do because they are saved. The salvation Peter proclaimed was the one that comes only through faith in Jesus.

The promise of God was to rescue us from our sins. That promise was kept in Jesus. Living in a world where broken promises are the norm, it may be hard to accept that God is totally committed to you and wants only what is best for you. He made a promise. Not only do you have His Word on it, you have it in writing. And we have the ultimate assurance of God’s rescue in the cross, where the Blood of Jesus was shed in your place, earning your forgiveness. You want it made more certain? Think of your Baptism. Consider Holy Communion. These sacraments are extra-added assurances that the death of Jesus was for you.

…we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place.

 Just as Peter saw the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus, you and I have that light shining on us through the Word and Sacraments, making God’s promise of life and salvation more certain for us.

While he was with Jesus throughout His ministry, Peter witnessed many events that “made more certain” the Good News of Jesus. He did not come to the confidence He had in Jesus just because He was at the Transfiguration. There was so much more Peter saw and heard:

• The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor (Luke 7:22).
• In Acts 2:32 he said God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.
• He expressed his confidence this way a few chapters later: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
• And Peter wrote … you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Peter understood Jesus to be the Son of God and the Savior. The Transfiguration was one part of that understanding. Read again his recollection of that event.

2 Peter 1:16-21 16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.  19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.  21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The prophecy Peter mentions, what we call Scripture, is all about this message: God promised to save fallen mankind from their sins and carried out that promise in the person of His Son, who lived a life without sin and offered it on the cross in payment for your sins. We have the writings of the Old and New Testaments that have preserved that message and passed along the word made more certain for us today. We have the account of those who were eyewitnesses passed along to us so that we could know Jesus is the Son of God, as He revealed on that mountain of the Transfiguration.

Peter seemed to anticipate those of us living today asking, “How can I be sure about Jesus? I wasn’t there!” Peter is telling us, as only an eyewitness can, “I know you weren’t there, but I was. I saw Jesus shine like the sun. I had already seen Him perform miracles and heard Him claim to be the promised one. And then I heard the voice of the Father proclaim Jesus to be His Son, with whom He was well-pleased. It convinced me that He was the one the prophecies had pointed to!” And you don’t have to just take Peter’s word for it. Jesus Himself had said, You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me (John 5:39). You will find eternal life as you search the Scriptures because they all point to Jesus, who is our salvation. The Word made more certain.

Notice that Peter did not say the prophetic word was made more true. It was already true, being God’s Word. However, it was made more certain, since Peter saw for Himself the fulfillment of the age-old promises. That is why he gives us this admonition: we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it. You have all the assurances that you need in God’s Word and His Word made flesh, Jesus. So pay attention to it!

How can I be certain? If only I could know for sure! Everyone has those thoughts. It is usually in connection with something very important in your life. Because we are near Valentine’s day, people are thinking about relationships and love. A woman might ask “How can I be sure he really loves me?” If you believe the media, he will buy you a diamond or a vehicle on every holiday! But would that really make you certain? Given our skeptical human nature, whenever a promise is made, we look for actions that back up that promise, especially when the promise is “till death do us part” Each time you see an action that fulfills the promise, you are made more certain that the promise is true. When actions don’t match words, you wonder about the promise. A diamond might be nice, but so would taking out the garbage without being asked, or warming up her car and scraping the ice of her windows on a cold morning. The subsequent actions are your extra-added assurances, your guarantees that the promise is valid. You are made more certain.

Peter wrote about some extra-added assurances we have that God’s promises are true.

2 Peter 1:16-21 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.  And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.  For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

 By the time Peter wrote these words, he was considered an old man. He was in his sixties. In the New Testament world, when one’s life expectancy was not much longer than sixty years, he was an old man. In fact, when he wrote this letter his life was about to come to an end. However, his death would not be from natural causes. He was going to die a martyr’s death. He would be put to death for telling others what He knew about Jesus, the same thing he was doing in this letter.

Peter was recalling The Transfiguration about 30 years after it happened. 30 years is a long time. Some have that questioned how good his memory could be after all that time. To me, Peter seems pretty sharp, but we don’t have to rely simply on Peter’s mental capacity  He is writing under divine inspiration, the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And it is not as though he were a blind man trying to describe the color of a sunset or a deaf man describing a symphony. Peter had been both an eyewitness and an earwitness of the events he is writing about. On top of that, the Holy Spirit is reminding him of the things he saw and heard. He was there on the mountain with Jesus. He saw the glory of God revealed, confirming Jesus as the true Son of God. He heard the Father speak His approval.

This was just one of many events Peter witnessed that shows Jesus to be the one who fulfills the prophecies of the Old Testament. In all likelihood, the recipients of this letter had a Jewish background, which meant they knew about the Scriptures. Peter was trying to use their knowledge of Scripture as a starting point to explain who Jesus is. Peter knew, as we know, that all Scripture points to Jesus as the Savior. And everything Jesus did – His Work, His life, His miracles, His transfiguration, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His giving of the Spirit on Pentecost – all these things confirmed the Scriptures for His disciples. The Transfiguration was just one part of the Old Testament prophetic word “made more certain.”

More on this tomorrow.

Matthew 17:1-9 1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.  3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.  4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.  If you wish, I will put up three shelters– one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified.  7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said.  “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.  9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

At the Transfiguration, God the loving Father expresses His pleasure with His Son and the work of redemption that He is accomplishing. The glory of that Son is always shining, but it was made evident on that mountain. It is shining in our lives, too, even when we are under clouds of misfortune and pain. The bright cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration points us to the cloud that will accompany our Lord at His return. Who is behind the cloud? JESUS!

Cheryl and I have done a lot of flying over the years. Some of those trips have been on rainy and dreary days. But when the plane takes off, it is quickly above the clouds where the sun is brightly shining. That reminds me that the sun is always shining, even when I can’t see it because of the clouds. In like fashion, God’s love in Jesus Christ is always present with those who have put their faith in Him, even though all you may see is clouds of misfortune. God’s light overpowers and shines through the dark clouds of our lives. And that light finds its expression in the promise of forgiveness for Jesus sake.

Our Good News is that behind the clouds of life shines our God, who has given us His instructions for our lives, and His Son, who has given us righteousness and forgiveness he accomplished through His redeeming work on the cross.

Jesus is the bottom line to the Transfiguration account. The passage from Matthew said of the disciples: When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. In spite of all the clouds in your life, may the same be true for each of you: when you look up, you see no one but Jesus!

We’ve had some beautiful weather this week – blue skies and warm temperatures. Lots of folks have been doing things outdoors. We are anxious for Spring to be here! But we have also had a lot of cloudy days this year with gray and even black skies. Cloudy skies can be depressing.

Maybe you’ve seen something that I look for on a cloudy day. It doesn’t always happen, but whenever the skies are dark with clouds, I look for that little opening. If you are in just the right spot, and there is an opening in the clouds, you can see a pillar of light shining through the clouds. It is awe-inspiring, especially if you are in the position to see it shining straight down. When I see a column of light shining through the clouds like that, I always want to get to that spot. I want to be  where the sun is shining while all around you there is darkness and gloom. And the thought occurred to me: is that what the disciples felt at the Transfiguration?

The last Sunday after Epiphany, or the Sunday just before Ash Wednesday every year, the Church remembers the Transfiguration of Jesus. That will be this coming Sunday, so I’ve been thinking about this event where Jesus revealed a part of His glory to Peter, James and John. Peter voiced his opinion that they should stay up there on that mountain forever, but God had other plans.

Luke 9:34–35 ³⁴ While he [Peter] was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

Sometimes clouds are frightening, but sometimes they represent high points in our lives. We speak of being “in the clouds” or “on cloud nine” when we experience euphoria and good times. That was the feeling Peter wanted to hold onto at the Transfiguration. He wanted to set up some tents and stay on the mountaintop, and we want our times of happiness to continue indefinitely.

Sometimes we think that Christians should always be in this kind of a state, that giddiness and celebration should be our natural habitat. Theologians call this a “theology of glory.” People who think this way say, “Adopt the Christian lifestyle and you are guaranteed success in every way!” It comes across in much of the preaching being streamed and broadcasted. Many misguided preachers share the message that success in this world is the central message of Christianity. One such theologian was asked, “What is the Gospel?” He replied, “God can change your life and he can use you to change the world.” That may be a true statement, but that is not the Gospel. The central message of Christianity is that God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, and that God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) That’s the Gospel: Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners, and that means me!

Those who espouse a “theology of glory” tend to ignore the problem of sin. They want to have Easter without Good Friday. But that is not possible. Christianity is not a theology of glory. Properly speaking, Christianity is a “theology of the cross.” We preach the Good News that God did not stay in the remote protection of heaven, but instead chose to come to us in our need. Our sins necessitated a rescue. God provided that rescue in His Son, whom He loved, with whom He was well pleased. Jesus came to take the weight of sin -yours and mine – and to endure temptation, punishment, suffering and death in order to make payment for that sin. Jesus could encourage his followers to take up their crosses and follow Him because He had already borne His cross. You don’t have the Gospel, the Good News, without the cross.