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Being back in Watonga, Oklahoma this weekend brought back a lot of memories for me. A stroll down memory lane is good every now and again. I enjoyed visiting with folks that were there when I began my ministry and meeting new folks as well.

As I sat in that sanctuary, I remembered that August Sunday in 1984 when I was installed. The installation service was in the afternoon, which meant the vacancy pastor was leading worship and preaching that morning. I sat in the pews with many family members who had gathered for the occasion.

There were thunderstorms in the area that morning. While the pastor was preaching, we heard a loud clap of thunder and the sanctuary went dark. The power was out. The pastor was in mid-sentence when the power failure occurred, and he stopped. Dead silence. No one said a word. The power was out for about twenty seconds, which seemed like an eternity. And then the lights came back on. As soon as the power was restored, the pastor picked up right where he left off, in the middle of his sentence, and continued as if nothing had happened.

I will admit that I had to stifle my laughter when that happened. It appeared as though he was plugged into the wall and when the power went off, so did he. When the power came back on, he started again.

I have thought of that many times over the years. It reminds me that the followers of Jesus need to be sure we stay connected to our power source.

Luke 6:19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:4–5 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

When I take my laptop computer with me on trips, it will last a while without being connected to a power source, but the battery will die if I don’t recharge it. If I don’t take my charger with me, the computer will soon be useless.

You and I need to stay connected to our power source, God’s Word. It is there that we are reminded of our failings and our need for God’s help. It is there that we also hear how God provided the rescue we needed. Scripture tells us that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners by offering Himself as the payment for the sins of the world. That is the power we need for every day of our lives.

How often do you and I fail to recognize God’s blessings to us, even when they are right before our eyes? Yesterday I spoke of the people in the Old Testament not recognizing the Manna as a gift from God, and the people in the New Testament not recognizing Jesus as the Bread of Life. But surely God’s people today would not do that, would we?

When you have been told to “count your blessings,” do you? How often have you done it? There is no time like the present. Right now, recognize the blessings God has given you in your life. What are the blessings all around you from God that you don’t recognize or take for granted? Think about it … Home, family, job, cars, televisions, phones, electricity, internet, air conditioning and heating, clean water, abundant food, indoor plumbing … the list is endless.

I wonder how many of you thought about the more subtle blessings, the things that may appear negative but are actually good? Have you counted as blessings …

• the hardships you have endured that have helped you grow as a believer…
• the struggles that have matured you in your faith…
• the conflicts that have brought you closer to Christ
• those enemies and critics who have forced you to examine your motives and actions to make sure that you were right and truly following God’s design for your life

You need to recognize things like these for the blessings they are from the God who has promised you that He will make all things work for the good of those who love Him.

Paul Harvey told the story of the bomber that took off from Guam for Kokura, Japan during World War II for a bombing run. The sleek B-29 turned and circled above the cloud that covered the target for half an hour, three-quarters of an hour, 55 minutes, until the fuel supply reached the danger point. It seemed a shame to be right over the primary target and then have to pass it up, but there was no real choice. With one more look back, they headed for their secondary target. Upon arrival, they found the sky clear. “Bombs away” and the B-29 headed for home. Weeks later, an officer received information from military intelligence that chilled his heart. Thousands of allied prisoners of war, the largest concentration of Americans in enemy hands, had been moved to Kokura a week before the aborted bombing run. The officer mumbled, “Thank God for that cloud.” The city that was hidden from the bomber was a prison camp and thousands of Americans now alive would not have been but for that cloud. The secondary target that day was Nagasaki, and the bomb intended for Kokura was the world’s second atomic bomb. God used what appeared to be something bad – a cloud – and made it a blessing.

That same God is the one who took about the worst thing we could ever imagine – death – and made it work for our good. He allowed the death of His Son, His perfect, sinless Son, to be the payment for your sins and for my sins, so that we could be forgiven. All who believe this promise have life everlasting. Our sins were put on Him and His perfection was put on us. Not a very fair trade, but that is the way God blesses us. It comes from love.

God’s blessings are all around you. You just may not always identify them for what they really are. It would be good for you to consider each day the ways in which God has blessed you. The reason manna was given daily in the wilderness was to remind the people that God was blessing them each day. If it only came once a week or once a month, they would only have reminder of God’s blessing once a week or once a month. That is the same reason our Lord taught us to pray “give us this day our daily bread.” Each day should be enough for us, an ample reminder of God’s loving presence and blessing upon us.

A movie called “Jungle to Jungle” came out about 25 years ago. I saw part of it again recently. This movie begins with a New York stockbroker going to Venezuela to find and divorce his wife who left him 13 years earlier. While he is there, he discovers he has a 13-year-old son who has been raised in the jungles of South America. Father and Son spend some time getting to know each other. In one scene, the boy is making dinner for his father from the day’s hunt. He takes his father’s hand and smears this dark green pasty substance on it. The father looks at it and says, “Ugh! What is this?” Naturally, the son tells him that it is a delicacy made out of lizard guts.

Did you know that is how the Children of Israel reacted to the way God provided food when they were in the wilderness?

Exodus 16:15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.”

I always wonder what the tone was in their voices as they asked “what is it?” Was it

• disgust, like that father in the movie?
• excitement, like a child on seeing her wrapped up presents on the day before her birthday?
• somewhere in between those two, bewilderment and confusion?

I usually conclude it was the last of these options. They were not totally put off by the stuff at first, nor were they very excited about it. They didn’t know what to think of it. Picture if you can walking outside of your tent, being hungry, and seeing this white, flaky stuff everywhere. “What is it?” By the way, the name for this stuff, manna, literally means “what is it.” Moses had to point out to them that It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.

A blessing from God right before their eyes and they don’t see it as such. Rather than seeing it as the answer to their hunger, God’s providence in their need and the answer to prayer, they say “What is it?” How could they be so blind?

Things were not much different in the New Testament. After Jesus fed the 5000, the people were chasing after Him because He had fed them, and they thought that was a great blessing from God. But Jesus referred back to the manna that had been given to the Israelites in the desert. He said that was a blessing from God, a bread from heaven, but He was and is the TRUE bread from heaven, the bread that gives life to the world. He was telling them to be more concerned about being fed spiritually than physically, but they just didn’t get it. They wouldn’t or couldn’t understand that Jesus had come to bring forgiveness and life to all. He would accomplish that by offering His perfect life as payment for the sins of the world. The best gift ever. But they didn’t understand what was right in front of them. Can’t you hear them asking “What is this? Who does this guy think He is?” A blessing from God right before their eyes and they don’t see it. How could they be so blind?

All of us were spiritually blind, and would have stayed that way, if the Holy Spirit had not shown us who Jesus is, what He has done, and led us to faith. We no longer have to ask, “What is this?”  We know that He is the Bread of Life that came down from heaven to give us life.

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

How’s that for an invitation? Jesus seems to be saying there will be pain and suffering in the lives of His followers. Things are not going to be easy. That being the case, why would anyone want to follow Him?

If that was all Jesus said, I don’t think He would have too many followers today. But He said and did much more than that. The one who told us to take up our crosses also the one who said I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in Me will never die  (John 11:25-26). It is this promise of eternal life that makes people follow Jesus. He has something to offer us, something that we need. Our faith grabs hold of this gift. However, Jesus clearly tells us that our faith in Him will not eliminate all the ills of this world. In fact, we will encounter new problems because of our faith!

A man once found a cocoon of an emperor moth, and took it home to watch it emerge. One day a small opening appeared, and for several hours the moth struggled, but couldn’t seem to force its body past a certain point. Deciding something was wrong, the man took a pair of scissors and carefully snipped away the cocoon. The moth then came out easily, its body large and swollen, the wings small and shriveled. He expected that in a few hours the wings would spread out with their natural beauty, but they did not. Instead of developing into a creature to fly free, the moth would now spend its life dragging around a swollen body and shriveled wings. That cocoon and the struggle necessary to pass through the tiny opening are God’s way of forcing fluid from the body into the wings. Without the struggle of going through that small opening, the moth would never properly develop. The snip of the scissors, instead of being an act of mercy, was actually cruel.

In the same way, we often need struggle and obstacles in our lives to help us grow. God uses all things to accomplish good in the lives of His children. When you face hardships, look to Christ as your example. He went through all kinds of abuse and suffering during His ministry, culminating in an unjust execution. That death was not a victory. It was the punishment for sin: your sin and mine. And had Christ remained in the grave, there would have been no victory over death for you. But the death of Jesus Christ at the hands of sinful mankind opened the way for the victory of the Resurrection on that first Easter. It was because of His impending resurrection that Jesus could go to Hell, that place of eternal torment for those who do not believe, and proclaim His victory. It was because of the Resurrection that Jesus could proclaim to the Devil that Hell posed no threat to those who believed in Him. It was because of His Resurrection that Jesus could say “whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”

You each have your cross to bear. It is the cost of discipleship, the cost of following Jesus. But remember what Jesus has already given you: forgiveness for all sin and the promise of eternal life.

Many people I have known have heard the diagnosis, “You have an incurable disease.” Some have chosen not to receive treatments that might prolong their lives a bit because of the horrible side effects. They knew what they had was incurable and were ready to face it and their Maker.

Doctors often speak of incurable diseases. Charles Kettering was a famous research scientist and inventor from the last century. He founded Delco and was the head of research for General Motors for almost 30 years. He had 186 patents. He once quipped: “Did you ever stop to think what an incurable disease is? It is the one the doctor doesn’t know how to cure.”

We have those in this world of sin. And that is what our sinful condition would be without Jesus – something we would not be able to cure. While there will be illnesses and diseases here on earth for which man will not find a cure, that is not true of sin. We have been given the cure. It is available to everyone. It came through what Jesus did for us. Christ Jesus came to this world to save sinners. He did that by living a life without sin and offering that in your place as the payment for your sin. His death was the satisfaction God’s justice demanded for the sins of the world. And then Jesus rose from the dead, not only announce his victory over death, but to tell you that His victory, His cure for sin, can be yours if you want it.

1 John 2:2 [Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

You find out about this when you go to the source: God’s Word. It is good to spend time in that Word. Try doing that this week. You will find the cure for what ails you.

A friend once me that she was going to a special homecoming weekend at Valparaiso University in Indiana. The campus is about an hour southwest of Chicago, so she and her husband flew there. There was a bus available for attendees, but they decided that they wanted their own transportation.  The invitation advised them to take the bus or, if driving from the airport, to take a route other than the normal one because of construction and heavy traffic.  As she told it, they ignored the advice, rented the car and decided to take the shortest route.  Approaching their selected route, there were several signs advising drivers of construction delays, but they drove on.  After all, it was the shortest route and they had gone that way to Valparaiso before.  How bad could it be?

Well, it was bad. It took them three times as long as usual to make that drive from the airport to Valparaiso and they were almost late for a party in their honor because of their unwillingness to listen to advice from the experts. They thought they knew better.

Maybe you’ve had a similar experience. Someone who has more knowledge than you do advises you to change your plans based on their knowledge. However, you refuse to take their advice, thinking you know better. The end result is usually things not going as you planned.

Does is pay to follow the advice of experts? I guess it depends on the expert.

Think of the children of Israel. They certainly didn’t plan to spend 40 years in the desert being led by a pillar of fire at night and a cloud by day so that God could teach His people to trust in Him. They had to trust Him for food and water and for clothes and shoes that didn’t wear out.  The result of that journey, of following the expert, was their entry into the Promised Land.

Think about Jesus in the New Testament. He started His ministry with the words, “Follow me.”  Just that – follow me.  Those who followed had to trust Jesus as they followed, but in the process they were transformed and became new people. When He ascended, Jesus shared with those followers His work and His way:  “Go and make disciples. I will send my Spirit to empower you to do that.”

I attended a conference with the theme ‘His Work, His Way, Our Walk’ declaring that we  trust God in our walk to do His work His way. He’s the expert and we need to listen to His advice and follow Him on this incredible journey rather than rely on our own plans.  It means that we should give up our own preferences and listen to Him.  It may mean that we have to take a path other than the one we would have chosen, that we need to expand our comfort zones.

As disciples of Jesus, we are being called to act in faith and trust Him so that our walk reflects His work and His way.  We know that He will guide us and provide for all our needs, just as He has provided for our greatest need by taking our place in punishment, providing forgiveness and life and salvation for everyone.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

Shrek the sheep belonged to a shepherd in New Zealand. He became famous in 2004 when he was found after hiding out in caves for six years. During all that time his fleece grew and grew and grew some more. Typically, sheep are sheared once a year. But not Shrek. He was hiding, staying away from the shepherd, struggling through on his own. He was found in April of 2004, and a few weeks later was shorn by a professional sheep shearer in about twenty minutes. The shearing was broadcast on national television in New Zealand. His fleece weighed sixty pounds and contained enough wool to make suits for twenty men. Most sheep have a fleece weighing just under ten pounds. For all those years, Shrek carried that ever increasing weight around with him, and that weight got bigger and heavier and filthier each and every day. Simply because he ran away and stayed away from his shepherd.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:11, 14-15)

We know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we, His followers, are His Sheep.  We know that He willingly laid down His life to pay the penalty for all sins. We should know and understand without a doubt that our Shepherd loves us, cares for us, and wants only the best for us.

So then why do we act like Shrek the sheep? We do, you know. What Shrek the sheep did is like a person who is a follower of Jesus but wanders away from Him. We tell ourselves we don’t need Jesus watching over us all the time. We want to do things our own way. We listen to the lies that tell us Jesus is too controlling or His rules are too restrictive. We try to live outside His watchful eye. And that is where we get ourselves into all those messes that we get ourselves into – when we run away from our Good Shepherd.

Another consequence of staying away from the Shepherd is that we accumulate extra weight—a weight we don’t have to bear—the weight of our sin. Just like that sixty extra pounds Shrek carried, when we run away and stay away from the shepherd, we carry around the dirty, filthy, heavy burden of our sin. Shrek had his burden removed when he returned to his shepherd. The same can happen for you and me.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

Jesus has already paid the debt for us. It was laid on Him. He bore the burden of our sin so that we would not have to carry it around. Christ can lift any burden you carry, if only you stop hiding and running away from Him. He can shear off your ‘fleece,’ your self-imposed burdens.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

God wants to do that for you. In fact, He wants to do that for everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done or how long you have been away from Him. If you want to be unburdened, stay close to your Good Shepherd.

I mentioned yesterday that my family moved to Dallas in 1966 when I was in the third grade. It did not take long for me to become a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. I remember going to see them play in the Cotton Bowl, and I have been a fan ever since, through thick and thin. Since that time I have lived in Nebraska, Missouri, Nevada, Illinois and Oklahoma, but I have remained a fan of the team that wears a star on their helmets.

When I was working with the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League on the National level, I became friends with Karen. She is just as big a football fan as I am, but her team was the one that used to be known as the Washington Redskins. One year her birthday was just before the Monday night game in which the Cowboys and Redskins would play. When I sent her birthday greetings, I added “Go Cowboys.” Her response was something to the effect that the Redskins would prevail.

The game was one of those that grinds out and it was not pretty. Dallas could not score a touchdown, but did manage 6 field goals and held on to win by one point. The day after the game I texted my friend to rub it in just a bit. Her response was: “It is frustrating when a team plays down to such incompetent competition! I gave up and went to bed before the game ended.” Later, she added me that there was surely a sermon topic in there somewhere.

She was right. The temptation we face every day is to “play down” to what everyone else in this sinful world is doing rather than concentrating on being the people God has called us to be in Christ. We try to rationalize our misdeeds with that tired old “everyone else is doing it.”  But that is not what God wants from His redeemed children.

Ephesians 4:22-24  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Jesus has already paid the price for every sin by offering His perfect life. He gives us His righteousness and holiness and wants us to live in it.

My friend Karen also raised the question that if you see a car that is parked crooked in a parking space and crossing over the lines, do you park the same way or do you try to park within the lines as intended?

God has given us “lines” in His Law. We don’t have to stay between the lines to get to heaven. Jesus took care of that for us. But we know that God wants us to stay between the lines, so we should be doing our best to live that way in order to show our gratitude to God.

P.S. While that team is no longer called the Redskins, for Karen’s sake I hope they win a few games this year. Just as long as they lose when they play the Cowboys.