Dear Members and Friends of St. John,
In my devotion last week I mentioned a comment from Bible
Class where a member of the class had noted that, “The foundation of our
society is crumbling.” Some people might question that assertion. “Really?
What do you mean society is crumbling?”
Well, on October 1 we witnessed in horror as a man in Las Vegas shot and
wounded over 600 people, according to the last count I saw. On November 6 a man entered First Baptist
Church in Sutherland Springs, TX, and shot worshipers, killing 26. This past week, on Tuesday, November 14, a
man in California killed four people, wounding nearly a dozen, as he tried, but
was prevented from, attacking a school. That
is evidence to me that our culture is changing for the worse.
My wife, Kathy, commented, “Obviously, something is
different that all these shootings are happening.” Please consider recent past history. The Pledge of Allegiance was adopted by
Congress in 1942, and in 1954 the words, “one nation, under God,” were
added. Is the Pledge of Allegiance even
spoken in schools these days? Our
national motto found on currency is, “In God we trust.” This motto was adopted by the U.S. Congress in
1956. Ignoring for a moment the arguments
about Church and State, these actions show that 50-60 years ago the people of
the United States held dearly to faith as the foundation for their lives. Most would say our country stood on a
Judeao-Christian ethic. But, for many
reasons, today public faith is often dis-allowed or rejected. When the soul of a nation rejects the
guidance of God who created and who saved us, we should not be surprised when our
culture falls apart.
Changing a culture so that it is once again healthy is a
big job for an individual, or for a small group of individuals. God can accomplish such a change, and He does
answer prayer. But, there are other
areas where we can be more effective, and in fact, areas where we are more
needed. When our culture is falling
apart, it is even more important that we build our homes and families on Jesus,
our Rock.
Please
don’t think this is a new idea. Throughout
Scripture God calls people to live their faith and to teach this faith to
children. In Proverbs 22:6, for example,
God’s wisdom teaches us, “Train a
child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (See also Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:18-22,
Proverbs, 22:15). Through Paul, God
instructs parents, specifically fathers, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children;
instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians
6:4) Throughout time God has called for
homes to be built on faith in His love, and for parents to teach children about Him.
How can we build our
homes on Jesus, our Rock? I saw recently
where the pastor of King of Kings Lutheran in Wasilla suggested, on this 500th
anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, that we need to continue the
Reformation, or start a new one. I hear
God saying that this Reformation, or revival even, needs to start in our
homes. The Scripture reading usually
read on Reformation Sunday is John 8:31-32.
Here Jesus calls disciples of all time, saying, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then
you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." We build homes on Jesus by holding to
Jesus’ teachings.
So, how do we hold to Jesus’ teaching in order to build
our homes on Jesus? First, we cannot
just speak our faith in words. We need
to live our faith in actions. In 1983, when
I became pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, FL, I visited
the homes of members. One home I visited
had two recently confirmed daughters who were not attending worship. The dad said, “I’m not sure why they don’t
attend church anymore. I dropped them
off at church every week.” I asked him, “Did
you attend yourself?” “Well, no” he
answered “But I dropped them off.” Faith
is taught best when it is “caught,” In
other words, parents need to set an example for children. Wives and husbands need to set an example for
each other. When one roommate is regular
in worship, it influences the roommate who may not have an active faith. So, in order for parents to teach children to
have Jesus as their Rock, parents need to live this reality. Regular worship by parents teaches children
the importance of God for our lives.
Regular attendance in Sunday School and Bible Class by one spouse,
influences the other spouse. We build
our homes on Jesus, our Rock, when we don’t just speak our faith, but live it. And, it is never to late to start.
If you read the Bible verses above, we learn that faith
is spoken not just in the place of worship, but also in the home. We hold to Jesus’ teaching when we read His
word and have devotional time in our homes.
We hold to Jesus’ teaching when we pray individually and together in our
homes. When we allow the wisdom and love
of God to speak to us in our homes, through His Word and prayer, this helps
build our homes on Jesus.
Faith is not just private, either. When our children and spouses and the members
of our homes see us living our faith through lives of honesty and integrity in
our community, that example teaches faith in Jesus, and builds our homes. When our children and spouses and the members
of our homes see us willing to witness to God’s love with gentle and respectful
words of faith, that example also teaches faith in Jesus, and builds our
homes.
There is no guarantee that when we live and teach God’s
law and His love that our children or spouses or others will necessarily take
that faith as their own. But, it is
guaranteed that if we do not live our faith in words and actions, the members
of our households are less likely to
know Jesus and build their lives on Him.
We can debate whether or not the foundation of our
society is crumbling. But it is obvious,
now more than in the recent past, that we need to build our homes on Jesus, our
Rock. The job of reforming our culture
may seem too big. But, we know that it
is vital that we not only speak, but live our faith in our homes. "If you hold to my teaching, you are really
my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free."
A Child of God, Seeking to Build My Life and Home on
Jesus,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. This week I have
written about “Building Homes on
Jesus our Rock.” Next week I will write
about “Building Churches on Jesus our
Rock.”
P.P.S. On Sunday, November 5, We had a baptism for
Carl James Button. Here are a couple of
pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Dcq8TQ02be0XNA5E3
P.P.P.S. On
Monday, November 13, I went ice fishing for the first time this year with
grandchildren Emma and Henry. There was
a lot of movement of poles when the fish weren’t biting, and a lot of watching
poles with no reaction while the fish were biting. However, we did catch one fish. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/lrJsBkCkle2R3lTv1
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE
PASTOR’ - I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to
all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have. (I am regularly
adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this
e-mail for the first time.) However, if you do not want to receive this
e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for
this message.
******
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