Dear Members and Friends of St. John,
In recent weeks my daily devotions have been leading me
through the book of the prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah was written as Jerusalem was being destroyed by the Babylonian
army around 587 B.C. As Jeremiah was inspired to write his book, the people of
Judah who weren’t killed were being taken into exile to the land of
Babylon. It was one of the darkest times
for God’s Jewish people. Jeremiah is not
my favorite book to read.
Much of what God inspires Jeremiah to prophesy is a call
to repentance. The people of Jeremiah’s time were constantly
breaking God’s laws in regard to justice, in regard to sexual purity, and
especially in regard to idolatry. Time
and again God’s chosen people are called to turn away from worshiping idols
that were not truly gods. They were
called to turn back to worship of the only true God. Nevertheless, time and again the people of
Judah, as all Israel before them, gave in to their temptations and their sinful
desires, and damaged their relationship with God. God called His people to sorrow for their
sin. He called for a new heart that
would turn from sinful behavior and show itself in faithful behavior. But the people of Jeremiah’s day failed. They did not want to repent or to change.
As the horror of last week’s school shooting in Florida sinks
in, a new set of behaviors rears its head.
As I watch the fallout from this tragic act of evil, it seems everyone
is seeking for someone else to blame for the tragedy. In the news I have heard blame placed on law
enforcement, on the nation’s laws, on families, on school policies. But, while I have heard people blame others,
I haven’t heard one voice of repentance, of someone admitting their own part in
this societal problem that has led to so many school shootings. I have not heard a willingness of anyone to
change themselves for the good of all.
No one wants to repent.
This weekend the Confirmation classes and families will
go on a retreat to Victory Bible Camp.
We will focus on God’s call to live holy lives, lives that are set apart
for God and different from the ways of
the world around us. What we will find
is that we have failed in this calling and need new hearts and new lives.
The words of Psalm 139 reflect an
attitude that could help people of all times, especially in their relationship
with God. The last two verse of this
Psalm read, “23 Search me, O God, and know my
heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked
way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24, NKJV) In this Psalm David is asking God’s help to do
what the Israelites of Jeremiah’s time did not seem to want to do. David asks God’s help to do what most in
America seem to shy away from. David
asks God to help him see his own sins.
David is praying that God would lead him to change his own life to “the
way of life everlasting.”
The real God-inspired
wisdom of David in this verse is that, instead of trusting himself, instead of
trusting his heart, his feelings, his thoughts, David looks to God for
guidance. David knows that his own heart
and mind are damaged by his own sinfulness.
But God does know our hearts. And,
David knows that God desires eternal life for David and for all people.
In the New
Testament God tells us that the way to life everlasting is found in a life of
faith in Jesus. Paul writes about new
life in 2 Corinthians 5. “15 And he died for all, that those who live
should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was
raised again. . . 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:15, 17)
How do we turn
from selfish living for ourselves, to life that is lived for God? When we see the loving sacrifice of God, that
Christ Himself died for sinners like us, then we want to live, not for
ourselves, but FOR HIM. When we are in
Christ, God makes us new. He cleanses us
by forgiving our sins. He gives us new
hearts to love him because He loved us.
We can admit our own failings because we are forgiven. We can live for God, loving Him because He
loved us.
Such new life
of repentance and faith is not a one-time decision. All we need to do is look at the book of Jeremiah. Time and again the people tried and failed to
live as God called them to live. We can also
look at how people in our own country respond to tragic evil, and consider our
own part in that problem. The same
problems seem to keep happening. But, thankfully, the love of God continues to
call us to repent and believe in God’s love for us in Jesus. The love of God in Jesus continues to forgive
the sins of those who turn to Him in faith.
The love of God continues to work to change our hearts.
I pray for my
country on a regular basis, not so much for prosperity, as for hearts that
repent of sinful attitudes and behaviors and turn to God. I pray for my fellow Christians daily, not so
much for healing of their bodies, though I do pray for healing. But more so, I pray for a faith in Jesus that
gives new life. “ . . .if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” May God work this new life in each of us.
A Child of God, Seeking a Life of Continual Repentance and
Faith in Jesus,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here are some
pictures from our Ash Wednesday Fellowship meal served by the Carlsons, the
Christiansens, and the Martins. https://photos.app.goo.gl/9UJDpyxouCQxO8Bd2
P.P.S. I went fishing with granddaughter, Annabelle, and
St. John member and friend, Kymberly Miller on Monday. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/LsONap70UMOhWFNS2
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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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