Have you ever heard the old “tongue in cheek” saying,
“Watch out what you pray for.”? I have had
that feeling this past year about my prayers.
I have many categories on my prayer list for daily
prayers. One of the areas for which I
pray is for our country. God calls His
people to pray for our leaders. “1 I urge, then, first of all, that
requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- 2 for
kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet
lives in all godliness and holiness.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2) According to these verses, we pray for our
leaders so that God’s children can live in an atmosphere of “peace and
quietness.” Perhaps we would say that we pray for our leaders to provide “law and
order. We pray for such ‘peace and
quietness’ so that we might live in “godliness and holiness,” so that we are
free to be faithful to God, in our faith and in our lives.
In my prayers, as I pray for our country and for its leaders,
my first prayer each day is for repentance
and faith in America. In other
words, as our country drifts away from the Creator of all, as our country drifts
away from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, I have been praying that
Americans would see their faithlessness, that we would turn from sin and turn
to the “grace and truth” found in
Jesus. (John 1:14 c) It is sad to me
that in a country which added the phrase “under God” to the pledge of
allegiance in 1954, that even expressing such a sentiment can be offensive to many
today.
So, tongue in cheek on my part, I have wondered if the
COVID pandemic is not, in part, an answer to my prayer. Surely, such a plague or natural disaster should call people back to the Lord in
repentance and in faith. Such a trial
causing illness, death, and the stopping of much of the life and business in
our world should turn people to their
Creator and their Savior. Unfortunately,
as I watch the news it seems that America turns more to themselves and their own
thoughts and desires, and turns less to the love and the guidance of our Lord.
In my daily devotions this week, one of the readings was
from Rev. Dr. Rudolph Bultmann, who spoke in a school lecture in Germany on May
2, 1933. You probably know the history of the turmoil of that time in Germany,
and the rise of the National Socialist Party.
Part of what Bultmann said was based on the account in Luke 20 where Jesus
responds to his opponents with these word of wisdom, “. . . give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (Luke 20:25)
Using these words of Jesus, Bultmann wrote, ”I have made it a point never to speak about current politics in my
lectures, and I think I also shall not do so in the future. However, it would seem to me unnatural were I
to ignore today the political situation in which we begin this new semester.”
(For All The Saints, Volume 2, page 181)
In response to the events in Germany in 1933, Bultmann shared the
message of God’s word from Isaiah 40, quoting part of verse 8, “The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever." He was pointing out to the people of his
day that, no matter where politics led a nation, God’s word still stood true.
Once every few years the 4th of July, the
observance of our nations birth in the signing of the Declaration of
Independence, falls on a Sunday. You may
have noticed that I, sort of like Bultmann, seldom speak or write about
political issues or politicians. It
dangerous for Christians to support specific politicians because all people, and
all politicians, are sinful. But, it is
good for Christians to support right and just laws, and to speak the truth of
God’s Word to the world around us. While
Jesus did not come to save countries, He did come to save people “from every nation, tribe, people and
language” (Revelation 7:9), and as I said above, God does call us to pray
for our leaders. In other words, Christian
faith should make us more faithful citizens.
So, which words of God describe where I stand as a
Christian first, who is also an American?
Perhaps John 1 says it best. “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been
made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines
in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. . . 14 The Word became
flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the
One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-5, 14) Jesus is the Son of God, God Himself, the Creator
and the Savior of the World. Jesus came
to our world bringing light and life, but unfortunately, our world often misses
this gift. We often miss the gift of
God’s Son. Nevertheless, Jesus is full
of grace, the forgiving, saving love of God. Jesus is full of truth, God’s sure
direction for our life found in His Word.
I am praying that America does not totally turn away from the truth of
God which stands forever, as Isaiah 40 says and as Rudolph Bultmann pointed out.
In the beginning of the Declaration of Independence,
these words have been a beacon pointing the way of our country. “We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed. . .”
So, I pray for repentance and faith for my
country. I pray that this country, which
acknowledged its Creator in its founding documents, does not turn away from the
grace and truth of God. I hope to share
God’s grace and truth in Jesus, and I pray that such gifts of God bless our
nation and our community.
A Child of God, Praying that, By Repentance
and Faith, America Again Finds Grace and Truth,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. By the way, I am preaching on Luke 20:20-26
in worship this Sunday. This will be a
service specifically written to worship our Lord on the 4th of July.
P.P.S. Vacation Bible School – Here are all the VBS
pictures I have from this year. Vacation
Bible School took place last week, June 21-25.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JjopfnuSgf4fHVVw7
P.P.P.S. Here are some pictures from my yard and
garden this past week. https://photos.app.goo.gl/mDGhbAVn65sQujgW8
P.P.P.P.S – Here are some pictures from a “few” fishing
trips this past week.
- Finger Lake with
Randy Luffberry and granddaughter. https://photos.app.goo.gl/euMRtqEedm3cJB7WA
- The Kenai River
with friend, Wayne Mize. https://photos.app.goo.gl/pa71ZMAhJHmY2r95A
*****
ABOUT
THIS DEVOTION - I retired at the end of August 2019 from serving as senior
pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, AK. I was writing a weekly
devotion previously entitled, "Thoughts from the Pastor."
When I retired many asked me to continue writing these devotions. So I have continued writing. However, with life's changes I now call this
weekly devotion "Journeys Through Life as a Child of God."
Since
I am no longer senior pastor at St. John, I felt it right to only send
this message to those who asked to receive it. (Though I am now serving
again part-time at St. John as assistant to the pastor.) Perhaps you also know that I “killed” my
computer on November 7, 2020. In so
doing I lost, for a time at least, all my e-mail contacts. So, I was really goofed up. Many who were receiving this devotion each
week were no longer receiving it. I
tried to rebuild my distribution list, but I am not sure how accurate I have
been.
So, if you stopped receiving these
devotions and wondered why, now you understand.
And, if you are now receiving these devotions and do not wish to receive
them, please let me know, and I’ll gladly remove your name from my distribution
list. My e-mail address is
jonrock53@mtaonline.net.
My prayer is that these devotions
help each of you in your daily walk with our Lord, Jesus.
*******
Jonathan Rockey
Child of God
Husband, Father,
Son, Grandfather
Pastor Emeritus,
St. John Lutheran Church
E-Mail: jonrock53@mtaonline.net
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