On Sunday, May 22, five young people will be
confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, Alaska. Our Lord called these children of God in
their baptisms to faith, to forgiveness, and to salvation through Jesus. These students have studied through 3 years
of confirmation classes. Their class
instruction included lessons on the stories of the Old and New Testaments, and
included a year of summary of the Christian faith as found in Luther’s Small
Catechism. Their class instruction studied for a year about living as a child
of God. Having been baptized, and having
been instructed, these young people now have the opportunity to commit
themselves to God.
This commitment by these students is an
important response to the grace and truth which God offers each of us. Jesus taught his disciples about His call to
follow Him, “29 Are
not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground
apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are
all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32
"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my
Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him
before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:29-33) Jesus assures us of His constant love,
and Jesus, therefore, calls us to publicly acknowledge that we know His love,
and to publicly acknowledge that we have heard His call of grace.
Therefore, this Sunday in front of
their congregation, these confirmation students will respond to questions,
confessing their faith. They will be
asked (in these words or similar words):
- Do you believe
in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?
- Do you
renounce the devil, and all his works and all his ways?
- Do you want
to serve God with your life?
- Do you intend
to serve Your Lord in His church?
- Will you
support the work of the Lord in the church?
I responded to these questions 55 years ago on my confirmation day, March 27, 1967. As I made those promises, I truly intended to serve the Lord with my life. That is still my intent because I know and believe in God’s undeserved love and grace in my life. But, I will never forget the words of love and encouragement from my grandfather who was present on my Confirmation day. Grampy, as I called him, came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, and told me, “I hope you do a better job with your vows than I did.” I am still shocked by the confession that is implied in my grandfather’s words of encouragement. I knew him as a man of faith who worshiped regularly, who served in the church, and who encouraged his family toward faith in Jesus. Yet Grampy knew of times when he wished he had done better. What surprises me is that, even today, my grandfather’s faith and encouragement is still one of the most important influences in my walk with Jesus. Because, in retrospect, I now understand many of my own failures, I can therefore understand my grandfather’s confession, and His need for the grace and salvation that comes through faith in Jesus.
St. John Lutheran Church is currently
working through the devotional book, “The Being Challenge.” The challenge for our walk with Jesus which
begins on Sunday, May 22, is “Choose Church.”
What wisdom! Because Jesus has
loved us, because he has died to forgive us, and because Jesus has risen to
offer us eternal life, we want to worship Him regularly with His people in
church. However, we still struggle with
the desires and temptations of our sinful nature. We need help which Jesus
offers through His church. Listen to the
words of Hebrews 10. “23 Let us hold unswervingly to
the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider
how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give
up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage
one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:23-25) We may not always “hold unswervingly” to our faith,
but God is faithful. He gives us the gift of worship and
fellowship in our congregations to “spur us on to love and good deeds.” He gives us fellow Christians to “encourage
one another” to faith in Jesus. Therefore,
we do not want to “give up meeting together.”
We WANT to “Choose Church.”
I am thankful for the Scriptural
encouragement of “The Being Challenge” book.
I am thankful and blessed that these 5 8th grade students
have received God’s grace in baptism, and now respond by promising to serve our
Lord and His Church with their lives. The
timing for Confirmation Day seems perfect to me. As we struggle in our walk with Jesus, He
helps us through His Word, through the Sacraments, through His Church.
All these students are special. But, as I mentioned last week, one of those
making these vows is my grandson, Jake. Jake,
I can share with you that I have tried to do MY best to keep my vows, but I
have still failed my Lord at times. Therefore,
I want to encourage you by echoing the words of my Grampy. Jake, “I hope you do
a better job with your vows than I did.”
Our Lord gives you His church to help your walk as a Child of God. So, in order to choose Jesus, “Choose Church.”
A Child of God, Encouraging Confirmation
Students, and My Grandson, to ‘Choose Church!’
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Kathy and I returned home in Alaska from
Florida last Tuesday morning. We have
spent the last week opening a mountain of mail, and we spent time getting our
house and yard ready for the Alaska summer.
There was no fishing this past week, but . . . my boat IS now ready to
go!
P.P.S. This March I shared these pictures from my
confirmation day. But here they are
again, including pictures of my dad, my grandfather, my pastor, and another important
mentor. https://photos.app.goo.gl/cbQhq7G86zsZuDsA7
*****
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.)
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
Emeritus, St. John Lutheran Church
E-Mail: jonrock53@mtaonline.net
“1 John 3:1 How great is the love the
Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that
is what we are!” (1 John 3:1a)
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