Dear Fellow Children of God,
Valentine’s Day, a day dedicated to love, falls on
February 14 in 2024, as it does every year.
What would you give up to show, or even to prove your love for your
spouse, for your child, or for another loved one?
In many ways, I believe that Valentines Day is a product
of Hollywood and its portrayal of ‘romantic love.’ According to Hollywood, love makes a person feel
great. If someone loves me so that I do feel
good, this feeling in many ways is a selfish emotion. According to this idea of love, I am counting
on someone else, the person I love, to give me this wonderful feeling. I am receiving FROM them, or even TAKING from
them.
But love like God calls for does not take. Godly love GIVES. Consider a few of the Lord’s words to us.
"For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) According to Scripture, God’s love is not selfish. God’s love GIVES.
“13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay
down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) The Bible tells us
that God’s love, LAYS DOWN ITS LIFE!
“4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is
not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not
irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but
rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes
all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8
Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians
13:4-8) When Scripture defines love we are told that God’s love is
PATIENT AND KIND . . . ENDURING ALL THINGS.
““10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God
so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:10-11) God’s love pays for our sins!! Godly love does not take. God-like love GIVES..
Not only is February 14 Valentines Day, but in 2024, Ash
Wednesday also falls on February 14. Ash Wednesday begins the season of
Lent. The Lenten season precedes Easter
and points to our sin, which led to the suffering and death of Jesus. Lent, therefore, is a time of repentance, and
often a time of fasting. That is why we
use ashes to begin the Lenten season, as an outward sign of sorrow for our sin.
Lent is also a time when we remember God’s sacrificial
love for us in Jesus. Lent has become a
time when God’s people seek to grow in our Lord’s saving love through worship
and even fasting, giving something up to remember our Lord’s giving love. The
outward act of fasting by giving something up means nothing by itself. But, when this act shows a heart sorry for
sin, a heart wanting to grow in God’s love, then such an outward action can
help us in our faith.
What would you give up to show, or even to prove your
love for your spouse, for your child, or for another loved one? How will you grow this Lent in understanding
the gift of God’s Son, as the ultimate act of love? I encourage you to remember the words of
Jesus, “13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay
down his life for his friends.”
A Child of God, Observing Lent Because I Am Blessed by
and I Am Responding to the Giving Love of Jesus!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. NEWS CONCERNING FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH -
Gainesville.
MID-WEEK LENTEN WORSHIP BEGINS Wednesday, February 14,
with worship services at noon and 6:30 p.m. During these services there is
an opportunity for the imposition of ashes on our foreheads.
These
services are held at 6:30 for the next 5 Wednesday in Lent, until March 20. A
Lenten meal is held each Wednesday evening at 5:00 p.m.
GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH IN CHIEFLAND, a
daughter congregation of First Lutheran, will install Pastor Larry Griffin this
Sunday, February 18, at 4:00 p.m. Come and
help them celebrate!
FIRST LUTHERAN MEMBERS
·
VISIT TO FIRST LUTHERAN MEMBER, Marlene Fast
– Some First Lutheran Ladies (and a former First Lutheran member) visited
Marlene Fast at Magnolia Ridge on Marlene's 91st birthday, 2-13-2024. Here is a picture. https://photos.app.goo.gl/UuhL1zweyJzD1ryx9
·
Pastor Rockey was surprised to meet Mary and
Chuck Brabham at a C.S. Lewis play at UF, 2-12-2024. Here is a picture - https://photos.app.goo.gl/L58M6fH5oKnCEH9d8
CALL PROCESS – Our self-study for the pastoral call is
completed. If you have not done so, PLEASE
TURN IN YOUR PASTORAL ATTRIBUTES SURVEY. You can turn in the hard
copy, or e-mail or text a copy to Leeann or Mark Hoyer. Our goal was to
complete this congregational survey by February 11.
BASIC TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE / NEW MEMBER CLASSS –A
new membership class began February
11th, after worship in the Besalski Fellowship
Hall. But, we have only just begun. There is still time to join the class.
It is also a good way to refresh
you knowledge of God’s Word.
PLEASE NOTE, JUST
BECAUSE A PERSON ATTENDS THE CLASS DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE COMMITTED TO JOINING
FIRST LUTHERAN. If you are interested in learning and growing, we
would love to have you join us.
A STUDY OF THE BOOK OF ACTS continues on Sunday mornings
at 8:45 a.m. in the Besalski Fellowship Hall. We are now studying Acts 10.
WE CONTINUE TO READ THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE IN 2024 and
2025 using the Today’s Light Devotional Bible. –We held a zoom
meeting last Wednesday, February 7, to discuss what we have been reading. A total of 4 people, plus the pastor,
participated. We talked (or I did) for
about an hour, reviewing readings through Genesis and into Exodus. We may hold another such Zoom meeting. As of
February 13 we had read through Exodus 15.
SUNDAY SCHOOL IS HELD EACH SUNDAY DURING WORSHIP.
PLEASE bring your children and grandchildren!
P.P.S. PICTURES – AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
Kathy and I spent a couple of day in St. Augustine with
friends who introduced us 47 years ago, Pastor Rick and Kris Armstong. (This year is our 47th
anniversary.) Here are some pictures of
our time together last week. https://photos.app.goo.gl/aW2V5L3aidnzKcZP9
I went FISHING once this past week. On
Superbowl Sunday afternoon, February 11, I went fishing in a local lake. I stopped fishing at 5:00 p.m. so I could get
home and not miss all the football game, and I still brought home 4 nice
bass. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/XgAPPVTw7NGq6ruE9
Garden – I have started a vegetable garden in FL –
Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/h45snNmUTbEDc8rGA
AK Boat – My boat on the Kenai needed some
work. It now has a new floor, and the
motor which used to be on my Palmer boat.
Here are a couple of pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/vJTwjPhawSZ1auFR6
My Foot - For those who have asked, my foot is
getting better after I dropped the boat trailer on it on February 2.
*******
ABOUT THIS DEVOTION - I retired at the end of August 2019
from serving as full-time 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.
(Currently I am serving as Vacancy Pastor for First Lutheran Church in
Gainesville, FL.)
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
Vacancy Pastor, First Lutheran Church, Gainesville, FL
Pastor Emeritus, St. John Lutheran Church, Palmer, AK
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 3:1 a)
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