Dear Fellow Children of God,
Are you praying for Christ’s Church? Are you praying for your pastor or pastors?
Today, May 21, I sat and visited with friend, Jerry Simpson. Jerry is a member and an elder at Our
Redeemer where I am now serving as vacancy pastor. However, Jerry is also the Executive Director
of Alaska Mission for Christ, the mission arm of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
congregations in Alaska. As we visited,
I shared the following with Jerry. “I pray for you, personally, daily. I pray for you as you lead AMC, that AMC may ‘boldly
proclaim the gospel’ of Jesus.” Jerry
was appreciative. Truly, I have been
praying for AMC and for Jerry for quite a few years.
Perhaps you know, or perhaps not, that St. Paul requested
such prayers for His work as an apostle.
In Ephesians 6, after encouraging Christians in Ephesus to “put on the
whole armor of God,” (Ephesians 6:11) Paul then asks prayers for Himself. “. . .keep alert with all perseverance,
making supplication for all the saints, 19
and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my
mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I
am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:18 b-20) Paul knows the challenges and struggles of
sharing Jesus and His Gospel. Paul knows
that He needs help for this task. Paul,
therefore, asks for prayers that God’s will be done through his work, that he “boldly
to proclaim the mystery of the gospel”
The word ‘gospel’ comes from the Greek and means good
report, or good news. God’s Good News is
that Jesus, the Son of God, came to save us from our sin. Earlier in Ephesians God inspired Paul to
describe ‘the Gospel.” THIS is God’s
good news! “4 But God,
being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5
even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--
by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and
seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that
in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been
saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:4-9) In other words, we were eternally dead
because of our rebellion against our Creator and Lord, because of our trespasses
and our sins. However, the Heavenly
Father ‘made us alive in Christ.’
We did not earn this new life.
The new life is a gift, it is grace, found only through Jesus. Jesus IS The Good News!
Paul also writes in 2 Corinthians 4:5, “For what we
proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your
servants for Jesus' sake.” God’s good news, His Gospel is all about Jesus!
In truth, when I pray, I do not just pray for Jerry. I
pray daily for the whole Christian Church on earth to boldly proclaim Jesus’
Gospel. So, I have actually been praying
for the new pope, Pope Leo, for faithful and bold proclamation of Jesus. I also pray for those who lead where I have served
or serve, that their leadership may enable churches to boldly and faithfully
proclaim the Good News of Jesus. Therefore,
I pray daily for Matthew Harrison, president of the LCMS. I pray for Mike Von Behren, president of the
Northwest District of the LCMS. And I
pray daily for my brother, James, president of the Florida-Georgia
District. I pray that these servants may
lead congregations to boldly and faithfully proclaim Jesus and His saving work.
It is also good to let you know that, just because I pray
for these leaders, does not mean I always personally agree with what these
leaders do, or how they lead. Just
because I pray for ‘bold and faithful proclamation of the good news of Jesus
does not mean that they accomplish these goals.
But, I do know that sharing of the Gospel is the desire of our God and
Savior. I also know that humans in
positions of godly responsibility need our Lord’s help and guidance. So I pray
for them.
Do you pray for the whole Christian Church on earth? Do you pray for your pastor or pastors? Serving as a spiritual leader is difficult,
and our leaders do need God’s help. Please
join me in praying for these leaders that God’s will may be done, that they “boldly
. . . proclaim the mystery of the gospel.”
A Child of God, Praying for God’s Church and It’s Leaders
to Boldly Proclaim the Good News of Jesus!
Pastor Rockey
P.S. I am now
serving Our Redeemer Lutheran in Chugiak, AK, as part-time Vacancy Pastor. I also covet your prayers for bold and
faithful proclamation of Jesus!
·
MANY CONTINUE TO READ THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE WITH
ME IN 2024 and 2025 using the “Today’s Light Devotional Bible.” On Thursday,
May 21, we read Zechariah 5. We will
finish Zechariah and Malachi on May 31, and then begin reading from the New
Testament on June 2!
Feel free to
contact Pastor Rockey at 907-841-4066 if you have any questions about these
readings. Or send an e-mail question to jonrock53@mtaonline.net I have
recently received questions and comments. It is always good to consider
our Lord’s love and guidance. I will TRY to answer, but some things only God
knows!
P.P.P.S. Family
Fun:
·
Family Time –
o I
worked on my garden some more. However,
with beginning work in Chugiak, golf, boat issues, and doctor appointments, I’ve
had trouble accomplishing much. I have
planted potatoes, and seeds for radishes, carrots, beets, and spinach. I am ready to plant starts for lettuce,
cabbage, broccoli, and collards. I also
hope to plant squash, beans, and peas. https://photos.app.goo.gl/rCdzzDjFwaPsgjEB6
o We
had a treat on May 14. Friends, Eric and
Chris Wyatt, gave us some bear meat from a bear their daughter had shot. Kathy made bear meatloaf. Mmmmmm – good! https://photos.app.goo.gl/4MYaftzY2b85vao38
o On
Sunday, May 18, I preached in Funny River, AK, and Homer, AK. Both are without pastors. Funny River is building a parsonage for possible
use by a pastor. Here are some pictures
from after worship. https://photos.app.goo.gl/AbAHwxV3w54FRGxB6
o I
did present “Outstanding Student Awards” for my Kiwanis Club for the graduation
ceremony at Palmer Junior Middle School on Tuesday, May 20. https://photos.app.goo.gl/a6ptdZNGpsy1wtLD7
o After
the graduation Pastor Tony Schultz and I played golf at Settlers’ Bay in
Wasilla. It was good to golf and share
with my good friend. Here is a
picture.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7E5os1qLsZ52YEDR6
Fishing
o I
had a new motor put on my boat, a Suzuki 90 HP.
However, we are facing some challenges as we seek to get it up and
running. Here are a couple of
pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/moXjJegJoozSUK8D7
*******
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. (However, I am currently as Vacancy Pastor for Our
Redeemer Lutheran Church in Chugiak, AK.)
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, Our Redeemer Lutheran
Church, Chugiak, AK
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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