Dear Fellow Children of God,
Perhaps like me, many of you watched or listened to a lot
of football this last weekend, Saturday, January 17 through Monday, January
19. Even though I also did household chores and went fishing on Saturday,
and even though I worshiped on Sunday, I paid attention to the games. Most were very competitive and, therefore,
exciting. After the game, victorious players shared joyful reactions with
the media when asked. But, the hearts of those on the losing teams seemed
broken, if only for the moment.
I was also impressed by witnesses of faith from many
participants to the goodness of God. A number of players and coaches,
when asked about their games, first uttered words of praise and thanks to the
Lord. We live in a time when faith is questioned, and when many name
Christians as the reason for the problems we have in our world. Such
antagonism to our Lord and His followers has grown in recent years. That
is one reason I was impressed by the willing, unsolicited witness of so many
over recent weeks of football games.
However, there was one scene which really touched
me. On Sunday, January 18, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Chicago
Bears. The Bears are quite a story. They have not been a good team
for many years. But they have a new quarterback and a new coach, and they
worked their way to the second best record in the National Football Conference
this year. What was unique to the Bears is that in many of their wins
they came from behind at the end of the game. On Sunday, they seemed
poised to do it again. They were trailing again, but scored one
unbelievable touchdown. Then, they had the ball in the closing seconds of
the game and were driving down the field toward a possible winning
touchdown. However, the quarterback who had authored so many amazing
comebacks threw a pass which was intercepted by the Rams. This time the
Bears did not pull the game out. The quarterback who had led the team to
so many improbable wins, finally lost. Watching his reaction, I could see
he was heart-broken.
Yet, after the game, the cameras focused on a scene which
really struck me. The losing quarterback, in the midst of his distress
over the loss, walked over to a group of players from both teams. He
knelt down in the circle of teammates and opponents, he put his arms on the
players beside him, and he bowed his head to pray with them. He was not
talking for the TV. The winners and the losers were together going to the
Lord, and in so doing acknowledging His authority, His power, and His
grace. The game announcers did not say anything. Yet, the cameramen
did catch this group as they prayed. The prayers of these players, and
their acknowledgement in these prayer of God as Lord, was more moving for me
than the game was.
God calls Christians to witness to the good news of His
love for us in Jesus. Our own family recently had some great news.
If you ask me, I will gladly share with you. In fact, you might have
trouble keeping me quiet. That is the way God wants His children to be,
gladly sharing the good news of His love and grace. One verse in which
Jesus calls us to witness is from Acts 1:8. “But you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Christians
are called to share with others about Jesus . . . to the ends of the earth.
However,
the actions of the players praying together, both winning and losing
players, touched me even more than the verbal witness of the players and
coaches who simply spoke after the game. Sometimes those words can seem
scripted, even though they are sincere. But the sincere actions of those
who were praying spoke louder to me. Perhaps you know what Jesus taught
in the Sermon on the Mount. “ . . . let your light shine
before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to
your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) The old saying is that
actions speak louder than words. Jesus wants the actions of our lives to
witness to His power and love.
St. Peter also encourages the church which he shepherded,
“ . . . but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being
prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope
that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, (1 Peter 3:15) Since
we have hope in the love of God, we are called to prepare ourselves to joyfully
share that hope.
What good news do we have to share? We are
created by the Lord of all. But we have rebelled against him in our thoughts
and actions. We are sinners who deserve God’s judgment. Yet in love our
Heavenly Father sent His Son. Jesus came for those separated from Him,
and Jesus lived a righteous life for them, He died for them, and He rose for
them. Jesus knows our failings and He still loves us. Jesus knows
our rebellion, but still calls us to His forgiveness through faith. Jesus
personally knows and experienced the death caused by our sin, but He has
defeated our enemy in His own resurrection. That is good news –
GREAT NEWS! Therefore, even losing a football game seems as nothing
when the Almighty Lord of All comes to save us.
No wonder there were so many
witnesses of faith to the goodness of God in last week’s football games. Whether
a person wins or loses, God is Good, and He has shown His love and goodness by
sending Jesus.
How joyful are you
about the amazing, undeserved love of God in Jesus? How much hope do you
have? Do people marvel when you share the good news of God, not only in
words, but also in your actions? “ . . . let your light shine before others, so that
they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.”
A Child of God, Seeking to
Witness to God’s Love With My ACTIONS, as Well as With My Words!
Pastor Rockey
P.S. I am now in Gainesville, FL, serving as
assistant to Pastor Chris Kollmann at First Lutheran Church.
First Lutheran Activities
·
STEPHEN MINISTRY - We will be restarting
Stephen Ministry soon at First Lutheran. Stephen Ministers are trained
Christian care-givers. A Stephen Minister is not a pastor, and not
a counselor. But they Christians who are trained to bring Jesus
and His love to another Christian person facing a difficult time.
Open Arms Director, Angie Burr, is a trained leader. We are looking
for one or two more people to go through training to help Angie lead in this
ministry.
We do have a number of God’s children who previously
volunteered to serve as Stephen Ministers, as Christian care-givers. We
hope to offer training soon for these folks so they can begin serving as
Stephen Ministers at First Luthearn.
THEREFORE, if you are interested in serving as a Stephen Ministry
Leader, or interested in serving as a Stephen Minister, please contact Angie
Burr or contact me (Pastor Rockey).
·
Pastor Kollman and I will begin teaching
separate Sunday Bible classes on Sunday, February 1.
o He
will teach a Lutheran Hour Ministry Class on “How we Got the Bible” in
the Besalski Fellowship Hall.
o I
will teach a study of the book of Ephesians in the Schwiebert Library.
·
Young People Activities at FLC
o YOUTH
ACTIVITIES - I will be helping with some youth activity at First
Lutheran. We plan to have a short
meeting after worship on Sunday February 1 with parents and youth. If you have a child who is 9 years old or
older, please consider attending this meeting and participating in these fun
activities of growth.
o ACOLYTE
TRAINING - We will also be offering acolyte training again at the end of
February. Now that we have families and
children we want to give these youth an opportunity to grow and serve our Lord.
Other Activities of
Faith:
·
I have again started my two year journey with my
Lord. On Wednesday, January 21, I
read Genesis 27 and 28, and read again of the Lord’s promises to Jacob.
Feel free to join me again if you wish. You may also contact me at 907-841-4066
if you have any questions about these readings. Or send an e-mail
question to jonrock53@mtaonline.net
I have received questions and comments about the readings. 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.S. Family Fun and Fishing! The weather has been freezing in
the morning, and the water temperature in the lakes has dipped, and the fishing
has slowed down.
·
I did golf on Thursday, January 15, Monday,
January 19, and Wednesday, January 21.
Here is a picture of hole number 5 from Monday’s golf game. https://photos.app.goo.gl/E4fEFCEGrxFj22QeA
·
With the Florida temperature in the 20’s on
Friday and Saturday, January 16 and 17, I worked on boat maintenance. I lubed the bearings on my boat trailer. I changed the gear lube on my lower
unit. I changed the oil in my out-board
motor power-head. I also cleaned the
carpet on the deck of the boat some. I
had hoped to fish on Sunday afternoon, but we had rain and cool weather.
·
After completing my boat maintenance on
Saturday, January 17, I did go to a favorite lake and try the boat out. Everything worked well. 😊 However, the water temperature was 59
degrees, and the fish were not biting. ☹ Here are some
pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/nv6oYiG23SeivfzWA
*******
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 Assistant to the
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
Assistant to the 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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