Dear Members and Friends of St. John,
During the Memorial Day weekend our 6 grandchildren spent
the night at our home. It was a noisy
time of family fun. That Sunday, May 27,
our grandson Jake hurt his ankle playing with the others in the sprinkler when
he slipped and fell. For quite a while Jake
limped around. In fact, Jake limped Sunday afternoon and even on Monday. I had trouble believing a little slip caused such
on-going pain, so I encouraged him to stop limping. Yet, when Jake’s mom and dad took him to the
doctor, after an examination and an x-ray, the doctor put Jake’s ankle in a
cast and is treating him for a broken bone. Boy, do I feel like a bad grandpa!
That’s not the first time I have had trouble believing
one of my offspring was feeling badly.
When Andy was about 5, and playing with Josh on the same T-Ball team, he
claimed he did not feel well didn’t want to play one day. I thought Andy was making excuses, so I encouraged
him to “be tough” and play. But Andy kept
saying he felt sick. I finally relented
and drove Andy home. In the car, on the
way home, Andy threw up in the back seat.
I realized my lack of compassion for my son. I felt guilty, without understanding, like I
wasn’t the best dad.
Overall I think of myself as a good father. I have come to believe from Scripture that the
first job of parents is to teach their children about their Lord. I have sought to teach my children about
Jesus, with my words, and even more with my life. But, there are still many examples of my
failure. My children have a list of
times that “Dad” acted in ways that are less than stellar. They now remember and remind me of my
failures and inconsistencies as they tease me.
I believe that fathers are also to love and care for
their children. Kathy and I have made
many decisions in life that were specifically intended so that we could be good
parents to our children. These decisions
extend from decisions about our work and our jobs, to what kind of gifts we gave
at Christmas and birthdays. Kathy and I
did not always agree about what was the best way to parent our children as
Christian children. But, when we
disagreed we discussed our differing opinions as to what was the best way to
parent. We decided how we would act and,
as much as possible, we did so accordingly.
Nevertheless, there were many times we felt we had made mistakes as
parents.
There is one Father, however, who is always wise, always
loving, and always compassionate, who always does what is best for His
children, even if His children do not always appreciate His love. Listen to these words about our heavenly Father from Psalm 103. “8 The
LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will
not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat
us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high
as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our
transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the
LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:8-14) What a blessing to
have the Almighty Creator of all as our loving heavenly Father!
Jesus points out in the New Testament that, even though
earthly parents try to love their children, our heavenly Father loves us even more wisely and fully. Listen to Jesus’ words in Matthew 7 from the
Sermon on the Mount. “9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread,
will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father
in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11) God gives good in response to the requests of His
children.
Yet, the most loving act of our heavenly Father is that
He sent Jesus to save us. We are God’s
created children. Jesus is the “one and
only” Son of God, or as more directly translated from the original Greek in the
King James Version, the “only-begotten Son” of God. Imagine, the heavenly Father sent His “one
and only” Son to save His “created children,” to save you and me! 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him.”
(John 3:16-17)
America observes Fathers’ Day this Sunday. In many places of worship we will give God
thanks for our earthly fathers. I know
my own father is God’s gift who has helped me begin my life in faith, and has
helped me to grow in my understanding of God’s gracious love in Jesus. Thank you, Dad! But, we can especially be thankful for our
all-loving, all-compassionate, all-sacrificing, and all-wise heavenly Father. When our earthly fathers fail, as we all do
in this sinful world, we can be sure of the eternal, saving love of God our heavenly Father.
A Child of God, Thankful for my dad, and especially for
my Heavenly Father!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Colony Days
events at St. John went especially well this year. The weather was great! Our parade entry was one of our best. The food lasted, and one of our largest
groups ever was fed without long waits. (We
figure we fed about 1450 people!) The
youth had a good Rummage Sale. I sent
out “Thank You E-mails” to 50 people, and I’m sure I should have sent
more. THANK YOU to all who gave of their time and efforts!
·
Here are some pictures from the St. John Colony
Days Parade entry. https://photos.app.goo.gl/qFvmhNBncWpb1xJ56
·
Here are some pictures from the St. John 2018
Youth Colony Days Rummage Sale - https://photos.app.goo.gl/fSm6zdhB49HbnnCE7
·
Here are some pictures from the St. John
Lutheran 2018 Colony Days Picnic - https://photos.app.goo.gl/piw5sFcVMBo15J87A
·
Here are pictures of the Palmer Kiwanis “Moose Poop Palooza”
fund raiser - https://photos.app.goo.gl/5i1nxGRrF85iwxrdA
P.P.S. I took
Ethan Mirly and Galen Swigart fishing on Monday. We did not have any bites. But, at least this week we saw other people
get bites. Here are a couple of pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/enjhPXagvLATmoiy6
******
ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am
sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and
friends whose e-mails I have. (I am regularly adding new names of friends
and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.) However, if you do not
want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your
name off my list for this message.
******
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