Dear Fellow Children of God,
Election Day 2020 has come and gone . . . maybe. We have been through the most contentious presidential
campaign I can remember in my 67 years. Candidates
campaigning for the US Senate and the House of Representatives also spent
hundreds of millions of dollars. Therefore,
people have been waiting for a conclusion to this election cycle and waiting
for an end to the accusations and recriminations of this year’s campaigns. I am thankful, however, that even though
people have different views on the issues before our nation I hear people on
both sides of the political spectrum as ready to begin building life together as
a country. That is my prayer.
However, even though Election Day itself is over, and
even though this election seems especially important, many political experts
have predicted that the results of this election may be slow in coming. Vote tallies are often known the night of the
contest. But there are predictions that
it may take days, or weeks, or even months to learn the final results of this year’s
election. In fact, the final decision of
the presidential race is still up in the air as I write. And, no matter who does win, when the results
of the election are known, many people will be highly disappointed because
their candidate will have lost.
If all our hopes revolve around our politicians and
leaders there is good reason for that disappointment.
Politicians and leaders seem important. Nevertheless, every leader is a sinful human being. They all have weaknesses as well as
strengths. There have been good and bad
leaders in throughout history. Many
times even the seemingly good leaders fail to accomplish what they promise.
When it comes to our leaders, however,
Christians have another hope, a better hope, and a sure hope. God inspired the Psalmist to write in Psalm
118:8-9 “8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man. 9 It is better to
take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.” And, we read
in Psalm 146:3-5, “3 Do not put your
trust in princes, in mortal men,
who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on
that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the
God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God” While every leader is flawed in some way, while
every leader is mortal and will die, we
can trust in the Lord. Our Heavenly
Father is all-powerful. He is wise
beyond any wisdom of our leaders. The
Lord is righteous and bring real justice.
Our Lord is loving and merciful as well.
And, this all-wise, righteous, and merciful Creator of all is also King
and Ruler of all. So, instead of
trusting human leaders, God’s people trust THE LORD! No matter who is elected in this year’s elections, our Heavenly Father still
rules over all.
In fact, in the book of Revelation we read about an
interesting title for Jesus. Revelation
19:16 tells us of Christ, “On his robe and on his thigh he has this
name written: KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.” Other leaders
may rule us. Other leaders may fail
us. Jesus, the Son of God is over all
the kings, over all presidents, and ruler of all the rulers of the world.
This King of Kings and Lord of Lords is different from
the rulers of this world. He does not
just order His people around. Jesus is
the servant king who laid down His life for the whole world. Jesus is the ruler, the leader, the king who
actually loves and cares for His people, and then leads them in paths of righteousness.
Who knows when we will find out the final results of this
year’s election. News reports are
talking of legal challenges that may go on and on. But Christians know who is really in
charge. God’s children know that our
King is ruler of this world’s kings and presidents. We can find peace and strength that our Lord
loves us, and died for us, and rose again to deliver on His promise to save
us. With Jesus as my Lord, I can live
under whoever is president in this country.
A Child of God, Thankful that Jesus is Lord of Lords and
King of Kings,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. The last few
weeks have seen many celebrations among Alaskan Lutheran Churches. Last week you saw pictures of the
Installation of Pastor Andrew Carlson in Fairbanks on October 25. Since last week’s devotion Faith Lutheran in
Homer has celebrated their 50th anniversary. Also, Albino Y Kong has been ordained as a
Lutheran pastor, and installed as Missionary at Large to the Sudanese
population in Anchorage. Here is a
picture of the large Sudanese choir singing at Albino’s ordination. (The singing of the choir was wonderfully
lively! President Linnemann commented, “I
didn’t know you could dance to ‘A Mighty Fortress.’”) https://photos.app.goo.gl/eiztsuNPaedE6bM28
P.P.S. Fishing? I had hoped to Fish in Homer on October
30. However, when we awoke at 6:00 a.m. that
morning, the wind was blowing 20 mph.
The marine forecast was for continued and possibly increasing
winds. We did not fish on Friday.
*****
ABOUT THIS DEVOTION - I am now
retired from serving as senior pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer,
AK. My weekly devotion was previously titled, "Thoughts from the
Pastor." However, with life's changes I now call the devotion
"Journeys Through Life as a Child of God." I am only sending
this message to those who have asked to receive it. If you know someone
else who desires to receive this message, have them e-mail me at jonrock53@mtaonline.net.
I will include them on my distribution list. You can also view this message on
my Facebook page.
HOWEVER, A NUMBER
OF PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME WHY THEY ARE NO LONGER RECEIVING MY DEVOTIONS. Since I’m only sending these e-mails to
people who ask for them, many are no longer receiving these messages. BUT, if you read this on Facebook and like to
receive these devotions by e-mail, or if you know someone who would like to
receive these devotions, send me an e-mail at jonrock53@mtaonline.net, and I will add
you to my distribution list.
Child of God
Husband, Father, Son, Grandfather
Pastor Emeritus, St. John Lutheran Church
907-841-4066 – cell
907-746-5131 – home
E-Mail: jonrock53@mtaonline.net
No comments:
Post a Comment