Recently I was looking
through my high school yearbook from my senior year. Many friends had written those inscriptions
which friends write in yearbooks. But, I
was surprised to see a message from my Physics teacher, Mr. Cooper. I had been a pretty good student. I remember helping friends with their
work. But, admittedly, I also often had
a cocky attitude which could rub teachers the wrong way. With today’s humility of old age about the
foolishness of my youth, I was surprised to read that Mr. Cooper wrote, “Jonathan,
think well of yourself. So many others
do.” Wow! That caused me to pause. I could have understood if my teacher thought
I was a young kid with a big head.
Instead, he wrote a message of encouragement and commendation! That was a surprise.
How does our
Heavenly Father see us? How does God see
you? It is easy to go to our failures
and our sins and understand if God sees us primarily as a disappointment. After all, He created us in love to live in a
relationship of worship and service with Him.
But, in pride and rebellion we have gone our own ways, causing ourselves
trouble and dishonoring the name of our Lord.
Would
you be surprised to know that God looks on your differently. Consider these words from 1 Peter
2:9-10. “9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you
are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have
received mercy.” God inspired Peter to write this message to Christians
in “the dispersion.” These Christians
had not necessarily been of the chosen Jewish race. They could have thought of themselves as
unimportant in the eyes of the God of Israel.
But, through Jesus, God saw the people of this church differently.
We can understand
that God might see us as those who were “not a people,” as those who “had not
received mercy.” After all, our sin and rebellion
deserve reproach. But, God instead sees
us and considers us as “a chosen people,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that [we] may
declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful
light.” I should know better, but it
is still surprising to me that our Lord and Creator considers us in such a loving
light! Therefore, I was also recently
surprised to see how God puts this truth into practice.
Many of you know
that I have a prayer list for daily and weekly prayers. In the mornings, I will read my devotional
readings from the Bible and then pray for those people or situations which are
on my heart, asking God’s wise and loving intervention. Recently as I was going over the highlighted
areas of this list I also received a surprise, perhaps like the surprise I
received from my high school yearbook.
It seems that in areas of concern, God is addressing them through my attention. For example, I had been praying for the
Alaska Mission for Christ as new leadership has brought changes. Somehow, I have ended up leading the teaching
of training for Licensed Deacons for AMC.
We are about to finish our class on the Sacraments. I’m not sure that I thought when I prayed to
the Lord about this concern, He would answer this prayer through my actions.
I have been praying
for Funny River Community Lutheran Church since their pastor took a call and
left at the end of September. As I was
looking at my list I realized that I had led worship and preached at Funny
River on the second Sunday in January and February. Again, I’m not sure that I thought when I
prayed to the Lord about this concern, He would answer this prayer through my
actions.
I have prayed for
St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer for years, with different concerns on my
prayer list as time passes. On my
current list are God’s help for our congregation to deal with all the issues
surrounding COVID, and also for help with improving and using technology, an
area where I do not have expertise. But,
as I was looking at my list I realized that I had contacted, by phone or e-mail
or text message, between 60 and 70 households, just to check in during these
COVID times. That was one of the tasks I
was asked to do when the Elders asked me to return to serving part time: to
help with those who might “fall through the cracks” as this pandemic makes it
more difficult to worship together, and more difficult to do ministry together. And then, last Wednesday, February 17, in
response to discussion in a staff meeting, I invited some of our technology
experts to gather together. The purpose
of this meeting was to discuss ways to continue improving our web page, our
social media presence, and our ability to live stream worship. While I have been praying about this issue, I
certainly did not expect God to use a non-expert like me in addressing this
need!
These are just
some of the areas where I found God using me to accomplish His work in areas of
concern about which I had been praying.
I admit, when I realized this, I was surprised, perhaps even more
surprised than when I found that inscription from my high school physics
teacher.
But
should we be surprised when God uses us to do His work? After all, God created us, and gifted
us. He knows us better than we know
ourselves. God considers us so valuable
that He paid the price of sending His only Son to suffer and die for us to save
us. And, as 1 Peter 2 says, God has a
purpose for those of us who know our failings, but have been saved by
Jesus. “9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you
are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have
received mercy.” In Jesus, God makes those who “were
not a people” into “people of God”, surprisingly so that we “may declare the praises of him who called
you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Imagine God can use a sinner like me and
like you!
So, what have you
been praying about? How might God be
using you to do His work, even if you are surprised that God chose you?
A Child of God, Surprised
How God Sees Me and Chooses to Use Me!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. The Annual St. John Shane Woods Memorial Ice Fishing Outing was held
on Saturday, February 20 at Seventeen Mile Lake. The weather was cold and windy. A number of families couldn’t make it because
of illness. But we still had a turnout of about 45 people, and a great time in God’s
Creation. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/DuoNaJfAgSpEmQqGA
P.P.S. I went fishing in Florida on Tuesday, February 23. I still had some effects of jet lag, but . . the weather forecast called for a high of 72, and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a nice opportunity for winding down. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/vuNvNKyTmzQFc1GJ7
P.P.P.S. Here are some pictures of our dog, Mat, at
our friends house, the home of Wayne and Mary Mize. My wife says Mat is at the “doggy spa!” More on this in some future week. https://photos.app.goo.gl/5buRPkhWeN5onCz4A
*****
ABOUT
THIS DEVOTION - I retired at the end of August 2019 from serving as 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. (Though I am now serving
again part-time at St. John as assistant to the pastor.) Perhaps you also know that I “killed” my
computer on November 7, 2020. In so
doing I lost, for a time at least, all my e-mail contacts. So, I was really goofed up. Many who were receiving this devotion each
week were no longer receiving it. I
tried to rebuild my distribution list, but I am not sure how accurate I have
been.
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
Pastor Emeritus,
St. John Lutheran Church
E-Mail: jonrock53@mtaonline.net
cell phone -
907-841-4066
Home phone -
907-746-5131
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