Dear
Fellow Children of God,
As school opened this past week, another
new challenge arose in our community, and also in Anchorage. The problem is
there are not enough school buses nor bus drivers to transport children to public
schools. Obviously this creates difficulties. How will children get to school? Will parents who work have to show up late to
their jobs? Will students just not
attend school for the day? But, while
the bus shortage creates problems, sometimes the reaction to our problems is
even worse. The newspapers and social
media have been full of complaints and name calling. And, this is just one of many issues that
have arisen in recent years including COVID, shortage of workers in many areas,
supply chain shortages, and deep divisions in our country. I’ve heard people comment that our world is
falling apart. I understand their concerns.
So, my question is, “How can
Christians respond in a positive and helpful way in the midst of the challenges
of 21st century life?” How
can we be helpful, rather that make the problem worse? How can we bring the love and the strength
and the wisdom of our Lord to these struggles?
In my devotions on Tuesday, August
23, the closing prayer was written by St. Ignatius of Loyola. (1491-1556) The fervor of Ignatius in the prayer moved
me. He wrote and prayed, “Teach me to serve Thee as Thou deservest; to
give, and not to count the cost; to fight, and not to heed the wounds, to toil,
and not to seek for rest, and to ask for no reward, save that of knowing that I
do Thy will. Amen.” (For All The
Saints, Volume IV, pages 367-368.) In
other words, Christian faith is not just something to think or to feel, but
also to live, to show in one’s life. St.
Ignatius prayed for God’s help to live his faith in Jesus. That is a worthy prayer for Christians today.
One of the reasons this prayer
struck me is because of the topic of Adult Bible Class at St. John Lutheran in
Palmer on the previous Sunday, August 21.
The discussion revolved around our changing culture, and how to witness
effectively and faithfully concerning Jesus.
We looked at 1 Peter 2:9-12. Verses
9-10 read, “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 other words, Peter writes to the people
of his day, God speaks to the people of all time, and shares how special our
Lord’s love is. God chose people who
were unloved and loved them in His Son, Jesus.
Our Father, therefore, calls the recipients of this letter to share His
love in Jesus, to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light.”
But, HOW are God’s people to
witness? Do we share thoughts and
feelings in words only? Listen to what
God inspired Peter to write, encouraging the witness of Christians. “11 Dear friends, I urge you, as
aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war
against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they
accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the
day he visits us.” (1 Peter
2:11-12) Words alone can be
effective. But, more effective in
sharing God’s love is the life of the Christian. According to St. Peter, some
of those who accused Christians of “doing wrong” will “glorify God on the day
He visits us.” This is because they have
seen the lives of God’s children. Do
you know any who do not NOW know Jesus, but who will praise God on Judgement
Day, having been convinced as the Spirit works faith, using your words AND your
actions to point them to Jesus? Are the actions
of your life speaking of God’s grace?
However, there
is a problem. My life and my actions are
not always faithful, nor loving, nor selfless. In fact, Christians at times speak of righteousness, yet then live in ways that show anger, or greed, or
show lack of love, or exhibit lack of faith.
When Christians speak of faith and love but live in self-righteousness
or selfishness, they give a bad witness, and the world sees them as hypocrites. In truth, St. Ignatius struggled too. No wonder he prayed that prayer.
Our failures,
after all, are the reason God sent His Son.
All struggle with the desire to serve self, with the desires of the
flesh. No one is perfect, including
Christians, including St. Ignatius. We
need a savior. We need Jesus. Actually, effective witnessing includes
admitting our own faults, and our need for someone to forgive and to save us from
our sins. You see, if I know that I do
not deserve God’s love, yet see my Heavenly Father’s grace in Jesus, then my
actions of faith are a natural reaction of thankfulness. Then my actions of
faith come from my heart.
So, in the middle of recent
difficulties, wouldn’t the calm of knowing that God is in charge make a
difference? As people complain, wouldn’t
an attitude of humility because of our own shortcomings, humility which
understand the struggles of others, be welcome?
Wouldn’t faithful and willing service be different from the loud demands
we see around us? Maybe that is how God’s children can make a difference.
I am a sinner, yet Jesus died and
rose to save me. How can I not love
Him? How can I not trust Him? How can I not serve Him, and others because
of His love for me? If Christians trust Jesus, and live their faith, it makes a
difference in our world. When the world is
falling apart, God’s people can provide a welcome helpfulness. When we know the problems in our world and we
know our own failings, but we also know the saving love of Jesus, when we
respond to that love, it makes a difference from what is going on around us.
Believe in JESUS – LIVE your faith. You will be a blessing. You will point to Jesus!
A Child of God, Praying to Respond
in a Positive and Helpful Way to Life’s Challenges!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here are some pictures from our 45th
anniversary celebration. https://photos.app.goo.gl/QXF4Wabo9xFzrc2c6
P.P.S. The water is high in our area, but we went
fishing anyway. Here are some pictures.
·
On
Wednesday. August 17, I took Arlene Larsen, daughter Lysia, and DCE Ethan Mirly
fishing. Arlene won a fishing trip at the Youth Auction. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Nf62KdRG9twJQqiaA
·
On
Friday, August 19, I took Bob and Jackie Davis and son, Carson, fishing. https://photos.app.goo.gl/1hNPf5W16jZxruHP7
·
On
Saturday, August 20, I smoked fish. https://photos.app.goo.gl/TfhEbat8TbcGqi2c6
·
On
Monday, August 22, I took Pastor Craig Schultz, Dave Nufer, and Ethan Mirly
fishing. Unfortunately, we only caught
one fish. https://photos.app.goo.gl/JGsjj1qYRAFbBnus9
·
To
show the water is high, these are pictures of the weir on the Little
Susitna. These pieces floated downstream
in the flood waters. https://photos.app.goo.gl/wCYtUUNpVwG1LiF88
*****
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.)
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
“1 John 3:1 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 3:1a)
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