Dear Fellow
Children of God,
I have been involved in a number of
conversations lately concerning farming, or concerning growing things. I guess it’s that time of year. When visiting with 93 year old St. John
member, Paul Kunkel, we discussed our gardens, specifically our raspberries. Paul mentioned how our weather had been
somewhat different this year, and how our raspberry crop was also not the same
as in previous years.
I had a similar conversation while visiting
with elderly St. John member, Ernst Knueppel, Ernie and I discussed his garden
and his apples. Ernie also brought up
the topic of weather. Of course, it has
been raining a lot lately.
God speaks to us through creation, through plants and
weather, flowers, and many other things.
In the Old Testament God promised His continuing protection and provision
to Noah, after the great flood. “ . . . "Never again will I curse the
ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from
childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
22 "As long as the earth endures, seedtime
and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (Genesis 8:21-22) The
consistency of the seasons, the fact that plants grow, speaks to us of the faithfulness
of our Lord.
In the Gospel lesson assigned for the Ninth Sunday after
Pentecost, this year on August 7, Jesus taught His disciples. “27
Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not
even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is
how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is
thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! God cares for the grass. Our Lord cares for us even more. We can count
on His love and care!
Throughout the parables Jesus uses the truth of our
Heavenly Father’s created world to show how He works in our lives. One of the deepest conversations Jesus had
using a farming metaphor is from John 12.
“20 Now there were some Greeks among
those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from
Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we
would like to see Jesus." 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip
in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of
Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to
the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves
his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep
it for eternal life. (John 12:20-25)
Jesus died, so He could rise again and bring life to others. We die to self, and rise again to eternal
life because of Jesus.
Look around you. The world is full of messages from God. Our Lord inspired Paul to write, “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” (Romans 1:20)
On Monday, August 8, I picked broccoli
and lettuce from our garden. I put
together a salad, and after supper Kathy and I vacuum-sealed 9 bags of fresh broccoli
for the freezer. As we talked about the
blessings of a good crop, Kathy commented, “There’s something about trusting
the Lord to make things grow.” I pointed
out that there was a time in our country when the majority of people lived on
farms, and had to trust God to provide.
God provides for this life. In Jesus our Lord provides for eternity. In this time of harvest the message of God’s
love is spoken again and again. Do you
hear Him speaking?
A Child of God, Thankful For God’s Message
of Faithfulness and Life, Found in Creation
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here are some pictures of raspberries and
peas picked on Tuesday evening, August 9.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/f5Yz8a4TNYDXxBZs7
P.P.S. I took some friends fishing on Thursday,
August 4. We caught 7 pink salmon (which
we released), 1 chum, (which we released), 1 king (which we released), and one
silver salmon which we kept. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/J3z2SFDxT3yoqQb28
*****
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
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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