Dear
Fellow Children of God,
As I write this devotion, my friend, Rev. Paul Linnemann,
recently reminded me (and others) that we currently face a number of storms. Western Alaska is recovering from a massive
storm which caused much damage to many villages. Also, my family and friends in Florida are right
now in the path of hurricane Ian. So, as
we encounter stormy weather, how do
you face the other storms, the storms of life? How do you deal with illness, or
financial trials? How do you face your
personal failures? What do you do when
the world changes, when we experience civil unrest, when crime changes our lives,
or war changes our world? Where do you go when your family is affected by the
ravages of life’s trials and suffering?
We may perhaps feel powerless in the midst of these
storms of life. But, when facing challenges
and trials I find direction in the practice of Jesus: I pray. The Gospel of
Mark teaches, “Very early in the morning, while it
was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place,
where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
This specific verse of Scripture
happens near the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. But we also see our Lord praying after
feeding the 5000 (Matthew 14:23), praying for the Church and His followers on
the night He was betrayed (John 17).
Jesus prayed personally for strength, for direction and help, in the
Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39). Jesus even prayed for those crucifying
Him as He was dying on the cross (Luke 23:34).
As a regular practice, Jesus faced life’s challenges, and life’s trials,
tribulations, and opportunities, in prayer.
Some may ask, “Why did JESUS need
to pray?” After all, Jesus is the Son of
God. Jesus is God Himself. Why would He
need to go to His Heavenly Father in prayer?
But remember, Jesus took on human form, “He became like His brothers in
every way.” (Hebrews 2:17). Paul teaches
that Jesus “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:6) The man Jesus suffered and died for us, and rose
for us. In order to work forgiveness and
salvation for us Jesus became a man. As a man he prayed.
Likewise, when
we pray, we are not powerless as the
storms rage, but instead we place these troubles into the hands of the One who
is all powerful. As king David wrote in
Psalm 27, “The LORD is my light and my
salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom
shall I be afraid?”
Let me also say that I am personally uncomfortable with a
saying I have heard from some other Christians that “Prayer Changes
Things.” I would rather say, “God
Answers Prayer.” You see, it is not so
much what I do in offering a
prayer which makes the difference. It is
the Almighty and Merciful Lord who always hears and always answers prayers in
His wisdom and His love. It is God who
makes the difference! But He does call
us to pray, and that is exactly what Jesus does time and again during His life
on earth. It is a great example for us
to follow.
While in hunting camp last week we continued a long-time
practice of daily devotions, of Bible readings and prayer. I discussed with my hunting partner, Wayne
Mize, how we personally pray. Wayne’s
practice is to pray as he goes to bed at night.
On the other hand, I like to start my day with reading the Scriptures,
with devotions, and with prayer. However,
both of us are regular in prayer life, perhaps because of the trials we face,
and also because we trust the Lord has power and wisdom where we lack power and
wisdom.
As the children of God face the storms of life we are not
helpless, nor are we without hope. The
Lord, the Creator of Heaven and earth, Who loves us and Who sent His
only-begotten Son for us, Who empowers us by His Spirit, this Lord invites us
to call upon Him and He promises to hear and to answer. Let us pray!
A Child of God, Knowing Life’s Troubles and Trusting God’s
Power and Love – So I PRAY!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. St. John took
an offering on short notice this past weekend to assist in relief efforts
through Lutheran Social Services of Alaska for the villages of Western Alaska. Pastor’s Schultz and Rockey delivered 1052
pounds of food and $100.00 cash to LSSA to help communities affected. LSSA had sent 20 pallets of supplies during
the week of September 18. They planned
to send at least 6 pallets on Tuesday, September 27, to Chevak, where St. John
member, Falon Tardiff, is principal. They
hope to continue collecting needed goods to help those in the villages. There will also be a need for crews to
rebuild and repair in the coming year.
Please keep these needs in prayer.
P.P.S. I was in the
woods hunting with friend Wayne Mize from Monday, September 19 to Friday,
September 23. We saw 2 cow moose about ¼
mile away, but no bulls or calves.
However, we did find someone camping in the spot we have traditionally hunted. We experienced rain on and off from Monday
evening through early Thursday morning.
Thursday and Friday mornings began with a thick fog that lifted around
11 or 12.
All that sounds like our hunt
was a disappointment, but that is not true.
There is always an adventure, and always some comfort to spend time
enjoying God’s creation. And, Wayne and
I did spend time each morning in devotions and prayer. Here are some pictures
from our hunt. https://photos.app.goo.gl/H9z9zJH3Vwh27r1A9
P.P.P.S. SUNDAY SCHOOL for all ages STARTED at St. John last Sunday,
September 11, at 9:45 a.m. Last week our
Board of Education counted 96 in attendance.
COME AND JOIN US AND GROW IN JESUS!
J
*****
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 3:1 a)
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