Dear
Fellow Children of God,
I have a thought provoking question for you. What do Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak,
Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets of the Old Testament have to
do with Dorothy Wolf, Sam Campbell, Al Altschuh, and others from the
first church I served, St. Paul Lutheran Church in St. Louis, MO? What do those Biblical characters have to do
with Martha Albanito, Millard James, Alene Lederman, Carl Witthoft, Carol
Williams, Bert and Ruth Guittar from my second congregation, Our Redeemer
Lutheran in Jacksonville, FL. What do
these “heroes” of the faith from Scriptures have to do with Shirley Kelpe, Val
Holtom, Lillian Stamm, Al Brooks, Eleanor Brooks, Armand Kolberg, Dave Miranda,
and others from St. John Lutheran in Palmer, AK? And, what do these Old Testament people have
to do with my grandfather, my parents, my Uncle Heinie, my Uncle Sonny, my Aunt
Geri, my mother-in-law, Alice Tobin?
First of all, perhaps you recognize that list of
Scriptural characters. The list comes
from Hebrews 11. These are people we are told “lived by faith,” looking forward
to the promises of God to be fulfilled in the promised Messiah. The church in the book of Hebrew was
experiencing persecution and trial. So
the writer of this book reminds God’s troubled children about those of the
past, and gives this encouragement about facing their own struggles. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for
us. (Hebrews 12:1)
In other words, the Hebrew church was encouraged in their
time of trial to learn, and to find encouragement in the faith of these people
of the Old Testament. The message was, “Persevere
as they did, through faith in the promise of God’s Savior.” But, these
people from the Old Testament did not endure by their own strength. They all had their faults, failures, and
weaknesses. These Old Testament saints
looked forward to the promise of God’s Savior.
Their faith in this promise gave them strength through personal attack, through
floods, through betrayal and slavery, and more.
Therefore, the people of the Hebrew church are encouraged,
even more. “2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our
faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured
such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose
heart.” Jesus is the Son of God, now sitting at the right hand of
the throne of God. Yet, the Son of God
Himself endured opposition and crucifixion in order to accomplish our
forgiveness and salvation. The writer to
the Hebrews is saying, “consider not only what others endured as you yourself
face the trials of faith and life. Fix
your eyes on, meditate especially on the fact that Jesus faced trials, and
endured. You are, after all, surrounded
by ‘a great cloud of witnesses,’ which includes even the saving example of
Jesus Himself. If they trusted the
coming Savior, you trust Jesus as you face life’s trials.”
Tuesday, November 1, was a somewhat overlooked major
festival of the church year, “All Saints Day.”
(However, many congregations will celebrate All Saints Day on November
6.) It is a day to remember those who are no longer with us, who have gone
before us, facing the trials of life while trusting in Jesus. We give thanks for their faith which points
us to fix our eyes on Jesus.
I consider myself especially blessed to have been present
to see the faith of my parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts. They were NOT perfect! But, in spite of their failures, they trusted Jesus, and His sacrificial
death, and His saving resurrection, and they kept going. The people in churches I served have looked
to their pastor for example and guidance.
But, so many times I gained from their
example! When life was too big, these
believers prayed to God, they trusted His love in Jesus, and they kept going.
I remember my dad’s uncle, my great uncle, Uncle
Heinie. (He preferred Henry.) I went with him to the hospital when his
wife, my Tante Edie, was deep in depression.
I was with him as she underwent shock treatment. This could have been an overwhelming personal
trial. But, he trusted that when he, and
even the doctors, could do little or nothing, God was present in love. Uncle Heinie is part of my cloud of
witnesses. What an example!
I remember Martha Albanito, the 80 year old mother of our
church organist in Jacksonville. Not all
members made it to worship each Sunday.
But, in her 80’s, having been treated for cancer, and with a cast on her
broken arm, Martha was in church every week.
It was not because she felt God would strike her down for not worshiping
that she worshiped so regularly. She
knew and loved her Lord. So no cancer, nor broken arm, could keep her home. What an example! And for every name above I have stories of
faith!
Do you have a cloud of witnesses? Are there people in your life who showed you
how to face the trials of life, and how to keep going because of the love of
Jesus? If so, then you are truly
blessed. If you have such a cloud, then
you are strengthened to persevere, and to be a witness for those who are
watching you.
A Child of God, Blessed by A Cloud of
Witnesses!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Among the
examples of faith in my life are Pastor Bob and Elaine Besalski. Pastor B. was my pastor beginning in
1965. I still consider him my
pastor. Kathy and I had lunch with the
Besalskis on Thursday, October 27 at Cedar Key, FL. We then drove around and got a picture. https://photos.app.goo.gl/BNC9y323Sf2qxmWu8
P.P.S. Thursday, October 27, was my daughter, Mary’s,
birthday. She is my fishing buddy,
travel companion, and J my favorite daughter! Here are some pictures I put together of
Mary. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Yw8CnyMHk2RbweRn6
P.P.P.S. I a
little fishing in Florida this past week.
·
On Sunday afternoon, October 30, I went fishing
at Rodman Reservoir late in the afternoon. I caught this one 15” largemouth
bass, which I released. Here is a
picture. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Mb3SMQozkCRVTPb28
·
On the morning of Tuesday, November 1, I went
fishing with my brother in Oxford, FL, before a funeral for a friend. We caught 4 bass. Here are a couple of pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/XEqw9FjEhBnLgPgi9
*****
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
cell phone - 907-841-4066
Home phone - 907-746-5131
“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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