Dear
Fellow Children of God,
On Saturday, January 7, I taught 12 elementary children
at St. John Lutheran in a class about serving as an acolyte, or as a candle
lighter in worship. It was a GREAT group
of student acolytes. But, some were a
little inattentive at times, or talkative, even pushing at one another. So I called them to pay attention. One parent later asked me, somewhat jokingly,
“Aren’t you a grandparent? Aren’t
grandparents supposed to spoil their grandkids and then send them back to their
parents to deal with it?” That is conventional
wisdom, isn’t it? I thought and paused a moment before I replied, “Maybe. But I grew up at a time when there was such a
thing as right and wrong.” You may be
surprised at my answer. Actually, I was also
a little surprised. But, in a world
where everything seems acceptable today, I do believe in “right and wrong.”
As a Christian, a believer in God,
I believe that the Creator and Ruler of the Universe is the one who determines
what is right and wrong, what is good and evil.
We can find God’s standard for behavior in The Ten Commandments. According to Jesus, God’s law is summed up in
two commands, or directives. “30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second
is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark
12:30-31) According to Jesus, we are to
love God, and we are to love others.
It is not a surprise for me to
state that many in today’s world do not appreciate that there are rules or
standards which might call their behavior, or call their choices, into
question. We have all said at times,
“You can’t tell me what to do!” But, since
The Ten Commandments come from God, many who do not want to be told that there
is a standard for our behavior, therefore reject the idea of God, and reject
the truth of God.
Some think that God’s laws are just
rules which forbid us from having fun.
In reality, the commandments show us how to live healthy lives. If we have a healthy relationship with our
Heavenly Father, that is to our benefit.
If we have a good relationship with others in our lives, that is to our benefit. Therefore, when people understand that God’s
law comes from His love for us, that God’s law is a blessing to our lives, then
we want to keep His law.
But, here’s the rub. Guess who was the one who got in trouble the
most when he was a kid? That’s me!! Guess who today wants to watch his mouth, who
desires to keep from unjust anger, to act in humility instead of pride, and who
often fails. Again, that is me. I fail to love God and love others as I
should! Unfortunately, none of us keep
God’s law perfectly. We actually deserve
God’s punishment for our sin against His law.
In our world, our laws are also meant
for our good. If laws work for the good
of the citizens of our communities, and if people realize that benefit, people
will keep the laws willingly, rather than just to keep from being
punished. Actually, most of the law in
western societies can be traced to the standards of the 10 commandments, and
these laws are intended to help us live together in our society. As with God’s law, we also struggle with some
of the laws of our culture. Have you
ever been cited for driving too fast?
Or, maybe there are other areas where you struggle, or disagree with the
laws of the land.
Therefore, our Lord knows that we
need a Savior, THE Savior. Please listen
to God’s surprising plan for people like us who deserve punishment. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in
order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17) We deserve to be
punished, yet God sends His Son to save us.
Therefore, God’s love and forgiveness, in the face of our rebellion and our
sin, makes me even more desirous of following Him and obeying Him.
The law of God
gives us direction for a healthy life.
That gives us reason to want to follow His law. The love of God forgives us for our sin. The sacrifice of His Son on my behalf, leads us
to want to follow the law of our Lord and Savior even more.
Yes, it is true, grandparents do spoil
grandchildren at times. But, what I
really want for my grandchildren is what is best for them. Following the healthy directives of our
Creator and our Savior may not be popular in our world, but it is what is best
for the world and best or us. Therefore,
I want to follow Jesus. How about you?
A Child of God, Believing There is a Right and
a Wrong in the World, and it Come from God.
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Hoping to eat
homegrown tomatoes later this spring we planted our tomato plants. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/jpwZfYEjSFygyQny9
P.P.S. The water
and temperatures have been a little on the cool side or FL. The fish are not biting much, and in deep
water.
·
On Thursday, January 19, the wind was blowing,
so I went to a smaller lake trying to hide from the wind. No fish – 2 bites. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/HDekK7Zjwh5eP9P27
·
On Monday, January 23, I fished at Lochloosa
Lake for the first time ever. The wind
was blowing again. I had one bite and caught
no fish. But I liked this lake. I think I’ll return. Here are a few pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/LtTU1HY3mYMwuAGi8
*****
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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