Dear
Fellow Children of God,
On January 26 my wife, Kathy, and I were driving along
the Interstate when we saw a sign publicizing “The Sasquatch Museum.” I’m not sure where this museum is. But, Kathy turned to me and remarked, “Some people
will believe anything, but they have trouble believing in Jesus.”
Unfortunately, it has always been
thus. In Isaiah God chastises the Israelites for their idolatry. He says that they cut down a tree. “16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he
prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself
and says, ‘Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.’
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and
worships. He prays to it and says, ‘Save me; you are my god.’"(Isaiah
44:16-17) Imagine, people would believe
in a piece of wood they fashioned into an image. But, they would not believe in the One who
created heaven and earth. They would not believe in the One who saved them in
the Exodus. Why is it easy to believe in
the improbable, but difficult to trust God?
God knows that we struggle with faith, so He calls us
to trust in Him. In Proverbs we are
instructed, “5 Trust
in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in
all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs
3:5-6) Here is God’s direction for our lives.
Trust the Lord, not ourselves!
Or do you remember when Jesus came down from the
mountain of Transfiguration and encountered a man whose son was possessed? The disciples had tried to heal the boy
without success. When Jesus approached,
the man explained the situation. “22 ‘It
has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything,
take pity on us and help us.’ 23 'If you can'? said Jesus. ‘Everything is
possible for him who believes.’ 24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, ‘I
do believe; help me overcome my
unbelief!’" (Mark 9:22-24) How
easy it is to want to believe in our Savior. Yet, when life becomes difficult,
we so easily doubt!
John wrote about Jesus
in the introduction to his Gospel, “11
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to
all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human
decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” (John 1:11-13) The world would not receive Jesus, but by
believing we become children of God!
One of my favorite
accounts of Jesus calling for faith includes little children. In Mark 10 we are told, “13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He
said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for
the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone
who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter
it.’” (Mark 10:13-15)
Did you hear that? “Anyone who
will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter
it.” Jesus calls us to believe with a child-like
trust.
Life is full
of trouble, which causes us to worry. We try to fix our troubles by ourselves
but we often fail. Because we fail, we even
doubt the Lord Himself! But God created
the world. He created us! Who else would
we want to believe in?
Many other
voices call us to trust them instead of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It might be the voice of another religion, or
the voice of money, or power, or the voice of popular opinion. Why is it so easy to believe that there might
be a mythical Sasquatch or Big Foot (which might be the case), but reject and
doubt the one who made us and loves us? There
is only one Savior!
Nicodemus was
a religious man, but he had questions or doubts about Jesus. Jesus gently reached out, calling Nicodemus to
faith with these words, "14 Just as
Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16For God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-16)
What do you trust when life is difficult, when life is
full of questions with no answers? God
calls us to trust His creative power, to trust His sacrificial, saving love in
Jesus. That is where I want to put my
trust, in spite of my own struggles with doubt.
How about you?
A Child of God, Trusting My Creator and Savior
Over the Options of This World!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Kathy ad I
got to spend time with family and friends this past week.
·
On February 9 we attended the funeral of a
family member of members of our Florida Church.
It was a good reunion at a sad event.
Here are pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ytz2y1XAAQwvNAC28
·
On February 11 my brothers and sister and other
family gathered, just to be family. Here
are a few pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/eXgF7HsSFwDmSxAh7
P.P.S. I went
fishing 2 times in the last week. One
trip produced fish in the freezer.
·
On Friday, February 10, I fished first Orange
Lake and did well. Here are some
pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/MPqpq6tKdHb1CPaR6
·
On Tuesday, February 14, I fished at a favorite
local lake. I caught and released two
fish. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/NWBzdNSFudGjUe6f7
*****
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)
No comments:
Post a Comment