Dear
Fellow Children of God,
During my daily time each morning in scripture and
prayer, I am currently reading in Deuteronomy from the “Today’s Light Bible.” Recently, the words of Deuteronomy 8 caused
me to pause . . . again. In Deuteronomy
8 Moses teaches the people of Israel about the material blessings which they
would receive from God as they enter the promised land. Consider the words of Deuteronomy
8:7-10. “7 For the LORD your God is bringing
you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs,
flowing out in the valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley,
of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9
a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack
nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig
copper. 10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the
LORD your God for the good land he has given you.” In many
ways I find it natural to compare the abundant blessings the Lord gave Israel,
blessings of land, minerals, food, and homes, with the blessings Americans have
received. God has truly blessed the
people who live in America.
However, Moses then warns
God’s people against letting these blessings cause them to forget the Lord, who
is the Giver of these gifts. 11
"Take care lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping his
commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12
lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in
them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and
gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your
heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God . . . 17 Beware lest you say in your heart,
'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' 18 You shall remember the LORD your
God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his
covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 And if
you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship
them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.” (Deuteronomy 8:11-14 a, 17-19) The
warnings of Moses bring sadness to my heart.
While Israel and America are different countries, from different time
periods, in my view Americans, often and in many ways, have chosen our riches
and our pleasures over the Lord. Americans have chosen their riches and
pleasures over faith, over obedience, and over worship.
What is worse, this
drifting away from the Lord seems to be happening in the lives of God’s people
as well. Just as the Israelites who were
saved in the Exodus turned their backs on their Lord, Christians who know that
God blesses and saves them in this world, and in eternity, have become less
fervent in living their faith.
Perhaps you have seen
recent reports about a study of worship attendance. Practicing Christian faith was declining
before COVID-19, and is now even worse after the pandemic. The study,
“’Faith After the Pandemic: How
COVID-19 Changed American Religion,’ . . . which included Jews and
Mormons, 13% of Americans attended in-person worship services during the summer of
2020, according to the survey. That number increased to 27% in the spring of
2022, but remains lower than the pre-pandemic attendance rate. Other traditional faith values are also
declining.” (Fox News, January 9, 2023)
In a recent conversation I had, the discussion was about “Does our belief
in Jesus make a difference in the way we live . . . or not?”
Perhaps
Solomon sums up this warning best in Proverbs 30:8-9. “8
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but
give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the
name of my God.” What
good is it to receive a gift, yet to forget the one who gave the gift? God warned Israel through Moses, but the
people of Israel forgot that their blessings were from the Lord, and they
forgot His warnings. It is sad to see us
make the same mistake.
Jesus teaches that there is one
thing which is truly most valuable - the kingdom of God. “44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man
found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and
bought that field. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and
sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46) Again, this gift of heaven is a gift from
God, given through His Son, Jesus. Jesus
paid the price, with His bloody cross and the empty tomb. so that we might
receive the kingdom of heaven. We
receive the gift He paid for, as we trust Him over trusting the fading and perishing
wealth of this world. The gift of our Lord,
of His Son, of the Spirit, and of His kingdom, is worth more than all the material
abundance which we enjoy in our time.
I pray for
myself. I pray for my family. I pray for the church and for my country, that
the scales may fall from our eyes and that we may see what is truly valuable,
the love of God in Jesus. Only in Jesus are
there riches in heaven and in this life, riches from God which do not perish. We have so much reason to give thanks. Part of a thankful heart is showing our faith
in our Lord and our Savior in the way we live!
So, is the
abundance of your material blessings interfering with your thankful heart and a
faithful life?
A Child of God, Praying to See to Pursue What
is Truly Valuable,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. We continue the
joy of visiting with friends.
Unfortunately, we have forgotten to take pictures of our visits a number
of times on this trip
·
However, we did visit on Monday, April 17, with
one of our god-sons, Scott Plymill, and his mom, Joy. The Plymills were members of Our Redeemer
where I was pastor in Jacksonville from 1983-1991.
·
Gerry and Ruth Zellar came to visit us on their
way to a doctor’s appointment. I did
remember a picture this time. https://photos.app.goo.gl/NVrarxoLByp9NZrZ7
P.P.S. All of my
fishing this past week was on Orange Lake.
·
On Thursday, April 13, I dropped Kathy off at
the airport for a quilting conference, and then I went fishing. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/9fCpa7QwurtkyVsX7
·
On Saturday, April 15, I did some exploring on Orange
Lake, and I caught one nice fish. https://photos.app.goo.gl/WQHJA2orfWSvZ4qx9
·
On Tuesday, April 18, I took my friend, Pastor Paul
Mueller, fishing. We did not get lots of
bites, but Paul caught two bass. I
stayed longer and caught 3 more bass. That
is more fish for the fish fry on April 29.
J Here are pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/4XbRB1DLBcL8RX2J6
*****
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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