Dear
Fellow Children of God,
On Sunday, July 2, I filled in
for friend, Pastor Tony Schultz. I led
worship for Tony while he and his wife, Ronelle, were traveling. As pastor of Anchorage Lutheran Church, Tony
is preaching a sermon series this 2023 summer.
The theme for Sunday, July 2, was “The Great Deliverance.” However, as I was later reflecting on my July
2 sermon, I wondered why I had not used one of the great “deliverance” verses
in Scripture.
Have you ever worked to memorize
Bible verses? I was taught and
encouraged to memorize verses from God’s word as a child at Trinity Lutheran Church
in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Later, as
a teenager at First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, Florida, part of our
assignment for confirmation classes each week was to commit multiple verses to
memory. I have continued to memorize God’s
Word as an adult. I believe what God teaches
in Psalm 119:11. “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
I believe there are blessings for life as a child of God when one knows God’s
word. Remember, Jesus Himself warded off
the temptations of the devil through knowledge of the Word of God. (Matthew 4, Luke 4)
Anyway, one of the Bible verses which
I learned as a child, one of the verses of Scripture which comes most easily to
the tip of my tongue, speaks to my heart about deliverance. Do you
remember Psalm 50:15? “. . . call upon me in the day of trouble; I will
deliver you, and you will honor me."
God’s Word relates numerous instances
when the Lord’s people faced perils, seemingly without the possibility of
escape. There was nothing they could do, yet God delivered them. Last Sunday
we read in worship about the Exodus. God
delivered the Israelites when they were trapped between the Egyptian army and
the Red Sea. Do you perhaps also remember
God delivering Ruth, or Gideon, Hezekiah or Daniel, or Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, or . . . ? In the New
Testament we read about the many miracles of deliverance which Jesus
performed. God also delivered Peter from
prison (Acts 12), and Paul from persecution (Acts 16, and other places) and shipwreck
(Acts 27). God Himself is The Great
Deliverer. One of my favorite sections
of Scripture, one I learned as an adult, is written by St. Paul, in 2
Corinthians 1:8-10. “8 We do
not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the
province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to
endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence
of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who
raises the dead. 10 He has delivered
us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our
hope that he will continue to deliver
us”
My question is, can you remember a time when you faced
difficulty, danger, illness, or other trial, when you had given up hope? Yet
after “calling on the Lord,” (Psalm 50) you experienced deliverance? I can personally share about numerous close
calls in my life, whether danger in vehicles, or danger of falling, or even the
danger of being under a burning 62 Volkswagon.
As pastor, I was with numerous church members when poor health turned to
good health, and doctors told me, “The tests were not wrong.” I do believe that God continues to deliver His people today. “. . . call
upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."
However, THE
Great Deliverance is not the help God gives in our lives today. Paul says, “But this happened that we might not
rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril,
and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue
to deliver us” Our real peril is the sin that lives in us, and
the rebellion against God which endangers our relationship with our Creator and
Savior, which leads to judgment and death.
But, Jesus, the Son of God, suffered and died for the sin of the world,
and for our sin. God did raise Jesus
from the dead. Through faith in Jesus
God will deliver us from
death and judgment to eternal life in heaven.
The thing is we all today face trials, difficulties and dangers beyond our
wisdom, beyond our strength, our ability.
There are times we are caught between “the Egyptians and the Red Sea.” We find ourselves between the rock and the
hard place, between the righteousness of our holy God, and our own weakness and
sin. But, when we are lost, God still delivers. I have seen His deliverance in my life, and I
trust His deliverance for eternal life.
I will share with others God’s saving graces in my life. I continue to trust my Lord who tells me, “. . . call upon me in the day of trouble; I will
deliver you, and you will honor me."
A Child of God, Delivered
from the Perils of Life by The Great Deliverer,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Kathy and I continue to work on our daughter,
Mary’s, new home. It just takes time,
and energy, and sometimes this 70 year old body is tired and sore at the end of
the day. But, it’s worth it to help Mary
get her house ready.
P.P.S. Being somewhat
more retired, I have spent more time in our yard. Our flowers are blooming. Our vegetable garden is producing spinach
(multiple times), lettuce, and even the first radishes. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/72JuC6zi2xQrmpN47
P.P.P.S. I had a GREAT fishing trip on Friday, June
30, with friend Fred Vasilie. In fact,
Fred invited me to ask others to come along.
I did. I asked family, and church
workers, and friends. Those who joined
in fishing for halibut were Sara Guhl, her grandson Gaelen Swigart (on his
FIRST halibut fishing trip), and Gerry Zellar.
Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/J7E5WQfWyTb3LTMW6
*******
ABOUT THIS DEVOTION - I retired
at the end of August 2019 from serving as senior full-time 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.
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