Dear
Fellow Children of God,
Have you ever been disappointed
when a person in a position of authority and respect acted with behavior which
brought shame to their office? Of course!
The answer is unfortunately “Yes!” We
have all experienced such failed leadership.
Wouldn’t be good for all if we had political leaders, if we had teachers,
parents, spouses, if we had religious leaders, police officers, and other
leaders who did not have feet of clay? I,
and I believe most people, want integrity from those who lead us. Nevertheless, time and again the news
headlines tell of those in authority, from all
parts of society, failing to live up to their responsibility. I am often
disappointed in my leaders, in our leaders, these days.
However,
perhaps I should not be surprised at such failure. In Romans God teaches us about the “war”
between the spirit and the flesh being waged inside us. “18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but
I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the
evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not
want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does
it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there
with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another
law at work in the members of my body, waging
war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of
sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body
of death? 25 Thanks be to God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I
myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to
the law of sin.” (Romans 7:18-25)
If I read this section of God’s
word correctly, it is not only our leaders who struggle to live in honor and
integrity. All Christians face this
battle inside their hearts and minds and bodies. The desires of our flesh and of our proud hearts
wage war against the healthy leading of God’s Spirit within us. These desires of the sinful nature wage war
against our Lord’s call to live in faith, to live in love, and in obedience.
What brought this train of
thought to my mind, again, are my recent devotional readings. I have been reading in 2 Samuel and 1 Kings,
about David and his son, King Solomon.
Solomon twice encountered the Lord in dreams, and God called Solomon to
faithfulness. Yet, in 1 Kings 11, we are
told Solomon lost battles in this war between God’s spirit and his own
flesh. “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his
heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his
father had been.” (I Kings 11:4)
This chapter details how Solomon acted contrary to God’s instruction in Deuteronomy
17:14-20 for how the kings of Israel should act. We are also told how Solomon participated in
idolatry with the false god’s of the people surrounding Israel. Solomon’s unfaithfulness had dire
consequences for God’s people. This
battle of leaders to act in integrity is not hing
new. But, if we struggle with the battle of the spirit and the sinful nature,
why should we be surprised when our leaders also struggle?
Paul asked a question in Romans
7:24. “What a wretched man I am! WHO will rescue me from this body of death?”
We all struggle in this life, and we have all acted in faithless ways
toward our Lord. But, the answer to Paul’s
question of “who will rescue us” is . . . Jesus! Our Savior is faith-FUL. Consider 2
Timothy 2:13 “if we are faithless, he
will remain faithful, for he
cannot disown himself.” Actually,
God’s love for us, in spite of our failure, changes our hearts. Because He loves and saves us, we WANT to
serve our Savior, rather than serving our flesh. We WANT to keep serving Him, even after our
lapses. Thankfully, because of the
forgiving love of God we can keep turning from our flesh and keep turning to
our Lord and Creator and Savior.
I constantly pray for my leaders. I pray for my political leaders, for my
spiritual leaders, and for the leaders in my family. I know the battle we are facing. I am thankful for Jesus, that unlike other
leaders, “if we are faithless, he will
remain faithful, for he cannot
disown himself.”
A Child of God, Observing
Failed Leadership, Thankful for a FAITHFUL Savior!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. I have recently preached in 7 different
congregations. Last Sunday I led worship
in Kenai, AK.
P.P.S. I am thankful for many blessings from our
Lord this summer.
·
Mary’s house is even closer to completion in our
efforts to get it “living ready.” She has been moving her stuff in. J
·
Our gardens continue to do well.
o We
have strawberries – here is a picture of a bowl of berries from Monday night. https://photos.app.goo.gl/coFEXfEv9vWAfBPg6
o We
are eating lettuce, spinach. (If you
want lettuce and you live in the valley, PLEASE let us know. We might be able
to share a little.)
·
Also, our flowers and peonies are in FULL bloom.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fH9NMb1ad9Fk3m3A6
P.P.P.S. I did do a little fishing on the Kenai. Here are some pictures of a fishing trip with my daughter, Mary. https://photos.app.goo.gl/U84P79Qws3mefdNu8
*******
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)
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