Dear
Fellow Children of God,
Those who live in Southcentral
Alaska know what time of year this is; it
is red salmon season! The salmon conclude
their life cycle in the Pacific Ocean and return to the rivers to spawn. As the millions of salmon return, 1.3 million
so far this year in just the Kenai River, so do the fishermen and the tourists. For the last 3 years, even though the fish
returned, the people did not arrive in traditionally large numbers. But, now that COVID is seemingly behind us,
the cities of Kenai and Soldotna are as crowded as I have ever seen them. Of course, the people do not just stay in the
cities, but find their way to the rivers as well.
I have had interesting conversations
along the banks of the Kenai River over the years, and this year was no different. For example, on Thursday, July 27, I was
joined in fishing by two couples. The
sisters, about the age of my daughter Mary, were from Alaska, originally at
least. The guys with them, a husband and
a boyfriend, were sportsmen. At first
they did not know I was a pastor. But,
as we fished and talked they asked what I had done and I told them I was a
Lutheran pastor. One man, who is from
Boise, ID, talked about his “walk with the Lord.” This young man asked me what I had learned in
my years as pastor. I shared with him
that I have learned that “evil and sin are real and dangerous, but that God’s
love is stronger and changes lives for good.”
I shared more, but then he told me about a book he had been reading by a
Christian writer. The young man told me he thought that America had lost ‘the
fear of the Lord.’ I listened, and
agreed that we are to “love the
Lord [our] God with all [our] heart and with all [our] soul and with all [our]
mind and with all [our] strength.” (Mark 12:30) Proper priorities
are essential for healthy lives. As they
left with their fish, they wished me well, and hooted as I got a red salmon on
the line.
On Sunday night, July 30, after
a long day, I fished alongside 3 young men.
One asked what I did. “Are you retired.”
I said, “Yes.” “But what did you
do?” he asked. I told him I was a
Lutheran pastor. His response was, “I’m
Lutheran. But, my fiancée is
Catholic. She goes to church every Sunday.” So I asked, “How about you? Do you go to church?” His response, “Only on
holidays.” He said that his job on the
slope got in the way of going to church.
I suggested he might benefit from regular worship. As they left in their boat, they too hooted
at me as I had a fish on my line.
On Monday, after a morning of
recovery from a long Sunday, I made it to the river. This was to be my last day fishing on the
Kenai for a while. I interacted with a
group of men from Oklahoma, out fishing with a guide. A father and son team fished beside and
around me. Another dad was teaching his
3 sons how to fish. But, the folks who sort
of stayed close to me were a couple almost my age. They shared that their names were Dan and
Nina. Their dog and my dog enjoyed each
other’s company. As we fished, and
visited, we discovered we had fished together in previous years. As I was about to leave, needing to take my
boat out of the water, clean my cabin, and drive 3 ½ hours north to Palmer,
Nina wanted to talk. She took hold of my
boat as I was pushing out into the water and indicated she wanted to
visit. She had a Lutheran pastor in her
family, but shared she was struggling because her congregation and denomination
were experiencing turmoil. “I’m just
trying to be a good member of my church,” she said. In regard to the turmoil she experienced I
replied, “I’ve learned that God is smarter than I am. I need God’s Word as my guide. My instruction to confirmation classes was, ‘Find
a church that teaches God’s Word, and that seeks to put God’s word into
practice.’” I could tell that my
response did not make her choices any easier.
A couple of weeks ago I read in
my daily devotions the prayer which Solomon prayed as he dedicated the
temple. He prayed to God. "But
will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven
cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!” (1 Ki. 8:27 ESV)
No, God is not ‘contained’ by a temple, a church building, or
structure. Yet, in grace, He does choose
to meet His people in places of worship.
Nevertheless, while regular Sabbath worship is important in our lives,
we are to worship the Lord wherever we are, every day of the week. Our lives are to be worship and service to
our Lord. St. Paul taught the Corinthian
Christians, “So, whether you eat or
drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians
10:31)
You
see, worship strengthens God’s people so that as we go, we can do the work of
the Lord, “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you
always, to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:19-1:1
ESV) And, wherever we go, to work or
school or along the riverbank, the One who made us, the One who died for us and
rose for us, is with us.
May God bless your worship so
that you are strengthened for His work and worship wherever you go!
A Child of God, Sharing
My Lord Along the Riverbank!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. This is the time of year for our garden when
there is more food than people to eat it!
If you would like lettuce or spinach, PLEASE LET US KNOW! https://photos.app.goo.gl/JMTsZ28x2Vnk414J6
P.P.S. I did a LOT of fishing the last few weeks,
fishing for rock fish, halibut, and salmon!
J Here are some pictures just from this past
week.
·
On Thursday, July 27, I fished with a fly rod
along the Kenai River. I caught 4 red
salmon. Here are a couple of
pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/zCRGcvv84CYCBRxG7
·
On Friday, July 28, my son, Josh, and his two
sons, Jake and Henry, joined me for a not so successful dip net outing. We only dipped 8 fish on a day when 137,000
entered the river. But we had more fish
than 3 other groups we talked to. Here
are a few pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Gt4H1i8yzW5vT8js9
·
On Saturday, July 29, good friend, Fred Vasilie,
took members of my family halibut fishing.
Thank you, Fred!! Here are some
pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/dDSPFiqLHZpXMaMNA
·
On Sunday, July 30, after teaching two classes,
preaching, attending a zoom meeting, and putting a boat in the water for a
friend, I got to the river around 10:00 p.m.
I experienced this sunset, and . . . caught one fish. I might have
stayed longer, but there are bears on the river and I was now alone. https://photos.app.goo.gl/t3ejhHTapc4phcxp9
·
On Monday, July 31, I got to the river late,
around 1:00 p.m. But, when I left my
fishing spot I had my limit of 6 salmon, and two fish from Kathy’s limit. Here are a few pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/f29japYM9ZmrHNbE9
P.P.P.S. I have preached each of
the last 6 weeks in 7 different congregations in Alaska, with two more
congregations coming in August. So, I
was ‘blown away’ when I received a phone call from the Florida-Georgia District
President (my brother, James) on Monday, July 24, asking me to consider serving
as vacancy pastor at First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, FL, until they get
their next permanent pastor. I did not
know that Pastor John Glover had a call, nor that he had accepted it. First Lutheran is where I grew up, and where
Kathy and I worship when in FL. Please keep my decision in your prayers.
*******
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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