Dear
Fellow Children of God,
In my personal daily devotions, I recently have
been reading through 1 Chronicles. On Thursday, August 31, I read chapters
23-27. This section of God’s word named
individuals in the Levitical tribe who served during the time of David. These five chapters contained a lot of names,
and some bits of information about which groups served as priests, and about
which groups of Levites took care of the gates, the treasury, the music and
other tasks of keeping the Jewish faith active.
Now, some people may have a minds which revel
in memorizing such details. My mind,
however, focuses more on historic accounts, stories, and God’s activity in the
lives of His people. It can seem that
this long, LONG list of names does not include these accounts or stories. But, then as I read the devotional writing in
my Bible Jane Fryar, based on these Scripture readings, the devotion made an
important point about our relationships with God. “The
Lord knew each of these, His children, by name. . . . Note that no review
contains a sour note. The Lord kept
track of their service, not their slip ups.” (Today’s Light Bible, ESV,
page 580.)
Sometimes in the
day-to-day routine of our lives, we forget how special we are in God’s
sight. In addition, in a world of 8
billion people it can be easy to feel we do not make a difference. We can easily feel small, and unwanted. We often forget how the Lord uses our work,
done because we believe that God loves us in Jesus.
A
Christian friend of mine recently told me that they hoped to “feel wanted
again.” There had been some losses in
her life and I believe she was feeling small and unwanted. Therefore, please think about this wish of my
friend, and consider the lists of Levites, as you also read these words Our
Lord speaks to us in 1 Peter. “9 But
you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging
to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness
into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the
people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received
mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10) We are wanted and we are special
in God’s sight. He has chosen us, made
us royalty, and made us holy through His Son.
We belong to God Himself! And, our
Lord gives us a purpose for our lives.
God calls us to “declare the praises” of our Lord and His saving
love. We deserve punishment for our
selfishness and our sin. Yet, we have instead
received the mercy of God. We are HIS
people! Like the priests and Levites in
David’s time, God knows us and our Lord delights in how His love works faith
and godly service in our lives!
Please also consider God’s words in 1 Corinthians
15. The Lord inspired Paul to write this
book, in part, because of all the troubles in this Christian congregation. Yet listen to what the Corinthians are
told. “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always
give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
We each know our
failings. Perhaps we therefore wonder how God can love us, and how He can use
our feeble efforts. Nevertheless, our
Lord sent His only Son. Jesus, the Son
of God, suffered and died for us. We are
loved and we are special, as Peter points out.
The hum-drum nature of our lives can lead us to wonder if we are
accomplishing anything. But, our Lord
knows each of us by name. And, [our]
labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Monday, September 4,
the first Monday in September, was Labor Day, a national holiday for the United
States. In the midst of the messages of
this holiday concerning the Labor Movement is the bigger message, that our labor
or service in this world is important and gives value to the world around
us. This is especially true of our
service of our Lord. We do make a difference, because Jesus lives in us, and we
live for Him. “But you
are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to
God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness
into his wonderful light.”
A Child of God, Thankful
that We Are Special People in God’s Sight,
People Whose Labor is Important!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. We have now prepared our home and our garden
for winter.
·
We got our home ready for winter. https://photos.app.goo.gl/joBBsxo3ybYnmkSb9
·
With help, I harvested, spread mulch, and
roto-tilled the garden. We also gave
away veggies to family, and friends at church.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/AsTz5f7uhPGKGr3L9
P.P.S. Kathy and I are driving from Alaska to
Florida so that I might temporarily fill a vacancy at First Lutheran Church, in
Gainesville. I grew up at First
Lutheran, and that is where we primarily worship when we visit Florida. We left on our trip after church on September
3. Here are some pictures.
·
Last Family Day.
We weren’t all together at one time, but we did gather on Sunday, August
27 for oven fried chicken and family time.
Jackson and Kendall came out during the week, and Tim and Megan both
made it out as well. Here are some
pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/VdxnTE4bveSsXC5i7
·
Preparation Day, September 2 (A last minute
visit to Hatcher Pass), https://photos.app.goo.gl/x356dsRqABVoMzp28
·
Day 1, Palmer to Tok, (Our get away) September
3, https://photos.app.goo.gl/pYk6NV3gzbjfgHin9
·
Day 2, Tok, AK, to Whitehorse,YT (The worst
roads). https://photos.app.goo.gl/tcib74Zd9CMZnvBN6
·
Day 3, Whitehorse, YT, to Ft. Nelson, BC. (A Day of Waters and Wildlife) https://photos.app.goo.gl/9NgQfKxNWsU8jLHq5
P.P.P.S. FOR YOUR CALENDAR in October 2024: I was asked to serve for 2 weeks at the
Wittenberg English Ministry in Wittenberg Germany. I tentatively agreed to serve there and to
lead worship October 17-31 (Reformation Day), 2024. MAYBE you want to come over to Germany at
that time??? J
*******
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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