Dear
Fellow Children of God,
Having
been born in western Massachusetts in 1953, and being raised there in my early
years, I have followed sports teams from my birth state my whole life. I am
especially a fan of the Red Sox and the Celtics. Perhaps you noticed (ahem) that the Celtics
won the NBA title this past week. The
after the game interviews pleasantly surprised me. When the two main stars of
the Celtics were questioned about their win, each one first praised God, and
then they each gave credit to others on their team. I like it when someone does not act in pride
and say, “Look at me.” I appreciate when people work as a team, and everyone is
important. You see, I was taught that pride
is a sin, and that humility is a virtue.
If
you have been reading with us in the Today’s Light Devotional Bible, the recent
readings have been exciting. On Monday,
June 17, we learned in 1 Samuel 16 about the prophet Samuel secretly anointing David
to follow Saul as king. Samuel, however,
was ready to choose David’s older, stronger, and more handsome brothers as king. Yet listen to what the Lord revealed to
Samuel about whom He had chosen. "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature,
because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on
the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)
God had chosen David, the youngest of the family. The process of choosing David
teaches us about our Lord, and about His desires for our life. Our Lord looks at the heart! Do you
wonder what God saw in David’s heart?
Then,
on Tuesday, June 18, the assigned reading was from 1 Samuel 17, the account of
David and Goliath. In these readings we
get a view of the heart which the Lord chose.
The Bible describes Goliath as 9 feet tall, and as a fierce
warrior. The Israelite army was
terrified. Yet, even though Goliath
towered over David, and was the more experienced warrior, David trusted the
Lord for the coming battle. Listen. 45 “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘’You come to me
with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name
of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD
will deliver you into my hand,’” (1 Samuel 17:45-46 a) David did not trust his own strength, or blow
his own horn. David did not act in pride
or arrogance. In humility, in faith,
David engaged the giant by diminishing himself, and trusting the Lord for the
battle. I think you know the results.
Humility is actually honesty. The truth is that we all have our weaknesses. Our lives are full of failures, and full of our
sin. To boast is to ignore those weaknesses.
When we admit our weaknesses, we humbly speak the truth. God saves us from our sin for eternal life in heaven by His
grace, through faith or trust in our Savior.
“8 For by grace you
have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift
of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesian 2:8-9) Saving faith is the opposite of pride. Faith trusts someone else. Faith trusts God’s love in Jesus, not
ourselves, not our own good works. This humility of heart receives God’s grace
through His Son.
We see the best example of humility in
Jesus, and the life of Jesus calls us to also live humble lives. “5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing
to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a
servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in
human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8) The truth of this word of God still
amazes me. Jesus is God Himself! Yet He laid down His divinity to take on humanity. The Lord of all took on the call to
obedience. The Lord of life suffered and
died to love and save us. Jesus gave up
the trappings of glory, to live godly glory through sacrifice and service. And we are told, “Have this mind among
yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”
Admitting our failures and weaknesses,
and giving glory to God, is simply honesty. However, being humble is not the
norm in our world. Therefore, when we
see humility that can be refreshing. “For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but
the LORD looks on the heart." That
is why I was thankful for the example on Monday night from the athletes. They gave praise to God, and did not take
glory for themselves. I pray the Spirit
works such honest humility and faith in my heart.
A
Child of God, Desiring a Heart After that of Jesus!
Pastor
Jonathan
P.S.
NEWS AND MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES AT
First Lutheran Church – Gainesville!
CALL
COMMITTEE NEWS – First
Lutheran received a list of names from the FL-GA District Office on Friday, May
17. We have phoned all those on the list
to see who is actually available for a call. The call committee met Wednesday evening,
June 12, and decided on 5 pastors to potentially interview. We continue the
process of asking God’s guidance as to whom He is calling to be pastor at First
Lutheran. Please keep the process in
prayer.
FIRST
LUTHERAN HAS BEGUN A ROOF FUND. In an announcement at the May 19 Voters’
Meeting we learned that to put a new roof on the sanctuary, the office
building, the fellowship hall, the preschool, and the student housing will cost
about $200,000.00 The roof is still in
good shape. But we have had leaks, and
it has been about 20 years since the roof was last replaced. First Lutheran leaders want to act before the
roofs fail. Please consider how God may
lead you toward this need in the future.
WE
CONTINUE TO STUDY THE BOOK OF ACTS on Sunday mornings at 8:45 a.m. in the
Besalski Fellowship Hall. We have been studying Acts chapter 16, and
consider mission work in pagan Philippi.
We are now studying chapter 17, about Paul in Athens. Come and join us in studying about the
history of the early Christian Church!
WE
CONTINUE TO READ THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE IN 2024 and 2025 using the Today’s
Light Devotional Bible. This week we
have begun reading about King David in 1 Samuel 16 and 18.
Feel free to contact Pastor Rockey if you
have any questions at 907-841-4066, or at jonrock53@mtaonline.net
VBS
TAKES PLACE AT FIRST LUTHERAN JULY 22-26! Please remember these dates and invite
children, grandchildren, neighbors, and friends!
P.P.S.
PICTURES – AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
I DID GO FISHING TWICE THIS PAST
WEEK.
· On Thursday evening, June 13, after work I went fishing at Rodman
Reservoir and caught two nice fish. Here
are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/8PLQbyNWbTn3qaXT6
· On Friday, June 14, I took First Lutheran member, Saher
Kalaf fishing. Unfortunately I had
troubles with my trolling motor. Nevertheless,
we did enjoy the outdoors and catch one fish.
But . . . the big one got away. ☹ Here are a couple of pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/rjaXWz73y5eq8NRd6
*******
ABOUT
THIS DEVOTION - I retired at the end of August 2019 from serving as full-time
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. (Currently I am serving as Vacancy
Pastor for First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, FL.)
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
Vacancy
Pastor, First Lutheran Church, Gainesville, FL
Pastor
Emeritus, St. John Lutheran Church, Palmer, AK
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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