Dear
Fellow Children of God,
As
we celebrate the birthday of our country on July 4, many have thoughts about
how Christians should act, especially when our leaders do not always follow the
guidance of the Lord and Creator of all.
Actually, God gives much direction to His children. He calls us to be good citizens who are also
faithful to Him.
Do
you know the words of Jeremiah in chapter 29 of his book? The children of Israel were captive exiles
living in the land of Babylonia. Nevertheless,
through Jeremiah, the Lord calls the Israelites to live as good citizens in
their new, temporary home. Listen to
Jeremiah 29:7. “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray
to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Some might be surprised at the Lord calling His
people to pray for another country.
On
the other hand, perhaps you do know God’s promise 4 verses later, in Jeremiah
29:11. “ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare
and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” You see, in His wisdom God is watching over
the nations of the world, in spite of their rebellion and sin, in order to care
for His own people. The Lord calls His
people to godly citizenship!
Perhaps
you know, or maybe you do not know, the words of God through St. Paul concerning
how the Christians in Rome should respond to their leaders. Most think Nero was Emperor when Paul wrote
Romans. Imagine! Listen to this guidance our Lord gives us in
Romans 13. “1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is
no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has
appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. . . . 5
Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for
the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes,
for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7
Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom
revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. (Romans 13:1-2, 5-7) (You could read the whole section.) At the request of my 12th grade English
teacher at Gainesville High School, Mrs. Bell, I read this section of Scripture
to the class. I would probably not be
asked to read this section of Scripture in class today! Maybe we also are surprised today by the call
of God.
In
1 Timothy 2, our Lord gives more guidance for disciples of Jesus. I offered the invocation for the Governor’s
Picnic in Wasilla Alaska for 3 years when Sarah Palin was governor. Those 3 years I read 1 Timothy 2. 1 First of all, then,
I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made
for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that
we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4
who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4) Our leaders have
a difficult job, to provide a community where people can live “quiet and
peaceful lives, godly and dignified.”
Therefore, our Lord calls His children to pray for our leaders, to help
them in fulfilling their job. Do you
pray for our leaders?
In March of 2019 I attended the Alaska Governor’s Prayer
Breakfast with 20 other people from St. John Lutheran Church. We heard Franklin Graham speak. At that time, first year governor, Mike Dunleavy,
asked those gathered to pray to God to give him wisdom for leading. I pray daily that our Lord guides the
governor of Alaska with wisdom to work for justice and righteousness.
There are limits to how far Christians follow earthly
leaders. Perhaps these limits were best
stated by Peter when the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, commanded the
apostles to stop teaching about Jesus. “Peter
and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’” (Acts 5:29)
While
we live in this world we have human leaders.
But, ultimately, for those who believe in Jesus, our eternal citizenship
is elsewhere. “20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body
to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all
things to himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)
The
bottom line is that God has created authorities in this world so they can
provide peace and law and order, so that Christians may live in faith and may
share the good news of Jesus. I am not
surprised that leaders are sinful. In
truth, the Lord’s people suffer the same affliction. So, I pray that God guides our leaders, and
that our leaders act wisely. I pray that
the government of our nation, and all nations rule is such a way that God’s
people may live holy lives as citizens who pray for their leaders, and who seek
to follow Jesus.
Are
you praying for the leaders in our world that they may follow the guidance of
God?
A
Child of God, Seeking to be a Good Citizen and Faithful Disciple of Jesus!
Pastor
Jonathan
P.P.S. NEWS AND MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES AT
First Lutheran Church – Gainesville!
CALL
COMMITTEE NEWS – The
First Lutheran Call Committee has worked through a lot of names submitted by
the District and by First Lutheran members.
Some of those nominated were unavailable. Some took calls as we were talking with
them. We tried to interview 5
candidates, but in the end, because others were also interested in these
pastors, they also withdrew their names and we interviewed 3 pastors. The call committee feels it has 2 good
candidates, but has settled on one pastor to bring to First Lutheran for a
visit with congregational leaders the week of July 21. After this visit the call committee will then
decide if it should recommend this man to First Lutheran to consider calling as
pastor. PLEASE CONTINUE TO KEEP THIS PROCESS
IN YOUR PRAYERS.
VBS
TAKES PLACE AT FIRST LUTHERAN JULY 22-26! Please remember these dates and invite
children, grandchildren, neighbors, and friends!
PLEASE REGISTER
ONLINE FOR VBS!!!!!
Here is a link to
the registration form.
https://flcgainesville.org/2024-vacation-bible-school/
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.
In addition, we learned at the June
Mission and Ministry Council meeting that our Air Conditioners will need
replacing. Please consider how God may
lead you toward these needs in the future.
MUSIC
DIRECTOR, STEPHANIE SMITH IS TEACHING GUITAR CLASSES. We found a number of guitars when the church
was cleaned for the fire inspection. We
will use these guitars for the class. SIX
people attended the first class on Sunday, June 30!
WE
CONTINUE TO STUDY THE BOOK OF ACTS on Sunday mornings at 8:45 a.m. in the
Besalski Fellowship Hall. We are now studying chapter 18 and learning of
Paul’s work in Corinth. 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. We are now in 2
Samuel and reading about the reign of King David.
Feel free to contact Pastor Rockey if you
have any questions at 907-841-4066, or at jonrock53@mtaonline.net
P.P.S.
PICTURES – AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
I
SPENT TIME WITH LONG-TIME (you notice I didn’t say ‘old’ 😊) FRIENDS, RICK
AND KRIS ARMSTRONG on Thursday and Friday, June 27-28. We started college together in 1971 at
Concordia College, Austin, TX. Rick was
best man in our wedding, and Kris was a bridesmaid, and she made our cake! Rick and I golfed together in Clearwater, FL,
on Friday, June 28, but neither of us golfed well. Here is a picture of a meal together and of a
sunset over Tampa Bay on the morning of June 28. https://photos.app.goo.gl/6nqGcnEryogwXqwH8
I GOLFED 3 TIMES SINCE MY LAST
DEVOTION. Here is a picture of some armadillos
I saw on one of the courses on July 1. 😊 https://photos.app.goo.gl/1N1vNiA4ujxbzMcr8
I WENT FISHING THREE TIMES THIS LAST
WEEK. BUT . . . two trips were short.
All encountered weather issues.
And I only caught one fish, which was too small to keep. Nevertheless, I do love to fish! Here are some pictures!! https://photos.app.goo.gl/nVU9E7aTHeJwkQam9
*******
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. (However,
I am currently 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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