Dear Fellow Children of God,
Last Sunday, May 24, 2026, was the 7th Sunday
AFTER Easter, and celebrated by most liturgical Christian congregations as
Pentecost Sunday, the day God poured out the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 2)
Some call the Holy Spirit “The Forgotten Person of the Trinity.” Christians speak of the Father, our
Creator. They praise God for Jesus, our
Savior. However, we seem to speak less
about the Holy Spirit. Yet, we need the
Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Let me
share with you some thoughts I shared last Sunday at Anchorage Lutheran.
First, we need the Holy Spirit to help us in our faith,
in our Christian lives. The Lord created us in power
and wisdom and love. However, our parents rebelled against the Creator and
Ruler of all, through acts of pride and selfishness, and they ‘did their own
thing.’ Unfortunately, we continue their sin. Just look at the world around
us. Our world, our country, in many ways
our own lives are full of problems we struggle to overcome. Our world and our
lives are full of hatred, and greed, and violence. And the result of all this
rebellion is death. President Geore W.
Bush used to ask, “How’s that working for you?”
How is the selfishness, the rebellion, the sin working? We need help!
Surprisingly, in spite of our sin, in love beyond reason,
God sent Jesus. In sacrificial love that continues to amaze, the Father sent
His Son, His SON! Jesus left the safety
and glory of heaven to come to this world of sin, and rebellion, and death.
Amazingly, the sinless, all powerful, Son of God took on what our sin
deserved. He faced opposition for
speaking the truth. He endured a sham trial, was tortured and crucified like a
criminal. Because Jesus was sinless, His suffering and death paid for our sin,
for the sin of the whole world. And then, Jesus did what is impossible . . . for us.
After dying Jesus rose, defeating the sin which causes all our problems,
defeating our enemy the devil, and defeating death. All who believe in Jesus are forgiven and saved
for eternal life in heaven. We need
faith in Jesus for this life, and for eternity.
But, we often trust ourselves instead of the saving love of God. Sinful people struggle to believe.
Jesus disciples also struggled with faith, even after His
resurrection. But as they gathered in
fear and anticipation, God sent his Spirit.
On Pentecost Day the disciples heard the
sound of the rushing wind and saw tongues of fire rest above their heads, as
God did what He had promised in Joel and poured out the Holy Spirit. Now, these timid, failing, sinful men spoke
boldly about Jesus. Amazing! The Holy
Spirit was God’s help and strength to them.
The Holy Spirit creates and strengthens faith in us. God promised through Joel, “17
I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
' and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men
shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on
my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit,
and they shall prophesy. (Acts
2:17-18) God has given us His Spirit when we were baptized, through His Word,
in the Lord’s Supper, in worship. We
need the Spirit to create in us faith so that we receive God’s blessings
through Jesus.
However, God not only desires to save us. He
desires for disciples of Jesus to reach the whole world. Peter quotes the prophet Joel,
“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21.) This is God’s Old Testament Plan, since Adam
and Abraham, and expressed in Joel that everyone who believes in the promised
Messiah will be saved. This is the plan Jesus shared with Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but
have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Reaching the whole world is the plan God shares through the apostles. Paul shares in 1 Timothy 2:3-4, “God our
Savior, 4 . . . desires all people to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.” We not only need the powerful, forgiving, saving
love of God ourselves. We are here for
another reason, to share God’s saving love in Jesus with the whole world.
Thankfully,
God also promised through
Joel, I will pour out my Spirit on ALL FLESH, The Holy Spirit has been poured out on all
the hard hearts of this world. In a
broken world of hatred, violence, selfishness, the Holy Spirit is opening
hearts of those who need Jesus, so that everyone who calls upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved.'
Is your faith strong?
Are you up to the task of sharing Jesus with others? I know my weaknesses and sometimes wonder
what I can do. Nevertheless, God
promises, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, He strengthens and
empowers me, AND YOU, so that we may trust God’s love in Jesus. The Spirit strengthen us so that we share
that good news of Jesus with others. The
Spirit is poured out on all flesh so that people respond, so that everyone
who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
A Child of God, Thankful for the Holy Spirit – Just What
I Need!
Pastor Rockey
P.S. I am now
serving as Vacancy pastor at Anchorage Lutheran Church in Anchorage.
·
VOTERS’ MEETING – There is a Voters’ Meeting
after worship on Sunday, May 31 in order to vote on the proposed budget for
2026-2027.
Other Activities of Faith:
· I
have again started my two-year journey with my Lord. On Monday, May
25, I read Judges 3. It is amazing that
God is faithful, even when His people wander!
You may also contact me at 907-841-4066 if you
have any questions about these readings. Or send an e-mail question to jonrock53@mtaonline.net I have
received questions and comments about the readings. It is always good to
consider our Lord’s love and guidance. I will TRY to answer, but some things only
God knows!
P.P.S. Family Fun and Fishing! (no fishing
this week)!
·
Graduation
– Here are some pictures from
Graduation night for our grandson Jacob. It was COLD! https://photos.app.goo.gl/6mz1XFn8HhdwyePeA
·
Family Gatherings – We had a number of
family gatherings last week centered around Jacob’s graduation and the fact
that Josh and Erin and family had traveled from Washington for the
graduation. Below are some pictures.
o Most
of our family also gathered at our home on Wednesday, May 20. All our grandchildren were there. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/a6kajb9BcJkc3NZ6A
o We
held another family gathering on Saturday, May 23. This time Tim and Megan were able to
attend. Here are some pictures of Jake
opening his quilt from Kathy, of family board games, and of Emma and her
boyfriend, Tim! https://photos.app.goo.gl/ukzJeeVpHiVEymsX7
·
Baseball – We watched Jake play baseball
again on Thursday and Friday, May 21 and 22.
Here is a picture of his cheering section on Friday, May 22. Do you see the cold weather gear? https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ase1UcE4ZyEEq7cM9
·
Not Spring Yet! On Sunday morning, May 24, as I prepared
for church, I checked the temperature.
My phone said 32 degrees. Our
thermometer said 30 degrees. There was
FROST on the roof of our shed! O
Well! Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/NepSe3HXvzZbwvcJA
·
Yard and Garden –
o I
worked to get the front garden in shape for the summer. I pinned back the landscape fabric which had
blown around, did some weeding, and put down 15 bags of new mulch. There are
daffodils blooming. 😊
Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/52DbR8ge1W2Vtzka8
o We
did have a 60’ spruce tree blow down in last winter’s wind. It fell from our neighbor’s back yard across
our pea patch and a row of raspberries.
I cut it up for firewood and gave it to my neighbor. Here is a picture of the wood after cutting. https://photos.app.goo.gl/GsJhVB6iiSRJw7Bt9
·
Cabin – I traveled to our cabin on
Memorial Day on the way to a Spring Pastors' / Workers' Conference in
Homer. I turned on the heat and
electric, and put out the flag on Memorial Day.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2Z4YJhTvV69swAEH9
*******
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. (I finished for now serving as Assistant to the Pastor for
First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, FL. I am serving Anchorage Lutheran
Church as Vacancy Pastor.)
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, Anchorage Lutheran Church, Anchorage, AK
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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