"As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" - John 9:1-3
When something bad happens to someone, we want to believe that they deserve it, because if they don't, then anything bad can happen to anyone, and that's scary. We think we want life to be "fair", but it isn't, and in fact, that's a good thing, because if life were fair, we'd all be in big trouble. The truth is, God loves and forgives us even though we don't deserve it.
But if God loves and forgives us, why then do bad things happen? In general, there is pain and suffering in this world because of sin, but specific bad things cannot necessarily be tied to a specific sin, "for he [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).
We want to understand things, but the truth is, we don't always see a reason for the things that happen in our life, both good and bad. What we do know is that God can use all those things to His glory. Even better, "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28). We might not see it now, but one day in heaven, the same God who opened the eyes of the physically blind will open our eyes to His full glory and how everything He did was for good.
The one thing we can see even today is God's love and forgiveness that will result in that wonderful eternity with Him. God uses us now to open the eyes of others and share that love and forgiveness with them, too, whether they deserve it or not.
Inspired by Pastor Kevin Lentz's sermon "Whose Fault Is It?" at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE, March 26, 2017.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Seeing Jesus
"And he [Jesus] was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light." - Matthew 17:2
On the mount of transfiguration, three of Jesus' disciples had an amazing experience of seeing Jesus in all His glory. Such an experience is now something we only hope to enjoy one day in heaven. Yet even though we may not see such obvious evidence of Christ's glory in our daily lives, it is still possible to see Him.
Where do we see Jesus today?
We see Jesus first in the Bible, in stories like the one in Matthew 17 about his physical transfiguration. We see from this story that there is a beauty to our Lord, a beauty that we can strive to reflect (though rather palely) in things like art and music and poetry. Physical beauty can be used to honor Jesus and show Him to others. When it is created with the right heart, poured out with love towards our Lord, such physical offerings are not a waste. After all, when women poured expensive perfume on Jesus to honor Him, Jesus stood up for them rather than rebuking them for wasting money as others in His company had (Luke 7:36-50, John 12:1-8).
When we focus on this physical beauty alone, however, we miss the larger beauty of Jesus. This larger beauty is seen in how we love those around us. We ought to see Jesus Himself in those around us, both great and weak, from the powerful preacher down to the homeless single mother shivering in the cold. Jesus commands us to see Him in all of these people, and do for them what we would do for Him. Those who show love to the least of these may not even think about how they are doing good to Jesus, yet on the final day, they will stand before the Lord "and the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’" (Matthew 25:40)
The truly beautiful thing is that when we treat others like we would treat Jesus, they can see Jesus in us. We can follow Jesus' instruction: "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8b) We are to be just like Jesus, heeding His command: "love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." (John 13:34).
Jesus in all of His glory, as witnessed in Matthew 17, we can hardly comprehend. Yet if we reflect even a small fraction of that greatness though our words and deeds, we can light up the whole world with love and hope.
Where do we see Jesus today? We see Him in our hearts, in one another, and in our reflection of His love, as we learn from Jesus, serve Jesus, and become Jesus to those around us.
Inspired by the sermon "They Saw No One but Jesus" by Pastor Kevin Lentz at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE on Feb 26, 2017.
On the mount of transfiguration, three of Jesus' disciples had an amazing experience of seeing Jesus in all His glory. Such an experience is now something we only hope to enjoy one day in heaven. Yet even though we may not see such obvious evidence of Christ's glory in our daily lives, it is still possible to see Him.
Where do we see Jesus today?
We see Jesus first in the Bible, in stories like the one in Matthew 17 about his physical transfiguration. We see from this story that there is a beauty to our Lord, a beauty that we can strive to reflect (though rather palely) in things like art and music and poetry. Physical beauty can be used to honor Jesus and show Him to others. When it is created with the right heart, poured out with love towards our Lord, such physical offerings are not a waste. After all, when women poured expensive perfume on Jesus to honor Him, Jesus stood up for them rather than rebuking them for wasting money as others in His company had (Luke 7:36-50, John 12:1-8).
When we focus on this physical beauty alone, however, we miss the larger beauty of Jesus. This larger beauty is seen in how we love those around us. We ought to see Jesus Himself in those around us, both great and weak, from the powerful preacher down to the homeless single mother shivering in the cold. Jesus commands us to see Him in all of these people, and do for them what we would do for Him. Those who show love to the least of these may not even think about how they are doing good to Jesus, yet on the final day, they will stand before the Lord "and the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’" (Matthew 25:40)
The truly beautiful thing is that when we treat others like we would treat Jesus, they can see Jesus in us. We can follow Jesus' instruction: "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8b) We are to be just like Jesus, heeding His command: "love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." (John 13:34).
Jesus in all of His glory, as witnessed in Matthew 17, we can hardly comprehend. Yet if we reflect even a small fraction of that greatness though our words and deeds, we can light up the whole world with love and hope.
Where do we see Jesus today? We see Him in our hearts, in one another, and in our reflection of His love, as we learn from Jesus, serve Jesus, and become Jesus to those around us.
Inspired by the sermon "They Saw No One but Jesus" by Pastor Kevin Lentz at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE on Feb 26, 2017.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Not Knowing
"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." - Matthew 24:36
We want to know. We can't stand not knowing things. Jesus says we can't know when the world is going to end and we say, "You want a bet?" We dig into lore and history and science and try to come up with an answer where God tells us there is none for us to find.
It is difficult for us to get past our pride and our lust for knowledge. Knowledge is great, but when we think we know all God knows, or even think it's possible that we could know all God knows, we get ourselves into real trouble. We are trusting the wrong things.
1 Corinthians 13:8 reminds us that "where there is knowledge, it will pass away." The first part of 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, "Love never fails," and 1 John 4:8 ends with, "God is love." God will never fail us. We should trust Him more than any "knowledge" we may possess, especially when we don't see Him coming.
"For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." - Matthew 24:37
No one expected their world to end in the days of Noah, but God told Noah it would, and Noah trusted God. Noah prepared for the flood, even though no one else outside his immediate family was prepared. I would imagine people saw Noah preparing and thought he was nuts. People may think we, as Christians, are nuts, too. Sometimes I think we are nuts. After all, 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
The key here is that we are being saved. We are right to put our trust in God. God tells us about Jesus - His first coming and His future coming - so that is knowledge we do possess. And unlike those in Noah's time, there are people today for whom it is not too late. There are people in our lives who can still know the truth: God's word (John 17:17).
Our job now is to share that truth of Jesus' comings, past and future, with the world. Then together we can all joyfully say, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20b).
"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." - Revelation 22:21 (the final verse of the Bible).
Inspired by the sermon "Be Ready" by Pastor Kevin Lentz at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE on Nov 27, 2016.
We want to know. We can't stand not knowing things. Jesus says we can't know when the world is going to end and we say, "You want a bet?" We dig into lore and history and science and try to come up with an answer where God tells us there is none for us to find.
It is difficult for us to get past our pride and our lust for knowledge. Knowledge is great, but when we think we know all God knows, or even think it's possible that we could know all God knows, we get ourselves into real trouble. We are trusting the wrong things.
1 Corinthians 13:8 reminds us that "where there is knowledge, it will pass away." The first part of 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, "Love never fails," and 1 John 4:8 ends with, "God is love." God will never fail us. We should trust Him more than any "knowledge" we may possess, especially when we don't see Him coming.
"For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." - Matthew 24:37
No one expected their world to end in the days of Noah, but God told Noah it would, and Noah trusted God. Noah prepared for the flood, even though no one else outside his immediate family was prepared. I would imagine people saw Noah preparing and thought he was nuts. People may think we, as Christians, are nuts, too. Sometimes I think we are nuts. After all, 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
The key here is that we are being saved. We are right to put our trust in God. God tells us about Jesus - His first coming and His future coming - so that is knowledge we do possess. And unlike those in Noah's time, there are people today for whom it is not too late. There are people in our lives who can still know the truth: God's word (John 17:17).
Our job now is to share that truth of Jesus' comings, past and future, with the world. Then together we can all joyfully say, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20b).
"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." - Revelation 22:21 (the final verse of the Bible).
Inspired by the sermon "Be Ready" by Pastor Kevin Lentz at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE on Nov 27, 2016.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Send Me!
Try to imagine the full majesty and glory of God.
Now try to comprehend the full magnitude of every sin you've ever committed.
Next, imagine standing before all of God's glory with all your sin piled up around you. Could you even stand? Or would you collapse to your knees?
If you can imagine that, you've just imagined how Isaiah felt in Isaiah 6: completely unworthy to stand before the LORD.
Isaiah saw "the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple" (Isaiah 6:1). In Isaiah 6:5, he responded to God's glory by exclaiming, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Now imagine all that filth, those vast piles of trash, just instantly burning away as the almighty God says, "You are forgiven." And as soon as He speaks those words, He follows them up by asking who would serve Him, as in Isaiah 6:8: 'And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”'
After all of this, how could we not share in Isaiah's response: "Here I am! Send me." (Isaiah 6:8)?
The only question that should remain is where He is calling each of us to go and what He is calling us to do. Pray for a neighbor? Love a friend? Love an enemy? Just share the love of God with everyone? Yes to all of these, and to many more specific things that God has in store for each of us.
It may be scary to step up to serve God, but when we think of all He has done for us, it seems so much smaller and less intimidating by comparison. I hope that can inspire us all to say, "Here I am! Send me."
Inspired by the sermon "Hot Lips and Heartburn" by Pastor Tim Gierke at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE on Oct 2, 2016.
Now try to comprehend the full magnitude of every sin you've ever committed.
Next, imagine standing before all of God's glory with all your sin piled up around you. Could you even stand? Or would you collapse to your knees?
If you can imagine that, you've just imagined how Isaiah felt in Isaiah 6: completely unworthy to stand before the LORD.
Isaiah saw "the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple" (Isaiah 6:1). In Isaiah 6:5, he responded to God's glory by exclaiming, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Now imagine all that filth, those vast piles of trash, just instantly burning away as the almighty God says, "You are forgiven." And as soon as He speaks those words, He follows them up by asking who would serve Him, as in Isaiah 6:8: 'And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”'
After all of this, how could we not share in Isaiah's response: "Here I am! Send me." (Isaiah 6:8)?
The only question that should remain is where He is calling each of us to go and what He is calling us to do. Pray for a neighbor? Love a friend? Love an enemy? Just share the love of God with everyone? Yes to all of these, and to many more specific things that God has in store for each of us.
It may be scary to step up to serve God, but when we think of all He has done for us, it seems so much smaller and less intimidating by comparison. I hope that can inspire us all to say, "Here I am! Send me."
Inspired by the sermon "Hot Lips and Heartburn" by Pastor Tim Gierke at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE on Oct 2, 2016.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Prosperity
Prosperity in life does not correlate with prosperity in the afterlife. It's easy to get caught up in this world and focus on what we can do, but this can be eternally damning. This is what a rich man learned in a parable told by Jesus:
"There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. [...] The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'" - Luke 16:19-24
Note that in the passage above, the rich man recognized Abraham. He had knowledge of the icons of faith, but he did not have faith himself. It is not enough to recognize symbols and have knowledge of Christianity. We must believe. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9.
The poor man, Lazarus, though he was poor and weak physically, was rich and strong in faith. We know this because we see him in heaven by Abraham's side and "for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." - Eph. 2:8-9
Faith is what determined the fate of Lazarus and of the rich man. And once they died, that fate was sealed, for the parable continues, "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'" - Luke 16:25-26.
So that's that. The man who was rich physically but bankrupt spiritually went to hell while the man who had less than nothing physically but had faith went to heaven. Is that all there is to this story? It is a profound and important point that we are saved by grace through faith, but I can't help but wonder if there is more we can learn from this parable. I wonder: why did Lazarus not witness to the rich man? Could the rich man have been saved?
The rich man certainly seems like a villain who got what he deserved, yet he got what we all deserve, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 8:23). And in like manner, Jesus came for all people and once we believe, we are all the same in Christ. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28). I imagine it would be fair to say that there is also no difference between the physically rich and physically poor when it comes to having salvation as a result of faith in Christ. Looking back to the rich man in the parable, just as his riches did not save him, they should not automatically condemn him either. We as Christians are tasked with witnessing to all alike, people like Lazarus, people like the rich man, and everyone in between.
It can be difficult for people like the rich man in the parable to give up their faith in themselves and their riches in exchange for reliance on God, but that does not mean we should give up on them. After all, in another exchange involving a rich man entering the kingdom of heaven, Jesus said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)
So let's remember the magnitude of the result of a lack of faith seen in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus and not only be thankful for our salvation, but share the prosperity of salvation with others, just as Christ calls us all to do.
Inspired by the sermon "Not Ashamed" by Pastor Kevin Lentz at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE on Sept 25, 2016.
"There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. [...] The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'" - Luke 16:19-24
Note that in the passage above, the rich man recognized Abraham. He had knowledge of the icons of faith, but he did not have faith himself. It is not enough to recognize symbols and have knowledge of Christianity. We must believe. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9.
The poor man, Lazarus, though he was poor and weak physically, was rich and strong in faith. We know this because we see him in heaven by Abraham's side and "for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." - Eph. 2:8-9
Faith is what determined the fate of Lazarus and of the rich man. And once they died, that fate was sealed, for the parable continues, "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'" - Luke 16:25-26.
So that's that. The man who was rich physically but bankrupt spiritually went to hell while the man who had less than nothing physically but had faith went to heaven. Is that all there is to this story? It is a profound and important point that we are saved by grace through faith, but I can't help but wonder if there is more we can learn from this parable. I wonder: why did Lazarus not witness to the rich man? Could the rich man have been saved?
The rich man certainly seems like a villain who got what he deserved, yet he got what we all deserve, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 8:23). And in like manner, Jesus came for all people and once we believe, we are all the same in Christ. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28). I imagine it would be fair to say that there is also no difference between the physically rich and physically poor when it comes to having salvation as a result of faith in Christ. Looking back to the rich man in the parable, just as his riches did not save him, they should not automatically condemn him either. We as Christians are tasked with witnessing to all alike, people like Lazarus, people like the rich man, and everyone in between.
It can be difficult for people like the rich man in the parable to give up their faith in themselves and their riches in exchange for reliance on God, but that does not mean we should give up on them. After all, in another exchange involving a rich man entering the kingdom of heaven, Jesus said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)
So let's remember the magnitude of the result of a lack of faith seen in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus and not only be thankful for our salvation, but share the prosperity of salvation with others, just as Christ calls us all to do.
Inspired by the sermon "Not Ashamed" by Pastor Kevin Lentz at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE on Sept 25, 2016.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
No Fear
"Fear not the reproach of mankind, or be terrified by their insults." -Isaiah 51:7
"Fear not." This is easier said that done! There is so much to fear. What if I get sick? What if things go badly at work? What if people don't like me? What if I say the wrong thing? What if someone attacks me? What if I'm robbed? What if I get in a car crash? What if something happens to my family or my friends? What I mess up and I can't make things right?
Life is scary. There are threats to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being all around us. I am afraid often. And yet, despite all there is to fear, God tells us, "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 40:10)
This also reminds me of a song I learned as a child. "Have no fear little flock. Have no fear little flock, for the Father has promised to give you the kingdom. Have no fear little flock."
We are little, not because of fear, but because we are human. When fear makes us feel little and afraid, we should remember that we can only turn to God, someone much bigger and greater than we, for true comfort and eternal safety.
We are still going to be afraid from time to time. We are still going to encounter hardships. Yet in Christ, we stand up to the spiritual things, to sin, to evil, to death itself, and we can believe it when we say, "You don't win. Not today. Not ever." The physical and emotional may still get us, but the spiritual never will. In Christ, our eternal victory is secure. Our Father has promised to give us the kingdom. Have no fear, little flock.
Inspired by the sermon delivered by St. Mark Lutheran Church's pastor Kevin Lentz, 9/11/2016
"Fear not." This is easier said that done! There is so much to fear. What if I get sick? What if things go badly at work? What if people don't like me? What if I say the wrong thing? What if someone attacks me? What if I'm robbed? What if I get in a car crash? What if something happens to my family or my friends? What I mess up and I can't make things right?
Life is scary. There are threats to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being all around us. I am afraid often. And yet, despite all there is to fear, God tells us, "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 40:10)
This also reminds me of a song I learned as a child. "Have no fear little flock. Have no fear little flock, for the Father has promised to give you the kingdom. Have no fear little flock."
We are little, not because of fear, but because we are human. When fear makes us feel little and afraid, we should remember that we can only turn to God, someone much bigger and greater than we, for true comfort and eternal safety.
We are still going to be afraid from time to time. We are still going to encounter hardships. Yet in Christ, we stand up to the spiritual things, to sin, to evil, to death itself, and we can believe it when we say, "You don't win. Not today. Not ever." The physical and emotional may still get us, but the spiritual never will. In Christ, our eternal victory is secure. Our Father has promised to give us the kingdom. Have no fear, little flock.
Inspired by the sermon delivered by St. Mark Lutheran Church's pastor Kevin Lentz, 9/11/2016
Monday, September 5, 2016
Choose
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" - Ephesians 2:8
Imagine a present sitting in front of you, wrapped up with a bright red bow, just waiting to be opened. You're excited to open it, because you know that it contains all the joy and happiness you could ever imagine, lasting for eternity. Yet you hesitate, because you know that if you choose to open this package, you risk temporary pain and suffering, ridicule, loneliness, possibly even death. There is no promise of an easy life here and now, only a promise of a joyful life now and forever.
You also know that if you don't choose to open the present, things might be easier now. You may have fewer concerns and a greater sense of freedom to do whatever you want in the here and now. Yet the long term consequences will be devastating: death, loneliness, pain, and suffering for all eternity.
So what do you do? Do you open the gift or not? I can tell you what Joshua, the man who led the Israelites into the promised land after Moses passed away, chose. He said, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" in Joshua 24:15.
Faith isn't always easy, but it is free, at least for us.
As you reach forward to unwrap the gift, you notice that the red ribbon is drenched in blood, the blood of Christ, who died for you so that you could open this gift of faith and grace at all. You're still nervous as you open this gift. You aren't without your doubts. But you know that with the help of Christ and your fellow believers, you can continue to accept this gift every day for the rest of your life. You can stand with the author of Philippians and say, "I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:12-13)
You have made your choice. You have responded to options offered by God going back thousands of years: "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19) And, with the Holy Spirit's help, you have chosen life.
Inspired by the sermon delivered by St. Mark Lutheran Church's pastor Kevin Lentz, 9/4/2016
Imagine a present sitting in front of you, wrapped up with a bright red bow, just waiting to be opened. You're excited to open it, because you know that it contains all the joy and happiness you could ever imagine, lasting for eternity. Yet you hesitate, because you know that if you choose to open this package, you risk temporary pain and suffering, ridicule, loneliness, possibly even death. There is no promise of an easy life here and now, only a promise of a joyful life now and forever.
You also know that if you don't choose to open the present, things might be easier now. You may have fewer concerns and a greater sense of freedom to do whatever you want in the here and now. Yet the long term consequences will be devastating: death, loneliness, pain, and suffering for all eternity.
So what do you do? Do you open the gift or not? I can tell you what Joshua, the man who led the Israelites into the promised land after Moses passed away, chose. He said, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" in Joshua 24:15.
Faith isn't always easy, but it is free, at least for us.
As you reach forward to unwrap the gift, you notice that the red ribbon is drenched in blood, the blood of Christ, who died for you so that you could open this gift of faith and grace at all. You're still nervous as you open this gift. You aren't without your doubts. But you know that with the help of Christ and your fellow believers, you can continue to accept this gift every day for the rest of your life. You can stand with the author of Philippians and say, "I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:12-13)
You have made your choice. You have responded to options offered by God going back thousands of years: "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live." (Deuteronomy 30:19) And, with the Holy Spirit's help, you have chosen life.
Inspired by the sermon delivered by St. Mark Lutheran Church's pastor Kevin Lentz, 9/4/2016
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