“As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next sabbath. ⁴³ When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. ⁴⁴ The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul. ⁴⁶ Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles,
so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers. ⁴⁹ Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region.” Acts 13:42-49

The reaction of the Jews in verse 45 brings to mind a question for us: How should the church respond to those who make it their public business to reject the Gospel? It is clear to me that our society is becoming more and more secular – and thus are not believing in Jesus, or even that a G-d exists. And, to address a more immediate experience, how should the church respond when a group comes into our area, in the name of the Gospel, and publicly denounces “homosexuality” or “service men or women killed in Iraq” with language like “God hates _____?” We will encounter times and situations where the church must face and respond – and in so doing, will put us squarely into the public arena and the public eye. It is always safer to write our congress people or to write a letter to the editor of the local paper than it is to state our views, openly, publicly, and with the opportunity for others to reject us. But, shouldn’t we become more vocal and visible when the message of the Gospel is at stake?

Pastor Dave

“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. ² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, those he redeemed from trouble ³ and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.⁴ Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town; ⁵ hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. ⁶ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; ⁷ he led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town. ⁸ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind. ⁹ For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.” Psalm 107:1-9

The overriding message for Psalm 107 is radical – and that message is that there is ultimately no such thing as self-sufficiency. The Psalmist is suggesting that all human life depends on G-d. The good news is that we can depend on G-d. G-d is good, all the time, and all the time G-d is good. And G-d wants to share G-d’s goodness all the time. In the bible, when G-d says that something is to happen, it happens. “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

The idea that self-sufficiency is anti-G-d is one of the many secularist messages that we usually hear from our society. Take care of Number 1…G-d helps those who help themselves ( I don’t know that this is even biblical) – these are the phrases we hear from our society. We, as Lutherans, know however that we have an utter dependence on G-d. All things come from G-d – the same G-d who can turn a desert into pools of water, and a fruitful land into a salty waste.

Do you doubt that G-d is omni-present? I would ask that you simply look around –how can you not see G-d in all things?

Pastor Dave