January 13 2023 – “Saved by Faith – Not by the Bell”

“You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:1-9

{Joe always went to his local barber, Verks for a monthly shave and haircut. But one day Verks the barber was ill. So the barber’s wife, Grace, took over. Joe noticed over subsequent weeks that his beard was not growing. The barber, a good Lutheran, explained the mystery. “You now understand that when we are not shaved by Verks,” he said, “you’re shaved by Grace.”}

Saved by Grace through faith. It is what we lean upon when we encounter the close shaves in life. It is one of the fundamental teachings of the Lutheran Church – Justification by Faith through Grace. As the scripture states above, Grace is a gift from G-d. There is nothing we can do to earn such Grace. But, and this is important for us all to understand, G-d doesn’t want our works. Instead, G-d wants an active, loving relationship of faith from each of us.

Martin Luther spent much of his time in the Monastery trying to earn G-d’s love and favor. No matter how much he did, no matter how badly he mortified his own flesh, he could not find the G-d of love he so much wanted in his life. And so he returned to the bible, to scripture, and his life changed.

Now that we are well into the New Year, we are either well into the changes we had hoped to make in 2023, or we have already abandoned them. Thank the Lord our G-d is not as capricious with Grace as we are with works. Justification by Grace through faith. It saves us time and time again.

Let us pray: Dear G-d, you gave us Jesus, your son, so we might live by faith – and not by works. Help me understand that it is only faith that saves me time and time again. Amen.

Pastor Dave

January 12, 2023 – “Let My People Live”

“Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!”” Exodus 5:1ff

{“I heard about a horrible river dragon that lurked in the waters under the old London Bridge and destroyed passing boats, eating the crews and passengers. Finally, a group of brave knights lured it up onto the banks and, with great loss of life, managed to slay the horrible beast. After the conquest, Sir Newt suggested that they grind up the foul beast and use it for food in the local orphanage to cut down on the wasteful cost of gruel. Thus Dickens’s opening line…”It was the beast of Thames, it was the wurst of Thames.” A German farmer with relatives in the US sent them a package consisting of some pork sausages made from his old pig. When they complained that the package had not yet arrived, he wrote: “Cheer up. The wurst is yet to come.”} (Patricia Wooten)

For the Israelites in Egypt, it was the worst of times. They had grown in enormous quantities since the days of Jacob and Joseph, and they were now enslaved by the Pharaoh and his people. The Lord had forgotten about them for approximately 500 years, and now the Lord was about to make things right. But for a time, the people would have to endure even more difficulties. Why does it seem that when we are experiencing difficulties, more difficulties seem to pile on? I know this is not often the case, but just because we may have one problem does not mean a second or third may be just on the horizon.

They say deaths come in threes, and sometimes difficulties come in threes as well. It is the way of chance and randomness. But our faith is not left to chance and randomness. We may feel as if the Lord has forgotten us, but in fact the Lord is continually fighting battles for us – the first battle being the battle against sin, death and the devil. That battle rages on day after day. And it is for just this reason that Jesus was sent to die once and for all times for the sins of all people. Death was defeated on the cross; and so was evil and sin. But the battle rages on, because the earth and this existence is the playground of the devil. In 2023, just like Moses, let us turn to G-d for direction, in the best of times and in the worst of times.

Let us pray: Lord, you have given me another day, which may bring the best or it may bring the worst of times. Help me to praise your name every day no matter what the day may bring. Amen.

Pastor Dave