God Help Us To be Fruitful

    

     "Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
     To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
     May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."  2 Peter 1:1-8 NRSV

We are saved by God's grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ; yet, Peter reminds us that we should support that faith with such things as goodness and knowledge. It makes no sense whatsoever for us to have received this precious gift of faith if we do not live by that faith. We are to be fruitful laborers in that which He has called us.

God bless the works of our hands, the words of our lips and the meditations of our hearts and minds that all that we say and think and do will be acceptable in His sight and glorify Him.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Too Much Drama; Too Much Strife

A perverse person spreads strife,
    and a whisperer separates close friends.
The violent entice their neighbors,
    and lead them in a way that is not good.
                Proverbs 16:28-29

Somewhere, somehow, we must take a stand and protect the innocent from slander. There is so much slander, so much aloneness in this world, and so much depression resulting from it. It often comes from one source: the ego or maybe it would be more accurate to say the devil who resides within us. Those in whom the Spirit of Christ does not reside often attack their neighbors; their friends; their enemies unjustly, causing much chaos, pain, and sorrow. Standing idly by because you do not want to become involved or become the next target is not all that helpful. Rather, as most of us confess on Sunday mornings, we end up sinning by what we have not done; by not supporting and helping our neighbor in need. That is not to say that we should not confront sin. We should not support sin. We do need to confront those who would entice others in a way that is not good even while we support and protect those who are falsely accused. 

We teach our children in Sunday School and in Confirmation classes that the eighth commandment; "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." We also teach them as Luther taught that this means: "We should fear and love God so that we do not betray, slander, lie or gossip about our neighbors, but defend them, speak well of them and put the most charitable construction on all that they do." How soon we forget what we have learned!

May God help us to love our neighbors and not cause them to suffer any form of anguish because of our actions or inactions.

God's Peace - Pr. J 

Supporting Widows And All In Need

For Widows.

She that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. 1 Tim. 5:5-6.

For All in Common.

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Herein are comprehended all the commandments. Rom. 13:8ff And persevere in prayer for all men. 1 Tim. 2:1-2

http://bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php

 

1 Timothy 5 actually outlines who the church might consider a widow for purposes of assisting her. They are women over the age of sixty who have been faithful to their husbands and have devoted their lives to helping others. These were women would probably not be marrying again and have no one else to support them.

 

The reality is that the church then and now cannot physically support every person who thinks that they have a need. We cannot support every person that doesn't feel like working, either. Nor, can the government. Our funds are limited and we have to be good stewards of God's gifts so that we have the ability to help those widows who are in legitimate need. 

 

Serving at a previous congregation, I lived in a parsonage next to the church. It seemed that for a couple of years I was receiving homeless travelers looking for assistance just about every week. A very large majority of them seemed to have been traveling from Canada. After procuring a motel room for one very nice man who was traveling by foot, I asked him how it was that he had to come to me for help when there were so many other churches in the area. I jokingly wondered if there was a sign at the Canadian border to stop at Pr. Judy's in Baraga for help.  He said no. He had stopped by the sheriff's office for assistance and they had directed him to me. 

 

It can difficult o discern who is in legitimate need because they cannot work or cannot find a job and who is just not willing to work to support themselves. As a church, we are concerned that all people are cared for even as we would want to be cared for if we or our children are in dire need. We do the best we can; but, at times we fall short. Sometimes we fall short because resources are definitely limited and we have not always been the best stewards of God's gifts.  

 

Lord, give us this day our daily bread... so that through us your children; the widows, the widowers, the homeless, the forsaken, might be fed.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

1 Timothy 5 - Christian Charity

1 Timothy 5 NIV

Zion's Youth Choirt
at Toys for Tots Benefit Concert

In a time when the state was not expected to support the elderly or anyone else, St. Paul exhorts families to care for their elderly relatives, especially their parents, before they are put on the list for the church to care for them. His list of who gets assistance is pretty narrow. He focuses mainly on widows. They are not to be put on the list for assistance unless they are over sixty years old, has been faithful to their husbands, and have been known for their good deeds.

It is, of course, the Christians duty and privilege to care for those in need. Today, we help all in need. Yes, there are definitely those who would take advantage of the church's assistance. There are those who go from one congregation to the next asking for assistance. There are those few who make a career of exploiting Christian charity rather than working themselves. It depletes the funds that could be used for those who are truly in need. In order to help those in genuine need sometimes we have to say no to those who would steal the support we have to offer from the one in real need.

There is an old saying that "charity begins at home." This is not to say that we should indulge ourselves and care only for ourselves; rather, we should look to our own relatives, the aunts and uncles, parents, and grandparents who are in genuine need and care for them so that they do not suffer. If we cannot, then churches or other charitable non-profits such as St. Vincent DePaul should be called on for assistance. Lastly, I believe, the state is there. It seems like we've turned this around a bit today.

Paul gives a list for discerning who is in real need in his letter to Timothy. Then he adds: "Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (vs 8)

We are not saved by our good works; rather, the joy of our salvation inspires us to be merciful and caring to those in need. The joy over what Jesus was willing to do for us, inspires us to reach out to others in need. "The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever." (vs 24-25)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Acts 19:23-41 False Gods Big Business

Acts 19:23-41 NIV
Here's the truth of the matter. False gods are big business.  They provide somebody something and that somebody that receives something is not usually the worshipper. I could name a few, but you already know where your loyalties lie. You already know who is getting rich from you loyalty to those things that you have set above the LORD. And, yes, if a false god is going to be exposed for what it really is then somebody is going to get upset. If as a worshipper of a false god you heard the truth that you don't have to purchase a god; but, that God has freely given himself to you wouldn't you set aside a false god? You well may, and in doing so you may be depriving someone of their ill-gotten gain.  You may find yourself in the midst of a riot created by the ones whose evil has been exposed.

That is exactly what happened in Ephesus. A silversmith upset that the missionaries of Jesus were exposing the gods he made with silver as false gods started a riot among the other false god makers and the worshippers of the goddess Artemis.

Maybe a question to ponder this morning might be: What gods are you supporting and which ones are supporting you with the treasures that one true God has given to you? Set aside your false gods and worship the one true God who is really there for you.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Zechariah 7 - Resolution To Show Kindness and Mercy

The people wanted to know. They wanted to know if they should continue fasting in the fifth month as they had been doing for so long. The response they received....

"The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another." (Zech 7:8-10 NIV)

It is the beginning of a new year; a time when many decide that they will give up; they will fast from things that they have been indulging in that were harmful to themselves. They plan to change their lives for the better. How about if instead of giving up something (fasting) to make our own lives better; the change takes place in the form of adding something to our lives to make the lives of others better? Things like reaching out to others. Instead of ignoring the person you meet on the street; greet them with the peace of God. Instead of gossiping about the single woman down the street who is trying to raise her children by herself; you get to really know her and support her and her children? How about we pray for those whom we think are our enemies rather than persecute them publicly? I wonder what would happen in and to the world around us if we used (fasted) a bit more of our time and energy in showing a little more kindness and mercy.

 I know, I've suggested these types of changes (resolutions) a thousand times and some may wish I'd quit suggesting it, already.  Many hear; others refuse to unstop their ears. It is the same for many today as it was when Zechariah relayed God's message to the people in captivity. "But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in order not to hear." (Zech 7:11) 

Unstop your ears. Listen, to the word of the LORD. Live showing kindness and mercy that it may be well with you and with your neighbor.

God's Peace - Pr. J

 

Proverbs 14 - Wise Woman

We have a slight change this morning. So far, we've been hearing a lot about what the wise son does. This morning, Proverbs 14 tells us about the wise woman.  "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." (Prov 14:1 NIV) Sadly, the foolish one is not even aware that she's tearing down rather than building up and so it continues. They feel secure even as they are destroying their own lives. 

Just a few of the things that a wise woman will do:
     She thinks about what she will say and do. She watches the words that come from her lips. She will not bear false witness. She will not mock others. She will not laugh at those who have repented of their sins and turn to the LORD. Rather, she will support her neighbors in their every need.

Listen, then, to wisdom and follow in the way that the LORD would have you go, so that you might live life not just wisely, but abundantly in His presence for all eternity.

God's Peace - Pr. J