Hope-Full Living

My sister gave me a dish towel complete with the embroidered grand prize ribbon containing the words “From a procrastination standpoint, today has been wildly successful.” She knew from past comments I had made how accurate those words are with respect to my crafting projects. Isn’t it breath-taking to realize our Lord did not hesitate or procrastinate when he assured the repentant criminal on the...

My dad got COVID this year during his 95th birthday. It made him weak but thank God he fully recovered. Sometimes when I get sick, I also feel weak, and the weight of my sin weighs heavy upon me. I have too much time to dwell on my sins. This verse, Romans 5:8, blew me away the first time I found it in the Bible during a Bible class years ago. It still does overwhelm me. Christ did not wait for us...

September 8 is Grandparents Day. My grandparents lived with us during the winter. When I got home from school, I often went upstairs to their bedroom, where my grandpa was usually reading his Bible. In our busy household, he always had time to listen and to care. I would eagerly listen to his stories, including his memories of “the Blizzard of ’88,” when the snow was so deep that they had to dig a...

Our daily mail arrives at about 4 P.M. However, it usually takes me another hour to get out to our mailbox, which is just about the time for the sun to beam its bright rays in my face as I walk back up to our house. John 3:16 is one our favorite Bible passages. The way the sun beams its rays upon our world, we can tell our God loves us. The Greek word for love here is “agape,” an unconditional, sa...

I don’t remember liking naps as a child, but I sure appreciate them now! Sometimes I do too much. Then I ache or can’t catch my breath. My body makes me take a break. And while I rest, some healing is going on inside of me. As we rest in God by reading and learning about the Bible, listening to a sermon, praying, and receiving the Lord’s Supper, we receive spiritual healing. God restores and renew...

I love mnemonic devices, those “gimmicks” that help us remember things. In fourth grade, my class went on a field trip to a cave. I was fascinated by the stalactites and stalagmites but kept getting them mixed up. That is, until I came up with this: stalactites reach down to hold things tight, while stalagmites reach up with all their might. Kind of like God and us, don’t you think? In Psalm 18, D...

Humans were created in perfect harmony with God. However, since the fall into sin, a barrier separates us from God. On our own, we cannot bridge the chasm. We needed a way to be reconciled with God again. That’s where Jesus comes in. He has reconciled us to the Father through his own death and resurrection. However, we are still sinners. Martin Luther points out in the fifth petition of the Lord’s...

When I open my Bible, I most often look for encouragement. Yet, sometimes, I receive reproof from the Lord. Though it can feel uncomfortable, I’ve learned to receive this instruction from the Spirit with gladness. One of the Holy Spirit’s main roles is to instruct us about God’s truth (John 16:13). As we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to the truth we receive. He guides us as we s...

David’s prayer in Psalm 51 speaks to me. He wrote it in response to the prophet Nathan’s rebuke of his sins with Bathsheba and Uriah. David’s words, “Against you (God), you only have I sinned and done what was evil in your sight” give us the right perspective on our sin. Yes, others are hurt; yes, we ourselves are hurt by our sin, but the Creator of the universe is who we have truly wronged. Seein...

When Christians suffer insults from unbelievers, we know they first hated God. Christ was ridiculed, shamed, beaten, and crucified by unbelievers who refused to acknowledge his true authority and kingship. Christ, who was sinless, took our sins upon himself and suffered this reproach for our sakes, so that we won’t be found guilty before God, though we deserve it. Today you can find great comfort...

When you’ve endured an illness or loss (wind), or feel drained by constant busy-ness (earthquake), or are overwhelmed by the daunting task before you (fire), how do you renew your strength? From where do you draw your refreshment? For me, renewal is found amid the stillness of the gentle whispers of our Savior as I sit silently before him ... just listening. It’s truly a lost art since life’s pace...

On confirmation day, my pastor spoke the words of 1 John 2:17 over me in the language of the King James Version. Now, more than 60 years later, those words have more meaning than ever. As a child or young confirmand, many of us may have felt the world seemed safe. But life happens, and we grow to realize it’s a fallen world. By God’s grace, that fact leads us to the good news. Jesus is preparing a...

As a visiting pastor, I have the privilege of handing out prayer shawls to our shut-ins. Our coordinator, Peg, collects the shawls from our knitters and gives them to me to pass out. She says, “Our prayer shawls share comfort in Christ, since our members are praying for them. I attach a card which reminds them about our prayers. Sometimes they will wear the shawls, but they will place them on a ch...

When I reflect on my wrong thoughts, words, and actions, I grieve over my sin. But I take comfort in God’s grace — his unconditional love — which covers my guilt over the past and assures me that Jesus has paid for all my sin. He has reconciled me to God. God doesn’t even wait for our confession before reconciling us to himself. His Word tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:...

How many times have we seen parents tell children, “Say you are sorry!” Some children might look sorrowful, others may mouth the words with rebellion in their eyes, and yet others may say the words cheerfully but forget the lesson. How many times did God say to Israel, Turn, Return, and plainly, I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice. Their rituals had become meaningless, their words empty. Yet...

My friend, Sandy, called a friend to confess something she’d done forty years ago and ask her forgiveness. “I wanted to have a clean conscience on the day when I see Jesus face to face,” Sandy said. Thankfully, her friend loves Jesus too. She forgave Sandy as Jesus had forgiven her. Today their friendship is closer than ever. Having a committed relationship to Jesus often requires us to confess ou...

Are you able to multi-task? Anytime you enter the house of the Lord to worship, you are challenged to do dual action. Action one is corporate worship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Action two is to realize the worship components are for you. Many of the words in worship are plural. “WE begin OUR worship ... We pray, OUR Father ...” When you are in a corporate worship setting, you must a...

Some of us may question the word discipline. In our Christian environment, the 10 commandments can guide us. The Apostle John is sharing with the church in Laodicea that love is the reason for us to be disciplined or reproved. Jesus invites the Christians to realize that hardships happen for a reason. Through our experiences, we mature and grow for the greater events that are planned for us. Jesus...

I often ask myself “Am I experiencing all that God wants for me?” The older I become, the more I am thankful for what the Lord has done for me. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, I am new each day. I am a forgiven child of God with a purpose. Yet, at times, I am tempted to see the great event of Christ’s death and resurrection as just something to remember, like the deaths of other great...

Despite my mom’s salad-making instructions, I often rushed through the job so I could watch television. One time, Mom called me back and chided me while holding up the large lettuce leaves I’d plopped into the bowl. I burst into tears. “I’m sorry, but my favorite show was coming on.” She forgave me and explained the importance of obedience and following directions. When she clarified, “If the sala...

Summer school once was a time when kids who came up short on academic standards had to pay the price for their shortcomings. (Not that I’d know anything about that.) How they might have dreamed of God’s voice booming from heaven, notifying parents, teachers, neighbors, and siblings that they were getting a fresh start (maybe learning more about run-on sentences)! God’s promise to his Old Testament...

I live alone, as many of you do. I can go days without leaving the house, and even when I go out, I rarely run into anyone I know. Sometimes I wonder how long it would be before anyone took note of my absence. I guess the people at church would notice I wasn’t there but wouldn’t get alarmed for a few weeks. In the winter I bowl, so my bowling team would check up on me. I sing in the choir, and the...

Receiving a vision of God, the prophet Isaiah cried out in fear. He was a sinner and could not look upon God and live. An angel took a burning coal from the temple altar and touched it to Isaiah’s lips, taking his guilt away. His sin had been atoned for. The word atone comes from two words, “at” and “one.” Isaiah’s sin prevented him from being at one with God, just as our own sins separate us from...

The story I heard goes like this. A man walks by a Little League game, and he asks a little boy what the score is. The boy answers, “18-0 and we’re behind.” The man answers, “You must be discouraged.” The boy responded, “Why should I be discouraged? We haven’t been up to bat yet!” What a difference an attitude of faith makes. As Christians, we daily sin much and could feel like we are losing 18-0....

I know a pastor who called himself the “chief sinner of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.” That title that he used has always struck a chord with me. As a pastor myself, it helps me to keep perspective to think of myself as the chief sinner of St. John’s Lutheran Church, and it also helps to keep the members of the church in that humble perspective as well. That didn’t just come out of thin air thoug...