TAKE UP YOUR CROSS
Devotional for February 25, 2018 based upon Mark 8: 31-38

A soldier was digging in during a battle as the shells were flying all around him. Suddenly his hand felt something small and metallic. He grabbed it. It was a silver cross. Another shell exploded, as he buried his head in his arms. Then he felt someone jump into the foxhole next to him. He looked over and saw that it was the army chaplain. The soldier thrust the cross into the chaplain’s face and said, “I sure am glad to see you. How do you work this thing?”

In response to our Bible passage for the second Sunday in Lent, where Jesus talks about denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following Him, many people would ask the same question, “How do you work this thing?”

The disciple Peter did not know how to work this thing or deal with the cross. Here he was, at Caesarea Philippi, in the northern part of Israel, in a place where Caesar was considered to be God. Here he makes his bold confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But Peter did not like it when Jesus then said that He was going to be going to the cross. So Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. “No, Lord, that is not the way it should happen for You.”

Peter wanted the Kingdom to come by force. Let’s all rise up and get rid of the hated Romans. But Jesus said it is not going to happen that way. “The reign of God will come only as I undergo great suffering. Only as I am rejected, killed, and after three days rise. Only as I go the way of the cross.”

Then Jesus said that those who want to follow Him must also go the way of the cross. Our faith is based upon and is centered in the cross.

Jesus did not say, “Grab hold of a cross to provide protection” – as against vampires. Nor did He say, “Wear a cross as a piece of jewelry.” Instead He said, “Take up your cross.” Which means we have a choice. Jesus had a choice as to whether He was going to pick up and bear His cross. He could have said No. And we also have a choice as to whether we will pick up and bear our cross. We can say No.

What does it mean to bear your cross? Let’s first consider what it does not mean. When facing difficult circumstances, some people say, “I guess that’s the cross I have to bear.” They say it with a poor-me kind of attitude. But that’s not bearing your cross. When talking about bearing a cross in that way, they are talking about circumstances and situations that, if given a choice, they would not choose. But bearing a cross is voluntary. Bearing a cross is not making the best of a bad situation. Rather it is something you willingly choose to do.

The cross is The Symbol of the Christian faith. And so Jesus said, “If any want to become My followers, let them deny themselves, and take up their cross, and follow Me.” But it is not easy for us to deny ourselves.

Two young brothers came downstairs for breakfast one Saturday morning. Their mother was making pancakes. She started to pull the first pancake off the griddle when the boys began arguing over who would get the first pancake. Their mother wanted to make the moment into a teaching moment, and so she said, “Now boys, what would Jesus say if He were here?” They stopped, looked confused, and then their mother told them, “Jesus would say, ‘Dear brother, you can have the first pancake; I am willing to wait.’” The older brother looked at the younger brother and then said, “Hey, John, you be Jesus.”

It’s not easy for us to deny ourselves. We all want the first pancake. We all have our own personal desires. But Jesus is clear that if we choose to follow Him, we must deny ourselves.

Which means that we will not always be able to do what we want and/or get what we want. We will not always be able to follow our own natural, human tendencies. We will have tough decisions we will need to make in light of what Jesus would do. But does that mean that we will be deprived of all joy and happiness? No, we will find joy and happiness through following Jesus.

But Jesus did not just say, “Deny yourself.” He also said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

The old spiritual asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” Some would say, “No, I was not there. It happened in the past, and I had nothing to do with it. It was an awful act committed by others. I refuse to feel guilty for something I did not do.”

If that is the position we take, then we are missing the whole point of Jesus’ words when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.” Jesus does not simply want us to remember His cross as something He suffered on our behalf. If that’s all He wanted, then He would have said, “Take up MY cross and follow Me.” Instead He said, “Take up YOUR cross and follow Me.” We are to so identify with His death on the cross that we see ourselves in the story. It is not simply His story. It is our story as well. The cross is not simply a burden to carry. Rather it is a place to die. In taking up our cross we must die to selfishness and sin so that Jesus can raise us up to new life.

As we continue our Lenten journey we can refuse to take up the cross and then live our lives without following Jesus. Or we can take up our cross and be transformed as we live for Someone who loves us more than we can ever imagine. I urge you, Take up your cross and follow Jesus.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

FACE TO FACE WITH THE DEVIL
Devotional for February 18, 2018 based upon Mark 1: 9-15

Today is the First Sunday in Lent, that forty-day period that leads us to the cross and the empty tomb. Today we begin our journey in the wilderness, for that is where the Gospel writer Mark tells us the Spirit had driven Jesus.

Perhaps Jesus was seeking a time for self-examination. Perhaps He wanted to reflect on the ministry that He was about to begin. Perhaps He knew that this was going to be the last opportunity that He would have for a while to be truly alone. Whatever the reason – why ever He was there – it was in the wilderness that Jesus came face to face with the Devil.

When have you come face to face with the Devil, and how did it go? Yes, THERE COMES A TIME WHEN ALL OF US MUST CONFRONT SATAN. There comes a time when each one of us will be tempted. None of us ever totally escapes temptation. We all have to deal with some form of temptation, though some people seem to be tempted more often and more severely than others. There are some people who are facing temptations that many of us cannot even imagine.

After being out in the wilderness for forty days alone, Jesus was tempted like we all are tempted. Jesus confronted Satan head on. And Jesus shows us how we also can confront Satan head on.

There is something we need to understand about the power of the Tempter. The more we give in, the weaker we become. The more we resist, the stronger we become. WE BECOME STRONGER WHEN WE RESIST TEMPTATION.

Reminds me of something that happened when they were renovating the Queen Mary. That gracious old vessel was launched in 1936. Through four decades and a world war, this ocean liner served its owners and passengers well. Then it was retired to Long Beach, California, where it was anchored as a floating hotel and a museum.

During its conversion, its three massive smoke stacks were taken off to be scraped down and repainted. But as they were doing so, those three massive pieces of steel crumbled. Nothing was left of the three-quarter inch thick steel plates from which the smoke stacks had been formed. All that remained were the more than thirty coats of paint that had been applied over the years. The steel had been completely rusted away.

And the same thing can happen to people’s character. Some give in to temptation time and time again until their inner moral fiber is eaten away.

Fortunately, the opposite is also true. The more we give in to the Tempter, the weaker we become. The more we resist the Tempter, the weaker he becomes. Jesus nipped temptation in the bud. Jesus said No from the very beginning. We need to do the same.

Of course, JESUS WAS NOT ALONE in His confrontation with the Tempter and NEITHER ARE WE. The Psalmist proclaims, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” The Gospel writer Matthew tells us that Jesus resisted Satan with words taken from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Jesus was putting Satan on notice that Satan was dealing not just with human power, but with the very power of God.

And the same power is available to us today. Jesus was not left all alone in the wilderness, and neither are we. God the Father was with Him, and God the Father is also with us.

A Christian camp counselor was questioning a teenage girl about her faith. Trying to help her prepare for the temptation that she would surely face once she was back home, the counselor asked, “What if the Devil comes knocking on your door and tries to lead you astray?” The young lady replied, “I will ask Jesus to answer the door for me.”

God promises each one of us that, no matter what, HE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR US. We have a God who loves us unconditionally. He will never give up on us. He will pick us up when we fall. And if we ask for His strength, He will give it to us.

We will be tempted. Everyone of us will be tempted. We need to respond as Jesus responded. We can respond as Jesus responded. We need to confront the Tempter head on and reject without hesitation all that would weaken and destroy us.

We have the promise that God will be with us. If we ask, He will surely help us to overcome.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

BOUNDARY CROSSINGS
Devotional for February 11, 2018
Based upon the First Reading for the Transfiguration of our Lord, 2 Kings 2: 1-12

The time was coming when God would be taking Elijah away. Soon Elisha will be left behind alone to do the work that the two of them had been doing together. There is a tone of real melancholy in these verses. The kind of melancholy that we also feel when we are about to say goodbye – perhaps for the final time – to someone whom we love very, very much.

Elijah and Elisha are walking along on their final journey together. They pass through three of the holiest shrines in Israel – Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho. At each of those places the older prophet says, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me on.” I think what he was saying was this. “Why don’t you remain here with these people? Wouldn’t staying with them help make our parting less painful?” But each time Elisha says, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” I really admire Elisha’s devotion. He knows that the parting will be soon. He does not know when or where it is going to happen. But he knows it is going to happen and it will be soon. And he wants to be there.

And so Elijah and Elisha come to the Jordan. It is time to cross over. Elijah takes his mantle and strikes the water. The waters part, and the two of them cross over on dry land. After crossing over, Elijah asks Elisha, “Is there one thing I can do for you before I am taken from you?” Elisha answers, “Yes, please let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” “All the good that you have done, I want to be able to do twice as much.”

Now at first what Elisha is requesting seems very greedy. But it is not. Elisha is asking to become Elijah’s successor.

Parents, do you remember standing in the driveway and watching – kind of sadly – as son or daughter drives away in the family car for the first time alone? The keys are no longer in your possession. You have given them away. And along with the keys, you have given a double portion of your spirit.

Or what about the time when responsibility for the family business is passed on to the next generation? Son or daughter is given a double portion of the parents’ spirit. Or what about when daughter has her first baby? Or when son becomes a father for the first time? Parents become grandparents. The change affects everyone. It is never the same again. A double portion of the spirit has been given.

I remember how strange it felt the first time my conversation with my parents ended not with their praying for me, but instead with their asking me to pray for them. A double portion of the spirit had been given.

And Jesus tells us that He wants to give us a double portion of His spirit. In John 14 He said: “Those who believe in Me will do the same works that I have done. In fact, they will do greater works, because I am going to the Father.”

And so Elisha makes his bold, believing request for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elijah answers, “If you see me as I am being taken from you, then you will receive it.” Then all of a sudden a chariot of fire and horses of fire separate the two of them. Elijah is taken up by a whirlwind into heaven, and Elisha sees him no more.

There is a point beyond which Elisha cannot go. At least not yet. Like the signs at the airport that say, “Passengers only beyond this point.” The boundary crossing between life and death Elisha cannot cross – at least not yet. The chariot of fire and horses of fire did not come for him. They stop the disciple from being able to follow the master. He cannot cross over – at least not yet. But he can stand in awe and in wonder.

And we also have had times of great glory when we too have had to remain behind. Like when father escorts daughter down the aisle. He can only go so far before he gives her to another and then goes to stand beside her mother. After loving words of support and blessing, parents sit down and watch a transformation take place as God makes two into one. There is praise and rejoicing, but there is also a boundary crossing.

And what about the time of the death of one of God’s saints. If you have ever been present when one who believes in Jesus dies, then you know what a holy and special and privileged moment it is. A few days later we gather together to honor the loved one and to hear the words of the Good Shepherd, who has promised to guide us through the Valley of the Shadow. We hear of the one who has gone on before us to prepare a place for us. We hear words of comfort and committal. And, like Elisha, we stand in awe and in wonder. Someone we love has gone over the Jordan and has experienced a boundary crossing. Oh, the pain of separation. And yet also the joy of transformation. Oh, the grief. And yet also, oh, the glory.

Yes, there are times in our lives too when chariots and horses of fire keep us from following. And so with Elisha we cry. And, like Elisha, we see them no more.

We feel like Peter, James, and John, as they follow Jesus back down the mountain and on to Jerusalem, wondering what will happen to Him – and to them – once they get there.

And so back from the wilderness with Elisha we come, wearing the master’s mantle. Back down the mountain with Peter, James, and John we come, having experienced a glimpse of Christ’s glory. We feel lost and alone. We wonder what to do next. We wonder what will happen next. One thing we know for sure. It will not be the same.

And this knowledge that it will not be the same is what is being expressed in Elisha’s tearing his clothes, because once you tear your clothes, they will not be the same. Your clothes, once torn, will never go back to what they were before. Once you have experienced a boundary crossing, you will never go back to what you were before.

Our clothes are torn, but we have seen the Lord’s glory. We have received a double portion. We are wearing the master’s mantle. And so, like Elisha, we continue on because we know that a lot still needs to be done before that time when we, too, cross over, and we, too, are carried into the presence of Jesus by that chariot and those horses of fire.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

WHAT ARE WE TO BE ALL ABOUT?

Devotional for February 4, 2018 based upon Mark 1: 29-39

What are we as God’s people to be all about?  What are we to be doing?  Since we as individuals, as well as our congregations, only have a certain amount of time, energy, and financial resources, what should we be putting our emphasis upon?  These are questions that our Gospel lesson for February 4 provides answers for.  We as Jesus’ people should be doing what Jesus did, and in these verses we see three things that Jesus did.

First, BRING HEALING.  After leaving the synagogue on Friday evening, where – as we learned last Sunday – Jesus had astonished the crowds with the authority of His teaching and where He had cast an unclean spirit out of a man, Jesus went to Simon Peter’s house, where Simon Peter’s mother-in-law lay sick in bed with a fever.  Mark tells us that Jesus went over to her, touched her, took her by the hand, and lifted her up.  Immediately she was healed.

Now it’s really interesting.  There is no indication in Mark that Jesus said anything to her or to anyone else.  He just touched her.  Nor are we told how long she had been sick.  All we are told is that He touched her.  He took her by the hand, lifted her up, and made her well.  Notice what happened next.  Immediately she got up and began serving them Sabbath dinner.  Friday night dinner.  The biggest dinner of the week for Jewish people.  Having been sick in bed – and we do not know for how long – she must have been very weak.  But when Jesus touched her, not only was she healed, her strength was restored.  She got out of bed and began serving them dinner.  That must have been her way of saying thanks.  Thank you for healing me.  Thank you for giving me a healing, which began with the Master’s touch.

And where can we find real, deep healing in our lives? A healing of our bodies as well as a healing of our minds.  A healing of our souls, emotions, and memories.  It will come not from self-help books, but from experiencing a touch.  The touch of our Master’s hand.  And what is our job as Christians?  To put people in touch with the healing touch of the Master’s hand.

Second, REPLY UPON THE POWER OF PRAYER.  Notice what happened next.  Mark tells us that “that evening, at sundown.”  Which I would interpret as at sundown Saturday, because good Jewish people would have observed the Sabbath from Friday at sundown until Saturday at sundown.  By Saturday at sundown word had spread throughout Capernaum that Jesus was there, and that Jesus has the power to heal.  So by Saturday at sundown the whole city was gathered outside the door to Simon Peter’s house, looking for Jesus.  They brought their sick, hoping that Jesus would be able to heal them.

In February 2011 I went to Pakistan to visit the Christians there.  Word had spread that on a certain day at a certain time a pastor from the United States would be at a medical clinic, run by the United Church of Pakistan but in a predominantly Muslim area.  So all these people had come and were lined up for me to pray for their healing.  A lot of people had come a long way even though all I could do was to pray for their healing.  Jesus could actually heal them.  The disciples possibly had never seen such a crowd.  After all, this was right of the beginning of their three years with Jesus.

By the time Jesus had helped all of these people, He must have been exhausted, for He was fully man as well as fully God.  It probably was very late on Saturday night by the time they all had left.  And yet very early in the morning – Sunday morning – Mark tells us that “while it was still very dark, (Jesus) got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed.”  Before anyone else in the house had woken up, Jesus left in search of a lonely place.  A place where the crowds would not be able to find Him, so that He would be able to pray alone.  Having given so much of Himself to others, Jesus now needed time to be alone with the Father.  He had given so much.  Now He needed to receive.

And what do we as God’s people need to do?  If Jesus needed to do it, many, many times more do we need to do it.  Spend time alone with God.  Be refreshed and renewed through our time with the Father.  Rely upon the power of prayer.  I hope you spend time every day in prayer.

And then, third, CHOOSE PRIORITIES CAREFULY.  The next morning – on Sunday morning – when Simon Peter and the other disciples woke up, they discovered that Jesus was missing.  He was nowhere to be found in and around the town of Capernaum.  Probably at first they panicked.  Then they began searching for Him.

Eventually they found Him – out in a deserted place.  They interrupted His prayer time.  “Everyone is searching for you,” Peter told Him.  In other words, Jesus, come back.  Come back to Capernaum and stay with us.  Come back and stay where it is familiar and comfortable, and where you know you are loved and will be successful.  Come back and stay where you can keep on healing our sick and astonishing us with your preaching.  Come back and stay.  Jesus, everybody here loves you and admires you.  Everybody wants it to stay just the way it is now.  So, Jesus, come back and stay.  Let your ministry end where it began.  Everyone is searching for you.  So please, come back and stay.

So here is Jesus – in His no longer lonely, deserted place – with two paths leading out.  One path leading back to Capernaum and a life of comfort, safety, and easy popularity.  The other path leading to a life of costly sacrifice and ultimately to a cross.  One path leading to where everyone will keep on shouting, “Hosanna!”  The other one leading to where everyone will cry, “Crucify him!”

In this deserted place Jesus had to decide.  Which will it be?  Which one is more important?  Which one did He come – was He sent – to do?  Will it be the Kingdom of the Comfortable or the Kingdom of God?  Facing the question head on, Jesus decided and said, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is what I came to do.”

What about you?  God has brought you this far.  What does He want you to do next?  What should be your priorities for the coming year?  What new things should you take on?  Are you going to go back to Capernaum – where it is safe and familiar and comfortable?  Or does God want you to go on to the neighboring towns also?

If we as individuals, and our congregations, are going to choose to follow Jesus, then there are going to be those lonely, deserted places for us also.  Where we are going to have to choose between what is safe, familiar, and comfortable – our own Capernaum – and maybe what is more important.  Where we are going to have to choose between continuing to do it the way we have always done it and the way we need to do it now.

What for you as an individual – what for your congregation – would be going back to Capernaum?  And what would be going on to the neighboring towns also?

And then this passage in Mark ends by telling us, “He went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.”  While Jesus made His base of operations in Capernaum, He chose to go not just back to comfortable Capernaum, but to where He had been sent – to the neighboring towns also.

And because He did, He also came to your town.  And He is there – in your lonely, deserted places and in your moments of decision.  And He will be with you throughout the coming year, giving you wisdom and courage and beckoning you to follow.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

WE ARE LIVING IN A WAR ZONE

Devotional for January 28, 2018 based upon Mark 1: 21-28

A question I have been asked several times is, Why is there so much demonization in the New Testament, especially in the Gospels, when we do not hear much about it in the Old Testament, in Church history, and in the world today?  I respond by saying two things.  First, there are many accounts of demonization and spiritual deliverance in Church history and in the Church today.  For example, the Lutheran church in Madagascar even has a recognized office of exorcist.  And I remember talking with a former missionary, who later was on national ELCA church staff, who said, “Nothing in my seminary training prepared me for the spiritual reality that I ran into once I arrived on the mission field.”

Second, to me it only makes sense that Calvary – and the ministry of Jesus leading up to Calvary – would be the most demonized place and time in all of human history.  For Satan knew that this was going to be the great do or die battle.  If I lose here, I lose everywhere.  I make it here, or I will not make it anywhere.  The eternal destiny of millions hangs in the balance.  Satan has one chance to prevent his own destruction.  So he gathers and uses all the forces he can muster to try and stop Jesus here.  Because he knows that if he cannot stop Jesus here, he will not be able to stop Jesus anywhere.

I think of the opening to the movie, “Saving Private Ryan.”  The depiction of D-Day near the beginning is one of the most powerful portrayals of war that I have ever seen.  For a full twenty-four minutes the film graphically portrays thousands of soldiers storming Normandy Beach.  This was the great do or die battle, upon which hung the future of Europe if not the whole world.  If the Allies are not able to stop the Nazis here, they might not be able to stop the Nazis anywhere.

On D-Day – June 6, 1944 – the Allied powers risk it all, not knowing whether they would win.  Today we know the Allies won.  And today we also know that Jesus won.  Through His death and resurrection Jesus has already won the victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil.

But, in the meantime, we are living in a war zone.  We have an enemy whose henchman said to Jesus, in our Gospel lesson for January 28, “What have You to do with us?  Have You come to destroy us?  I know who You are, the Holy One of God.” (Mark 1: 24)  We have an enemy who hates us.  Who knows he has nothing more to lose because he has already lost it all.  Who would like nothing better than to get back at God by getting at us.  Who knows he is going down and who would like to take as many of us with him as he can as he is going down.

But we should not be so focused on Satan and what he can do to us that we allow ourselves to become intimidated.  Instead, we need to focus on the victory of Jesus and on the spiritual resources we have in Jesus so that we can meet the attacks of the enemy.

The great spiritual D-Day landing has already occurred.  The powers of God have already obtained a foothold on the beaches of the enemy.  The great turning point spiritual battle has already been fought and won by Jesus through the cross and empty tomb.  So the apostle Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, portrays Jesus as like a returning, conquering Roman general.  “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, having triumphed over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2: 15)  Victory comes through Jesus and relationship with Jesus.

The Gospel writer Luke gives us a very interesting glimpse into the process that many go through as they learn about their spiritual authority over Satan.  In Luke 10 Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples to practice what they had been learning.  When they return, they express their great amazement. “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your Name!” (verse 17)  “Jesus, we never expected that what You said would happen would actually happen!”  Jesus replies, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.” (verse 18)  “Your ministry has behind it all the authority of the Kingdom of God.”  And then, to make it even more explicit, He said to them – and He says to us – “See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.  Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (verses 19-20)  What you have experienced has not made you into some sort of special group of super-privileged, super-gifted disciples.  Rather it is your being a child of God – and it is only your being a child of God – that gives you this spiritual authority.

It is not our giftedness, holiness, amount of training, or level of understanding, but being a child of God that gives us spiritual authority.

Whether we like it or not, we are living in a war zone between D-Day, the decisive turning point battle, and the end of the war.  We are living in territory still occupied by the enemy, who knows that he has been defeated and who hates the one who defeated him.

Whether we like it or not, we are at war.  The question is whether at the end of our lives we will be able to say with the apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight.” (2 Timothy 4: 7)  I have been strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  I put on the whole armor of God.  I took my stand against the schemes of the devil.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

WHERE ARE YOU IN YOUR PERSONAL, SPIRITUAL LIFE JOURNEY?

Devotional for January 21, 2018 based upon Mark 1: 14-20

One of the things that I find very interesting about the Gospels is the way that at times they describe different events in the life of Jesus and the disciples’ relationship with Jesus.  Other times – even when they describe the same event – they mention different details or emphasize different aspects of a particular event.  Such is the case in the spiritual life journey of the disciple Peter.

Mark 1: 14-20, our Gospel lesson for this coming Sunday, January 21, tell of Jesus’ calling Peter to become a disciple.  Verses 17 and 18 – Jesus said, “Follow Me,” and they (Peter and his brother Andrew) immediately left their nets and followed Him.  “Immediately” is a word that the Gospel writer Mark uses often.  There is an immediacy – an urgency – to everything in the Gospel of Mark.  I see Peter, being called by Jesus, responding immediately.

In Mark 1 Peter begins following Jesus.  John 2 tells of how Peter, along with the other disciples, actually come to have faith in Jesus.  After telling the story of Jesus’ turning water into wine, the Gospel writer John says in verse 11, “Jesus did this, the first of His signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”

But then Luke 5 tells us that even though Peter had begun following Jesus and had come to believe in Jesus, he still went back to his old ways of life.  Jesus uses Peter’s boat as a place from which to speak to the crowds and then tells Peter in verse 4, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  Peter responds in verse 5 – “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing.”  Not continuing to follow Jesus, even though he had come to faith in Jesus, but instead going back to his old life, Peter experienced futility and frustration and fishing all night and catching nothing.  Peter responds – after a miraculous catch of fish in verse 8 – “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  I had begun following You and had come to faith in You, but still I had gone back to my old way of life, which has resulted only in futility and frustration and fishing all night and catching nothing.  Luke ends his recording of this event by saying in verse 11, “When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Him.”

There is one more incident in this sequence.  In John 21, after the resurrection, Peter says to six of the other ten living disciples, “I am going fishing.” (verse 3)  The verb tense is saying not “I am going to go fishing once,” but “I am going back to fishing – I am going to go back to keeping on fishing.”  Peter must have been a person of influence, because the other six disciples say, “We will go with you.”  And with what result?  “That night they caught nothing.” (verse 3)  Again, not continuing to follow Jesus, even though they believed in Jesus and even though they had experienced the resurrection of Jesus, but instead going back to the old way of life, they fish all night and catch nothing.  Again Jesus appears on the shore.  Again there is a miraculous catch of fish.  Again Jesus recalls Peter and the other disciples to a life of following Him.

Where do you see yourself in the story?  Have you just begun to follow Jesus?  Have you recently come, or are you beginning to come, to faith in Jesus?  Have you returned to your old way of life even though you had begun following Jesus and had come to faith in Jesus?  Are you experiencing the futility and frustration that results from doing that?  Are you fishing all night but catching nothing?  Have you recently made a renewed commitment to follow Jesus?  Have you again – even though you have experienced in a mighty way the love of God as shown on the cross and the power of the empty tomb – gone back to your old way of life, only to again experience the futility and frustration of fishing all night and catching nothing?  Have you recently again experienced being recalled by Jesus?  Have you recently again experienced the grace and forgiveness and new life available from Jesus?

Wherever you are in your personal spiritual life journey, know this.  The same Jesus, who was so loving and forgiving and patiently persistent with Peter, will also be the same way with you.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

COME AND SEE – FOLLOW ME

Devotional for January 14, 2018 based upon John 1: 43-51

In our Gospel lesson for January 14, which tells of Jesus’ calling two of His disciples, there are two very short, very interesting, and also very significant phrases.  Jesus says to Philip, “Follow Me.” (verse 43)  Philip says to Nathanael, whom he wants to introduce to Jesus, “Come and see.” (verse 46)  Earlier in the chapter, Jesus says the same words to two of the disciples of John the Baptist, “Come and see.” (verse 39)

“Come and see” was Philip’s response to Nathanael when Nathanael questioned whether Jesus could have any significance for him if He came from such an insignificant little town, like Nazareth.  “Come and see” was also Jesus’ response to two of John the Baptist’s disciples when they asked a very basic question of and about Jesus, “Where are you staying?”  (verse 38)

“Come and see” are words of evangelism.  “Come and see” are words that you say to someone who is just for the first time hearing about Jesus or who is in the first steps of being introduced to Jesus.  “Follow Me” are words of discipleship.  They are words that encourage us to grow deeper and come closer and grow in our relationship with Jesus.

Every church needs to have “Come and see” events and ministries as well as “Follow Me” events and ministries.  “Come and see” events and ministries introduce people to Jesus.  They are something you invite people to who do not know Jesus and/or need a very basic introduction to Jesus.  Christmas Eve and Easter services, a Christmas cantata, a faith-based film showing in a local movie theater can be “Come and see” ministries.  “Follow Me” events and ministries can include more in depth Bible studies, discipleship groups, and classes about spiritual gifts.  Is there a good balance between “Come and see” and “Follow Me” in the ministries at your church?  If not, which one is stronger?  Which one is weaker?  What could be done to give your church a better balance between the two?

What about you?  Are your natural abilities and spiritual gifts more in the direction of “Come and see” or “Follow Me”?

Where are you personally in your spiritual life?  Are you just being introduced to Jesus?  Are you in the beginning stages of getting to know Jesus?  If so, then you are in the stage of “Come and see.”  Are you going deeper and growing closer?  Are you maturing in your relationship with Jesus?  If so, then you are in the stage of “Follow Me.”  Both stages are important.  Both stages are valid.  Which stage are you in?

One person once said, “Wherever you are, there you are.”  Every one of us is where we are in our relationship with Jesus and personal spiritual life journey.  May we all continue to advance and grow.  May our churches have a good balance between “Come and see” events and ministries and “Follow Me” events and ministries, because both of valid, both are needed.  And may be all grow into a greater knowledge of Jesus, a deeper relationship with Jesus, and a closer likeness to Jesus.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

LIVING IN THE SOAK ZONE

Devotional for the Baptism of Our Lord, January 7, 2018

based upon Mark 1: 4-11

If you have ever been to Sea World then you know that there are certain sections in the seating that they always give you fair warning about.  If you sit too close – in fact, if you sit anywhere in the entire front half – at what used to be the Shamu show, you will certainly get wet.  And not only wet, you will get totally soaked.  Which is why they call that area the Soak Zone.

I remember going to the Shamu show at Sea World in San Diego.  Shamu and several of his friends lined up around the perimeter of the pool and then, with their heads down in the water, used their flukes to totally splash the people in the stands.  You just know that those whales were totally enjoying it.  But many of the people were not enjoying it.  Not only because they were now soaked to the bone and the water is very cold, salty, and smells like fish, but also because of all their non-waterproof and expensive camera and video equipment.  

But then there were the children and young people who had gathered right at the edge of the pool in the hope and expectation that they will get soaked.  They squealed with joy as the water drenched them.  Unlike the people with the expensive camera equipment, they took great delight in their cold, wet, salty, and smelly soaking by Shamu.

Through our baptisms, we have been called by God to Living in the Soak Zone.  And yet I notice that a lot of people want to avoid the Soak Zone, just like at Sea World.  What does it mean to live in the Soak Zone?  What all is involved with being baptized into Jesus Christ?  The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, “We were buried with Him by baptism into death, so that, as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (6: 4)  What does that mean?  What is it like Living in the Soak Zone?  I can think of three things.

First, LIVING IN THE SOAK ZONE – BEING BAPTIZED – IS ABOUT BEGINNING ANEW.  It is about having a fresh start.  According to the apostle Paul, we emerge from baptism to “walk in newness of life.”  Baptism transforms us.  Having been baptized, we are to think, speak, act, and live in ways that represent Christ to the world.  Living in the Soak Zone – baptism – transforms selfishness into generosity, prejudice into love, and hesitancy into boldness.  Does all that happen the moment we are baptized?  No.  But these are the kinds of things that happen to us as we continue to live in the Soak Zone.  The Christian life is an ongoing transformation in which we continue to be shaped by the presence of Christ within us.

Second, LIVING IN THE SOAK ZONE – BEING BAPTIZED – IS ABOUT BEING INCLUDED.  Through our baptisms we are included in the body of Jesus Christ.  Through our baptisms we receive a love that draws us in and holds us together.  It is a love that enables us to disagree without being disagreeable.  The waters of baptism are not only the means for the cleansing of sin. They also have the power to break down barriers between people.  Living in the Soak Zone, we share a common relationship with our Lord Jesus, in which old divisions and old designations no longer apply.  

Third, LIVING IN THE SOAK ZONE – BEING BAPTIZED – IS ABOUT BEING CALLED TO SERVICE.  With baptism comes the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit come gifts that are to be used in the service of God.  Too many view ministry just as something that the pastor and the other paid church staff do.  But according to the Bible, ministry is the work in which all baptized believers are to become involved in response to the call of God and Christ’s claim on our lives.  Baptism marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, and baptism also marks our call into ministry.  When we enter the household of God, we do so with the belief that God has called each one of us to some particular work that will utilize our gifts for building up the body of Christ and for making a better world.

And so, like the people at the Shamu show, we get a rather thorough soaking from the Holy Spirit at our baptisms.  Some will decide that they are not particularly fond of cold, salty, smelly water.  Especially if it costs them something – like their lives.  Which is a whole lot more costly than just expensive camera and video equipment.  And so they will do their best to move as quickly as they can out of the Soak Zone.  

Others will be like the children and young people, who gather at the edge of the pool and take great delight in being thoroughly soaked.  Even though the water is cold and salty and smells like fish, they will take great delight in following Jesus – even when following Him will take them out of their comfort zone into the Soak Zone of the Holy Spirit.

So how about you?  How do you feel about having been placed in the Soak Zone through your baptism?  Do you want to get out of it – and as quickly as possible?  Or do you take great delight in knowing that God is your Father, who gives you new beginnings, who has included you in His family, and who has called you into His service?

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

THE SECOND PRIME OF LIFE

Devotional for December 31, 2017 based upon Luke 2: 22-40

Something I really enjoy watching or listening to is someone totally using their best gifts in the prime of their life.  Whether it is in music or sports, or the chance to hear really great preaching, or whatever, I enjoy seeing, hearing, or watching someone function when they are at their absolute best.

But then there are others who will say, “I am past my prime.  My best days are over.  The best days have all come and gone.”  I wonder if Simeon and Anna ever felt like that.

By the time we meet them, Simeon is an old man.  When he was younger, Luke tells us, “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.”  Can you imagine what that would be like?  To be told that you would not die until something really great had happened.   

And there must have been a time when Anna dreamed of a glorious life.  But Luke tells us that her husband died just “seven years after her marriage.”  Things had not turned out like she had planned.  Anna was now eighty-four years old.  You get the picture of an older widow and an older single man now spending most of their time hanging around church.  Luke tells us, Anna “never left the temple,” but worshipped there day and night.  Most people would say that their best days were over.  The best had come and gone.  They were long past their prime.

But the world defines “the prime of life” in a way that is very different from the way in which God defines it.  The world sees the prime of life as that season when we are most physically strong and mentally alert.  God sees the prime of life as the season when we are the most spiritually strong and spiritually alert.  Exactly what Simeon and Anna’s first prime of life looked like – to what extent it corresponded to the worldly version of youth, health, wealth, and influence – that we really do not know.  But we do know that these two people had clearly come into the second prime of life.

For one thing, they were truly FAITHFUL PEOPLE.  The Bible says that Simeon was “righteous and devout.”  Which does not mean that he was perfect.  But it does mean that he stayed close to God.  Luke tells us how Anna maintained her intimacy with God.  She was in the temple day and night.  She had established a daily rhythm of worship, prayer, and fasting that built up her spirit even when her body was breaking down.

Second, they were PERSEVERING PEOPLE.  For eighty years Simeon and Anna had kept trusting God.  Through tragedies like the early death of Anna’s husband, and through the long wait between God’s original promise to Simeon and its fulfillment on that first Christmas, these two people persevered in trusting God.

And third, Simeon and Anna were SPIRIT-LED PEOPLE.  Anna was a prophetess.  Which means that she was someone who expected to hear from God, and she was someone who dared to speak for God.  And the Gospel writer Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit rested on Simeon.

Which means that Simeon went places and did things as he sensed the Spirit was directing him.

It is hard to overstate just how much faithfulness, perseverance, and being responsive to the Spirit count with God.  But in this story we see that at a time when the world probably would have regarded them primarily as candidates for senior housing, God chose Simeon and Anna to do one of the most important tasks ever performed in all of human history.  They declared the true identity of Jesus.  They helped Jesus’ parents prepare for what lay ahead.  Simeon said to Mary, “A sword will pierce your soul also.”  And they passed on a blessing, which eventually was passed on to us.

So what about you?  No matter how young or how old you are today, you might be like Simeon and Anna were earlier that day – about to do the greatest and most important thing that you do in life.  Are you in your prime – your first prime?  Are you just coming into your first prime?  Are you in your second prime?  Or do you feel that you are past your prime?

Are you FAITHFUL like Simeon and Anna?  Are you practicing the spiritual disciplines of worship, prayer, and fasting?  Are you nurturing what Luke said Simeon had – a “righteous and devout” spirit?

Are you PERSEVERING like Simeon and Anna?  In spite of all your setbacks, doubts, and questions, are you still waiting for the one who is the hope of us all?  Are you helping others trust in the promises and the good plans of God?

Are you SPIRIT-LED like Simeon and Anna?  Do you have a good word from God that others need to hear?  Are you willing to go where God tells you to go?  Is God calling you, like He called Simeon and Anna, to declare the true identity of Jesus, to help others prepare for what lies ahead, and/or to pass on a word of blessing?

Whether you are just coming into your prime, in your prime, or in your second prime, never see yourself as past your prime.  Rather be like Simeon and Anna.  Faithful, persevering and following the lead of the Spirit wherever you may be in life.  

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

MARY, DID YOU KNOW?

One of the most beautiful of the contemporary Christian songs asks,

“Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God?”

But how could Mary have known what was going to be happening to her when the angel Gabriel came and said to her, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you.”  What does it mean to be highly favored – or even favored – by God?  Evidently it does not mean that life is going to be easy. The angel continued, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”

When told that she would bear a son, Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”  Good question.  Mary is not married, she is a virgin, and she is going to have a baby.  Is this something she should be happy about?  Mary and Joseph lived in a strict community that was regulated by strict religious laws and customs.  Mary could have been killed.  She could have been stoned for becoming pregnant while not married.  And imagine Joseph’s hurt.  Is she supposed to be happy about Joseph’s hurt?  Mary must have thought, God sure has an interesting way of showing His favor.

Years ago a psychologist by the name of Thomas Holmes developed a scale for measuring stress.  He assigned numerical values to events that cause stress, such as loss of a job, moving to a new community, and a new relationship.  Dr. Holmes even included Christmas on his stress list.  According to him, even a so-called “normal Christmas” is worth a hefty 14 stress points.

A writer by the name of Bridget Kuhns took Dr. Holmes’ stress scale and applied it to Mary.  Holmes calculated that any pregnancy earns 40 points.  For an unwanted pregnancy, add 20 more points.  A change in living conditions – Mary stayed three months with Elizabeth – 25 points.  Upcoming marriage to Joseph – 50 points.  A change in financial status – 38 points.

Surely there must have been some words between them when Mary learned that Joseph had not made reservations at the inn.  35 points for an argument with a spouse.  And then the birth – 39 points.  16 points for a change in sleeping habits.  15 points for a change in eating patterns.  Not to mention all the uninvited guests – the shepherds and angels and wise men from the east.

Psychologist Thomas Holmes says that people get sick when they reach 200 points on the stress scale.  Bridget Kuhns calculated that Mary’s ordeal earned her a whopping 424 stress points.  And that does not include the flight to Egypt, or more importantly, the experience of watching her beloved son die as a common criminal on a cross.  Is that what it means to be favored by God?  Evidently being favored by God does not protect you from high levels of stress.  

It is easy to say when things are going our way, “The Lord sure is blessing me.”  But have you ever wondered if it is actually when we are going through the most difficult of times – when we feel that we can barely hold on – that God is actually the closest to us?  The angel Gabriel, in saying that Mary was blessed by God, was not saying that God would make her life easy.  But he was saying that she would be used by God.  And in the long run, isn’t that what being blessed is all about?

How about you?  Can you say right now that you are blessed because you are being used by God for His special purposes?

In response to Gabriel’s telling her that she was favored by God and that she would bear a son, Mary asked a sensible question, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”  Good question.  The angel responded, “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

Is it any more difficult to believe that a virgin could give birth than it is to believe that Zechariah and Elizabeth could bear children in their old age?  Mary in her shame could have made up a lie about the visit of an angel.  But there was no way that Elizabeth, who was far beyond childbearing years, could make up a story about being pregnant.  It was a miracle.  And Jesus’ birth was a miracle.  Nothing is impossible with God.  Remember that the next time you are in a hard place.  Nothing is impossible with God.  

Be careful whom you called blessed.  Be careful what you call impossible.  And then, third, be thankful that this young woman said Yes to God.  

Mary was free to say No to God, just like we are free to say No to God.  God never forces Himself on anyone.  But when Gabriel gave Mary the news that she would bear God’s Son, she replied, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord.  Let it be with me according to your word.”  Mary became the mother of our Savior because she was willing to be obedient to God.  Obedience is out of fashion in our “I did it my way” world.  But obedience is still an important part of the Christian life.  Some blessings we will never receive until and unless we are obedient to God.  

Mary, did you know?  How could have Mary known where her encounter with the angel would lead her?  Just as how can we know where our encounter with the living Christ during this Christmas season will lead us?  

Be careful whom you call blessed.  Be careful what you call impossible.  And be thankful that a young, teenage girl said Yes to God.  For saying Yes to God is the key to living a life that is truly blessed.

Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE
909-274-8591
dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com