Devotional for the Third Sunday in Advent, December 17, 2017, based upon John 1: 6-8, 19-28

“He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.”  (John 1: 8)

I have read that the Gospel writer John refers to Jesus as the light of the world no fewer than twenty-one times.  No wonder the star shone so brightly over Bethlehem.  No wonder our Christmas trees and our homes are decorated with hundreds of lights.  No wonder we light more Advent candles the closer we come to Christmas.  Light is what Christmas is all about.  Advent is a celebration of light coming into our very dark world.

When John wrote his Gospel, the world was in darkness, just like our world is in darkness today.  John wanted the world to know that a light had come that had penetrated the darkness.  Jesus is the light of the world.  That is good news for this Third Sunday in Advent.

The light of Jesus never stops shining.  Through wars and famine, through fire and flood, through all sorts of natural disasters, through good times as well as through bad, the light continues to shine.  Our parents and grandparents saw its glow in the darkest days of the depression.  Soldiers have seen it on distant battlefields.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

The darkness of the world cannot extinguish the light of Christ.  It shines in hospital rooms and in funeral homes.  It shines in the midst of poverty, unemployment, hunger, despair, disease, death, and every other kind of heartache, hardship, or setback that you could ever imagine.  It shines in every one of the dark and discouraging situations that you have ever had to deal with.  Nothing can keep it from shining.

The greatest privilege in the world is to share that light with someone else.  “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,” the song says.  John the Baptist was not the light, just like we are not the light.  His job was to bear witness to the light.  And that is our job as well.

The best gift to give someone who is in darkness is the gift of light.  That is our calling as followers of Jesus.  To let His light shine in us and through us.  To light up the world around us.

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”  That’s what each one of us needs to do this coming week – this coming Christmas season.  Let the light of Christ shine through you.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

E-MAIL FROM GOD

Devotional based upon Isaiah 40: 1-11

How many unwanted telemarketing calls, how much junk mail, and how many unrequested email messages do you receive every day?  While we are sorting through all of this clutter, it would be easy for us to overlook the encouragement mail e-mail that we receive from God.  On this Second Sunday in Advent your Heavenly Father is sending you some encouragement mail e-mail.  And He does not want you to miss it or delete it.

Many scholars believe that Isaiah 40 and following were written during the Babylonian captivity in the sixth century B. C.  Israel needed encouragement.  For fifty years they had been captive in Babylon – in present day Iraq.  They were living in tough times and were feeling displaced and discouraged.  So God through His prophet was sending them some encouragement.

We also are living in very tough times.  Many feel displaced and discouraged.  So God is sending us some encouragement e-mail.  “Comfort, O comfort my people,” the prophet begins.  And then he gives us four words of encouragement and comfort.

First, A WORD OF PARDON.  Verse 2 – “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, her penalty has been paid, she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”  Israel is like an inmate whose time in prison is about to be over.

For centuries before the Babylonian captivity, Israel had been unfaithful to their God.  They had been following after the false gods of their day and practicing a social injustice that only made the rich richer and the poor poorer.  They had been guilty of gross immorality.  So for the past several decades they had been paying the price for their sins.  They had been held captive in a foreign land, and were being compelled to serve a hated people.  They needed to receive encouragement mail from God.

And we also need to receive encouragement mail from God.  We also need the message that our God is a God who will forgive.  Realizing our sin, we cry for mercy.  We need to hear that God’s deepest desire is not to condemn but to forgive and to save.

Second, A WORD OF PROMISE.  Verse 3 – “A voice cries out: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”  When we are in the deepest of distress, God comes to us with His greatest of help.  Like He did for the Israelites in Egypt, and like He will do for the Israelites who are being held captive in Babylon, God hears our cries and knows our misfortunes.  He comes to us at our time of greatest need.

This email from God says, “Get ready; get straight with God by repenting.”  One of the main messages of Advent is that one of the main ways in which we need to get ready for Christmas is by repenting.  Repent means to change your mind.  Change your mind about sin.  Stop doing what you need to stop doing, and start doing what you need to start doing.  Stop walking on the crooked path and start walking on the straight path.  For the e-mail from God to be encouragement mail, we need to repent.  And we need to repent today.

Third, A WORD OF SECURITY.  Verse 8 – “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the Word of our God will stand forever.”

Life is short.  You do not have as many years left as you once did.  As the beloved hymn says, “Change and decay in all around I see.”  The only thing certain is uncertainty.

This encouragement mail e-mail from God says, The only thing absolutely safe and secure is the Word of God.  God’s Word is as sure as God Himself.   God’s truth is an everlasting truth.  His Word contains His promises, and He always keeps His promises.

To have certainty in life and security in changing times, we need strong convictions based upon God’s Word.  We need to know what we believe and why.  Those who put their trust in God and His Word will find stability in life.

Fourth, A WORD OF HOPE.  Verse 9 – “Here is your God!”  He is coming in strength, and He is coming in love.  Verse 11 – “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will gently lead the mother sheep.”

People ask, Is there any hope?  This encouragement mail e-mail from God says, “Yes, there is hope.  Here is your God.”  He is greater than your problems.  He can hold your world together.  He is the answer to all of your needs.  There is no problem so complex that He cannot solve and no pit so deep that He is not deeper still.

A word of pardon, a word of promise, a word of security, and a word of hope.  Which word do you most need to hear from God today?  Whichever word you most need to hear God has for you today.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!

Devotional for First Sunday in Advent, December 3, 2017 based upon Mark 13: 24-37

When you were young, did you play Hide and Seek?  If so, where was your favorite place to hide, and were you able to find a place to hide where no one was ever able to find you?

In playing Hide and Seek, the person who is It will close his eyes, while everyone else runs and hides.  The person who is It counts to a hundred or so and then says, “Ready or not, here I come!”  In our Gospel lesson for the first Sunday in Advent Jesus is saying to the world, “Ready or not, here I come!”  But unlike Hide and Seek, this is not a game.  This is dead serious.  We are in the final countdown before Jesus appears on earth to judge the world and to gather the faithful.  Jesus concludes His talking about His return with the words, “What I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”  Ready or not, Jesus is coming.  We had better be ready.  We had better get ready.  But how do we get ready?  In our Gospel lesson Jesus tells us three things that we need to and can do to get ready.

First, JESUS TELLS US TO KEEP AWAKE AND WATCH.  

Now of course, we all need to be asleep part of the time – six, seven, or eight hours a day.  But this is not what Jesus is talking about.  Rather He is talking about the sleep of being unprepared.  The sleep of not caring about what is happening in the world.  The sleep of indifference and unconcern.  Like the cartoon that depicted a couple men talking at a party.  One rather unconcerned-looking man said to the other, “So what if it’s Armageddon?  It’s not the end of the world.”

We need to be awake to the fact that someday Jesus will return – to bring history to a close, to judge the wicked and to gather the faithful.  According to the Bible, there is no question at all as to the certainty of His return.  The only question is when.  A car accident can happen – an explosion can occur – like a bolt out of the blue.  Jesus said that His return will be like that.  Sudden and immediate.  We must be ready before He comes, because we cannot get ready when He comes.  We must wake up from our sleep of business-as-usual, because Jesus is coming – whether or not we are ready.

Second, JESUS TELLS US TO KEEP AWAKE, WATCH, AND PRAY.

But what does prayer have to do with being ready for Jesus’ second coming?  Through prayer we keep in touch with God.  If we daily keep in touch with God, we will not become careless about being ready.  We will always be ready for Jesus’ return at any time.

And then we also need to pray for those who do not know Jesus as their Savior and Lord.  We do not want these people to be found without faith if Jesus should return.  It is our responsibility to pray daily that they will be ready when Jesus returns.  

A young boy was fishing with his grandfather off the coast.  The young lad noticed a flashing light coming from the lighthouse even though it was mid-day.  The child said, “But I thought they used that light only when there was fog or a storm.”  His grandfather replied, “No, son, they use it all the time, because you never know when fog or bad weather might come up.  It’s better to always be prepared than to miss the opportunity to save someone’s life.”

Prayer is our taking advantage of every opportunity to save someone’s life.  In good times and in bad, in sunshine and in storm, we need to keep awake, watch, and pray that souls will respond to the love of God and get ready.

Third, JESUS TELLS US TO KEEP AWAKE, WATCH, AND WORK.

When Jesus returns suddenly and unexpectedly, what will He find you doing?  Jesus expects each one of us to be about His work, so that when He comes, He will find us doing what He wants us to be doing.

A traveler was visiting a castle in northern Italy.  The old gardener opened the gates.  The visitor stepped into the garden, which was being kept perfectly.  The visitor asked, “When was the owner last here?”  He was told, “Twelve years ago.”  “Does he ever write?”  “No.”  “Where do you get your instructions?”  “From Milan.”  “Does the owner ever come?”  “No.”  “But you keep the grounds as through your master were returning tomorrow.”  The old gardener replied, “Sir, I keep the grounds as though my master were returning today.”  As Christians we need to keep awake, watch, pray, and work as though Jesus were returning today.

Whether or not you are ready, Jesus is coming.  If you are not ready, you have reason to dread His return.  If you are ready, you have reason to rejoice.  For He is coming to be with us, to bless us, and to take us home to be with Him in glory.

Jesus is saying, “Ready or not, here I come!”  Are you ready?

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

FIRST WORDS AND FINAL WORDS

Devotional for Christ the King Sunday, November 26, 2017 based upon Matthew 25: 31-46

I retired on June 30, 2014, after serving as pastor of the same southern California congregation for forty years.  My final Sunday was June 29.  What I would say during the sermon on my final Sunday was very important to me.  There were certain things I wanted to be sure to say to the congregation, whom I had known and loved and been pastor for for forty years.  I spent a lot of time and prayer thinking through my final words.

Our Gospel lesson for Christ the King Sunday contains Jesus’ final words – His final message before the crucifixion.  I am sure that what He said during this final message was very important to Him.  What did He say?

In Jesus’ final message before the crucifixion He tells of the day when He will come in His glory.  All the angels will be there, and all the people who have ever lived will be there.  His first act as the newly crowned, rightful King of the universe will be to separate all people into two groups – sheep and goats.  To those on the right – to the sheep – He will say, “Come, you that are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (verse 34)  Then he will give a whole list of human hurts and will describe the response of the sheep to those hurts.  The first act of Christ as the newly crowned King will be to applaud His people’s acts of compassion.  What Jesus makes the biggest deal of in this – His final message before His crucifixion – are the works of compassion of His people, who have received His compassionate work of salvation.  

Now if Matthew 25 contains the last recorded message of Jesus before the crucifixion – the last recorded message of His three-year public ministry – what about His first recorded message?  What did Jesus say during the first time that the Bible says He got up to speak?

To find the answer to that question we turn to Luke 4 – to a time when Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth.  He went to the synagogue – to that community and religious gathering place where He had gone many, many times while growing up.  He went back to the synagogue, where He had studied the books of Moses, the law, and the prophets.  The law He had come to fulfill, and the prophets who spoke of the day of hope when He would be coming.  Luke tells us, “He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him.  He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. . . .” (Luke 4: 16-17)

As best-selling author Max Lucado, speaking on this passage, points out, this is the only time in the Bible where Jesus chooses a place in the Bible.  This is the only time in the Bible where it specifically mentions that someone handed Jesus a Bible and said, “Here, please pick out a passage for us.”  Imagine handing God a Bible and asking Him to pick out a verse.  Just imagine.  If you were to hand God a Bible and ask Him to pick a verse, what verse do you think He would pick?  What one passage from the entire Old Testament do you think He would select?  Luke tells us, “He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. . . .”

You might think that He would have stopped at Isaiah 53 – the song of the suffering servant that speaks of Him so clearly – “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities.” (Isaiah 53: 5)  But instead He kept on going until He got to Isaiah 61, where He read, “The spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.” (Luke 4: 18)

Here we have the first sentence of the first sermon of Jesus recorded in the Bible.  The only time mentioned in the Bible where Jesus selects and reads a passage from the Bible, and whom and what does He read about?  He reads about the poor.  “The spirit of the Lord has anointed Me – has chosen Me – to bring good news to the poor.”  

The only time in the Bible where it is specifically recorded that Jesus reads a passage from the Bible – and a passage which He Himself chooses – and whom does He read about?  It must be those whom He must have a special heart for.  The poor.  And in the rest of verse 18, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed.  

If the first act of our Lord Jesus Christ – after He is crowned as the rightful King of the universe – is to separate the sheep from the goats.  And if the factor that makes sheep sheep and goats goats is the way their faith leads them to respond to the hungry, thirsty, sick, naked, and imprisoned.  And if in the first sermon that Jesus gave He talked about God’s concern for the poor, that must have a lot to say to us today, who live in a world where so many people are living in extreme poverty.      

If in His last recorded sermon and in His first recorded sermon, Jesus talked about God’s heart for the poor, we need to ask ourselves, What kind of heart do I have for the poor?  Do I have God’s kind of heart for the poor?  

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

USE IT OR LOSE IT

Devotional for November 19, 2017 based upon Matthew 25: 14-30

In the parable for this morning Jesus is talking about money.  But He is talking about something far more important than money.  He is talking about life.  In the parable of the talents Jesus is giving us four principles on how we should invest our lives.

First, WE ARE GIVEN OPPORTUNITIES ACCORDING TO OUR ABILITIES.  The servants were not given the same amount.  To one servant the master entrusted five talents, to another two, and to another only one.  Just like in life today.  We do not all get equal opportunity because we do not all have equal ability, and we do not all share the same level of commitment.  

So sometimes, instead of looking at all the opportunities that God has given us, we look at all the opportunities that He has not given us.  We look at what He has given to someone else rather than to us.  So then, instead of making the most of what we do have, we fret over what we do not have.  Instead, what we need to do is to take inventory of all that we have been given and then ask ourselves, Am I investing it, or am I burying it?  

Most of us probably feel like either the two-talent guy or the one-talent guy.  Very few, if any of us, feel like the five-talent guy.   The difference in what the one-talent guy and the two-talent guy started out with was not all that much.  But the difference in what they ended up with was substantial.  And why?  Because one took what he had and made use of it, while the other one took what he had and buried it.  If God has given someone else more than He has given you, that is never an excuse to waste it.

SECOND, FAITHFULNESS IS ALWAYS REWARDED.  Did you notice that the master spoke the exact same words to the man who had been given two talents as he said to the man who had been given five talents?  “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”  Both had been faithful with what they had been given.  So both of them were promoted.  Even though their original resources were not equal, their effort and faithfulness were equal.  Whether you are faithful with a little or faithful with a lot, faithfulness is always rewarded.

God is looking for those who will be faithful in the little things so that He can entrust them with bigger things.  In God’s economy, one of the biggest rewards for doing a good job is being given a bigger job.  Being responsible always leads to more responsibility.  

Third, THE ONLY REAL FAILURE IN LIFE IS GIVING UP AND DOING NOTHING.  The servant who had received only one talent might have thought, “What if I were to take this money and lose it?  It’s a whole lot safer just to do nothing.”  So that is what he did – nothing.

The other two servants had doubled the master’s money.  Maybe that was something that the third servant was not able to do.  What could he do?  He could have taken the master’s money and put it into a low-risk, low-return account.  So when the master returned, he could have said, “I know my colleagues doubled your money.  I do not have the ability to do that.  So I did do what I could do.  I put your money into a safe account at a safe bank, and the amount has increased by 3 % a year.”  What do you think the master would have said then?  I believe that if that truly was the best that third servant could do, then the master would have said to him exactly the same thing that he said to the others – “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  The reason why the master was so angry with this third servant was because he had just buried the talent and had done nothing.  He did not even try.  

Someone once said, Our greatest regrets at the end of our lives will be all the missed opportunities.  We will grieve far more over what we did not do than over what we did do.  The only real failure in life is giving up and doing nothing.  Because when we do nothing, we close the door to the possibility of God’s doing something really special in and through us.

Today, as you look back on your life, do you realize that you have squandered some opportunities that God has given you in the past?  Do you realize that you have some ability that lies buried in the sand?  If that is the case, then get out that shovel and start digging.  Unbury what you have buried and put it to use.  Do what you can with what you have left.  For accomplishing a little is far, far better than accomplishing nothing at all.  The only real failure in life is giving up and doing nothing.

And then, fourth, USE IT OR LOSE IT.  In Jesus’ parable the master said, “So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.  For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”  You have been given certain skills – certain abilities.  The more you use them, the better you will get at them.  But if you do not use them, you will eventually lose even what you do have.  

And then I would like to close by looking at five words that Jesus used to describe what the one who had been given the five talents did.  HE WENT OFF AT ONCE.  He went off at once and traded them and made five talents more.  He went off at once.  He got started immediately.  Whatever it is that you want to accomplish in your life – whatever it is in your life that you want to change – whatever it is that you feel God is calling you to do – do something about it today.  To finish it and to fully complete it may take days, weeks, months, even years.  Get started and do something about it today.  

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

WE ALL HAVE TO GET OUR OWN OIL

Devotional for November 12, 2017 based upon Matthew 25: 1-13

At one point all ten had brightly burning lamps. All ten had oil. But five ran out of oil. So five were not ready when the bridegroom came.

All ten had lights. Which probably were not some kind of small clay vessel with a little wick sticking out. Small clay vessels do not use much oil, but they also would not have been able to put out much light for a wedding party. They probably were torches – long poles with rags soaked in olive oil tied at the top. That kind of a torch produces a lot of light, but it also consumes a lot of oil, so the rags would have to be re-soaked in oil every certain number of minutes.

The oil that enables us to live our Christian lives is abundant. We can all be filled with the Holy Spirit every day. There is no energy shortage in heaven. And the oil is free. It has already all been paid for. But still, if we want our lives to keep on shining, we must receive a daily in-filling of God’s Holy Spirit. And so, in verse 4, “The wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.” The wise had reserve oil. The wise enjoyed a deep, personal experience of the grace of Jesus. The wise had a deeper prayer life – a deeper Bible study life. The wise had a depth to their faith – a depth in their relationship with Jesus – that the five foolish bridesmaids did not have.

Verse 5 tells us, “As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.” All ten had thought that the bridegroom would have been there a lot sooner. But he wasn’t there. So they became drowsy and slept. Preparing for a wedding can wear you out. There’s a lot that goes into getting ready for a wedding. Not just the bride – and the bride’s mother – but also the bridesmaids spend hours and hours getting ready for the wedding. No wonder brides and bridesmaids get all stressed out and tired out. Even the five wise bridesmaids were so tired that they fell asleep because of the delay.

Spiritually are you asleep? Are you asleep even though you know that the King of kings is coming? True, there has been a delay. Jesus the Bridegroom has not come yet. And yet the longer the delay, the closer we are to the time of His coming.

Verse 6 tells us, “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out and meet him!’” When did the bridegroom come? At midnight. Jesus will return at the darkest time of the night. Jesus will come to you in your darkest hour. Sometimes I wonder how much darker it could get than it is right now. The bridegroom will come at midnight. In our hour of deepest need – at a time of greatest spiritual darkness – Jesus Christ will come.

Verse 7 – “Then all the bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.” All ten bridesmaids needed to refill their lamps with oil. But only the wise had brought along spare reserves of oil. What is that extra oil? It is an extra measure of God’s presence and grace in your life. It is the depth and strength of faith that you need to live in those toughest of times.

Christian parents and grandparents may wish that they could just give their faith to their children and grandchildren. And many Christian people wish that they could transfer their Christian faith to their non-believing husband or wife. But each person must go to the source for himself or herself. The Christian faith can neither be transferred nor sold. Each must get the saving oil straight from the source.

No one can be a Christian for you. Your parent or grandparent can’t. Your spouse can’t. Your best friend can’t. And even your pastor can’t. We all have to get our own oil.

In the same way, if you wait until you really need it to get that saving and strengthening relationship with Jesus – if you wait until midnight, you may have waited too long. The Bible says, Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to restock on oil. Today is the day to make your life right with Jesus. If you wait until midnight, you may have waited too long.

What about you? Is your lamp getting dimmer? Is your light beginning to flicker? Is your walk with Jesus lacking or even non-existent? Are you spiritually asleep? Don’t wait too long.

In verse 13 Jesus concludes this parable by saying, “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” I want to be there and ready. And I want you to be there and ready too. I want all of us to be seated at that table that will spread for miles in God’s great heavenly banquet room. Jesus, our Bridegroom and Host, will be there to welcome us. So what should we do? Before your lamp begins to go out – on a regular basis – stop and get a fresh supply. Daily repent of your sins and receive God’s grace. Daily renew your relationship with Jesus. And always remember – we all have to get our own oil.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

RUN AND FINISH THE RACE

Devotional for All Saints Sunday based upon Hebrews 12: 1-2

I am inspired by stories of people who did not give up. I really admire people who stay with a commitment all the way through. Unfortunately, there are many people today who start living the Christian life, but they quit when the going gets tough.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews compares the Christian life not to a wind sprint, but to a marathon. I once ran a half-marathon, but I have never run a marathon. In a wind sprint you run as fast as you can for a short distance. Speed is the critical factor. In a marathon, endurance is the critical factor. In your Christian life, do you have endurance? Will you make it all the way to the end? The author of the letter to the Hebrews gives us three encouraging words to help us make it to the end – to help us run and finish the race of life.

First, BE INSPIRED BY THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE YOU.

The author tells us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses – people who have gone before us. Hebrews 12 starts out with the word “therefore.” Which means that the 12^th chapter is connected to the 11^th chapter, which has often been called the great Faith Chapter. In the 11^th chapter the writer gives us a long list of people who have already run and finished the race of life.

We need to be inspired by those who have gone before us. But we also need to remember that we can be and we need to be an inspiration to those who are coming after us. No matter who you are, someone is watching you. If you stumble and fall – or worse yet, if you quit – someone will become discouraged. Be inspired by those who have gone before you. And be an inspiration to those who are coming after you.

Second, BE PREPARED FOR THE STRUGGLES THAT WILL COME.

The writer of this letter says, “Lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely.” Prepare for life by laying aside anything that is weighing you down.

What is weighing you down? At the recent Latino ministries Encuentro (Encounter) gathering one of the presenters told about his recent pilgrimage along the five-hundred-mile route in northern Spain called the Camino de Santiago. He mentioned a book that had been written about this pilgrimage. Its title was, “To walk far, carry less.”

Do you have a friendship that is a drag on you and is weighing you down? Are some material things – some big, expensive toys – weighing you down? Do you have a huge debt from all the things that you have bought that is weighing you down? Do you have some bad habits? Are you involved in some activities? Have you made some commitments that are not wrong in and of themselves, but they are weighing you down? They are so time consuming, so distracting, so expensive, that they hinder you from being able to focus on Jesus. The author of the letter to the Hebrews says, Get rid of them. Lay them down so that they do not weigh you down.

And what about the sin that clings so closely? Or, as another translation puts it, the sin that so easily entangles. Just one little white lie, one wayward glance, one harsh, critical, judgmental, or inappropriate word, and it becomes so much easier to do it the second time. The tentacles come out, and we are entangled. The author of the letter to the Hebrews says, Lay aside everything that could hinder you, all those things that could entangle you, and run with perseverance the race that is set before you.

Third, FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS.

The author describes Jesus as the pioneer and perfecter – the author and finisher of our faith. For the sake of the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, He disregarded the shame, and now He has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus was mocked and made fun of. He was despised and rejected. He faced great opposition. He even died the most cruel and shameful and painful of deaths – death by crucifixion. And yet He stayed the course. He paid the price. He ran and finished the race. So the writer says, When you grow weary and when you are tired, fix your eyes on Jesus.

Every Christian – every Christian congregation – needs to hear these words often. “Fix your eyes on Jesus.” Because it is so easy to quit. It is so easy to say, “I do not want to – I do not have to – I do not have the strength and energy to do this anymore.” So the author says, Fix your eyes on Jesus. He is at the finish line. He is cheering you on. Keep looking to Him.

Who are the people in the heavenly grandstands who – along with the great heroes of the Bible – are cheering for you? Maybe it’s a parent, or a grandparent, or another person of great Christian faith, who was a source of great inspiration for you. They died in faith in Jesus. And now they are in heaven cheering for you. Who is that person – who are those persons – whom you most remember on All Saints Sunday? In life – and now in eternal life – they are cheering for you.

When you reach your heavenly home and are welcomed by the crowd of people who have been cheering for you, there is One who will step out of the crowd and will give you the biggest hug that you have ever gotten. He will say, “Welcome home. Well done, you good and faithful servant.” But until then, be inspired by those who have gone before you. Be prepared for the struggles that will come. And fix your eyes on Jesus.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

OCTOBER 2017

Something that for me has been absolutely astounding – as we have been celebrating the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation – are some of the things that that milestone has been used to justify and support. I have seen the anniversary of the Reformation being used to advocate for environmental issues, even though the only time that I am aware of when Martin Luther promoted ecological concerns was when he said that if he knew the world would end tomorrow, he would still plant a tree. Luther’s antisemitism later in life as well as his not supporting the peasants in the peasant revolt have been made into a jumping off point to rail against racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and all the other awful things that people are guilty of these days.

An observance that was held on Reformation Sunday in a church in the ELCA synod in which I was rostered before I retired used in its publicity an interesting version of the Luther rose. The outer perimeter was made up not of the typical colors, but instead of the hues of a rainbow, and in the center of the rose was not a cross but an angry looking fist holding a hammer. Concerned and alarmed, because I saw Christ and the cross as being replaced by human anger and political activism, I telephoned the church that was hosting the event and left a message for the pastor, asking what was intended to be communicated by that form of the Luther rose. As I expected, I have not received a reply. Because the bishop of that synod was participating in the event and the synod was helping promote the event, I also wrote to the synod, expressing my concern that that symbol was replacing Christ and the power of the cross with the power of human efforts and anger. Again, as anticipated, I have not received a reply.

And so it was so refreshing for me to attend the LCMC gathering in Minneapolis October 8-11, where the real message of the Reformation was kept at the heart of the celebration of the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation.

LCMC GATHERING: KEEPING THE REAL MESSAGE AT THE HEART OF THE CELEBRATION

Under the theme “We Confess Our Faith,” the gathering was structured around conversation about three of the fundamental teachings of the Reformation: Justification, the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms, and the Priesthood of All Believers. Presenters first described the basic principles of each of those three teachings, then a panel made up of people serving in diverse ministry settings – both in the United States as well as in other parts of the world – discussed how that major teaching impacted their ministry in their own particular place of service. The panel discussion was then followed by discussions at tables where those attending the gathering were able to apply that teaching to their own lives and ministry settings.

My soul was stirred and my thinking was stimulated by the presentation of Steve Turnbull, pastor of Community of Grace Lutheran Church in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. He spoke on the doctrine of justification. Maintaining the real message of the Bible and the Reformation while also applying that message to real life issues today, Pastor Turnbull talked about how Paul often discussed the concept of justification within the context of Jew-Gentile relationships. For example, in his letter to the Ephesians Paul describes God as pointing to the Church and saying, “See what I have done. Sin wrecks human community. I have put it back together again.” Pastor Turnbull then shared how Paul’s evangelism had created multi-ethnic communities. He needed a way to explain theologically what was happening. And so he wrote, The cross is enough to tear down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile. Pastor Turnbull then applied that principle to life today when he asked, “Is it enough to unite people today?”

I heard a similar emphasis during the discussion of the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms. One of the panel participants said, “We have got to be about reconciling things. If we are not reconciling things, we might not be the church.”

I was struck by the number of people who attended the workshop entitled “Next Generation Leaders,” taught by Dr. Kyle Fever, director of the Nexus Institute of Grand View University in Des Moines. We of Lutheran CORE have known that many Lutheran pastors and congregational leaders and members are deeply concerned over where their congregation’s next Bible believing and outreach oriented pastor will come from. That concern is the reason why we of Lutheran CORE are involved in our pastoral formation project. The extent of the concern, as well as the importance and immediacy of the concern, were brought home to me by the number of people attending that workshop, which Kyle Fever entitled, “Resurrecting Timothy.”

The idea behind the title is this. Timothy was different from Paul, and Paul was willing to allow Timothy to be Timothy. In other words, Paul let Timothy be different from Paul. Dr. Fever shared how youth today are interested in spiritual things, but many of them in ways that we do not know how to deal with. We have virtually no training for non-traditional ministries. We have very few Timothies, who are different from Paul. Dr. Fever challenged us, What kind of church leaders do we want? Ones like what we already know? Or are we willing to be like Paul and let Timothy be Timothy?

Kyle Fever said that we need to find ways to raise up not future leaders for the church as we know it now, but future leaders for a church that we do not yet know what it will be like. We need to give young adults opportunities to participate in the vitality of the congregation, and not necessarily within the four walls of the church. We need to cultivate in them a yearning to be a part of the work of the Gospel in the world, rather than try to cultivate in them a yearning to be part of preparing the communion table for Sunday morning. He got down to basics when he asked us, “How many here are intentionally mentoring a high school sophomore or junior?” He challenged pastors, “The next time you write a sermon, target it to sixteen to twenty-two year olds.” He concluded by saying, “There are no easy answers, but there are resources.”

LATINO MINISTRIES ENCUENTRO (ENCOUNTER)

After being home from Minneapolis for a few days, I left for Chicago to attend the annual Latino ministries Encuentro (Encounter) October 17-19. This event is sponsored by Lutheran CORE and was planned and put on by Pastor Keith Forni, member of the board of Lutheran CORE and pastor of First/Santa Cruz Lutheran Church in Joliet, Illinois. Pastor Forni has an unusual gift for Latino ministries. He has an unbelievable number of contacts within the Lutheran Latino ministries community, and he is natural and comfortable leading bi-lingual worship.

One of the two main presenters was Dr. Alberto Garcia, professor emeritus of theology at Concordia University Wisconsin and co-author of the book, Wittenberg Meets the World: Reimagining the Reformation at the Margins. I was struck with how much he emphasized one of the same themes that I had heard so much about at the LCMC gathering – the theme of reconciliation. It made sense to me. Because we live in such a divided nation and divided world, one of the particular gifts that the Church has to offer our nation and our world is the power of reconciliation. And one of the chief ways in which the Church can demonstrate the power of the Gospel and give credibility to its message is if we as God’s people are able to become reconciled with those from whom we have become estranged.

The other main presenter was Ken Elkin, a retired ELCA pastor from Williamsport, Pennsylvania. During his presentation, entitled “A Pilgrim People,” Pastor Elkin described his recent pilgrimage walking the entire, approximately five hundred mile long route of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. After describing the characteristics of a pilgrimage as well as the place of pilgrimage in the history of the church, he then told of his own experiences in walking that route. He described what he called “the spirit of the camino” – how people are very open to each other as well as very caring for each other while on the pilgrimage. Some people who are on the camino are dealing with major issues in their lives. He presented the challenge of then bringing that spirit of the camino back into the rest of your life. He shared two of the great life lessons that can be learned from the camino. One of them he had found written as graffiti along the way – “You are capable of more and you need less than you think.” The other one was the title of a book – “To walk far, carry less.” He concluded his presentation by saying, “The popularity of this pilgrimage shows that there is a genuine spiritual hunger in people, and we are not reaching them.”

saw us, walked up to us, and then began sharing how her fiancé had just been killed in a motorcycle accident. She had felt abandoned by God until she saw us. Dr. Alberto Garcia responded to the moment beautifully. He shared the love and comfort of God with her and prayed with her. She was certain God had brought her to us and us to her. How wonderful it was to be part of an answer to someone’s prayer.

St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church ELCA, the host congregation, is in the Hermosa neighborhood of northwest Chicago, which has changed dramatically in the last few decades from being totally Caucasian to totally Latino. In the basement there are pictures of confirmation classes from the 1960’s, made up of thirty to forty very Caucasian looking young people. We were able to experience how the congregation still has a vital opportunity for ministry, though a very different opportunity for ministry, as some of the neighbors joined us for dinner and a prayer service one evening. That evening we also held an outdoor candlelight prayer service for peace in a city that has experienced the tragedy of five hundred homicides so far this year. The neighborhood is a fairly high density neighborhood, so we know that nearby residents witnessed our service. The need for prayers for healing and peace were brought home to us by some graffiti we saw on the way to the church – “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”

Pastor Keith Forni, who serves St. Timothy’s congregation in Chicago, as well as First/Santa Cruz in Joliet, told of how dozens of children and their parents walk right by the church each day on their way to and from their school, which is only two blocks away. Pastor Forni uses the strategic location of the church as an opportunity to reach out to the children and their parents, and invite them to an afternoon children’s program at the church.

We were very honored and pleased that the Rev. Hector Garfias-Toledo, Assistant to the Bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod ELCA, stopped by and visited the Encuentro and brought greetings from Bishop Wayne Miller. It is our goal that future Encuentros will continue to provide inspiration, resources, fellowship, and encouragement for those involved in or considering becoming involved in Latino, Spanish language, and/or bi-lingual ministries. We hope to find ways to make the Encuentro more accessible to more people so that this annual gathering will be a resource for Lutherans of all church body affiliations.

May your celebration of the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation be a time for you of giving thanks to God for His abounding love and His amazing grace.

Blessings in Christ,

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE

909-274-8591

dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com

“By Your favor do good to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.  Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, in burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.”  (Psalm 51:18-19)

Zion, the place for the redeemed, the place of hope and eternity, the new Jerusalem.  Zion is for those who come through salvation to live in the relationship eternally given by God through the means of salvation He has made possible through Christ.  Come then into the rest, even amidst the struggles of this age.  Come and make your sacrifices to the Lord who sees and knows the hearts of all.

Lord, You have offered the way of hope for those who turn to You.  Guide me in this path that I would walk where You have shown the way and live according to Your purposes.  Help me overcome all the difficulties of this world by trusting in You.  Help me keep my heart on the path of Your leading that I would walk in the ways You have established from the beginning.

Lord Jesus, King of Zion, by Your grace, You open the way for all those who come by faith.  You make the first and final sacrifice by Your own blood to free us to come as we are through You into citizenship in Zion.  Lead me by the grace You offer to live my life toward You, with You and in You that I may being the eternal life now that shall be lived forever.  Amen.

WHY DO WE GIVE?

Devotional for October 22, 2017 based upon Matthew 22: 15-22

A young boy wanted a hundred dollars, so he prayed to God for an entire week, but nothing happened.  Finally he decided to write God a letter, requesting the hundred dollars.  When the Post Office got the letter addressed to God, they forwarded it to the White House.  The President was very impressed and touched, so he instructed an aide to send the boy five dollars.  He figured that five dollars would mean a lot to the boy.  Which it did.  So the young boy sat down and wrote a note, which read, “Dear God, Thank you very much for sending me the money.  However, I noticed that for some reason you sent it through Washington.  As always, they kept most of it.”  

In our Gospel reading for this morning Jesus said, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (verse 21)  Most of us accept the fact that we do have to give to Caesar.  What Caesar wants, Caesar gets.  And most of us just kind of accept that.

Giving to Caesar is not a problem for most of us.  But for many, giving to God is a huge problem.   So I would like to ask the question, WHY DO WE GIVE?  Many churches hold their annual stewardship campaign during this time of the year.  Why would we want to tell God in writing what we plan to do in providing financial support for and being involved in the ministry of the Church this next year?

First, we give to God the things that belong to God in RESPONSE to all that He has done for us.  Times are tough.  Money is short.  Maybe financially times are tougher for you than they were a few years ago.  But do you still have your health?  Do you have people who love you?  Do you have food to eat and a warm place to sleep?  Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins?  Do you have a home in heaven?  The truth is that we all have much to be thankful for.  And so we give to God the things that belong to God, first of all, in RESPONSE to all that God has done for us.

Second, we give to God the things that belong to God as a REMEDY to the enslaving power of wealth.  There comes a time for all of us when we have to decide what role money is going to play in our lives.  Will we have money, or will money have us?  It’s really interesting – and tellingly significant – that as people’s income grows, the percentage of their income that they give to charities declines.  The more people earn, the less proportionately they give.  You would think it would work the other way around.  The more I earn, the more discretionary income I have, so the more I should be able to give.  But that’s not the way it works.  

A wealthy TV evangelist was dying in his mansion.  He gathered his followers all around him to hear his one last wish.  “Before I die,” he said, “I would like to take one last ride.”  They asked him what he would need for that one last ride before entering into the Kingdom of Heaven.  He replied, “I would like a very small camel and a very large needle.”

It’s happening to people all around us.  No one of us is immune.  People who used to worship God now worship money. And so we give to God the things that belong to God as a REMEDY to the enslaving power of wealth.

And then third, we give to God the things that belong to God as a REMINDER of who is number one in our lives.  According to Deuteronomy 14, the whole purpose of the tithe is to teach us to always put God first.  It’s simply a matter of priorities.  It is simply a matter of doing what Jesus said – “Give back to God the things that belong to God.”  Seek first His Kingdom, and then trust Him to provide and to take care of you.  

This coming week ask yourself, “Am I truly giving back to God the things that belong to God?”

May the Holy Spirit so live in your life that you will find giving back to God easier, more important, and certainly more enjoyable than giving back to Caesar.

Dennis D. Nelson

President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE