WHEN THE CHEERING STOPPED
Devotional for Palm Sunday 2018 based upon Mark 11: 1-11

Several years ago a book was written by a well-known American historian entitled, When the Cheering Stopped. It told the story of President Woodrow Wilson and the events leading up to and following World War I. When the war was over, Wilson was an international hero. There was a spirit of great optimism both at home and abroad. And people actually believed that “the war to end all wars” had been fought and that the world had been made safe for democracy.

The cheering lasted for about a year. But then it gradually began to stop. The political leaders in Europe were more concerned about their own agendas than about a lasting peace. At home Woodrow Wilson ran into opposition in the U. S. Senate. His League of Nations was never ratified. Under the strain of it all, his health began to break. He suffered a stroke. And in the next election his party was defeated. The cheering had stopped.

The same thing happened to Jesus. When He first came upon the scene, He was an overnight sensation. When He tried to get off to be alone, the people would follow Him. The masses lined the streets whenever He would come into town. Great crowds came to hear Him preach. On Palm Sunday they waved palm branches, spread their coats on the road, and shouted, “Hosanna!” “Jesus, save us now!” But the cheering soon stopped, as the tide turned against Him.

Why did the cheering stop? Why did the crowds turn against Him? How could the shouts of “Hosanna!” on Sunday become cries of “Crucify him!” on Friday. In five days it all fell apart. Why? Why did the cheering stop?

I believe that one reason why the cheering stopped is because JESUS BEGAN TO TALK MORE AND MORE ABOUT COMMITMENT. Prior to this time, His message had been mainly about grace. When the five thousand were hungry, He fed them. When they brought their sick, He healed them. When a woman was caught in adultery and was about to be stoned, He came to her rescue.

But now He seems to be saying, “The time for miracles is over. The time for commitment has come.” In all four Gospels – after Jesus enters into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday – there is not another miracle recorded as being done for the people. And this is especially significant because near half of the Gospels are devoted to the seven last days of Jesus’ life. But you will find no miracles recorded in those chapters, but there is a persistent call for commitment.

Jesus was no longer talking about grace. He was now talking about commitment. The commitment that should result from accepting God’s grace. So the cheering began to stop.

And then, second, I believe that the cheering began to stop because JESUS DARED TO SUGGEST THAT ALL PEOPLE ARE WORTHY OF LOVE. After Palm Sunday Jesus went into the Temple and drove the money changers out. The Gospel writer Matthew tells us that after the Temple had been cleansed, the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple, and He cured them. He brought into the place of worship those whom we would refer to today as “those people.” And then the chief priests and scribes not only saw the amazing things He was doing, they also heard children crying out in the Temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” The children’s shouting bugged the Pharisees, so they told Jesus to make those children stop. Time and again it was the powerless in society who recognized Jesus as Messiah, while those in power resisted Him.

Why did the cheering stop? Second, because JESUS OPENED THE DOORS OF THE CHURCH TO EVERYONE. It angered people then, and it will anger people today.

And then, third, I believe the cheering stopped because JESUS BEGAN TO TALK MORE AND MORE ABOUT A CROSS. In the early part of His ministry, He talked about the Kingdom of God. People really liked it when He talked about the Kingdom of God. Especially because they were expecting to have prominent positions in that Kingdom. But increasingly Jesus began to talk about sacrifice – about giving and giving up your life.

A young boy, in a Little League baseball game, got up to the plate. He looked over to the coach, who gave him the signal to hit a sacrifice bunt. The young boy then proceeded to take three big swings and strike out. After he got back to the bench, the coach asked him, “Didn’t you see me give you a signal to sacrifice?” “Yes,” the boy replied, “but I did not think that you really meant it.”

And isn’t that so often what we say to God? “I have heard all Your talk about sacrifice. But I thought You were just kidding. I did not think You really meant it.”

The cross says emphatically, He means it. On this Palm Sunday, when Jesus talks about sacrifice, may we know that He means it. And may our cheering never stop.

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

GOD USES BROKENNESS
Devotional for March 18, 2018 based upon John 12: 20-33

Up to this point in His earthly ministry, Jesus has often said, “My hour has not yet come.” But now He has been welcomed by the Palm Sunday crowds. He knows that His death is near. And He hears that some people who are culturally Greek rather than culturally Jewish or Hebrew have come to Jerusalem for the Passover festival, and they want to meet Him. He sees their request as an indication that His ministry is beginning to reach out into other cultures. He sees the beginning of what is going to result from His death on the cross. So He knows that His hour has come. And because His hour has come, He wants to teach His disciples, His friends, a life lesson. Life will be filled with times of brokenness and turmoil. We will all have to face times and experiences in our lives that will challenge us, test us, stretch us, and push us to the very limit. How will we handle those situations? How will we be changed by and how will we grow from those experiences?

To make His point Jesus uses an illustration. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Unless a grain of wheat is planted – is buried in the ground – it is never more than just a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it will sprout and reproduce itself many times over.

Now, generally speaking, there is no comparison between the value of a diamond and the value of a grain of wheat. But it all depends upon what happens to that grain of wheat. If you lock both of them away in a safe or in a safety deposit box for a hundred years, at the end of those hundred years the grain of wheat will still have basically no material value, while the diamond’s value may run into hundreds if not thousands of dollars. The same thing would be true at the end of a thousand years.

But suppose, instead, that you bury that grain of wheat in the warm, moist earth. And year after year, down through the centuries, you let it and everything that it produces keep on producing and producing. Eventually, a single grain of wheat can produce such an abundant harvest that the whole world would barely be able to contain the crop. To save the grain of wheat would mean to lose all that it is capable of producing.

And so, Jesus is saying, GOD USES BROKENNESS. It takes a broken seed to produce a crop. Broken clouds to give rain. Broken grain to give bread. And broken bread to give strength.

It took a broken bottle of perfume to give off such a strong fragrance and to be a love offering for our Lord Jesus to help Him prepare for His death. And it was a broken disciple, Peter by name, who was weeping bitterly after denying Jesus, who returned to greater power and effectiveness than he would have ever imagined. It takes a broken heart to be fully surrendered to the work and will of God. Yes, GOD USES BROKENNESS.

Maybe today you are facing such severe pain – physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual pain – that you wonder how you will ever be able to make it through. Psalm 34: 18 and 19 say – “The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves the crushed in spirit; many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all.”

If your heart is broken, you can find God right there. If you get kicked in the gut, He will help you catch your breath. If you find yourself in trouble, He will be right there with you every time. Yes, GOD USES BROKENNESS – to make us whole, to empower us, to help us identity with others, and to draw us to Himself.

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

THERE IS A CURE FOR THE SNAKE BITE
Devotional for March 11, 2018 based upon Number 21: 4-9 and John 3: 14-21

Our Old Testament reading for this coming Sunday starts out by telling us that God’s people “became impatient on the way” because they were now going to have to go back into the desert and around the land of Edom in order to get to the Promised Land. And so they began complaining. Have you ever become “impatient on the way” and so you began complaining?

One more time the Israelites said, “Moses, why did you make us leave Egypt?” Which simply was not true. How often are our complaints based upon information or perceptions that simply are not true? Moses had not forced them to leave Egypt. Rather they were desperately clamoring to escape slavery in Egypt. But still the people said, “Moses, why did you make us leave Egypt? Why have you brought us out here to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water here, and we are so tired of manna.”

Now I do not believe that God deserves our complaints. God desires and deserves our thanks and praise. The Israelites should have been thankful for all that God had been doing for them. But instead, they were complaining.

What about you? Should you be spending more time and effort thanking God for all that He has done for you, and less time and effort complaining?

How about this one? If you were an Israelite during the time of Moses, you would have lived in the desert for almost forty years by now. Most of your friends would be dead. You would have eaten the same food three times a day for almost forty years. You would not have been able to take a shower for almost forty years. And you would have been wearing the same clothes – which you would not have been able to wash – for almost forty years. All of which seems like plenty of reasons to let Moses – and God – really have it and complain.

But look at all this from God’s perspective. God is the one who had brought them out of slavery and was leading them through the desert to the Promised Land. He was leading them to a place where they could have entered forty years before if only they had had more faith in Him. And so, because one more time they complained instead of giving thanks, God sent snakes into the camp.

What if the same thing were to happen to us every time we complain? Well, the truth of the matter is that we are all snake-bitten. God has been so good to each one of us in so many ways. But we will not stop complaining. He puts food on our tables – and not just manna – three times every day. He gives us His guidance and blessing, but we will not stop complaining. He gives us a place to live and the health and strength to go to work, but we will not stop complaining. We are all snake-bitten.

And for all who are snake-bitten, our story for this morning from Numbers 21 has good news. There is a cure for the snakebite. Let me give it to you in the form of an equation. CONFESSION + INTERCESSION = HOPE.

First, CONFESSION. Numbers 21: 7 tells us, “The people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” They confessed their sin. If you want to have hope, you must confess your sins.

Now confession is not talking about somebody else – what they have done – which is far worse than anything that I have ever done. Confession is not complaining about what other people have done to me. Rather confession is my talking about me. Confession is about what I have done. And notice something. The people did not say, “We have made a mistake.” Or, “We have made an error in judgment.” Even a very bad error in judgment. Rather they said, “We have sinned.” If you want the cure for the snake bite, you must confess your sins to God, as well as to any other person whom you have sinned against. We need to stop complaining and start confessing.

Second, INTERCESSION. Also in Numbers 21: 7 – “So Moses prayed for the people.” Intercession is praying for the people. Intercession is the job of every baptism-washed, blood-bought, and Spirit-filled child of God. Intercession is not telling God about something that somebody else did to you so that now you feel that you should be able to complain. No, intercession is my asking God to help, heal, forgive, restore, lift up, bless, lead, comfort, and keep another person. Moses is a great example of someone who engaged in the ministry of intercession. In fact, Moses often interceded for the people, even when they did not ask him to. Sure, Moses got fed up with their attitudes and got tired of their complaining. But he was always willing to stand in the gap and intercede for them.

And as children of God we also are to intercede for other people. We do not have the option of badmouthing those who bad mouth us. Instead of cursing them, our Heavenly Father tells us that we are to bless them and intercede for them. Being a Christian means that we are to be intercessors – for each other, as well as for our local community, our nation, and the entire world.

So let’s get back to our original formula. CONFESSION + INTERCESSION = HOPE. According to Numbers 21: 8, the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent and set it on a pole. Everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” Now one thing that is really interesting here is that God did not do what the people had asked Moses to ask God to do. In verse 7 the people asked Moses to ask God to remove the snakes. But there is no indication that God ever removed the snakes. Rather God provided a way for people to live in spite of being bitten by a snake. Why? Why did God not get rid of the snakes?

I believe for two reasons. First, so that the people would have a constant reminder of what could happen again if they were to start complaining again. And second, because the serpent on the pole was a picture of a future, greater event that would give even greater hope to the entire human race for all time. For we all are snake-bitten. We have all been bitten by the serpent of sin. But because of the one who was lifted up on another pole – on a cross – we all can have hope.

In our Gospel lesson for this coming Sunday from John 3 Jesus is having a conversation with a man by the name of Nicodemus, a leader of the Jewish people. In that conversation Jesus tells about the second reason why God had Moses make a pole and put a bronze serpent on the pole. In John 3: 14 and 15 Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”

The snake on a pole was a symbol of the cross of Jesus. On the cross He who had never sinned took on our sin so that we could have hope. Because He died, we can be forgiven. We can have peace and hope.

Now the Bible tells us that when the people got to the Promised Land they took the serpent on the pole and placed it in the Ark of the Covenant. In the same way, after Jesus died, He was taken down from the cross and laid in a borrowed tomb. And then on Easter Sunday morning He rose from the dead and came out of the tomb. And now we can have hope because Jesus is alive.

All we need to do is to look to Him in repentance and faith. All we need to do is to look and live. For looking and living is lifting high the cross.

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

THE POWER OF THE CROSS
Devotional for March 4, 2018 based upon 1 Corinthians 1: 18-25

There are far too many people today who want a God who will not expect any changes in them, but instead will approve of whatever way they may want to live. But sooner or later we bump into the cross, where we meet a God who says, “I love you totally and unconditionally, but I do not like your sin. In fact, I hate your sin. Your sin is so horrible to Me that because of it, I had to go to the cross – to suffer and die to free you from its power and penalty.” Thus Paul declares in his first letter to the Corinthians that the cross is “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are being saved it is the power and wisdom of God.”

First, for some the cross is a STUMBLING BLOCK. The Jews of Jesus’ day found the cross to be a stumbling block because Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they wanted. They wanted a Messiah who would overthrow the Romans and re-establish the Kingdom of God – with them in charge.

If Jesus had marshaled an army, led them into battle, and defeated the Romans. If He had shown them that He could be successful and victorious, then they would have rallied around Him and marched right behind Him. But the cross got in the way. For dying on a cross looks like defeat, weakness, and failure, not success, power, and victory. So they kept stumbling over it. The cross kept getting in the way.

And the cross keeps getting in the way for people today. Many people today do not believe that we need a Savior to die on a cross for our sins. Rather we just need someone to inspire us to do what we have within us the power to do. People who believe that stumble over the cross.

And then Paul said that for other people the cross is FOOLISHNESS. In ancient times, the Greeks were known for wisdom. They were the educated people of the day.

And many people today believe that if we can just give everybody a good education, then the world will get better and better. But society has found that if you educate criminals, all you get are better educated criminals. Just think of the big time swindling that has been done by some of the richest, most powerful, and most educated people today.

Reason tells you that an Almighty God would not allow puny people to nail Him to a cross. Also, the Greeks had a different concept of salvation. They believed that all souls are immortal. So when you die, you automatically go to be with the gods. If your life was good enough, then you get to stay with the gods. If it was not good enough, then you get reincarnated into another body and you get another chance. You keep on trying until you get it right.

That way eventually everybody is saved. Nobody is lost. You just keep on getting reincarnated until finally everybody is with the gods. The Greeks did not need a Savior or a cross because, in their thinking, everybody is going to be saved anyway. So to them the cross was foolishness. We have the same kind of thinking today.

But then Paul says that to those who are being saved, the cross is the POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD. At the foot of the cross we find our strength – the power that enables us to keep on going even when we are tempted to quit. The cross is our power source.

Now think for a moment about power sources. In order to get power from a power source – like a car battery – what do you need? You need a good connection. There can be no space separating the cable from the battery post. In the same way, we must stay connected to Jesus for the cross to have power in our lives. The connection must be tight. Paul said it best when he declared, “Nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ.”

And we must not let anything corrode our connection with God. Pride, hatred, refusing to forgive, jealousy, anger, and strife can all interfere with and keep us from having a good connection with God. Whatever they are in your life, get rid of those things that are keeping you from having a good connection with your power source.

And then, along with the hot wire, there must be a ground wire. You may be trying to handle a really tough situation, but if your ground wire is loose – if it is not connected – it just will not work.

How can you become and stay grounded? By accepting Jesus as your Savior and believing in your heart that He was raised from the dead, you can become grounded to the cross and thus receive power from the source of salvation.

Yes, long before Sears ever thought of the name, Jesus was the original Die Hard. Jesus is better than Ever Ready. He has power to save and power to spare. They crucified Him on a cross, buried Him in a borrowed tomb, and tried to drain Him of all His power. But early one Sunday morning our Die Hard, Ever Ready Energizer rose will all power. He rose with wonder working, soul saving, healing power.

Are you connected to Him, the source of all power? Are you grounded to that old rugged cross?

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

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

FEBRUARY 2018

UPDATE ON PHASE TWO OF THE PASTORAL FORMATION PROJECT

Thank you for your prayers as we prepare for the second phase of our pastoral summit. The first phase was held at Grand View University in Des Moines last June. For that phase we gathered a number of leaders from four different Lutheran church bodies – ELCA, Missouri Synod, LCMC, and NALC – to discuss what can be done to raise up a whole new generation of Lutheran pastors who believe that the Bible is the Word of God and who are passionately committed to reaching people for Jesus Christ. A list of some of the main topics that were covered, as well as written copies and audio recordings of several of the presentations, can be found under the pastoral formation tab on the home page of our website, www.lutherancore.org.

The second phase will be held at a hotel near Chicago’s O’Hare airport on April 11. For this second phase we are gathering a number of leaders who are doing something unique and/or particularly effective to raise up leaders, including future pastors, in their ministry context. Four will be present in person, while two others will be presenting by skype.

The four who will be presenting in person are –

Scott Grorud, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, Minnesota (LCMC). Scott will tell about what he is doing to raise up leaders within his ministry context, including what he is doing to raise up young people to be future leaders.

Brian Hughes, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Columbia, Maryland (ELCA). Brian will describe what it means to be a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-denominational church, and how he is raising up leaders in his ministry setting.

Gary Pecuch, director of youth ministries at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Grove City, Ohio (NALC). Along with his wife, Gary leads the Faith Webinar seminars for the NALC and offers similar seminars for the ELCA’s Southern Ohio Synod. Gary will describe what the future church will look like (and not look like) for millennials and centennials; what the role of pastor will be in the future; what seminary education might look like in the future; and the kind of training he is offering young people and people who work with young people, in light of the above.

Julie Smith, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Springfield, Minnesota (LCMC); member of the LCMC board of trustees; and dean of students of Saint Paul Lutheran Seminary. Julie will tell about the vision that led to the founding of the seminary and also about their various programs – their more traditional programs as well as the ways in which they are making theological education more affordable, accessible, and available.

The two who will be presenting by skype are –

Jeff Christopherson, vice president of the Send Network, which is part of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Jeff will tell about his work of identifying, training, supporting, equipping, and sending out church planters who will focus on new believers, disciple-making, community transformation, and multiplication.

Jari Rankinen, general secretary of the Theological Institute of Finland. This institute gives support to orthodox seminarians and provides orthodox Lutheran teaching as a supplement to the education seminarians are receiving through the state university system. One of the presenters at the first phase of the pastoral summit, Gene Veith, told us about the mission societies in Scandinavia, who are keeping orthodoxy alive in an environment that is very hostile to orthodoxy. We are very grateful to Gene for putting us in touch with the leader of one of these institutions, so that we can learn more.

Also as part of our pastoral formation project, we are featuring in our bi-monthly newsletter, CORE Voice, different organizations that are training the next generation of Lutheran pastors. We are also working on putting together a workshop that could be presented at different church gatherings and convocations, involving the people who would be attending those events. A long-term goal is to be able to put together an event that would be open to all, would be inspirational in nature, and would be based upon the words of Jesus in Matthew 9 – “Pray to the Lord of the harvest to raise up laborers for His harvest.”

We are very grateful to all of our friends for their prayers for our pastoral formation project. We also want to say “Thank you” to all who have given a gift in support of these efforts to raise up pastors and other church leaders for the future.

Please continue to pray with us and for us as we continue to work with others to raise up the next generation of Lutheran pastors.

Blessings in Christ,
Dennis D. Nelson
President of the Board and Director of Lutheran CORE
dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com

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