“The stouthearted were plundered, they sank into sleep; and none of the warriors could use his hands. At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep.” (Psalm 76:5-6)

The Lord is Master of all. He has given us our will, but what we do will never overcome what He has purposed. Yes, the wicked rise and plunder, but the Lord is not overcome. The rebuke of the Lord is powerful and He will do what is necessary for His righteous ones to come unto Him. He loves all and calls all and as many as believe come to Him and are under His guidance.

Lord God, You know us better than we know our selves. You know our times of trouble and our difficulties. You cause to slumber those who should be awake and you allow those who should slumber to be awake. You have purpose in all that comes to pass. Lead me, O Lord, in Your ways that I would humbly walk with You no matter what comes and live according to Your purposes.

Lord Jesus, refuge of the weary and the One who lifts up the broken hearted, guide me not just in trying to figure things out, but in the way You would have me walk. Lead me according to Your purposes to live into the life to which I have been created to live. Let me not be plundered by wickedness, but help me stand strong in the righteousness You give me by grace. Amen.

“There He broke the flaming arrows, the shield and the sword and the weapons of war.  You are resplendent, more majestic than the mountains of prey.”  (Psalm 76:3-4)

To whom shall the Lord be compared? There is nothing that can compare to the splendor of the Lord. Above the highest mountains, more powerful than all the mighty men, the Lord is above all things. His hands are those which shaped all things and He holds all things together.

There are terrors of this world, O Lord, which come against Your faithful. They rail, but none are able to stand against You. For a night and no more, but then morning comes; You breathe a word and they come to naught. Guide me, O Lord, to not tremble at those who are in this world, but at You, the One who made all worlds. Guide me by Your light and Your life that I would forever hold fast to You.

Lord Jesus, God who has come, lead me, lead us, lead Your faithful to walk humbly through every valley of the shadow of death that we would be with You knowing that You have already overcome death and the devil. Guide me to sing Your praises and walk humbly before the Father forever, for in You, in Trinity, is hope, life and eternity. You are worthy of being praised now and forever. Amen.

“God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel.  His tabernacle is in Salem; His dwelling place also is in Zion.”  (Psalm 76:1-2)

The Lord is known.  There are those who want to pretend He does not exist, but He is known.  His home is peace and He dwells in eternity.  He from whom all things come has spoken and those who hear know of His peace and long for His dwelling place.  This is the promise to the faithful, that He will be their God and they will be His people forever.  Come to the Lord gratefully and sing His praises.

Lord, there is no peace upon the earth and what You have given is ignored.  Guide me, O Lord, away from the ways of this world and into Your presence of peace and eternal purpose.  Lead me according to Your ways that I may sing Your praises here now and then there.  You are the Mighty One who lives forever and You have reached out Your hand to Your servants here that we may know You.

Lord Jesus, God in the flesh, You have given us the peace which surpasses all understanding.  You have come that we may be with You where You are.  Lead me in Your Holy Spirit, O Lord, to walk with You all the days of this life in preparation for all that is to come.  You are the One who has come that we may walk forever in Zion and dwell in Your house forever.  Amen.

“But as for me, I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. And all the horns of the wicked He will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.” (Psalm 75:9-10)

Know that the judgement of the Lord is righteous and true. He will not allow the wicked to ruin His Kingdom. Through Him all things will be as He wills them to be. He will prevail in all things. Therefore come to His throne and offer up your praise and thanksgiving, for He has looked upon You and made You aware of the truth and reality of the ages. Lift up your hands and praise Him.

Lord, all things are in Your hands and there is nothing of which You are not aware. Lead Your people into truth that they may learn in humility to praise You in all circumstances. Guide the humble to turn to You and lower the heads of the proud that they may know that You alone are God. Let all see that history is in Your hands and that all things will come about according to Your purposes.

Lord Jesus, You have taught us to take all things in prayer to the Father. You have taught us to pray. Lead me this day to learn from You how to walk through this conflicted world to be a person of honor and praise. By Your grace, guide me in the power of the Holy Spirit to live humbly as You would have me live, doing what You give me to do for the Father’s glory. Amen.

“But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another. For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams; it is well mixed, and He pours out of this; Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.” (Psalm 75:7-8)

Judgement will come when it comes, but all you have to do is look at history to see how all of the proud have fallen and in the end, wind up in death. The Lord will separate those who turn to Him from those who turn away. You, O man, look to the Lord and do not worry about what belongs to the Lord. The Lord lifts up and brings down whom He will for His purposes.

Lord, You have made me to be me and I often want to be someone other than who I am. Guide me, O Lord, in the way You have created me to be, for You are the Creator and the One in whose hands are all things. Lead me in the way You would have me go and by Your Spirit encourage me to always follow in Your way. You exalt and bring low. You are the Judge of all things.

Lord Jesus, God in the flesh, You lowered Yourself to be as one of us. Such things are too deep for me to understand. By Your example of humility, lead me to be content with the portion You have given me in life that I may learn what it is You would have me learn. You have given me grace to overcome this life’s obstacles; so help me overcome each hurdle that is before me. Amen.

“That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us.”  (1 John 1:3)

It’s something that you experience in a non-religious way all the time.  Perhaps a few of your friends go on a trip, and when they return, there’s only one way to reconnect: listen to their stories of the trip.  Or maybe a neighbor becomes ill and undergoes a long treatment.  How can you be that neighbor’s friend without hearing about the treatment?

So it goes with the Gospel.  Our God has become flesh—He became a human agent in history who affected the people of a particular place and time in a particular way.  The only way to know this event in God’s life is to know the stories of those who experienced it.  There’s simply no other way.

It’s a reality that stands behind an old saying in the Church: extra ecclesiam nulla salus, “outside of the Church, there is no salvation.”  It’s not a statement of tribal authority (although it has been used that way!), but simply an acknowledgment that the Church is simple: people telling and hearing the history of God, and without knowing His personal history, how can we be His friend?

So now think!  You have heard the story—it’s reached you, touched you, fed you—opening up God’s fellowship and friendship with you.  Are you not amazed?

LET US PRAY: Than you for your Gospel, O Lord, and thank You for the fellowship of those who share, hear, and love it.  Open the ears and hearts of the whole world to Your truth, and thus raise up the harvest of Your Church; in Jesus’ name.  Amen

Pr. Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“Do not lift up your horn on high, do not speak with insolent pride.” For not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert comes exaltation;” (Psalm 75:5-6)

The proud of this world speak boasts and make promises and declarations. Only in You Lord is there any boast, for all things are in Your hands. Who are any of us to boast of anything, for You give and You take and You have purposes that we are unable to fathom. Let it be enough to know You and to be invited to walk in Your ways that we might learn to truly praise You in all things.

Lord, I do rail against things that are not in my control. Guide me, Lord, in Your ways that I may know that only in You can I begin to see things as they are. Help me overcome the sin that causes me to think that I can either boast, or lament when what concerns me is in Your hands. From You alone comes the hope or the lament of this age. Teach me to respond faithfully in Your will.

Lord Jesus, as You walked the earth, You showed us the range of emotions that You had concerning humanity. In great love, You reached out to heal the sick and to lift up the lonely. You gave Yourself that we might know life and be prepared for life eternal. Over what then should I lament? It is all in Your hands. Teach me to lift up my voice and hands to proclaim with my life Your salvation. Amen.

“The earth and all who dwell in it melt; it is I who have firmly set its pillars. “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn;” (Psalm 75:3-4)

Upon whom, not what, does existence rest? It is upon the Lord God who made all things. Apart from Him there is nothing. Only in Him are the nations upheld. See that it is the Lord who causes all things to be and that only in Him is life sustained. The fool says there is no God, but those who come to wisdom know that He is the One who is the center and the hope of all people.

Lord this earth will pass away. Even the ones who deny you know that one day they will die and for them, the earth will melt away. Lead me, O Lord, in the way You have established that I may walk according to Your counsel and not be led astray by the wicked of this world who deny You. Guide me, Lord, in Your wisdom that I would forever hold fast to the truth You have revealed.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for coming and showing us the truth of salvation. Thank You for being the way in which we can follow. Thank You for the grace You give to make it possible to walk in the way of the LORD. You are the hope of all people, for You have come in person to show the way and lead us to eternal life. In You alone is the hope of all people.  Guide me in You Lord Jesus. Amen.

“We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks, for Your name is near; men declare Your wondrous works. “When I select an appointed time, it is I who judge with equity.” (Psalm 75:1-2)

The Lord is good and Mighty is His name. He provides for all in season and out of season. In Him is the hope of all people at all times. He will raise up for Himself those who will walk in His counsel and live according to His Word. You have been called by the Mighty Lord to walk in His ways and live in the grace He has granted for all through the merits of Christ the Savior.

Lord, I know these words and I hear them, but it is often difficult to put these words into action. Affect my life that I may walk in Your counsel and live according to Your Word.  Help me in every time of need to see that You have given the words of eternal life and that I am called by grace through faith to live humbly with You in every circumstance, knowing that You alone are God.

Lord Jesus, the helper of the weak, walk with me and lead me by grace through all of those things which hinder my way of walking faithfully with You. Guide me in the goodness You have granted for the sake of the Father’s will that I would humbly submit to Your leading and be guided by the direction of the Holy Spirit. Grant that I would be gracious with others as You have been gracious with me. Amen.

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
Devotional for April 15, 2018 based upon Luke 24: 36-48

Are you a worrier? Do you know someone who is a worrier? I know that for me most of the things that I worry about never happen. And the bad things that happen often are things that I had never thought of to worry about. But still, I keep on worrying. Whenever my wife says, “Don’t panic, but. . . .” I always start to panic.

One father told of when his children were small, he put together a swing set for them in the backyard. But then he started to worry about all the ways in which he might not have put it together correctly so that it might come apart and injure his children.

One person once said, “We used to take life with a grain of salt; now we take it with five milligrams of valium.” A lot of people today are worried and afraid. Many people have good reason to be afraid. In our Gospel reading for April 15 Jesus asked His disciples, “Why are you frightened? What are you afraid of?” It is a good question for us as well.

First, MANY PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT AND ARE AFRAID OF THE FUTURE.

Some worry about Social Security. Will it be there when I need it? What will I do if it is not there? Others worry, What if Chicken Little is right? What if the environmentalists are right? What if good old Mother Earth really does become an uninhabitable greenhouse?

The disciples also were afraid for the future. After all, they were facing some pretty tough enemies. Both in the Temple as well as in the State. Their leader had been crucified. It would have been very easy for them to have asked, Where was God when we needed Him the most?

For the disciples it looked pretty bleak. It would have been very easy for them to wonder, What will the future hold? Will we even have a future? They needed to remember what we also need to remember. That there are 365 Fear Not’s in the Bible. One Fear Not for every day of the year. And I am sure that in Leap Year, one of those Fear Not’s will work for two days.

“Why are you frightened?” Jesus asked His disciples. “Why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Then He showed them His hands and His feet. Jesus wanted His disciples to know that He was alive. It was all real. Death had been conquered. The Gospel is true.

But then notice what happened next. Luke tells us that in their sheer joy they still did not believe. It was just too good to be true. They wanted to believe, but they were having such a hard time. They were afraid for the future. Are you afraid for your future? Believe that the same Jesus who has conquered death can also defeat anything that might try to defeat you.

Second, MANY PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT AND ARE AFRAID BECAUSE OF THE PAST.

Have you ever gotten about halfway through a project and then wished that you could start over? A lot of people feel that way about life. They get about halfway through life and then wish they could start over. We all have regrets – over things that we have done and over things that we have not done. We all have plenty of things to feel bad about. We all carry a load of guilt.

Once again, our Gospel reading for April 15 speaks to our needs. Jesus said to His disciples, “Repentance and forgiveness of sins (must) be proclaimed in (my) name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Repentance and forgiveness of sins. There is a way to deal with guilt. And it is a way that will work as no other way will work. It is God’s way. Repentance and forgiveness of sins – made possible by the death of Jesus on the cross. His blood that was shed on the cross for you can completely cover over your past.

And then, third, MANY PEOPLE ARE WORRIED AND AFRAID BECAUSE THEY FEEL POWERLESS TO DEAL WITH THE PRESENT. They feel overwhelmed with the here and now.

Someone was asking General Norman Schwarzkopf of Desert Storm how he was adjusting to life in retirement. He answered, “Only a year ago I could issue an order and 541, 000 people would obey it. Now I cannot even get a plumber to come to my house.” General Schwarzkopf was finding out what it is like to feel powerless.

Many people today feel powerless. Not only in getting a plumber, but in dealing with life. They feel overwhelmed. Defeated. Unable to get on top of and gain control over their lives.

Once again Jesus gives us Good News. In the verse immediately following our Gospel reading for April 15 Jesus said, “I will send upon you what My Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Power from on high. That is exactly what we need. Power from on high. And the Good News of Pentecost, which is only five weeks away, is that we all can receive power from on high. Human power is so limited when we compare it with some of the circumstances in which we can find ourselves. But even the worst of circumstances has no real power when compared with God’s power. And because of the cross and the empty tomb God’s power is available to you.

So what are you afraid of? Why are you frightened? Is it because of the future? God has your future under His control. Is it because of your past? Your sins can be thrown into the deepest sea, and because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead for you, they need never be retrieved again. Is it because of the present? There is power available to all who call upon His name. So call upon His name.

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