“Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them. For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there and possess it.” (Psalm 69:34-35)

Are you one who praises God in all circumstances? God is not a conditional Lord. He does not give just in some seasons and withhold in others. He who causes the sun to shine on the righteous and the unjust is worthy of all honor and praise. Learn to praise the Lord as one who resides in Zion. Praise the Lord in every season and taste and see that the Lord is good.

Lord, in my sinfulness I do judge unjustly and want things to be the way I want them to be. I withhold my praise and do not praise You in every season. Guide me, O Lord, to walk humbly with You and praise You with each sunrise and each sunset for You are the One who has given life and called me to walk with You. Guide me in the way I should go and then lead me by Your Spirit.

Lord Jesus, You who have given the very Spirit that guides me, take me away from the way this world thinks to learn from You how to think as Your new creation. Guide me in Your goodness to come to the place where I know that all things are working together according to the Father’s will. Help me now and always to look to You in, through and for all things, knowing You are good and gracious to those who love You. Amen.

“The humble have seen it and are glad; you who seek God, let your heart revive. For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise His who are prisoners.” (Psalm 69:32-33)

Over and over again, Scripture calls for us to be humble. Humility is not self-effacing, but standing fully in the truth. The truth is that God loves everyone without partiality. We all have sinned and therefor are not exempt from the frustrations others have because of our sins. Come to the Lord humbly and know that He who hears you will have mercy and grace upon you.

Lord, there are many things I need to learn. I have been guilty, perhaps not by intention, but in the breaking of the law. But I desire Your mercy and compassion to lift me out of the pit of despair that sin brings upon the world. Free me from the prison of sin to live humbly with You all the days of my life. Guide me in Your goodness to know Your grace and mercy as I walk with You.

Lord Jesus, You have come to set the captives free. You have come to lead us into humility to stand with You, the Truth, and walk where You lead. Guide me, O Lord, to see in You the hope of all ages and to know Your goodness. Help me learn to practice all that You teach me that I would live as You lived upon the earth and minister to others as You have ministered to me. Amen.

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

“I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it will please the Lord better than an ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs.” (Psalm 69:30-31)

Praise the Lord in all circumstances and at all times. Do not look to yourself or your neighbor, but to the One who created all things. In Him alone is there hope and a future. In Him is the promise of the ages.  Turn to the Lord and discover why He has made you to be whom you are and who you will be. The sacrifice of your life is better than all else you can do. Turn to the Lord.

Lord, I want to be in control of my life, but I am not. I want to be the one who directs my days, but I cannot. This age is filled with conflicts and I cannot navigate through them. You alone know what the ages will bring. You alone know how to walk through this life, for you know where it is going and how it will end. Guide me to trust in Your leading that I would walk with You.

Lord Jesus, You have come to lead the way. Sins are forgiven and the eternal healing is promised to all who walk humbly with You. Lead me this day and every day to walk where You lead knowing that only in You can I find the way to the eternal home You have promised. May I learn faithfulness from You and walk with You throughout this day, knowing that You alone are faithful. Amen.

“May they be blotted out of the book of life and may they not be recorded with the righteous. But I am afflicted and in pain; may Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.” (Psalm 69:28-29)

We do not understand why the Lord allows the wicked to remain and seem so powerful as they do what they do. It causes pain to those who look to the Lord. But do not those who look to the Lord do the same things? Are there any who are righteous? Only for he who turns to the Lord will He grant true life and liberty, but not until His salvation comes to fruition.

Lord I lament and look for justice, but forget that I too am a part of that equation. Guide me when I am angry, frustrated, upset or any other reaction to circumstance where I am simply demonstrating that I am powerless, and then heap my frustration upon You. Guide me, O Lord, to walk humbly with You in all circumstances knowing that You are Lord and King of all.

Lord Jesus, there are many things I do not understand, yet You are here in front of me, Truth itself. Lead me humbly to walk with You as You guide me through all the wickedness of this world, knowing that only in You is there hope and a future. Guide me according to the Father’s will that I would walk securely in Your grace and mercy as You lead to where You are taking me. Amen.

“For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten, and they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded. Add iniquity to their iniquity, and may they not come into Your righteousness.” (Psalm 69:26-27)

How much are we able to handle before we break? We experience what we experience and some seem to have more than they could handle. The lament goes out to keep us from the breaking point. Yet, is not God, God? Will He not do whatever it takes for those whom He loves? Yes, turn to the Lord no matter the circumstances and see that He is good. Know the Lord’s righteousness.

Lord, I see the human struggle, first in myself and then in others. Help me learn from such insights that You give in order that I not be anxious no matter what the day brings. Lead me in Your way of righteousness to do those things that are fitting for Your kingdom. Do not add to the burden upon me, but help me carry my portion according to Your grace. Hinder not any from seeing who ought to see.

Lord Jesus, Light that shines in the darkness, guide me through the dark alleys of this world. Lead me to learn from You how to graciously handle whatever may come knowing that in You alone is my hope and future. Teach me Your ways, O Lord, and then empower me to walk in them that I may be guided by Your Spirit. You alone are good, LORD, in a world filled with evil. Amen.

“And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people.” (Exodus 24:8)

It sounds like the start to a really bad day, but it was, in fact, a glimmer of the Best Day to come: the day when Christ would redeem the world by His blood, shed on the cross for sinners.  That blood was made for throwing.

What good is the blood of Christ if it never touches you, on your skin, in your ears, up to your lips?  Even as the sacrifices of Israel preached God’s pleasure to that nation, so does the touch of this blood, cast onto you in the ministry of His Church, carry the promise that God has taken pleasure in you.

Washed in the blood, secured in that same blood by its preaching, and nourished with it by the Lord’s own command, we live in the freedom of canceled sin.  Better, we live in the freedom of our Father’s good pleasure.  “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased”—He spoke those words for Jesus, and now this Jesus has touched you, making those words yours.

LET US PRAY: O Jesus Christ, Lamb of God: I praise and thank You for Your precious blood, shed for my sake, and the sake of the whole world.  Enliven and keep me always in this saving flood, and bring me through its currents to the fullness of Your kingdom.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“Pour out Your indignation on them, and may Your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be desolate; may none dwell in their tents.” (Psalm 69:24-25)

In this world we often think in eye-for-an-eye terms. People hurt us and we want them hurt. Yet the ways of the Lord are good and right and fitting always, and this world is filled with sin. Those who go their own way walk on the wide road to oblivion. The appearance of prosperity will turn to a vapor with the passing of time. Only in the Lord is there a hope and a future.

Lord, I see things in the moment and forget not only Your promises but all of the good You have done for me. Help me, Lord, to see as You see and to know that all things are in Your hands and that You will provide over time all that needs to be done. In love, not anger, do You deal with us; for I too have been, at times, one who walked the path of desolation. Cause me to dwell in Your tents.

Lord Jesus, You call us to Yourself that we would walk with You, learn from You and become like You. You went to the cross, and yet it was not anger, but your love that shone forth. Lead me, O Lord, in the way I should go and then help me go that way, Guide me according to Your goodness to be lifted up into the way of thinking that would let me see Your hand at all times and in all things. Amen.

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

“May their table before them become a snare; and when they are in peace, may it become a trap. May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, and make their loins shake continually.” Psalm 69:22-23)

When people are harsh and turn against us we want them to learn a lesson. But vengeance belongs to the Lord. What He does with others He will do with us. See that the Lord uses every circumstance to reach out to us that we may know that He is good and gracious. He will use whatever comes into our lives to lift us up and teach us His ways if we are willing.

Lord I do want vengeance, but You command that I love my enemies. Teach me Your ways; for the ways of this world only lead to destruction. Grant grace and mercy that I would love those who hate and care for those who are mean. Teach me the eternal ways and help me practice them here and increase my capabilities that I may be as You intend. Guide me through the morass of this world that I may keep my eyes upon You.

Lord Jesus, You have come to lead the way for as many as would follow. You show the way through all of the difficulties of this life, preparing us to be with You forever. Guide me, O Lord, that I would forever hold fast to what You teach me, knowing that only in You is there hope. Lead me through the difficult times that will come, and help me look to You now and always that I may follow Your way. Amen.