“Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies; what I did not steal, I then have to restore. O God, it is You who knows my folly, and my wrongs are not hidden from You.” (Psalm 69:4-5)

Isn’t it amazing how many people find reasons to hate? This is the bane of sin in our world, looking for reasons to hate. And then they mask it to make their hatred seem reasonable. God is love and those who are in the Lord learn to love. This is a clear marker to see whether one is in the Lord, but do so for your own sake and not as a judgement of the other. Do not hate, but love.

Lord, I have the infection of hatred which is loose in the world. Keep me from the folly of this world which has an excuse for everything. Guide me in Your never-changing principles so that I hold fast to the truth that You are love and You command me to love my neighbors as myself. Bring me over the hurdles that get in the way of fulfilling Your commandments that I would love as You love.

Lord Jesus, in love You came to lead all who believe to become like You. Move me away from my notions of what love is to see in You the hope of every generation. Guide me as Your disciple to learn and grow as You would have me learn and grow. Help me now and always to hold fast to Your teachings and not overreact to this world of sinners bent on hating and not loving. Amen.

“Save me, O God, for the waters have threatened my life. I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail while I wait for my God.” (Psalm 69:1-3)

The world can be a messy place. All around are temptations, pitfalls and things that trap us into sin. We need what only the Lord can provide. Yes, there is lament and the Lord has purpose in all things, but sometimes our cries seem unheard. They are not; they just seem to be that way. In all seasons and situations, turn to the Lord and know that He hears every cry. The Lord will provide.

Lord in parched seasons of life I turn into myself and do not feel Your presence. Guide me through every season that regardless my situation I would know that You are there and Your hand is guiding me. Lead me, O Lord, away from those things which bring me down, and lift me up according to Your purpose that I would forever hold fast to Your goodness and mercy.

Lord Jesus, You know what it is like to walk this world filled with its woes. Help me stay afloat in those seasons when troubles overflow so that I can see You. Teach me, if You will, to stay out of the mires of this world and keep my eyes on the prize of salvation which You have won for all who believe. Lead me this day, O Lord, no matter what comes, that I would hold fast to You. Amen.

“To Him who rides upon the highest heavens, which are from ancient times; behold, He speaks forth with His voice, a mighty voice. Ascribe strength to God; His majesty is over Israel And His strength is in the skies. O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people.  Blessed be God!” (Psalm 68:33-35)

From before what we know as time God was. He who has always been holds all strength and power. All history is before His eyes and He sees all things. Power and majesty are His. Do not think lightly nor trivially of the Lord. Know that the One in whom all things have their being watches and sees all that goes on in the earth. They are all His and He is to be forever blessed by His creation.

Lord I often do not give you a first thought let alone a second thought. Help me open my eyes and see the reality You have placed me in. Guide my heart to see spiritually and clearly that You alone are the Sovereign of the ages. Lead me to see in You the hope of every generation. You are the past, the future and everything in between. Guide me into truth that I would walk in the way of truth now and forever.

Lord Jesus, the truth made flesh, let me both hear and see Your life in mine. You have revealed the glory of the Father that those who believe may walk in light. Guide my footsteps to walk humbly in Your sight, knowing that only in You is the hope of glory now and forever. Lead me deeper in the way of life that You have established that I may now and always be kept wholly in You. Amen.

“Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.  Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth, sing praises to the Lord,” (Psalm 68:31-32)

Around the world and throughout history, there are in those nations many whose hearts have been turned to the Lord. Even in our time, thousands of years later, though decimated, Ethiopia raises her hands to You, O Lord. Let me learn this lesson and know that You are the One God throughout the ages, for all ages are but a moment in Your eyes. Let me sing my praises to You now and always.

Lord, help me to see the consistency throughout history of those nations which have come to You. Yes, I know nations are people, with an identity which can be seen and understood. Let me understand these things so that I may trust and know that Your Word abides forever. Help me trust when I am untrusting and believe when unbelieving.

Lord of all, You have created the path for the faithful to walk, praise, sing and have their being. Guide me along this path for Your name’s sake that I would now and always hold fast to the truth You have revealed. Lead me to learn faithfulness and become as You are according to Your Word. May I now and always be faithful in humility and bold in grace as You lead. Amen.

“But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.” (Deuteronomy 18:20)

“What?  I never told him THAT!”  Whenever we find ourselves misquoted or misrepresented we object and want to set the record straight.  “No, what I really said was . . . .”  If we care so much for our speech, how much more must God care for His!

By His words, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1, Psalm 33:6, Hebrews 11:3).  So also did Jesus heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach good news by His words, and by His word believers are born anew (1 Peter 1:23).  God is jealous for His word for good reason—on it hangs life and salvation!

Here is why preachers and doctrine alike matter so much.  Both have to do with God’s word, the very word of life.  Each generation of the Church seeks to raise a new flood of preachers so that they may carry that word forward, not only to safeguard its truth—“God says THIS, not THAT”—but also to share it, that many may hear and believe.

Whom do you know who would make a good preacher?

LET US PRAY: O Lord of the harvest, raise up preachers after Your own heart who so love Your word as to study it, cherish it, and teach and proclaim it freely; through Christ our Lord.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“Because of Your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring gifts to You. Rebuke the beasts in the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, trampling under foot the pieces of silver; He has scattered the peoples who delight in war.”  (Psalm 68:29-30)

The true temple is God Himself who makes Himself  known through the Incarnation. The proper reverence and awe is for the One who was, who is and who is to come. Through Him all things have their being. What can a king give that was not first the Lord’s? The war against the Lord will one day end and all will be shown as He has intended from the beginning. Come and worship the Lord.

Lord these principles are easy to read, see and understand but hard to do. I seem to have many things that get in the way of my simply praising You as all shall do in eternity. Teach me to praise and worship, not as the world teaches, but as You teach it.  Guide my life to live in such a way that my heart is always looking to You, the temple of the city of peace, that I may be led by Your goodness.

Lord Jesus, God made flesh, the walking temple, lead me into the holiness You give by grace that I would not become what I imagine, but like You. Lead me deeper into the mysteries of faith that You have revealed and help me be guided always by the Holy Spirit to do what is right and fitting, now and forever. You have come to lead the way, so lead me this day and every day in righteousness. Amen.

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

“There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them, the princes of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. Your God has commanded your strength; show Yourself strong, O God, who have acted on our behalf.” (Psalm 68:27-28)

Strong men arise and for a time it seems their strength is preeminent but they too will pass away. History is filled with those who rose and then fell. The hopes of man are for a generation.  The hope of the Lord is forever. He who has all strength, power and authority is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Come to the One who gives true strength, and trust in His leading.

Lord I see the strong men of this age and fear them, yet they are nothing to You. You who are able to destroy body and soul is above all. Let me not walk in fear but in the confidence that faith provides knowing that all things are now and always will be in Your hands. Thank You Lord for being patient and slow to anger with each generation that we may have the opportunity to learn to love and praise You.

Lord Jesus, You have come to lead the way for as many as would follow You in the upward journey of hope into eternity. Lead me this day, regardless of the world’s condition,to see in You the hope You give. Guide me to be faithful and diligent in all things that I may abide in the glory of the Father now and forever. Help me learn from You how to meet each day as it comes.  Amen.

“The singers went on, the musicians after them, in the midst of the maidens beating tambourines.  Bless God in the congregations, even the Lord, you who are of the fountain of Israel.”  (Psalm 68:25-26)

In every generation there are those who praise the Lord.  Though we may not look to see, all around the globe are those who are constantly giving thanks and praise to the One who created all things.  For the sake of the saints the Lord continues to bless all.  Give thanks to the Lord for His goodness in season and out of season knowing that He is the One who sustains all things.

Lord, I have good times and times that are adverse.  Guide me to praise You in all circumstances, knowing that in You alone is there hope and the glory of a future for all who praise You.  Lead my heart away from my own circumstances to see that You are blessing people around the world constantly as Your purposes are fulfilled.  Help me now and always to look to You for all things.

Lord Jesus, You have come not only to provide the way by which we may forever be in the Father’s presence, but also to learn how to give thanks, pray and, through You, have our being.  Lead me this day to praise and thank You in every circumstance, knowing that in You is the hope for every generation.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for what You have done for me and the grace You have given.  Amen.

‘That your foot may shatter them in blood, the tongue of your dogs may have its portion from your enemies. “They have seen Your procession, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.” (Psalm 68:23-24)

Though in this age they do not acknowledge the Lord, His hand in history is evident. He raises up the lowly and brings down the haughty. Nations come and go, but the Lord is always present. See that the procession of the Lord is always present. You are invited to join in the way of the Lord and see that His hand is upon all things. All shall come about as He has purposed.

Lord, I do doubt and wonder with the tides of history. I forget to step back and see that it is true that once mighty nations are nothing and once nothing nations are mighty. Bring my eyes to see more clearly that You are indeed Sovereign of the ages and that all things not only are in Your hands, but will work out exactly in that way You have purposed that they should work out.

Lord Jesus, You knew every step of the way what was coming as You headed to the cross. Help me see Your intentional hand this day in my life that I would know in my spirit that it is Your purpose that shall lead my day. Guide me now and always in the grace You have abundantly provided and help me hold fast to the promises You give. May I learn from You to be faithful.  Amen.