“’Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”  (Ephesians 5:31-32)

It seems that the apostles couldn’t read a passage from the Old Testament without seeing Jesus in it.  Here we read that a passage from Genesis, written about Adam and Eve’s union as husband and wife, is really about Christ and the Church.  Just as Adam and Eve became one flesh, so have Jesus and His believers.

Have we fully apprehended that mystery?  At the very least, it carries this stunning truth for us: the Spirit at work in the body of Jesus is at work in us, too.  The Holy Spirit bore Jesus into the world, and ultimately into the grave, only to raise Him again in the power of a new creation.  United with Jesus through the wedding vows of Baptism, we experience this same Spirit through the power of repentance and forgiveness.

Repenting, we go by the Spirit into the grave of Jesus; forgiven, we are a new creation, free of guilt and accusation by this same Spirit.  Here’s why we preach repentance and forgiveness, and here is why faith comes with repentance and forgiveness: It is the Spirit of eternal life at work, wedding us to the risen body of Jesus, flesh of His flesh.

LET US PRAY: God, You have taken me to be Your own, for better or for worse, in richer and in poorer, in sickness and in health, and not even death can part us.  Forgive me for my wandering heart and ways; for I trust You to be as You have promised, merciful and kind forever; in Jesus’ name.  Amen

Pr. Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, and the years we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants and Your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands.” (Psalm 90:15-17)

The Lord is at work and as we look to the Lord, we can see that what He is promising is that all that we experience in this world that abides in wickedness will be seen for what it is. We shall know the purpose of our affliction and see clearly the goodness of the Lord. Come then and walk humbly before the One who has plans for you and will lead you all the days of your life.

Lord, I am sometimes overwhelmed with the circumstances of life. Help me, I pray, to see more clearly through the fog of this age. Guide me by the principles You have laid down from the beginning. May my life confirm the work of Your hands that I may remain faithful to You, the One who has done all these good things. Let Your favor rest upon Your humble servant.

Lord Jesus, You have provided the example of a faithful servant. You lived amongst us and provided the grace we need to navigate this world and its perils. Help me this day to see more clearly the way I need to go. Guide my thoughts to be thinking upon the goodness of the Father. Help me make wise and good choices in all that I do that my life may be a thank-offering to You. Amen.

GIVE JESUS YOUR BOAT
Devotional for Labor Day weekend, September 2, 2018, based upon Luke 5: 1-11

I have heard that one-third of all Americans say that they hate their job. According to many, the worst part is the commute. Many feel that they are working in the wrong career. Many who have found success in their employment say that they have not also found – or no longer find – satisfaction.

In Luke 5 Jesus has a word for frustrated and unfulfilled workers. As Jesus is preaching, Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John are cleaning their nets. As the crowd grows, Jesus has an idea. He gets into one of the boats, the one belonging to Peter, and asks Peter to put out a little way from the shore. Then He sits down and teaches the crowd from the boat. Jesus does not ask Peter if He can use his boat. He simply gets into the boat, asks Peter to put out a little bit from the shore, and then starts using Peter’s boat as a pulpit. Jesus can do that because all boats belong to Jesus. Your boat – my boat – Peter’s boat – everybody’s boat. All boats belong to Jesus.

Your boat is wherever and however you spend your day, making a living and living your life. Your boat is the office you work in, the classroom you teach in, the department you manage, the family you feed and drive around, the things you volunteer for. All that is your boat. On this Labor Day weekend Jesus is tapping you on the shoulder because He wants you to give Him your boat.

And so Luke 5 tells us that when Jesus finished speaking, He says to Peter, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Peter answers Him, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet, if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

Who can blame Peter? His shoulders ache. The nets are put away. A midmorning fishing expedition has no appeal – especially after a fishless night. And yet he complies. In full daylight and in full sight of the crowd, he dips the oars into the water and hoists the sail.

Somewhere out in the middle of the lake, Jesus gives the signal to drop the nets. And when they do, they catch so many fish that their nets begin to break. They signal their partners in another boat to come and help them. They come and fill both boats so full that the boats begin to sink.

So here they are – Peter and his partners standing knee deep in fish. The size of the catch nearly sinking both boats. What is the message here?

Some would say, Take Jesus to work with you and you will get rich. The presence of Jesus should guarantee more sales, bigger bonuses, longer vacations, and earlier retirement. With Jesus in your boat you will be able to go from Galilean fishing to Caribbean cruising.

But that is not the message that Peter got. Surrounded by fish, Peter does not see dollar signs. Rather he sees his Lord. Mighty enough to control the seas. Compassionate and kind enough to help a very frustrated fisherman.

Suppose you do what Peter did and take Jesus to work with you and to wherever else you go. Jesus showed Peter where to cast the nets. Let Jesus show you where and how to do your work. Let Jesus be the reason you do your work. Because, you see, everything changes when you give Jesus your boat.

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

“Do return, O Lord; how long will it be? And be sorry for Your servants. O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:13-14)

We have a tendency to drift far off from the ways of the Lord and receive what we have wrought. We blame the Lord and then lament. Do not tarry in the place of lament, but come into the presence of the Lord and know that all things have always been in His hands. Come into His will and walk according to His ways. Know that the Lord is good and it is He who made us and we are the workmanship of His hands.

Lord, I do get caught up in worldly thinking. Though we teach each other that things have changed, they have not. Guide me, O Lord, according to Your goodness to see clearly the truth of this age and to live into Your promises. Help me now and always to know that You alone are God and that all things have always been in Your hands. Lift me up in wisdom to walk in Your sight.

Holy Spirit, guide my heart this day to see Your hand everywhere. Do not let me tarry in the false idealism of this age, but see clearly that there is purpose, and that purpose is to walk where You lead. Guide me according to the grace You have given me to be humble yet bold in the faith You have put in my heart that I may live this day giving You thanks for all Your goodness, Amen.

“Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:11-12)

When things do not go the way we want them to go, we call that Your fury and anger. I suspect You call that the truth. You give a heart of wisdom to those who will come into Your presence and see things as they are. Lead me, O Lord, to see clearly the truth of the life into which You invite those who will come into Your presence. You offer to guide us through these limited days.

Lord, when I was young, I thought in terms of forever. As I get older, I see the foolishness of such thoughts. My days are numbered. Help me to live according to the days You have given me that I may abide in You as You abide in me, doing those things which will grow in me what You have always intended. Help me to be lifted up according to Your will.

Lord Jesus, You have told us that we must be united with You. Saint Paul told us that we must be united in Your death in order to be united in Your resurrection. Help me, O Lord, to overcome the obstacles of the way this age thinks that I might see things as You would have me see them, knowing that all things are in Your hands. Guide me, O Lord, to walk in Your ways now and always. Amen.

“For all our days have declined in Your fury; we have finished our years like a sigh. As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:9-10)

The world tells you how much longer we live now than then. No, we don’t. Some live longer and some shorter. What will you do with the days the Lord has given you? Many go in the fury of this world and with vain attempts to gain what they will never have. Come, then, to the Lord and taste and see that He who is forever has invited you into His presence now and forever.

Lord, I have been caught up in the insanity of this age. I think I can gain and obtain, yet the years come rushing at me and I know that my time is short. Turn my heart to look to You and praise You no matter the years I have lived or what they bring. Guide me in Your goodness to see the hope You have given through grace that I may live now and forever in Your presence.

Lord Jesus, lift me up by Your grace that I would now and forever abide in the goodness You have given through the salvation You offer. You have come to lift us up to be with You now and always. Teach me those things which will help me to see that only in You is there hope and a future, and that through the things of this world I will be pulled down. Guide me, Lord, according to the Father’s will. Amen.

“For we have been consumed by Your anger and by Your wrath we have been dismayed. You have placed our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.” (Psalm 90:7-8)

There is nothing done that You do not know about. Those who think they can hide and continue in their ways do not know You. Lord, bring me out from my pretense to see in You the hope You give that I may live freely knowing that You know all things. Bring Your Spirit upon me to learn to listen and obey all the directions You give in order to mature into the faith You have given me.

Lord, You know my inmost struggles and the ways that I have lived. Lift me up from those things that harm me and teach me to obey all that You have commanded. Keep me from becoming defensive about where I have been that I would freely confess my sin and receive the forgiveness You offer. You have sent the Savior; He is the one thing necessary. Teach me to trust Your provision in all things.

Lord Jesus, You have come to free us from the trap of sin which ignores You and lives with our own ideas as our guide. Lift me up to live according to the Father’s purpose that I may grow in the faith You have given me and do those things which are pleasing to the Father. Walk with me and teach me to walk with You that I may listen as the Holy Spirit speaks to me this day. Amen.

“You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; in the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew. In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew; toward evening it fades and withers away.” (Psalm 90:5-6)

Life is short, especially in terms of the view of the Lord. We have a few years and then our time here is done. What do we do with this time we have been given? Eternal life is in our hearts and we want to live, but what do we do with this time? The Lord grants us the opportunity to come into His presence and live as He designed us to live. Flourish in the way You were made to live.

Lord, help me to learn to live according to the way You created me to live. There are those around me who live lives as they choose, but You have made me to live according to Your purpose. Guide me, O Lord, that I may now and always live into the life to which You have called me. Guide me by Your precepts to walk the way You know is good and lift me up away from the temptations that would lead me astray.

Savior, You know we need to be saved. Lift me up through grace to learn from You how to navigate this world. Help me now and always to listen to You that I may learn to obey all that You command. Keep me close to You that I may abide in the will of the Father. May I now and always have my heart turned to You, Lord Jesus, and obey all you have commanded. Amen.

“You turn man back into dust and say, “Return, O children of men.” For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night.” (Psalm 90:3-4)

Everlasting is something beyond our ability to comprehend. History flows by You in a moment. Lead me, O Lord, into Your perspective of things that I may dwell in Your mind’s eye and not in my own imagination. Help me to learn to trust You in and through all things. Lift me up according to Your gracious will to be Your humble follower now and always, and to do Your will.

Lord God, You know all things and You know my heart. You have witnessed all who have passed before Your sight. Though I be dust animated for a short while, help me to learn to praise You, the God through whom all things have their being. Lead me in the way You would have me go that I may now and always look to You, the One true God who is in all and through all.

Come, Holy Spirit, and lift up my countenance to praise You for Your goodness which You bring. Lift me up by the grace You have provided, Lord Jesus. In all that I say or do, help me to be faithful according to the call You have given me. Guide me, O Lord, that I may do what is pleasing in Your sight. To You alone belongs all praise, thanks, honor and glory. Amen.

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psalm 90:1-2)

The Lord God created all things and all things have their being in Him. Apart from Him, nothing exists. Come into the Lord’s presence and know the One who created all things. Know that He who made you knows you by name. Be comforted in His presence and live in the One who is from everlasting into everlasting. He is the One who has called you by name.

Lord, I cannot begin to fathom that You who made all things know me by name. Yet it is You who knows when a bird falls from the air. Guide me, O Lord, by Your Spirit to walk humbly in Your sight all the days of my life that I may now and always abide in Your goodness and mercy. Lead me, O Lord, in the way You have established that I may know You, the One true God.

Lord Jesus, the Word made flesh who came down from heaven, You have come to call all who would come through You to the Father to abide forever. Lead me in the grace You have established that I may now and always abide in Your goodness and mercy. Help me through all obstacles to see in You the hope of glory and the way of life. May I abide in You and You in me. Amen.