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

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)

When you look at a dead man, what hope is there?  What hope is there in a serpent?

The serpent lifted in the wilderness was an image of a poisonous snake.  The Israelites had hoped to travel with more ease through the wilderness, and for such hope (such impatience!) God sent these snakes to afflict them.  He then provided for his people’s healing by telling them to look at an image of the snake.  He used the serpent to dash their false hopes and make way for His own work.

By linking Himself to this snake, Jesus casts His crucifixion in the same light.   As St. Paul writes, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 5:23).  We may hope to avoid the sting of death through good and healthy living, but on the cross God turns us to see the Best and Healthiest Man Ever stung to death!  He dashes our meager hope of escaping death and instead makes way for His best work: the resurrection.

There is our hope: the Resurrection!  We trust in God alone for help; we trust in Him to act.  With Him, we may even look on a dead man, yes, even on our dead selves, and look forward to the salvation of God.

LET US PRAY: O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas: teach me not to dread death, but rather to love Your Son, the Resurrection and the Life, and to live in the hope of His glory; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

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

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Please note: it’s the word of the cross that strikes some people as folly, and not the cross itself.  The world has a weird ability to justify punishment, suffering, and death.  Such crosses are necessary, people say, to discipline society, or to strengthen our character, or to make us appreciate our blessings.  Something in the human soul wants to make the cross reasonable.

But the word of the cross, the preaching of Christ crucified—now here is something wholly unreasonable.  This word proclaims that rule and might, wisdom and power belong to the One whose cross did nothing good.  Who shall dare to justify the murder of God’s Son?  The word of the cross renders all explanations absurd and unmasks the foolishness of the human race.  What horror to hear that the salvation of our race comes from such absurdity!

Yet to you who are being saved, surely this word is the power of God.  By the proclamation of Christ’s absurd death, you are given a Savior who redeems you in your own foolishness.  For now, having risen from the death that did nothing good, He has the authority to bind or release those who do nothing good—and for you, His word is, “Release!”

LET US PRAY: Speak Your word into my flesh daily, O Lord, that my body and soul would revive in faith, endure in hope, and shine with love, to the glory of Your Name.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:35)

Someone once wrote an article reflecting on his grandfather’s decision not to invest in Xerox back when that company first started; instead, he put his money into a company that did not last.  “What could have been?” the article mused.  Some investments go nowhere; others produce more than we could imagine.

Jesus and the gospel are going somewhere: there’s the promise behind our Lord’s words in Mark 8:35.  It’s not as though Jesus were setting up a moral test—“If you try to save your life, I’M GONNA TAKE IT!”  Rather, He sets forth the absolute truth: everything lost for His life is saved, because His life is the true Life that abides forever.

I promise that life of Jesus to you.  How can I not?  He’s not holding onto it!  He let His life go on the cross, planting it in the sinner’s grave.  Even in His resurrection, He hands over His body and blood to sinners—and if He hands over His very body and blood to sinners, what would He ever withhold from them?  Clearly, the life that inherits the kingdom, the only life that bears fruit—it’s for you!

LET US PRAY:  Dear Jesus Christ, true Life: teach me to suffer all losses for Your sake with patience and thanksgiving, so that I may gain all that You promise, to the singular end that Your word be proven in me as in Your flesh, and Your glory thus abound.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

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

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)

We’ve all seen it: a young athlete, less talented than some of his peers and rarely playing on the field or court, nevertheless devotes himself to grueling discipline and practice.  Why does he do it?  Perhaps he does so for the sheer joy of it, or because he wants the camaraderie of a team.

In the Church, we know that we are less equipped than our Savior to endure tests of faith.  Only one man remained steadfast; only one received the crown of life.  Yet now He has promised to share that victory with us.  Indeed, He even promises that whoever becomes like Him in His death (no worldly success there!) will become like Him also in His resurrection.

So why wouldn’t we, assured of His victory for our sake, not endure great hardship and discipline for the sake of this Man?  Why wouldn’t we, like less talented but aspiring athletes, take up the rigor of Christian way for the sheer joy of it, as friends and comrades of our Lord?

LET US PRAY: Grant me, O Lord, the patience to endure in faith whatever test I must face, not looking to my own strength of will or mind, but only to Your suffering and merit.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau

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

“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