“But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me.  For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me” (Mark 14:6-7).

What are our priorities?  Sometimes we look at the good we are supposed to do and that displaces our relationship with the Lord.  We have our religion to point us to the relationship our Lord makes possible.  We should not live for our own sake, but for the sake of the One who created us.  There is a fine line here that is often crossed.  Live in the relationship You have with the Lord and not for your own ideas of how things should be.

Lord, You care for all, but also You came to teach us how to live the godly life.  You have come to teach us priorities and the necessary boundaries which we may and often do cross.  Yes, we are to do good, but also, we are not to do these things for our own sake, but according to the Father’s will.  Lead us to be prudent and have balance so that our good deeds are in Your will  and not with our ideas of what is right and fitting.

Lord Jesus, this is a difficult lesson to learn.  You know how easily I go to the place where I operate from my own sense of right and wrong and not according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Guide me to humbly submit to the Father’s will in all things.  Teach me what it means to be sensitive to others while remaining faithful to you.  Help me so that my religion builds upon the relationship we have.  Amen.

“But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted?  For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her” (Mark 14:4-5).

We are supposed to do what the world expects us to do.  Appearances seem to be very important, but reality is often left to the privacy of the individual heart.  The Lord is focused upon the heart and does not seem to mind whatever has brought the heart to this place.  Some poor are poor for their own selfish reasons.  Some are not.  What does this act of Jesus have to do with poverty?  The Lord gave infinitely more for your soul and mine.

Lord, I think too often in terms of dollars and cents.  I do not think enough in terms of temperance and prudence, or sense.  You have given me a mind that is able to think.  Help me to use my mind and think things through.  I do not know the heart of anyone, let alone myself, but You do.  I do not know the reasons for most things, but You do.  Help me to be less a judge and more one who loves You and my neighbor.

Lord Jesus, every act of mine could have been in another direction.  Help me to be led by the Holy Spirit so that my acts are faithful to the call You have given me.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to see that in You I have the hope of becoming like You as You prepare me to dwell with You eternally.  Lead me now and always in the way of everlasting life.  Amen.

CROSSING THE JORDAN

by Dennis D. Nelson

I am currently studying the Old Testament book of Joshua.  For many people what first comes to mind when they think of Joshua are the walls of Jericho and the challenge to “choose this day whom you will serve” (24: 15).  There are several things in the first five chapters that give me strength and encouragement as I seek to live the Christian life.

Right from the start Moses must have seen in Joshua a young man of exceptional ability and promise.  The first time we meet him is in Exodus 17 when Israel was attacked by the Amalekites on their way to Mt. Sinai.  Moses chose Joshua to lead the battle.  A few chapters later – in Exodus 24: 13 – Joshua is called Moses’ assistant and accompanies Moses up Mt. Sinai.  Only Moses is called by God from the cloud, enters the cloud, and goes further up the mountain (24: 16-18).  We do not know exactly where Joshua was and what he was doing during the forty days and forty nights when Moses was with God up on the mountain, but here Joshua experiences the glory of God.  Later Exodus 33:11 tells us that Moses would meet with God in a tent outside the camp, where God would speak to him “face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” One time, after meeting with God, Moses returned to the camp, “but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, would not leave the tent.”  Having experienced the presence and power of God, Joshua must have wanted to remain in the place where he felt closest to God.

When was the time and where was the place where you most experienced the presence and power of God?  Where is the place where you like to go back to and remain because there you feel closest to God? 

Having shown unusual leadership ability and spiritual sensitivity even as a young man, being chosen and mentored by Moses as his assistant, and having experienced the presence and power of God, Joshua was uniquely prepared to lead God’s people across the Jordan into the Promised Land.

What are the unique experiences that prepared you for your present position of leadership, ministry, and service, or that prepared you for the roles and responsibilities that you had during your time of active ministry?

It amazes me that after forty years of seeing all the pressure that Moses was under and how badly the people treated Moses – and God – Joshua was still willing to take on the challenge of leading the people.  Why did he do it?  What made him able to do it?  Was it because he knew that he had been chosen and that he had spent time on Mt. Sinai and had lingered at the tent of meeting? 

1.  The book of Joshua starts out with these words – “After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord (after their deaths, but not until after their deaths, both Moses and Joshua are given the honorific title, ‘the servant of the Lord’) the Lord spoke to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, ‘My servant Moses is dead.  Now proceed to cross the Jordan’” (1:1-2).

It would have been very easy and natural for Joshua to say, “Moses is dead; all is lost.”  Or “Moses is dead; what do we do now?”  Or “Moses is dead; we had better go back into the wilderness.”  But God said, “Moses is dead.  Now proceed to cross the Jordan.”  We all have had experiences of great loss and great change – experiences after which life will never again be the same – when we have wondered, “What do we do now?”  May we hear and heed God’s saying to us the same thing He said to Joshua – “Now proceed to cross the Jordan.”  At this point in your life what would be the equivalent for you of proceeding to cross the Jordan?

May we hear God say to us the same thing He said to Joshua – “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. . . . Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1: 5, 6, 7, 9).  In 1: 18 the warriors from Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh say to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.”  What a joy it must have been for Joshua to hear these warriors repeating the words of God. 

2.  In chapter 2, when Joshua sends spies across the Jordan to check out the land, especially Jericho, he only sends two spies.  Was he remembering forty years before when Moses sent twelve spies – one from each tribe?  That time only he and Caleb came back with a positive, if-God-promises-it-we-can-do-it report.  Was sending twelve spies a set up for trouble that he – Joshua – was not going to risk?

3.  In chapter 3 Joshua is getting ready to lead the people across the Jordan.  In verses 3-4 he says, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place.  Follow it, so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before.”  We all have had times in our lives when we have needed to go where we have not passed before.  Are you going through one of those times right now?  During those times we need to know that God is going with us – and He is going first.  I remember a poster I hung in my room during my first year in seminary.   A young man asks, “Is there a future?”  God answers, “Yes, I am already there.”

4.  Joshua 3: 13 says, “When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord . . . rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”

There are many parallels between the leadership times of Moses and Joshua – parallels that I believe were intentional.  God was showing that He would be leading and caring for the people through Joshua just as He had through Moses.  At the beginning of the time of leadership for both of them there was a miraculous crossing of a body of water – the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds) for Moses, the Jordan River for Joshua.  Both times it says that the people crossed over on dry ground (Exodus 14: 22, Joshua 3: 17).  But there is also an interesting and I believe significant difference.  Under Moses in Exodus 14: 21 “the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land.”  The people did not need to step into the place where the water had been until the path was already provided and the ground was dry.  Under Joshua in Joshua 3: 13 the waters of the Jordan were not cut off and the path was not provided until the feet of the priests stepped into the water.  It is also interesting that the priests who were carrying the ark across the river stayed in the middle of the river until all the people had crossed over (3: 17).    

When in your life has God provided a clear, dry path before you needed to proceed?  When have you needed to proceed before God provided a clear, dry path?  When have you needed the assurance of God’s presence until you were all the way across and all the way through the difficult time?

I believe it was significant the order in which it happened.  It was early in their relationship with God – when they were fresh out of Egypt – that God first provided a clear, dry path.  It was forty years later – when there was a whole new generation that had been trained in trust through the daily provision of manna, water in the wilderness, and the guidance of the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire – when God expected them to first step into the water.

5.  Joshua 3: 15 says, “Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest.”  God did not lead the people across the Jordan during the time of year when it would be the easiest because the water level would be the lowest.  Rather He led them across the river when it would be the hardest because the water level would be the highest – during the time of spring harvest when the sources of the Jordan would be most abundantly fed by the snow melt up in the north.  We thank God for times when things go relatively smoothly, but we also know that there will be times when life will challenge us and require the best that we have to give.  God is with us during both kinds of times. 

6.  In chapter 4 God tells Joshua to select twelve men, one from each tribe, each of whom was to select a stone from the middle of the river – from the place where the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant had stood – and then pile those stones on the west side of the river.  And these were not to be small stones.  Joshua told the twelve men, “Each of you take up a stone on his shoulder” (4: 5).   These stones would be for the Israelites “a memorial forever.”  “When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’, then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord” (4: 6-7).  What for you would be the equivalent of the twelve stones west of the Jordan?  What are the objects and experiences that remind you of God’s working in your life?  And are you telling your children and grandchildren about them?

It is also interesting how 4: 9 tells us that “Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.”  The phrase “to this day” occurs often in the book of Joshua.  That phrase says something about the passing of time between the occurrence of the events and when they were written down.

7.  We read in chapter 5 about two things that happened soon after they cross the Jordan – the circumcision of all the males who had been born in the wilderness and the keeping of the Passover on the plains of Jericho.  Then it says, “On the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.  The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land” (5: 11-12).  God had been very faithful in providing manna throughout their time in the wilderness.  But when they were no longer in the wilderness, they no longer needed manna and so the manna stopped.  Has there been a time when you experienced God’s providing as long as there was a need, but when there was no longer a need, the provision stopped?

8.  And then chapter 5 concludes by giving another example of the many parallels between the lives of Moses and Joshua.  “Once when Joshua was by Jericho (the taking of Jericho occurs in chapter 6), he looked up and saw a man standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand” (5: 13).  The man identified himself as commander of the army of the Lord.  He said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy” (5: 15).  Reminds me of what the angel of the Lord said to Moses at the burning bush.  “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3: 5).  When have you most had the sense that you were standing on holy ground?  Our hope and prayer for you is that whenever you gather with God’s people for worship and whenever you read and study the Bible, you will have a sense of standing on holy ground. 

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DISCIPLESHIP

If you have not already done so, I urge you to check out the new Discipleship page on our website.  HERE is a link to that page.  The page contains links to a number of articles and videos that will help you grow in your relationship with Christ and in your following Christ’s call to mission.  Just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples” (Matthew 28: 19).  He did not tell His followers to focus on gaining more members for churches.  Rather He told them to make disciples.  The resources on this page will help you make His last command your first concern.  

 For example, HERE is a link to an article by Jacob Moorman from early 2024.  Jacob is a member of River’s Edge Ministries in Mt. Airy, Maryland, which leads local mission trips as well as annual mission trips to parts of the country that have been hit hard by natural disasters.  In this article Jacob talks about the impact on him of his working in the devastated area of Clarksville, Tennessee, after it was hit by an F3 tornado just a few weeks before Christmas 2023.  Jacob writes, “This storm humbled me.  Witnessing the vast devastation put me in touch with the devastation of my own soul.  It made me realize how much I need Him.  It brought to light the spiritual reality that Christ truly is the only One who can heal and restore.”   

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QUESTIONS FOR SYNODICAL LEADERS

In our May 2026 newsletter we had an article which contains links to and summaries of a number of articles which tell about actions that have been taken and decisions that were made during and between the 2022 and 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assemblies.  HERE is a link to that article, which we provide as a resource for those who want to learn more about and/or want to inform their congregations about what the ELCA is actually doing.

Here is another resource – a list of questions that you can use if your synodical bishop or another synodical representative visits your congregation.  It definitely seems that ELCA leaders do not want ELCA congregations to know what is actually going on.  These questions will help you engage with synod leaders in a way that should lead them to face, admit, and communicate the truth.

1.  In response to actions taken by the 2025 Churchwide Assembly, a task force is developing “mutual accountability measures and compliance incentives across all expressions of the ELCA to ensure the proactive centering of dismantling racism within the denomination.”  What do you expect will be the nature, scope, and shape of these “measures” and “incentives” and how will they be implemented in our synod?

2.  At the 2018 ELCA youth gathering Nadia Bolz-Weber, the ELCA’s first “Public Theologian,” led the young people in a chant rejecting traditional views on human sexuality as a lie.  Also a pre-adolescent transgender child was a featured keynote speaker.

A keynote speaker at the 2024 ELCA youth gathering, Keats Miles-Wallace, celebrated being queer and transgender and a video argued that the creation account in Genesis 1 provides for the possibility of more than two genders – more than just male and female.

The ELCA’s 2009 human sexuality social statement gives a place of dignity and respect to a variety of views on human sexuality, including traditional views.

Why then do ELCA youth gatherings do nothing to support, encourage, and teach traditional views, but instead are grooming events for LGBTQIA+, transgender, and non-binary ideology?

3.  How would you respond to those who are concerned that the provision for bound conscience will be eliminated when the 2028 Churchwide Assembly considers the second set of recommendations from the Human Sexuality Social Statement Reconsiderations Task Force?

How would you respond to those who fear that powerful and preferred voices will not stop until traditional voices have first been silenced and then totally eliminated?  

4.  How would you respond to those who are concerned that eventually DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility) will be made mandatory for congregations?

5.  Why did the ELCA not clearly communicate to congregations that DEIA and a full embrace of every form of sexual orientation and gender identity were incorporated into ELCA governing documents through Continuing Resolutions approved by the ELCA Church Council prior to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly?  See my discussion regarding Recommendation 7 from the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church –  The Horse Has Already Left the Barn: – Lutheran Coalition for Renewal (CORE)

6.  The 2009 human sexuality social statement provided for the approval of (PALMS) publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same sex relationships and the ordination of people in those relationships, and yet that obviously was not enough for the LGBTQIA+/transgender/non-binary community.  There was even a memorial that came from a synod to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly wanting the human sexuality social statement to provide for polygamous relationships.  And a former synodical bishop who has spoken positively about polyamory (multiple partners) is the Theologian in Residence for this summer’s ELCA Rostered Leaders Gathering.  How would you respond to those who fear that even the ELCA’s full embrace of every form of sexual orientation and gender identity will not be enough?  Instead extreme, radical (and powerful and preferred) voices will never be satisfied but will always be pushing for more?

7.  We have heard and read of instances where synods have used paragraph S13.24 in the Model Constitution for Synods to take over and sometimes even close congregations.  Has this synod made use of S13.24?  If so, please tell us about the instance(s).  What was the justification and reasons given?  How was the action taken?  What has been the end result?  Does this synod have any current plans to use S13.24 to take over and maybe even close a congregation?    

“While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head” (Mark 14:3).

In the home of one whom He had healed, rejoicing with friends, a woman pours very, very expensive perfume over His head.  The Lord receives the gifts of those who give with a pure heart.  She may have been scarlet with sin, but in this moment, the purity of true love makes a sacrifice for the One who will sacrifice Himself for her as well as all of us.  This is true love displayed, that one would give wholly for the other.

Lord, help me to see the truth of this act.  Wickedness wants to know the history of the person but does not look at the heart.  The truth is in this moment.  Help me to see the moments as they come.  Guide me to look and see things as they are.  One I consider good may be bad and one I consider bad may be good.  Only You know.  Help me to live with my eyes wide open and learn from this example to truly love You and my neighbor.

Lord Jesus , I do not really know my own heart, let alone that of my neighbor.  Lead me to understand more each day and to receive what each moment brings.  Lead me away from the pretensions of this world and into the reality of the goodness You offer by grace to those who walk in Your light.  Convict me when I judge and encourage me when I need to move away from it.  Through all things, conform me to Your image.  Amen.

“Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people” (Mark 14:1-2).

Amidst the celebration of the people, there are the wicked who plot behind smiling faces.  This world is filled with those who seek for themselves and believe that they are exempt from the reality that we all shall pass on with this world and leave all that is physical behind.  But the schemers are afraid of the crowds.  The majority is manipulated by the minority.  Trust in the Lord who has overcome all of this.

Lord, I have seen this pattern many times.  Too often, I am one of the crowd, and become overwhelmed with what is happening around me, not paying attention to what is really happening.  Lead me so that I see things through Your eyes and stand firm in the truth of Your revelation.  You have shown things as they are for those who are willing to see.  Lead me to see You and follow Your call.

Lord Jesus, You lead the way for as many as hear Your voice.  There have been those of this age who are constantly plotting to have their way, and they always fail against You.  The schemes  continue.  Take me away from the scheming of this world to humbly walk the path You have given me to walk.  Guide me into the goodness which has always been evident in Your commands.  Teach me how to be faithful amidst a world that is unfaithful.  Amen.

“What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’” (Mark 13:37)

We each need to pay attention.  So many things happen seemingly by chance, and we become anxious, worrying about things that are beyond our control.  There are things we can do.  So far as it concerns you, treat all things that happen with intentionality, deliberately making the right choices for what you do.  Do not just react, but follow the guidance of the Lord and do so with the intent the Holy Spirit gives you.

Lord, I often do amble along, and do not pay attention to what is happening around me.  Guide me to live into the life You have given me knowing that in You alone is there a true future, which is forever.  Lead me into the life You are offering me and to do so with intentionality and deliberation upon the things that I do.  Guide me, Lord, into all goodness knowing that You provide all that is needed.

Thank You Lord Jesus for pointing out the things I could be doing.  Lead me to live intentionally, seeking what is right and fitting for each situation.  Help me, I pray, to see what I need to see and to be alert to what is happening around me.  You have shown me that my faith is not a blind reaction, but a series of intentional things given by you.  Help me to live a life that is alert to what is happening around me.  Amen.

“Therefore, be on the alert – for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning – in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep” (Mark 13:35-36).

None of us knows the timing of events.  When things happen that we do not like, they often seem to come suddenly and at unforeseen times.  So also, the Lord knows our days, and we do not know the day or hour when the Lord shall come for us.  It is not that we are to live in fear, but we should live with a quiet sense of urgency, for our days are numbered and there is much to be done.  Be about the Father’s business.

Lord, help me to live not with anxiety, but with a sense of urgency.  Guide me to not do things out of compulsion, but willingly.  Lead me to see what is right and good and what is unnecessary.  Through all things, help me to live according to Your goodness and mercy.  You have come to give true and everlasting life.  This world seeks destruction.  Help me to see clearly the difference.

Thank You Lord Jesus for clearing the way before me.  Lead me in the truth You have revealed so that I may humbly walk in the way of righteousness.  Through all things, lead me to live each moment with intentionality, prudently weighing my thoughts and actions so that I live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Through all things, lead me to be in Your presence forever.  Amen.

“Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.  It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert” (Mark 12:33-34).

We do not know what each day will bring.  Some treat the faith as an insurance policy and make no provision for the purpose of salvation.  We are called to come into an eternal relationship and grow to become like Christ.  In one sense, it is not about being saved, but about becoming.  We are to be on the alert so that nothing stops the progress of becoming.  Pay attention to everything, for all things are there for a purpose.

Lord, guide me to understand that in You alone is there a good future.  The world would have me flow with it in its endless cycles to nowhere, but You have called me to a new life.  Guide me in the way You know I need to go and let nothing hinder nor distract me from walking with You.  Let me leave behind what I must leave behind and walk on this journey with You.  All time is in Your hands.  Lead me through my number of days alloted.

Lord Jesus, You know that I become anxious about things and do not live in the promise You have given me.  I am distracted and little by little the world erodes my faith.  Help me to hold fast and stand strong in You so that I may persevere.  Guide me in Your goodness to continue becoming what the Father will make of me.  Help me to move beyond my understanding to stand in Your holiness.  Amen.

“But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Mark 13:32).

So many in this world are proclaiming that they know what all the signs mean.  These signs point us to Jesus and He tells us to not worry about the day or the hour.  There is enough to be done in seeking to live righteously.  Focus upon what the Lord gives you to do and leave the outcome of all things to Him.  Be led by His goodness and mercy and walk humbly with Your Lord and God.

Dear Lord, You know how I get caught up in wanting to know things.  Many have come along and told me exactly how all these things will come to pass.  But they do not know.  Part of what they say may be true, but You have told me ahead of time so that I trust in you and not just the hopeful interpretations of these things.  All will come to pass according to Your word.  I believe there will be surprises.

Lord Jesus, You have asked me to follow You, knowing that You are always with me.  Guide me, Lord, to live the life You have given me.  Lead me according to the Father’s purpose and to focus upon what You would have me focus upon.  Teach me all I need to know and help me to walk the path of faithfulness.  I have commended my spirit unto You.  Raise me up with You to live in the new life You give.  Amen.

“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Mark 13:30-31).

This generation is the generation of rebellion.  The next generation will be of the redeemed and the condemned.  You were first born with flesh and blood.  Through Christ, you are reborn children of the Heavenly Father with your spirit alive.  The source of all things is God.  Through Him, all things have their being.  His words shall never pass away.  What we know of this generation shall pass away, but what He is doing is forever.

Lord, I do not understand all these things, but I do not need to.  You have given me the words of eternal life and in You, I have hope.  Hearing that Your word shall not pass away, helps me to focus upon this better portion which You have given me.  Guide me in all goodness to live by the word You have given me.  Life will happen in and around me, but You are with me and know the outcome of all these things.

Lord Jesus, Your word is a terror to those who will not believe, but a comfort to me, for I know all things are in Your hands.  Guide me in the way of life which prepares me to be with You forever.  Help me to see through the darkness of this age to abide in the light You shine in order that I may better understand.  I have life in You, Jesus.  Help me to live for the eternal life You have given me, abiding in You, the Word made flesh.  Amen.