Taking Time to Rest

For many, it feels like the world has stopped. Yet for others, this is a more stressful time than ever before. We have been encouraged to stay at home as much as possible and our lives are full of uncertainty. What hasn't stopped is Jesus' care for us. Listen to what Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour, has to say about what it means to truly find rest in Him.

Rest from Lutheran Hour Ministries on Vimeo.

Here is a new video released yesterday from Zach Williams and Dolly Parton called "There was Jesus:. A wonderful message in song that blends contemporary Christian and classic country sounds...

Thank God ...

You maybe staying home, because of the "Stay at Home" orders. Or you may be staying home, because your place of employment has been forced to close. You may be staying home, because you've been laid off - even if your place of employment is still technically open. You may be staying home out of fear. Whatever the reason, the message on our sign board is one you need to remember:

God knows where you live, and there's no power that can keep Him quarantined from you!

        ...for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
        So we can confidently say,"The Lord is my helper; I will not fear;
        Hebrews 13:5,6  

In the context of the rest of this, that verse is given as a reason we can be content with our current situation - especially financially. God knows the situation you are in. He knows exactly what you need. He has the power to give what you need... at just the right time!

Rejoice!

This pup is a perfect illustration of the truth that "You can't always choose the situation you are in, but you do - always  - have a choice about how you respond to that situation."

As the Apostle Paul wrote (from prison!) "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!" Philippians 4:4.

Another great song for Easter season.

Still in the Easter season.  Here is a great song and performance. I hope you enjoy...

This Bible Quiz is a bit trickier than expected... From Lutheran Hour Ministries:

Dear Friend, A year ago we launched our “Half-Truth, Whole Truth or Nothing Like the Truth?” quiz as a fun way to test your Bible knowledge. So many of our friends let us know they enjoyed the quiz that we couldn’t resist creating a new one! Here it is, the brand-new “Half-Truth, Whole Truth or Nothing Like the Truth?” quiz—five more common sayings that may or may not be from the Bible. I hope you’ll enjoy it. But it’s a quiz with more than one purpose. We also want to use it as a way to get more people thinking about Jesus and the Bible. After you take the quiz, will you use the social sharing tools on the page to encourage your friends and family to play, too? I don’t have to tell you that the problem of biblical illiteracy is only growing. Together, we need to introduce more people to the programs, resources, and materials produced by Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) so they can hear and understand the Word of God. By sharing the quiz, you’ll give others the opportunity to experience some of LHM’s most popular resources. Please take the quiz today and share it as widely as possible! Here’s the first question to get you started: No. 1 “God will never give you more than you can handle.”

Your partner in His mission, Kurt Buchholz President & CEO

TAKE THE QUIZ!

Blog post about Easter Sunday

You'll Never Guess What I Saw . . .             On Easter Morning!

If you live in Minnesota you might guess one of the things I saw on Easter morning: Snow! I'm sure it has snowed on other Easter mornings here, but I don't remember any! I thought the snow, while not what we were expecting, was actually very appropriate for Easter. You see, what we celebrate on Easter is Jesus rising from His grave, and that resurrection proves Jesus' Good Friday sacrifice on the cross did indeed make our sins "as white as snow." (see Isaiah 1:18)

But the really unusual thing that I saw - a scene that you would not likely guess - was twenty vehicles in our church parking lot. Now that would not be unusual at all on a normal Easter Sunday morning. But keep in mind, this is a year unlike any other! We are smack dab in the middle of the COVID-19 shut down! As a result, we haven't been able to worship inside our church building for the last four weeks and won't be able to for at least another three Sundays. But forty people "congregated," (amidst swirling snow and howling winds) in their cars to watch on their smartphones a YouTube video of our Resurrection worship! In the message I talked about how God has used this COVID situation as a "teachable" moment for us. One of the things He has taught us is, "You don't know what you got 'til its gone," (to quote an old song from the sixties). Not being able to gather to worship is something we have long taken for granted. Not any more!

But there's one other thing I saw that I won't soon forget. The elders and I (decked out in full COVID-19 combat gear - face masks and blue rubber gloves) distributed communion to those brave souls in their vehicles. I saw a gratitude that welled up from deep within their hearts. I witnessed, through my steamed up eyeglasses, a thankfulness expressed in smiles and tears as well as in comments.

Making this online worship happen (along with communion in the snow!) was - like so many rewarding things in life - not easy. But it was good! Unforgettably good!

The stay-at-home quarantine starting to feel a little like this...

If you are starting to feel a little anxious and depressed about all of this, I recommend taking a couple deep breaths and watch this video. A new song release by Anna Golden called "Peace".

https://youtu.be/DosBI881Xrg

Happy Easter!

Starting out a new decade...

Wow, hard to believe that it has been about 7 years since we posted to this blog! But now during this time of quarantine, I certainly have more time and we are looking at more ways to communicate, share information, and simply feel more connected. So here we are. I can't promise that I will share a lot of posts but I will certainly try to send things that I see and thoughts that I have.  I hope you come along...
                          Living Word Lutheran Webmaster.

For Easter weekend I would like to share this poem that I recently saw:

HOW THE VIRUS STOLE EASTER
By Kristi Bothur
With a nod to Dr. Seuss

From: https://www.thissideofheavenblog.com/blog/

Twas late in '19 when the virus began,
Bringing chaos and fear to all people, each land.

People were sick, hospitals full,
Doctors overwhelmed, no one in school.

As winter gave way to the promise of spring,
The virus raged on, touching peasant and king.

People hid in their homes from the enemy unseen.
They YouTubed and Zoomed, social-distanced, and cleaned.

April approached and churches were closed.
"There won't be an Easter," the world supposed.

"There won't be church services, and egg hunts are out.
No reason for new dresses when we can't go about."

Holy Week started, as bleak as the rest.
The world was focused on masks and on tests.

"Easter can't happen this year," they proclaimed.
"Online and at home, it just won't be the same."

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the days came and went.
The virus pressed on; it just would not relent.

The world woke Sunday and nothing had changed.
The virus still menaced, the people, estranged.

"Pooh pooh to the saints," the world was grumbling.
"They're finding out now that no Easter is coming.

"They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!
Their mouths will hang open a minute or two,
And then all the saints will all cry boo-hoo.

"That noise," said the world, "would be something to hear."
So it paused and the world put a hand to its ear.

And it did hear a sound coming through all the skies.
It started down low, then it started to rise.

But the sound wasn't depressed.Why, this sound was triumphant!
It couldn't be so!But it grew with abundance!

The world stared around, popping its eyes.
Then it shook! What it saw was a shocking surprise!

Each saint in each nation, the tall and the small,
Was celebrating Jesus in spite of it all!

It hadn't stopped Easter from coming! It came!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the world with its life quite stuck in quarantine
Stood puzzling and puzzling. "Just how can it be?"

"It came without bonnets, it came without bunnies,
It came without egg hunts, cantatas, or money."

Then the world thought of something it hadn't before.
"Maybe Easter," it thought, "doesn't come from a store.
Maybe Easter, perhaps, means a little bit more."

And what happened then? Well....the story's not done.
What will YOU do? Will you share with that one

Or two or more people needing hope in this night?
Will you share of the source of your life in this fight?

The churches are empty - but so is the tomb,
And Jesus is Victor over death, doom, and gloom.

So this year at Easter, let this be our prayer,
As the virus still rages all around, everywhere.

May the world see hope when it looks at God's people.
May the world see the Church is not a building or steeple.

May the world find Faith in Jesus' death and resurrection,
May the world find Joy in a time of dejection.

May 2020 be known as the year of survival,
But not only that - Let it start a revival.

--------------
Copyright 2020 Kristi Bothur, This Side of Heaven Blog. Permission is granted to send this to others, with attribution, but not for commercial purposes.

See the original post here: https://www.thissideofheavenblog.com/blog/how-the-virus-stole-easter

In The World

IN THE WORLD

By Dave Veerman

 

What in the world happened that day

with full inn and manger, a babe in the hay?

And skies filled with singing angels in flight

amazed and blessed shepherds seeking at night.

 

Who in the world could be this boy

swaddled and cradled welcoming joy?

Messiah, Immanuel, Savior, the Lord,

Wonderful Counselor, God’s Son adored.

 

Where in the world came this royal birth

certain splendid reception expressing his worth?

But no Roman palace, no opulent place,

held mother and child, just Bethlehem's grace.

 

Why in the world with limits here

fragile, so small profoundly near?

And growing, teaching, rejected, forsaken,

tortured, condemned, nailed, sin taken.

 

Jesus, your choice leaving the throne

to seek and save the lost, your own.

My Lord, my God by faith I am free,

your love flowing down in this world for me!

 

Philippians 2:6–11

Merry Christmas

Daily Reading Audio - Daniel 3

Visit us at our Pie & Ice Cream stand

If you could spend a day with any one person...

... who would you choose to hang out with ?

You can read my answer(s) to this question in the August Newsletter.  Click on the "Comments" and tell us who you would like to spend a day with - and why.

God's blessings,
Pastor David

p.s. The person you choose doesn't have to be alive right now.

Received via e-mail...

This is totally amazing.   Talk about clever and to the point! Never heard it put quite like this before:

 

RECALL NOTICE:

The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect has been identified as "Subsequential Internal Non-morality,"  more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed. 

Some of the symptoms include: 
1. Loss of direction 
2. Foul vocal emissions 
3. Amnesia of origin 
4. Lack of peace and joy 
5. Selfish or violent behavior 
6. Depression or confusion 
7. Fearfulness 
8. Idolatry 
9. Rebellion

 

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this defect. The Repair Technician, JESUS, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required. The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R. Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component. 
  
No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with: 
1. Love 
2. Joy 
3. Peace 
4. Patience 
5. Kindness 
6. Goodness 
7. Faithfulness 
8. Gentleness 
9. Self control 
  
Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (BEST Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.

 

 WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list, and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on Jesus. 
  
DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention! 
  
- GOD 
  
P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by 'Knee mail'!  
  
Because HE Lives!

 

 

John 12:37-50

Jesus makes it crystal clear in this passage that to believe in Him is to believe in the One True God - the God of the Old Testament. But because the powerful religious leaders of the day had decided Jesus was lying and was not really from God (let alone God-in-the-flesh), many people who believed in Him would not make their faith public. They feared losing their place in the synagogue more than they feared God.

What kinds of fears keep you from making your faith in Jesus public?

Ask God to give you His boldness and courage to overcome that fear.

God will bless your reading,
Pastor David

John 12:20-36

A very interesting passage that begins with some Greeks (non-Jewish people) wanting to see Jesus. In my Bible I have underlined their request:  We want to see Jesus, and next to it I wrote this note:  "The greatest thing I could wish for anyone." Wanting to see Jesus is the greatest thing because of this promise in Jeremiah 29:11-13

 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  (NIV)

God promises that He will be found by us when we seek Him. Jesus points out in John 12:32 that "When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw ALL men to myself." In other words, Jesus is making it clear that He did not just come for the Jewish people. He came for all people, including these 'seeking' Greeks.

Please pray for God to work in the heart of some person in your life and bring them to the place where they too "want to see Jesus."

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

John 12:12-19

This is the familiar "Palm Sunday" passage. What always strikes me about this passage is how quickly public opinion can turn 180 degrees. On Sunday the people were hailing Jesus as their new king who had come to save them. By Friday they were swayed by the religious leaders into thinking Jesus was a blasphemer guilty of death. The real problem was that Jesus didn't live up to the expectations of the public. They expected a king who would lead them in battle against the hated Romans. The people were thinking way too 'small'. Jesus was the King of kings who came to win the battle against much worse enemies: sin, Satan, death and hell. Ironically, they were right when they shouted "Hosanna" (Save!). That's exactly what Jesus would do - just not from the enemy they thought and not in the way they thought.

The key is to have the proper expectations of Jesus. And Jesus tells us what we should expect. We need to listen to what He tells us and then remember our March discipleship verse:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart... and lean not on your own understanding."

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

John 12:1-11

Let's get rid of the evidence !  Not only do the religious leaders decide that Jesus has to go, they plot to kill Lazarus too!! Have you ever seen such hard-hearted refusal to believe the obvious? Of course you have. It happens in our lives all the time. It's that "sinful nature" thing us humans share, the desire to have our own way instead of the way God has mapped out for us.

Thank God Jesus did go to the cross to pay for even those hard-hearted sins of ours. Ask His forgiveness. He died to give it to you.

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

John 11:45-75

NO PICTURE TODAY.
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ABOUT A PIC THAT
FITS THIS READING

I find it interesting that Luke's gospel records for us in chapter 16 a story Jesus told about a man named Lazarus who died and went to heaven. In that story there was also a rich man who died and went to hell. Once in hell, the rich man asked if he could go back to warn his brothers. He is told that if they don't believe the Scriptures, they won't believe even if someone comes back from the dead. In today's reading we see that truth played out after Jesus raised his friend Lazarus (not the same Lazarus as in Luke) from the dead. It amazes me that not only do some folks who witnessed Lazarus' resurrection refuse to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but that the religious leaders - out of jealousy due to Jesus' popularity - actually want to put Him to death. The passage goes on to remind us that God knew this would happen, and actually used the high priest's evil plot to bring about the greatest good: The forgiveness of sins for mankind.

Once again we see this truth:   Evil is strong. But God is ALWAYS stronger.

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

John 11:38-44

Mercy Me's contemporary Christian song "I Can Only Imagine" is a favorite of many. That title pretty much describes what it would have been like to have been there to witness the raising of Lazarus from the grave. I can only imagine. Imagine you were Mary or Martha. Imagine you were the disciples. Imagine what you would think, say and do...

After the excitement of seeing a loved one and close friend literally rise from the dead, what crosses your mind about Jesus?

He states His desired result:  That everyone there would believe that Jesus has been sent by God the Father. And the result of believing that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God?  Jesus will do the same for us as He did for Lazarus.

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

John 11:17-37

I've heard many people comment about how cool it is to visit Washington D.C. I would agree there's some 'cool stuff' to see there. But when I visited there quite a few years ago, I also had this sense of an ever-present evil in the place. It's hard to describe, but it was a feeling that Satan is working overtime in our nation's capitol. One place I didn't have that feeling was at the burial site of our nation's first president, George Washington. Above his grave was this inscription from verses 25 and 26 in our reading for today:

Jesus said to her (Martha), "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."

A great reminder that no matter how strong evil may be, Jesus demonstrated power over it when He rose from the grave and has power to keep us in the faith that will result in our own resurrection from the dead.

Pray today for God's power to protect from evil those who make and interpret our laws.
Pastor David

John 11:1-16

There are so many things in these verses that are worthy of comment. Here are just a few:

1) Mary & Martha set an example for us: In time of distress, simply 'send word to Jesus.' (Like the little boy in the pic is doing) He knows what to do.

2) Jesus refers to death as "sleep." A reminder both of the temporary nature of it for believers and of the ease with which Jesus can raise someone from the dead. No tougher than waking someone from sleep.

3) Thomas always gets the 'bad rap' of doubting. In fact, most people probably think it's his first name. But here he displays a very bold faith, willing to go to Jerusalem and die with Jesus. Thomas strikes me as being like all the rest of us - possessing a very bold faith one minute and then questioning what we believe the next.

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

John 10:22-42

Please, continue reading a chapter of Proverbs each day. The Proverbs truly are God's wisdom for everyday life (not just everyday in February). Reading Proverbs daily will serve you well as ammunition against the temptations Satan attacks with every day.

But after commenting on the chapters in Proverbs for the past month, starting today I will begin commenting on the March daily readings found in your newsletter. The readings prior to Holy Week take us through the events leading up to Holy Week as recorded in John's Gospel (and as we learned in the Children's Message on Sunday, 'gospel' means 'good news').

Last Wednesday in our Lenten devotion I talked about the festival of Hanukkah. The first verse of today's reading (John 10:22) is the only mention of that festival in the Bible. It is often called "The Festival of Lights" because of a miracle that occurred when God miraculously enabled oil sufficient to keep one candle lit for a day to actually last for 8 days.

In this passage, Jesus points to the many miracles He performed as evidence that He is God in the flesh. I find it kind of funny (in a sad sort of way) that many people  say Jesus was merely human and that He never claimed to be anything more. Obviously, they have never read this passage of Scripture. Not only does Jesus claim to be God here, but His enemies want to put Him to death for that very reason:  blaspheme, claiming to be God.

The folks who don't believe Jesus is truly God will most often say that he was simply another human being who was a good teacher and a good example. But C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Chrstianity reminds us that we really don't have "good teacher/good example" as an option for Jesus. He did claim to be God, so the only two options we have available are 1) to believe that He is who He said, or 2) believe that He was a raving lunatic - or worse - for claiming to be God when indeed He was not. If He claimed to be God when He was not, He certainly cannot be said to be a good example or a good teacher.

The event we will celebrate on the last day of this month proves that option 1 is the correct one. Jesus truly is who He said: God in the flesh!

God bless your reading,
Pastor David

Proverbs Chapter 26

You've heard it said, "If you can't say anything good... don't say anything at all."  Well, God tells us the natural result of holding your tongue.

Without wood a fire goes out;
    without gossip a quarrel dies down.

Gossip is the fuel that fires quarrels. Without it, relationships are preserved. Think about that truth today as you have conversations and are tempted to chime in with some comments about certain people that are best left unsaid.

God will bless your reading,
Pastor David