Dear Easter People,

Alleluia! Christ is risen! 

We like “new”. But often “new” means “replaced”. And replaced isn’t always better, is it? It’s often better if “new” means restored to “new”. Sometimes “new” is good – like the new phone we just purchased for my wife. Sometimes, “restored to new” is better. For my wife, she’ll grow into the new phone, but she’ll likely struggle the next couple months while wishing she could’ve simply restored her old phone as she’s forced to learn new apps, new buttons, and new features.

One area where “restoration” is definitely better than “replacement” is you and me. God likes “new” but fortunately for us He doesn’t like replacement. When He says, “Behold, I am making all things new,” (Revelation 21:5) He’s talking about His creation, including us. He’s talking about restoring everything to the way He intended when He created it in the beginning, when He looked at all He created and declared, “It is good!” (Genesis 1:31)

And that’s the way He created us … “good”. But sin entered into the world, and into our lives, and broke everything God created. But rather than trash it all, God decided to restore it. He did all this through His Son, Jesus Christ, our crucified and risen Savior. 

Today, Jesus reminds us we live in two states at one time. First, we live in the current reality of sorrow and lamenting as we deal with the effects of our sin and the sin of others. This is the brokenness we live with everyday as we experience pain, tears, death, and mourning. But we also live in the current reality of God’s promises to us … promises of rejoicing hearts that nobody or no thing can take away from us. (John 16:22) And we live in that promise through the gift of faith in Jesus and His sacrificial death and resurrection that earns for us forgiveness of our sin and eternal life. We’ll be restored to “new” … not replaced … by God as He intended. Thanks be to God! 

                                                                                        He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

CREDIT: picryl.com

Dear First Lutheran Family and Friends,

I have a set of battery-powered tools. They get a lot of use, partly because I can take them anywhere to get work done without the restriction of a power cord and an electrical outlet. But they don’t run forever. Eventually the batteries run out of juice and need to be recharged. So, I put them in the charging cradle to … rest and to recharge. There, in the aptly named “cradle,” the battery rests and lets the external power source restore it for new activity.

God has a set of tools He uses to get His work done in the world He created … you and me. We are His hands and feet whom He uses to get things done. But like those battery-powered tools, we run out of juice too. Which is why God has given us “the Sabbath” – a Hebrew word – שַׁבָּת – meaning “rest.” But it’s not just any “rest” … it’s a special rest in “God and His presence” where we trust God to care for us and all our needs while we let Him recharge us to reenter the world; to do the work He has called on us to do.

In Jesus’ day, God’s intent for His gift of sabbath rest had been boiled down to a single day in which nobody was to do anything. Unfortunately, God’s purpose had been taken out of His gift. Instead of a period to let God recharge His people, the Pharisees and keepers of the Law had made rest into yet more work required for people to do to earn God’s favor. (Mark 2:27) 

God’s gift recharges us physically – we stop our labors to allow our minds and bodies to recharge – and spiritually – taking some time to listen to Him, pray to Him, learn from Him, and receive guidance from Him. In worship and during the week we rest in the cradle of God and His Word … getting recharged by Him for the work He has called us to do. So let’s rest.

                                                                                                In the Love of Christ,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

CREDIT: Des Colhoun

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When we think of “passion” we think we think of something we have an intense feeling or longing for. Maybe it’s a hobby or activity. Perhaps it’s a favorite team. Often, it’s a person. 

As Jesus enters Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, He enters His week of Passion … for mankind. We’ve often heard the “Gospel in a Nutshell” – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Jesus’ passion – His intense feeling for us – is evident by the lengths He went to show His Father’s love for us. He spent three years preaching, teaching, and doing miracles as He walked the countryside of Galilee, Judea, and the wilderness … that’s a lot of distance traveled on foot!

But that only scratches the surface of His passion for us. The donkey ride was simply the end of His journey. A journey that began on His heavenly throne. A throne He gave up to “make Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men … becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8) It’s a journey, not measured in miles, that shows the length and depth of His passion for us. He gave up all the glory of heaven to live as a lowly carpenter and itinerant preacher. And then die the most excruciatingly painful death, death on a cross … for us.

This week we remember Jesus’ passion for us. And as we do, I urge you to make some time to recall how far He went to express His Father’s love for you and all mankind. Spend Monday – Thursday reading each of the Gospel accounts of His Passion. Then join us for worship at 7:00PM on Thursday, April 17th and Good Friday, April 18th. Finally, celebrate His resurrection on Easter, April 20th at 6:30AM, 8AM, or 10:45AM. God so loved the world, including you … see how much.

                                                                                        In Our King’s Love,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

CREDIT: PxHere.com

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Some old things are worth trying to restore – houses, cars, artworks, old family photos come to mind. With careful planning and expertise, something that looks ready for the junk pile can be restored to what it was intended to be. But doing so takes vision to see what it could become … along with the pathway to get there. Once you set your mind to it, after a period, the restoration is complete.

God is in the restoration business – the restoration of His creation which became broken by the work of others. Things didn’t start out broken though. In the beginning, He created everything exactly as He intended. There were no deserts – water existed to nourish plants in just the right amount. The beasts and animals, as well as mankind, honored Him. And there was no need for warriors and chariots because true peace abounded. And He said, “It is good.” But then, after a time, things fell apart when Adam and Eve thought they knew better than God how to take care of His creation. Sin entered and with it decay and death. 

But God remembered how He created all things in the beginning. He longed to restore creation to its original condition. He reminds us of this through Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I am doing a new thing …” Like any restoration, this “new thing” takes time to complete. But God promises, “… I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert …” (Isaiah 43:19)

This restoration includes you and me too. God sent His Son, Jesus into the broken creation to restore it. God is patient. He is just. And so, it takes time to get it all the way He wants it to be. But He is “doing” it – even if we don’t necessarily perceive it. Let us trust Him and His plans. Let us trust Him to work through us too as He restores His creation – including us – to the way He intended. When He’ll say again, “It is good.”

                                                                                        In His Love,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

CREDIT: Laura Friedman on FLICKR

Dear First Family and Friends,

You’ve likely heard, “Well, I’ve got some bad news for you and some good news.” I’m a “bad news first, good news” sort so I can leave feeling at least okay. Bad news, your baseball team just lost its best pitcher. But, you’ve still got your best hitters – so maybe they can slug their way to victory. Unfortunately, “bad news-good news” is usually more serious.

God’s Word is filled with “bad news-good news” situations. Through His prophet Ezekiel, chapter 33, God says, “I’ve got some bad news and some good news.” Bad news for the wicked, if you don’t turn away from your wickedness you shall die in your sin. (Ezekiel 33:9) But here’s the good news, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” (Ezekiel 33:11)

But it’s not just the wicked to whom God has “bad news and good news” for. He says to those who believe in their own righteousness, “Though I say to the righteous … if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die.” (Ezekiel 33:13) That’s some bad news as there’s only one who is truly righteous (Hebrews 4:14-15). So even those who think they’re righteous are also sinners and thus in the same “bad news boat” as the wicked. No amount of your righteousness will save you. We are all wicked in some way.

The good news though … all is not lost. Whether you’re truly wicked or think you’re righteous – even though you aren’t – while in the “bad news boat” you’re also in the same “good news boat” – “If the wicked … walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him.” (Ezekiel 33:15-16) Let’s thank God for warning us of the bad news so we can receive His good news.

                                                                                        In His Love,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

Dear Citizens of Heaven,

Citizenship is a unifying concept in society. As citizens we’re subjects to the country we live in – its laws and leaders. Citizenship helps create and keep order in God’s creation. However, when citizenship gets divided, problems arise – which laws, which leaders do we follow? When that happens, I hope the laws and leaders of the country we’re from would take precedence. The saying “home is where the heart is” applies; so, if your heart’s from one place, you should live by that place’s laws and leaders. If not, move to the other place.

As disciples of Christ, baptized children of God, we have dual-citizenship – we’re citizens in one of the earth’s many nations with hearts from the Kingdom of Heaven. However, dual-citizenship can cause problems – which laws, which leaders do we follow? Are we, as Paul writes to the citizens in Philippi, focused with “eyes on those who walk according the example” of the faithful disciples of Christ, hearts obedient to “our citizenship in heaven” (Philippians 3:17, 20)? Or are we walking “as enemies of the cross of Christ … with minds set on earthly things,” (Philippians 3:18-19) hearts set on the world’s rulers, continually calling on us to say and do things that clearly run counter to God’s Word? As citizens of Heaven, subjects of the King of kings, the Word of God – His law, His gospel, and His rule over us should take precedence … even if it brings earthly persecution and suffering.

Jeremiah is a good example of how to live out our dual-citizenship. A citizen in Israel, God gave him a difficult message to preach to Israel and its leaders. For his efforts, he was threatened with death. Yet he said, “Do with me as seems good and right to you … (but know) the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.” (Jeremiah 26:14-15) Let us live first as citizens of Heaven serving in the world – loving God first by loving our neighbors in the world in accord with His Word.

                                                                                                Your Fellow Citizen,

                                                                                                Pastor Jim

CREDIT: garystockbridge617.getarchive.net

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I pray you have one close friend … a close relationship. I’m not talking of one physically close to you, but one of those friends who understands you – whom you understand. A person you can go to when you have a challenge in your life or who comes to you with their struggles. 

Such friends are rare because they take time to develop. You need to dig deep into each other’s lives. This requires communicating – using actual words – to share feelings, fears, ideas, and even a good joke. Words are critical to developing close friendships. 

If you think about it, you can get no closer to a person than to be in their heart – the core of their being. Paul says, “‘The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim).” (Romans 10:8) It’s helpful to remember God is always with us. He’s not in some far-off land … waiting for us to find Him. He’s always right here … inside us … in our mouths … in our hearts. How? In His Word!

Though we may drift away, ignoring His Word; God never leaves us. And so, when we need Him, all we need to do is call on Him in faith, and He’ll be there. God will remember His Word of promise, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Joel 2:32)

This Lent, as we journey towards Good Friday and Easter, God helps us remember – He’s never far away. Lent is a good time to pack God’s Word into our hearts through devotions and prayer.  He helps us remember His Word, to help us when we or those we love are struggling. He helps us remember His promise, to hear and answer our prayers. God is close to us. He understands us. He knows our needs. He shows His love for us. Get to know Him even better. Let His Word soak into you this Lent.

                                                                                        In His Love,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim