CREDIT: Elco von Staveren on FLICKR

Dear People of God,

The term “supply chain” describes how things come to us. A child, leading the family’s dinner grace, prayed, “Thank You for this food; my parents who bought it; grocers who sold it; drivers who delivered it; workers who packaged it; farmers who raised it; the sun and rain that nourished it. And thank You for providing these things so we could eat tonight. Amen.” This child understood “supply chain” and who owns all the stuff many claim ownership over.

The Corinthians Paul wrote to didn’t understand supply chain. They were a comfortable lot with considerable skills. Paul reminded them of all they excelled in. Yet they needed to excel in one more area – trusting God’s supply chain to provide for them instead of keeping their wealth to themselves (2 Corinthians 8:1-7). Paul uses the poverty-stricken Macedonians, who longed for the privilege of giving their money to even poorer Christians in Jerusalem, as an example. The Macedonians understood God’s divine supply chain wouldn’t leave them wanting. They trusted Him to provide for their needs even as they gave generously to others.

God faithfully provides for our needs too. He’s the source of all we have because He loves and cares for us. He certainly provides all we need to sustain us in this life. But He also provides us – some more, some less – so we can, in proportion to His provision, give to others. God calls us to follow Him in faith by sacrificing a portion of the time, talent, and treasure He’s given us toward His mission to provide for and redeem all mankind. 

This weekend we see a great example of God’s provision and His people’s trust in Him – the culmination of our Following Him in Faith campaign. Many of you, trusting God’s supply chain, gave over $750,000 above your normal offerings to improve the place God has blessed us with to worship Him within. Your giving is one sign of your faith – a sign of thanks for His past and present provision as we trust in His future provision.

                                In Christ’s Love,

                                                                  Pastor Jim

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When we need an answer to a tough question, where do we go? Many of us dive into Google or YouTube. Tough questions existed before the internet. Believe it or not, there was a time when you had to find another person for answers. For example, I remember “The Shell Answer Man” – the expert on car-related questions. Trusted sources help us answer the tough questions.

In God’s word we see a man named Job who seemed to have it all – family, possessions, influence, and health. Suddenly Job lost it all. Then Job begins questioning God on why all this happened to him. Didn’t God know Job was righteous and good? Why the punishment? Why the wrath? Job’s line of accusing questions comes in chapter after chapter in this book. Job, thinking it’s all God’s fault, rebukes God for God’s role in his suffering. And Job’s three friends – Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar – aren’t much help. They think they have the answers to what ails Job – he needs to do a bunch of things to get himself right with God. Because Job’s not doing these things, he’s wicked and God is punishing him. These men think they have all the answers …

Then God answers them all, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:2-4). God the creator of all things reminds Job that He, and only He, is the trusted source with the answers to our questions. The answers we need to know are found in God’s word. Answers to other questions can wait. And the biggest answer to the biggest question, “God, how can I be saved from my sin of turning to others ahead of You for answers and receive eternal life?” is hearing God’s promises to forgive our sins (1 John 1:9) and grant us eternal life (John 3:16).

                                                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                                                        Pastor Jim

CREDIT: pickpik.com

Dear First Lutheran Family and Friends,

“Family” – that can be a loaded word. Most of us might describe it something like Webster’s, “a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household; all descendants from a common ancestor.” Others might describe it with various adjectives – “closeness, conflicted, love, sharing, separated, crazy, supportive.” Some might describe it with associations outside of blood relations. “Family? My friends at school,” “Family? The soldiers in my unit.” There are many ways to describe family.

Even Jesus’ family must’ve had some trouble describing themselves. Mark’s gospel shows us His family when He came home from His travels, bringing along massive crowds. They were anguished. I can hear them saying, “Here comes Jesus again. He leaves for days and weeks at a time and returns with thousands of house guests! What’s He expect from us! He’s out of His mind!!!” It sounds like Jesus’ family wasn’t too happy with Him.

But Jesus doesn’t seem to care about their opinion. He’s focused on teaching and preaching to those in need of salvation. And they’re hanging on every word … crowding in around Him so much so that His family couldn’t even get close to Him. Then Jesus gives us His definition of family, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:34-35) The good news for those sitting around Jesus, hanging on His every word – for you and me today – WE ARE HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS!

To be in Jesus’ family, one simply does the will of His Father in heaven – believe in Him, love God, love your neighbor. That’s it! When we follow God’s will in faith, Jesus calls us His brother or sister. But, even if we fall short of His will through sin, we’re still His family. We follow His will by returning to Him, confessing our sin, believing His promise of forgiveness. He restores us to our promised inheritance of eternal life in heaven, part of the ultimate family.

                                                                                                In the Love of Christ,

                                                                                                Pastor Jim

CREDIT: U.S. Army

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Memorial Day, established after the American Civil War, is a day we remember and honor those who died to preserve freedoms many in our nation take for granted. We honor brave service men and women, like Chaplain George Fox, who died to ensure others can live, speak, and worship freely within the nation’s laws. We thank God for their sacrifice.

It’s also fitting to remember others who sacrificed so we can receive the most important freedoms of all – freedom from the devil’s tyranny of sin and death. God has called many faithful men and women to proclaim His word to a world living in darkness. They risked – and often lost – their lives for the sake of the gospel. Faithfully, under extreme hardship, they served God by speaking His truth into darkness. 

Jesus tells Peter, “‘I tell you the truth … when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.” (John 21:18-19) Despite knowing his fate, Peter boldly proclaimed the gospel. He challenged the most powerful saying, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified … Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:36,38) – and 3000 souls were baptized. Eventually, Peter was crucified, upside down, during Emperor Nero’s Christian persecution in 64 A.D.

As you celebrate Memorial Day, remember and honor those who sacrificed their lives for us. Also, give God thanks for His countless faithful servants who sacrificed their lives to bring us God’s word of truth – the word of God that frees us from the tyranny of sin, death, and the devil through the ultimate sacrifice – the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

                                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

CREDIT: Susan Fogleman

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I must admit I’m sometimes lost when talking to people of other generations – whether they’re older than me or younger. I know they’re speaking English, but sometimes their word choices don’t line up with my personal understanding. It’s almost like they’re speaking a foreign language. Fortunately, I have my wife around to help me from getting lost in translation. She is uniquely adept at understanding young and old alike … at least the strange words they use. Probably because she’s an avid reader who gets exposed to more “people” than I do.

Translating “foreign” languages into understandable words has always been a valuable skill. Without it, it’s nearly impossible to communicate. Foreign language – not just slang – came about because people were too easily working together, trying to become God, while building a tower upwards to heaven – rather than trusting God to reach down to them (Genesis 11). 

But God desired to bring His people back to Himself through His word. His work continued as Jews and converts from across the world gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost (The Feast of Weeks) after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven. The Holy Spirit became the divine translator. He enabled Jesus’ disciples to speak the language of all these pilgrims so they could hear the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection to save them and all mankind from the eternal effects of sin.

Today this news continues spreading everywhere as the full Bible has been translated into over 700 languages – including some interesting slang languages! The Holy Spirit helps us understand God’s grace and mercy in any language! The Holy Spirit guides us all into a continual, lifelong immersion in God’s word through our prayer and worship so we can keep serving God and others who need to be brought to faith too. Then, giving us words to speak and actions to accomplish, the Spirit leads us into the world … living in accord with God’s word – bringing His gospel to them … that they too might come to faith in Christ. 

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Jim 

Dear Easter Friends,

Alleluia! Christ is risen. 

Happy Mother’s Day! It can be hard to find common ground sometimes, but there is one thing we should agree on – we all have mothers. I recognize we don’t all have the same “mother experience”; however, we still thank God for our mothers – the ones who bore us, the ones who cared for us, the ones who love us. Our lives come from God, through them, to us. May God bless and keep you all.

One of the things I learned from my mom is something I’ll never forget. She’s the one who modeled Christ for me by teaching me to pray. Following her teacher, she taught me the Lord’s Prayer. 

Of course, my mom had a great role model to follow – Jesus! As you read the four gospels, they record Jesus praying at least 38 times. And we can be pretty sure that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of His unrecorded prayer life! John 17, as His “last supper” with His disciples comes to an end, records one of His most powerful prayers – in my opinion that is – as He prays for Himself (John 17:1-5) … His closest disciples (John 17:6-19) … and, finally, us. Can you imagine that … Jesus actually prays for us! Jesus prays, “I do not ask for these only (the 12 He prays for in v6-19), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” (John 17:20-21) 

Jesus prays for us! He prays that we will come to believe in Him by the words of His Apostles. Then He prays that we will allow ourselves to be used to help others also come to believe in Him. Think about that! God Himself. Praying for us! That others also come to faith because of us. Amen!

He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

                                                                                                In the Risen Christ’s Love,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim

CREDIT: www.rawpixel.com

Dear Easter People,

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

How many of you still have your Easter Tree up? You might be thinking, “Pastor Jim is a bit confused.” But I’m not. Though I rarely think about it as such, I do put up an Easter Tree – a white cross. My Easter tree goes up in my front yard from Good Friday to Pentecost to remind me, and others, about the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection! 

In the days of Jesus and before, what we call “the cross” was often called a “tree.” In fact, if you look up Old Testament verses that address crucifixion, they sometimes refer to crucifixion as being hung from a tree (e.g. Deuteronomy 21:22-23). In Acts, Peter was led by the Holy Spirit to baptize a Roman centurion and his family, Gentiles who were strangers to God. Peter followed the Holy Spirit’s guidance and taught Cornelius and his family the central truth of Christian beliefs, “They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree, but God raised Him on the third day and made Him appear …” (Acts 10:39-40) And as Peter taught, the Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and his family. He enabled them to hear, understand, and believe Peter’s testimony about Jesus … just like Jesus’ closest disciples. Peter immediately baptized them into the new Christian faith.

You and I have been baptized into the same Christian faith as Cornelius and his family. Like them, many of us are so-called “Gentiles” who were not originally part of the family of God. But, like Cornelius, by the power of the Holy Spirit we have heard and believed the gospel, the good news, Peter and all the apostles first proclaimed. And because of Jesus’ death on a tree, and His resurrection to new life we too receive new life. So maybe we should think about putting up an Easter Tree – to remind us about our new life in Christ and to help proclaim the gospel to others who are still outside God’s family.

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In Christ’s Love,

                                                  Pastor Jim