Day by Day

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"Joseph: God Uses Evil for Good"

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20
   

Evil stops us. Others treat us unfairly. We try hard but receive little recognition. Power-hungry people use us and then discard us. How easy to grow cynical and depressed!

Joseph could have felt that way. Certainly evil attacked him at every point. He was left in a pit by his brothers and sold as a slave to traders. A slave in Egypt, he was thrown into prison when he refused the advances of Potiphar’s wife. But we don’t find Joseph complaining against God or growing bitter toward others. He served faithfully in Potiphar’s household. In prison he gained trust and respect. When the time came, he was ready to help the country through a famine and bring his family to Egypt.

How often we permit problems and troubles to consume, discourage, and destroy us! Unlike Joseph, we complain and grow bitter. We forget to trust God and fail to obey Him.

Near the end of his life, Joseph’s brothers beg forgiveness for the evil they have inflicted on him. In tears, Joseph tells them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Joseph recognized God’s loving hand in his life. God used evil for good.

Turn from Joseph to Jesus. See Him as One surrounded by evil – tempted in the wilderness by Satan, opposed angrily and unfairly by the scribes and Pharisees, convicted and crucified unjustly by Pontius Pilate. Yet He faithfully trusted the Father, lived obediently, and died to defeat the combined forces of evil. God used evil for good.

He has a plan for your life too. He promises His constant presence. And He wants to use you to carry out His plan for the salvation of the world. God uses evil for good.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Abraham: Test of Obedience"

“Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love … Sacrifice him there …” Genesis 22:2
   

Whom do you hold dearest in life – a husband or wife, a child, a friend? Imagine being asked by God to give this person up at a moment’s notice as evidence of your loyalty to Him.

That’s precisely what God asked Abraham to do when He spoke to him the words of our text. Yes, Isaac was Abraham’s only son from his marriage to Sarah. For years they had been childless. What a special joy when Isaac was born in their old age! But beyond that, Isaac represented the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that he would have many descendants and be a blessing to the world through the promised Messiah.

Now God tests Abraham to the limit, asking him to take Isaac up on Mount Moriah and offer him on an altar as a human sacrifice. How does God test you? He knows the most vulnerable part of our lives – health, family security, financial stability. Problems in these areas become tests of obedience for us.

How does Abraham respond to God’s test? He obeys without question. With heart pounding, he saddles his donkey, cuts enough wood for the offering, takes his son to the offering location, binds his son, places him on the altar, and raises the knife. What obedience! An obedience based on Abraham’s God-given faith. He had told Isaac, “God Himself will provide the lamb” (Exodus 22:. God did spare Isaac and supplied a ram for the burnt offering. He then reaffirmed His promise to Abraham.

God likewise provides for our needs in the time of testing. He sent His Son Jesus to be the Sacrificial Lamb in our place. He died for our sins so that we might live forever. God gives us faith in His promises so that we might be able to obey Him in the midst of trials.

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"Witnessing Excuses: Moses and You – No. 4"

Moses said to the LORD, “O LORD, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” Exodus 4:10
   

Excuses abound when a challenge seems overwhelming. Moses tried to avoid the challenge of liberating Israel. We try to avoid witnessing. But God persists. We are part of His plan.

Moses tries one more excuse, and God becomes angry with him. He claims that he is a poor speaker, lacking eloquence, slow of speech and tongue.

Before we condemn Moses for a feeble excuse, do we not plead the same deficiency? We often claim that we don’t have the right words or feel awkward. Strangely, we may be able to discuss current events, sports, and the weather at great length. But we freeze when trying to witness about Christ.

God reminds Moses that He is the one who gives us a mouth to speak. He also promises that He will help Moses speak and even teach him what to say. After Moses tries to bow out, God arranges for Aaron to be his spokesman. All excuses exhausted, Moses heads for Egypt to face his greatest challenge. God brings the victory.

The same God comes to us with His promise of help. He will help us speak and teach us what to say. He provides others to go with us and support us. He sent His Son to the cross for us. He has opened our eyes to see the cross and the empty tomb, the baptismal font and the bread and wine. We have seen, heard, tasted, and touched the living Christ. We have something to share with others. All excuses exhausted, we head for our witnessing challenge. God will bring the victory.

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"Witnessing Excuses: Moses and You – No. 3"

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” Exodus 4:1
   

Moses has questioned his own identity and God’s identity. Both excuses failed to relieve Moses of his awesome challenge to free Israel from slavery. God promised to be with Moses and identified Himself as Yahweh, the “I AM” God.

Now Moses presents a third excuse: “What if they do not believe me?” What if God’s powerful words are called in question? What if people are skeptical about my message?

Don’t we raise a similar excuse? We want to witness to our faith, but we fear that others will doubt our message. They may question the Bible or doubt God’s power in today’s world. How can we possibly accept the witnessing challenge?

God answers this excuse not with words but with actions. He asks Moses to throw his staff on the ground. Moses complies and the staff becomes a snake. Recoiling, Moses is asked to pick up the snake by the tail, and it becomes a staff again. Moses is then asked to put his hand inside his cloak. Withdrawing it, he sees that it is leprous, like snow. Repeating the procedure, Moses’ hand is restored. God also tells him about a third sign – taking water from the Nile and turning it to blood (See Exodus 4:1-9). These signs of God will confirm His powerful words as authentic.

God likewise shores up His powerful words for us with actions. God delivered His people from Egypt with signs and wonders, led them through the wilderness to the Promised Land, and at the right time sent His Son as the Word-Made-Flesh to live, die, and rise again for the world. He acts today in the fellowship of His people through Word and sacraments. He changes lives, heals family divisions, restores people to health, and works in wonderful ways among His people. God’s actions confirm His powerful words.

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"Witnessing Excuses: Moses and You – No. 2"

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” Exodus 3:13
   

Moses presents a second excuse which stands in the way of the liberation challenge. He questions God’s identity. He wants to know God’s name. Moses really wants that certainty for himself, so that he can go to Israel and then to Egypt’s leader.

When God presents us with the witnessing challenge, we also raise the question about His identity. We may frame the questions in terms of other people, “What if they ask me about who my God is? What if they ask me theological questions I can’t answer?” But we want that certainty about God’s identity for ourselves.

God answers Moses’ second excuse by telling him, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). He is Yahweh, the eternal, all powerful God who gives life to the world. He will continue to act in the history of His people, bringing them salvation through His Son, the Messiah.

God answers our second excuse with the same clarification: “I am who I am.” We see Him as the covenant God of the Old Testament. We see Him in Jesus Christ, the Word-Made-Flesh, who said: “I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35) … the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25) … the Way, and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).” Crucified and risen, Jesus also said, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). Assured of God’s identity, we have fresh power to witness to His love within our church and out in the world where we live daily.

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"Witnessing Excuses: Moses and You – No. 1"

But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Exodus 3:11
   

What a challenge God gives us when He tells us that we will be His witnesses to the ends of the earth! We have witnessing opportunities among family and friends, neighbors, co-workers, and fellow church members.

What a challenge God gave Moses to free Israel from bondage in Egypt. Alone as a shepherd in the Sinai desert for 40 years, Moses, a fugitive from Egypt, is now asked to return to Pharaoh and free his people.

Moses begins to make excuses because he fears the awesome challenge. When God asks Moses to go to Pharaoh, Moses replies with the words of our text. In effect Moses tells God that he is a nobody. What sounds like humility on the surface turns out to be cowardice. Moses, once a prince of Egypt, reared in Pharaoh’s household, now feels inadequate for the task.

We often ask with Moses, “Who am I that I should witness about my faith in Jesus Christ to others?” We may have a college education and hold a responsible job, but we feel like a nobody when it comes to witnessing.

God answers Moses, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). He was preparing him in the wilderness. He would send the Messiah to save Moses from his sin. He promises to be with Moses constantly. Hence Moses’ first excuse is countered. Because of God, Moses is a somebody, able to go to Pharaoh.

God answers us, “I will be with you.” He made us as special people with gifts and abilities. He sent His Son to be our Savior. He made us His children in our baptism. And He promises to be with us each day. We are somebodies, able to witness to others about our faith in Jesus Christ.

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"The Discipline of Work"

We hear that some among you are idle. 2 Thessalonians 3:11
   

There is a lazy streak in all of us. We glorify Tom Sawyer for cleverly getting his friends to do his fence painting. Our nation founded on the Puritan work ethic, has experienced a breakdown in moral fiber. We watch television for hours at a time and want to be entertained.

Paul writes the Thessalonian believers regarding a similar problem. “We hear that some among you are idle.” They expected the immediate second coming of Christ. Therefore many quit their jobs, sat around idly, became busybodies and gossips. Paul strongly condemns idleness: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

The problem of idleness stands in sharp contrast to God’s purpose of work. Paul urges them “to settle down and earn the bread they eat” (v. 12). Work involves a daily discipline of work. However, in the routine and drudgery of everyday life we often lose sight of God’s purpose for work.

Only God can supply the power for the work in our lives. Paul writes, “We command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to … earn the bread they eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:12). God sent His Son to work for the world. A carpenter’s son, Jesus worked tirelessly to proclaim the kingdom of God, to heal the sick, and to teach the disciples. He endured the suffering of the cross for us. His saving work complete, He offers us free salvation based on faith and not the works of the Law. Free from earning salvation, we can work while it is day to serve Him before the night comes when no man can work (John 9:4). Yes, the discipline of daily work provides the foundation for a life of Gospel service.

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"By the Sweat of Your Brow"

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground.” Genesis 3:19
   

In September Americans pause to observe Labor Day. How does Scripture view work?

God created human beings to work in the Garden of Eden and care for it. Work must have been a joyful blessing. With the fall into sin, work became more of a burden. God tells Adam, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.” Now thorns and thistles would complicate farming. Much sorrow would enter the picture.

Work still represents God’s purpose for people. Much blessing and fulfillment accompanies faithful labor. But, like Adam, we toil by the sweat of our brow because of sin in the world. Work problems multiply. Labor-management strife develops. Unemployment affects many. Some work takes a tremendous physical toll. Other work exacts a serious mental and emotional price. Sometimes we deify work and let it rule our lives with no room for God or people’s needs. Sometimes we devalue work and become lazy sluggards, expecting others to provide for us. Both distortions reveal our sinful rebellion against a loving God.

But in our labor we remember Jesus Christ. He is the One who worked with His hands as a carpenter and called to Himself rugged fishermen and tax collectors. He did the work of Him who sent Him (John 9:4). In prayer His sweat was like drops of blood (Luke 22:44). He completed His saving work on the cross and rose from the dead.

Jesus knows our needs and our labor problems. He promises to be with us. He restores our work to its joyful significance in God’s creation. We continue to toil by the sweat of our brow, but through the sweat we see his face.

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"Metamorphosis"

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
   

Paul urges Christians to offer their bodies as living sacrifices. Negatively, he asks them not to conform to the pattern of this world. The Greek word for “conform” suggests a rigid, assembly-line approach to life in which you look and act like everyone else. How boring, drab, and restricted the life of conformity to the world’s pattern! Positively, Paul admonishes, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The Greek word for “be transformed” suggests an interesting illustration from the world of nature – metamorphosis.

How does the lowly caterpillar become a beautiful butterfly? The caterpillar looks nothing like the adult butterfly. We are helpless to bring about a change in the lowly caterpillar. Someone quipped, “You can’t change a caterpillar into a butterfly by Scotch-taping on wings and sending him to aviation school.” But God has provided a marvelous transforming process to accomplish the metamorphosis. The caterpillar or larva passes through an inactive stage in which body changes take place inside a cocoon. When the cocoon is broken open, out flies the colorful butterfly, totally transformed.

In the same way we are by nature lowly caterpillars. We are only capable of conforming to the world. But God sent His Son to live and die for us. From the cocoon of His grave He emerged on the third day as a colorful butterfly, triumphant over sin and death. God transforms us by a spiritual metamorphosis. He works faith in our hearts through His Word and sacraments. Christ lives in us. We are transformed into beautiful butterflies, free to serve Him with our lives. Through our regular exposure to His Word, God renews our minds. We can shun conformity and are transformed to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Thank God for His metamorphosis!

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"Bodies Offered as Living Sacrifices"

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices. Romans 12:1
   

Today people are encouraged to donate organs of their body at the time of death for use in organ transplants. A heart, a kidney, or a liver can bring new life to a seriously ill person.

Saint Paul in Romans 12 urges the early Christians to offer their bodies as living sacrifices. He is asking them to commit themselves totally – body, mind, and spirit – to the service of Christ, which he calls a “spiritual act of worship.” In many respects a living sacrifice requires much more than a sacrifice of body organs at the time of death. A living sacrifice means daily commitment. Not always or even usually dramatic. Sometimes dull and routine. Time-consuming. Unpopular at times. Often unnoticed. Contrary to human nature. Living sacrifices demand more than we can possibly give on our own power.

That’s why Paul makes this a Gospel appeal: “…in view of God’s mercy.” Paul has described God’s mercy in the 11 glorious chapters of Romans preceding this text. He is “not ashamed of the Gospel” (Romans 1:16). He faces the ugly reality of sin and the Law which condemns the whole human race, but rejoices in God’s free “gift of … eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Jesus presented His body as a living sacrifice in perfect obedience to the Law. He then went to the cross and sacrificed Himself in payment for the world’s sin.

In view of this mercy of God, Paul urges us to offer our bodies – ourselves – as living sacrifices. Forgiven and empowered by the Gospel, we freely and joyfully give ourselves to the Lord. We love, care, give, share, witness, and obey in view of God’s mercy. Falling short, we repent and receive Christ’s forgiveness; then we offer our bodies again as living sacrifices.

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"Prisoners of the Law"

Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law. Galatians 3:23
   

Prisons restrict and confine. The days stretch into endless weeks. Usually activities are regimented and restricted. Oh, to live freely again and make choices!

Paul speaks of a different kind of prison when he writes the words of our text. He knew personally the bondage of living by the Law. As a Pharisee he attempted to live a disciplined life in total obedience to God’s commands, thereby earning God’s favor. After his experience on the Damascus road, he realized that he had been a prisoner of the Law, trying to bear the burden of his sin all alone.

Do you live as a prisoner of the law? Are you filled with rules and expectations which run your life? Do you constantly feel guilty because you are failing to live up to the standards of others? Do you act out of obligation, guilt, and fear of reprisal? Do you end up unhappy with your performance, burdened to try harder, but certain you will fall short? How painful and discouraging to live by the Law! Oh, to live freely again!

Paul discovered the freedom of faith in Jesus Christ. He writes: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27). Christ lived perfectly under the Law and then died on the cross to break its bondage. He now frees from prison all who trust in Him for salvation. Paul now didn’t have to be burdened with the expectations and demands of the Law, because Christ had already carried those burdens.

You, too, can live freely through faith in Jesus Christ. Admitting your inability to keep the Law, you turn to Jesus, who kept it for you. You can now live freely and joyfully.

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"Learning Still?"

Teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. Proverbs 9:9
   

School days. Graduations. Finished at last. You may feel saturated with learning and content just to live a little. However we never stop learning as long as we live. In our rapidly changing society, everyone struggles to keep abreast of constantly growing knowledge. Who would have expected that computers would become so essential to daily life? If learning stops, we can scarcely adapt to modern life.

Unfortunately, we also may think of our knowledge of God and His Word in terms of graduation. We attended Sunday school and perhaps a Christian elementary school. We received confirmation instruction. Now we think we have arrived!

The writer of Proverbs would disagree. Mockers refuse to learn or accept correction. But Proverbs 9:9 tells us, “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” The righteous person, declared righteous by Christ’s death on the cross, rejoices in salvation and never ceases to want more knowledge about God’s love in Christ. Humbly and simply, the wise come to the waters of life again and again for a drink. Not like a cup, which fills with water and can hold no more, but rather like a sponge, which absorbs more and more water, the wise keep learning and sharing with others.

God’ Spirit creates in us the desire to absorb more and more of God’s good news. The more we live for Christ like a sponge emptying, the more we need to learn like a sponge absorbing. Jesus Christ fills our lives with His forgiving love. Yes, as God’s wise and righteous people, we are learning still!

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"Faith That Works"

“Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” Matthew 15:28
   

The Canaanite woman has saving faith in Jesus Christ, so her faith works in her life. With Jesus traveling near Tyre and Sidon, the woman demonstrates her God-given faith by crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Matthew 15:22). And she is an outsider. We often feel that God is not for us, perhaps for pastors and “strong” Christians, but not for us. But this Canaanite woman looks not to her faith but to her God. Faith in Jesus Christ as Savior works because we have a great God.

The woman comes with faith in God to meet a specific need: My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Her faith is severely tested. First silence. “Jesus did not answer a word.” Then ridicule. The disciples urged Jesus, “Send her away for she keeps crying out after us.” Finally discouragement from Jesus. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” And further, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” But the woman, believing that Jesus can heal her daughter, persists. “Lord, help me!” And again, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” The woman’s God-given faith works. Jesus answers, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And the daughter is healed from that very hour. (see Matthew 15:21-28).

Blessed with God’s gift of saving faith, we come to Him with our specific needs – strength in financial crisis, restored health, wisdom in difficult decisions. Our faith is often tested. First silence. No apparent answer from God. Then ridicule. Others mock our faith as they seemingly prosper. Finally discouragement. “Maybe your faith isn’t strong enough.” By God’s grace we persevere. Christ’s death and resurrection brings us forgiveness, life, and salvation. We continue to pray with the woman “Lord, help me!” And He does – in His own way and at His own time, because He has given us freely a faith that works!

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"All?"

God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. Colossians 2:13
   

The mother of a nine-year-old got a call from her son’s teacher. That is normally not a good thing. Preparing herself for the worst, Mom listened as the teacher said, “Today I saw something unusual and I wanted to tell you about it.” That wasn’t much better. The teacher continued, “Early today, during our creative writing class, I gave an assignment. I began by telling Aesop’s story of the ant and the grasshopper. You know the fable: the ant works hard, the grasshopper fiddles away the time. When winter comes, the ant has enough to eat and the grasshopper asks for a handout.

“I asked the children to finish the story. Most of the class wrote, “The ant shared and both lived happily ever after.’ A few had the ant saying, ‘Sorry, Mr. Grasshopper, I only have enough for myself. If I share, we will both starve.’ But your son ended the story in a unique way. His story ended, ‘The ant gave all of his food to the grasshopper and the grasshopper lived happily, but the ant died.’ At the bottom of his assignment, your son drew a cross.” Quite an ending to the story, isn’t it?

It should be the ending to our story, as well. Because of our sin, we, like the grasshopper, are doomed to die. We want to know, “Is there any way we can escape?” Philosophers will say that each of us is on our own. We can learn to live with our sins, deny them, or forget them. That’s no help. Most of the world's religions say, “If you do the best you can, maybe, just maybe, you might be saved.” Sadly, they can’t tell you when you've done enough. That's no help, either.

Only Christianity says that God, in the person of Jesus, came down and took your place. Only Christianity speaks of a Savior who endured hunger so we would be filled, went without an earthly home so we might have a heavenly home, suffered so we could be saved, and died so we might live. Jesus took our place. Only Christianity has the story end with us having our sins forgiven. Only Christianity promises that, with faith in the crucified and resurrected living Savior, you will live happily ever after. Only Christianity guarantees a happy ending!

[def]

"All?"

God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. Colossians 2:13
   

The mother of a nine-year-old got a call from her son’s teacher. That is normally not a good thing. Preparing herself for the worst, Mom listened as the teacher said, “Today I saw something unusual and I wanted to tell you about it.” That wasn’t much better. The teacher continued, “Early today, during our creative writing class, I gave an assignment. I began by telling Aesop’s story of the ant and the grasshopper. You know the fable: the ant works hard, the grasshopper fiddles away the time. When winter comes, the ant has enough to eat and the grasshopper asks for a handout.

“I asked the children to finish the story. Most of the class wrote, “The ant shared and both lived happily ever after.’ A few had the ant saying, ‘Sorry, Mr. Grasshopper, I only have enough for myself. If I share, we will both starve.’ But your son ended the story in a unique way. His story ended, ‘The ant gave all of his food to the grasshopper and the grasshopper lived happily, but the ant died.’ At the bottom of his assignment, your son drew a cross.” Quite an ending to the story, isn’t it?

It should be the ending to our story, as well. Because of our sin, we, like the grasshopper, are doomed to die. We want to know, “Is there any way we can escape?” Philosophers will say that each of us is on our own. We can learn to live with our sins, deny them, or forget them. That’s no help. Most of the world's religions say, “If you do the best you can, maybe, just maybe, you might be saved.” Sadly, they can’t tell you when you've done enough. That's no help, either.

Only Christianity says that God, in the person of Jesus, came down and took your place. Only Christianity speaks of a Savior who endured hunger so we would be filled, went without an earthly home so we might have a heavenly home, suffered so we could be saved, and died so we might live. Jesus took our place. Only Christianity has the story end with us having our sins forgiven. Only Christianity promises that, with faith in the crucified and resurrected living Savior, you will live happily ever after. Only Christianity guarantees a happy ending!

hello pastor Rogers ,Amen again..