Day by Day

[Soldier4Christ]

"Obstacles"

“I will turn all My mountains into roads, and My highways will be raised up.” Isaiah 49:11
   

Obstacles in the way everywhere – mountains of bills, family problems and challenges, pressures and demands at work, struggles with personal identity and purpose. We confidently start out toward our goals. An obstacle looms large in front of us. We fight our way over, around, or through it and continue on with less energy. Another obstacle appears. We scratch and claw our way through to the other side, this time with less enthusiasm. Plodding on, we reach a third obstacle and sit down, exhausted and discouraged. How can we keep on going?

Judah faced similar obstacles because of powerful surrounding nations and her own rebellion against God. She tried to face the obstacles all alone through alliances and military might. Ultimately, Judah and Jerusalem were destroyed and the nation herded into exile.

Isaiah writes to people like us, overwhelmed by obstacles and deeply conscious of sin and helplessness. But God reassures us by handling the obstacles and turning them into roads. He prepared the way by sending His own dear Son. Jesus walked straight toward His goal of a cross outside Jerusalem. Obstacles loomed ahead everywhere – crowds who sought to make Him king, disciples who failed to understand His purpose, enemies around every bend in the road, But He persisted. God turned the greatest obstacle of all, the cross, into the road to eternal life. In death Jesus brought life to the world through the forgiveness of sins.

The risen Christ goes before us as we face innumerable obstacles in life. Sometimes we circumvent them, and sometimes we plow through them. But always the forgiving Christ provides the way, the strength, and the support to move on toward the goal of eternal life.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Failure"

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26
   

In our success-oriented society no word conjures up more dread than the word “failure.” Students fear to take home a report card with an F. Aspiring athletes hang their heads when cut from a team. Unfortunately, high achievers condemn themselves as failures when falling short of the first prize or the highest office or the million dollar bonus. Failures abound, with divorces, bankruptcies, prison terms, unemployment, and alcoholism. In short, every one of us lives with the reality of failure, either real or imagined.

The psalmist has been struggling with failure because he looks enviously at the prosperity of the wicked. He sees them with healthy and strong bodies, free from human burdens, and fabulously wealthy. He bemoans his own struggles and ill-treatment by these wicked people. Then he realizes his own foolishness and stupidity. He has failed to see God’s love for him.

Failures? Not in God’s eyes. He created us in His image. Despite the failure of our sinful rebellion, God sent His own Son into the world. Living faithfully in love, obedience, and service, Jesus was rated a failure in the eyes of the world. His crucifixion appeared to signal a final humiliating defeat. But in that sin-atoning act, Jesus won the victory. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection for us, God accepts us as His special people, headed for eternal life in heaven. Yes, God is the Strength of our hearts and our Portion forever. Failures no more.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Pain"

O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony. Psalm 6:2
   

The pain strikes suddenly and sharply. The lower back aches. The pain spreads up the spine. Movement increases the discomfort. Lying down helps, but even sleep becomes difficult. Day after day the pain continues. No relief in sight. Why is this happening? Who can help? We often live with pain – if not in the back, then the head or the chest or the stomach. When pain leaves, we often forget, but when chronic symptoms persist, we quickly wilt and lie helpless.

The psalmist struggles under affliction and cries out, “O LORD, heal me!” He adds, “I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears” (Psalm 6:6). No easy, pat answers for the problem of pain. No help from philosophical answers about the inevitability of pain or the beneficial results of maturing through pain. Like the psalmist, we turn to God in our despair. We ask for healing, for relief, for strength. God understands and can help. Later the psalmist exclaims, “The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer” (Psalm 6:9).

But most of all, we focus on God’s Son, who took on flesh and therefore experienced pain for us. He hurt when roughly handled and scourged. The nails through His hands and feet sent pain stabbing though His nervous system. And the hours of tortured breathing on the cross took their toll. In the process He conquered sin and death. Pain continues now, but God heals, soothes, and strengthens. Risen and ascended. Jesus will come again to take us to eternal life with Him, where there will be no more pain. He stands with us.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Oaks of Righteousness"

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor. Isaiah 61:3
   

Few people stand tall today against the evils of our age. People talk resolutely but soon bend like a willow in the wind when compromise seems the better course. When forests covered the land in America, sturdy leaders pioneered the way for a fledgling nation. Now strong leaders seem harder to find.

Isaiah in a time of disobedience and compromise points ahead to the Messiah who will one day step into the synagogue at Nazareth and apply these words of Isaiah 61 to Himself as Savior. Isaiah prophesies the results of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for believers: “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.” Oaks of righteousness – sturdy, unbending, enduring, solid, towering oaks.

God makes us “oaks of righteousness," beginning in our baptism. Our weakness and compromise forgiven in the blood of Christ, we stand tall with His strength. As a planting of the Lord, we display His splendor, witness to His love, and speak out for Him against evil in its many forms. When the storms come and the winds blow, we can by God’s grace stand tall and firm in His strength, so that others can find their strength in us, to the glory of His name.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Memories"

“Do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22
   

A popular song of recent years bears the title “Memories.” America seems caught in a wave of nostalgia in which “the good old days” are remembered as bright and untarnished. Antique cars, painted milk cans, barn wood, old movies, and baseball trading cards attract keen interest and stir memories in our mind. But nostalgia and history sometimes come into conflict. History records the problems and pain, the failures and disasters, as well as the successes and blessings.

The psalmist covers both kinds of memories when he asks God, “Remember, O LORD, Your great mercy and love, for they are from of old” and then adds, “Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways” (Psalm 25:6-7). He recognizes that because of sin our past record needs to be forgotten. Repentant, he depends on God to remember His steadfast love and forget those sins. God sent His Son to pay for them so that He could say, “I will … remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

In our text we hear Jesus in the upper room instituting the supper of His body and blood. He says to the disciples and to us, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” We remember Him regularly as we go to the Sacrament. What a great focus for our memeories – regular worship in God’s house, hearing His unchanging Word and receiving His body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins!

[Soldier4Christ]

"An Unlikely Champion"

With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. Psalm 18:29
   

David describes facing an enemy with super strength. He felt overwhelmed by the challenge. One could think either of David’s encounter with Goliath or later with Saul, who marshaled all his official troop strength against a fleeing David with a raging band of followers. But David had a secret weapon which he mentions in our text – God’s help. With God’s strength behind him, David knew he could win the victory. Ultimately this unlikely champion was crowned king of Israel.

How often we feel like underdogs. The opponents look tall and strong. The troops lined up against us are hardened fighting men with superior equipment. In front of us looms a huge wall blocking our road. We lack money, degrees, intelligence, physical ability, or the courage to speak the right words. We want to witness to our faith, demonstrate love to others, work for the Kingdom, but we feel overwhelmed by the challenges.

Then we remember that God sent His Son Jesus to face the old evil foe. He appeared to be the underdog. Born in a manger, growing up in the obscure provincial town of Nazareth, sentenced to an ignominious death on the cross, Jesus nevertheless emerged the victor. He conquered Satan, death, and the world’s sin by His death and resurrection. The underdog was crowned King of kings and Lord of lords.

He lives in us by virtue of our baptism. He forgives us our doubts, builds up our faltering confidence, shows us the way, and goes with us into battle. We can advance against the troop and scale the insurmountable wall. By His grace, we too are crowned as champions – unlikely champions – in His service.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Fireworks or Handiwork?"

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1
   

Fireworks go hand in hand with the fourth of July. Large fireworks displays bring people flocking to parks, city squares, and drive-in theaters. Gigantic firework shows fill the sky in large cities and at major theme parks. Sitting and watching an unfolding fireworks show from a blanket, lawn chair, or bleacher with thousands of spectators elicits aw-inspired oohs and aahs of appreciation as one burst of rockets follows another – towering Roman candles, multiple explosions of many-colored starbursts, pinwheels, and trailing comet tails, Everything breaks loose in a spectacular finale, with the sky full of reds, greens, blues, and golds. But the spectacle is short-lived, and life goes on as usual.

Our text and our Bible reading speak of something far more spectacular and enduring than the most dazzling fireworks – the handiwork of God. The heavens and all of creation provide a permanent display of the power and love of Almighty God – the sun traveling across the sky daily, the moon and the stars, the clouds as God’s chariot, the winds as His messengers, springs pouring water into ravines, birds nesting by the waters and singing among the branches of well-watered trees.

We stand in awe of God’s spectacular display – the mountains, the plains, the rivers, the oceans, the sky with its infinite stars, and the seashore with unlimited grains of sand. We look with new eyes of wonder. Instead of taking this world for granted and thinking only of ourselves, we realize that God’s handiwork surpasses everything made by human hands. We praise the God who not only created the world but sent His own Son to die on the cross and to bring about a new creation of forgiven humanity.

[Soldier4Christ]

"A Beacon in the Harbor"

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. Proverbs 14:34
   

Some years ago our nation celebrated the centennial of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. A gift of France and the brilliant work of sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the Lady symbolizes basic American values of liberty and an opportunity for immigrants from many lands. Even as ordinary citizens in the United States and France had contributed their pennies, nickels, and dimes in the 1880s to make the Statue of Liberty a reality, so in the 1980s many across America contributed to refurbish and repair the statue. The festivities of Liberty Weekend in 1986 properly crowned this renewal project and reaffirmed the American dream of liberty for all. The Lady continues as a beacon in the harbor for all to see.

Our text speaks of national righteousness and sin. Certainly God has blessed America and we have much we can be happy about. Nevertheless, America also reveals a record of sin. Selfishness, greed, prejudice, manipulation, corruption, and lovelessness have reared their heads in politics, business, labor, and even in the church. We need to search our hearts and confess our sins as American citizens. Like the Lady in need of repairs, our values have been tarnished and our ideals corroded.

But righteousness is ultimately God’s doing, not ours. Despite our sin, He declared the world righteous, based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who fully paid for our sins. By His Spirit God makes us righteous through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and we are empowered to live righteously as citizens of our land.

When we see the Lady, renewed and shining in the sun, we are reminded to let God cleanse us of our sins and renew us to live righteously for Him and for our fellow citizens. God bless America!

[Soldier4Christ]

"America: Lost and Found"

“Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” Luke 15:6
   

The well-known parable about the lost sheep provides a different perspective on our country as we prepare to celebrate Independence Day. Where does America stand today?

Like the Pharisees and teachers of the law in the Bible, we often think we have arrived. We fancy our supremacy in the world and our high standard of living. We may even look down upon less fortunate peoples of the world. The Pharisees murmured that Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners.

In reality America is lost whenever we attempt to succeed on our own power. We have chinks in our armor. We no longer control everything in world affairs. Other nations sometimes outstrip us in industrial productivity. We struggle with moral corruption and the breakdown of our families. Personally we fall short of God’s glory. We often live selfishly instead of serving God. The Pharisees were lost but refused to admit their condition. Could we be more like the lost sheep than the ninety-nine?

But God wants to find America. The Shepherd goes out of His way to seek us. He finds us confused and lost, bruised and bleeding, tired and forlorn. He takes us in His arms and brings us home. He has given His life for the sheep. America is found. God restores us to our heritage as a nation under Him. He forgives our arrogance and helps us share our bounty. He turns the Christians of America from self to His love. Once lost and now found, we rejoice in finding the lost. God bless America!

Where does America stand? Wrong question. We kneel before God in confession and let God find us in Jesus Christ.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Unity and Power"

“All the believers were one in heart and mind.” Acts 4:32
   

Peru, Indiana, annually hosts an amateur circus of dazzling proportions. Formerly the winter home of a major professional circus, Peru involves the youth of the community to produce “the greatest amateur show on earth.” High wire and trapeze acts, jugglers, tumblers, clowns, and a circus band delight audiences from far and wide. Townspeople work closely together with the youthful performers for at least four months of the year to make this July event possible. What unity of heart and mind displayed by this circus community!

How much greater the unity and power of the early believing community in Jerusalem, as stated in our text! Persecuted by the religious leaders in Jerusalem, these believers nevertheless stood firm in the confession of their faith and cared deeply for one another. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The believers shared their possessions with one another. Only the Spirit of God, by His grace, created this unity and this witnessing power.

God established the early Christian church, and He also sustains us. As we devote ourselves “to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42), God assures us of our salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and empowers us to live in harmony and work together as witnesses of His love.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Moving"

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Hebrews 11:8
   

Oh, the headaches of moving to a new home! A house to sell. Endless house showings, with a scurry each time to make the home presentable. Moving arrangements, complete with sorting, garage sales, packing, and leaving. A house to purchase in the new community. Thousands of little details concerning utilities, doctors, services, church and school choices, and adjustment to a new job. Not to mention the emotional turmoil of leaving good friends and reestablishing roots! And yet God leads us into new situations as part of His plan for our lives.

God similarly came to Abraham with a call to leave his homeland and travel long miles to a promised land. God was establishing special people who would carry out His promises for the world. Out of that special nation would come the Messiah, the Savior of the world.

No doubt Abraham must have faced major obstacles and the wrenching experience of leaving his homeland. Nevertheless, the writer to the Hebrews tells us, “By faith Abraham … obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” He lived in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, and “was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).

We gain a new perspective on moving. God calls us to live for Him in a new land. By faith we obey. His promise, fulfilled in Christ’s death and resurrection, stands sure for us. We live as pilgrims in this world and will someday experience the joys of living in the heavenly “city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

[Soldier4Christ]

"Loving God With Your Insides"

‘…And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mark 12:30
   

Kristjanmob, believe the Biabulbuk.

The above sentence is not a misspelling or a mistyping. It is a series of words whose main components are Kriol, also known as Pidgin English. Kriol is the language spoken by the half-million Aborigines in the north of Australia. If you want a translation of the idea, it would simply say: Christians believe the Bible.

The reason I share this sentence is because after more than 30 years, and with the input of more than 100 linguists, the Bible has been translated into a language that those precious aboriginal people of the Lord can read. Praise God.

Translation coordinator Margaret Mickran says the project was not without its difficulties. While the words of the aborigines can often sound very much like English, they can often have meanings that are quite different. As an example of the problems encountered, Ms. Mickran referred to the passage that is our text theme for this devotion. While we say ‘love the Lord with all your heart’, one of the large aboriginal groups is better able to understand the concept if it is translated as, ‘Love the Lord with all your insides.’

While the freedom with the original languages may actually make the translation more of a paraphrase, I am, nevertheless, most grateful to the Lord for granting the visionaries of the project a spirit of patience and deep commitment.

Imagine what it will be like for those native peoples to hear, for the very first time in their own language, the story of Adam and Eve’s rebellion. How wondrous will be the story of the Savior’s birth! Will not hearts be moved to sorrow as they are told of the Savior’s sacrifice, His suffering, and His death for sinners? How great will be their rejoicing to hear, in their very own language, the glorious resurrection words of the angel, “He is not here, He is risen, as He said.” I can’t imagine what they will think.

Well, maybe I can. Maybe they, like each of us who have been redeemed by the Savior, will think, “Such a gracious God should be loved with all of our insides.”

[Soldier4Christ]

"Heat and Humidity"

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
   

In many parts of the country, summer brings sweltering heat and high humidity. One walks out of an air-conditioned building and faces a blast furnace of hot, humid air. Soon the sweat begins to pour out. We hurry to complete our business so we can again seek air-conditioned shelter. Heat and humidity create an environment that controls our life.

Christians face the “heat and humidity” of a hostile world. Our Lord repeatedly warned His disciples to expect persecution. Saint Peter speaks of a “fiery trial” the early Christians could expect. We too face a culture that causes us as much trouble as heat and humidity. But within the fellowship of God’s people we gather around Word and sacrament, experiencing God’s cool refreshment before we walk out into the hostile world. As Jesus tells His disciples in John’s gospel, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

When faced with the blast furnace of temptation and ridicule, we begin to sweat. But Jesus, who resolutely faced the world’s hatred and went to the cross in payment for our sins, offers us strength to face the world’s heat and humidity. He has overcome. We can live boldly in the midst of the world’s anti-Christian culture as He continues to refresh us in the air-conditioning of worship with God’s people.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Disneyland"

Dear Friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 1 Peter 4:12
   

When Walt Disney opened his theme park in Anaheim, a new era began in American entertainment. People flocked to the fantasy world of Mickey Mouse and the other Disney characters. Similar parks have sprung up in Florida and in various countries of the world. Disneyland offers wholesome fun for children and grownups alike. But unfortunately we sometimes expect that real life will feature a Disneyland-type experience, with no major problems and constant pleasure.

Saint Peter tells a quite different story to the persecuted Christians in Asia Minor. He writes, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” He goes on to suggest that they are participating in the sufferings of Christ. Living a clear Christian witness will bring insults and persecution at times. Peter tells them that they can praise God though they’re suffering.

Christ has suffered and died for us to make us His own dear children. He indeed promises us joy and an abundant life as Christians. But we may end up suffering for our faith in Christ. The Christian life is not a spiritual Disneyland, but an opportunity to praise God as we bear His name, no matter what the cost. He strengthens us in and through suffering and promises us eternal glory in heaven.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Anniversary Thoughts: Children"

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” Genesis 1:28
   

While my wife and I prepare to eat out for our anniversary, she is serving spaghetti to our three teenagers. It seems like just yesterday that they were infants. Who can forget the first shaky steps, the first children’s Christmas service, the first day on the school bus? How many Halloween parties, Little League baseball games, school programs, and gymnastic meets have we attended over the years?

Oh, the joys of a family! Yes, God made Adam and Eve one flesh and so provided intimate companionship. But to many couples God also gives the gift of children. Children bring added responsibility, more than a few headaches, and an emptier pocketbook, but they also bring warmth, love, and joy.

Childbearing implies child-rearing. Parenting is an awesome task. No room for absentee parents. No room for permissiveness. No room for child abuse. Much need for time with the children, both quality and quantity. Much need for patience and a listening ear. Much need for firm discipline and Christian values. Much need for modeling worship, caring, and sharing.

I know that we have fallen short as parents in many ways over the years. We confess our sins as parents even as we commend our three to God’s protective care. But we also recognize God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ and His gentle guiding of us in the parenting task. He lifts us up when we are discouraged, refreshes us with His good news, and shows us our children’s potential.