Day by Day

[Soldier4Christ]

"Jesus, Our King"

Endow the king with Your justice, O God, the royal son with Your righteousness. He will judge Your people in righteousness, Your afflicted ones with justice. Psalm 72:1-2
   

We might think that King Solomon, the author of this psalm, is referring to himself in this verse. He is, after all, the first king of Israel who is a “royal son.” He asked God for wisdom to judge the people in righteousness and was granted that wisdom by God. But the psalm goes on to talk about the king’s reign enduring “through all generations,” and we are led to ask, “Did Solomon really think he would live forever?” No, he was wiser than that.

Solomon knew he wasn’t the true King of Israel. Yes, he sat on the throne and everyone called him king, but the real King of Israel was God Himself. At his best, Solomon was only a pale imitation of the true King, and still his reputation spread to distant lands. Yet Solomon knew that one day one of his descendants would truly be endowed with God’s justice and righteousness, not because He was Solomon’s son, but because He was God’s Son.

This psalm ultimately points to the coming of Jesus who sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, with “all authority in heaven and on earth.” Christ Jesus rules in righteousness and judges according to His great mercy so that all who believe in Him will live under Him in His kingdom in everlasting blessedness.

[Soldier4Christ]

"A Light in the Darkness"

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.John 1:5
   

As presented on *The Lutheran Hour® by the Rev. Kenneth R. Klaus, 2003

Nine-year-old Brent was in second grade when most children his age were fourth graders. He was big for his years, a clumsy fellow, and learning was always a struggle. But Brent was also a gentle boy, well liked by his classmates. In the annual Sunday school Christmas service he was cast as the innkeeper, perhaps because his size would lend believability to the role when he had to refuse a room to Mary, Joseph, and the soon-to-come baby Jesus.

On the night of the service Brent was ready when Joseph knocked on the painted cardboard door of the makeshift inn. He flung the door open and asked menacingly, “What do you want?” “We seek lodging,” Joseph replied.

“Seek it elsewhere,” Brent said in a firm, deep voice. “There’s no room in the inn.” “Please, good innkeeper,” Joseph pleaded, “my wife, Mary, is with child and is very tired. She needs a place to rest.” There was a long pause as Brent looked down at Mary. The teacher whispered Brent’s next line: “No! Be gone!” but he remained silent. Mary and Joseph turned and began to slowly move into the darkness. Seeing this, Brent’s face creased with concern. Then he called out, “Don’t go! You can have my room.”

Brent is a human example of what God has done for us. After the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the Lord saw humanity wandering off in to the darkness of damnation. In His mercy, he let us in through His Son.

[Soldier4Christ]

"The Bethlehem Baby"

Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "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. Do you believe this?" John 11:24-26

King Herod was terrified of the baby Jesus and tried desperately to have him killed. But Herod isn’t the only powerful person who has been disturbed by the Bethlehem Baby. The Russian Bolsheviks, the Nazis, the People’s Republic of China, and North Korea have all persecuted people for their faith in the Baby. Some Islamic and Buddhist nations forbid public worship of the Bethlehem Baby.

What can possibly be so frightening about a baby that would make world powers tremble in terror? Simply this: the Bethlehem Baby didn’t stay a baby. He grew up and began doing miraculous things. He grew up and explained whom He was and why He had come. As John tells it in today’s Scripture reading, Jesus claimed, “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.”

No human being can make such claims for himself. Only the Son of God could truthfully say such claims. And the Son of God is who Jesus claims to be.

If these words are true, the other religions and rulers of the world need to be afraid. If they are true, then our allegiance must first and always be to our heaven-sent King. If these words of Jesus are true, all other religions must be fake and filled with falsehood. Paraphrasing Jesus, I ask, “Do you believe this?”

[Soldier4Christ]

"Living Advertisements"

And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark 1:4

For the past 75 years, Lutheran Hour Ministries has been “advertising” Jesus. Now, I know some folks might object to the word “advertise” in that line. It seems so base and commercial. But the word “advertise” originally meant, “to turn toward.” So, in its purest form, we are turning people toward Jesus. That’s something we, and the rest of God’s people, are not afraid to do.

At Christmas time, we remembered our Savior’s birth. Sent by the Father on a mission of divine grace, He was born so we might never die. Armed with the knowledge of His resurrection and victory, we proudly tell all who are still condemned and cursed that there is hope. Empowered by Christ’s command and motivated by our own grateful hearts, we become living advertisements, which say, “In Jesus there is life.”

By God’s grace, we can be like the college student, a recent convert, who tried to be a living advertisement and make a defense of Jesus before his mocking professor. Not being accustomed to speaking, he hemmed and hawed. At this, the professor cuttingly commented, “Young man, is that the best you can do? You ought to be ashamed of yourself, looking and talking like that.”

“Well,” the young man replied, “I am ashamed of myself, but I am not ashamed of Christ.” Like this college student, we can turn others toward Jesus. Urge them, “look to Jesus who lived His entire life for you. Look to Jesus who died for you.” It is the message proclaimed by every Christian who knows the Lamb of God has saved him.

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"A Dark Beginning"

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Matthew 2:16

As we begin this New Year, we do so with a multitude of different perspectives. Some see this week as a time of renewal, reflection, and resolution. Others see the days after the heady sights and sounds of Christmas as being a return to the same old worries. We want to know: “Will this year be a time of bright hope or dark beginnings?”

Those who look for advice in today’s reading from Matthew hear that King Herod gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under. We just celebrated the birth of the baby Jesus. That was wonderful! This week we read this discordant and dissonant story of conniving, murderous Herod. He calls our attention to that which is evil, malicious, immoral, and malevolent.

Why does God include Herod’s story in His Word? Because God is honest. Search the Scriptures and you will see us humans shown as we are. In Scripture you will see rapists and idolaters, adulterers and murderers march through the pages and the centuries. The massacre of Herod’s soldiers does not stand out because his deed is so much darker than that of anyone else. It stands out because its evil is silhouetted against the brightness and holiness of the Savior’s birth. It reminds us to see the baby Jesus for who He really is: the Savior who has come to rescue us.

Let me assure you, as you enter a new year, Jesus Christ, the Baby of Bethlehem, can give you lasting, spiritual peace.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Good Lord, Deliver Us"

The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Revelation 12:9

Hundreds of years ago, when European explorers set out across the sea, they may well have prayed “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night. Good Lord, deliver us!” With maps based on guesswork, the unknown was a constant terror. Would they sail to the end of the earth and fall into a bottomless abyss? When these explorers returned, mapmakers pored over the ships’ logs and began to fill in the great unknowns across the sea. But there were still expanses of ocean that had not been seen, where much was still unknown. In such places the mapmakers wrote: “Here there might be dragons.” Knowing little, they imagined the worst.

All of your dragons have been slain, haven’t they? There is no unknown, unexplored spot in your life where you could scrawl, “here there might be dragons.” Or is there? Have you heard the doctor say the words cancer, AIDS, terminal, or “it doesn’t look good”? Are you worried about the health of your child? Has the joy of marriage become a drudge? Whatever it may be, the unknown says, “Here are your dragons.”

Only trust in God can release us from the fear of the dragons. Only Jesus can slay Satan. Jesus, who conquered the dragon of sin by living a perfect life; Jesus, who conquered the dragon of the devil by resisting every temptation to evil. Jesus, who conquered the dragon of death by His physical resurrection on the third day. Your dragons in the New Year have been slain, if you believe in this Savior.

[Soldier4Christ]

"A New Year … A New Beginning"

So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. Genesis 6:7-8

Recent natural disasters across the country—Hurricane Andrew, heavy flooding in the Midwest—bring to mind the days of Noah and the great flood. As Genesis 6 tells it, society had become so sinful that God decided to send a disastrous flood. But before sending the flood, God wanted the people to turn from the old ways and make a new beginning with Him. He didn't really want to destroy the people. He wanted to save them.

Noah and his family, just like everyone else, would have been wiped out, had they not accepted God's invitation to safety. God told Noah to build an ark, and Noah did. And then he offered the ark’s safety to others. But that old world was too busy with day-to-day pursuits to be concerned about his offer.

When the wind and water came, the door of the ark was closed and all perished, except Noah and his family. When the wind and the waters came from Hurricane Andrew and the Midwestern floods, the hearts of church people were open because God hasn't shut the door yet on this generation. When you enter the fellowship of the church, you'll learn about an eternal safety. The reason the fellowship of the church is such a safe place is because of the head of the church, Jesus Christ. He is the One-Who-Is, the One-Who-Was, and the One-Who-Will-Be. That is why Christ's church is the safest place to ride out every storm of your life.

[Soldier4Christ]

"By Me"

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

“No one comes to the Father except by Me,” Jesus said. “By Me” isn't Dale Meyer or any other minister. We try, on this program, to bring Christ to the nations, and we pray that God grant a great blessing to our efforts. That being so, this program is not the way to heaven.

“Me” is not the church. The church is God's appointed place where the Gospel of faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed. That makes the church necessary as we journey toward heaven. Even so, “by Me” does not refer to the church, but rather to the Lord of the church.

“Me” is not you and your strivings. What are you striving for? Is it better health? May you have it, but that won't bring you to heaven. Is it a better financial footing in this new year? May you achieve it, but that won't bring you to the Father. Is it improved family life? That's a great New Year's resolution to work and pray for, but even improved family life does not bring you to the Father.

“By Me” means Jesus, no one and nothing else. His death on the cross has forgiven your sins. His resurrection on Easter morning has assured you of eternal life. His Holy Spirit works through the Gospel to draw you to joys you can't imagine.

Jesus truly is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Resolved: More Obedience"

"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter 2:22-25

The Law and the Gospel are the two great teachings of God's Word. In the Law, best known by the Ten Commandments, God commands the good that He wants us to do, say, and think. "Be holy," He says, "because I the LORD, your God, am holy" (Leviticus 19:2). Cross over the line of holiness, break the commandments and what does God do? He condemns and promises to punish us. There is only one who has met the demands of holiness, only one who has fulfilled God's commandments. That's Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God.

The truth of the Law is that you and I have been disobedient. The truth of the Gospel is that through Jesus Christ, God has forgiven us, cleansed us, and purified us. God has made us to be holy in His sight. Today’s reading from 1 Peter says, "Christ never committed any sin ... Christ carried our sins in His body on the cross, so that freed from our sins, we could live a life that has God's approval. His wounds have healed you. You were like lost sheep. Now you have come back to the Shepherd and Bishop of your lives."

We who are Christians should never assume that we're such good spiritual drivers that we don't have to pay attention to the Law and the Gospel. Faith in the Gospel has put us (put us, past tense) on the way to heaven. That's why 1 Peter 1:22 uses the past tense. "You have purified yourselves by obeying the truth."

[Soldier4Christ]

"Resolved: More Police"

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:3-4

Peter calls heavenly rest an inheritance. Inheritances have to be earned all right, but they're never earned by the person who inherits them. Someone else goes before, someone else pays the price, someone else makes all the necessary arrangements, someone else does it all so that the heir can have a great gift. What a privileged person it is who receives freely what another has earned.

So let's not blow it! How foolish to squander such an inheritance, as the prodigal son wasted his. How tragic that Christ should suffer for us and then we become complacent about our spiritual lives. "So we must make every effort to enter that place of rest," says Hebrews 4:11. That means that we future-looking, heaven-bound Christians will be accountable for our present lives. We will police ourselves here, lest we fail to come to that perfect society where purity has replaced armed police forces.

Do we need more armed police on the streets to catch the speeders, the crooks, and all the others who disregard the law? Or do we need more people who are self-disciplined, who are concerned about doing right whether someone is there to catch them or not? .

In church jargon, I'm talking here about repentance. Repentance means confessing our sins and believing in Jesus for complete forgiveness. We police our thoughts, our words, and our actions so that we remain aware of our present weaknesses and yearn for that gift of purity and perfection in heaven.

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"Resolved: More Sacrifice"

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:7-8

Because Christ’s sacrifice put us on the way to heaven, sacrificial works should characterize our journey as we move ever closer to seeing Jesus face to face. Sacrifice means work and work isn’t always a pleasant prospect. Do you welcome interruptions with a smile or do you grumble about people imposing on your time? Are you inclined to see your life as your business and no one else’s, or do you see your life as a gift from God for which He will expect an accounting at the end of your journey? Sacrificing your own desires in order to serve others is work, but it’s work you’ll choose because Christ the Lamb of God sacrificed Himself for you.

Conservative commentator Cal Thomas says, “If Christians will begin living what they claim to believe—loving their enemies, praying for those who persecute them, becoming a friend to ‘sinners’ (even pro-choicers)—a new kind of power would be unleashed on the land. It might produce something called ‘revival,’ which would create the social conditions Christians now say they want.”

What Thomas is laying before you is sacrificial work that will benefit this society. We Christians are going to heaven, which is called eternal rest. But what does it mean to rest if you haven’t been working? When we get to the end of our journey, Christ will greet us and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But the sequence is to work, to do well now during our earthly journey, and then to receive the accolades and rest when we enter heaven.

[Soldier4Christ]

"The Return"

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

In the next days, many people are going to return Christmas presents. Are you going to return the gifts that God has given to you?

Oh, God has given you gifts far greater than any presents you received yesterday. Saint Paul lists some of God’s gifts in Galatians 5:22-23: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Think about these gifts. Why would you want to return them?

These are gifts for your heart and life. These are gifts that won’t wear out with use, but instead will grow stronger with time. God’s gifts will not depreciate in the eyes of others but will appreciate as your friends and family see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. These are needed and welcome gifts. Maybe today or tomorrow you’re going to return that ugly shirt or the coffee maker you don’t need. But these gifts of God are needed in your daily life and so they should be kept and used.

When the holidays are over and you return to your normal routine of life, the world will not have changed. The problems are still out there. You may be unappreciated or even despised. No, in this new week and New Year, the world will be the same old troublesome place, but you will have been changed. The Word of the Savior, the word of forgiveness, the word of life, has penetrated your heart and enables you to glorify and praise God.

[Soldier4Christ]

"A Fairy Tale Christmas"

Luke 2:1-20

Is your heart empty this Christmas? When you were young, fairy tales seemed very real. To you there really was a Cinderella and she had a real castle—and you thought of yourself as a prince or a princess. Maybe you received the Christmas story as a real story, too. In your childhood there really was a Mary and Joseph. There really were shepherds and wise men. And there really was a baby Jesus.

But as you grew older, Jesus may have gone the way of Cinderella in your life. His birth became a fairy tale, and new realities captured your attention and occupied your energies. You have pursued your career, family, love, personal fulfillment, happiness, and perhaps you have achieved your goals. Perhaps you now have earthly glory, or at least some of the things you once coveted. But have you paid a price? Surrounded by the splendors, is your heart empty?

Don’t let the coming of Christ be a fairy tale this Christmas. Even if you have disregarded it in the past, even if Christmas has been only an opportunity for quality family time, let Christmas now impact your daily life as it never has before. Come to Bethlehem and see real life, no fairy tale. Come with me now, not as a tourist but as a suppliant along with the shepherds. Come with your heart that has so often been broken, that is so often empty, a heart that is learning that the world’s glories are vanity. “Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing.”

[Soldier4Christ]

"Rejoice This Christmas"

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. Isaiah 55:2-3

Two years ago the National Retailer's Federation conducted a national survey to determine the amount of money the average family spends for Christmas gifts. At that time, the average spent was nearly $1,000 for every household. The amount spent this year has probably topped or even surpassed the $1,000 per family amount! This same Retailer's Federation said that much of the spending will be “reasonable” and “rational.” But they added that for a growing number of families “the holidays will be a treacherous time, a time to get deeper and deeper into debt.”

What an irony! Historically, Christmas has been a time for Christians to celebrate! They rejoice that God in His grace has given unto all people of every nation: salvation in Christ as a free gift. But now this season of the free gift has been turned into a time for financial bondage.

Now, there is certainly nothing wrong with exchanging gifts at Christmas. But when we try to meet people's deepest emotional needs through lavish gifts, then we need to recall the warning word from the prophet Isaiah: “Why do you spend … your wages for what does not satisfy?” Instead, speaking for the Lord, the prophet then says: “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen,” says the Lord, “that you may live!” Hear the message of the angels this Christmas: “There is born for you today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!” (Luke 2:11).

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"Great Expectations"

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Micah 5:2

Now, imagine for a moment if all credit card companies were to announce on nationwide television that on Christmas Eve they would forgive the financial debts of all people who have charged on their credit cards. With the extremely heavy credit card debt in our present population, you can be sure that there would be great celebration as a result of this "across-the-board financial forgiveness."

There is also another debt that is hanging heavily over the homes of many in our nation. This is the debt of guilt over failed marriages and the debt of responsibility of deep divisions between parents and children. If these sin-debts are now dividing you and your family, then let God's Christmas announcement of the forgiveness of this debt in Jesus Christ give you the greatest Christmas in your whole life. You and your family can start over. Your credit card of life in God's sight has now been wiped clean. And for you, this Christmas can surely be a new beginning. The forgiveness of all your past failures is now available and truly possible in the long foretold birth, death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.

An angel sent by God has made God's intention for you very, very clear. This Jesus born at Christmas was to receive no other name than the name of Jesus. This Jesus was born to save you from the endless agony and the eternal condemnation of your own failures. There has been born for you, my friend, in Bethlehem a long-promised Messiah, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.