Blog Archives - St. Michael's Lutheran Church, School, & Childcare Richville, MI

The Great Divide

9/15/2021

49 “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.
53 ‘Father will be divided against son and son against father; mother against daughter
and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." (Luke 12:49-53 NLT)

If you have ever driven through the Rocky Mountains on your way to the West Coast, you should have crossed the Great Divide that indicates which direction water flows. Jesus is the Great Divide for people. Faith in Him decides the direction for our lives and where we will spend eternity.

Unfortunately families are sometimes divided over Jesus. Jesus wants our families to be united in faith. But when that does not happen, we need to give Jesus the First Place in our lives.

Prepared and Faithful

9/14/2021

41 Peter asked, “Lord, is that illustration just for us or for everyone?”
42 And the Lord replied, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 45 But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 46 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.
47 “And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. 48 But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. (Luke 12:41-48 NLT)

I was number 4 of 5 kids in my family. On the rare times when my parents would leave together for some reason and leave and my two older brothers were gone, my sister was left in charge. My younger brother and I were told to obey here and not make a mess of the house. Of course we did not obey her and made a fort out of our couch cushions. When our parents pulled into the driveway, we worked as fast as we could to put everything back the way it was supposed to be. But our parents always knew what we had done.

Jesus tells us to listen to His voice, help and serve others, and follow God's commands. He knows when we don't and forgives us. He tells us to be faithful and prepared for His return, to live lives of integrity while we wait for His return. He calls us to be His "Faithful Servants."

September 13th, 2021

9/13/2021

35 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn.[d] But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.
39 “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (Luke 12:35-40 NLT)

Jesus tells us to be ready for His return. He doesn't tells us to get ready because He can come at any time. To be ready is to be prepared, to be looking for and waiting for the Lord. We don't know when that will happen. But we do know that it will happen.

Being ready is being faithful, trusting in the Lord's promises and responding by doing what He asks us to do. Jesus tells us what it means to be ready in the next few verses.

The message, don't put your relationship off with the Lord for tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come. Stay connected to the Lord, His Word, His people every day.

What's Really Important?

9/10/2021

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:32-34 NLT)

We can get so caught up in wanting to have a good life that we neglect the great life. We can spend so much time making money, getting things so that we can enjoy our lives that we forget about what really matters. That is our relationship with God and with others.

Our stuff can be taken from us or destroyed. Possessions don't last. Jesus says we should use some of our possessions to help the poor. He also tells us that the greatest treasures are faith, love, forgiveness and the promise of eternal life with Him. What are your treasures?

First Things First

9/9/2021

27 “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 28 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. (Luke 12:27-31 NLT)

It is so easy for us to get caught up on the things that are right in front of us, the things that we need or want at that time. Worrying about these things doesn't help. It is a waste of time. It is a good idea to pray about these things for ourselves and for others.

Jesus makes it very clear. "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else." He promises that when we do that, God will take care of everything else. First things First. Seeking God's Kingdom, our relationship with God should be the First, Most Important pursuit of our lives.

Sweat It Not!

9/8/2021

22 Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. 24 Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? (Luke 12:22-26)

Like many seminarians before us, the guys in my class created our own list of "passage" from the book of Hezekiah. (Hezekiah was a king. He was not a prophet and did not write a book in the Bible.)

One of our favorite "passages" was "Sweat It Not!" In other words, don't worry about the little things or the things that are out of our control. Isn't that what Jesus is saying to us in these words today. Worrying doesn't help. Trusting God does. So "Sweat It Not!"

If you missed my post yesterday, you are not alone. I was asked to teach the 3rd grade class while Mrs. Bierlein was out of town for her Grandfather's funeral. Our prayers are with her and her family. May God give them the hope, comfort and peace that comes from know Jesus' victory over sin and death to give us forgiveness and eternal life.

Two Kinds of Riches

9/6/2021

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21 NLT)

Jesus tells us that there are two kinds of riches or wealth. The first is riches or wealth of this world, the things that don't last. Look at all the stuff people lost in Hurricane Ida or the things people had to leave behind when they fled from Afghanistan. The problem is we can get so easily caught in the pursuit of things that we forget about our relationship with God.

The riches that last are our faith in God, hope in His Promises, and reliance on His gift of love. Our stuff will go away. Someone is going to have to deal with our stuff we leave behind after we die. But God's love lasts forever.

Not How Much

9/3/2021

13 Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” (Luke 12:13-14 NLT)

We can be tempted to measure success by how much we have. Our society certainly does that. The man with the most toys wins! Really?

Jesus tells us something us. Our lives are not measured by how much we have. The refugees from Afghanistan and the people who survived hurricane Ida may only have the clothes on their backs. But they also have life.

Life is God's precious gift. New live in Christ was won on the cross. It is not how much we have, but how much we are loved by God and how much we show it by loving others that really matters.

It Could Happen!

9/2/2021

11 “And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.” (Luke 12:11-12 NLT)

We don't like to think about it, but it could happen here. Christians in Afghanistan are being killed because they are Christians. Christians in the United States and other Western countries are either being forced to violate their Christian morals and values or forced out of business.

Christians do not have the same view of the world, of human life, of God's love and forgiveness as non-Christians. We could be called before others because of our beliefs. If that happens, remember the Holy Spirit will be with you to help you know what to say or do.

Who Is Jesus?

9/1/2021

8 “I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. 9 But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels. 10 Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." (Luke 12:8-10 NLT)

Jesus makes it very clear, there is no way to half heartedly follow Him. Either we are with Him or against Him. Either we confess our faith in Him or deny Him. When we confess our faith publicly in Jesus, He will tell God the Father that we are one of His followers. If we deny Jesus, He will deny us. We don't want that to happen.

The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us to faith, gives us faith and keeps us in the faith. The sin against the Spirit is saying "No" to the Spirit so many times we cannot say yes.

"Who is Jesus?" is the most important question we all have to answer.

Author

My name is Larry. Right now I am serving as the Intentional Interim or Transitional Pastor at St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Richville, MI. This blog is part of my daily personal time reading the Bible and talking with God. It is more of my personal thoughts than a deep theological discussion. Thanks for taking the time to join me in reading and thinking about what God has to say to us today.

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