All Categories - St. Michael's Lutheran Church, School, & Childcare Richville, MI

Clear and Powerful

4/13/2021

31-32 He went down to Capernaum, a village in Galilee. He was teaching the people on the Sabbath. They were surprised and impressed—his teaching was so forthright, so confident, so authoritative, not the quibbling and quoting they were used to. (Luke 4:31-32 NLT)

We've all set in worship services when we don't have a clue what the Pastor is talking about in his sermon. Or we've been in a Bible Class when people start to argue over something said in the class. I personally prefer to avoid bad sermons (although I'm sure I've delivered some) and confusing Bible Classes.

The people who went to Jewish Synagogues in Jesus' time were used to their teachers quoting famous Rabbis and arguing over minute details. Jesus did not do that. He taught clearly so people could understand and with the power and authority to change lives.

Jesus' word are still clear, powerful and life changing. That is why it is so important that we read God's Word, let it speak to us, and repeat God's message to others in words they can understand so that He can change their lives, too.

Danger

4/12/2021

When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. 29 Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30 but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way. (Luke 4:28-30 NLT)

Jesus did not have it easy. Satan tried to tempt Him to be self serving, take the easy way out to fame, fortune and power and avoid the cross. The people in His home town turned against Him and tried to kill Him. Jesus would face more dangers along the way. But nothing would keep Jesus from the cross to pay the price for sin. Jesus simply walked right through the crowd to continue on His way.

We face our dangers, too. We have the promise that Jesus will be with us. He may not remove the dangers, but He will see us through them. Romans 8 tells us that nothing can separate us from God's love. Our dangers are temporary. God's love is eternal.

A Hard Lesson to Learn

4/9/2021

23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ 24 But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. 25 “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.” (Luke 4:23-27 NLT)

The people in the town Jesus grew up in expected Him to do the same kind of miracles for them that He was doing in a nearby city. They thought they deserved it because Jesus was one of them. They wanted Jesus to put them first.

Jesus told them about two events in the life of the great prophet Elijah where he helped people from different places. God's love, forgiveness, and help are not limited to one group or nation. God loves all people. That is why Jesus came into our world.

It is too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because we are Christians that God has to take care of us first. God is big enough, powerful enough, loving enough to take care of all people at the same time. Jesus tells us that our job as His followers is love, help, serve and care for others. It is not all about us. That is a hard lesson to learn in an ego centric, self serving society. But it is the right way to live. We have the ultimate alternative energy source to do that, Holy Spirit power.

Fulfilled

4/8/2021

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:14-20 NLT)

Politicians running for offices can make promises they never intend to keep. God doesn't run for office. His power is not limited. When God makes a promise He keeps it. Jesus is the fulfillment of many of God's promises. He told the people in Nazareth that He is the fulfillment of God's promise in Isaiah.

Jesus is with us. His Spirit lives in us and gives us the Good News of God's love and forgiveness. Jesus sets us free from the power of sin and the fear of judgment. The Spirit gives us the ability to see and believe in Jesus. We can trust the Lord to keep His promises.

Give Us A Sign

4/7/2021

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:9-13 NLT)

Temptation #3, like the first temptation, was to give the people what they want. The Jewish leaders frequently asked Jesus for a sign to prove who He was. The Apostle Paul said the Jews demand signs. The temptation was for Jesus to gain popularity and fame by putting on a show, giving a sign so people would believe in Him. This was another temptation for Jesus to take a short cut and avoid the cross.

This time Satan tried to use God's Word against Jesus by taking some words out of context. But Jesus did not give into the temptation. He responded with a clear statement from God's Word.

Jesus said the signs we should give people as followers of Jesus are to love, forgive and help people. He also shows us the importance of knowing and obeying God's Word.

Power

4/6/2021

Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.” 8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him." (Luke 4:5-8 NLT)

Temptation #2 is about power. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolute. Satan was lying when he offered Jesus power over all the kingdoms of the world. This was a lie, and a temptation for Jesus to compromise, to take a short cut, to avoid the cross. But he did not give into the temptation. Jesus again answered with God's Word. "You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him."

Power is still a great temptation today. We want power and control. How many times are we tempted to compromise, to let something else take God's place in our lives for a period of time so that we can get ahead, have more power or control? How many times has that effort failed? Nothing can take God's place in our lives! So why even try? Wouldn't we be better off trusting God?

The Temptations

4/5/2021

Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. 3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone." (Luke 4:1-4 NLT)

Temptations can be real and very dangerous. But temptations are not sins. Being tempted is not the same as sinning, breaking God's commands. Jesus was tempted but never sinned. He shows us how to overcome our temptations.

In the first of three identified temptations, Satan tempts Jesus to use His power as the son of God for selfish purposes. I wonder if this could be translated a different way. The New Testament word translated "If" can also mean "Since." So it could read "Since your are the Son of God." Either way the temptation was very real.

The temptation was not only about the bread, it was also about Jesus showing Himself as the type of leader the people wanted. If Jesus could make bread out of stones, He could become the "Bread King" of the people, feeding them and making them prosperous. Christianity is not about personal prosperity. But that was not Jesus' mission.

Jesus' mission was to say not to temptation, to defeat sin, death and Satan. Jesus defeated the Temptations by knowing God's Word and applying it to each situation. Jesus defeated the Temptations by staying connected with God the Father and drawing strength form Him.

We can follow Jesus' example to defeat the temptations that come our way by staying close to God in prayer, by studying God's Word and letting it guide us. Never forget that when we give into temptations, as we do, God is ready to forgive and restore us.

Good Friday

4/2/2021

Luke 3:23-38, The Ancestry of Jesus

Did you notice I did not copy and paste the reading today? If I did, you would probably skip right over it and wonder why it is even in the Bible. What do the Ancestry of Jesus and Good Friday have to do with each other?

Luke's target audience were Gentiles, people who did not have a Jewish ancestry. Luke wanted to show that Jesus came as the Savior of all people. Every person alive is a descendant of Adam. Adam and his wife Eve were perfect at creation. When they disobeyed and wanted to be like God, they brought sin, guilt, shame, fear and death into the world. Every person since has a sinful nature and disobeys God's commands.

Jesus is the perfect Son of God who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He both God and human. Jesus led a perfect life and kept all of God's Laws. The sins of all people were placed on Him when He was crucified. Jesus died in our place. He died to forgive and restore all people.

Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Jesus' death and resurrection, offer forgiveness and new life to all who turn to Jesus in repentance and faith. Because of Jesus, we can be sons and daughters of God the Father through the gift of faith.

Only the Beginning

4/1/2021

One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” 23 Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. (Luke 3:21-23 NLT)

Things take time. Some things don't happen as quickly as we want. We can get impatient waiting. Jesus waited until He was thirty years old to begin His public ministry. Thirty was considered the age when a man had matured enough to be a rabbi. We don't know what Jesus did while waiting. He probably became a carpenter like Joseph.

Jesus was baptized at the start of His ministry. John baptized people as a sign of their repentance. Jesus did not need to repent. He was baptized because He took our place under the Law and paid the price for our sins.

All three members of the Trinity were present. Jesus was in the water. The Holy Spirit descended as a dove and God the Father spoke. Jesus was starting to fulfill God's plan to forgive and restore sinful people to His family. Jesus sends us to bring people into His family through faith. It may take some time for people to believe. That is ok. God makes things happen in His time.

Fast Forward

3/31/2021

John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had done. 20 So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others. (Luke 3:19-20 NLT)

Luke does a little fast forward with these words and gives us a glimpse ahead to something that would happen later. John not only called the people to repent. He called the governmental leaders to repent, too. Herod Antipas, one of Herod the Great's sons, did not like to be called out for his adultery and put John into prison.

God judged the kings of Israel and Judah by how they lived and how they ruled. Did they live a moral life and do obey God's commands or did they live an immoral life and disobey God's commands. I think we need to use those same standards with our elected officials. When they disobey God and hear His call to repent, we need to forgive them. When they don't repent, we need to hold them accountable.

Christians need to stand up for each and every human life from conception to death. Both abortion as a form of birth control and mercy killing are wrong. We need to hold onto God's definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman for life. Any other arrangements between two people are against God's design. We are thankful that God created us male and female.

But that does not mean we can disrespect those who don't agree with God's design for life or live contrary to God's Word. God loves everyone. We should too. Jesus died on the cross to forgive us all. We need to respect everyone because they have been given life by God, speak the truth to them in love and pray that God will work in their lives.

Doing these things does not come easily. It is too easy to go along to get along. But we need to fast forward to the end of this week when we remember Jesus' death on the cross to pay for our sins and celebrate Easter when Jesus rose from the dead to give us forgiveness and life. Jesus has already won the ultimate victory over sin and death for us. Looking ahead we know that nothing can separate us from God's love. We must obey God, not people in power.

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.

Archives

April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021

Categories