The Encounter That Can Change Everything

[This message was shared during worship with the people and friends of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio, this past Sunday.]

Matthew 4:12-25
Some of you have heard me talk about Ayman. He was the Syrian-Muslim owner of a deli we frequented in days gone by. 

One day, Ayman told me that his brother-in-law, who was from a Christian background, had died suddenly and at a young age. Ayman told me when the visitation would be. I arranged to be at the funeral home just before the calling hours, allowing me to spend a little time with the family before I went to an evening meeting. I actually met members of both families, Christian and Muslim. After giving my condolences, Ayman offered to walk with me to the door.

We’d walked into another room when he asked if we could talk. “Mark,” he asked, “what do you think happens to someone who dies?” 

I explained as respectfully as I could (because God's Word tells us to be respectful to those from other backgrounds when we share the substance of our hope as Christians) that, as a follower of Jesus, I believe that all who turn from sin, or repent, and trust in Jesus, have life with God that never ends. 

I said that Jesus makes us part of His eternal kingdom as His Holy Spirit enables us to believe in Him. 

I told Him that I believe Jesus is God in the flesh, how Jesus came into our world to die for us and bring eternal life to all who follow Him, and how everyone who follows Jesus is in His hands even after we die. 

I tried to point Ayman to Jesus. 

As I was leaving, Ayman told me, with warmth, “Mark, I really liked hearing what you said back there.”

What happened to elicit such a reaction in a mostly non-practicing Muslim? This is what happened: Jesus happened. 

I had no idea that Ayman was going to ask that question of me. 

I hadn’t rehearsed anything. 

All I did was pray, as I always do in such circumstances, “Jesus, give me the right words and the right silences.” That’s it. 

Jesus once taught His followers how to prepare for persecution: “...when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:19-20) I think that this directive from Jesus also has application to our everyday interactions with others. We need to trust that the Holy Spirit will give us the words we need to speak when others who may not know Jesus ask us about Him. Jesus will give us the Holy Spirit do His life-giving, faith-raising work through us. Through us, people can encounter Jesus.

We see what happens when people encounter Jesus in today’s gospel lesson, Matthew 4:12-25. It shows us ways in which the Word of Jesus, God the Son, can come to us and transform our lives. In our encounter with Jesus today, we hear Him bring the Law, the Gospel, and God’s call to obedience.

Early in our lesson, we’re told that Jesus says: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)

We moderns cringe at the word repent. “Don’t guilt me,” we say. 

Now, the command to repent is Law, God’s Law. But to repent isn’t necessarily to cover ourselves in ashes or engage in a lot of self-referential blubbering. 

The word in the original Greek in which Matthew and all the New Testament writers composed their books is metanoeite. It means change your mind, as in, “I was walking along a path that pleased me, but when God got through to me, showing me how I was destroying myself, I changed my mind and went the other way.” 

A few months ago, a man I’ve known for some time wrote to me about a conversation he’d had with a friend. He’d said some rough words to this friend. He told me, “I think that I was right. But what do you think?” 

Honestly, I don’t always answer such questions immediately. 

I want to be careful about giving “life advice” when I know that I fail and fall in this business of living, let alone living righteously, as anyone else. 

I also wait in order to pray over my responses to questions I get. 

But I finally did write that man what I think he already suspected, that his rough words maybe were too rough and that even when we speak hard truths, we must do so with the love of Jesus for the other person. After getting my email, the man changed his mind. He repented and apologized to his friend. 

My response to him had nothing to do with me. God gave me His Word and His wisdom and the Holy Spirit changed the man's mind. That was all the work of the Word of Jesus speaking through me.

Jesus also says in verse 17, “the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 

That, friends, is good news, the gospel from God! 

This gospel tells us that though we may live in a world of darkness, sin, and death and though we may be sinners, violators of God’s Law who can hardly stand to look at ourselves in the mirror in the morning from guilt and shame, let alone look into the eyes of Jesus, Jesus, the King of kings, has come with God’s grace--His charity--to bring us into His light, under His reign. 

He does this not because we deserve His love, but simply because He chooses to love us. 

We may find it hard to love the unlovable; but God does love the unlovable, even you and me. And that's something to be celebrated, relished, and enjoyed, something that fills us with thankfulness and praise to God!

When Jesus and His kingdom come to us and His Word of love gives us the faith in Him that makes us His, we are compelled to believe and empowered to believe that absolutely nothing, not even death, can separate us from God or His loving, eternal intentions for us. 

As one Lutheran layperson wrote this past week on Twitter, “‘ALL YOUR SIN IS FORGIVEN FOR CHRIST’S SAKE.’  If you believe this, God has given you the gift of faith. There is nothing that you need do. It is already done to you. Now, go live.” 

“I am not ashamed of the gospel,” Paul writes in the New Testament, “because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes...” (Romans 1:16) 

It was the power of the gospel, the good news of Jesus, that warmed Ayman’s heart that day in the funeral home.

Later in our lesson, Jesus approaches two sets of brothers who are fishermen: Simon Peter and Andrew, John and James. Jesus tells them to follow Him and they do so, “at once,” “immediately.” 

After God’s Word in Jesus convicts us of our sin in the Law that says, “Repent”...after that same Word convinces us of God’s love and good intentions for us in the Gospel, we’re open to doing what might have otherwise been unthinkable to us. 

We’re ready to follow Jesus. 

We’re ready to go where He takes us. 

This doesn’t mean that if you’re a Christian, you should become a pastor or a missionary. 

It means following Him wherever we may be--at work, at school, at home, in doctors’ offices, grocery stores, restaurants, gyms, community gatherings, sporting events, social media. 

God taking on human flesh, dying for us, and rising for us tells us that the kingdom of heaven isn’t a place in the sky; it’s wherever Jesus’ gospel Word of Law or Gospel comes to us, transforming us from God’s enemies to God’s friends, forever. 

As we live daily in repentance and faith, we carry Jesus’ Word with us, creating the possibility that still more people will encounter Jesus as they did in today’s gospel lesson.

This is how darkness and death are defeated in this world. 

This is how the kingdom of heaven shows itself even in the imperfection and sadness of this world. 

Not with political agendas or social programs, though each has their places. 

Darkness and death are defeated only as the Word of Jesus pierces our sin, selfishness, and despair through the Law, the Gospel, and His call to obediently follow. 

When we hear and respond to Jesus’ Word to repent, believe, and follow Him, we are changed forever. 

And we might, by His presence in and with us, become the instruments by which Jesus forever changes the lives of others too. Amen

[I'm the pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]

Not Retaliating When We're Attacked

[Below are reflections on my quiet time with God for today. It should be made clear that the words written by the apostle Peter on which I reflect here don't apply to governments, who have the responsibility of protecting their citizens, although I think it does apply to those who serve in government who confess faith in Jesus Christ. Peter's words apply to anyone who claims to follow Christ and who is part of His body, the Church. To see how I approach Quiet Time, see here.]

Look: “...if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ‘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.” (1 Peter 2:20b-23)

Later in this letter, Peter will tell the Christians of Asia Minor, then facing rejection for their faith in Christ, out of reverence for Christ, to “...Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 3:15-16)

But in the verses from chapter 2, Peter is making it clear just how costly and how hard it is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. It may mean that we suffer for doing good, things like loving our neighbor or sharing Christ with them. When our faith engenders criticism, rejection, or even persecution, we’re to always be prepared to explain the bases for our hope in Christ, but, like our Savior, never retaliate. That's true even when we're slandered, ridiculed, marginalized, or harmed. We’re to simply place ourselves and our witness for Christ in the hands of the Father to Whom Jesus entrusted Himself.

Listen: This passage causes me to reflect on the ways in which I have “retaliated” against people who have criticized me. I fear that sometimes, I’ve gone beyond simply staking out my position, explaining my faith in Christ or where it has led me, instead, attacking others. Sometimes the “attacks” were so subtle that only God and I know about it. But I can’t live by a “no harm, no foul” ethos.

Retaliation is not of Christ. He faithfully bore suffering, refusing to meet fire with fire, though nobody in history had more reason to retaliate against those who falsely accused Him (or more power to retaliate) than Christ. By refusing to strike back and instead, submitting to the Father, He was able to fulfill His mission of dying and rising for the rest of us who deserve punishment and death for our sins. My call is to trust in the Father Who saw Jesus through and raised Him up on Easter. Through my faith in Jesus, I can trust that the Father will, on the last day, raise me from the dead and give me life in eternity.

Response: Forgive me, God, for relying on anything other than You and for wanting to counter-attack, prove others wrong, or secure a superior position. 

Help me to follow Christ confidently, but without arrogance. 

Help me to be able always to share my hope in Christ and my points of view rooted in Christ. 

Help me to admit when I’ve been wrong. 

Help me also not to retaliate, not to be hostile, not to engage in behavior or words that dishonor You or the cause of the Gospel. 

Today especially, help me to remember to seek Your wisdom for all I say and do so that I can give You glory and not give any human being a rational, sustainable reason for rejecting Christ. In His name I pray. Amen

So Be It Faith (some reflections)

Most mornings, I try to spend quiet time with God, using the format of "stop, look, listen, respond," explained here.

Today, I read Revelation 13, where God spoke to me most clearly in two verses. Here's my journal entry:

Look: “Whoever has ears, let them hear. ‘If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.’ This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.” (Revelation 13:9-10)

This chapter, like much of Revelation, is filled with strange imagery that makes me want to throw my hands up in frustration. I know, of course, that much of the book is taken up with apocalyptic language about the Roman Empire and that it’s not to be taken in the same way as prophetic books of the Bible. (Apocalyptic books of the Bible aren't to be confused with prophetic books of the Bible.)  Revelation shows the ongoing struggle Christians will endure seeking to remain faithful in a fallen and always-falling world.

The verses here are the clearest words in the entire chapter. And their message is absolutely relevant for Christians living in any time.

Christians can expect to be shunned, marginalized, tormented, persecuted, and/or killed no matter the era.

The Christian Gospel with its insistence on God’s ultimate authority, salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, the ethic of love for God and love for neighbor, and the truth of God’s Word will always encounter the enmity of the world’s beasts: our own sin, the sin of the world, the devil. (I’m not suggesting a one-to-one equation between the dragon and the two beasts mentioned in Revelation 13, by the way.)

Listen: Elsewhere in the Bible, Jesus warns Christians of persecution, while reassuring us of His ultimate victory for all who trust in Him, in John 16:33: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

And Peter tells we Christians that if we’re going to get into trouble with the government, for example, we’d better make sure that it’s because we’re being faithful to God, not because we’ve actually committed wrong: “If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” (1 Peter 4:15-16)

This verse from Revelation tells Christians (tells me) to adopt the attitude of “so be it.” If Christians are to be taken captive for their faith in Christ, so be it. If any are to be killed for their faith, so be it.

This isn’t to say that Christians facing persecution shouldn’t exercise common sense in protecting themselves or their loved ones.

Nor is faith equal to fatalism.

But the passage is saying that we cannot allow ourselves to:

(1) Become so fearful that we grow silent about our faith or shy about practicing it openly. Peter says elsewhere: “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 3:15-16)

(2) Make the foolish assumption that sin and death won’t continue to do their worst in this fallen world. That’s really the point of Jesus’ words in John 6:33.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Matthew 24:12-13: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

This is a call and command to keep following Jesus, to remain in fellowship with His Church, to continue to love God, love neighbor, and make disciples no matter what the trends, risks, dangers, or conflicting worldviews we encounter in the world around us.

In this world, we are “foreigners and exiles [called and commanded] to abstain from sinful desires [desires for things like acceptance, an isolated life, getting our own ways, ease], which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).

This is hard to remember, but this world is not our final destination. My call as a follower of Jesus is to remember that daily and seek to help as many others to follow Jesus into a life with God as I can.

Respond: God, help me to live for You alone and not for the commendations of the world. Help me to focus on my ultimate destination, not so that I become careless about this world, but so that I can love this world all the more, even in the face of patronizing, condescension, hatred, hostility, indifference, persecution, for my faith. Help me to stand firm with You no matter what. In Jesus’ name.

[Blogger Mark Daniels is pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]

For Believers: A Time for Silence, a Time to Speak

Today for my Quiet Time with God, I read Acts 18. Acts, as I've mentioned before, is Luke the Evangelist's account of the early history of the Church, from the ascension of Jesus through the next several decades.


Acts 18 tells a little about the apostle Paul's time in the Greek city of Corinth.


Acts 18:9-11 says: "One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: 'Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.'  So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God."


Paul was understandably emboldened by this vision from God and he did preach and teach about the new life that can belong to all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ as God in the flesh and Savior.


There were both Jewish and Gentile Christians in Corinth, but Acts 18:12-13, says that Jews who had not come to faith in Christ went to the Roman proconsul and said of Paul: "This man is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”



Paul, it seems, was about to mount a defense, when he was cut off by the proconsul, Gallio:

Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” So he drove them off.

God had told Paul to speak. So, why did God allow Gallio to speak before Paul had said his peace?



I can't say that I can answer that question definitively, though I think it's sort of funny how God allowed Paul to be cut off and have a guess as to why.



Earlier in the chapter, we see Paul speaking in the synagogue about how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament promises of God for a Messiah who would bring salvation to all the world. It was the habit of Paul, an itinerant preacher of the Gospel about Jesus, on entering a new community to always go first to his fellow Jews at a local synagogue in order to share Jesus. He did the same thing when he arrived in Corinth. That evidently went well for a while, but verse 6 says:

...when they [his fellow Jews] opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, 'Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.'”

Paul's action here is consonant with Jesus' instructions to a group of His disciples He sent out to proclaim the Gospel during His earthly ministry. Jesus said:

"If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” (Luke 9:5)

So, Paul had decided that his ministry at that time was done with the Jews in Corinth. Instead, he would focus his attention on the Gentiles there. The moment had passed for Paul to try to persuade his fellow Jews in Corinth to follow Jesus. He had shaken himself of them. That isn't to say that at some later time, God might send others with the same message about Jesus that Paul brought. But for now, Paul's attempts to persuade his fellow Jews in Corinth was done.


Paul understood this. In the next verse, we're told that Paul left the synagogue and went to the home of a Gentile believer in the God of Israel and in Jesus. Parenthetically, in Acts 18:8, we're told that Paul's mission to his fellow Jews hadn't been completely in vain either, because the leader of the Corinthian synagogue and his household had also come to faith in Christ.



It's after these events that Paul receives the vision. 



So, to me it seems clear why God allowed Paul to be interrupted by Gallio. Paul was to speak boldly, but he was to speak to the right people at the right time. The right time had passed for Paul to speak to his fellow Jews in Corinth. For now, God wanted Paul to speak boldly to more receptive people, the Gentiles in Corinth. 



Verse 18 says that, "Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time." 



For me, the takeaway is simple: There are times to speak and times to remain silent. And, if we're prayerful, I believe that God will save us (and others) from our futile speeches, thus amping up the impact of the words God gives us to speak for Jesus when the time is right. 

Jesus says that he will give Christians who earnestly desire to be His witnesses the words they need when He calls them to speak:

When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities [or, maybe also before criticall friends, coworkers, family members], do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. (Luke 12:11-12)

As we get to know Jesus and the Bible better, we can trust that promise. 

We can trust too, that as our connection with Christ and the Word grow, God will also help us be silent until the time is right for witnessing. 

And when the time for witnessing comes, we must not be silent. As the apostle Peter writes:

...in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3:15-16)

How to Live in Tough Times

[This was shared with the people and friends of Living Water Lutheran Church at both worship services today.]

Philippians 4:4-7

Chances are when you read and heard the words of today’s second Bible lesson, you gave it little thought. The familiarity of the words threatens to bleach them of their meaning. 

And because they don’t narrate a story or paint a picture or give some lofty teaching, they wash over us like a TV commercial we've seen a hundred times.

This morning though, consider that these words may deserve more of our attention than we usually give to them. 

In fact, Philippians 4:4-7, four short verses dictated by the apostle Paul to be sent to the church in the Greek city of Philippi back in the first century, give us a roadmap for how to live in tough times. 

“In tough times,” really means “in this lifetime,” because every season of life on earth brings its own tough times. 

It has been that way since Adam and Eve rebelled against God and it will remain that way until the return of Jesus at the end of this old creation’s history. 

In this life, there’s no way around tough times. But there is always a way to live in tough times.

Paul tells us about that way in this morning’s second lesson with three simple admonitions. You might want to write them down, because following them will help you avoid becoming riddled with fear or resentment; they will help you to keep on living, no matter how tough the times get.

Paul says in verse 4: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Do we want to learn to live in tough times? First, we need to know how to rejoice in the Lord. 

Years ago, a band had a song called Rejoice. For the music video, they interviewed people on the streets of New York City to ask them what made them rejoice. A good percentage of those interviewed looked at the person asking that question like they were crazy. We live in a tough world, these folks seemed to be saying, who rejoices?

Maybe part of the problem is that we don’t know what it means to rejoice in the Lord. Pastor Steven J. Cole points out that to understand what it means to rejoice in the Lord, we need first to understand what it does not mean. 

For one thing, rejoicing in the Lord doesn’t mean that we’ll never be depressed or unhappy. Jesus, you know, wept. So, what makes us think that those who bear Jesus’ name will always be happy? There’s a difference between being happy and rejoicing. 

Cole points out that the Bible paints Christians as people characterized by “sorrow for sin,” yet filled with an “irrepressible joy” that comes from knowing that, by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we belong to God. 

Romans 8, reminds us, that nothing can separate those who trust in Christ from the love of God. So, the Christian has reason to rejoice--to be deeply assured by the love, presence, and promises God given through Christ--even when we go through difficult times.

Another thing we may not understand is that rejoicing in the Lord isn’t mainly about feelings. Rejoicing is an attitude of contentment and certainty about God’s presence and power.  

The person who rejoices says, “I’m going through tough times: It seems that there are more days than money to pay for them each month. I worry about the violence and nastiness in our world today. My child gets bullied. My spouse and I argue. Health care costs are astronomical. College is expensive. I hate seeing my kids exposed to movies and music that depict sexual intimacy as something other than a gift to men and women in the covenant of marriage. But still I know that God is faithful and I have hope and all who trust in Christ belong to God forever. So, I can rejoice!”

So, to get through tough times, we must first learn to rejoice always in the God Who loves us always and, through Christ, has saved us from sin and death and darkness.

Paul then says in verse 5: “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” The second thing we need to get through tough times then, is gentleness. 

Gentleness is not a strong suit of our contemporary world. 

We tell little kids that they need to get straight-A’s in finger painting because otherwise they might not make it into Harvard. 

We savor the nastiness of reality TV cage matches. 

But Saint Paul tells us that unless we learn gentleness, none of us will be able to weather life’s tough times. Gentleness is how people toughened by the hope, grace, and honesty that comes from Jesus get through tough times. 

They can be gentle because they know, in a phrase used by Paul also in Romans 8, we are “more than conquerors through Him Who loved us.” More than conquerors!

The word translated as gentleness in our lesson is epieikes. It’s an adjective that can also mean being patient, forbearing, or reasonable. In fact, my favorite translation of the Bible, the English Standard Version, renders Paul’s words in this verse as, “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.” Despite the turmoil of the world, we can be reasonable in our dealings with life, the world, and the people in our lives. Christians can live, if I can make up a word, unbefuddled.

Since we belong to God for eternity, we can be free of the impatience or the sense of entitlement, or the unreasonableness that so often characterizes this world. 

As a young pastor, I learned what this means when visiting people from my first parish, people who were in the hospital and had just learned that they were fatally ill or who were in great pain. I was struck by how patient and forbearing they were in their suffering...not passive, but patient. 

One man, Arnold, who had a long history of heart trouble, was in the ER, having suffered another heart attack. “How are you, Arnold?” I asked. He chuckled and struggled to say, “I’ve been better, Pastor.” We prayed together and he told me he knew he was in God’s hands. No tears. No railing against the unfairness of it all. Just a smile and a squeeze of the hand. He trusted in God. Moments later, he was gone and I asked God to help me to be more like him.

To be gentle is not to be passive. 

A Christian shouldn’t be passive in the face of injustices perpetrated against the innocent. We should fight on behalf of others: the powerless, the hurting, the despised. That’s our call as people of God. 

And we shouldn’t be passive when we confront unbelief, either. There are people who will be separated from eternity unless they repent for sin and come to know Jesus as their God and Savior. And Jesus has left it to us as His people to share Jesus with others. We should fight to give them life with Christ. But, if it’s to have any impact, this too, must be done gently. First Peter 3:15-16 tells us: “...be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have [from Christ]. But do this with gentleness and respect…”

So, to live in tough times, we need to rejoice and we need to be gentle and reasonable. 

Paul gives one more admonition here. Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” 

In other words, the third strategy for living in tough times is to stop worrying and start praying. And we can do that with thankfulness to God for the fact that whenever life seems too big or overwhelming, we have a God Who loves us and has conquered everything that could separate us from life with Him. 

He has even conquered the sin that the devil likes to remind us of, but which in Christ, is forgiven when we repent.

I’m a slow learner. It’s bizarre how many times in my years as a Christian I’ve allowed myself to stew over a problem before I finally ask myself, “Why haven’t I prayed about this?” 

And when I do pray about things, the answers don’t usually come right away--though, as we have seen in recent events here at Living Water, answers do sometimes come that quickly. 

But the main thing that happens when I pray about things and I look to God’s Word for guidance through my life is that I’m filled with the assurance that God has got me. 

He’s got my problem. 

He’s got my family. 

He’s got my temptation. 

He’s covered my sin. 

He’s got things under control. 

These are exactly the assurances I need to live in tough times! 

In his explanation of the Second Commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain…,” Martin Luther celebrates the fact that we can “call upon [God] in every time of need.”

Worrying, you know, can be a subtle form of idolatry. We live with the delusion that we can “be like God” and in control. 

When we stop worrying and start praying, we cede control to the only One Who “in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” [Romans 8:28] 

This doesn’t mean that every bad thing that happens in this fallen world is good. Terror killings aren’t good. The death of the young isn’t good. 

But the God Who has conquered sin and death through Christ can bring good out of the most horrific situations. He can even raise the dead who have trusted in Christ to an eternity filled with life and joy, where death has died and suffering is a distant memory.

How do we live in troubled times? 

• We rejoice always in the Lord Who sent His Son at Christmas to be our Savior. 
• Knowing that the Lord is always near us, we live with gentleness toward others. 
• And when tempted to worry, we pray with thankfulness to the God Who cares about and hears our prayers. 

These three strategies are central to the lifestyles of people who actively surrender their lives to Jesus Christ each day.

The result of living like this, Paul tells us is this (verse 7): “...the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

Even in a fearful world, we can know God’s peace. 

We trust that the Baby born at Bethlehem Who died and rose, is our Lord and our Savior and that nothing can change that. 

And it's in Him that is where peace is found. Amen