"To Him be glory forever": April 2021

Saturday, April 24, 2021

We'll Meet Again

The picture is the view from my study yesterday morning. We had a late season snowfall that I wasn't expecting. It began shorty after I left the house to run but had all melted by mid-afternoon. I was originally supposed to preach a funeral yesterday morning but several things had come up and when I woke up in the morning I learned the funeral was being moved to Saturday morning. I told the family that I would not be able to join them, because I was already committed to preaching another person's funeral on Saturday. Both of the people who had died were long-time members of our congregation, and both of them were the source of very dear memories to our family. The family of the person whose funeral was moved from yesterday to today asked if I could write something for them that a family member could read as they laid the body of someone who was dearly loved to rest. Below are the words I wrote for them.

It has been my pleasure to have known Camelia for the entire time our family has lived in Dulce, nearly eight years. I have many memories of her. Memories from church, from visiting her in her home, and from visiting her in Pagosa. Last week Tuesday I was at the nursing home in Pagosa. I had an opportunity to visit with all the people from Dulce, except for Camelia. They told me that she was not feeling well. Like everyone else gathered today, I had no idea that I would not see her again.

L. told me that Camelia had a Bible in her room and she asked me to look at it and to prepare something to say this morning. Camelia’s Bible was arranged to be read over the course of one year. For each day of the year there were things written and if a person stuck to the plan they would begin on January 1st and finish the entire Bible on December 31st. That is an ambitious plan, and I had no idea Camelia was working on reading through the Bible.

On the page for today, April 24th, the reading includes Psalm 91, and I think several verses from that psalm are appropriate for us this morning.

Psalm 91, verses 1 and 2 say “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.””

The writer of the psalm knows something about God, and he believes what he knows. He knows that God can be trusted to protect those people who seek him. God will hold them and give them comfort. God will protect them. He knows that God does not play games with those who seek him. God makes promises, and God keeps his promises, all the time.

Psalm 91 ends with these words from verses 14 through 16, “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him salvation.”

In the closing verses the writer does not use his own words but writes the words that God himself speaks. And the words God speaks are very, very good. They are promises to rescue and protect those people who turn to him, people who love him. God promises to be with them, to show them salvation.

The words of the psalm find their full meaning in the person of the Lord Jesus. The writer of the psalm sought God as he understood him through the words of the Old Testament, the older part of the Bible. They are words that are intended to be fully understood as the end of the story was written in the New Testament, the part of the Bible that tells us about Jesus.

The writer of the psalm mentions the need to be rescued from danger. The greatest danger facing every one of us is that of our life ending and our never having turned to Jesus, trusting in him to be our savior. The danger is very real, but the hope that is found in the promises of God that are filled in Jesus overcomes every last bit of that danger.

At some point in her life Camelia turned towards Jesus and trusted in him. He became her refuge and fortress. He promised her salvation and I am certain that he kept that promise. We can gather today knowing that she is in the presence of her savior, and she’ll be there forever.

None of us have perfect faith but people who turn and trust in Jesus have a perfect savior. He, and not anyone else, did everything needed to save us from eternal danger

I didn’t get to see my friend Camelia last week, but I know that because I have faith in Jesus that a day is coming when I will see her again, and we will joyfully worship him together. Our hearts may be heavy this morning but by faith in Jesus we can live each day with hope that will never fail. Amen.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

God Always Provides

How has your week been going? As I write this on Thursday afternoon things for this week are winding down. I keep a schedule where Sunday through Thursday are full work days. To the best of my ability I try to take Friday off. Most Saturdays I do some work for church but I try to keep that to relatively minor things.

Earlier today I picked up the mail, which included a hand-written note that said:

“Today’s thought, Exodus 16:35, God always provides.” I looked that verse up and read this:

The people of Israel ate the manna for forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

In Exodus 16 we see how God provided food for His people as they traveled from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. God provided for His people then. Perhaps not what they wanted, but certainly He gave them what He needed.

As I think back on the things that I, as a pastor, have had to deal with this week, I see that God has continued to be a God who provides. In the things that need to be done each week, but are far from rote tasks, God has provided. And in the unexpected things that come up each week, God has provided.

As my work week winds down perhaps the best way that I know that God has provided is when I think about what He has provided for me, and perhaps for you, in His Son, the Lord Jesus, as Savior and Lord. A number of things this week, and in particular today, have brought to my mind the very real need for my salvation, and the truth that that need was met by Jesus. And I am even more thankful for the unexpected but most welcome reminder in the mail that God, through the Lord Jesus, always provides.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Be Still

It is a Wednesday afternoon as I write this, and it is a little windy as I look out the window. Wind is a marker of spring on the reservation, at least in my observation over the years that we have been here. For most of the year the weather will be calm overnight and wind, if it appears, often waits until the afternoon to arrive.

But spring? Spring days are often breezy early and downright windy in the afternoon and evening. We had one of those days yesterday, where for several hours the wind just howled.

This past Sunday was Easter and I preached from Psalm 46. The title given to this psalm in my Bible is God Is Our Fortress. It is the same psalm that inspired Martin Luther’s great hymn, A Mighty Fortress. Working from the psalm I brought out the ideas of God as refuge, defender and hope for His children, ideas that I think are crystal clear on Easter. The resurrected Jesus is the refuge, the defender, and the hope for all who turn to Him in faith. Nothing else compares. Ever.

You may have noticed that I emphasized that Jesus is these things for those who turn to him. It is exclusive. If you don’t have time for Jesus then you won’t find refuge, defense or hope from Him. Ever.

But as I studied the psalm I was surprised to see within it an invitation for those who reject God to turn from what is folly, and turn towards Him. It is in verse 10, which begins:

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

I used to think that this was a call for believers to rest in the midst of trouble and remember that God remains on His throne. Our world may swirl but He is not moved, and all of His promises remain true.

But the thing I learned as I studied this psalm in order to preach it is that the object of God’s words here are the enemies of God. They are to be still and stop fighting Him. They are to know that He is God. And I think there is the implication that if they thought about it a bit they would see that He is God, He has always been God, and He will always be God.

It is an act of mercy by God to invite His enemies to lay down their weapons and turn to Him. It is a sign of the depth of His goodness to invite those who fight Him to change their allegiance and join the other side, the side of the one who will indeed prevail over all of His enemies.

As a pastor I believe what the Bible teaches regarding the outcome of all fighting against God. The question is, which side you will you be found to be on when that day arrives?

Be still, and know that He invites you to bow down and worship Him, alone, as God.