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Long ago there was a tribe in a dark, cold cavern. The cave dwellers would huddle together and cry against the cold. Loud and long they wailed. It was all they did. It was all they knew to do. They didn’t know just how mournful it sounded in that cave, since they had never known joy. The spirit in the cave was death, but they didn’t know it, for they had never known life.

One day, they heard a different voice. “I have heard your cries,” it said. “I have felt your chill and seen your darkness. I have come to help.” The cave people grew quiet. They had never heard this voice. Hope sounded strange to them. “How can we know you have come to help?” He replied, “Trust me. I have what you need.”

The cave people strained to see the stranger through the darkness. He was stacking something, stooping, stacking some more. “What are you doing” someone asked nervously. The stranger didn’t answer, just kept stacking. “What are you making?” someone asked loudly. Still no response. “Tell us” another demanded angrily. The visitor stood and spoke in the direction of the voices. “I have what you need.” With that he turned to the pile at his feet and lit it. Wood ignited, flames erupted, and the light filled the cavern.

Put it out!” they cried, turning away in fear, “It hurts to see it!” He answered, “Light always hurts before it helps. Step closer. The pain will soon pass.”  “Not I” said one voice after another. “Only a fool would risk exposing his eyes to that bright light.” The stranger stayed by the fire, “Would you prefer the darkness? Do you prefer the cold? Don’t let fear control you — take a step of faith!”

For a long time no one spoke. The people hovered in groups, covering their eyes. The fire builder stood by the fire. “It’s warm here,” he invited.

“He’s right” one from behind him said. “It is warmer.” The stranger turned to see someone approaching. She said, “I can open my eyes now! I can see!”

“Come closer” the fire builder invited. She did. She stepped into the ring of light. “It’s so warm!” She extended her hands toward the fire and sighed as the chill began to pass. “Come, everyone,” she invited, “feel the warmth!”

“Silence, woman!” one of the cave dwellers responded. “Dare you lead us into your folly? Take your light and leave us.” She turned to the stranger and asked, “Why won’t they come?” He said, “They choose the chill, for even though it is cold, it is what they know. They would rather be cold than change.” “And live in the dark?” “And live in the dark.” The now warm woman stood there looking at the stranger, then peered into the darkness. He asked her, “Will you leave the fire?” She paused before she said, “I can’t. I can’t stand the cold.” Then she spoke again, “But I can’t stand the thought of my people living in darkness.”  “You don’t have to,” he responded, reaching down into the fire and removing a stick. “Carry this to your people. Tell them the light is here and the light is warm. It is here for all who desire it.” And she took the small flame and stepped into the shadows.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 You are the light of the world. The Light of Christ that has shined on us should now shine through us, radiating to others. As you speak to others about your Savior and His love for them, the Holy Spirit shines in their hearts, to shatter the darkness of sin in their lives and let the Light of Christ shine.

There are people you know, cold and afraid, stubbornly clinging to the darkness because it is all they know. Take the light of Christ to them. Let it shine through you. Turn on the Light for them.

I shared some thoughts recently based on Jeremiah 29 about the plans that we make in our lives. Will our plans work out like we want them to? What about God’s plans? I decided to dig into God’s Word to find more of what He has to say about plans.

Psalm 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.

God has things planned for us – good things. More than we will ever know. But if we were to talk about the ones we know about, it would be a very long conversation.

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

Psalm 20:4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

Proverbs 16:1-3 To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue. All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD. Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Did you notice how plans and the heart are tied together in these verses? Man plans for things that are close to his heart. God makes plans for us according to His heart, from His awesome love for us. Which plans are going to be better: the ones from your heart or the ones from God’s?

Proverbs 14:22 Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.

Plan what is good – what is in keeping with God’s will. We need to come around to God’s way of thinking.

Proverbs 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

Proverbs 20:18 Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance.

Whom do you consult when making plans? Where does your advice come from? Where should it come from?

Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

A plan that has sought God’s guidance and blessing will accomplish His purposes.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

Planning is good, but you need to put your plans into action now. Time will run out for us to accomplish the plans God has for us here on earth. We need to be about our Father’s business.

Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.

Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world… It may seem like our enemies are winning, but we’ve got God on our side.

Hebrews 11:40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Hebrews 11 is know as the “Faith chapter” of the Bible. At the  conclusion of listing the heroes/examples of faith, we are told none of them received what had been promised. The “something better” God had planned was the righteousness accomplished by Jesus for all people. We are made perfect in His sight in the same way those “heroes’ were: through faith!

God’s plan is for you to believe in Jesus and receive what He earned for you. God’s primary plan for you and everyone is to be forgiven. This happens only by His grace when you put your faith in Jesus as your Savior. Then you will receive all the good things that God has planned for you.

1 Corinthians 2:9–10 “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

Between the ages of two and five, I lived in Abilene, Texas, since my father was serving a congregation there. Because I was so young, I don’t have many memories of that time.  However, one of the things I do remember is tumbleweeds. These round scrub bushes grow in the desert plains and are plentiful West Texas. After a while, the bush withers and either breaks off or is uprooted by the wind, and it tumbles along as it is pushed by the wind.

That is a description of how NOT to be as a follower of Jesus Christ. We are not to be rooted in an arid, dry place lacking nourishment so that any wind that comes along can blow us away! We are to be Rooted in Christ.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

You are blessed when your confidence is in God, not yourself. The person whose faith is in the Lord is one who is rooted in Christ. You belong to Him and are loved by Him. Not only did He make you, but He also bought you back from sin and death so that you might be His own. He loves you so much that He emptied Himself, took the nature of a servant, and was obedient to death on a cross. God reconciled you to Himself through the death of His Son. It was the blood of Jesus Christ that accomplished your forgiveness. In a mystery that we cannot ever understand or comprehend, God washes us and makes us clean through the blood of His Son. He promises that all who put their  faith in Jesus Christ are forgiven.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16

When you are rooted in Christ and stay attached to him you have the nourishing water of His Word and Sacraments. We need to feed daily on the promises recorded for us through divine inspiration, always digging deeper. But we are also nourished by remembering the Water of our Baptism that washed us from every spot and stain gives us joy and peace. Sharing the body and blood of our Lord that made the payment for our sins gives us joy and peace.

At this time of year in Texas, we are usually at the point where we have not had any rain for quite some time. Lawns have been yellow and trees had leaves curl up. You can see first hand what happens when there is no water. And that is what is happening to so many people all around us. They are rooted somewhere other than Christ, and they are dying for lack of proper nourishment. They don’t know and believe that when Jesus died, He did so to pay for their sins, so that they could be forgiven and receive everlasting life. It is our task, our obligation to share with them what it means to be rooted in the only true source of life, able to draw on an unlimited source of water and refreshment for our souls. Without that, they will be like a tumbleweed — dead, lifeless, blown away.

Because you are rooted in Christ, you have life. Share Jesus with someone today.

I have been following the news of the terrible aftermath of hurricane Helene. My family lived through a hurricane that hit New Orleans when I was in the first or second grade. I still remember the terror of not knowing what would happen. One story I came across in particular is worth sharing.

As the flooding hit Ashville, North Carolina, Meghan Drye was on the roof of her house with her parents and her seven-year-old son Micah. While they were waiting to be rescued, the flowing water destroyed the house underneath them. They were swept into the waters and quickly separated. Meghan was the only one who survived. She told reporters that as Micah was being pulled away from her by the current, he didn’t cry out for her. She said he cried out to Jesus to save him.

In the midst of her indescribable grief, she shared how she was comforted knowing that her parents and her son were indeed saved by Jesus. Because of their trust in their Lord and Savior, Meghan and her two sisters know that their parents and Micah were rescued from sin and death by Jesus. The link to the story is at the end of this devotion.

As part of the interview, they sisters shared how they grew up learning memory verses, and quoted together this passage.

Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

I encourage you to pray for this family and all the others devastated by this storm. I also encourage you to offer yourselves and your time during the clean up and recovery efforts that will be ongoing for many months. There will be a great need in the wake of this storm. Cheryl and I have helped with Disaster Response many times over the years, but our current situation prevents us from helping until December. If you are the least bit inclined to lend a helping hand, please do so. You will be a blessing and you will also be blessed by doing so. It is an opportunity for you to be the hands and feet and arms of Jesus to those in need.

When I heard about little Micah calling out to Jesus, I prayed the words of this hymn. Note especially stanzas 4 and 6.

Oh, for a faith that will not shrink Tho’ pressed by many a foe;
That will not tremble on the brink Of poverty or woe;

That will not murmur nor complain Beneath the chast’ning rod,
But in the hour of grief or pain Can lean upon its God;

A faith that shines more bright and clear When tempests rage without;
That, when in danger, knows no fear, In darkness feels no doubt;

That bears unmoved the world’s dread frown Nor heeds its scornful smile;
That sin’s wild ocean cannot drown Nor Satan’s arts beguile;

A faith that keeps the narrow way Till life’s last spark is fled
And with a pure and heavenly ray Lights up the dying bed.

Lord, give us such a faith as this; And then, whate’er may come,
We’ll taste e’en now the hallowed bliss Of an eternal home.

The Lutheran Hymnal #396

https://www.foxweather.com/extreme-weather/asheville-mother-loses-son-helene-floods-north-carolina

Thank you Lord for calling Micah and his grandparents to be your own and for taking them to be with you forever.

Spiritual darkness is a reality today. We hear news of the conflict in the Middle East, of Venezuelan gangs taking over cities in our country, the number of illegal immigrants that are murderers and sex offenders and we shake our heads. But we don’t have to look outside our own homes to discover spiritual darkness. Don’t try to deny the darkness that is in your own soul. It is real. And all these things are constant reminders of the one who started and continues to revel in the darkness: Satan. We need light.

The one who first said “Let there be light” at creation said it again as He sent His light into the world again. Listen to how John describes what happened when God said again, “Let there be light!”

John 1:1-9 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

Christ is that light who not only reveals the sin that darkness tries to hide, but wants to bring into His light all who are languishing in the darkness. Jesus came for the sole purpose of overcoming the darkness for fallen mankind, and He did that with a perfect life and a substitutionary death. Everyone who trusts in Him receives the benefit of what He did and enters into the light. We have heard and believe and know and live in the light of Christ!

As those who have been enlightened and redeemed, we are meant to be lights. Granted, we are simply lower case lights, but lights nonetheless. Authentic lights cannot be concealed as Scripture makes clear.

Ephesians 5:8  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

Philippians 2:15  so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

On a recent trip to the hill country of Texas, Cheryl and I went on a cave tour of Cascade Caverns outside of Boerne. We have been in a lot of caves over the years, but this was our first time to this one. As is typical, at one point during the tour they turn out all the lights so that you can experience total darkness. Our guide left the lights off for almost a full minute. During that time, she told us that the Nazi did a horrible experiment on the effects of people living in total darkness. They forced people to live in total darkness for long periods, providing them only with food and water. After six months living that way, they were all blind. Even after they were brought out of the darkness, they could no longer see.

It may seem to be that way for people living in the darkness of sin. We may think that they will never see the light. But the Light of Christ overpowers all darkness (John 1:5). That light had shined into your heart. And it is God’s intent that all those with a “little gospel light of mine” should shine together into every corner of the world and on every person to overcome the darkness. Let there be light!

I’m sure many of you have seen or heard this in one form or another:  How many Christians does it take to change a light bulb?

Charismatic: 1 – Their hands are already in the air.

Pentecostals: 10 – One to change the bulb, and nine to pray aloud against the spirit of darkness.

Presbyterians:  None – Lights will go on and off at predestined times.

Roman Catholics:  None – They only use candles.

Baptists: At least 15 – One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad and fried chicken to the light changing event.

Episcopalians: 3 – One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old one was.

Methodists: Unknown – Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Bring a bulb of your choice to the Sunday lighting service and a covered dish to pass.

Nazarene: 1 – One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting policy.

Amish: What’s a light bulb?

Lutheran: None – Lutherans don’t believe in change.

Wouldn’t it be great if instead of or even in spite of all our divisions we could agree to just “Let There Be Light?”

John 8:12  “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

From Genesis to Revelation light and darkness are common and recurring Biblical topics. In spite of all the advances in technology, light and darkness still divide the day. With the setting of the sun darkness dominates. We may “overcome” the darkness with  campfires or oil lamps and candles and torches, with fluorescents and LEDs and plasmas, but there is still darkness. We can’t make it go away. Darkness presents difficulty and danger.

My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.  Ps 130:6

Watchmen breathed easier when the light returned, along with everyone else. And it is still true. Darkness is a breeding ground for trouble. Why do you think we still have “night watchmen.” Police and security experts will tell you the best deterrent to crime is LIGHT. The better the light, the less crime. Darkness is an enemy, something feared, something to be overcome.

When the Bible speaks of Light and Darkness, it does so in more than just the literal sense. Darkness is used throughout Scripture to refer to sin and ignorance, while the Light is God’s Word and ultimately that Word made Flesh in Jesus Christ. By His birth and life, His death and resurrection Christ overwhelmed darkness and offered the possibility of light and the life that light brings. This offer is extended to everyone, not just a select few or just one group.

Those who are led by the Spirit to live under His redemptive brightness receive Him, follow Him and reflect His brightness to those who sit in the darkness created by sin and Satan. Their desperate cry and only hope is, “Let there be light!”

More on this tomorrow.

You have probably heard the story of Job. He had been greatly blessed by God with earthly wealth and a large family. God allowed Satan to put him to the test. He lost almost everything he had, and then was afflicted in his own body. Yet he continued to trust in the goodness of God.

Job 2:11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.

Most of the book, chapters 4-31, is the dialogue between these three and Job. The “comfort” these friends gave to Job was mostly telling him that he was certainly being punished for something he had done wrong. Job didn’t listen to them, but he also went too far in maintaining his innocence.

A younger man named Elihu had been listening to all of this.

Job 32:2–3  But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

He was rightly upset with all of them for looking inside themselves for answers rather than listening to God’s Word.  Even though he was younger than them all, he was bold to speak. Why?

Job 32:8 But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

What we all need to hear is not pious opinions, not man-made theories or thoughts, but the truth of God’s Word. And that is what everyone you meet each day needs to hear as well.

2 Corinthians 5:17–21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We need to keep on sharing the Good News of Jesus that we have taken to heart. When Elihu was speaking God’s Word to Job and his friends, he said this:

Job 36:2 “Bear with me a little longer and I will show you that there is more to be said in God’s behalf.”

We are God’s ambassadors, speaking on His behalf, pointing to the truth that Jesus died to save all men. May we joyfully continue to share this message.

Have you ever heard someone say, “Luther said to sin boldly!” and use that as an excuse for doing something that is clearly outside of God’s will? Did Luther really say that? And is that what he meant?

The quote comes from a letter that Martin Luther wrote to a fellow reformer, Philip Melanchthon, in 1521.  This was just a few months after his “trial” at the Diet of Worms when he made his famous “here I stand” declaration. He was in hiding at Wartburg Castle because many sought to end his life.

Meanwhile, back at Wittenberg, the other reformers were in a bit of confusion about things such as celibacy, fasting, receiving only the bread in communion and other catholic practices. Melanchthon wrote Luther asking for guidance.

We only have a portion of Luther’s response today. But near the end of that letter, he wrote this.

If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong [or sin boldly], but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2 Peter 3:13), are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign. It suffices that through God’s glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins? Pray hard for you are quite a sinner.

We have all heard “Sound Bites” taken out of context to make it sound like the person said the opposite of what they intended to say. That is how this “sin boldly” quote is often used. But read in the context of Luther’s letter, he is telling Philip (and all of us) to own up to your sin. Acknowledge it. Admit that you are a poor, miserable sinner. And then cling to the cross. It was the same message he had defended at Worms. The Law shows us our sin and our inability to contribute anything to justification. That is all God’s doing. We need to acknowledge our utter and complete sinfulness so that we can appreciate the magnitude of what God has done for us in Christ.

“Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger.”

Our sins are real. They do matter. Don’t think you are pretty good, because on your own you are all sinner and zero saint. You need to understand your sin to be real so that you understand that God’s Grace is real. And don’t forget the second part of Luther’s quote:  “but let your trust in Christ be stronger.”

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.” (Romans 7:15–17)

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

We should never imply that sin is acceptable and endorsed by God. “Sin boldly” is not freedom to sin, but the encouragement to depend wholly on Christ because of our sin. The boldness of sin takes us to the cross. It is a boldness to admit that we totally need Jesus.

The longer I live, the more bad news I hear. Everyone has their list of distressing things they would just as soon not have ever heard.

• You find out a trusted friend has betrayed you.
• You discover a family member has been unfaithful to his or her marriage vows.
• A friend dies in an accident.
• A loved one dies at an early age from cancer or a drug overdose.
• A friend has been falsely accused of a horrible crime and his life is turned upside down because of it.

The good news that we have trumps all the bad news this world will throw at us. We don’t always remember that. But read these words carefully: Your forgiveness and life and salvation that you have for Jesus’ sake cannot be taken away. Add these words to each of the bad news sentences above and read them again.

John 10:27–29 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

We sometimes refer to someone having a “death grip” on something, meaning they will not let it go. This passage tells us that our heavenly Father has a death defying grip on His children, and He will never let you go. That is my comfort and assurance in the face of any bad news I hear.