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We have moved into the time of the year that marks the first anniversary of the death of seven of our friends and family members in a very short period of time. In each of these cases, they had professed their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. As I have been thinking of each of them recently, I thought, “Good for them!” We continue to grieve and mourn, but those who believed and trusted in Jesus are now with their Lord. They knew He died to pay their penalty and rose to give them victory over death. They are with their Lord now. So I say of each of them again, “Good for them!”

That is what tempers our grief when we lose a fellow believer. They are with Jesus. And we will see them again. Paul wrote about that for us.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Since I was raised using The Lutheran Hymnal, a lot of those old hymns are in my memory banks. These stanzas came to mind as I was thinking about my friends have family who died with faith in Jesus Christ.

Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above.

 Before our Father’s throne We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, Our comforts and our cares.

 We share our mutual woes, Our mutual burdens bear,
And often for each other flows The sympathizing tear.

 When here our pathways part, We suffer bitter pain;
Yet, one in CHrist and one in heart, We hope to meet again.

This glorious hope revives Our courage by the way,
While each in expectation lives And longs to see the day.

From sorrow, toil, and pain, And sin we shall be free
And perfect love and friendship reign Through all eternity.

The Lutheran Hymnal #464

Romans 8:35–39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Superglue is a wonderful invention. I have repaired a lot of things with it over the years. While it will not stick to a few things, it works very well on others. One of the things it seems to work best on is skin! I have ended up with it on my fingers several times, and they get firmly attached to each other.

The passage above describes the relationship between God and those who have put their faith in Jesus. It is even stronger that superglue. Nothing can separate them. When you believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins, God’s love has a hold on you that will not let you go. No matter what you do, you can and will be forgiven because of your faith in Jesus. Nothing in this world can tear you away from His loving grasp. The only way you could be separated from Him would be for you to not believe that Jesus is your Savior.

You know who Jesus is. You know what He has done for you. You believe that He died in your place. You have faith that He rose again on Easter to show that He had beaten death for you. His love has a hold on you stronger than superglue, stronger that anything in this world, a hold that will not let you go.

Words have a way of taking on different meanings over time. I recently read an article that listed words we use today that originally meant something quite different than our current usage. Here are a few examples.

Nice: This word used to mean “silly, foolish, simple.” Today it is a compliment.

Awful: Awful things used to be “worthy of awe” for a variety of reasons, but now it has a very negative connotation.

Senile: Senile used to refer simply to anything related to old age, so you could have senile maturity. Now it refers specifically to those suffering from dementia.

I know the words “queer” and ‘”gay” have very different meanings today than they did 100 years ago. You can probably think of some other examples.

I have noticed this happening in the church as well, and I have in mind one word in particular: COVET.

Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

This verse contains the Ninth and Tenth Commandments (at least in the way our tradition numbers them). When I received catechetical instruction in what we called “Confirmation Class,” I was taught that “covet” meant to sinfully desire something. It described an intense desire for something that belonged to someone else, being discontent with what you have to the point of wanting to have something that was not rightfully yours.

However, I noticed about fifteen years ago that many people in the church started using this word in a different way. There was a phrase that became very popular that didn’t sit well with me: “I covet your prayers.” They would explain that they were simply trying to convey that they earnestly desired your prayers. The reason I didn’t like this usage of the word (and I still don’t like it) is that it takes a word that describes sinful behavior in God’s commandments and tries to alter its meaning. Using this “new definition,” those commandments simply tell us not to earnestly desire our neighbor’s spouse and possessions, which is not an accurate reflection of what God was saying.

I was raised to believe that words have meaning and we should be careful how we use them. This is especially true of the Word of God. In our world today, many in the church are denying that things called sin in Scripture are still sins today. When you use words that describe sin in a positive way, you are adding to the confusion.

If we are to convey God’s Word to others, we should not confuse the message by attaching different meanings to the words. We need to be able to clearly share His Law, which shows us our sin and our need for assistance. We also need to clearly share His Gospel, the good news that Jesus has paid for all sin by His perfect life offered as the sacrifice that would cover all people.

Those who have taken this message to heart have the assurance of forgiveness and eternal life. We want to respond by living the new life to which we have been called, which includes using God’s Law as the guide for how He wants us to live. That includes being careful how we use our words.

2 Timothy 1:9b-10 This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

A number of years ago I heard a speaker at a convention of the Lutheran Women in Mission (also known as the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League) say these words: “God loves you so much that He would rather die and go to hell than spend eternity without you.”

That is exactly what Jesus did: He died, He went to Hell on that cross, and then descended to that place of torment to declare His victory. He died and went to Hell, defeating death and the devil so that He would not have to spend eternity without you. All you have to do is believe what God says and make that your own certainty.

An email shared the story of a five-year-old girl who came home from her first week of school and declared, “I’m just wasting my time. I can’t read, I can’t write, and they won’t let me talk!” You and I may feel similar frustrations at times, but we don’t have that restriction of not being able to talk in our lives. In fact, just the opposite is true. While we sometimes act as though God has told us not to say anything about our faith, the reality is that God wants you to talk about the hope that is in you, the confidence that your sins have been forgiven, that you have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and made clean, that even though you die, you will live forever with the Lord. People need to hear that.

You are to tell people that God loves them so much that He would rather die and go to hell than spend eternity without them. And that is a good phrase to use as you do it!

How will you share that in your life today?

Zechariah 4:6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

Zechariah was a prophet after the Babylonian Captivity of God’s people. His message was directed to those who were returning to the Promised Land and had the task of rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and the Temple.

The book is filled with prophesies about the coming Messiah, our Lord Jesus. Some are very specific, like Him entering Jerusalem on a donkey (9:9) and Jesus being betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (11:12-13).

The words above were spoken by the prophet to Zerubbabel, who was sent back by the king of Babylon to be the governor of Israel. He was also the grandson of Jeconiah, the last King of Judah, which meant He was a descendant of David. He is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in both Matthew and Luke. Although from the royal line of David, Zerubbabel did not have the power that King David had, yet he faced the daunting task of rebuilding the Temple. That is why the prophet tells him that this assignment does not have to be done by his human efforts and strength. The Spirit of the Lord would enable him to complete the task at hand.

When God gives someone an assignment, He never says, “You’re on your own.” If fact, just the opposite is true. After His resurrection, Jesus told His followers that they would take the message of who He was and what He had done into all the world to make more disciples.

Luke 24:48–49 You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus was referring to the promise He made the night before He was crucified, the same promise made through the prophet Joel;

Joel 2:28–29 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

That promise was fulfilled on Pentecost (Acts 2), and continues to be fulfilled every day as the Spirit of God works through believers, works through the church, works through the Word and the Sacraments to point people to the cross and the empty tomb. That is how people come to faith and are saved. Not by our power, but by God’s.

Thank you, God, for Your Spirit at work among us and in us.

 Mark 6:45–52 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

In Mark’s Gospel, this account takes place immediately after the Feeding of the 5000. Jesus sent the disciples ahead so He could have some private time for prayer. When evening came, the boat was near the middle of the lake. John’s Gospel tells us they were about three miles away from the shore where Jesus was. He could see them fighting against the wind. It was after 3:00 a.m. that He went out to them, walking on the water.

While this event is recorded in Matthew and John as well, Mark is the only one who includes these words:  “He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost.”

 When I read those words, a comical picture comes to mind: Jesus taking a leisurely stroll, maybe even whistling as He made His way across the lake. All of a sudden He sees the boat and says, “Oh, I didn’t see you guys there!” But I do not for a second think that Jesus was ignoring the twelve. In fact, He was wanting His disciples to see Him and call out to Him for help. Some theologians compare this to the way the Lord revealed part of His glory to Moses in Exodus.

Exodus 33:22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

They say Jesus wanted the disciples to see part of His glory and cry out to Him for help in their time of need. Unfortunately, instead of recognizing Jesus in His glory, they thought He was a ghost! We cannot fault them too much. After all, they had never seen anyone walk on water before, and in their minds a mortal could not do that, so it had to be some kind of spirit. They cried out in fear and terror. That is when Jesus said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

 The Lord says the same thing to all of us. “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”  We often fail to recognize Him and His presence with us, ready to calm whatever situation in which we find ourselves, wanting us to trust Him and be strengthened.

And we know more than the disciples did at this point. We know that Jesus was crucified for us, that His death paid the price our sins deserved, and that He conquered death for us. Those in the boat had not yet seen these things, but we have heard and seen. His glory has been made known to us.

Lord Jesus, help us to rejoice in the glory You have revealed to us, so that we trust You to be with us in calm seas and in troubled waters. Strengthen us to believe that You are always with us. Amen.

Luke 9:10–17  When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

When I read the accounts of the feeding of the 5000, a lot of thoughts come to mind. What I want you to consider with me today is the attitude of the disciples. This passage begins with the words, “When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done.” At the beginning of this chapter we find these words:

Luke 9:1–2 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

And that is what they did. They took the power and authority of Jesus with them and preached the Good News and healed sick people. That is what they reported back to Jesus. Let that sink in for a minute. They had healed sick people with the power and authority Jesus gave them.

Now, after having done that, they were facing a large crowd of hungry people, and they wanted to send them away. But Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” And what was their response? “We can’t do that!”

Do you see the problem? They were relying on their own abilities to solve problems. They seem to have already forgotten what they had just done with the power and authority Jesus gave to them. Instead of trusting in Jesus, they were trusting in their own abilities.

It is a good thing we don’t do that, right?

How many times have you been asked to do something for God’s kingdom, whether it be serving in your congregation or working on a service project or simply sharing the hope that is in you, and your initial reaction is “I can’t do that!” Who are you trusting when you give that response?

Remember the one who is with you. The one who died to pay for your sins and conquered death for you is the one who gives you the calling and power and authority to do what He asks of you.

Lord, shape my attitude by reminding me that You are always with me. You give us Your Spirit to lead us to faith and keep us in the one true faith. That same Spirit empowers and enables us to be the people you would have us be. Help us to follow His promptings. Amen.

I have another lifeboat story to share with you. On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks were common, there was once a crude little lifesaving station. The building was little more than a hut and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Many lives were saved by this wonderful little station. In fact, it became famous for the good work it did. As it became well-known, some of those who had been saved, and others from the area, wanted to become part of this station. Many people joined it. They gave of their time and effort and money to support the work of the lifesaving station. New boats were bought. New crews were trained. The little lifesaving station grew.

Some of the members of the station were unhappy that the building was so crude and so poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They built a new shelter, replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They decorated it and improved the furnishings. They kept adding on and improving as more and more people joined. It became a sort of club, a place where members could get together and socialize. Fewer members were interested in going to sea on the lifesaving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to work for them and go in their place. The lifesaving motif was still prominent in the main room. There was still a liturgical lifeboat in the room where initiations were held.

About this time a large ship was wrecked on the coast. The hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half drowned people. They were dirty and sick, and some of them had black skin and some had yellow skin. The beautiful new club was in chaos, so the property committee immediately had a temporary shelter house built outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities altogether. They viewed rescue efforts as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal, social life of the club. Some members insisted that being a lifesaving station was their primary purpose, pointing out that they were still called a lifesaving station. However, they were a small minority and voted down. The minority was told that if they wanted to still save the lives of those shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station down the coast. They did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another life-saving station was formed. History continued repeating itself, and today there are a number of exclusive clubs up and down those shores. Shipwrecks are still common in those waters, but most of the people drown, because none of the lifesaving stations are really lifesaving stations.

Take a close look at your congregation. Of course you need to care for those already in the fold, and you are doing that. But are you taking the message to the lost? Are you telling those who are drowning in sin that Jesus wants to be their Savior? Are you pointing to the cross for those who are in need?

It isn’t easy being alone. And those who die alone, without Christ, are forever condemned and separated from him. All around us are people drowning in their sins, and you and I have the means to save them. What are you going to do?

A story has been floating around the internet for more than twenty years about the Titanic and Lifeboat #14. I’ve heard several different versions of this story, not all of which agree. After doing some research on my own, here’s what I discovered.

• April 14, 1912 2203 people including crew onboard the Titanic.
• 9:30 p.m. Ship is warned about an Iceberg, but the warning was disregarded.
• 11:40 p.m. Titanic strikes Iceberg.
• 11:50 p.m. Water rises in bow of ship 14 ft.
• 12:05 a.m. Lifeboats uncovered and passengers brought up on deck. There were 20 Lifeboats on the Titanic capable of saving 1178 people.
• 12:45 a.m. First of 20 lifeboats lowered. Sadly, the boats were not filled to capacity. Women and children and some men got in. Those in the boats paddled away from the liner as quickly as they could so they would not to be dragged under when she went down. They kept their distance.
• 1:30 a.m. Some passengers already jump into freezing waters.
• 2:05 a.m. Last lifeboat lowered. Remember those twenty boats could hold 1,178. But only 705 people survived.
• 2:18 a.m. Many more passengers jump. Titanic breaks apart and begins to go down.

There were 20 so called lifeboats. But they kept their distance from the people screaming in the water. Those on board were afraid of being swamped by those in the water.  They were unwilling to take the risk of helping others, fearful they might sink with weight of those who would try to climb aboard.

The majority of the lifeboats were less than half full. Many of the boats could easily have held 40 more people.

Fifth Officer Harold Lowe was in command of Lifeboat #14. He managed to round up four other boats and tied them together. He transferred all but three of his Lifeboat 14 passengers onto the other boats and rowed back toward the wreck with his small crew to attempt a rescue. He found four survivors, but by morning, two fell victim to exposure. Out of the twenty lifeboats launched that night, only Lifeboat #14 returned to the wreckage. The other 19 were safe boats. Only Lifeboat #14 went back to reach out to those who were dying.

Every congregation has to make a choice. Are you content to merely be a safeboat, or do  you want to be a lifeboat? You can sit around and debate the issue, but in the meantime people are perishing without Jesus. There are those all around you who are lost, alone, and dying. What will you do?

It is easy to sit there week after week, content in the knowledge that God has sent His Son to be your Savior. You rejoice in the Good News that the death of Jesus has paid for your sins and His resurrection is your guarantee of eternal life. But is that all there is to being a disciple? God has called you into His kingdom not just to have you in it, but so that you will bring others in as well. We can get so comfortable in the church that we forget that we are among those who needed saving. It started with God’s great love:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

God accomplished the salvation of all people by allowing Jesus to take our sins on Himself and carry them to the cross. Jesus did it, and anyone can get the benefit of His death by believing in Him. That means someone has to tell people about it. Do you know who that “someone” is? The only ones who can tell others are those who already know. You and I are to be the “someones” who reach out with this Good News. You and I are to man the lifeboats. That does not happen by just showing up here and sitting in the pew. Something more has to happen.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

That was the mission of Jesus while He was with us here on earth until His Ascension. To whom has He entrusted this mission now?

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Are you sitting in a lifeboat as an observer or are you part of the crew of Lifeboat #14?