Read Matthew 4:19

“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”.

In August 2003 The Lutheran magazine published a cover story that asked “Do we hate evangelism?” We are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America but most Lutherans are reserved about their faith.- perhaps because they are shy, embarrassed or uncertain.

Follow me is God’s invitation to us to love our neighbors. It’s an invitation to share the gift of Christmas-Good Friday-Easter which is the gift of life.

The gift Jesus gave the fishermen was a gift of a new life of freedom and hope. But not an easy path forward. He challenged them to talk to their neighbors about God. The Gospel writer tells us they immediately went along. But as time went on they had questions and fears (Mt13:10).  They wanted to know what the future held. (Mt 24:3). They felt fear (Mt 26:69). 

We are the disciples. When Jesus calls us to follow we are fearful, perhaps embarrassed. We have questions about ourselves. Jesus tells us trust in God and He will send the Holy Spirit to give you strength. As we move forward in faith we ask that the Holy Spirit guides us into a new year, new partnerships and new faith experiences. 

Read Matthew 26:36-46

“He prayed My Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me …” 

Jesus went with the disciples to Gethsemane after the Passover meal. Gethsemane is at the foot of the Mount of Olives which overlooks Jerusalem.  Jesus left the group and climbed up the Mount. We can only imagine that there must have been a plethora of memories swirling his thoughts as he reflected on his ministry, prepared for the next events of his life and sought strength from the Holy Spirit.  We can relate to his plea to avoid painful events as we too have probably prayed a similar prayer for ourselves or a loved one.  Yet this event was part of God’s plan for a transformation.  

Further down the hill the disciples had no idea what they were in for- a transformation of their lives like none they had experienced. Some ran away. Peter denied knowing Jesus. Yet through the Holy Spirit they got their lives in order and began to change the lives of many others.

Transformation is defined as a marked change-usually for the better. Have you received a nudge from God?  How has the Holy Spirit transformed your life? Where do you see the Holy Spirit transforming our life together as God’s people in Blue Church?

When we reflect on transformation we must also hold on to the hope and assurance that comes from God’s promise.  Hymns uplift us with words of assurance when we sing ” I know that My Redeemer lives What comfort this sweet sentence gives He lives, He lives who once was dead He lives my ever living head“.  (LBW Hymn 619)

Read Acts 1: 6-8

“It is not for you to know the time and the season…”

This verse is about one of the most difficult things for us to do–wait… Wait for it to happen in God’s time-not ours. With the start of a new year, we prayerfully consider all of the options for our future ministry. We listen for God’s direction. We look for signs from those He has placed around us. We pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit about what ministries we can offer to engage others in worship and service to our community.

Waiting is an important part of our spiritual life. It is a time to grow, to heal, to renew and to explore. It is also a time when we receive guidance, spiritual insight and opportunities for new ministry. Lent is also a time of waiting- waiting for the darkness of sin to pass as we approach a season of growth and renewal in the Easter resurrection. We look around us and see new growth in our flower beds and in our own lives. But for now we must wait for the darkness of unknown to pass and the Light of the World to shine in with new opportunities .

The Lord’s Prayer

Every Sunday we recite the Lord’s Prayer. Have you ever thought about what you are asking of God? Mankind faces the power of the devil, the world and our own flesh in our struggle to obey God’s Laws. We lose every time as no one can perfectly keep the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:10-21). It is for this reason we call upon God with prayer. Prayer is often a reactive response to challenges in our daily lives. When do you pray? Is it only when “life happens”?

In the Lord’s Prayer we pray that God helps us to keep his name holy and use it to call upon Him in time of need. The prayer recognizes the daily peril to our faith and calls upon us to respond in prayer. When we ask for “daily bread” we are petitioning God to sustain us with temporal needs and with peace and concord with those around us. It asks us to reflect the model of Christ’s life in our own lives.

As Job, David and Paul did, we also find the devil is all about us. God forgives us but calls upon us to recognize that forgiveness (grace) he freely offers. “In as much as we sin greatly against God every day and yet he forgives it all through grace, we must always forgive our neighbor who does us harm, violence and injustice, bears malice towards us etc. (Book of Concord, p 433)

If God forgave your trespasses as you forgive others where would you be?

Do you know someone who needs to hear about God’s forgiveness? How could you bring grace into that person’s life?