#worry

Have You Been Around The Block–With God? Psalm 71

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Hi Family! Getting back track with the Daily Devos as well. Below are the devotions from this week all in one fell-swoop. These are on Psalm 71.

Have you been around the block? The older we get the more we’ve “been around the block,” as the old saying goes. There’s wisdom from those who have been around the block. God’s been around the block since eternity!

The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Series C

Psalm 71

Have You Been Around the Block A Few Times?

God’s Been Around The Block From The Beginning of Eternity

The Propers for the Fourth Sunday After Epiphany, Series C

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10, 17-19

   This is known as the call of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was young when God called him to be His prophet. Jeremiah was inexperienced. Afterall, he hadn’t even been a quarter of the way around the block, let alone living a life that goes around the block a few times.

   God assures Jeremiah not to worry. God knew him long before he was born. God was with him at that moment, and God would be with Jeremiah every moment of his life.

Epistle Reading: 1Corinthians 12:31-13:13

   This reading is read very often at Christian weddings, and understandably so. Paul speaks about love. However, in context this reading isn’t simply for Christian weddings. This reading is for ALL Christians as we travel around the block of life.

   As we go around the block year after year we encounter all kinds of people. These people are in our own families. These people are in our places of work and school. These people are in the circles of our daily lives. And, when you think about it, we too are in the circles of other Christian’s lives, so these words apply to them when they encounter us.

   Substitute the name “Christ Jesus” every time you read the word “love” and see how this passage applies to you as you go around the block with God.

The Gospel Reading: Luke 4:31-44

   Jesus begins His healing ministry, and it begins by taking care of the devil and demons and putting them in their place. I personally know a couple of people who have worked in this realm, and I have absolutely no reason to doubt that the devil and demons continue their work to this very day. We should not discount this, but we shouldn’t focus and freak out about this either.

   Behind every problem and “nothing good” is the kingdom of darkness. Jesus’ healing ministry shows us what life eternal will be like for all people when He returns and our trip around the block of life comes to an end. Until that day, we commend everything over to our heavenly Father Who’s been around the block since the beginning of eternity.

Luther’s Morning Prayer

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Luther’s Evening Prayer

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Psalm 71

1          In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;

                        let me never be put to shame!

2          In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

                        incline your ear to me, and save me!

3          Be to me a rock of refuge,

                        to which I may continually come;

             you have given the command to save me,

                        for you are my rock and my fortress.

4          Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

                        from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

5          For you, O Lord, are my hope,

                        my trust, O LORD, from my youth.

6          Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;

                        you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.

             My praise is continually of you.

7          I have been as a portent to many,

                        but you are my strong refuge.

8          My mouth is filled with your praise,

                        and with your glory all the day.

9          Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

                        forsake me not when my strength is spent.

10        For my enemies speak concerning me;

                        those who watch for my life consult together

11        and say, “God has forsaken him;

                        pursue and seize him,

                        for there is none to deliver him.”

12        O God, be not far from me;

                        O my God, make haste to help me!

13        May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;

                        with scorn and disgrace may they be covered

                        who seek my hurt.

14        But I will hope continually

                        and will praise you yet more and more.

15        My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,

                        of your deeds of salvation all the day,

                        for their number is past my knowledge.

16        With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;

                        I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

17        O God, from my youth you have taught me,

                        and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

18        So even to old age and gray hairs,

                        O God, do not forsake me,

             until I proclaim your might to another generation,

                        your power to all those to come.

19        Your righteousness, O God,

                        reaches the high heavens.

             You who have done great things,

                        O God, who is like you?

20        You who have made me see many troubles and calamities

                        will revive me again;

             from the depths of the earth

                        you will bring me up again.

21        You will increase my greatness

                        and comfort me again.

22        I will also praise you with the harp

                        for your faithfulness, O my God;

             I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

                        O Holy One of Israel.

23        My lips will shout for joy,

                        when I sing praises to you;

                        my soul also, which you have redeemed.

24        And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,

             for they have been put to shame and disappointed

                        who sought to do me hurt.

Monday, February 3, 2025

Going Around the Block With God: He’s Always There

1          In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;

                        let me never be put to shame!

2          In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

                        incline your ear to me, and save me!

3          Be to me a rock of refuge,

                        to which I may continually come;

             you have given the command to save me,

                        for you are my rock and my fortress.

            Are you pessimistic or optimistic about the future? Maybe it depends on your age or what generation you’re in. I recently heard that that GenZ is pessimistic on the American Dream—owning their own home—because of the current state of the economy, the interest and mortgage rates, the inventory of homes available, and the increasing prices of available inventory. I guess if I were GenZ, I might be a little pessimistic as well.

            It doesn’t matter if your age puts you in GenZ, Millenialists, GenY, or the Silent Generation. Every age, every generation, every century and millennia has its challenges. As times change there are two constants. One constant is that there will always be change. The other constant is that God NEVER changes.

            The Psalmist is in his old age as he writes this psalm. He’s been around the block. The one thing he knows for sure is that he’s never too old for God. No one ever outgrows his or her need for the Lord in their life.

            God is the One in Whom we take refuge because God is faithful. God will never ever disavow Himself of you. That’s the promise He made to you in your Baptism.

            God’s righteousness is not something that’s abstract. His righteousness is action, and that righteousness is seen in full display on the cross.

            God is your rock of refuge. He’s not a pebble, and He’s not a big stone. God is a rock, an immovable boulder as evidenced on the boulder of Calvary. Jesus’ arms are always open 24-hours a day, 7-days each week, 52-weeks out of the year.

656 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

1     A mighty fortress is our God,
    A trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from ev’ry need
    That hath us now o’ertaken.
The old evil foe
Now means deadly woe;
    Deep guile and great might
    Are his dread arms in fight;
On earth is not his equal.

Text: Public domain

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Going Around the Block With God: He Knew You Before Time Even Started

4          Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

                        from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

5          For you, O Lord, are my hope,

                        my trust, O LORD, from my youth.

6          Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;

                        you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.

             My praise is continually of you.

            The Psalmist seems to be playing Monday morning quarterback. After all, isn’t it always easier to see what’s going on after the fact? However, the Psalmist is still in the game of life, and so are we.

            The Psalmist didn’t know exactly what awaited him in the future, except for death. He knew that. The older we get the more attuned we are to our mortality as each day brings us one

step closer to Death’s door.

            The Psalmist knew something about God, however. He knew that God was always faithful even when the Psalmist wasn’t faithful to God. It’s God’s constant and never-changing faithfulness in which he trusted, and he trusted God from his youth.

            God knew the Psalmist. And God knows you. God knew you way back from the beginning of eternity. It was His plan to bring you into His very good creation. Yes. Satan disrupted God’s creation, but the devil can never disrupt God’s plan nor God’s plan for you.

            “Hope” is an expectation, an optimistic outlook. The only reason the Psalmist and we can have an optimistic outlook is because of Jesus’ perfect life lived for you, His death on the cross for the complete and total forgiveness of everyone’s sins, and His resurrection leading to the new and perfect life freed from any consequences of sin.

            This hope has an eternal home in the Christian’s heart. This hope has an eternal home in your heart too. You are a part of God’s plan; therefore, you can lean on Jesus at any time.

Wednesday, February 5,  2025

Going Around the Block With God: Escape To Reality

7          I have been as a portent to many,

                        but you are my strong refuge.

8          My mouth is filled with your praise,

                        and with your glory all the day.

9          Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

                        forsake me not when my strength is spent.

10        For my enemies speak concerning me;

                        those who watch for my life consult together

11        and say, “God has forsaken him;

                        pursue and seize him,

                        for there is none to deliver him.”

            Aging is difficult. There’s no doubt about that. Our bodies give way to time as parts wear out. The older we get the more we attend funerals of our friends and family members. For some, maybe for many, the retirements we dreamed about don’t seem to materialize for one reason or another.

            The unbelieving world may look at the Christian in these circumstances and say silently or out loud, “Where is your God? Maybe He’s forsaken you. Maybe He’s not real at all.”

            The Psalmist has been around the block a number of times, and he’s been around the block all those times with God. There’s a different reality he knows, and that reality is God’s reality for him. He looks back on his long life and remembers how God has always been with him and seen him through the good as well as the tough times. We know this because he continues to come back to God; the same God of his youth, the same God of his middle-age, and this is the same God in his old age.

            YOU are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with YOUR praise; and with YOUR glory all the day.

            God’s reality for the Psalmist is the same reality for you, despite what the world, the devil, or our pasts and sins say otherwise. Your enemies of sin, death, and the devil will not succeed. They’ve been defeated at the cross and the empty Easter tomb. Because of this, God will never leave you nor forsake you.

656 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

2     With might of ours can naught be done,
    Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the valiant One,
    Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this?
Jesus Christ it is,
    Of Sabaoth Lord,
    And there’s none other God;
He holds the field forever.

Text: Public domain

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Going Around the Block With God: Count Your Blessings, Name Them One By One

12        O God, be not far from me;

                        O my God, make haste to help me!

13        May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;

                        with scorn and disgrace may they be covered

                        who seek my hurt.

14        But I will hope continually

                        and will praise you yet more and more.

15        My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,

                        of your deeds of salvation all the day,

                        for their number is past my knowledge.

16        With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;

                        I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

            Verse 13 seems rather odd, and on the surface very non-Christian like. Are we to wish that our accusers to be put to shame? Are we not supposed to love them according to Jesus’ own words? Absolutely! We are to love them!

            The Psalmist is not wishing these things upon his enemies. After all, no one is righteous, no not one, including you and me. While we still enemies of God, He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us all. The Psalmist predicts what will happen to them if they don’t repent and turn to Jesus.[1]

            The Psalmist returns to his own situation. He knows that he’s accepted God’s reality for him, which is God’s undeserved and unmerited grace and forgiveness. After being around the block so many times with God the Psalmist continues to count his blessings from the LORD and praises Him for them. Likewise, he doesn’t want to keep these a secret, but rather he lives them out daily.

            When life in this broken world, and your sins begin to get the best of you, go around the block with God counting your blessings. Begin with your Baptism and see what God has done, and continues to do for you. God has blessed you in so many innumerable ways!

656 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

3     Though devils all the world should fill,
    All eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill;
    They shall not overpow’r us.
This world’s prince may still
Scowl fierce as he will,
    He can harm us none.
    He’s judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.

Text: Public domain

Friday, February 7, 2025

Going Around the Block With God: The Best Is Yet To Come

Psa. 71:17       O God, from my youth you have taught me,

                        and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

18        So even to old age and gray hairs,

                        O God, do not forsake me,

             until I proclaim your might to another generation,

                        your power to all those to come.

19        Your righteousness, O God,

                        reaches the high heavens.

             You who have done great things,

                        O God, who is like you?

20        You who have made me see many troubles and calamities

                        will revive me again;

             from the depths of the earth

                        you will bring me up again.

21        You will increase my greatness

                        and comfort me again.

            Yup. The older we get the more we experience life—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Those who have been around the block a number of times have gained wisdom through all these experiences.

            I’ve met many people who have been around the block and are bitter. And I’ve met many people who have been around the block who, though having gone through very tough times, remain thankful to God for having Jesus in their life. In fact, a common confession that I often hear is, “I don’t know how people can go through life without Jesus.”

            This is what the Psalmist says in so many words. It’s very easy to become bitter with life, with others, and sometimes with ourselves. However, the Christian looks forward. He knows the best is yet to come. The Christian’s view of life begins at the cross and the empty Easter tomb. There is where the unholy trinity of sin, death, and the devil have been completely defeated.

            The older a Christian gets, the more he sees the grace and mercy of God who sees him through thick and thin. The Christian believes that, no matter what may come his way, the best is yet to come because the best will happen when Jesus returns on the last day.

            Until that time older Christians have a lot of valuable wisdom to share with the younger generation of Christians. The older ones have been through the wilderness of life and have experienced God’s grace and presence. The younger Christians are truly open to hearing about these things because they want to know how God works in the life of Christians. Who better to hear this from than from older Christians who have been through these things—who have been around the block with God? This is what the aged Psalmist does; he proclaims God’s might and goodness to the next generation. That’s because the older Christians can look back on a long trail of trust in God.

            For those of you who are older Christians (remember that fine wine is aged wine!), who do you know who are younger in church or your daily circles who could benefit from your experiences with God in your life? For those who are younger Christians, tap into the lives and experiences of older Christians so that you too may see how God works.

            As you go around the block with God, the best is still to come!

656 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

4     The Word they still shall let remain
    Nor any thanks have for it;
He’s by our side upon the plain
    With His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life,
Goods, fame, child, and wife,
    Though these all be gone,
    Our vict’ry has been won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth.

Text: Public domain

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Going Around the Block With God: Praise Him All Along The Way

Psa. 71:22       I will also praise you with the harp

                        for your faithfulness, O my God;

             I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

                        O Holy One of Israel.

23        My lips will shout for joy,

                        when I sing praises to you;

                        my soul also, which you have redeemed.

24        And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,

             for they have been put to shame and disappointed

                        who sought to do me hurt.

            As with verse 13, so too with verse 24b. This is not a vindictive wish upon the enemies. The Psalmist is not showing a malicious ill will and a desire to hurt or despise his enemies. Rather, God’s faithfulness to the Psalmist will be played out by God.

            The Christian lives each day in the faithfulness of God as demonstrated in the cross. God is not just any god; He is my God. He is the Holy One Whose holiness continues to work and fill this world. He is the Holy One who has claimed you and given you the rights and privileges that go along with living in His Kingdom which has no end. And God has made you a part of His eternal grand plan through faith in His Holy Son, Jesus.

            The older we get, the more we go around the block. Regardless of our age, it’s merely a blink of an eye to God. He’s been around the block since the beginning of eternity. The devil will try to convince us otherwise, but he’s only been around the block since the beginning of time, not the beginning of eternity.

            Continue to trust God in any and all situations. God goes around the block with you every step of the way as the best is yet to come.

[1] H. C. Leupold, Exposition of the Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1959), 514.

Psalm 23:4 We All Walk Through Dark Valleys

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4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil:

    for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff

they comfort me.

       Let’s face it. At the “end of the day” each and every person faces death. There’s no escaping it. Psalm 23:4 speaks of the valley of the shadow of death, which is why this Psalm is read at so many funerals.

       However, this Psalm is not for those who have died, but rather for us who are still living in this desolate, present evil age. There are lots of enemies that are after God’s sheep. The devil hates the Good Shepherd, and therefore he despises His flock too. As the Bible says:

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 ESV)

       He is the enemy of all enemies. All evil and evil ways support the devil’s goals. His goal is not to make life difficult for people. Rather, his goal is to take the sheep away from the loving care and safety of the Shepherd. His goal is to devour them—ripping, tearing, and shredding apart God’s sheep.

       As humanity travels through this world and in desolate places, there’s the Good Shepherd. And what do shepherds do for the sheep? Well, first of all they lead them. This means that the shepherd walks ahead of his flock to keep an eye out for danger, and to make sure they stay on the right path. The shepherd is also behind the flock poking and prodding them to get a move on. In addition, the shepherd will flank the flock to keep them together so that they don’t get separated and thus, vulnerable to becoming lunch for some animal.

       Nevertheless, we’re sheep and sometimes we fall off the ledge or into a hole becoming vulnerable to beasts of prey. The Good Shepherd is there to rescue us with His staff. The shepherd’s staff has a crook on the end that the shepherd uses to hook the stranded sheep under the armpits and lift it out. This is the gospel, because when we fall into sins, the loving Shepherd comes to rescue us and bring us safely back into the fold. [1]

       The rod and staff were also used by the shepherd to ward off animals who would prey on the sheep. This meant hand-to-claw—and teeth—combat where the shepherd would literally put his life on the line to protect his sheep.

       Jesus did this for you on Calvary. The Good Shepherd went head-to-head with the devil himself. It appeared that the Good Shepherd had lost the fight. But the fight wasn’t over yet. Three days later the Good Shepherd rose and stepped out of the valley of death and darkness. He conquered Satan, that prowling lion seeking whom he may devour, and now Jesus leads you through any valleys the devil puts in the way.

       What are the valleys of shadows that concern you? What are the enemies that lurk therein—hopelessness, helplessness, defeat? What are the things at the end of the day that you’re afraid of? The Good Shepherd is there with you—in the front leading you, in the rear prodding you along, and on the side flanking you from your enemies.

[1] Hans-Joachim Kraus, A Continental Commentary: Psalms 1–59 (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1993), 308.

Psalm 23:1 Looking For A Better Tomorrow?

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1   The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

       Have you ever come to the end of the day hoping and praying for a better tomorrow? The single parent trying to keep the family afloat while at the same time trying to have some “me” time to recharge. At the end of the day, however, the tomorrow’s hamster wheel is in full view waiting for you to jump back in tomorrow morning. The person trying to get ahead financially in this transitory inflationary economy that’s been anything but transitory. The spouse caring for his or her elderly husband or wife. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, cancer, you name it. The end of the day seems so dark and the prospects for a new beginning seem way out of reach and out of sight.

       Then Psalm 23 comes along with the opening verse. I shall not want means that I shall lack no good thing. At the end of the day this verse hits the Christian who lacks energy to go on, finances to get to the next month, the strength to endure the heartbreak of a beloved spouse who’s not going to get any better. So, what’s this verse really all about? Is there a new beginning at the end of the day?

       This Psalm is not about living the idyllic life as it’s often understood. In fact, this Psalm is just the opposite.[1] Psalm 23 is not for those who died, but for those who are still living in desolate, dark places.

       King David penned this prayer believing that Yhwh was his Good Shepherd. That means King David himself is one of His sheep. Sheep are totally dependent on the shepherd for everything—food, drink, and protection. Being a sheep is a way of life 24/7/365. There’s never a time when sheep are independent because independence from the shepherd puts the sheep in danger, or worse, death. St. Augustine wrote: “When you say, ‘The Lord is my shepherd,’ no proper grounds are left for you to trust in yourself.”[2]

       The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall lack no good thing. This seems to be an extravagant statement, especially at the end of the day when we’re looking for a new beginning. Rev. Dr. Saleska writes about this in his commentary on Psalm 23:

How can these extravagant claims be true? Is the psalmist making a prediction, “I may be lacking now, but in the future, I will not lack anything,” or is he describing his present reality, “it may look like I am suffering lack, but actually I lack nothing”? Is he reminding and encouraging himself because he is experiencing doubt? Or is he doing something else? Should the speaker’s claim be taken literally, or is it hyperbole? All are possible ways to understand the speaker’s utterance.

Regardless of the force behind the speaker’s words, God’s people tend to take his utterance not as hyperbole but—strange as it may seem to others—as literal truth. We see it as one version of a familiar profession central to our faith. A core belief is that our God is all we really need and that he is the only one able to take care of all our (other) needs. Because God promises to hold us in the hand of Christ, the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11, 27–30), we can trust him and let go of other needs and desires. (Admittedly, though, this belief is often accompanied by doubts. We are sheep, after all.)[3]

       The Good Shepherd Jesus is Yhwh God in the flesh. This is the kind of God He is. He entered the human condition of His creation in order to bring hope and new breath into peoples’ lives. The Good Shepherd experienced everything that you do and more. He laid down His life for you on the cross. That’s how important you are to Him. And three days later He took up His life being raised from death and the grave that will eventually claim each one of us. However, death and the grave do not have the final word. Exhaustion and frustration do not have the final word. Worries and doubts do not have the final word. The Good Shepherd has the final word and that word in resurrection. In His death and resurrection Jesus has transformed the future, and He brings you that hope and certainty in your life today.

       Is there a new beginning at the end of the day? There absolutely is. Put your trust in the Good Shepherd.

[1] Hans-Joachim Kraus, A Continental Commentary: Psalms 1–59 (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1993), 306–307.

[2] Blaising, Craig A. and Carmen S. Hardin, eds., Psalms 1–50. ACCS 7. ICCS/Accordance electronic edition, version 2.6. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008. 178.

[3] Timothy E. Saleska, Psalms 1–50, ed. Christopher W. Mitchell, Concordia Commentary (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2020), 409–410.

Isaiah 40:21, 28-31 Back to the Basics

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Hello Family!

Well, it’s Super Bowl season. And what better coach is there but the legendary Coach Vince Lombardi! He is arguably the best coach of all time and in all of sports. He’s truly a legend

This legend needed to have his team get back to basics: “Gentlemen, this is a football.” Then Max McGee quipped, “Slow down Coach. You’re going to fast. We can’t keep up.”

The world was topsy-turvy for God’s people who were in refugee camps during their exile in Babylon. They had wondered if God was around, if God had been defeated by the Babylonian gods, and if they had absented themselves from God because of their sins. People today wonder the same thing, and Isaiah has a word for them, “Get back to the basics.”

Readings: Isaiah 40:21-31, Psalm 147:1-11, 1 Corinthians 9:16-27, Mark 1:29-39

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I love you guys! Dad

Psalm 62 A ‘Nevertheless’ Faith in Christ

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Hello Family!

September 29 is St. Michael and All Angels Day. This is the time in the Christian Church year where the Christian Church around the world focuses on spiritual warfare. This time of the Church Year is called “The Church Militant.”

Spiritual warfare doesn’t occur only during the month of October. It happens every day and the devil is at work every hour. Though he’s defeated and Christ Jesus decisively won the War on Calvary and with the empty Easter tomb, daily battles still occur. Spiritual warfare will continue until the Day when Jesus returns. So, where do you place your hope and trust? Is God first? If not, then what or who is first?

Readings for Proper 22C: Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4; Psalm 62; 2Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17:1-10

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I love you guys! Dad

Psalm 33:18-20 Do You Keep An Eye On God?

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Hi Family!

Do you ever feel like you’re swamped and swimming up stream? Does it ever seem like God may never keep His word? The unbelieving world has a lot of answers for the Christian. They ridicule Christians for putting their hopes, dreams, and desires in something so futile as “this Jesus.” The newest label for the Christian here in the US is “Christian Nationalist,” and it’s not a term used for flattery. Nevertheless, the Christian presses forward.

This is nothing new. God’s people have always been challenged in various ways. And the Christian has the added burden as we, too, wrestle with anxiety. Psalm 33 has the answer!

Readings for Proper 14-C: Genesis 15:1-6; Psalm 33:12-22; Hebrews 11:1-16; Luke 12:22-40

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I love you guys! Dad

Psalm 100:3 Are You Storing Up?

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Good day Family! It was GREAT having you all with us last week for the wedding!

You’re feeling it at the gas pumps. Right? Feeling it at the grocery store. Right? As of Thursday, July 28th, our country is officially in a recession. It looks like we could be heading for stagflation as well. You’re way to young to know about this because the last time stagflation happened, it was under the Carter administration in the late 70s.

Times like these are challenging for every person, Christian and non-Christian alike. However, the Christian handles things differently than the rest of world does. Yes. We’re to store up, but what are we to store up on?

Readings for Proper 13-C: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-26; Psalm 100; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21

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I love yous guys! Dad

Silence Is Golden! (Psalm 37:7-8)

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Sunset over water

Silence! Patience! I know some of you in the family are more patient than others. And, as you will attest, I’m not always the most patient in the family–though I have made great strides over the last couple of months. But silence in this family? Ha! That’s a good one! The Redekers are great talkers and we love to be with people. So, silence is a foreign concept in our household.

Finishing up with Psalm 37:7-8 and dealing with fretting, God calls His people to be silent. That means ‘to keep quiet.’ Everything that causes us to be anxious, to worry and to be angry–we are to hand it over to God. Once we do that then we are to be silent. God puts His finger over our lips and says, “Shhhhhh. Don’t worry about it anymore. I will take care of everything. Be patient. Be still. And trust Me.”

Lips

Patience can be hard for anyone to practice, regardless if the person is 100 years old or 2 years old. But as the saying goes patience is a virtue. When we hand our problems, troubles, frets, anger and worries over to God to handle, then what should we do as we patiently and silently wait? Pray! Pray through the problem or the concern. It doesn’t have to be a fancy prayer. And it doesn’t have to be a long prayer. When we get impatient, we can simply pray, “Lord, I know You’re in control.”

Verse 8 reminds us about anger. This might be anger toward God, and it might be anger toward another person. We are to refrain from anger. Anger, like fretting and needless worrying, doesn’t do us any good at all. In fact, it eats away at our insides and it makes us feel like we simply want to explode. But what good does that do us? No good at all! And it doesn’t make the situation any better. Does it? It only makes the person who is angry more miserable.

anger: Anger, rage, shout.

What does God want us to do? Refrain from it!! That means abandon anger, desert it, leave it in the lurch by releasing it. Don’t hang on to it, but again, let God deal with it. Trust God and pray for His guidance. When we hand everything over to God and let go of things, then a sense of peace comes upon us. We know that even though we are not in control, God is in control. We are then freed up to lead a life with God’s peace and security.

So, what did we learn from Psalm 37:3-10?

TRUST God. He replaces our insecurities with His faithfulness and security. Everything begins with trust: We should revere, love and trust in God above all things.

DELIGHT in the Lord. Wrap yourself up in Jesus. He softens the bumpy road and smooths out the rough spots in life so that it’s not so bumpy.

COMMIT to the Lord. Let Jesus roll your problems over to God. After all, the stone was rolled over the tomb where Jesus lay. But then 3 days later on Easter, He rolled the stone away.

BE STILL. Silence is golden before the Lord. Jesus was silent and patient with us as He hung on the cross on Good Friday.

REFRAIN. Abandon all our problems and worries over to Jesus. Release them and let Him handle them for us.

Prayer: Dear Lord; sometimes life can get real tough and hard to handle. Sometimes I get angry and it brews and festers inside of me. Forgive me for trying to handle everything on my own. You care for me and You want the best for me, including living a life free from anger worry, anxiousness and fretting. Help me to trust You more and hand everything over to Jesus to take of things for me. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.

I love you guys! Dad

Roll With the Changes (Psalm 37:5-6)

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Vintage Photo of People Pushing Old Car

Fretting, anxiousness, and unnecessary worrying is very easy to do. We might have some good reasons for this. Nevertheless, God doesn’t want His people to fret. And He gives the antidote to fretting. That’s why I’m continuing on with Psalm 37 for a couple of days because there’s SO MUCH great stuff in here to help us, as God’s people, to commit everything over to God and let Him handle our problems so that  we can continue to live life the way He wants His people to live it.

Have you ever rolled a heavy object? For instance, have you ever had to push a car that died? I know I have. When I was young, my friends and I didn’t have money for new cars. We had beaters (and they were a lot of fun)! But they also died out once in a while. That would mean we would have to get out and push them. Now, back then cars were really cars–they were made out of heavy metal and steel. It was really hard and difficult to begin to push the car and get it moving. But once there was momentum, the car would move much more easily. The hard part was the initial pushing to get it moving.

Psalm 37:5-6 builds on what we read the last two days about how to deal with fretting and worrying. God wants us to ‘commit’ our way/life and all our problems over to Him, and then ‘trust’ Him. There’s that word ‘trust’ again (see October 17 for ‘trust’). The word ‘commit’ means ‘to roll or turn,’ like a huge heavy boulder to close up a well or a cave. Fretting and worrying can become heavy burdens. And the more we try handling things on our own, the heavier that stone can become. Roll it over to God to handle. Hand it over to Jesus because we can’t roll that stone on our own. Turn that stone over to Him and trust Him, because He’s the One who has already sealed our cave and deep well of sin.

What are some problems or worries you might be facing today? Are you trying to handle them yourself? Do you think you can do a better job than Jesus can at solving your problems or worries? What might be holding you back from committing them/turning and rolling them over to Jesus?

Prayer: Heavenly Father; it would be so wonderful if everything in life were easy and care-free. But it’s not. And if life were that way, then we might find ourselves not needing You and walking away from you. Whatever problems and worries we may have today, we turn them over to you. We trust you Lord. Help us in our lack of trust. We roll everything over to you in Jesus name. Amen.

I love you! Dad