Strange Love

God has a strange way of showing love to his people. I preached on Luke 15:19-31 yesterday. God loved Lazarus by giving him the one thing needed, yet gave him nothing else. No family, no shelter, sparse daily bread, and ill health are all strange ways God showed His love. Lazarus's life was one of misery, but in the end, he enjoyed an eternity of peace at Abraham's side.

Perhaps people view Lutherans who practice "communion for those in actual communion with one another" as unloving. It's precisely because we love our guests that we encourage them to wait until we can share EVERYTHING we believe, teach, and confess. We don't want them to lie nor do we want them to condemn themselves. It's a strange and uncomfortable way of showing love, but it is love.

Just because it's a strange way of showing love does not make it unloving.

Gross or net

When you encourage joyful proportionate giving based on what God has done for you, do you encourage that percentage taken from your gross income or net income?

Pastors, do you give to your congregation a percentage of ALL your congregation provides for you, including health insurance, pension, mileage, and other expenses?

Bandaid on the back.

There are things I am afraid to do, dread doing, but when it's done, I feel much better. Kind of like ripping a bandaid off your back.

The Liturgy is Not a Competition

Rev. Rick Stuckwisch (LC-MS) wrote an excellent post concerning the tension Christians face over their worship practices.

It's worth a read. Some of the quotes I liked where:

In fact, I would go so far as to say that, as soon our liturgical practice has become a kind of competition, it has to that same extent become idolatrous.

How easy it is to forget that our erring brothers are not simply erring but brothers, and that, however wrongheaded and bungling they may be, they are loved and longed for by the Good Shepherd, who seeks out the lost to save them. If a brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him, even if it happens seven times a day. Forgiveness is the goal.

In the end, I would rather be known for an evangelical preaching and faithful catechesis of the Word, than measured by the "height" or "depth" of my liturgical practice.

I don't know if my Baptism was "high church" or "low church," but it was Christ who cleansed me by that washing of water with His Word, who thereby clothed me in Himself and His righteousness forever. There is no greater benefit to be given or received than that.

Devotional idea

I will be forever thankful for a gift my brother gave to me, the Bible on Audio CD.

Here's why I like it:

1. I can clean my office and do a devotion at the same time.
   
2. It forces me to listen to every word, and not skip to the key words nor breeze over the familiar ones.
   
3. I actually look forward to long drives in the car.
   
4. I seem to grasp big picture stuff better. It's amazing how the Holy Spirit threads the Bible together.
   
5. It reassures me that what I'm listening to is real. Kinda like listening to a sermon from another pastor that says the things you expect him to say.
   

I can see the danger in it too. Your mind drifts and suddenly you've forgotten what was said, and now you've broken the 3rd commandment. What an gracious God we have who takes that risk in hopes that the seed is planted on good soil.

I'm beginning to understand why we don't have quiet reading time on Sunday. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. (1 Timothy 4:13)

Balancing act

A member and I meet once a week to read the Bible together. He had read the People's Bible on Revelation and he thought it would be good to read Revelation again together. I agreed. It's nice to tackle the book of Revelation with someone who's already digested it in recent memory.

Anyways, we were reading the 7 letters to the 7 churches, and while there is a lot to take in from what Jesus says to His church, it struck me this time that what's important to Him was that His church hold on to the Word. He doesn't speak highly of blending His Word with false doctrine nor blending His Word with the world. There's tension between "becoming all things to all men" and "Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent."

Productivity

While I know my boss does not view productivity the way the world does, it is hard to let go of that sometimes. For example, my boss thinks that spending time with Him is very important because of the job. However,it doesn't look so good "on paper." "What's your schedule during the week, Pastor?" is often answered in terms of output than input. "I crank out a sermon, I visited so many people, I made so many phone calls, etc. etc."

It's just part of the gig, I guess. How to spend your time making sure you "neglect everything equally" (a phrase I heard at a Pastor Circuit Study once) and at the same time making sure to take care of your soul?

I was talking with a brother pastor yesterday, and he shared with me a phrase "do one big thing a day." With all the busy things pastors do in a day, if you got one big thing accomplished, you've had a good day. I don't remember coming across such a philosophy of ministry in the Bible. However, God did do one big thing called light and then called it a day... *cue audience laughter*

Well, yesterday I was spent most of the day analyzing Luther's Deutsche Messe and putting it together for my rural churches. A good day. Today I made an important phone call and a visit, both of which I had filled my sinful heart with unwarranted anxiety. a good day. Not that I want to scale back to doing just one thing a day, but a positive viewpoint helps.