CREDIT: DieselDemon on Flickr

Dear Friends and Family of First Lutheran,

In the days before video-on-demand and streaming, you usually had one chance to catch your favorite Christmas shows. But one show seemed to show up dozens of times each year, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  This classic movie portrays a man, George Bailey, who’s a banker without hope. Why? Because he’s lost a lot of money. He’s so hopeless that he decides to end it all … until Clarence the Angel gives him hope that saves his life. His life saved, his neighbors – who’ve benefitted from George’s generosity – come to George’s rescue in his time of need.

As we begin the season of Advent, we’re all hopeful too. Some of us are hopeful for the amazing gifts we hope will make us happy. Some of us are hopeful for the visits and celebrations we hope will be joyful. But we’re also hopeful for another, more important reason. The arrival of Jesus … His return in glory.

Usually, we associate Jesus’ triumphal entry with Holy Week, not the start of Advent, right before Christmas. But Jesus’ triumphal entry points to the entire reason He was humbly born of a young, powerless woman named Mary on the first Christmas. 

The people of Jerusalem, after enduring centuries of oppression at the hands of other nations, shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:9-10) They hoped, “Maybe Jesus is the Messiah! Maybe He’ll crush our oppressor and restore Israel to greatness like in the days of King David!” 

They were right! But not in the way they thought. We celebrate Jesus’s birth because – by His death, He crushed sins power over us. By His resurrection, He’s restored us to eternal life. And when He returns, riding not on a humble donkey, but as a mighty king, our hopes will become reality. Jesus will bring us all into eternal life in His kingdom. That’s our hope now and each day of our lives.

Your Brother in Christ,

Pastor Jim 

CREDIT: Marco Verch, Professional Photographer

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As a long-time baseball fan, I’m “trained” that “hope springs eternal” at each season’s end. Only one team, and it is most often not mine, wins the World Series. For the rest of us, we wait until next season … hoping for some new players that will lift our team to World Series glory. “Hope springs eternal” as we pass through the dying days of Fall into the darkness of Winter.

This idea of baseball – and to a similar extent any sport with a long season – is a good visual for our life as children of God. We live our lives in Christ, but it doesn’t always seem to go the way we plan. Along with joy and victory, we have our share of disappointments, frustrations, and tragedies. But as Christians, we have faith in something that enables our “hope to spring eternal.” “For as in Adam (a man like us) all die, so also in Christ (a man like us, as well as also fully God) shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22) 

Our faith in Jesus Christ, His death on the cross – which enables the forgiveness of sin and His resurrection from the dead – which enables our own resurrection on the last day, gives us all “hope that springs eternal.” We know we will, at some point, fall into death. But the darkness of death is only temporary. On the last day, after Jesus “has put all His enemies under His feet (including death itself),” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26) Jesus will return in glory. On that day, we who believe in Him will spring to new and eternal life. 

As we wait for that day, let us respond to His love for us by loving Him and those He places in our lives; especially the poor, sick, estranged, and imprisoned with our time, talent, and treasure. In this way we do, in fact, love God as we love our neighbor. And when our King returns, He’ll invite us into His eternal kingdom to live forever. (Matthew 25:34-36)

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Jim 

CREDIT: rawpixel.com

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

For many young people in our community this is “rehearsal season.” Driving to and from church every day I see signs advertising the shows our local schools are putting on – Cyrano De Bergerac, Sense and Sensibility, Alice in Wonderland, Putnam County Spelling Bee. If you’ve never seen these productions, they’re worth seeing. They are quite impressive. Why? Because of the lengthy rehearsals which go through the extensive choreography of actors, sets, musicians, and lighting and sound effects. The rehearsals make sure everything happens according to plan – all in the correct order – so the stories are told clearly for all to experience.

As chaotic as life on the real-world stage is, I imagine we’d all like to rehearse things here too. That might help minimize the chaos and confusion we endure each day. There is one part of our lives that is, in a way, rehearsed for us. It’s the most important day any of us will ever experience! Not our birth, our graduation, our wedding, or our first day of work … it’s the day of the Lord Jesus Christ’s return in glory! It’s a day when our eternal destiny will be sealed. 

Unlike a school theater production though, which has a well-advertised day, time, and location, Jesus’ return day and time is unknown to any of us – including Jesus (Matthew 24:35-37, 25:13). Even though we don’t know the day or time, we do know the choreography of the events. First, Jesus will return from His throne in heaven with heavenly voices and trumpets announcing His coming. Then the dead will be raised to new life followed by those who are still alive. All who “believe Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:14) 

God will bring all who believe in Him back to Himself in an orderly, well-choreographed manner just has His word rehearses for us. It will be the most joyous, incredible experience we could ever imagine. And it’ll last for eternity!

Your Brother in Christ,

Pastor Jim 

CREDIT: Midjourney AI

Dear Children of God,

You may or may not have been blessed with children. As a dad, I remember when my children were born. Today, over thirty years later, I couldn’t have imagined they’d be where they are now. And I’ll never be able to completely imagine where they’ll be years from now. I might have ideas about where they’ll be, what they’ll become based on the past. But to truly know what the future holds for them, for me, for any of us isn’t possible…

Except for our ultimate, eternal futures. We can imagine that because “we are” – not “we will be” or “might be” or “could be” – we are children of God right now. (1 John 3:2) That means our ultimate, eternal futures are certain. God promises each of us who know and believe in Him, “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2-3) These words tell us of our ultimate, eternal futures. We’re not there yet, but God assures us, we will be. We will be truly holy – “like Him” – like Jesus. We will be in His actual, physical presence – after all “we will see Him as He is” – we’ll see Jesus face-to-face. That is our ultimate, eternal future. 

Between now and then, none of us is truly certain where we’ll be, what we’ll be doing, or for how long we’ll be doing it. A case in point, me! In 2010, as I began to wind down my Air Force career, I was sure I’d be teaching high school math and science and coaching baseball. That’s what I imagined. But God saw something else and led me elsewhere. And here I am, a pastor in His church. No matter what you’re imagining for your future, know that God has a plan for you to use the gifts He’s given you in this life as He leads you into your ultimate, eternal future.

In Christ’s Love,

                                            Pastor Jim 

Photo by Kristina V on Unsplash

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We Americans are proud of our freedom. Of course, we aren’t free to do whatever we want. But, within the confines of our laws, agreed upon by our elected representatives, we live in freedom. 

The opposite of freedom is slavery. Someone who is enslaved can’t do what they want. They are compelled to do what their master wants. In Martin Luther’s day, like today, people knew they were sinners and feared the consequences of their sin. The church in those days preyed on these fears teaching people that if they didn’t earn enough merit through their works to earn God’s favor, they’d be sentenced to eternity in hell. Since nobody wants to suffer eternal torment and nobody was ever certain if they had achieved enough merit, they were enslaved to their master – sin – piling up rituals and works, hoping they’d outweigh their sin and earn God’s mercy and forgiveness.

Martin Luther, a priest in the church, was tormented by this uncertainty – until he understood Romans 1:17 “For in (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”  In these words, Luther discovered it was not slavery to the law or man’s rituals or traditions that earned God’s favor. Rather, God in His grace, gives it as a gift to those with faith in Jesus Christ, His sacrificial death, and His resurrection. Luther realized he was freed from his sin when he entrusted his life to Christ.

Jesus tells us, “If you abide in my word … you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) Luther abided in Christ’s word. He discovered he was indeed free by God’s grace. And so are we. We are freed by God’s grace alone, based on our faith in Jesus’ works alone, found in God’s Word alone. God’s love has set us free. Let's join together to celebrate God’s love for us which frees us to love our neighbors and God without concern or worry.

                                                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                                                                Pastor Jim

CREDIT: Scott Nelson

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

If you’ve ever seen mountain goats on a cliff, you’ve seen some of God’s most sure-footed creatures. There’s a story about two mountain goats meeting on a very narrow trail overlooking an extremely high cliff. As sure-footed as they are, one step to the left or right by either and they’d end up falling to their death. However, rather than butting heads to achieve dominance, one of the goats humbled himself before the other. He laid down as flat as possible, allowing the other to walk over him. Then he rose to continue his journey. His humility allowed both to resume their travels.

This vision of humility illustrates God’s call to His children, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3) These words from Paul, urge Christians to remember their first loyalty is not to themselves but to God and then to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4) It can be hard to have this mindset in the “dog eat dog” world where so many of our so-called “role-models” and “leaders” exemplify the exact opposite, “It’s my way or the highway!” 

But as Christians, disciples of Christ, we see a much different leader, don’t we? Imagine if Jesus was “in it to win it for Himself”. Where would that leave us? As God in the flesh, He could’ve lifted His mighty right hand and destroyed all His enemies in one fell swoop! All who had sinned against Him would be dashed to pieces by His divine power. But Jesus “made Himself nothing … humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,” (Philippians 2:7-8) to save His enemies, all who’ve sinned against Him – including you and me – from eternal death.

As followers of Jesus in a crooked and twisted world, let us shine as lights in the world, humbly lowering ourselves to serve others that Christ’s love would shine brightly – guiding others to Christ and eternal life with us and all who believe in Him in God’s new creation.

                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                        Pastor Jim

CREDIT: Woodley Wonderworks on Flickr

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Normally I start with an image or example in these little notes. Today I start with a question. What’s truly the hardest thing to do? If we’re honest, I think the hardest thing for any of us to do is this — to truly forgive someone who has hurt us or someone we love. I’m not speaking of simply saying, “I forgive you,” but really meaning it by not letting the offense hang over the other’s head … or letting it hang around in your head causing anger and hurt to return. Forgiveness is hard indeed.

But when we’re forgiven, how good does that feel?! Walking around with sin weighing us down can feel like carrying a 50-pound pack on our backs all day and trying to sleep with it too! Then, suddenly, when forgiveness is received, our load is lightened. We might even feel like we can fly!

So, if forgiveness feels so good when received, why is it so hard to give?

God knows how important forgiveness is — which is why Jesus says, “I do not say to you (to forgive) seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22)In the parable that follows, the servant with the insurmountable 10,000 talent debt exemplifies our problem with forgiveness. He’s filled with joy to receive forgiveness of his entire debt by his master. But when he’s asked to forgive a large, but still manageable 100 days wages of debt owed him by a fellow servant … he can’t. Forgiveness is hard.

But that doesn’t make it optional. Jesus calls us to forgive each other — fully and completely, regardless of the sin — just as God our Father fully and completely forgives us each day of our lives, granting us the priceless gift of eternal life with Him. And what’s more, He also completely and fully forgets the sins we’ve committed. (Psalm 103:10-12) We may not be able to forget when we forgive, but God doesn’t call us to forget like Him — only to forgive. Forgiveness is hard. But it’s not optional.

                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                        Pastor Jim