St. Johns News

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Romans 8:24,25

Real Hope

In 312 A.D., emperor Constantine of Rome marched off to war. He looked up at the sun and saw a cross of light above it and the words, “In this [sign, you will] conquer.” Tradition claims that the following night, Constantine had a dream. In this dream, Christ explained to Constantine that he should use the sign of the cross to conquer his foes.

However, Christ’s victory on Calvary does not assure us of earthly victories over foreign enemies, financial woes, failing health, or our favorite sports nemeses. Rather, it assures us that Christ conquered sin. And his victory when he walked out of the tomb assures us that he conquered death. Death was not the end of Jesus. Jesus was the end of death.

We live in confident hope that Jesus will give us eternal victory over the rule of sin and death. We live in certain anticipation that he will rouse us from our earthen beds and reunite our resting souls with our renewed bodies. We live in peaceful patience for the day when he will renew all creation and banish the old ways of sadness, suffering, and death.

The hopes of the earthly-minded rise and fall. The real hope given by God to all who focus on the cross of Christ is that Jesus will return and fix everything wrong with this broken world forever.

Prayer:
Jesus, grant me patience as I wait for the joys of the eternal life you promise to provide. Amen.

We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:23

The Lord Will Provide

“The Lord will provide.” That was Abraham’s response of faith to his son, Isaac. They were summiting Mount Moriah, where they would offer a sacrifice to the Lord. They had the knife, the wood, the fire. But they lacked the animal for sacrifice.

Isaac had no idea that God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son. So, Isaac asked his father, “Where is the lamb?” “The Lord will provide,” Abraham assured. And the Lord did. He provided a ram to sacrifice instead of Abraham’s son.

Centuries later, God continued to cultivate in Abraham’s descendants a spirit of trust that he is the Lord who provides. Every year, on the day of Pentecost, God’s people offered the Lord the initial produce—the firstfruits—of their harvests. With this offering, God’s people showed their trust in God to provide them with more. And he did.

Fifty days after sacrificing his only Son on Mount Calvary to save us from death, God gave a firstfruits gift to his people. On the Day of Pentecost, more than three thousand people were baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

God still wants us to trust him to provide. But we sometimes wonder whether he will.

Thankfully, the Lord continues to quiet our doubts with his promises. His Holy Spirit works through his Word and sacraments to assure us that we are his accepted, adopted, forgiven children. In this life, we know we are sons and daughters. In the next life, we shall see it fully. Now we know we are free from the guilt of sin; then we will be fully free from the rule of sin.

No, we do not yet see the final harvest, but God’s Spirit continues to show us that his kingdom is near. Yes, the Lord will provide.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for providing me with your Spirit to give me peace for my past, strength for my present, and hope for my future. Amen.

Creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. . . . We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Romans 8:19,22

My Soul in Stillness Waits

When our first child was born, I was not allowed to be in the room. Like the wizard in the land of Oz, I had to stand behind the curtain. I could hear the groans of my wife. I could hear the doctor’s encouragement.
“You’re doing great.”
“I can see the head.”
“Here she comes.”
Then there was silence.

The silence was agonizing. Was it a boy or a girl? Was the child healthy? Was the child alive? The silence only lasted seconds. It felt like an eternity. I couldn’t wait for our child to be revealed. Then I heard the peace-inducing words: “Okay, Dad, you can see your daughter.”

Like a Father waiting behind the curtain for his child to be revealed, you and I are waiting eagerly for God to reveal what our existence will be like after this world ends, and he creates a perfect, new world for us to enjoy. While we wait, we groan as we endure the agonies of this imperfect world. Thankfully, though we don’t know what God is doing behind the scenes, he still speaks peace-inducing words to us in his Word, “You are my child. I am coming soon. In the meantime, take comfort. I know the plans I have for you, and I am working good in all things for you whom I love.”

And one day, what joy will be ours when we hear Jesus say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Take your inheritance—the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” What joy. What joy. What joy.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 325)
For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits, truly my hope is in you. O Root of Life, implant your seed within us, and in your advent, draw us all to you, our hope reborn in dying and in rising. Amen.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
Romans 8:20,21

Better than Eden

What it must have been like in the Garden of Eden! A plush garden fed by a river running through it. A lush orchard of pregnant trees bearing plump fruit of every variety. Humans and animals of every kind sharing the same space without fear. Man and woman, loving one another perfectly, understanding one another fully. Humanity communing peacefully with God. What life must have been like!

If only we could go back to Eden. It’s not for lack of trying. Explorers have searched in vain for the Tree of Life, the Fountain of Youth, and the Holy Grail. Scientists continue to seek a cure for death. But to no avail.

While we patch the world’s wounds in one place, sin’s effects show up in a thousand others. The fruit of Adam and Eve’s sin stained more than their greedy hands. Its noxious nectar oozed from more than the corners of their lecherous lips. Sin stained the surface, and its poison poured through every pore of God’s perfect world. Thorns and thistles infested the ground. Death reigned. East of Eden, life is hard. There is no going back. God has forever barred that way.

But God has provided a way forward. Jesus is the way. Through the pained groans of a mother, God entered our world and dwelled among us. Through anguished groans, our Savior paid for our guilt by his death. And by his resurrection, he enabled us to enter life with him now and forever in a place beyond Eden. Better than Eden. A place where moth and rust cannot destroy. A place where evil can never invade. A place where death will be no more. A place where God will dwell forever with his people.

Just wait! Wait in hope for the redemption that is already yours.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the freedom that is mine through Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. Keep me eagerly expectant for the fullness of that freedom in eternity. Amen.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18

Nothing Compares

Imagine three identical rooms. Each room is occupied by one individual. You tell the three individuals, “You will stay in this room for twelve months. Every week, you will work eighty hours. The work will be joyful and fulfilling. But at random times, for unexplainable reasons, for unpredictable periods of time, your work will be frustratingly hard.”

You say to the first, “Stick with it, and at the end of the year, you will receive an annual salary of $10,000.”

To the second, “Endure the year, and you will receive an annual salary of $100 million.”

To the third, you say, “Work hard, you have twelve months to live.”

You put each of them in their personal rooms, and they get to work.

After one month, the first subject quits. The reward was not worth the frustration. The third subject does not even last a day. “If I only have twelve months to live, I’m going to make the most of the time I have left.” However, the second subject keeps working with joy and finishes the twelve months with a smile on his face.

What makes the difference? Each person had the same circumstances. Yet each had the promise of a different reward. The greater the reward, the more resilient the worker. And without a reward, why suffer through the work?

Suffering is a fact of life. We all experience it. But those who know Jesus as their Savior from sin who promises eternal life in a perfect paradise can be sure that whatever they suffer in this life is nothing compared to the joys they will experience in the next life.

The apostle Paul says the current way of things—the momentary frustrations, fears, and failures—has a term limit. When Christ returns, he will make all things new. A new heavens and earth. A new life. A new you.

God grant that you may grasp the mind-blowing magnificence of God’s eternal reward of grace. Then all your present sufferings will feel as light as a feather.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, when I must suffer my crosses, keep me focused on the victory won for me by Christ and his cross. Amen.

But we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:23

The Groan of the Christian

It’s the beginning of another workday. Your alarm goes off. You hit the snooze button as many times as you dare. Finally, you pull back the covers, swing your feet to the floor, and sit there for just a moment.

Then it comes—the groan. Perhaps it’s audible, or perhaps, it stays inside you, but nevertheless, the groan is there. It can come for a number of reasons. Perhaps there’s an unpleasant task waiting for you that day, or a string of challenging days is starting to catch up to you. Maybe it comes from the unending grind of living with difficulties that are not going away.

Two things about that groan you have in the morning. One you already know. You already know that people worldwide groan that same groan sooner or later. That’s part of living in a fallen, broken creation. But here’s something you may not know. Even the groan you groan as a Christian is radically different from the groans that come from the rest of the world.

You and I groan under the burdens of work, stress, money, sadness, and uncertainty like everyone else. However, in the groan of the Christian, there is also the groan of anticipation, the groan of eagerly looking to that day when all the things that weigh us down will go away forever.

And they will go away! Because the day will come when the Lord Jesus will command it. Just as his blood has washed away our every sin, so also he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain.

So, when your alarm goes off, go ahead and groan. Just remember. Your groan as a Christian is also a quiet expression of confidence that, because of Jesus, unspeakable joy is on its way. And you can hardly wait.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, when I groan under the burdens of life, remind me by your Spirit that, in Jesus, I also look forward to victories and joys beyond my imagination. Amen.

“But what about you?” [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:15,16

The Real Jesus

It seems that everyone is trying to find the “real” Jesus. Who is this man who commands so much interest and attention? Who is this man who has had such an impact on humanity?

Jesus once asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” The disciples gave a number of complimentary responses comparing him to great religious teachers and very moral men.

However, none of these answers were good enough. Now, wanting his disciple’s answer, he asks them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter boldly responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

This is the real Jesus.

More than just an ordinary man, he is the very Son of God sent for our salvation.

Is there any gift more precious? Or any gift more valuable? Jesus is God’s own Son to right our wrongs and save us from our sins. No one else will do.

Jesus is God’s Son; he is true God. There was no sacrifice that would be sufficient to pay for our sins other than God’s very Son, who is God himself. There was no one who could meet the perfect requirements that God demands other than his only Son, our Lord.

If you want to see the proof that God loves you and wants to draw you to himself, look no further than this most precious gift, God’s own Son. If you want to know if this Jesus is powerful enough to help you, look no further than the one who has skin and bones like you and me but is nothing less than God.

This is the real Jesus.

Prayer:
Almighty Father, thank you for sending your only Son into my world. May I always treasure him as the Christ, the one you chose to be my Savior. Amen.

“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, . . . forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.”
Exodus 34:6,7

Sin Won’t Go Unpunished

Have you ever had a caricature of yourself drawn? In a caricature, certain features are exaggerated to highlight them. What physical features would your caricature highlight? Or are you afraid to find out?

Many people have a caricature of God in their minds. They picture a kind, loving, tolerant God who overlooks all but the really serious offenses. He’s like a grandpa who just smiles at the mischief his grandkids get into.

Or maybe it is a different caricature of God. People picture an angry, vengeful God who judges and punishes. We like to see God this way when someone did something to hurt us. We want God to give them what they have coming. But we don’t want to imagine that his wrath could ever be turned against us.

Our verse for today helps us see God as he really is. It is true. God is a just God who hates sin—every sin, big or small. He can’t just ignore it. Imagine if a judge chose to ignore certain crimes! No, God does not leave the guilty unpunished. What a warning for us when we are tempted to see what we can get away with! Everyone who disobeys God in any way deserves his punishment.

But this same God also forgives wickedness, rebellion, and sin. How can that be? The answer is found in Jesus. God does not leave the guilty unpunished. He counted Jesus guilty of our sins, our crimes, our offenses. And he punished him for them. Jesus accepted our guilty verdict and death sentence, so we could hear God’s not guilty verdict and the promise of our freedom.

God showed his justice, grace, holiness, and forgiving love by sending his Son to be punished in our place. See God as he really is—your God who took sin seriously enough to punish his own Son for it, who loved you enough to forgive you for the sake of his Son, Jesus. Knowing your God, flee from your sin into his forgiving arms!

Prayer:
Jesus, help me to see you as you really are—a just and loving God who was punished so that I am forgiven. Amen.