A PERSONAL NOTE

I've been troubled--a lot--by the direction our country is taking, shaped especially by the drive-by media & our leaders. I've also been troubled by challenges in my own personal life. Have you ever noticed that a daily devotion sometimes hits those challenges squarely on the head? Here's some of what I read during my quiet time on FRI 3/5.

"Don't get into needless fights." Living Bible, Prov. 3:10

"But I say to you, love your enemies & pray for those who persecute you." My Personal Prayer Diary, Matt. 5:44

"Thus does the Holy Ghost give us the power of God, & make our testimony divinely effectual. So let us, each on our part, be firm, undaunted, strong witnesses of Jesus."  Crumbs [A devotion book I use for my daily quiet time]

"Now do you want to hear some of the less blatant assumptions that likely affect all of us, but we don't pay much attention to (& I must confess that some of these indict me also)? (1) 'This is my body & I may eat or drink whatever quantities & qualities of food & drink that I please.' (2) 'This is my body & I choose to exercise it or not.' (3) 'This is my body, & the Lord knows the day of my death, so how I live doesn't matter.' These are the words that we pastors sat at the grave of every Christian funeral:  'May God the Father who created this body, may God the Son who by His blood redeemed this body, may God the Holy Spirit, who by Holy Baptism sanctified this body to be His temple, keep these remains to the day of the resurrection of all flesh.'

"There are several eternal truths that I would like to leave with you. (1) Our bodies are inseparably connected to our spiritual & emotional selves. (2) Our bodies are not our own; they were bought & paid for with the blood of Jesus our Savior. (3) Our bodies are eternal; they will be cleaned up in the resurrection & be with us forever. (4) Our bodies are the Temple of God & how we treat them matters. 

"1 Cor. 6:9 says:  'Do you now know that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body.'"  Pastor Ray Wilke, Grace Lutheran Church Newsletter, Mar. 2021

GIVING IS THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE

"When Sir Ernest Shackleton, an Antarctic explorer in the early 1900s, was asked to describe his most terrible moment in the Antarctic, he said it occurred one night when he & the other members of his expedition were huddled in a little hut trying to sleep. They had divided up the last of their food rations. There was nothing else to eat.

Then in the cold darkness, Sir Ernest heard a quiet movement. He turned & saw one of the men reach over & pick up the provision bag of the man beside him. Shackleton said he lived through an eternity of suspense in the next few moments. He would have trusted his life to this man. Was he now turning out to be a thief who would steal his friend's last morsel of food? Then Shackleton saw the man open his own provision bag, take out his last biscuit, & place it in the bag of his sleeping friend. Shackleton said, 'I felt I had witnessed a secret moment between man & God.'

"God wants us to be men & women who will love one another in such a way, openly or in secret, that we are raised above the level of mere mortals to become more like our Creator. That is when we truly imitate God.

"Giving is the language of love. Love can never be close-lipped or tightfisted. Jesus said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive' (Acts. 20:35). Because God is love, we can love. Filled with God's love, we seek opportunities to share His love with others."  Grace Lutheran Church Newsletter

A LENTEN HYMN

"Christ, the Life of All the Living, LW #94, Sts. 1 & 2

"Christ, the life of all the living, Christ, the death of death, our foe, Christ, Yourself for me once giving To the darkest depths of woe; Through Your suff'ring, death, & merit Life eternal I inherit. Thousand, thousands thanks are due, Dearest Jesus, unto You.

"Then, for all that bought my pardon, For the sorrow deep & sore, For the anguish in the garden, I will thank You evermore, ThankYou for the groaning, sighing, For the bleeding & the dying, For that last triumphant cry, Praise You evermore on high."