COVID UPDATE

Lois & Brianna both tested negative this morning, much to their relief & mine as well. I've been taking paxlovid since FRI evening. My symptoms seems to be fatigue, light-headedness, & mental fog. Based on guidelines issued by the CDC--& we know it's all about their science--I should be able to return to the Orphan Grain Train office before the end of the week. Sadly, not only did we miss one grandchild's birthday party on FRI night, we're missing another grandchild's Grandparent Day this FRI. 

SING & REJOICE

Zechariah 2:10, 13. “’Sing, Jerusalem, & rejoice! For I have come to live among you,’ says the Lord . . . Be silent, all mankind, before the Lord, for He has come to earth from heaven, from His holy home.” The Living Bible

SAVED FROM GOD'S WRATH

"Jesus did not die just to give us peace & a purpose in life; He died to save us from the wrath of God. He died to reconcile us to a holy God who was alienated from us because of our sin. He died to ransom us from the penalty of sin--the punishment of everlasting destruction, shut out from the presence of the Lord. He died that we, the just objects of God's wrath, should become, by His grace, heirs of God & co-heirs with Him." Jerry Bridges, Men's Devotional Bible

LIFE THOUGHTS

"Do we ignore the ruin around us  because abortion seems 'too political' & assisted suicide feels 'too personal'? Only woes await those who do (Amos 6:1,4). But our Heavenly Father obsesses over the victims, & heaven finds inexhaustible joy embracing the vulnerable. In speaking & showing the sanctity of all humankind, we also can take hold of that which is truly life' (1 Tim. 6:19)!" Life Thoughts in the Church Year

SPEAKING TO THE STATE IN A TIME OF WAR

"Does the church have anything to say to the state about war? Martin Luther certainly thought so. On the one hand, he clearly distinguished the church from the state. God had established both but for far different purposes. By the Gospel, the church brought people into a right relationship with God & prepared them for eternity. By the law, the state punished evil & promoted good for this life here on earth.

"On the other hand, Christians belonged to both & had responsibilities for each. In the state, a Christian obeyed the law & could with a free conscience participate in government as a ruler, judge, policeman & so on--even as a soldier. For God had given 'the sword' to government to restrain wickedness, even if that meant waging war.

"Ideally, the state should maintain a society in which the church can carry out its work freely. But not even Christian rulers always got it right. Sometimes rulers did their duties badly; sometimes they failed to carry them out at all. Occasionally, they initiated unjust wars.

"In such times, what were Christians supposed to do then? At the very least, disobey. As the apostles told the authorities who arrested them for preaching the Gospel, 'We must obey God rather than men' (Acts 5:29). In the apostles' case, disobedience meant to continue preaching. It did not mean taking up arms & starting a rebellion. Luther followed their example. If government authorities unjustly threatened one's situation in this life--property, liberty or physical life--a Christian should submit. But if they demanded participation in something wicked, like fighting an unjust war or denying Christ, a Christian must refuse & suffer consequences. Rebellion was never an option.

"But neither was silence. The church had something to say, especially pastors. Their obligation to preach God's Word meant preaching it to real people in real-life situations, including to government officials. After all, God had given them their authority to enforce the law for the sake of the people they ruled. When they did not know what their responsibilities were or failed to carry them out, the clergy had to show the authorities just what God demanded of them in His Word." Cameron MacKenzie, The Lutheran Witness, June/July 2022

A HYMN OF VOCATION

How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord (LSB #853)

How clear is our vocation, Lord, When once we heed Your call:  To live according to Your Word And daily learn, refreshed, restored, That You are Lord of all And will not let us fall.

But if, forgetful, we should find Your yoke is hard to bear; If worldly pressures fray the mind, And love itself cannot unwind Its tangled skein of care; Our inward life repair.

We marvel how Your saints become In hindrances more sure; Whose joyful virtues put to shame The casual way we wear Your name And by our faults obscure Your pow'r to cleanse & cure.

In what You give us, Lord, to do, Together or alone, In old routines or ventures new, May we not cease to look to You, The cross You hung upon--All You endeavored done.