WHAT GOD WANTS

"The idea is that each of us has a responsibility before God to care for himself as God's person. Not just physically, but spiritually, emotionally, relationally, morally, intellectually, & so forth . . . If you work to meet the legitimate needs of your family, then you are fulfilling something important that God wants done in the world." Doug Sherman & William Hendricks, "Men's Devotional Bible"

GOD WILL RESCUE, DEFEND, FORGIVE

Let them be put to shame & disappointed altogether who rejoice in my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame & dishonor who magnify themselves against me! Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy & be glad & say evermore, 'Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of His servant!' Then my tongue shall tell of Your righteousness & of Your praise all the day long." (Ps. 35:26-28)

"David appeals to God Almighty as divine warrior & righteous judge. He prays that God will come to His defense & rescue him from those who were once close friends but who now accuse, slander, & condemn him. The Lord forbids that we accuse an innocent person (8th Commandment), which would cause him or her to be wrongly punished in body, property, or reputation (see Prov. 22:1). He bids us to err on the side of the Gospel in the case of our neighbor, unless guilt is clear (see Matt. 18:15-18). As we endeavor to treat our neighbors fairly & with mercy, our merciful Lord justifies us according to His righteousness." Rev. Peter Jurchen, "Engaging the Psalms:  A Guide for Reflection & Prayer"

CONTENTMENT

"Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." (Phil. 4:11)

"Our world promotes dissatisfaction with our lives. We are constantly bombarded with newer & better things that will make our lies more complete if only we could obtain them! If we listen to the world, we will always be comparing the lifestyles & possessions of others with our own, & we will always be dissatisfied. If our contentment comes from possessions, activities, or other people, these can be altered or removed. If our contentment comes from our relationship with Christ, there is absolutely nothing that can take that away." Henry & Richard Blakaby, "Experiencing God Day-By-Day"

TODAY'S PRAYER

"O heavenly Father, we rely on Your grace & protection in the midst of sin & the wicked works of those who test our faith. Your Word is truth. Do not allow courage to build in the hearts of our enemies, who despise Your Word & Your Son. Do not let them proudly boast, 'Where is your God?' Answer, we pray, those who oppress Your Holy Word. Amen." Engaging the Psalms

WIELDING OF AUTHORITY

"It is no wonder that there are so many pitfalls in the exercising of authority; he who wields authority wields a God-given weapon, & he must constantly be on guard lest he misuse it for selfish ends. Authority must never be exercised in an arbitrary, unreasonable manner." J.H. Waterink, Men's Devotional Bible

JESUS MADE SIN?

For He made Him who knew no sin to be siN for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:21)

"As Christians we are grateful to be forgiven of our sins. We are thankful we have been adopted as God's children. Yet we will never comprehend the awesome price that Jesus paid to cleanse us of our sin & to give us His righteousness. How abhorrent was it for the sinless Son of God to have every sin of humanity placed upon Him? What love was required for the Father to watch His only Son bear the excruciating pain of our sin upon the cross? . . . The plight of humanity is that nothing we could ever do could satisfy God's desire for righteousness. But the miracle of God's mercy is that God exchanges our 'filthy rags' for 'rich robes' of righteousness (Zech. 3:4).

"In this awesome exchange, God placed the sin of humanity upon His righteous Son. Jesus became so identified with our sin that Scripture says God made Him to be sin on our behalf. The holy Son of God could not possibly do more for us than this! Experiencing the Father's wrath upon the sin He carried would have been more painful to endure than any human rejection or physical suffering. Never take the righteousness God has given you for granted. Never take the forgiveness of your sin lightly. It cost God a terrible price in order to forgive you & make you righteous. Walk in a manner worthy of the righteousness He has given you." [Henry & Richard Blakaby, "Experiencing God Day-By-Day]

WE WAIT IN CERTAINTY

Phil. 3:20  But our citizenship is in heaven, & from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. "For now, we wait in certainty."  Rev. Matthew Harrison, "The Promised Comfort of Heaven," The Lutheran Witness, Nov. 2022

LIFE THOUGHTS

"How remarkable that our Lord's beloved Apostle St. John describes the Gospel of Jesus Christ as 'the Word of Life' (1 John 1:2) He also declares all believers qualify as 'little children (2:1). And he proclaims that God has given His Son to redeem the 'whole word'--every member of the human race, no matter what age, appearance, or ability. Even personal choice or political controversy can't keep us quiet about it!" Grace Lutheran Church Bulletin

THE LORD SAVES

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears & delivers them out of their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken-hearted & saves the crushed in spirit . . . The Lord redeems the life of His servants; none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned. (Ps. 34:17, 18, 22) "The Lord turns His countenance of favor toward His children, saves them, & blesses them. The Lord turns His countenance away from the wicked & condemns them to eternal death, though His will is to save all people by grace through faith in Christ." Engaging the Psalms, edited by Rev. Peter Jurchen

TODAY'S PRAYER

"Merciful & majestic Father, whose Son Jesus is our Good Shepherd, grant that when we hear His voice we follow where He leads & go where He guides; who, with You & the Holy Spirit, lives & reigns, one God, for ever & ever. Amen." Grace Lutheran Church Bulletin

AN EASTER HYMN

Make Songs of Joy, LW 132, Sts. 1-4

Make songs of joy to Christ, our head; Alleluia! He lives again who once was dead! Alleluia!

Our life was purchased by His loss; Alleluia! He died our death upon the cross. Alleluia!

O death, where is your deadly sting? Alleluia! Assumed by our triumphant King! Alleluia!

And where your victory, O grave, Alleluia! When one like Christ has come to save? Alleluia!

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  WISDOM

"Wisdom is not what you know about the world but how well you know about God. Human reasoning will not make you wise. It may even lead you to reject the ways of God." [Henry & Richard Blakaby, "Experiencing God Day-By-Day"]

2024 RESOLUTIONS RECAP

> Lose weight:  A  Not to brag, but I've lost 5 lbs so far this year, despite my deplorable eating habits over Easter break. I'm also happy to report that my recent A1c test was 5.9, & I've been able to reduce my daily insulin dose.

> Limit myself to no more than 2 cups of coffee per day:  C

> Visit at least 1 National park and/or Monument:  A  We visited Castillo de San Marcos NM in St. Augustine in FEB.

> Limit my reading to 1 conservative site per day:  C

> Avoid picking fights on Facebook:  B  I admit that I occasionally(?) post content that may provoke others. However, I am refusing to engage those who post things that I consider inane.

> Walk at least 4X per week:  C  I was doing pretty well until the last 2 weeks. Then I came down with some kind of viral crude. And I've been experiencing a lot of discomfort due to my degenerative joint disease. [I know. Excuses, excuses. I'll try to get back on track after my radial ablation on THU.] 

> Finish writing & publishing a devotion book:  C  I finished writing my Buzzwords devotion book. I'm reviewing & editing it one more time before I seek a publisher. [I attribute this in part to my OCD.]

> GPA:  B-

EASTER RECAP

What a great Easter break we had! We worshipped on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, & Easter morning, joined by our kids & grandkids. We delighted in the fellowship we enjoyed with them. We ate . . . and ate . . . and ate. Although it was a might chilly, we were actually able to grill brats & hamburgers for supper on FRI. Lois made her world famous overnite french toast & easy eggs for brunch on SAT. And we relished our traditional Easter dinner on SAT:  ham, party potatoes, oriental [Is that politically correct?] salad, buttered corn, & rolls with butter. And our daughter Rachel came through with a delectable dessert. I should also give kudos to Craig, our handyman son-in-law, who installed a reading lamp in the living room, a ceiling fan in the kitchen, fixed the latch on a bedroom door, & attempted to fix one of our dining room chairs.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

As always, we're keeping up with our procedures on CBS, via Paramount+. This includes Tracker, a new entry, NCIS, NCIS Sydney, NCIS Hawaii, Blue Bloods, FBI, FBI Most Wanted, FBI International, & Ghosts. I finished watching a documentary about Bill Russell. I'm watching back episodes of Monk. And Lois & I started watching the Mission Impossible franchise. [We're up to #4.]

WHAT I'M READING

I just finished reading the latest issue of Nebraska Life Magazine, plus the last 2 issues of Biblical Archaeology Review, a new magazine I started reading this year. I'm continuing to read "Modern Times, The World from the Twenties to the Eighties," by Paul Johnson. It's slow going, but I'm learning a lot. The author goes into great detail about the rise of Hitler, Stalin, & the Japanese Empire. Also, how stupid the rest of the world was in responding to the dangers posed by Russia, Nazi Germany, & Japan, leading to WW II.

HERE'S TO YOUR HEALTH

"A Mediterranean diet is known to be heart-healthy, & a new Harvard study found that consuming just a small amount of olive oil every day lowers your risk of dying from a variety of ailments. Researchers followed 90,000 Americans for 28 years & found those who consumed a half tbsp of olive oil daily had a lower risk of death from cancer (by 17%), respiratory disease (by 18%), heart disease (by 19%), & neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia (by 29%). Whether taken straight from the bottle or used in cooking, olive oil has anti-inflammatory & antioxidant properties that contribute to overall health, as does replacing other artery-clogging fats." SOURCE:  Reader's Digest, Sep 2022

DEPT. OF SHAMELESS JOKE-STEALING

"I was playing chess with a friend & he said, 'Let's make this interesting.' So we stopped playing chess." SOURCE:  Reader's Digest, Sep 2022.

TRENDING NEWS FROM THE BABYLON BEE *

* Your trusted source of fake news

> Pontius Pilate sure glad that whole "Jesus" ordeal is done with.

> In bonding moment, father teaches son how to call handyman to fix faucet.

> New all-female "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie just 2 hours of boats backing into rocks.

> Study finds avoiding red meat may lead to longer, more miserable life.

> Man goes to heaven, immediately asks God to replay arguments with his wife so he can prove he was right.

POLITICAL POTPOURRI

> Biden grants day of visibility to segment of population with most visibility in all human history.

> Lieberman's political career cut short just as he enters prime presidential age

> NYC mayor assures migrants that if they run out of prepaid debit cards they can just rob Americans directly.

> Kamala warns Israel not to violate San Francisco City Council's ceasefire decree.

TRANSGENDER VISIBILITY DAY

"The criticism the Biden White House received for celebrating Transgender Visibility Day on Easter Sunday has been coming from all angles. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign bashed the move as “appalling and insulting” and another example of the “Biden administration’s years-long assault on the Christian faith.” Athletes like Orlando Magic star Jonathan Isaac weighed in on X, noting the celebration “helps no one and only promotes division.”  . . . 

"Notably, the administration's celebration of the day also came under fire from prominent transgender person William Bruce Jenner, who legally changed his name and gender in 2015 to Caitlyn Marie Jenner. "I am absolutely disgusted that Joe Biden has declared the most Holy of Holy days - a self proclaimed devout Catholic - as Transgender Day of Visibility. The only thing you should be declaring on this day is ‘HE is Risen’." SOURCE: Column by Leah Barkoukis in Townhall,