Last fall, I joined the York County Veterans Honor Guard, a local group that provides honors for veterans' funerals. To date I've served at over 70 funerals, and I've done just about everything: serving on the Color Guard, firing with the Rifle Squad, playing Taps, and assisting with the flag presentation. And on three occasions, I presented the flag to veterans' family members.
Two of the flags I presented were for families of Navy nurses, and I started those presentations with, "On behalf of the President of the United States and the Secretary of the United States Navy..."
Recently, as I was with the Color Guard and holding the Navy flag, I heard those same words, "...and the Secretary of the United States Navy..." and I smiled.
The new and current Secretary of the Navy is Ken Braithwaite, a Navy Admiral and Pilot, the former Ambassador to Norway, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Class of 1984 - and my classmate.
Presenting a flag on behalf of the Secretary of the Navy takes on a new meaning when you know the man!
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In the book of Acts, Paul visits the city of Athens and he addresses the people:
For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: "To the unknown god." What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. Acts 17:23
Paul takes this opportunity to tell the Athenians about the God that he knows, worships, and serves.
The God of the Bible, the God that Christians worship, is not a God who's far off. He isn't one whom you just read about; He's knowable.
...let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and
righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the
LORD. Jeremiah 9:24
He's a God who cares about and for His creation. He cares so much that Jesus, the second person of the Holy Trinity, became a baby, one of us, and lived among us. Our God allows us to know Him in a very personal and intimate way.
He also promises to be with us, and to hear our prayers. And He gives us other Christians to encourage and strengthen us in our faith. Martin Luther said this about our God:
Now,
if someone has Him who fills all things, he has more than the whole
world...when a man has Him who has more than He can give away, then his
heart knows that he has a gracious God and all things in Him. What
could such a heart ever lack?
And when I hear my pastor say, "As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins," I know that he is speaking on behalf of Jesus, of someone he knows and I know, of the One whose Word is sure and true.
May each of us grow in faith, know Him better, and always know His peace.
In many places, the Bible says, "Don't be afraid."
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6
...fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
The Christian life is a life that's meant to be lived unafraid. The gospel message brings peace and comfort to the anxious soul. Yet I've heard messages recently that could and probably were meant to make me afraid.
I've heard that this pandemic is being used to bring us to a one-world government that will further control our lives. I've heard that soon we'll all be required to get an identifying tattoo or an embedded chip that contains information about us.
The message is a warning to Christians. And that message is, "Beware. This is the mark of the beast. It's coming."
Now I don't discount that there's evil in the world, that demonic forces are at work, and that governments want to control how people live and think. But this is just fear-mongering, because it's an incomplete message.
First, our Lord has given us governments and rulers to keep order in society. And we have to live and navigate within that realm. Often the rule we live under is unfair, oppressive, and hard for the Christian. But again, the Lord is in control; He's not oblivious to this, and He gives us faith to make it through.
But second and more importantly, my salvation doesn't hinge on my being able to figure-out the "mark of the beast." In my baptism, I was marked and sealed as a child of God. That's my mark.
And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
My salvation is secure with the cross, the empty tomb, and the risen Jesus - my Lord, the One who's ascended to the throne of power. That's my faith, my hope, and my comfort.
This whole tattoo/chip idea reminds me of years ago, when entering a theme park, how you'd get an invisible ink stamp on your hand so that you could reenter the park. And this "mark" didn't and doesn't affect my soul or change my heart.
But faith in Jesus has and does affect my soul. Jesus referred to the Jewish leaders as "white-washed tombs." On the outside, they looked good; but on the inside, they had a heart of stone. It's their heart that was marked.
And my Lord looks at my heart. It's a sinful heart that He's taken and pierced with His Word of truth, with the reality of my sin and the comfort and the reassurance of His forgiveness and love. He's taken my heart of stone and given me a heart of flesh. And He's said, "Fear not."
Peace
I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I
give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be
afraid. John 14:27
It's called "the new normal" - life during this pandemic. And when the stay-at-home order is lifted and everyone starts venturing out, then we'll have a "new, new normal."
And although "new normal" is a fitting phrase, I don't like it, because it implies something "not so good" - something that I'm going to have to adjust to.
So I've been thinking about another "new normal" - the one that matters to me.
For the Christian the "new normal" actually began in the Garden of Eden. It began when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, broke their relationship with Him, and were thrown out of the garden. But here's the thing, God promised them that One would be born who would restore that relationship and fix everything, fix what sin, Satan, and death had taken away.
All throughout the Old Testament, God's people lived this "new normal" - looking for and waiting for the Messiah, the One who would restore their relationship with their God. It was reiterated to Abraham and spoken of by the prophets. It was on their minds, and the people were reminded of it in how they lived and especially in their many sacrifices. Until...
...when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5
Another "new normal" - a better one. With the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, the kingdom of God had come to earth! And the realization and the significance of this "new normal" first became clear when Jesus's empty tomb was discovered and then later with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
And that's the Christian's "new normal" - a treasure that was given to each one of us when we were baptized and given faith. It's a "new normal" of forgiveness of sin, of receiving the Holy Spirit, of faith and hope in salvation and eternal life.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:3-5
And when this pandemic is dying away, when people are out working again, shopping, socializing, no matter how weird or difficult it may be, I'm praying that my "new normal" will be to "walk in newness of life" and to know that the "new normal" of being a Christian surpasses every other "new normal" and every situation I face.
Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14
I hate to shop. During my homeschooling years, my middle son and I would go on a grocery shopping trip every three weeks. We each had a list, we'd get two carts, and we'd go off in opposite directions, zooming through the store and filling our carts. About 10 minutes later, we'd meet up and check out. On the drive home, we'd always share a cherry coke or iced coffee.
These days I'm shopping once a week, I'm alone, and I'm wearing a face mask. And because of "social distancing" I can't even zoom through the store. Fortunately my grocery store hasn't been crowded, and I've always found the items I needed...until yesterday.
Yesterday, the meat section was practically empty. No chicken and no beef except for ground beef.
Now we are in no ways starving or lacking for food. But when I see empty meat shelves, I start to think, "What if this continues? What will I fix?"
It reminds me of how the Israelites, God's people, felt when they were in the wilderness, concerned that they weren't going to be fed. The Israelites knew the Lord provided for them, they'd seen His provision, yet they still doubted.
Most of us, in this land of plenty, have never faced a food shortage. I recall gas shortages and lines in the '70s, but that's about it.
And I can't help comparing this possible lack of food and daily supplies to my inability to attend Sunday worship.
My weekly "Ten Commandments - Prayer and Confession" devotion says this:
Help me to worship knowing that all is a gift from You.
Being able to attend weekly worship services, to hear God's Word, to hear His forgiveness of sins, to "take and eat" the Lord's Supper, to be encouraged by fellow Christians, to pray together - it's all a gift from the Lord.
Like the empty meat shelves, I'm deprived of seeing this site on Sunday mornings and of participating in worship at my church, of receiving God's gifts.
This week, I noted this prayer from Psalm 60 in the Lutheran Study Bible.
When we face defeat, O Lord, keep our eyes on Your promises. When we experience loss, keep our hearts filled with Your peace. When we don't understand Your plan for us, keep the cross of Christ always before us - the depth and breath and height of Your love for us. Amen.
And as I pray, Psalm 43 comes to mind:
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God. Psalm 43:5
Yesterday I woke up feeling cold. Now that doesn't necessarily mean anything, since I often feel hotter and sometimes even colder than normal. But I started thinking, "Am I getting sick?"
My husband felt my head - nothing. I took my temperature - nothing. Yet I'm still thinking, "I might have that virus."
And that's the way it is when there's a chance of illness. My physical well-being becomes my focus, occupying my thoughts, and affecting everything I do. Every little body twinge is a cause for concern.
About a month ago, just as we went into this stay-at-home mode, I happened across John
Donne's Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions - meditations relating to
sickness, death, and trusting in the Lord during trying times.
These writings include the well-known phrase "never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
Donne writes these devotions as he's experiencing some type of sickness; he also relates how he does all he can to avoid getting sick. Nothing wrong with that. We do the same.
But Donne then compares his concern for physical health with his concern for spiritual health.
Why is not my soul as sensible as my body? Why hath not my soul these apprehensions...these suspicions of a sin, as well as my body of a sickness?...I fall sick of sin...and all this while have no presage, no pulse, no sense of my sickness.
Donne recognizes that he isn't on the look-out for dangers, for temptations and the sin that may harm his spiritual soul.
And I'm convicted. I know God's Word and His commandments. I'm aware of my sinful heart. And yet I don't wear a "spiritual mask" to protect myself. I'm not careful in that regard.
Now I have two options here:
1) I can totally ignore my spiritual health and be unconcerned about my sin, which is my tendency; or...
2) I can overreact and become legalistic and obsessed with personal holiness.
Of course, neither one of them is the correct choice.
So I turn to option #3.
Jesus came into this world, died on the cross and then rose again. Because He came, I call God my Father, and I neither ignore my spiritual health or obsess over it.
I
have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ
who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
There's freedom and love in being a child in my Father's house. It's okay that I'm the prodigal son, always returning, always being forgiven, always loved.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:13–14
It was in college that I was first introduced to The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. Narnia is the name of Lewis's fantasy land in which a group of children have various adventures. The Narnia books also "paint pictures" of the Christian life and understanding.
One of my favorite pictures is of the outdoor climate, the elements in Narnia. In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, when the children initially enter Narnia, it's dismal, cold, and snowy. One character describes it as "always winter and never Christmas."
Now it took me awhile to "get" that idea, since in our culture the ideal Christmases always come with snow.
But in Narnia, Christmas was never coming, or so it seemed.
However, midway through the story, Father Christmas (Santa Claus of all people!) arrives. The snow starts melting, green grass and flowers appear, and birds begin chirping. Spring has come to Narnia!
And the reason for the thaw, for the new growth, the new life - Aslan, the story's Christ figure, has arrived.
In the Bible's Old Testament, the Lord promised His people that a Messiah, a savior, would come, to make things right in this world. The people looked and waited for, and trusted in this promise.
"Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land." Jeremiah 23:5
I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. Zechariah 3:9b
But for the Old Testament people, the Bible says...
These
all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having
seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they
were strangers and exiles on the earth. Hebrews 11:13
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5
Once Jesus was born, things were different. The promise of hope was that a Messiah would come to free the people, to bring them back to the Lord; and with Jesus, that hope was fulfilled. The long winter was over; spring was here.
No matter how bad things in this life are or how bad they get, we enjoy the privilege of living in this time period, a period that Jesus has entered into. He came and died for the sins of the world, He defeated death and rose from the grave, He sent us the Holy Spirit, and now He, Jesus, rules and reigns.
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for
he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with
the robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10a
I was taking a walk around the neighborhood early this morning, and I noted all the bags and containers of trash waiting to be picked up. I waved at the trash collector when he drove by, but the Marine inside me wanted to salute. Thank-you to all our waste disposal workers who remain on-the-job!
We're a people with a lot of stuff, a lot of junk, and a lot of trash. We're constantly throwing stuff away.
Not only that, but we have a lot of trash on the inside of us, a lot of sin, struggles, hurts, temptations, guilt, covetousness, sloth, envy, pride. The list goes on. We have a lot of trash.
And this "inside trash" we like to hide it, and just carry it around with us. It's on the inside, so nobody sees it or knows what we're bearing or what our insides actually look like. Even carrying this "inside trash" is more trash - our shame - that we also bear.
Paul puts it this way...
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh...Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Romans 7:18 and 24
And David prays...
Have mercy on me, O God...my sin is ever before me...Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:1, 3, and 10
Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, the Son, was born into this world as a baby, as one of us. He lived among us. He fed people and healed them; He taught and loved them.
But He also came to save them. And He came to save us, to rid us of that trash inside of us, to crush it. That's why He went to the cross.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our
iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
And just like that faithful trash worker, Jesus takes my "inside trash" again and again and again, as many times as I need Him to take it, He takes it. And He forgives my sins and makes me clean and sets me free.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36
