Scripture tells us that Jesus is the exact representation of God and the radiance of his glory (Hebrews 1:3). It tells us that through him the universe was made, and that by his word the universe is sustained.
As Jesus lowered himself to become human, he brought with him all the power of God, and as he was crucified on the cross his perfect blood freed us from the guilt of sin.
In Jesus we are given the Almighty, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, but more than that, we are given a savior. God in the flesh, driven to the cross by his love for us, cleansing us from our sin, and with divine authority inviting us to approach the unapproachable.
In the following articles you will read of much tribulation. People sometimes talk of their tribulation and then stop right there: “Trials? Suffering? Well, grin and bear it, for such is life…” But, looking through the lens of Scripture, tribulation never stands alone. There is always another sentence, one that contains hope. Tribulation is granted its due; it’s a terrible place to be. But it exists in a bigger picture, in the context of hope.
Scripture tells us about moments when divine judgment has come upon the earth. The prophets of old pointed forward to these moments of judgment and called them “the day of the Lord.”
The prophet Amos said, “Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light” (Amos 5:8).
The prophets tell us that without God’s mercy no one would survive these moments of judgment; no one would survive because all are guilty of sin. The cross was just such a moment. A moment in which God came to collect the debt that was owed him. On that day, almost 2,000 years ago, sin would be dealt with, one way or another, and for those who believe, once and for all.
What should church be about? Well, the Christian Church should be about Christ, of course. But practically speaking, how do we make it about Jesus Christ? Should we gather corporately to sit and think about Jesus one day each week, and do the same thing individually on other days?
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us the Parable of the Sower. They leave no question about the identity of the seed: It’s the message about the kingdom, the Word of God, the gospel. God is the sower. The sower sows seed. Receptivity of the human heart to the seed is variable, as shown by the seed’s growth patterns in different types of soil. But the seed itself is always good – always powerful! God plants the seed of his Word in us and it becomes the source of our spiritual life. The Word gives life because Jesus Christ is in it. The always-good seed is the Word about Christ.
Student, construction laborer, gas station attendant, musician, optometrist’s assistant, graduate student, pastor, editor/writer, carpenter (not very skilled), teacher, editor, pastor. Try this exercise: List all the vocations of your lifetime in order, if possible, in which you were engaged for more than a year. Now think through the list, and ask yourself, “In which of these vocations did I have the sense that I was made to do this—that this is my calling?”
You saw my list. At least twice I’ve had that sense. And when you feel you were made to do something, the labor becomes light, work becomes fun! Question is, when you’re not having fun, but only “doing a job,” can you conclude that it is not your calling?
I suggest that every vocation you engage in is your calling for that time. And that God is using the earlier experiences to prepare you for the later experiences. And that in every one of your vocations, your real calling is a constant—you are sent to serve God.
“Where do I belong?” Have you asked yourself that question? For us who believe, it’s a question with a beautiful answer. We are children of Abraham, heirs to the promise of salvation. Once dead in our sin, now alive by faith. Once rejected, now restored by the perfect blood of Christ. Once orphans, now members of an eternal family promised long ago. Transformed by faith into children of Abraham, we are sons and daughters of God.
There are moments in our lives when we are confronted with information that changes things. Information that changes the way we see the world, the way we live our lives, and the way we interact with one another. Coming to faith in Jesus Christ is just such a moment. The truth of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is information that can’t be ignored. It’s information that brings light into darkness, and from that moment forward your life is changed.
A few years ago, a Christian who took this call very seriously reached out to me. He lived before my eyes as a witness to the Kingdom. As a witness he did not hammer me with the law, or shower me with the gospel. He simply lived with hope, and waited, and prayed. When the opportunity came he was ready. Through his testimony, and friendship, I found myself reading Scripture, and in Scripture I found myself believing in Jesus Christ.
God used this man, this witness, to point me towards the horizon, and in Scripture I saw the sun rise in the valley of death. As believers we share many gifts, but we share only one mission. We have been set aside to testify that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ, “God’s Chosen One,” and that truth can do more than change the life of the one who hears it, it can change their eternity.
In the lions’ den it is not uncommon for us to lose sight of our Lord’s promise to return. Our world is poisoned by sin and, outside of God’s Word, sin is all we know. We easily get caught up in our own desires and our own will, and we forget there was once a day when all things were in harmony with God’s will. The Bible tells us that God saw all that he had made and it was very good.
In this world we experience trials and tribulations. We see loved ones grow old, friends get sick, and we struggle with what it means to love our enemies.
As Christians, in the midst of our struggles, we look to the Lamb. The one who came and removed the sting of death by paying for our transgressions. We look to the Lamb and remember that he has promised to return as a Lion. On that day the dead will rise to join the living and those in Christ will live in his presence for eternity.
As we enter this season of Advent we remember the words of the Apostle Paul, “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11), and we look with hope to the day that Christ will return. A day that will be better than very good. It will be perfect.
All roads lead to Rome. That is a saying that most of us are familiar with. It means there are many ways to arrive at the same destination. Unfortunately, our postmodern culture has adopted this philosophy, and applied it to salvation. Our culture tells us that we can not know absolute truth. It tells us that finding absolute truth is like trying to spot a pebble on the side of the road when you're driving 120 mph. It tells us, "Whatever works for you, do it! Find a road that's right for you." Jesus gives us a very different message.
In July of 2000, after 15 years of pastoral ministry at Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota, I took a new position in the CLB denominational office. For many months thereafter, even though I was working full-time, I felt like I was on an extended vacation. By Thursday or Friday of each week, our family would look at each other and say, “What are we going to do this weekend?” It was a question we had never asked in 15 years. We always knew what would occupy our time on weekends!
What was different? Stress? We loved the people of Bethel and enjoyed the church work and the city. But moving out of the ministry seemed to make a huge difference in the stress level. What is so different about the pastorate?
It is common for people in our congregations today to have high-stress jobs, maybe even high-stress lifestyles. So what is unique about pastors and their families? The hours are unpredictable. They are always on-call. Job expectations can be high, varied and sometimes unrealistic. In one sense, the pastor has as many employers as there are parishioners in the congregation. Different people can have different perceptions of what the pastor should be doing. Even those on the same church elder board may have differing opinions on their pastor’s priorities and responsibilities.
In this issue, Dr. David Veum and Mr. Nate Larsen deal with the question of why pastors, who are called to be shepherds – caregivers to the congregation, also need special care from the congregation for themselves and their families. Their two responses explore the question from different angles, one more spiritual, the other more psychological. Also in this issue, Pastor Aage Larsen has consented to have part of his sabbatical proposal printed, as an illustration of how a pastor might benefit from a sabbatical.
Paul told Timothy, “The elders… are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says…‘The worker deserves his wages’” (1 Timothy 5:17-18). I suggest that this is not only an encouragement for us to provide for our pastors financially, but it also implies a responsibility to give more direct personal support.
Brent Juliot
Editor
What is it like to be a soldier? What is it like to come home to loved ones who will never understand what the soldier experienced? Some soldiers experience more than others, and some don't see any combat at all, but they all experience a different culture, a different worldview and a different emotional connection than those of us who stay home. What is the Church's role in ministering to those returning soldiers? How can we be there for the families that are left behind? What can we do individually, as a family and as a church?
Tim Mathiesen
Publisher/Director of Communications & Prayer
What does it mean to state and recognize a vision and mission? It is a way to look ahead and understand where the organization is going, but it is more than just stating a goal. A vision is a desire, a hope and a purpose. It helps shape everything that goes on in an organization. A vision can bring purpose and joy to the mediocre tasks that no one wants to do.
Let's imagine that you are going on a family vacation to Florida. You enjoy packing for the trip not because you like organizing your socks, but because you are looking forward to an enjoyable time with your family. You gladly hand over hundreds of dollars for the plane tickets not because you want to help the airline meet its budget, but because you know that plane will get you to your warm destination. There's a thrill and a joy that comes with those tasks because you see the bigger picture. In a way, you see the vision and mission: a fun family vacation.
How do we as individuals, congregations and family of churches fit into God's Mission that began in the Old Testament? That is what we hope this issue and the upcoming Biennial Convention will help us see. We hope in the coming year we will come to understand how we as individuals and as the Church of the Lutheran Brethren fit into God's overall plan.
Tim Mathiesen
Publisher/Director of Communications & Prayer
Reflecting on the past is something that I enjoy doing as a Christian. Especially after uncertain or difficult times in my life. Looking back to see how God has been working in my life is incredibly encouraging. It often serves as a reminder that God is always in control and knows me better than I know myself. I would hardly ever desire to go through the difficult times again, but I usually see how God used those times to teach me something or prepare me for something bigger. This issue revisits some of the cover stories from 2009 and asks the authors to share how God has been working in their lives.
Tim Mathiesen
Publisher/Director of Communications and Prayer
The culture of Christmas is extremely diverse and deeply rooted in each of our lives. Whether our heritage is European, African, Asian or Latin American, each of our families and communities have different traditions. Christ unites all of us, though, as the reason for Christmas. We come together to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. We sing songs and read about the coming of the Savior as we prepare for the big day. We make travel arrangements, practice our part in the Christmas pageant, open those little windows in the Advent calendar, shop for the perfect gift for a loved one and look forward to that cozy moment in the Christmas Eve service when lights go down and we sing "Silent Night" while candles light up the faces of everyone in the sanctuary.
Traditions can sometimes lessen our sense of awe regarding the amazing events of that first Christmas. Do we really think about what went on in that glorious moment of Christ's birth? What does it really mean that God sent his only son to be born and die for our sins? What was it like for Jesus to be fully God, yet fully human, living among us sinners? How do the biblical truths that we celebrate during the Christmas season relate to God's purpose for his Church? I hope that this issue will help us all celebrate Christmas in a fresh new way, amongst the warm and cozy traditions that we have all come to love and look forward to every year.
How wonderful it is that we serve a God who knows what we need! We deserve none of God’s love and forgiveness, yet he continues to love us and forgive us. I appreciate the last paragraph in our Church of the Lutheran Brethren pamphlet series, The Grace of Giving, by Dr. David Veum. “Grace. That awesome, free mercy and love of God which reaches out to poor sinners like us. This grace teaches us to say ‘No’ to selfish passions in using our wealth and to say ‘Yes’ to the free and right use of our resources.”
Art is the product of creative expression. It's something that plays with each of our five senses, communicating an idea, question, or statement, and sometimes something that can't be explained. God works through art in so many ways, such as outreach, praise and worship, personal devotions and even a Sunday morning sermon! We wanted to give artists a chance to talk about how they see God working through their art and how He has blessed them through their talent.
The annual gathering of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren brought congregational representatives from across the United States and Canada together in Fergus Falls, Minnesota for three days of discussion and decision. In this issue we are presenting highlights from the most important part of our gathering: the worship services. Under the theme "I Am With You Always," delegates and visitors gathered for praise, prayer and presentation of the Word of God.
Every student who walks across the threshold of the doors to our seminary in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, on that first day of class, or their first year of study, represents a sotry. A journey. How did they come to be here? What is the motivation? How did all the details fall into place so that this giant step was made and this course taken? Most who move in this direction will be asked along the way, "Why seminary?"
The answer will be as different and distinctive as each individual who responds. But there is one common thread, on motivator that the students and faculty of the Lutheran Brethren Seminary share: a thirst for the Word of God and a desire to study it with the intent of sharing it, effectively, with others.
Why are we here? What plan does God have for you, for your family, for your congregation and for His Church? It's a question we ask casually, but have we seriously thought about it as a congregation, as a family of God? Maybe some of us have, and it is important we constantly filter every event, program and action that we take as a congregation through that answer. The answer to "Why Are We Here?" must be from God and be the foundation on which everything is built. This is God's Church. How do you fit into his plan? Why are you here?
Day One: Arriving at the Welcome Center in Chad
Last night we loaded 21 Americans, and a handful of locals, into a travel bus. Our luggage was loaded on top of the bus, possibly 5 feet high, and it stretched as far as the bus would allow. We were driving through the city to the Welcome Center and it was extremely dark...A group of men shifted their attention from one another to the passing bus of foreigners. I could feel their stares, as our bus passed by, and Pastor Randy Paulson asked "What does God think when He looks down on this city?" I knew the answer, but I couldn't respond; I was too choked up. After a few moments of silence Pastor Randy answered, "He sees a city with people that He loves." Yes, Lord! When you see this city you see a harvest, you see a mission. The very mission that cost you your life!
What happens when you sense God calling you to do something you have never done and do not fully understand? What do you do if you're young, a newer Christian and inexperienced? I think the answer is the same whether you are young or old, experienced or inexperienced.
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