I have no one else like him

Philippians 2:20 I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.

It was a busy weekend. Our church held a memorial service for a beloved Pastor who retired about 15 years ago. He was a remarkable man, and a true servant of the Lord. He had a servant's heart and was genuinely interested in the welfare of others. We celebrate his victory and envy his standing in the presence of his savior.

We frequently meet people in our daily walk who are Sunday Christians. They are right there worshiping with us on Sunday. And for the rest of the week you would be hard pressed to discern that they were believers. We also meet people who are serving the Lord for all the wrong reasons. They are either trying to elevate themselves in the church body or they think their salvation relies on their level of service.  Still others will talk a good faith, but when it comes right down to it, they do not share the love for others modeled by Jesus. Sadly, it seems the shallow believers out number those with a deep faith. We need to pray for those who are missing the whole point of being a Christian. We need to ask for the Holy Spirit to open their hearts, their eyes, their ears and their minds to all that they are missing. I guess that given the preponderance of Halloween advertisements in the media of late, the visualization that comes to mind for this type of believer is a zombie. Not alive, and not dead (yet.) But first and foremost, they are not alive in Christ. Fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ know that they are saved. Not by anything they can do, rather what has already been done for them by Jesus. Christ was and still is genuinely interested in our welfare. He cares deeply about believers and nonbelievers. He charged believers with bringing more into the flock with the "Great Commission". We must grasp his principles and move forward in caring for others and sharing His love just as He loved us even to death on the cross and his marvelous resurrection. Truly, we have no one else like Him.

PRAYER: Almighty and everlasting God we have been blessed by the live, death, and resurrection of Your Son. Our Savior Jesus Christ has freed the prisoner for the death of sin. He has fought and won the battle we could never have won on our own. For this, and the multitude of other blessing You have richly poured out upon us we give You thanks.  Help us to share this good news with those who remain dead in their sin, that they too may have life in Christ. This we ask in the strong name of Jesus who lives and reigns with the Father and the Spirit. One God, now and forever. Amen

So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Philippians 2:17 & 18 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

It is a bitter sweet experience to see the life of a fellow believer end. We mourn their passing. Our lives feel a sense of loss, a vacuum exists where they once stood in our lives. And at the same time, we rejoice at their victory over death. They stand in the presence of our Savior! In that fact we find the comfort to cope with the loss and to move forward with our lives.

I have lost friends and family to various causes. Death of a family member or friend takes its' toll. I struggle, for a time. If the friend is a non-believer, I think I feel a greater sense of loss. For I know the finality for them in their death. Whereas in the death, in this world, for a believer is not the end. It is only the beginning of the rest of the eternal life. The first loss stings more because it usually means the words and prayers for the one who died did not pan out in a change in their life to be a believer. Guilt is part of the equation. That nagging feeling of what more could I have done. What words should I have said. What strong statement of faith did I miss the opportunity to make. It bothers me. I pray alot about this. It is a growth area for me. But then when I compare that experience with the death of a fellow believer it is still a feeling of sadness over their being out of my life, for now. But a profound sense of joy in their real victory over death, spiritual death tempers the loss. I would much rather attend a memorial service for a fellow believer than a funeral for a nonbeliever. The summary statement for the believer is he lives on. For the nonbeliever is "That's all folks!" Each one can be sad, but for different reasons.

We at Grace Lutheran Pocatello Idaho will gather to celebrate the life of Reverend Manfred Berndt this coming Saturday at 3:00 PM. We are glad for his standing in the presence of our Savior and we rejoice with him.

Fair winds and following seas Manfred.

PRAYER: Almighty God, we thank You for the life and service of Your good and faithful servant Manfred Berndt. We look back at his life and see a faithful servant, a husband, a Father, and a friend. We are saddened by his death. And we rejoice at His victory. We are humbled at the gift of salvation through the sacrifice of You Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. We cling to the promise of eternal life given freely to all believers. On this promise in You Word, we stake our faith. To You be all the glory in all that we do as a body of believers. Amen

I did not run or labor for nothing

Philippians 2:16 as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

I am sitting here watching the drama of the successful rescue of 33 miners from the San Jose mine in Chile and the return to the surface of the rescuers. It is a time for celebration and thanksgiving. Praise God through whom all things are possible.

We often labor endlessly and tirelessly at many tasks.  It can be a job that takes years to complete. Or it can be a project that we chip away it until it is finished.  We want to see results. We want to see the fruits of our labors. We can become impatient when we do not see results quickly. When we embark on a ministry project, or witnessing to those who are not believers, or other endeavors to serve the Lord we must keep one very important fact in mind. These things unfold on the Lord's timeline and not ours. We can toil away expecting to see quick results, become discouraged and give up even before the Lord is getting warmed up. We need to be more deliberate in discerning His will in prayer. And we need to stay in communication with the Lord through prayer. We serve the Lord to glorify Him. When we forget that we fall into the trap of pride. And Satan loves that trap to be sprung. He catches so many in that trap. Or in the trap of discouragement & depression. There are many ways to be trapped and one narrow path towards freedom. Psalm 27:13&14 remind us "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." It's a faith thing.

So, when we are going about scattering the seeds of the Gospel we must keep in mind that we are not in charge, we are not alone, we are the hands and feet and not the brains. The glory in what we do goes to the Lord. His will is what we seek to fulfill and not fill our own egos. We may never see what our labors brought about. That's okay. I know that when I serve the Lord that I did not labor for nothing. And that is good enough for me.

PRAYER: Father You are the boss, and we are the workers in the field. We sometimes become impatient in waiting to see the fruits of our labors in serving You. We forget who we are serving. Help us O God to stay the course. Pour out Your Spirit upon us that our faith may never sway us from bringing in the harvest. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Spirit. One God, now and forever. Amen