Author: Peter Loeffelbein

I was at church this morning helping the worship team set up. We sat down to pray and I was suddenly remembering a Barney Miller episode. It was the one where the sweet older lady was arrested for writing bad checks. She was in the early stages of dementia. She was confused about why she had been arrested. One of the officers patiently explained to her that she owed several thousands of dollars to various people and businesses. She acted as though she understood and said “well let’s take care of that right now, I’ll just write you a check….”

That is where we all are morally. We are bankrupt but keep writing checks, asking for something or someone to cover us. We think that doing good deeds fills our checking account but according to the Bible, in God’s eyes our good deeds are like, this is kind of gross, like used menstral clothes, used sanitary devices. Our good deeds are worthless to God yet we hope to fill up our moral checking account with them, to balance the bad we do with some good deeds. It doesn’t work. It’s like writing a check on an overdrawn account to cover the overdrafts.

There is good news in all this. God himself has said that he can and will and has completely covered our debt. He did this in Jesus, in his death and resurrection. That is why his coming to earth is so important. It continues God’s plan forward.

The apostle Paul said this in his letter to the Christians in Rome, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 5:6-11

He says this later in the same letter, “But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

Romans 10:8-11

This Christmas God is waiting and wanting all of us to receive his gift, the best gift ever, forgiveness of sins, welcome into family and eternal life with him in a place where there are no tears or pain, only love and joy.

In 2018 my singer/songwriter wife released her second album, a collection of Christmas songs. The impetus behind going through the arduous and expensive process was Mary’s dad, Harold Ledgerwood, insisting that we record his favorite song of hers, “Glory”. He was very disappointed when he heard that her first album didn’t include his favorite song.

Mary told him that it didn’t fit on her first album because “Glory” was a Christmas song. “Well,” he said in his Indiana drawl, “then record a Christmas CD!” It seemed impossible at the time but the time and funds and travel all seemed to come together to allow us to put “Glory” on Mary’s Christmas CD, “The Whole Year Long”. Unfortunately, Harold passed away before the project was complete. We believe that Harold is now with Jesus and enveloped in God’s glory.

We missed sharing the song with Harold in his season of life. Sometimes life is shorter than we expect. The CD is titled saying the whole year long but the reality is, the Christmas season is a thin wedge of calendar where this CD is welcome and relevant. We are hoping to share this song and the CD with more people by posting about it on my blog. Here is a link to the the YouTube post of her song. You can listen for free. If you like it, please share it with your friends and family.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas! May this Christmas season bring you closer to Jesus our savior.

You can click on the link below and listen to 30 second snippets of the entire album.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-whole-year-long/1446149688

Hebrews 12

Focus on Jesus and run the race naked.

Maybe that would be better stated, run unencumbered. I understand that the original Olympians ran without clothes so as to be free as possible. I think that’s the idea.

“12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Getting to be with Jesus, becoming more like him. I don’t want to lose sight of Jesus. Especially in this Christmas season. Life doesn’t stop during Christmas. So we have life plus-and all the extra stuff that Christmas brings. Somewhere in all the tree trimming, lights, packages, people, sugar cookies and gingerbread there is a baby. Our God became flesh, he is with us and will live among us. He came for a purpose. He came to be a sacrifice, to die to pay for all of our sin.

I want to run the endurance race of my faith as if nothing will stop me or slow me down. I want to focus at this time of year on a baby, a baby born to save me, save us. He is man, he is God, he is our savior and he is our king.

There is a great group of people who have already finished their race. They stand to give us encouragement.

In everything I do this Christmas I am going to try and find the baby. Find Jesus in what I do. He is in there.

This is one of my favorite hymns. It’s not officially a Christmas hymn, it is written for the season just before Christmas called advent. It is the season that anticipates what God will do.

My favorite line in the song is this: “rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel has ransomed captive Israel”.

The Emanuel means God with us. God, the holy one, the one who is not created but is everlasting and eternal, the being who created everything, every thing that exists, the God who is all powerful, all knowing, always and everywhere present, that God, came down here to earth and has experienced life as one of us humans, not as a king or a superhero, but he came as we do, as a baby, born to peasants, poor peasants. He came with a purpose, that purpose was and is to ransom us, to buy us back, to pay the price for our slavery. One slavery is obvious and part of everyone’s life, that slavery is found in part, just a few blocks from my house, that lovely green lawn with all of the beautiful stone markers. We will All end up there, a cemetery, we are all slaves to death. The second slavery isn’t as obvious, sin. To define sin is to say anything less than perfect behavior. It is missing the bullseye. Some can do it some areas some of the time. But we need to do it in all areas, all of the time, for our entire life. Impossible. But that is what separates us from God, our imperfections. My company makes high purity chemicals. They need to be very pure, parts per billion pure. If there is 1 bad piece and 999,999,999 good pieces, it isn’t perfect. Spiritual perfection is even more demanding, Add nines out to infinity, all of those nines, perfect nines, waiting for that last one so they can all be turned to zeros but the last one is bad as all of those nines disappear because of the one bad one. Imperfect. Most of us aren’t that good, none of us are, but God is. Jesus lived that life, nines to infinity and then he added the last perfect one, he died in our place. He won our victory over imperfection and he gives us that freedom, freedom from death, freedom from imperfection.

This Christmas Jesus can ransom us, because he is Emanuel, the God who is with us.

“O come, O come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan’s tyranny

From depths of Hell Thy people save

And give them victory o’er the grave

Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, o Israel

O come, Thou Day-Spring

Come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night

And death’s dark shadows put to flight

Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, o Israel

O come, Thou Key of David, come

And open wide our heavenly home

Make safe the way that leads on high

And close the path to misery

Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, o Israel

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might

Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height

In ancient times did’st give the Law

In cloud, and majesty and awe

Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, o Israel

(Originally posted 12/22/17)

Hebrews 11

Heroes of faith.

2 things.

Thing 1. I apologize for skimming over such an important group of verses. Well worth reading every word. I missed this verse yesterday morning;

“6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

We believe in and follow an invisible God. His son was here for awhile in flesh living, eating breathing, touching, healing. He was killed as a sacrifice for us, came back to life and then left us to prepare a place for us. He sent down his Holy Spirit to comfort, lead guide and work in us and through us but Jesus has been gone a long long time. He said he is coming back. This takes faith to believe. Faith is the same for us as it was for the heroes in this chapter. If our faith is weak or small we can ask for more.

Thing 2

Briefly mentioned in the last part of the Chapter are 2 of my boyhood heroes, Samson and David. Mighty men.

I learned later in life that when I was little my dad would read bible stories to us kids. I was so little that I don’t remember and I remember stuff from when I was 3. My mom told me that my dad would not just read it, but bring it to life. When she was telling me about it her whole face and demeanor changed and I got a glimpse into the romance of my parents. It was sweet. But that’s not where I was going with this.

First my dad read us the bible. He Taught us the bible. It was so early I don’t remember the events but I do know the stories and characters.

Second is I heard about how an awesome God worked in the lives of insignificant people who then went on to do incredible things. The real people of the bible were my first super heroes. They weren’t perfect and God used them. I am not perfect. Can God use me?

More to the point young parents, your time invested in your children in teaching them the bible is never wasted. I don’t remember not knowing about Jesus and the heroes of faith. I wasn’t born with it, my dad placed it my little heart.

Thank you dad.

(Originally posted 12/22/19)

Hebrews 11

By Faith.

We are saved by faith in Jesus. The life of one who follows an unseen God has always been by faith.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.”

The hall of fame for faith; Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab. We know their stories not because they got what they were promised but because they believed what they were promised and acted on it.

We believe in an invisible God and our main tenant of faith is that Jesus’ death paid for our sins giving us eternal life with him but we must die to find out if it’s true.

I grew up reciting a creed. It’s old fashioned now to recite liturgy but I think it’s worth reciting today.

“We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

by the power of the Holy Spirit

he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.

He has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic (it means universal)and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

This is what I believe. I live my life in faith, in trust in God who I cannot see.

(Originally posted 12/21/19)

We got another little bit of snow last night. Not much of an accumulation but enough to cover everything in sight with a fluffy white blanket. It looks so pretty and sweet.

I realized this morning that one thing that  is special about a snowfall is that refresh, restart thing that it does. No matter how ugly and drab the landscape can be in winter, once the snow falls and covers it, everything looks nice again.

That is what Jesus came to do in our lives, not cover us with snow, but to take us back to a refresh, a restart. Lamentations 3:23 says that God’s mercies are new every morning. Every morning, every moment, I can go to God, repent and be forgiven and washed clean and to God, my heart mind soul and spirit look as clean and as fresh as a blanket of new fallen snow.

With that image in mind, please listen to our granddaughter Molly’s winter time song, “white sheet of snow”. Just click on the link and listen for free. If you like the song please “like” it and share it with your friends and families. In this case, regifting is the requested and recommended practice. From our family to yours, Merry Christmas.

It must’ve been hard to do.

Make the change from being a follower of Jesus to a teller about Jesus. From having him there with them to having him pop in and out of life unexpectedly.

This next bit is a paraphrase told from the perspective of the once disciple, now apostle, Peter.

I remember that day…

What to do? Let’s go fishing. Fishing is what we do, Simon and Thomas and Nathaniel, James and John. Fishermen. It’s what we do, it’s what we know, it’s how we provide for our families. Fished all night and got nothing. Some guy on the beach shouting instructions on how to catch fish…we’ll try it.

Whoa! Wow! So many fish, almost too many fish. One fish, two fish red fish, 152 fish. (Plus one).

This all seems so familiar, I’ve had this happen before. It was Jesus on the shore.

A quick swim, some breakfast, fish hauling ashore and then the “chat”.

For 3 years we’ve hung out with Jesus. On meeting me he said he would change my name. Now, after the denial, ( three denials, if you’re counting) and the resurrection we are back to Simon son of John. Not Peter. Simon.

Then the questions, do I love him more than these? Do I️ love Jesus more than my fishing buddies do? At one time in the not so distant past I️ claimed that I️ did.

Then the questions come. Jesus could’ve used 4 different words for the word love in his questions. He went straight to the highest, the strongest, the purest, do I Simon, love, agape love, Jesus?

It may be my failures and denials but all I can muster is “you know I love you like a brother, I️ phileo you Jesus”.

He gives me a job. “Feed my lambs”.

Then he asks me again, do I Simon, agape him, Jesus?

“Jesus, I love you, like a brother” is my answer.

“Take care of my sheep”.

He asks again, a third time. I didn’t get why he asked me twice but it becomes clear as he asks the third time, my mind went back to that horrible early morning, my third denial, “I tell you I do not know the man”….and then began swearing like a fisherman.

The third and last question Jesus asks, “Simon, son of John, do you love me….like a brother?”

I’m hurt and frustrated, so my answer is terse, “ you know all things, you know I love you like a brother..”

Again, “Feed my sheep…”

And then I get the prophecy about my death.

“18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

John 21:18

There are 2 things that encourage me here. “When you are old,” it isn’t eminent, and “old” I will continue to follow Jesus for the rest of my life.

This is one of the memories I think about as I write to those followers of Jesus who will continue after I’m dead. They will continue to tell others about our Jesus.

Add to your faith…brotherly love, and add to that, Agape love, God kind of love, selfless, others first, die in your place, kind of love. Add that to your faith in Jesus. Then you will be able to be fruitful and productive in your faith.

Jesus welcomed me back, I fell, I fell further and harder but his love covered my failures. His love will always do that. It will always cover over our sin.

(Originally posted 12/19/17)

My personal restoration process.

I work at a chemical plant. My job is in process controls. I create the computer graphics and logic so that an operator can click a button on a screen and a valve will open somewhere in the plant. I always hope it’s the correct valve.

Occasionally There are conditions that I have to insert in the logic. Like don’t open valve X if tank Y is above level Z. It’s called interlock logic.

I have talked and talked about Gods unconditional love for us. He has shown us how much he loves us by giving up his only son Jesus. Jesus died to pay for our sin. He rose again to show that he has defeated death and to give us hope of eternal life.

God has given us his Unconditional love, but there is one small tiny catch. Gods love for us is unconditional as long as it is flowing. His love must flow into us to wash us and forgive us, and flow out of us, for us to forgive others. As soon as his love begins to pool in us, as soon as we stop forgiving others, it stops flowing to us. There is an interlock on God’s forgiveness.

We see Jesus teach this principle at the end of the Lord’s prayer.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]

but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Jesus shared a story to illustrate this point. It’s found in Matthew 18

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g]

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[i] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

I think Gods #1 priority is restoration. Our restoration. In my world it’s my restoration. The fuel of Gods restoration process is forgiveness. When a project runs out of fuel it stops. When forgiveness stops flowing in my life my restoration stops. I cannot have enemies. Not from my point of view anyway. Others can hate me but I cannot hate them back. It goes deeper than that. I cannot hold unmet expectations over someone’s head. I must forgive them, let go of the expectations and love them at ground zero, that place at the foot of the cross where I get my forgiveness. It’s level there. No steps to climb. No podiums to stand on. No hoops to jump through. No bars to leap over or to break through. Free access to Jesus and his forgiveness. As long as I give it away in the same way I receive it.

Father God thank you for beginning my restoration. Thank you for giving your son to die in my place. Forgive me when I fail to forgive others. Help me to keep the flow of your love and forgiveness moving in my life by giving it away in the same manner in which it was given, freely and lavishly.

(Originally posted 12/19/16)

My wife Mary is a singer/songwriter. It all started with her plunking out tunes on her cousins piano. Mary’s parents saw a natural ability and so they procured a piano, from the stories Mary’s dad Harold told of getting it home, the first piano was a beast. But they got it home, then they found a piano teacher and the rest is history. She has been playing ever since. Mary finds peace and solace in playing. When she needs to decompress or sometimes needs to get energized she will sit at the piano and play, on some occasions it will be for hours.

Music brings rest to troubled and weary souls. If I think back to how it must’ve been for Mary and Joseph, newlyweds in a strange town, no place to rest except a barn, weary from travel and then the labor starts, this baby, this unexplainable baby, this baby that was not started like any other baby in history, this baby from God, this baby was God, this baby was coming and the only place they could find for shelter was a barn. Having a baby is difficult and messy but then there it is, this little human. Breathing and wriggling and crying and needing warmth and care and sustenance.

I wasn’t there in the manger, but I have been there in the birthing room with our own four kids and couple of the grandkids. Holding the baby and snuggling and cooing and singing just trying to bring the baby peace.

Mary recorded an instrumental version of Silent Night. I hope you will click the link and listen. If you like it, please share with friends and family. From our family to yours, Merry Christmas.

Like this song says, sleep in heavenly peace…..

Hebrews 10c

Persevere.

One more look at chapter 10. It is a long chapter with so much to say to us.

“Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”

Perseverance is maintained by remembering. Remembering the joy of forgiveness. Being released from shame and regret. Remembering who carries our sin and why. Why does Jesus carry our sin? He loves us. He loves me. Remembering that we are part of a community of faith, a body, and each part supports the other parts. Every part is essential to the survival of the other parts.

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,

“In just a little while,

he who is coming will come

and will not delay.”[f]

38 And,

“But my righteous[g] one will live by faith.

And I take no pleasure

in the one who shrinks back.”[h]

39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”

In a just a little while the writer said 2000 years ago. He is closer today than ever before. Let’s get ourselves ready. Good servants have their chores done and watch and wait for their master. When he steps back into our world I want to hear him say to us “well done good and faithful servants”.

(Originally posted 12/18/15)

Part of the joy of Christmas is the connection we have to our Christmases in the past. My favorite Christmas carols are hymns written years ago, sometimes centuries ago. When Mary was assembling music for her Christmas album her brother Scott suggested a song that he found that he loves. We had never heard of it before you showed it to us. It is called Taladh Chriosda (Christ’s Lullaby). It is a hymn traditionally sung at midnight mass. It comes from the Scottish Isles and was written around 1855 by a Scottish priest.

Mary sings the first verse in Scots Gaelic, the Ledgerwoods come from the borders of Scotland and Mary has embraced her Scottish heritage. The Scottish Isles can be inhospitable and harsh. Jesus came into this world to bring God’s love, mercy, grace, peace and joy, even to the most desolate places, and even the most desperate people, people like me.

The song was written as a lullaby for the baby Jesus. It has 29 verses, Mary selected her favorite verses for the recording.

If you have a few minutes please click on the link and listen. If you enjoy the song, please share it with your family and friends.

Hebrews 10b

Be encouraged.

“19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Go to church. We need each other. We are a body. The kidneys need the lungs and vise-versa. We all need the function of the others. The heart can’t function without the lungs, the lungs need the heart, the brain needs the lungs and heart and so on. We need each other.

Be careful.

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God….For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[e] 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

I don’t know how to talk about this passage. While writing this my Facebook started freaking out and kept closing, my nose started bleeding so I put my phone down and started to nap. (I frequently default to a nap).

While I was waiting for sleep and/or coagulation for my nose I got this picture in my mind.

If sinning means missing the mark, Like at an archery contest. The archer tries his best to hit the bullseye. Then Any shot that is not a bullseye is a “sin”. What if that same archer turns 180 degrees and lobs a few shots into the crowd? Is that kind of miss the same? He misses the target. A sin. But a deliberate miss. Does this kind of miss get the same kind of forgiveness?

I’m going back to verses 12-14.

“12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”

We must hang onto Jesus and hang onto, stay connected with each other. By Gods undeserved forgiveness we are saved. There is no other way.

(Originally posted 12/17/15)

Being with someone.

It brings comfort. When life is scary, or sad. Having someone there absorbs the intensity of the fear and sadness.

When life is good or joyful it is nice to have someone with us to share the joy with. Having someone with us when life is good expands and expounds the joy and gladness.

God knew this about us and about life. His plan has always been to be there for us and when Jesus was born, God became God with us.

If you have a few minutes, please click on the link and listen to the lyrics and contemplate the meaning of God with us. If you like the song, please share it with your friends and family.

From our family to your family, merry Christmas.

Hebrews 10

This book is written to a group of people who wanted to go back. Go back to the old familiar.

I am reading my bible In the early morning darkness through the wizardry and technology of the electric light bulb. The old technology- candle or lamp, basically portable and containable fire, was good but this is better. I don’t want to go back.

New is usually better. That’s why it’s here. If there wasn’t room for improvement we would have never sought a replacement.

“Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

God has always been in the forgiveness business. Back in the day forgiveness took a life. If a person was going to be forgiven then Some animal was going to have to die. Jesus took the place of all of those animals. Once for all people, for all the sin, for all time.

The new is better. Jesus is better.

“11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”

Jesus came and replaced the old system. One sacrifice for all people, for all of our sin for all time.

Thank you Jesus! You are the light of the world. Shine on us.

What does that mean for our lives?

Hebrews 9

Connect the dots.

As a kid I was more of a free hander drawing what else? Race cars. Occasionally I would allow someone else to dictate what the drawing would be and follow the numbered dots with my crayon. Most of the time I wouldn’t follow the order and just guess by the suggested shape of the dots. If I drew straight lines between all the dots the shape would look funny. In nature, Very rarely are there straight lines.

Judaism and its practices were a connect the dots so to speak. The temple sacrifices and ceremonies were, once completed, a set of things to show us who Jesus is and what he came to do.

“When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”[a] 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

In my bible I have verses 22&28 underlined.

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It can’t be my blood. I am sinful. Jesus sacrificed his perfect blood for our sins.

“and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

I’m waiting for him. Will you watch and wait with me? There is much to do while we wait. Many who don’t know that their sins are all forgiven. We must let them know. Jesus left us with an open invitation and it read, Bring a guest. Bring lots of guests.

(Originally posted 12/15/15)

Hebrews 8

The new and improved promise.

The letter of Hebrews was written to first century Jewish Christians. They were familiar with the ceremony and practices in the temple. The writer was reminding them that Jesus is the new way of life. What he brings to them and us is a vast improvement over the past.

“But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said[b]:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,

when I will make a new covenant

with the people of Israel

and with the people of Judah.

9 It will not be like the covenant

I made with their ancestors

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,

because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,

and I turned away from them,

declares the Lord.”

The new covenant will include God writing his laws on our minds and hearts. And….

“No longer will they teach their neighbor,

or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

12 For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.”[c]

13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”

The new and improved way to God is through Jesus. We no longer need the flesh and blood of animals to pay for our sins. We have the sacrifice of Jesus. We no longer rely on a line of men just as fallen as we are to go to God for us. We can go to Jesus who is our priest and our mediator and our sacrifice. He lived the human experience and did not miss the mark, he did not sin.

Jesus, he knows us, knows what it’s like to be us, loved us enough to die for us and stands before God the father on our behalf.

Repeat after me: Jesus loves me. That is what this book is all about.

(Originally posted 12/14/19)

I have already used this picture once today but I think it is an amazing shot that encapsulates so much of the meaning of Christmas for my wife Mary and for our family.

First, it’s dark. Winter is dark up here in the northern part of the U.S. We only get about nine hours of sunlight. There is snow on the tree. Along with being dark in the winter, it is cold. If we get precipitation at all, it comes in the form of snow and ice. There is a moon. I can’t think of any significance for the moon and Christmas, but it is a mostly full moon, which is mentioned in the poem “The night before Christmas”.  “The moon on the crest of the new fallen snow, gave luster like midday to objects below”. There is the star. It is a star that my Wife Mary has looked at and cherished every Christmas of her life. If it was just a star shaped light it wouldn’t be that special, but it symbolizes another star, a star that led wisemen to seek a new king. That king was Jesus. That Jesus became the king of my wife Mary’s heart, then my heart, then our children’s hearts and now our grandchildren’s hearts.

Christmas is special to us because God became flesh and dwelt among us. He lived a perfect life, and died the death we deserve to pay a debt we cannot pay. He was raised to life and now lives forever to intercede for us.

Mary wrote a song about a special Christmas memory from her past. She doesn’t mention it in the song, but the star was shining over her little town that night, symbolizing another star that shown over another Bethlehem Ephrata, that led wise men to seek a king.

Please click on the link and listen to Mary’s song, “Merry Mary” and remember all the Christmases, especially the first one, when Jesus Christ was born.

When my wife Mary and I were first married we moved to Vancouver Washington because I was going to school across the river in Portland Oregon at Concordia College. We were very young and very newly married and Mary was pregnant with our honeymoon baby. She was homesick for her home town of Ephrata and would cry herself to sleep over the thought of missing out on her favorite Ephrata Christmas tradition, the giant star being lit on top of the hill that overlooks the town.

The town of Ephrata is named after the town of Bethlehem. An early traveler to our sleepy little whistle stop looked around and said the setting reminded him of the town of Bethlehem. The name is found in a prophecy about the coming messiah being born there, found in the minor prophets book, Micah, chapter five.

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.”

Micah 5:2 – NLT

I’m not sure when it started but for as long as my wife has been alive, seeing the Star on the hill over Ephrata has been a meaningful experience.

The town elders who installed the star were prompted to by the story found in the book of Matthew. Wise men followed a star and found Jesus in Bethlehem.

“Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’ ” Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

Matthew 2:1-8 – NLT

This mornings bible reading took me to Micah 5, then as I was leaving for work the fog that had blanketed our town overnight, lifted just enough for me to see both the star on the hill, and a waning moon, framed by our weeping fir covered in snow.

It was like looking down the hallway of time. I saw the Old Testament prophet speaking words about his coming messiah, then the fulfillment of that prophecy at Jesus’ birth, then the connection of our little town to that town by a stranger passing through, then my personal connection to the star through my wife who has never missed a Christmas seeing the star on the hill.

Yes, even the year we were in Vancouver, God provided a way for Mary to see the star over Ephrata, which symbolizes the star over Bethlehem, which was the sign to the wisemen that the savior, the King had been born.

The angels said it best, “That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Luke 2:8-14 – NLT

My father-in-law was a really good man. He lived his whole life serving others, doing the right thing, even when it hurt, going the extra mile just because it was needed. He rescued people, he rescued dogs and cats, he put out fires, he served in the national guard going and doing whatever needed being done. He was a selfless servant. He didn’t ask for much in return. In the 40 plus years I knew him I rarely saw him angry.

When Mary finished her first album her dad looked it over and asked if his favorite song was on it. He loved Mary’s song that she called “Glory”. Mary told him that Glory did not make it on the album because it was more of a Christmas song. His response was a little out of character, he actually got a little miffed and said, “Well then, make a Christmas CD!” At first we scoffed at the thought. The recording process was expensive and time consuming but eventually we came up with a plan and of course we knew whatever else we put on the album, “Glory” had to be among the songs listed.

Harold passed away before the project was finished. We believe because of his faith in Jesus, that he is now experiencing in person, what we can only imagine, the Glory of the great God of the universe. God is a great and powerful and awesome God, but he showed his grace and mercy to us in sending us his son Jesus to die in our place, to pay for our sin which separates us from God.

If you have a few minutes to relax, please click on the link and listen for free to Mary’s dad Harold’s favorite song, “Glory”. If you like the song, please share this link with family and friends, you are our distribution system.

Merry Christmas, and Harold, thank you for your serving heart and hands.