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Proverbs 20:12 Ears that hear and eyes that see– the LORD has made them both.
Today, I am again thankful for my “eyes that see.” No. They are not perfect. I’ve got a -11 and -12 prescription. VERY near sighted. I am at heightened risk for retinal tears. I am also high risk for glaucoma. BUT, with glasses and contact lenses I can SEE. With yearly doctor appointments, I can keep up with the health of my eyes and hopefully spot and treat and potential problems. So, I am very thankful.
Hosea 14:1 Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!
We must continually “return” to God. Our sinful flesh longs to wander, and we need to continually take it back to the cross of Christ and remind the Old Adam within that: “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (see Galatians 2:20)
This was the confirmation verse (a verse given specially at the time when He publicly confessed his faith in Christ) for the first man at whose funeral I officiated today.
God speaks to Abram and says:
“I Am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless.”
Most translations use the word “blameless” here. The original Hebrew literally means “complete,” or “whole.” Elsewhere in the OT this word is translated as “with out blemish” and even “perfect.”
We often read this as a command. The God who creates this covenant with Abram declares his just requirement of those who would be his: Be whole. Be complete. Be without blemish. Be Perfect. This is God’s demand. That we would be perfect in love for him and for one another. But who among us (let alone Abram!) has done this?
The original language does leave room for this to be a promise–not merely a command. “Walk before me and you will be: complete, whole, without blemish, perfect.” How wonderful. How true.
For there is one (and ONLY one) who has truly been totally whole, complete, without blemish and perfect: Jesus, the spotless “lamb of God.” This Jesus lived a perfect life on our behalf. His own righteousness, his own perfection is credited to our account as we trust in him. And our wicked thoughts, words and actions are given over to him wholly (along with the deserved punishment for these acts) through his death on the cross.
The end result is that all who trust in Jesus are counted whole, complete, without blemish and even perfect in the sight of God on behalf of Jesus. wow.
Not only that, but Jesus has promised to one day return and raise our bodies from the ground making them gloriously new. On THAT day–we will experience, not merely by faith, but by sight our own wholeness, completion and perfection in Him.
Thank you, Lord Jesus.
I shifted my “day off” back one day since I have two funerals and a meeting tomorrow. So, we went to the beach. It was a nice, relaxing day. When we got back to town, I took my son to his swim team practice and went swimming myself. Swam 1,000 yards. (that’s not really all that much) but it felt good.
“How much larger your life would be if your self could become smaller in it.” G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
In seventh and eighth grade, middle schoolers embark on a two year journey to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus through extra study experiences we call “confirmation.” Typically, we’ve had 7th and 8th graders together in one class. One year, we study the basic teachings of the faith through Luther’s Small Catechism. The alternate year, we study the bible, looking at an overview of God’s working in human history.
This year, we are preparing to have 27(!) kids in the process. That is a LOT of kids! I’m trying to figure out how to create the best environment for growth and learning. I’m not sure that one class with 27 kids is the way to do that. 
We prayed together last night before bed, and I’m sad to say that this warrants a blog post. It should be so common, so regular that it wouldn’t be “news.” But lately….well, lately it hasn’t happened like this much. I mean, we pray together all the time: meals, bed-times, car-trips, etc. But we hadn’t prayed like this for a while. I began the time of prayer with confession, saying I was sorry to God that this hadn’t happened for a while. This is on my shoulders as the one who should be “the head,” and I’ve not been leading well of late.
Any way. Prayer was (is!) good. We prayed for each of our kids in detail, asking specifically for wisdom and discernment about how better to parent each one, bringing their own personal struggles before the throne of God. We prayed for each other. We prayed for our marriage. It was great.
I just wish it wasn’t news-worthy.
I can’t recall ever having three funerals in one week–nor five within a month’s time. But that’s what I’ve got. Two more this Friday. I appreciate these opportunities, actually. At a funeral, people are confronted with the reality of death and I have the opportunity to point them to Jesus as the only answer, the only hope that we really have in this world. Life is short–even if lived fully as our current ages would recon–in the span of eternity. We need the forgiveness and life that only Jesus brings.
We have a funeral this morning for a dear woman of our congregation. While there is obvious sorrow at such times, we do not grieve without hope. (see 1 Thess. 4:13) No. We have great hope. Our hope is in Jesus Christ who is the Resurrection and the Life. (see John 11) We cling to Jesus who will raise up even our mortal bodies and make them like his glorious body. (see Philippians 3:21)
After the service, after the luncheon, there will be the committal of her remains to their resting place with these words:
“We now commit her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body, by he power that enables him to subdue all things to himself.
May God the Father, who created this body, may God the + Son who by his blood redeemed this body, may God the Holy Spirit who by Holy Baptism sanctified this body to be his temple, keep these remains to the day of the resurrection of all flesh. Amen.”
Here are some pics from our recent trip. It was so nice. My in-laws came up and watched our kids for a couple nights so we could slip away together.
