You’re in my prayers.

Really? Or are you just saying that? For most of us, we say it with all sorts of care and compassion. But not many of us actually pray what we say – at least, not overtly or intentionally. Many of those friendly prayers we move into the Miscellaneous File in the basement storeroom of our minds, trusting the Holy Spirit to find His way down there and look them up.

What would happen if we actually, genuinely, purposefully and meaningfully… pray? Before we can get to that, though, we need to understand who’s praying to Whom, with what and for what. It sounds more complicated than it really is.

You are invited to pray because the God who created you and redeemed you knows how much you NEED to pray. You need Someone to talk to, Someone who will actually listen, Someone who loves you more than life itself. So you tell Him what’s going on, even though He already knows. You tell Him how much you’re hurting, even though He already knows. You tell Him why you need Him to do His God thing for someone close to you, even though He already knows.

He wants to hear what YOU know. Not just what you think or what you wish or what you guess or even what you believe. Do you know what you’re asking? Do you know Who you’re talking to?

You don’t want to offend Him or waste His time, so you trivialize your prayers with shiny beads and shallow flattery, saying things like, “I just want to thank you and I just want to praise you and I just want you to know…” Putting the “just” in there insults the Savior who became sin for you so that you might become righteous for Him, as though your life and your soul and your petitions and intercessions are too cheap and meaningless to address straight up. Jesus demands it of our prayers: “Do not keep babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” Get to the point. Get to the ask. Prayer isn’t for cowards nor con men, so pray it like you mean it.

The only reason you and I even have a prayer is because God already answered it ahead of time. God sent His Son into the world to save the world, to redeem the world, to heal the world, to change the world, to love the world. You have a saving prayer? Jesus. You have a redeeming prayer? Jesus. You have a healing prayer? Jesus. You have a changing prayer? Jesus. He hears every single one of your prayers – even the crappy ones – and He answers. In the moment, in the urgency of our need, His answer seems to be one of three: yes, no, and wait. (He really likes that last one.)

But in the eternal scope of our lives, from a God’s-eye view, His answer will be bringing us back to Jesus. To His cross and His empty tomb. To His mercy and His grace. To His promise of power, presence and peace. It’s just a matter of His opening our eyes, our minds, our hearts to know where Jesus fits into our lives, and where we fit into His.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. You will have the right answer, even if it’s not your desired one. Instead of seeing the wind and the waves that blow you over and drag you under, you will see the Hand that rescues and hear the Voice that calms.

So you best pray like you mean it. Because He does.

When you pray in His name, you’re acknowledging Jesus as Lord of your life, no matter where your life is at or where it’s headed. When you pray His will be done, you are surrendering your best-laid plans and sincere intentions to the Savior who will never let you out of His sight nor out of His hands. When you pray for His Kingdom, His power and His glory, you are setting aside your clocks and calendars to affirm that His eternity is worth far more than your temporality.

Pray like you mean it.

This past month we cut our vacation short because Deb’s dad was driving himself to Urgent Care with shortness of breath. When we got there a couple hours later, we just missed him because they’d taken him to the CT Room.

The nurse said rather pointedly, “He’s had a stroke.” Literally seconds later, an announcement came over the intercom: “Emergency response team to the CT Room! Emergency response team to the CT Room!”
In that moment, we had nothing. Nothing we could do. Nothing we could say. Stunned silence. And the only prayer I could muster was, “Not tonight, Lord. Not tonight.” A professional wordsmith, and that’s all I had. And I meant it.

But it’s not the words. It’s not the urgency nor the sincerity. It’s not my sacred office nor the measure of my faith.

It is Who is on the other end of that prayer. He’s said yes before. He’s said no a bunch. And I’m well acquainted with waiting on the Lord. But I came back to Him anyway.

A few weeks later, my father-in-law is recovering nicely, and making fun of his son-in-law.  Thank you, Jesus.
So pray for yourself. Pray for your parents and your kids. Pray for your church and your country. Pray for the enemies you know and the friends you don’t. Pray without ceasing, and then pray it again. Pray like you mean it.

I will most definitely be praying with you, and for you. And I mean it.

- Pastor Steve Kline

I hate Joe Biden.

Or, I hate Donald Trump.

How about, I hate Tom Brady. I hate the Chicago Bears. I hate Fox News. I hate bad umpiring. I hate putting pineapple on pizza. I hate traffic jams.

We throw the word hate around almost as much as the word love. We use the same word for profoundly different relationships:  I love my wife, I love my dog, I love Spotted Cow. One word, but obviously not the same meaning. I hope.

For some of us, maybe we actually have more hates than loves. In some cases, I don’t think that word means what you think it means. In others, it means more.

But how do you define hate? For that matter, how do you define love? This may be another case where Justice Potter Stewart’s words in 1964 regarding pornography apply: "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced...but I know it when I see it." We all seem to know it when we see it. And when we feel it.

Hate is about judgment. A lot of it. When we hate, we’ve completed the entire legal process in our own hearts and/or minds (that and/or is intentional, which I’ll get to in a moment) by which we have accused, tried, convicted, sentenced and condemned the evildoer. Of course, even the label evildoer is our own design, based on our code of conduct, which that dumb #$%& has violated. Repeatedly, or maybe just once. Inexcusably, even if he tries to explain his dumb #$%&ery. Unforgivably. I, my own little lord,
have spoken.

If it’s genuine hate, it intermingles between heart and mind in such a way that it contaminates both. As righteous as we are, the role of executioner – even if only in thoughts or words – becomes a consuming fire, heated seven times over normal, leaving only ashes behind. Not the evil one’s ashes, mind you. Our own. Our attitude. Our relationships. Our love. Even our faith, reduced to dust.

Maybe it’s not full-throated hatred, though. I believe there is sports hate: I don’t actually want Tom Brady to burn in hell, I just dislike what he’s done to my teams and want him to lose every game for the rest of his life. There’s food hate (coconut), music hate (rap), driver hate (Illinois), and especially political hate…
Uh oh. #$%& just got real, didn’t it?

This is where I’m seeing and hearing hate the most these days. Do we really mean that? Is that what’s brewing in our hearts, or is this just a moment on the mind?

I not only hate Biden, I hate everyone who voted for him. When I hate Trump, I’m also hating everyone who supports him. I hate you if you’re pro-life. I hate you if you’re pro-choice. All Democrats are evil. All Republicans are stupid.

Have you noticed that dichotomy? If you disagree with me, or if your worldview leads you to see things another way, you are either stupid or evil. So which one is it? It must be one or the other, because my opinion is the only valid one, and my worldview is the only righteous one.

If this sounds like you, it’s not because I’m making this up to prove a point. It’s because you’ve shared it online. Every single word. Apparently we shouldn’t be friends, or even family, because…politics.
We aren’t allowed to simply disagree anymore, nor can we discuss our disagreements peacefully and respectfully, in hope that rational dialogue may increase understanding. Or at least we can agree to disagree. No: we go straight to hate.

We have given ourselves over to the deceptions and divisions of the devil, the world and our own sinful selves that dictate absolute conquest and destruction of all enemies, along with their philosophy, belief systems, associations, family, friends, dogs and pet hamsters. Satan’s favorite strategy: divide and conquer. Momentary separation heading toward permanent division. We judge. We condemn. We hate.

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.  (1 John 4:20-21). As Martin Luther King said, “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Leave the judging to God. He is the only one who possesses the perfect and righteous judgment to “hate the evildoer” (Psalm 5:5), and then pour out mercy and grace in such abundance that the evil is replaced with holiness. The Good News is that Jesus loves us despite our repeated sins, our inexcusable attitudes and our unforgivable failures. His blood – the calling card of His unconditional love – covers over a multitude of hates.

So listen to Him and form your thoughts and beliefs around His Word, as your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. And treat people accordingly, as He does.

Jesus also says to love your enemies. Even Tom Brady.
Oh, Lord, I’m gonna need help with this…        

No greater crisis in all human experience exists than this: you whip into the parking lot at Kwik Trip. You slam the car door (unlocked) and crash through the doors, offering a brief and immediately forgotten curse that there are two sets of doors and God forbid another human being is anywhere within the arc of those doors.

You slalom back to the restroom area in Olympic time, only to meet the sign on the door: OUT OF ORDER. Or worse, CLOSED FOR CLEANING. Either way, every ounce of your being – maybe even pints or quarts – is making seismic rumblings as you consider, perhaps for the first time ever, identifying with the other gender for the next 30 seconds or so. The citation from the police office after the fact would be worth it.

One of the first and hardest lessons in life is that not everything works the way it’s supposed to. Your plans don’t just go astray: they evacuate the premises and disappear like they’ve been beamed up to Sarpedion 5 or someplace. Or, as the great philosopher Mick Jagger once put it, “You can’t always get what you want.”
What happens then? Most people either stop and stew and pout, or they crash forward to claim whatever crown, condition or inheritance they believe they are entitled to. We are either paralyzed by fear or frustration, or we are buffeted by the winds and waves from a storm of our own devising, but which we never saw coming. Despite the forecast.

We are out of order.

One of the great failures of atheism is the belief system that projects order coming magically and mystically out of chaos, with no catalyzing or energizing agent - that nothing produces something. In the beginning, God put everything in order. The entirety of His creation is aligned perfectly for life. The entirety of His Word is aligned perfectly for Life.

When human beings decided that they know better, they chose to pursue a different alignment, which is not alignment at all. It is disorder. It is self-deification, idolatry in its oldest and most catastrophic incarnation. The greater catastrophe, aside from what Adam and Eve did to themselves, is what they did to God and everyone else. Human desire sought to overthrow and replace divine providence. Self love – truly a contradiction in terms, but we’ll grant the concept – eviscerates the real love that can only be true because it is purely self-less. The First Commandment is not, “You shall have no other gods before yourself.”

Here's an oversimplification, in two questions:
1.     Is the world a mess?
2.     Does the world follow God?

Yes + No = Disorder. Also depression, destruction, division, and devastation. Many years ago there was a bar in West Bend we used to visit called “The 5 D’s.” Well there you go.

If we don’t like God’s plan, we substitute one of our own. If we don’t like God’s design, we try to engineer a better one. If we don’t like God’s sense of timing, we plunge forward, consequences be damned.
 
Impatience is the key symptom here. Martin Luther once said that impatience is the worst of sins because it leads to all the others. More specifically, he said, “Those speak foolishly who ascribe their anger or their impatience to such as offend them or to tribulation. Tribulation does not make people impatient, but proves that they are impatient. So everyone may learn from tribulation how his heart is constituted.” A heart separated from God and His Word is a heart destined for disorder. Or tribulation. Or breakage.

Living together before marriage is adultery, period. “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure” (Hebrews 13:4). Looking at porn is adultery, period. “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Being patient with His gift of sexuality keeps your life in order.

Not all loves are love. In both Testaments, Christ provides the proper order for our love, emotionally and physically. And there are some whom we are NOT given to love physically: someone else’s spouse, a child, or someone of the same sex (Romans 1:21-27). He specifies the good order that blesses rather than curses.

It is not your body, your choice. “You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Your right to live as you please ends at the right of another person to live, and God is abundantly clear on the personhood of every life He creates. Respecting His precious and holy gift of life keeps you in order.

God gives 610 other laws that are intended for His righteous order for our lives. And for each one we find a thousand ways to screw it up.

Two more overly simple questions:
1.     Is your life a mess?
2.     Do you follow God?

Not just when it’s convenient or when you think He’s not looking. And obviously not all the messes are our own.

But given the disordered, messed-up world we live in – surrounded by people even more messed-up than we are, if that’s possible – God is going to let some of that mess spill over into our lives. Those are the teachable moments, when we truly learn who we screw-ups really are, and who He is.

Jesus doesn’t come to call the righteous but the sinners, the screwers, the messers, the losers. When He calls us, He loves us. When He loves us, He saves us. When He saves us, He changes us. We realize how much smarter He is, how much better His plan will be for us, and how much we need to follow Him back into a life that works. We need Jesus to make that work for us. We need Jesus to do the miraculously difficult job of reshaping, rebuilding and reforming us from the inside out.

We need Jesus. We need the humility to know what we don’t know, and the patience to know that He does.
Otherwise, our options are to hop on one foot, or – in classic Pythonese – to soil our armor.

Give me Jesus.    

On June 28th I will celebrate my 30th anniversary of ordination, or more simply, 30 years as a pastor. Whether God’s Church or the Holy Spirit will also celebrate, I cannot say.

Reflecting upon the first half of my ministry, I’ve come up with 30 things the Lord has taught me over these 30 years. In no particular order…

1. It’s not about you.  When I first read that opening line to Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life, I wondered how he stole my stuff! This is the main truth of growing up: the world does not revolve around you. The Bible portrays the glory of God, not Steve. The more I grow up, the more powerful this truth is.
2. Know grace.  God’s undeserved love for us because of Jesus Christ. You can’t buy it. You can’t live without it.
3. Be a God-pleaser.  I’ve always had an outsized desire to be liked, to be praised. That means I’ve got the mindset of a performer, which is good until it isn’t. God has to continually remind me that I play for an audience of One.
4. God is love.  He loves. He loves to love. He loves to love those He loves. He loves me, even when I don’t. He is love.
5. Paul was wrong.  When he claimed to Timothy that he was the worst of sinners, he hadn’t met me yet.
6. Most times there’s only one frog.  Or two. This is from a parable about a man who was kept up at night by the unbearably loud croaking of all the frogs by the pond outside his window. What he thought were thousands of frogs were really only two. This was first shared with me years ago by a great church friend who knew I thought I had a thousand frogs.
7. After the Word, music is the greatest gift. Luther’s line about the gifts God gives to His Church resonates with me. I believe every worship service should be defined by great preaching and great music. My favorite hymn is still “For All the Saints,” though “Unbounded Grace” and “Love Was When” may have to join my Mount Rushmore alongside “Crown Him with Many Crowns.” My favorite spiritual song is “You Are My All in All,” but “There’s Joy in the House of the Lord” is coming up fast. Anyone else care to chime in on this?
8. I’m doing what God created me to do. I’m really not qualified for anything else. There is no higher office in the Kingdom of Grace. I’m at the top of my profession.
9. Boundaries are great. But I suck at them. Not good. 
10. We are always one generation away. From extinction: the Church, that is. Kids are confused and afraid, much like we were. Our ministry must focus on the most vulnerable, always. Most adults have at least a little foundation. Our kids are still trying to build theirs, and the devil keeps stealing their tools.
11. Don’t be Sgt. Hulka.  In Stripes, when he climbs the rope up to the tower platform, Sgt. Hulka looks down on the troops and says, “Any of you (lesser people) want to climb up here and knock me off?” He and the platform then get hit by a stray mortar. Don’t be Sgt. Hulka.
12. Adult Christians will not always act adult or Christian. One look in the mirror should prove that.
13. The two Foundational Facts of all human enlightenment: 1) There is a God. 2) You are not Him.
14. I believe God has a hidden means of grace for babies. This runs a bit counter-clockwise, as the word sacrament entails a mystery revealed. But I believe God, in His infinite love for His precious children, provides a dose of saving grace to those He creates who never see the light of day, or only for a short time. I believe this is what David is hinting at in 2 Samuel 12:23, even though he doesn’t spell it out. Not a doctrine; an intuition.
15. Christians are dying to live. Most people are living to die, wandering through life with no meaning or purpose. In Christ, the old me dies with Him on the cross, so that the new me lives with Him daily. We die to live. That’s sanctification.
16. Don’t schedule against the Packers. 
17. God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does. Originally Luther, not me. But he’s spot on.
    
18. The Holy Spirit accomplished the Reformation. Philip and I sat around and drank beer. Also Luther.
    
19. Where death is, sin was. Death came into the world through sin, and the wages of sin is death. The only way to conquer death is to conquer sin. Enter Jesus.
    
20. The worst sinner ever was … Jesus. Despite my debate with Paul, He who knew no sin became sin for us. Jesus became sin. He took upon Himself every sin of every sinner of all time. For six hours on a Friday, on a hill outside of Jerusalem, He became the worst sinner because He became all the sinners.
    
21. I got nothing. Nothing I can add to the Cross. Nothing I can contribute to the transaction of salvation. Nothing I can give to God that’s worth a damn thing. Not my heart – just a rusty tin can on a garbage heap. Not a prayer, since dead people can’t talk. Not a decision to accept, as I just don’t have that power. It’s all grace, or none at all. All Jesus, no me.
    
22. I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Not run. Not fly. It’s a walk, usually slow and difficult. Fortunately, I have company.
    
23. If you’re the lead car, check your mirrors. Make sure they’re still behind you, and don’t push the gas so much you lose them.
    
24. Never steal on an 0-2 count. 
25. I’m not just a salesman; I’m a customer as well. As much as I love to share forgiveness, life and salvation in Christ, I must never lose sight of the fact that I need those things too.
26. The Law is always louder than the Gospel. It’s easier and more fun to preach the fire and brimstone of the Law, but the sweet whisper of the Gospel has more staying power. I am a works-based organism dealing with a grace-based God.
    
27. Sometimes you lose.  Not everyone will listen. Not everyone will respond. Not everyone will get it. I have to accept that nobody goes undefeated. Except in Pickleball.
    
28. Being a pastor’s wife or kid is a whole different ballgame. He doesn’t have a set schedule. He only gets one day off a week, and it’s not the weekend. He has meetings and ministries that keep him from being at all the games and performances. He can never be their pastor, so their soul care has to come from somewhere else. They have to listen to him bark or brag, and then somehow remind him who the real Boss is. He cannot be who he is or do what he does without them. They are the stars, the heroes that rarely get noticed or mentioned. They are the presence of Christ in his life.
    
29. The Bible never says Jesus had scars. The nail marks thing was Thomas’ idea, and John does not state that the risen Jesus had them. But the text makes a rather solid implication. The point is this: don’t try to make God say something He doesn’t say, and don’t deny the truth when it comes from God Himself. Jesus was neither a Republican nor a Socialist, so don’t drag Him into your political agendas. Everyone on the side of truth listens to Jesus, even if they don’t like what He says. The Word always wins.
    
30. Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?”  The greatest question in all human experience, awaiting the most crucial answer of any final exam ever given. When He introduces Himself to me in His Word, when I get to know Him and realize how well He knows me – and loves me anyway – then I know the answer.

 
Which brings me back to #1.
 
 

​We’ve put masks on the faces of preschoolers, who are highly unlikely to contract the virus and who learn how to interact as they learn to read people’s faces. We’ve taught them to be afraid of things they cannot see or understand. I wonder what the long term effects of that will be…

We keep sending middle schoolers home – again, people with relatively small risk of catching or passing the virus – to isolate them from their friends and essentially shelve the learning process until the next variant fades. How shocking is it that suicidal behaviors among teens have skyrocketed past an already tragic level?

Our grandparents who live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities - who are absolutely the most vulnerable to this disease - are finding out that the loneliness they were experiencing before was a picnic in the park compared to their visitors being even more restricted, or banned altogether.

Many of our veterans are still trying to walk through the war zones of their own minds, only now it’s even harder to find help when counseling clinics can’t get them in until March. Misery definitely does not love company.

The mental health industry is booming, and that’s not a good thing unless you run a mental health clinic. Even there, though, the overflow of mental health clients is seriously impacting the existing mental health care providers, who are themselves stepping away from the field in increasing numbers, for their own mental health. When Jesus quotes the proverb, “Physician, heal thyself,” He was doing so sarcastically.

Our health care workers are exhausted, physically and mentally. Our teachers are trying to fight the good fight, but it’s tough to do when you get knocked off your feet by a variant less deadly but certainly still packing a punch. There weren’t enough subs before; now they’re even harder to find.

Clearly we are losing our minds. Not that we’re all stampeding into insanity – though it seems like it every time I turn on the news. I’m referring to our individual and collective mental health, stamina, and overall perseverance.

We do not know the long term effects of the vaccines, if any. There’s no way we could until the term plays out. But we do know what happens when we are repeatedly buffeted by the waves of fear and anxiety, isolation and depression. Our relationships suffer. Our society suffers. And ultimately we will discover even far greater collateral damage from the pandemic then we realized in the moment.

It is precisely when our minds are wavering that we need our hearts to stand firm. We cannot afford to lose those too, because then we lose our source of strength, of comfort, and of hope. That’s where Jesus lives, and we need Him, now.

Peter tells us, “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” Be prepared, he says, to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do so with gentleness and respect. Stop attacking. Start sharing.

Jesus Himself reminds us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.” He’s got this. More importantly, He’s got you! When you walk into SHLC, and you come into His presence in His house, look up at the Shepherd of the hills, the One who lays down His life so His sheep can have theirs back again. He’s holding one of His lambs. That’s you. And He says, “No one can snatch you out of My hand.”

This is what Paul means when he prays that the “eyes of your heart be enlightened, to know the hope to which He’s called you … and to see His incomparably great power for us who believe.” While our eyesight may not always work to perfection, we never want to lose our God-sight.

That’s why Paul says, in the midst of his quarantine in a Roman prison, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation… I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” This is the peace of mind and heart, gifted to us by the grace of Jesus Christ, that surpasses all human understanding, all human description.

Which brings me to another anatomical reference: we need to keep our backbone. With the presence, the power and the peace of Jesus Christ living in us and through us, we not only are lifted up out of our own darkness and depression. We become the muscle of the Messiah, reaching out and raising up those who may yet be paralyzed by fear or failure, or have been left for dead by those who have beaten them down and stolen their joy and purpose in life.

God tells Joshua and the Israelites repeatedly, “Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Then He sends us in to make sure of it. Do not fear what they fear. We’ve got Jesus. He’s got us. Now be who He’s called you to be: servants. Helpers. Do-ers. You’ll need a spine for that.

Let me take it one step further. For those of us who are defined as male by both science and God in our possessing both an X and a Y in our pair of chromosomes, there’s another pair we dare not lose in the midst of all these mixed messages and massive challenges. Just as I am not afraid of the virus, I’m also not afraid of the vaccine. The Lord and I agreed that it was more important for me to carry the Gospel to those in need than to be concerned with potential harm. So I got the vaccine and booster. If God makes me the lab rat, so be it.

I absolutely respect your own personal conversations with Christ, and also the conscience He has given you. I do not believe in nor support forcing anyone to take actions that betray their God-given conscience. But as for me, I want to get into the hospitals and nursing homes to offer a little bit of Jesus to those in need, and if getting poked helps me do so, praise the Lord!

I also want to talk face to face with those who have served God by serving our country, and with our kids who are trying every day just to be themselves. I want my little buddies in the Pre-K to see me smiling and laughing with them, and I want to see them smiling in return. So far, God has blessed me as one of those in whom He has added a little bit of Moderna with a rather efficient immune system of His own design and construction. But first, He had to keep all my organs intact.
​
I have seen plenty of Mama Bears on a daily basis, rising up to protect their cubs during all this. For us Papa Bears, I conclude with a direct quote from my favorite Seminary professor: “God gave you gonads – use them for something other than procreation!” No fear.

When God breaks the silence after what seems like an eternity, and He steps into our story in real and powerful ways, inspiring angel songs and shepherd shares, we can wonder what took so long, question His methods, doubt the reality. Or we can celebrate God with us, and rejoice in amazing grace.
I choose joy.
 
When God breaks the darkness that everyone’s been walking in, bankrupt of hope and consumed by lack, surrounded by selves and swimming in empty oceans, we can lament that His light isn’t bright enough or maybe the wrong color. Or we can step into the waves of knowledge unveiled and truth revealed, and enjoy the new warmth emanating from its Source.
I choose joy.
 
When God breaks the separation of formerly chosen people choosing people, seeking escape from the vicious clutches of mercy and grace to pursue moments of amusement during seasons of searching, we can complain about the selfless meaning and the stifling wisdom. Or we can welcome the presence and the presents that restore and refill empty hearts with supernal songs and eternal joy.
I choose joy.

When God breaks the chains of addictions that enslave and attractions that ensnare, we can fear the divine unknown and return to our dance with the demons. Or we can embrace a freedom long buried in our baggage, and revel in the feast of victory that brings championship fervor to life.
I choose joy.
 
When God breaks the hatred that divides and conquers, the violence of words and wants, the lies of self service and self destruction, and the tyranny of power real and imagined, we can fight harder and hurt deeper. Or we can lay down our weapons and labels, pick up a cross or two, and follow the One who will guide and guard our footsteps as He brings His chosen ones together in a joy-filled adventure through one life into the next.
I choose joy.
 
When the news gets old, the good goes bad, and the you are full of emptiness, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. A Savior has come to you and for you. It will feel like you found Him, when really He found you.

He is the Word. He is the Light. He is the Peace. And He is yours, as you are His.

Here He comes. Here He is. Here you are.

Choose.

Every session of confirmation class starts off with the Question of the Week. The kids get to ask me about anything that’s on their mind or heart, regardless of whatever topic we’re learning about that night.

Recently one of the kids left me a note after class. This is what they asked:  Why does God put you through hard situations when you are already struggling? Why does He bring people in your life for them to leave or die?

Granted, that’s two questions, but I’m guessing they’re tied together. And keep in mind, this is a middle schooler doing the asking. Life is already confusing and scary enough for kids in their early teens, but when the trials and tragedies start piling up, the doubt and worry and fear can hit you like a tidal wave, followed by the fallout of the riptides that can drag you under.

My heart goes out to this child of God already, and I don’t even know the details. But they do. And God does. So that’s where we start for our answer:
 
I would really like to find some time when you can personally share with me your struggle. It makes for a good meme to say that everybody struggles, but that really doesn’t help you much when you’re the one who is struggling. It also makes it too easy for people to brush you off, because “everyone’s got issues so just deal with it.”

Your battles are big, your hurt is real, and your questions are legit, so I’m not going to let anyone dismiss you or dump on you. I know what it’s like. Been there, and sometimes I end up back there again, even now. It’s for real.

The Why? questions for God are always the hardest ones, because sometimes we don’t have a clear answer from God Himself. I’m trying to make sense out of today or this month or this year, while God is working on my whole life, including the next one. He sees the Big Picture – a mural, really – while I’m focusing on a little snapshot of one corner.

But He knows us. He made you and me, and He understands how each one of us rolls. And He understands the confusion, the uncertainty, and the pain. He hates to see you hurt, but He knows how to take care of you and how to heal you. He never leaves you alone, to fend for yourself. He loves you too much for that.

So there’s one thing you and I need to remember: the Bible never says, “God never gives you more than you can handle.” That’s one of Satan’s favorite deceptions. Of course we’ve got more than we can handle! Every day of life is more than I can handle. The key to healing, and to winning, is to know that God never gives me more than HE can handle. In every struggle, every trial, every temptation – He is right here the whole time, telling me He’s got this and showing me He’s going to carry me through.

He not only gives you His promise to be with you wherever you go, with whatever you face, but then He gives you the strength – His strength, not yours – to do what you gotta do to overcome. That’s what His grace does, and why it is the most powerful force in the universe. (And I know you know what grace is.)

But why, God? Why put me through all that?

While I can’t tell you a simple answer that explains this action with that reason, I can tell you what He tells me at times like this. Sometimes He reminds me that I actually caused my own problem, and I can accept that pretty easily, because sooner or later I can see how I screwed things up.

But the harder ones don’t line up that clearly. Sometimes life just happens, and something blows up in my face when I didn’t see it coming, or couldn’t do anything about it. That’s when God has to remind me of what kind of world I’m living in. When human beings brought their sinfulness and selfishness into the world, they corrupted the whole thing. God has spent every moment of human history since then cleaning up our messes and repairing our damage.

Some of it, though, still splashes into our lives. He sweeps away most of it, in ways we’ll never know until we get to heaven. But a few of the waves He lets through, and while I can’t explain each one, I can tell you what He’s doing when He teaches the hardest lessons.

God wants me to know and understand that life in a world corrupted by sin and filled with evil (including my own) can be horribly brutal and miserable and unfair. Into that mess steps Jesus Christ, who not only takes it all on: He crushes it. Then He turns to you and me and hands us His victory, His trophy, in the shape of a Cross.

With every hurt, Jesus hears you and heals you. With every loss, Jesus stays with you and fills the gap. In every moment of weakness, He hands you His strength, and in every doubt, He pours His grace into your faith, to make you even stronger and better than you were before.
That doesn’t come easy. You and I have to learn it over and over again. So Jesus teaches us. And as you keep listening to Jesus, learning from Jesus, and leaning on Jesus, you grow stronger and deeper in the truth that NOTHING – not any struggle, any hurt, or any loss – can ever take away the love and power God has for you in Jesus.

I don’t usually throw Bible verses at hurting people and say, “Here. Now get over it.” But I want you to hear what God told me a bunch of times. Only this time, put your own name into it.
 
Listen up, Kline. I’m the One who made you who you are. So don’t be afraid, because I have already paid your price. I have called you by name. You belong to Me. So when you are trying to walk through the waves, I will be with you. When you’re trying to cross the river, it won’t sweep you away. Even if you’re walking through fire, I won’t let you get burned. Because I am the Lord your God, your Savior. And I love you.    (Isaiah 43:1-4, NKV – New Kline Version)
 
I’m telling you this, Kline, to give you some peace. Peace of mind and of heart – My kind, not the world’s kind. In this world you’ll have trouble. But don’t let that break you: I have overcome the world!     (John 16:33, NKV)
 
Look, Kline, My grace is more than enough for you. I’ve got this! I’ll trade you My power for your weakness. Deal?
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10, NKV)

We are seeking God’s direction for growing our staff at Shepherd of the Hills, in order to meet the spiritual needs of our Family and our community. The search for a new Director of Worship and Music continues, as the first two attempts to identify and call a candidate have drawn a blank. We are considering applying for a graduate candidate from one of the Concordias, but we haven’t begun that process yet. We’ll keep you updated as we go.

Another position that we have begun working toward is adding a Comfort Dog through the ministry of Lutheran Church Charities. Before you snap back with, “What does a church need a dog for?”, I encourage you to check out the Comfort Dog ministry at LCC’s website: https://www.lutheranchurchcharities.org/k-9-ministries1.html.