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IS AMERICA’S YOUNGER GENERATION SAFE? |
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King David was the son of Jesse and the second king of Israel. He died at the age of 71 after serving as king of Israel for 40 ½ years. He was called the "sweet singer of Israel." He loved music. He played the harp masterfully. He wrote many of the Psalms. But he was also a sinner who committed such sins as adultery, murder and open pride in taking a census of Israel. He repented of his sins. God pardoned him. We today are sinners like King David.
One of King David’s sons was a young man by the name of Absalom. While he was a very handsome young man (like many young men today), he was sorely lacking in spiritual virtues. He was self-willed. His heart was filled with treachery. He stole the hearts of the men of Israel. He rebelled against his father. He usurped the kingship for himself.
When King David learned about Absalom’s open rebellion, he sent his troops to capture him. He urged his generals to "be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake." Absalom was caught and killed. When a messenger arrived to bring a report from the field, the first question King David asked was: "Is the young man safe?"
Today I ask this soul-searching question: "Is America’s younger generation safe?" I ask this because today Christianity is the only religion that is considered fair game for anyone to assault! Christian students are taught by far too many unbelieving teachers and professors in public schools that the Bible is full of errors, Christianity has run its’ course and must be discarded, there is no heaven or hell, the Ten Commandments no longer apply, human beings are nothing more than refined beasts, there is no God to Whom we are accountable, Jesus is nothing more than one of many saviors fabricated by deluded people and that the life of the unborn and the elderly can be terminated by human choice without any guilt feelings!
Our younger generation will never be safe believing in these many lies of Satan. They will be safe only as they realize their need to confess their sins, and repent of the "lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." This includes other sins such as disobedience to parents and all God-given authorities, pride, sexual sins such as living together outside of marriage, and homosexuality. These sins need to be confessed, repented of and absolved in the shed blood of Jesus Christ Who loved us and died for us while we were yet sinners. Looking to Jesus Christ in Spirit-given faith that comes to them and us through the power of the Gospel, they have God’s assurance that those who put their trust in the Lord will be safe. They will oppose all teachings contrary to God'd Word and teach what God requires.
Apart from Jesus, there is no permanent safety for our younger generation or us. God bless all of us with this eternal safety by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Prayer: "Safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe on His gentle breast, There by His love o’ershaded, Sweetly my soul shall rest! Safe in the arms of Jesus, Safe from corroding care, Safe from the world’s temptations, Sin cannot harm us there!" In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
PO Box 1465 Cape Girardeau, MO 63702
Telephone: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.luthernansonline.com/chapelofhope
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WE ARE FOREVER BLESSED BY JESUS AND HIS EMPTY GRAVE |
We Christians confess in the words of the Apostles’ Creed: "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. ..." This is most certainly true: "Jesus Christ rose again from the dead!"
What a vast difference exists between the grave of the crucified and Risen Jesus and all other well known graves...a difference that brings eternal blessings to us Christians!
There is the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt which contains the mortal remains of a proud and selfish Pharaoh but brings no eternal blessings to his countrymen!
There is the Taj Mahal in India in which lie the mortal remains of a Mogul leader and his favorite wife but still offers no eternal blessings to the people of his country!
There is Arlington National Cemetery and the tomb of the unknown soldier that remind us of all our fellow Americans who have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in defense of our country but yet bring us no eternal blessings to us Americans!
In stark contrast, there is Jesus Christ and the tomb in which He was laid to rest on that First Good Friday but then rose from by His own power three days later as He had said.
Eternal blessings belong to all who believe in the Risen Redeemer and because of that we can understand why the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead has been called the "Gibraltar of faith and the Waterloo of unbelief."
God verifies for all believers in Jesus the eternal blessing of the forgiveness of all our sins because Jesus is alive forevermore. His resurrection confirms God’s approval of His Son’s sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the whole world. Because Jesus rose again, God says to all believers in Him: "Your sins are forgiven."
God also verifies for us the eternal blessing of everlasting life that awaits us and all believers in the crucified and Risen Jesus. His empty tomb is proof that one day we and all believers will rise from the dust and decay of our graves to eternal life in heaven.
God, by Jesus’ resurrection, also verifies for us that Jesus truly is His Son Who is able to give to all believers in Him forgiveness, life and salvation that He has won for us.
God, by Jesus’ resurrection, also verifies for us that Jesus’ Word is eternally true and that all who are led by the Holy Spirit to believe in His living, life-giving, faith-bestowing, sin forgiving and faith sustaining Word will enjoy abundant life now and eternal life hereafter.
Prayer: O Risen Savior, by faith in You, comfort us with the eternal blessings of forgiveness of sins and the resurrection to eternal life in heaven. We ask this in Your name as the Conqueror of sin and death and the Lord of everlasting life, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
PO Box 1465 Cape Girardeau, MO 63702
Telephone: Home: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www/lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope | |
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CHRIST ON CALVARY |
A week or two ago I stopped in downtown Cape on a business matter. The business man was in his store with his youngest son, twenty one years of age. He graduated from SEMO in 3 ½ years ( yes, 3 ½ years instead of the normal 4-6 for so many today) with a degree in Business Management as he looked ahead to probably taking over the family business.
While his father and I talked about Bible history and Christianity, as we usually do, this young man told me that he reads the Bible regularly. He said that he is convinced the Bible is the Word of God. What makes him so sure, he said is the witness of God’s Word itself. He referred to all the Old Testament prophecies of the Promised Messiah fulfilled in detail in the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
During this Holy Week, we remember how the Passion History of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is foretold in detail in the Old Testament hundreds of years before He was put to death on those terrible timbers of torture for the sins of the whole world. It speaks of His betrayal for thirty pieces of silver by a disciple, the potter’s field that was purchased with this blood money, the lies of the false witnesses, the actual crucifixion itself, the vinegar that was given to Jesus to quench His thirst, the blatant blasphemy of wicked people who stood under His cross, the gambling for our Savior’s clothing, the saving power of His sacrifice for our sins, His burial in the grave of a rich man etc. These are only a few of the amazing Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled that first Holy Week in Christ’s death on Calvary.
Yet, there are still unbelieving skeptics in our day who deny the Word of God even though it provides the reader with crystal clear evidence of its’ divine origin. Then there are those, such as us, who by the grace of God are led to believe, teach and confess that every word of the Bible is God’s Word that shows us our sins and also leads us to faith in our Savior.
Good Friday worship enables us to focus on the three men who were put to death on Calvary that first Good Friday. There was the impenitent and penitent thief on the cross and also the innocent Jesus. The impenitent thief spewed forth his vilifications of Jesus until he died and went to hell in his unbelief. The other thief had a wonderful transformation take place within him through all that he saw and heard, including the words of Jesus. He confessed that he deserved to die because of His sins. He was led to see Jesus as his Savior and King who was preparing a heavenly realm for all who believed in Him. In faith, he asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His Kingdom. Jesus told this penitent, believing thief: "Today you will be with Me in Paradise." By faith in Jesus, he went to heaven.
To be with Jesus in Paradise, that is heaven, where we are forever with the Lord in His Kingdom of perpetual peace, joy and glory. That is Jesus’ gift to all of us who believe in Him. We thank Jesus that His death on Good Friday means life for us and all who believe in Him.
Prayer: O Jesus, lead us to confess with the penitent thief that You are our Savior and our King Who has prepared a perfect heavenly kingdom for us. We pray in Your name, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
PO Box 1465 Cape Girardeau, MO. 63702
Telephone: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-334-5736
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope | |
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YOU ARE LIVING LETTERS OF CHRIST |
Have you talked to someone who was recently married, became a parent or a grandparent, or attended some special event? If you have, you know that these people usually have more than one picture in their purse of billfold of their wedding, their new child or grandchild or their special event to show you.
Paul did carry any pictures with him to show the special work that the Holy Spirit had done in the lives of the Corinthians through His Gospel ministry. Instead, he told people to look at the tremendous change that had taken place in the Corinthian Christians and in their status before God. They were no longer living as pagans or unbeliever. At one time, some of them were actively involved in sexual immorality, adultery, male prostitution, homosexuality, thievery, greed, drunkenness, slandering, swindling and the like. The landscape of Corinth mirrors the landscape of many places in the United States. People today still practice these same sins and we read and hear about them in the news media.
But now some of these Corinthians had been washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. They were washed clean in Holy Baptism. They were set apart from the heathen world. God declared them "not guilty" by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ. They were "living letters of Christ." God had re-created their sinful hearts into new hearts by faith in Jesus Christ. As "Christ-letters", they reflected their change from darkness to light, from sin to godliness and from death to life.
All Christians are "living letters of Christ." Our daily life is a "living letter"that people read. What do they see and read in our lives? After all, our speech, our behavior, the principles for which we stand, the ethics that we follow, the hopes and ideals that we express, and every thing else that constitutes the fabric of our life is easily read by those who watch us, whether that be in a classroom, in the residence hall, at social gatherings or wherever.
When people study our lives, do they read and see that Christ lives in us? Do they read and see that we live in Christ? Whether we like to admit it or not, what they see in our lives and coming from our mouths will either commend Christ to them or give them an excuse to stay away from Christ.
Wherever we go, wherever we are, wherever we live, we are "living letters of Christ" or "Christ-letters." May God, in His mercy, forgive us when we fail to live as "Christ-letters." May He, in His amazing grace, use our lives to glorify Him and to commend Jesus Christ to all who meet us, not only during this season of Lent but always.
Prayer: O Holy Spirit, make us "living letters" of Christ’s mercy, love and grace to all people. We pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Place
P. O. Box 1465
Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702
Telephone: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope | |
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JESUS IS OUR HEAVEN SENT "SCAPEGOAT" |
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Have you ever served as a "scapegoat" for someone? Some might ask: "What is a scapegoat?" Webster says it is "a person, group or thing that bears the blame for the mistakes of others, ..." Sometimes coaches who are very protective of their players have taken the blame for an error or a stupid play that one of his players made.
The Season of Lent directs our attention to Jesus Christ Who came into this world to serve as "The Scapegoat" for you and me and all sinners. On the Old Testament Day of Atonement, Aaron cast lots on two goats. One of the goats was killed and offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Aaron then placed both his hands on the head of the scapegoat. He confessed the sins of Israel over it. Then a designated man led the scapegoat out into the wilderness from which it would never return. This was done in token of Israel’s sins having been dismissed by the mercy of Almighty God Who alone has the power to forgive sin.
Years ago John that Baptizer pointed to Jesus & said: "Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world." He is alluding to Jesus as our heaven sent Scapegoat.
The Lord has placed on Jesus Christ, His sinless Son, all our sins and the sins of the whole world. We are the sinners. We are guilty of such sins as idolatry, cursing, swearing, failing to hear & read God’s Word faithfully, disobedience to parents & God-given authorities, hateful looks & murderous thoughts, impure sexual desires & acts, dishonest dealings, gossip, covetousness, greed, envy, jealousy etc.. Jesus willingly allowed all our sins to be placed on Him. Then He voluntarily permitted Himself to be led to Calvary and put to death on the cross where He procured forgiveness for all our sins.
The story is told about a carpenter who, while working on a church steeple, lost his footing and fell to the ground. By divine providence, a lamb was grazing on the grass. The carpenter’s fall was broken when he landed on the lamb. The lamb was killed. The man was saved. The carpenter was so thankful that his life was spared that he carved the figure of a lamb over the doorway of the church.
God, through His Word and the Holy Sacraments, has led us to believe in Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, our heaven sent Scapegoat Who takes away all our sins and the sins of the world. He has engraved on our hearts and imprinted on our minds the blessed truth that by believing in Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven.
Prayer: "Not all the blood of beasts On Jewish altars slain Could give the guilty conscience peace Or wash away the stain. But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, Takes all our sins away; A sacrifice of nobler name, And richer blood than they. Believing, we rejoice To see the curse remove; We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice And sing His bleeding love." Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl.
PO Box 1465 Cape Girardeau, MO. 63702
Telephone: Home: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope
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FACE BOOK DEPRESSION |
Recently one of the major TV networks carried a news clip on"Face Book Depression." One negative of the social networking system called "Face Book" is "Face Book Depression." It is a sad fact that more people of all ages are complaining about the lack of friends they have on their Face Book. While others have many friends, those with few friends feel dejected, rejected, gloomy and sad whether they are college students or otherwise.
A college coed once wrote to her pastor, "I’m miserable because I have no friends. When I’m around a crowd, I freeze up inside and am unable to join in the conversation. I can’t overcome my fear of others. Can you tell me how to solve this problem?"
Maybe that is how some of you feel who are reading this devotion. Over my eleven years in Campus Ministry, I have talked to students in who have felt this way because they were away from the friendly confines of their parents and community. They were struggling.
We know that one of the prize gems of human relationships is "friendship" or the expression of love that two people have for one another in sympathetic words and loving deeds. Such friendship is a true blessing. What is important is not "how many" friends we have on Face Book or elsewhere but "what kind" of friends we have. Do they remain friends in good times and hard times? Or are they nothing more than fair-weather friends?
There is only One Friend Who sticks with us at all times. He will never disappoint us. His affection for us is "eternal." Jesus Christ is our One True Friend for all seasons! He is, as we are reminded during Lent, the Friend of sinners Who came into our sin-ruined, sin-perishing and hell-bound human race to rescue us from the curse of sin, death and hell.
While our sins cried out to the highest heavens for God’s punishment because of their shamefulness, Jesus cried out to His Father in heaven to pardon and receive us His friends by His grace through faith in His redeeming merits. Jesus calls all those who believe in Him His friends. As "God spoke to Moses as a man to his friend", so God speaks to us today as "a man to his friend" in His Word. The Bible is Jesus’s Face Book in which He reveals Himself to us as our Savior and calls us to daily repentance and forgiveness through faith in His name.
There is no need for any of us to be overcome with "Face Book Depression" or any kind of depression because of lack of friends. Jesus tells us in the Face Book of His Word that He is our Friend Who sticks closer than a brother to us through our use of His Word and the Holy Sacraments. He sees us at our worst and still loves us. We can come to God in prayer through faith in His name at any time. Jesus is our Eternal Friend. He will never reject those who believe in Him.
Prayer: O Jesus Christ, You are our true Friend. We pray that You would strengthen our friendship with You through our use of Your Word and the Holy Sacraments. Help us to reach out to others in true Christian friendship. We pray in Your name, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill PL
PO Box 1465 Cape Girardeau, MO 63702
Tel: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope | |
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AYCE LUNCH - $5.99 MON - FRI vs.AYCE SPIRITUAL LUNCH - FREE! |
One of the popular restaurants in Cape advertises an AYCE Lunch or an "All You Can Eat Lunch" Monday - Friday for $5.99. This lunch includes soup and salad, with bread sticks. Beverages are extra. If you want the salad that has their "meat" (shrimp or chicken) in it, then the cost is $8.49. I am sure that many people jump at this reasonable offer since we all have to eat to nourish our bodies. If we don’t eat, our strength and health suffer.
God has an infinitely better deal for you and me and all sinners. He offers all of us a "Spiritual Lunch" that is "free" every day. God extends His daily invitation to us in these words of Isaiah 55, 1 ff.: "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, ‘come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.’" Free! That’s an unbelievable "offer" to college students who are always short of money and also to all of us in these hard economic times when businesses downsize, people are laid off, new opportunities for work are rare BUT the price of food and other commodities continues to rise. Many families now think long and hard before they spend their money.
So what is God offering to us free? He is offering us water, wine and milk "free and without cost" that satisfy our "soul" needs, not our physical needs. God offers us "water" that quenches the sin-parched and thirsty soul. He offers us "wine" that makes glad the sin burdened heart. He offers us "milk" that provides us with spiritual nourishment.
In short, God offers us what all the luxuries, pleasures, position, power and prestige of this life can never give us. That includes the social life (fraternities, sororities, clubs and societies) through which many people try to satisfy their thirst for personal happiness. Many are striving for that which is not real bread. Many do not understand. Many do not believe. Many do not come to grips with the truth that sin is a curse in our life. Sin leads to temporal, spiritual and eternal death. When the last hour strikes for such people, they will enter eternity without faith in Jesus Christ. They will be forever lost in the eternal torments of hell.
While everything else in the world costs something, God "freely" offers us salvation from sin, death, Satan and hell by His grace through faith in the redeeming merits of Jesus Christ. God’s Word with the water of Holy Baptism brings us to faith in Jesus Christ. It refreshes us with the joy of His salvation. God’s Word with the bread and wine of Holy Communion gladdens our heart with pardon and peace. The "pure spiritual food" of God’s Word is His power that brings us forgiveness of sins, life and salvation as we listen to His Word and participate in the Holy Sacraments.
On Sundays and Mid-week Lenten services, may we be numbered among those who partake of the"All You Can Eat" free spiritual lunch God offers us instead of despising and walking away from it.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl.
PO Box 1465
Cape Girardeau, MO 63702
Tel: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope | |
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WHY DO WE OBSERVE LENT? |
Why do we observe Lent in the Lutheran church while many other Christian denominations do not? Most of us have been asked this question more than once.
Lent reminds us Christians to keep our focus on what Jesus Christ has done and given up for us, not what we do or give up for Him. If we choose to give up certain things for Lent (and there is nothing wrong with that), we must always remember that we do not earn God’s favor this way. We sinners can never earn God’s favor. Only Jesus can do this for us.
Ash Wednesday is the First Day of Lent. On this day, numerous Christian churches observe the custom of placing on the foreheads of the worshipers the ashes from the previous year’s palm branches. Hence, Ash Wednesday. The ashes are a sign of penitence and human mortality. The ashes remind us that one day we will die and return to dust.
About two hundred years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the early Christians wanted to remember Christ’s suffering and death for our sins in a special way. They did this by setting aside "forty hours" from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. From that "forty hour" period, they went to "one week"and then to "forty days" before Easter. The "forty days" reminded them of Christ’s forty days of temptation by Satan in the wilderness. They arrived at this figure by taking six weeks, excluding the "Sundays" of each week—and then adding an additional "four" days by beginning on Wednesday and calling it "Ash Wednesday." That is how we arrive at the Forty Days of Lent that we practice today.
The Word "lent" itself comes from an Old English word that means "Spring." We observe Lent in the Spring time of the year.
Hopefully this Lent most of us will once again have the opportunity to "follow Jesus" on the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrows) as He walked to Calvary to sacrifice His innocent, sinless life into death on the cross as our Substitute in order to pay the price and penalty of all our sins. Jesus died willingly. He died lovingly for "all" your sins, my sins and the sins of the whole world. He wants all of us to know this, to believe it and to confess it before all men.
Occasionally we will see roadside crosses that mark the place where someone has died from a car accident. During Lent, we think of our Savior’s cross on Calvary where Jesus’ blood flowed freely from His sinless body to wash away all our sins—a washing that we receive as ours by the Spirit’s gift of faith in His saving name; a washing that comes to us in the Holy Sacraments and in the Holy Gospel. We praise God for our crucified and risen Savior.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, as we travel with You on the Via Dolorosa, may we do so trusting that You alone died for our sins and rose again from the dead. We pray in Your name, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl.
PO Box 1465
Cape Girardeau, MO. 63702
Home Phone: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope | |
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WHO IS YOUR MASTER? |
Is it possible for you to serve two masters, namely God and riches? God makes it crystal clear in Luke 16, 13: "You cannot serve both God and money." God never lies!
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are told that serving God is never an option or a part-time occupation. It is not something that we do on Sunday, Ash Wednesday or other special church days during the year and then forget about the other days. It is to be done 24/7!
The ONE WHO gives us all our worldly wealth must always be more important than the riches He gives us. Whenever our possessions possess us, we know that we are serving riches instead of God. Whenever our riches take priority over God, we know that we are serving worldly wealth instead of God.
The riches that God gives us are to be used in God’s service for our own needs, the needs of our family, supporting the kingdom work of God, helping our fellow man in his/her need and also intentionally setting money aside on a regular schedule so we are able to provide for our retirement years instead of expecting the government to take care of everything for us.
What you and I profess as Christians is also to be lived out in our daily lives. That means when time is set aside for weekly Divine Worship on Sunday, we must make it our priority to gather together with our fellow Christians for worship. How can we honestly say that God is our Master if we, without a godly excuse, do not "continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers"?
The writer of Hebrews tells us that we are not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some..." Instead, we are to exhort "one another, so much the more as you see the Day approaching."
It is in Divine Worship that God, through the preaching and teaching of His Word, reminds us that the sentence of death that should have been carried out on us and all the descendants of Adam has instead fallen on Jesus Christ. The divine curse for our sins and our sinfulness was inflicted on Jesus Christ Who offered His holy life into death on the cross as the perfect sin offering for all our sins so that all who are now joined to Jesus Christ by the Spirit’s gift of faith are pardoned and are heirs/heiresses of eternal life in heaven. Then He rose triumphantly from the grave to guarantee us everlasting life.
Since God is our Master, we are also motivated by Christ’s service to us to reach out in service to all people, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
May God the Holy Spirit renew & strengthen all of us this weekend in our service to the Lord and others through our hearing of His Word and the receiving of the Lord’s Supper.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen our faith in You so that all people may see that You are our Master and by Your grace we serve You in all we do. We pray in Your Name, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl.
PO Box 1465
Cape Girardeau, MO. 63701
Home Phone: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope
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"COULD YOU HAVE DONE IT BETTER?" |
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My wife, Judy, and I recently obtained the service of a highly recommended carpenter to do a couple of house projects. He was very knowledgeable, professional, polite and meticulous in his work. He had learned his trade while working for his grandfather and father, both of them perfectionists in their work. Every time this man finished an assigned task from his father, his father would ask him the same three questions: "1) Could you have done your work better? 2) Could you have done your best and done it in less time? 3) Are you and your client satisfied with the work?"
At first he said that he resented these same questions because as a teenager he thought he knew everything. Why challenge his work? But then the lights went on in his head & he realized his father loved him & did not want him to be satisfied with mediocrity. He wanted him to do his best, to do it with good time management and to know his client was satisfied.
Solomon tells us in the Book of Ecclesiastes: "Everything your hand finds to do, do it with all your might because there is no work or planning, knowledge or skill, in the grave where you’re going." May God give all of us the wisdom to put these words into action.
God places work in front of us every day. If you’re a college student, then apply yourself diligently to your studies. Don’t goof off! Don’t waste the time and money that you’re investing in your education. Whatever you do, don’t complain that you don’t have the talents that others have. You have the exact talents God wants you to have. Identify them. Develop them. Use them. Appreciate them. "Be the best you can be" by using the gifts God has given to you to the best of your ability.
After you graduate, you may be working as a salesman, a doctor, a nurse, a police officer, a fire fighter, a teacher, a lawyer, a home maker, etc. Never be satisfied with mediocrity. Always put forth your best effort and do it as a good manager of your time.
We need to keep in mind the importance of doing our best at all times because one day we are all going to the grave. Why? Because we are all sinners and "the wages of sin is death." Once we die, there is no opportunity for any "do-overs."
Yes, we all mess up daily! No one is perfect! We mess up in neglecting our studies. We mess up in not giving our best at all times. We sin in many different ways. We are not able to make amends to God for any of our sins. But Jesus Christ has! He tasted death for our sins! By faith in Jesus, His perfection covers all our imperfections and we now have God’s sure promise of forgiveness, life and salvation. As forgiven sinners by faith in Jesus Christ, may we daily "do with all our might whatever our hands find to do."
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, we pray that You would forgive us all our sins and imperfections. Forgiven by You, help us daily to do our best to Your glory. We pray in Your name, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl
PO Box 1465
Cape Girardeau, MO 63702
Home Phone: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope
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TO WHOM DOES ALL POWER BELONG FOREVER AND FOREVER? |
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History books teach us that St. Louis, Missouri is named after King Louis IV, the leader of the Seventh Crusade. A statue of this king stands in front of the St. Louis Art Museum. Over the years it has been vandalized several times. The 7 foot bronze sword held by the king, symbolizing his power, has been stolen at least three times.
Present day history, occurring as I write these words, shows us that not only kings whose image is etched in stone can be stripped of the power of the sword by vandals. Living rulers can also be stripped of their power to rule when people rise up in protest and force them from office. This is taking place in the Mid-East at the present.
Rulers in Algeria and Egypt have been stripped of their power in the past few weeks. They are currently in exile. The present ruler of Libya (as well as rulers in other mid-east countries) may soon be forced out of his (their) leadership role and end up dead or in exile because of populist protests and revolutions.
On the other hand, the Lord Jesus Christ will never be stripped of the power that is His in heaven and on earth.. He told His disciples shortly before He ascended visibly into heaven: "All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth." His "power or rule" is forever.
The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ, during His State of Humiliation, did not always and not fully exercise the divine power that is His as the eternal Son of God. He did this so that as the God-Man, He might step in as the heaven sent Substitute for us sinners and obey God’s Holy Law perfectly for us. He did this so that as the God-Man He might sacrifice His sinless life into death in payment for all our sins. His perfect obedience and sacrificial death now become the possession of all who believe in Him. His Father in heaven has now exalted the crucified and risen Lord "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come."
The "power" of the Lord Jesus Christ is permanent. It is complete. It is for time . It is for eternity. He rules over all things, including those things that are taking place right now in the mid-east and elsewhere. No government exists except by His will.
We Christians have great comfort in knowing that "all power in heaven and on earth" belongs to our Victorious Savior. He possesses the power to condemn to hell all who reject Him in unbelief. He possesses the power to take care of all our daily needs and those of all who believe in Him. He never abuses or misuses His omnipotence. He uses it in the right way, at the right time and for the right purpose. You Christian students at college and all of us Christians live safely and securely amidst all the upheavals and changes in this world because the Lord always uses His power for the benefit of those Who believe in and confess Him to be their Lord and Savior. How blessed we are in knowing that all power belongs to Him forever & ever. We need never fear. He is in charge, always.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, in the midst of the many uncertainties that face us every day, lead us to rest in peace and quiet, knowing that You will never be stripped of Your power—power that You are always using for the benefit of all Who trust in You. We pray in Your name, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl.
PO Box 1465
Cape Girardeau, MO 63702
Home Phone: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com./chapelofhope
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TRANSFERRED WHERE? |
I have read that the anicent Christian church had a custom that was both very beautiful and also very meaningful. Whenever a member of the Christian church died, his/her name was not dropped from the church membership list. Instead, a note was added behind the name of the deceased Christian: "Transferred to the church above." In other words, this Christian had now been transferred from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant. He/She had been translated from the Kingdom of Grace to the Kingdom of Glory.
You and I and all Christians become members of the Holy Christian Church by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. For most of us, this occurred at the time of our baptism as infants.
Again, in the Christian church some decades ago, there were those pastors who followed another very beautiful and meaningful custom. Instead of just putting the full name of the baptized person on the baptismal certificate, they added a parenthetical name behind the name of that individual---the name "Christian." Hence, a baptismal certificate would read like this: John Wayne Smith (Christian). That word "Christian" was a reminder to them that they were now really children of God or members of God's redeemed, restored and forgiven family by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ. They had God's promise of the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation in Jesus Christ.
As members of the Holy Christian Church, they were to live their lives in a manner that would glorify God, edify their fellow believers and create open doors for them to speak to others about Jesus Christ Who does not want anyone to perish but instead to have all come to faith in Him by the power of His living, life-giving, forgiving and life-sustaining Word.
For those who were not brought into God's family through infant baptism, this occurred when as adults the Holy Spirit called them to faith in Jesus Christ through the power of the Gospel. Whether we are brought to faith in Jesus Christ as infants or as adults, the important thing to remember is that by God's "undeserved love" we, through faith in Jesus Christ, are members of the Church Militant until we are "transferred to the Church above" which is the Church Triumphant.
As we think about the custom of the ancient church in adding after the name of all those who died trusting in Jesus: "Transferred to the Church above," may we rejoice in the truth that these fellow Christians (many of them loved family members and friends) were merely transferred from the congregation of earthly saints to the congrgation of the heavenly saints.
Those of us who now live in the congregation of the earthly saints are still united with those who have been "transferred to the Church" above. We are bound together by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This truth was etched on my mind and heart once again the other evening as I continued my reading of Paul's Letter to the Christians in Rome: "To this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living." (Romans 14, 9 NKJV).
God grant that by His grace He keeps in this "mystic sweet communion" with the saints on earth and those in heaven through our continued use of His Word and the Holy Sacraments.
Prayer: God of grace and God of mercy, continue to strengthen and increase our faith in Jesus Christ so that we always look forward to a happy reunion with all our departed loved ones and all those saints who died believing in Jesus Who died for their sins and rose again. Only in Christ do we have the promise of eternal life in heaven. In Jesus' Name, Amen.In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl.
PO Box 1465
Cape Girardeau, MO. 63702
Home Phone: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope | |
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Am I AFRAID TO SIN? |
Years ago one of the early church fathers by the name of Chrysostom did something to make Emperor Arcadius very angry. He was so furious that he asked his counselors to advise him as to what would be the best way to punish this well known preacher.
One of the counselors advised: "Exile him!" The emperor responded: "What good will that do? He considers the whole world to be his fatherland."
Another counselor suggested: "Confiscate his property." The emperor's response was: "Whom will that harm? Not Chrysostom, but only the poor, to whom he gives all that he has."
A third counselor told his majesty: "Throw him into prison." The emperor said: "What good would that do? He would only glory in his chains.
The other counselors were getting a little frustrated. Finally, another said: "Why not just kill him?" The emperor rejected this suggestion by saying: "How would that punish him? It would only open the gates of heaven to him."
Finally, the wisest of the counselors advised: "There is only one thing that Chrysostom is afraid of. He is afraid to sin. We must make him sin."
So, my question that I address to all who read this devotion is: "Am I afraid to sin?" Let's be brutally honest with ourselves. Every day you and I and our fellow Christians are tempted by the devil, the world and our sinful flesh to commit sin! We are tempted to place other things or people before God. We are tempted to use God's name in reckless and sinful ways. We are tempted to neglect the reading of God's Word and our worship life. We are tempted to disobey our parents and other authority figures. We are tempted to hurt or harm others by what we say about them or by the way we physically abuse them. We are tempted to satisfy the lusts of our sinful flesh. We are tempted to "hide our Gospel light" when we are out partying or running with people in whose presence our Christianity is not welcome. And the list can go and on and on. Students in the setting of campus life and those who are graduates of higher education and now gainfully employed or retired, are tempted to give into and enjoy the fleeting and damning pleasures of sin.
So, how about it? "Am I afraid to sin?" May God fill you and me and all of us with a godly fear like that of Chrysostom so that we can truly say: "I am afraid to sin! The worst way to punish me is to make me sin" Why? First and foremost, our sins are committed against our holy God. Our sins are great wickedness. They separate us from God and heaven. They have built such a huge wall between us and God that nothing we do will ever be able to remove that wall of sin. Our sins slam shut the door to heaven. They open wide to us the unending torments of hell.
While we cannot remove that wall of sin that separates us from God and heaven, there is One Who can! He is Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Jesus voluntarily removed that wall of sin for us by His holy life and His innocent suffering and death in our place. He has re-opened for us sinners the way back to God and heaven by His suffering, dying and rising again from the dead so that all who believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
As you and I live in our baptismal grace, we will be moved by the Holy Spirit to drown our old sinful nature, die unto sin, and live in daily contrition and repentance so that in our new man in Jesus Christ we live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, keep me mindful of Your forgiving grace that You have bestowed upon me in my Holy Baptism. Fill me with a godly fear that is afraid to sin so that I die unto sin and rise unto my new life in Jesus Christ. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl
P. O. Box 1465
Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702
Home Phone: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope
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DO YOU HAVE YOUR TONGUE UNDER CONTROL |
Moses told God’s people in Leviticus 19, 16: "You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; ..." These words remind all of us about the sin & dangers of gossip. Luther explains the Eighth Commandment in these words: "We should fear & love God that we may not belie, betray, slander nor defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, & put the best construction on everything."
When controlled by love, the power of speech is a wonderful blessing. But if the tongue is not kept under control, it results in irreparable damage.
You & I as Christians always have to be on our guard so that when we use our tongue we do not use it in a way that will injure our neighbor’s reputation by slander or idle gossip.
Years ago a sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal (Morgan Blake) wrote: "I am more deadly than the screaming shell from the howitzer. I win without killing. I tear down homes, break hearts, & wreck lives. I travel on the wings of the wind. ... I have no regard for truth, no respect for justice, no mercy for the defenseless. My victims are as numerous as the sands of the sea, & often as innocent. I never forget & seldom forgive. My name is Gossip."
You & I will never know the disastrous consequences of gossip that can drop so easily from our tongues. And what about words of hate? What about words of mockery that produce bitterness? What about the disastrous consequences of foul words that are heard on campus, at work, at home and elsewhere?
As God’s forgiven people by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we can use our tongues to do wonderful things. We can use our tongues to defend & put in a good word for someone who is absent when he/she is being attacked. We can speak a word of commendation to those who are always anxious to extend a helping hand to us & others instead of waiting to send flowers for their funeral. We can use our tongues daily to speak the praises of the God of our salvation Who loved us with an everlasting love & sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us from sin, death & the power of Satan. We can thank God for His Son’s perfect tongue control that covers all our sinful use of the tongue & all our sins.
Jesus patiently bore the slander & suffered & died for the sins of all sinners, including those who unjustly arrested Him & put Him to death on the cross. It was His perfect love for all sinners that moved Him to speak words of pardon from His cross & deliver His pardon to us in His Word & the Holy Sacraments.
The more you & I love Jesus Christ, the more we will love our fellow man & use our tongues to speak to fellow sinners about the need we all have to repent of our sins that condemn us to hell, to turn away from them & to receive with open hearts & hands the forgiveness of sins that Jesus provides for all of us. May we use our tongues to God’s glory.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl.
PO Box 1465 Cape Girardeau, MO. 63702
Tel: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope | |
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PREPARE FOR CHRISTMAS BY THANKING GOD FOR HIS SAVING GRACE I |
At this time of the year, the news media & advertisers continue to remind us how many days there are before Christmas. College students are just as much aware of how many days remain as are grade school & high school students. "There is so much to do. There is so little time in which to do it" are thoughts that frequently run though our minds. Finals to study for. Christmas presents to be purchased & wrapped. And the list goes on.
No matter how busy you & I may be this time of the year, it is imperative that you & I take time out daily to read God’s Word & offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His saving grace to us in Jesus Christ. Reading God’s Word is never a waste of time. Neither is it ever a waste of time to come to God in prayer with our requests & giving of thanks.
While you will receive various gifts from loved ones at Christmas time—some of them more precious than others—, there is no gift that any of us sinners receive that can ever compare with the priceless gift of God’s saving grace to us in Jesus Christ.
I realize that at Christmas time there have been & always will be those individuals who have not received & who will not receive gifts of equal value that other siblings or family members have received or may receive simply because you/they are not the pet darling of the giver of the gifts.
But when it comes to God’s gift of grace to us sinners, God offers His gift of grace to all sinners without exception. We certainly don’t deserve God’s saving grace. After all, we are sinful from the top of our head to the bottom of our feet. We do not love God with all our heart, soul, strength & mind. We place other things before God. (Were you in church to give thanks to God this Thanksgiving Day or didn’t you have time?) We misuse the holy name of God. We shade the truth or tell outright lies. We don’t study God’s Word as we should. We fail to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We get caught up in spiteful feelings & impure thoughts. We often fail to defend the good name & reputation of one another. We become jealous of what they have & we don’t have, even coveting what they have & we don’t.
Despite our sinfulness & many sins, God has loved us sinners with an everlasting love in Jesus Christ. He sent His Only-Begotten Son to be conceived by the Holy Spirit & born of the Virgin Mary. His name is called Jesus because He is God’s Chosen One to save us from the curse & condemnation of our sins. Jesus accomplished His work of saving us by the holy life He lived for us, by His innocent suffering & death in our place in payment for our sins & by His resurrection from the dead to assure us of God’s saving grace.
By the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith in Jesus Christ, you & I & all our fellow believers are now partakers of God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ with St. Paul & all other Christians. God continues to give us this gift of grace in His written, spoken & preached Word, as well as with His Word joined to our baptismal water & the bread & wine of the Lord’s Supper. What a priceless gift of forgiveness of sins, life & salvation. May all of us prepare for Christmas by daily taking time to thank God for His saving grace to us in Jesus Christ.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl.
PO Box 1465
Cape Girardeau, MO. 63702
Tel: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope | |
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NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OF CHRIST’S LAST RETURN |
During the Advent Season which we started on November 28th , we can see that the daylight hours are becoming fewer & fewer. As the daylight hours become less and less at this time of the year, we also remember that the time before "the last days" is also growing shorter & shorter. "The last days" is biblical language that refers to Christ’s last return to judge the living & the dead.
Jesus does not tell us the exact day & time when this will happen! He says in Mark 13, 32 that "no man," not even "the angels who are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father" know the day & time. Jesus speaks here as the One Who is the Son of God but also the Son of Man. In His State of Humiliation, Jesus did not always & fully use His divine omniscience. It was not part of His work to tell us the precise day & time of His final return.
Whenever we hear or read about some one predicting the time of our Lord’s final return, we know from God’s Word that this person is a false prophet since no human being knows that day and time. And they have been many. After predicting Christ’s return in 1874, 1914, 1925, 1932, 1941 and 1975, the Jehovah’s Witnesses finally said they could not put numbers on Jesus’ words. Hal Lindsey said that the 1980's could well be the last decade of history in his book: "The 1980's: Countdown to Armageddon." When we moved from 1999 to 2000, there was widespread talk of this being the end of the world. And those who follow the calendar of the ancient Mayans predict the end of the world on Dec. 21, 2012. Those who would give dates for this event are false prophets from whom we must flee.
When God destroyed the world the first time in the days of Noah because of mankind’s increasing wickedness, God did tell Noah when to enter the ark that he had built. Noah & his family were ready. They entered the safety of the ark.
God used Noah as "a preacher of righteousness" to the wicked people of his day. They heard Noah’s call to repent, turn from their wicked ways & believe in God. Despite the verbal warnings that they received & the visual reminder of the ark, they persisted in their unbelief and wickedness. They perished in their unbelief & impenitence. They alone were to blame.
While we today do not have anyone building an ark to serve as a visual reminder to us of Christ’s final return, we do have God’s Word & the visual reminders in nature, society & the church to remind us of this inevitable day. The Bible tells us that people will love themselves & money. Someone has said the evidence of "self-love" is seen by many who are so hooked on "Face-Book," "Twitter" & other electronic means by which they can let others know what is going in their life moment by moment. That is true "narcissism" or "love of self."
Again, in "the end times," we are told that people will boast. They will be proud. They will live out of control with no love for what is good. They will love pleasure & not God. They will have an outward form of godliness but reject God’s power.
To this very day, God does not desire the death of the wicked. He desires that all people acknowledge their sins, repent, turn away from them, & believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. He desires that they enter the Divine Safety of the Ark of Holy Baptism, be cleansed of their sins & by faith in Jesus Christ live with the certainty of forgiveness of sins, life & salvation.
Since we do not know when Jesus will return again, may we remain prepared for that great and awesome day by keeping our saving faith in Jesus Christ alive through our regular use of God’s Word & the Holy Sacraments. And may we, as people of God, use this time to prepare others for Judgment Day by calling on them to repent & to believe the Gospel.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we pray that You would keep us watchful & ready for the hour of Christ’s final return by daily repentance & faith in Your Son. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Rev. David V. Dissen,
Lutheran Chapel of Hope
903 College Hill Pl
PO Box 1465
Cape Girardeau, MO 63702
Tel: 573-334-5736 Cell: 573-837-0969
Website: www.lutheransonline.com/chapelofhope | |
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