Author: TechCommittee

November 23, 2022 – Thanksgiving Eve                      Text:  Deuteronomy 8:1-10

Dear Friends in Christ,

    If you live long enough, you know that each year has challenges of its own.  Are there some years that are worse than others?  That would make a great debate topic.  Some things affect all of us – pandemics, the economy, politics, taxes, utility bills.  But other events in life are individual.  A close relative dying can make for a rough year.  A child that starts living a new lifestyle can break a heart.  Or things can make for a good year – a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, the birth of a child or grandchild, witnessing a baptism or confirmation, positive health news.  How do we during all of this, give thanks?  

    2022 had moments out of our control that changed everyone’s life.  We came out of the pandemic, but the people in charge never quite let it go.  We paid more at the pump since the days of Hurricane Katrina.  Electric and natural gas rates are at their highest in decades.  Maybe the election wave you wanted was a trickle.  Supply chain issues were a concern.  But in the midst of all of this, did you ever go wanting?  Do you ever not have enough food, or shelter, or gas?  We complain about a product not on the shelf but miss the food on our table.  Ever ask the question . . .

“THANKFUL?  THIS YEAR!?”

    Our text from Deuteronomy.  “You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.  And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (vs. 2-3)

    We studied the Exodus in depth in Adult Bible Class.  One of the things we all learned was how many times the Israelites grumbled.  These people were never happy.  They took out their hostility on Moses and on Aaron and on the Lord God.  They didn’t just live a bad year.  They lived 40 bad years in row – just a wanderin’ with no place to call home.

    God had sent them to the wilderness to humble their hearts.  God knew they could not properly receive His gifts – the Promised Land and the Promised Savior – without a little teaching.  The Israelites were relying on their wisdom and abilities.  By letting them endure hopelessness and hunger, the Lord God showed His beloved people that they need His salvation.  “Man does not live on bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

    Whatever we have experienced in 2022 we can still say   that God’s fatherly, divine goodness and mercy are infinite and boundless.  The Word of the Lord is still being proclaimed.  Most everyone who has been away from worship has come back.  New people are coming to hear God’s Word.  Yes, we too have been humbled.  We have seen the ability of man only goes so far.  We can only control certain things.  God’s Word is the ultimate control.  We live on that.

    God’s Word promised the Israelites a land flowing with blessing.  That promise sustained the people trekking through the wilderness.  In the day-to-day they were frustrated.  The Lord’s promise gave them hope and kept them going.  They forgot the past and pressed forward to the great goal God was giving them.

    The same is true for us, friends.  When we get frustrated with high gas prices and rental cars and hotel rooms and no new cars and months of waiting for a product and endless political battles and crimes going unpunished and the progressives making headway – we have a sure Word of comfort.  That Word is the salvation promised in Jesus, who delivers us from this valley of sorrows to himself in heaven, based solely on His love for us.  We believers can forget what lies behind and we can set our face joyfully to the blessings that lie ahead.

    In God’s Word, we learn to be content.  In God’s Word, we see how truly blessed we are.  In God’s Word, we are comforted in affliction, fed when spiritually hungry, strengthened when weak, loved when loveless, at peace when terrified, and forgiven for Christ’s sake when guilty.

    God has made me laugh more this year than almost any year I can remember.  He continues to remind me that He is in control.  Has He done the same for you?  Have you noticed?  Did you see His hand in your life?  Do you give thanks to the One who has given you so much?

    Our Promised Land is in the distance for most of us.  Or it could be right around the next corner.  Christ has gone ahead of us to prepare that place.  He has secured that place by His blood, and He communicates that to us through His Word and Sacraments.  

    Thankful?  This Year!?  You bet.  We have a promise that makes this year and every year a time to give thanks.  

                Amen.     

November 20, 2022                                        Text:  Colossians 1:13-20

Dear Friends in Christ,

    We interrupt this broadcast for a test – of the emergency Judgment Day Warning System – this is only a test:  “Jesus Is Coming!”  This has been a test of the emergency Judgment Day Warning System.  Had this been the actual event, the message you heard…would have been too late.  In the event of the final judgment, you will not have time to tune to your local radio or TV station, there will be no time to await further instructions; no time to react; no time to change the condition of your heart.  We now resume our normal broadcast.  Thank you.

    Now that is a little frightening.  Nothing like getting hit with the law early in the sermon.  It is the end of the church year.  Advent is next Sunday.  We prepare the way for the Lord.  We are who we are because of Jesus.  Be at peace.

“YOUR LIFE AND IDENTITY ARE DETERMINED BY JESUS”

    Where are we?  Well, here at the beginning of our text we are in “the domain of darkness.”  Sounds like a movie preview, doesn’t it?  Can you escape “the domain of darkness?”  Honestly, sometimes we can’t.  We are in darkness because we can’t see the way to the truth.  We stumble, we grope, we walk in spiritual blindness.  Satan has his way with us.  He works on you when no one else is with you and you assume no one sees or cares what you are doing.  Darkness is his favorite place – especially when he’s there with you.

    From that domain of darkness, you have been delivered.  By a man of light, born in the light of Bethlehem and risen on the third day when the light began to spread on the earth.  He rules the darkness as well.  In the world to come there will be no need for sun or moon because the brightness of Christ will be our light.  “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”(v. 13)  In Jesus, “we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (v. 14). He paid the debt of your sin.  You have been delivered.

    Why should He redeem you or anyone else?  Was it your sparkling Sunday School attendance record?  Is it your warm and fuzzy personality trait that everyone loves?  No.  You are who you are in Christ only because of who He is.  He is the Head of creation, and He shall have what is His.  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For in him all were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (vs. 15-17)  You were made by God for more than wallowing in your sin and your filthy mouth and the whims of us those around you.  You were made to live under Christ’s gracious reign in His Kingdom.

    Before you took your first breath, before your parents ever met, before Adam and Eve made earth their home, God knew you from eternity.  You can’t see the Father’s face, but you can see Jesus.  In order to know the Father’s will you need to know Jesus.  Jesus is the only way to salvation because He is the only access point we have to the eternal Father.  “He is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” (v. 18)

    Your identity is taking shape.  Delivered by Christ.  Created for Christ.  And now, at peace.  “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (vs. 19-20)  

    Wouldn’t you like a little peace?  But I know you dread the holidays coming up and the relatives who want to talk about more than the weather.  I know the grudges you still hold because of something said 17 years ago.  I know what that girl did to you.  Everyone here has pain, regret, broken links of love, frayed nerves because of what you have inflicted on others or what they inflicted on you.  

    Because of Jesus you are not captive to these emotions.  You are not caught in the web of darkness.  You are redeemed; you are delivered; you have transferred out; you are forgiven; you are set free; you are cleansed; you are healed.  

    The blood of Jesus sets you at peace with others.  Remember that when Cousin Blowhard wants to talk politics before you carve the turkey or prepare to open gifts.  Remember that when the lines are long because the workers are few, but the customers are many.  You have peace with God because God has made peace.  You have peace with your fellow men and women because God is at peace.  I have the privilege of sharing this peace with you at the end of the divine service.  This is the peace Jesus has won for you by His blood and by His cross and by His resurrected life.

    So go in peace.  You are free of darkness – your identity.  You live in His light – your identity.  Your faith has saved you because you trust in Christ alone – your identity.  You are at peace with others because God is at peace with you through Jesus – your identity.  This is your life because you belong to Christ.  Enjoy the glory now and into eternity.

                                        Amen.       

November 13, 2022 – Stewardship Sunday                            Text:  Luke 12:13-21

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Almost everyone in the world from Alaska to Australia, from Siberia to South African observe a general festival of thanksgiving.  In Bible times both Pentecost and Succoth were such festivals.  The idea did not originate with the Pilgrims.  We mark the completion of seedtime and harvest.  In reality, we usually spend the weekend overeating, oversitting and overspending.  Prayerfully, we remember our many blessings.  We have a total dependence upon God.  It is Stewardship Sunday, and this question is posed . . . 

“DO YOU HAVE A LASTING BLESSING?”

    Stewardship Sundays are usually on one of three topics – our talent, our time, our treasure.  Looking at sermons of the past on this day they have usually been on time and talent with a little treasure thrown in.  That is my fault.  I don’t like people telling me what do with my treasure so I have shied away from preaching on it.  But that is ridiculous as this is a biblical topic.   When we sent the letter out earlier this year on the state of the church’s finances you brothers and sisters are so amazing you thanked us for it.  You want to know.  It’s your church.  We are in this together.  This sermon like the letter is not an “open your pocketbooks” more Law sermon.  It is a reminder of what good fortune we have been blessed with.  It is that reminder that all good gifts come from God.  It is that reminder that what we have is temporary in one way but what the Lord provides is eternal.  

    Only about half of you who are in the pews this morning will stay for our meeting today.    I don’t need to reiterate the challenges we faced at the end of last year and beginning of this year.  It has made…well 2022…a good exercise in frugality.  But as always, along the way the gracious hand of our Lord has been a constant.  We approached a few tipping points and then boom….thank you Lord!  

    Do you know the most surprising part of the pandemic for those of us in the clergy?  The offerings given.  Never expected it.  75-80% of LCMS churches saw higher offerings in 2020.  Studies have been done as to why, but the main reason…God is good.  Most churches have seen the opposite in 2022.  Why?  Because people are scared.  Why did people build bomb shelters in the 1950’s or why did those who lived through the Depression horde food?  Fear.  It paralyzes us.  As I said earlier in a sermon and it has borne itself out in our giving, $5 gas scared us.  You then add on the cost of energy, food, sundry items and we all start to look inward instead of outward.  Why can’t we in the 21st century figure out a way to have new cars on the lots?  Cars are being made, we all know that.  When life doesn’t make sense where do we go?

    God’s Word.  It is really that simple.  Today’s text has been called “The Parable of the Rich Fool.”  However, he wasn’t a fool for being rich.  He was probably a great farmer or good business manager.  The man was a fool because of the wrong conclusions he drew from being rich.  His riches were foolishness because they were wrongly used.

    His biggest problem was that he his didn’t realize his riches had no lasting value.  “Fool!  This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (v. 20)  He had a temporary blessing.  Sooner or later, it would be taken away.

    Look at all the pronouns in this text they are almost all “I” and “my”.  It is the same way we speak.  My house, my car, my money, my clothes.  Are they really ours?  Does the farmer cause the seed to germinate and the rain to fall and the sun to shine?  That all comes from the hand of God.  God entrusts us with many things, but they are really His because He provided them.

    Do you have a lasting blessing?  Today people are not buried in a shroud.  It is usually a nice suit or dress.  In earlier times a shroud was used.  But it lacks one thing – pockets.  The reason?  We take nothing with us when we go, even as we brought nothing with us when we came.  Jesus came into the world with no home, no fancy clothes, no comfortable bed.  Still, on the Last Day, every knee will bow before Him.  Why?  Because he was poor?  No, because He faithfully carried out the Father’s will to save us.

    You see the Lord knows you are sacred.  He made you.  You are the crown of His creation.  He provides you with the greatest riches.  Your fear is replaced with hope.  Your inward cocoon now sees outward possibilities.  He unfolds your tight fists with percentage giving.  It is all made possible through His love and grace.  A Calvary Cross.  An empty tomb.  A promise to always be with us.  What is there to be frightened of?  Read your history.  Really, everything in His hands.  We have a priceless inheritance with Christ in heaven.  I can’t wait for that lasting blessing to be an eternal joy.  Are you there, with me?  I look forward to seeing you.

    Today is again a reminder that we are all rich.  In a way the world doesn’t understand.  May God grant us such a faith in Him, that our hearts and eyes will be fixed where true joys are to be found.  That we will be grateful stewards of the material things entrusted to us and use them for God’s glory and the welfare of others. 

                            Amen.           

October 30, 2022                            Text:  Revelation 14:6-7

Dear Friends in Christ,

    We all can be disagreeable.  What disagreements are worth it?  In my anecdotal evidence collecting of the last 30 years there is one thing that stands out this time of the year especially among spouses.  What temperature are we going to set the thermostat at for the winter months?  There seems to be a lot of disagreement among spouses.  One of you likes it   cooler, one of you likes it warmer.  Most of us end up compromising and set it at a temperature we can live with.  The same thing tends to happen with the summer thermostat setting.  At the Lueck household we have learned that we are not going to agree.  I prefer sauna.  Toni prefers igloo.  We have found the disagreement is not worth it.  With the price of natural gas this winter, I am willing to concede another degree or so.  How does it play out at your home?  We even have the same challenge here at church with competing voices.  

    Today is Reformation Sunday.  Was the disagreement Martin Luther and the reformers had against the Roman Catholic Church at the time worth it?  Is the disagreement still worth fighting for today?  Let’s see where we land as we answer . . .

“WAS (IS) THE DISAGREEMENT WORTH IT?”

    Our text is from Revelation 14.  “I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.” (v. 6)

    Having been Lutheran my whole life I learned for the first time this week that many Lutherans thought for years that the angel or messenger referred to here is the reformer, Martin Luther.  C.F.W. Walther, the first president of the LCMS preached in a sermon just 177 years ago this, “The angel, the one sent from God, who flew through the midst of heaven is Luther, and the eternal Gospel that he preached is Luther’s doctrine.”

    For the last one hundred years not a single Lutheran can be found who still believes this way.  But it is not far-fetched that many felt this way for so long because Luther, by the power of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, had set them free from utter bondage.  And that was no small thing.

Walther characterizes it this way:  “Before (Luther’s Day), nearly a thousand years of spiritual darkness had settled over all of Christianity…The light of the pure Gospel was lost nearly everywhere…the Holy Scriptures lay in dust, right in the midst of Christianity…Christianity languished in fearful despair and anxiety.  Thousands had, in their previous predicament of sin, cried out in vain, ‘What must we do to be saved?’ but there was no answer.”

It was really bad.  It does not get more desperate or worse in this life, than when a man does not know, cannot find, the gracious God revealed at last in the Gospel that Luther discovered in the Scriptures and proclaimed so clearly.

This idea of infused grace, conditional penance and mitigated forgiveness could not satisfy his yearning to know that God was his friend and not his enemy.  The Roman Catholic system at the time was good at raising money but had little to deliver man under the burden of the flesh a clean conscience and confidence with God.  

Luther with a great desire to understand the Bible and with God’s grace found that Christ is his Savior from sin.  God the Father declares him righteous in love.  Christ is your Savior.  His death on the cross has taken away your sin, given you eternal life, despite your sin, entirely apart from any works of yours.  No credit belongs to us poor sinners, but all the glory for our salvation, our standing, and our confidence belongs to God alone.  This is what Luther preached.

So is what he did worth it?  Was the disagreement worth everything that he gave up, including his freedom for a time?  We have to respond yes.  His grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone preaching and teaching was and is important.  We no longer have to worry about doing enough.  Christ has done it all in our place.  This is a free gift given to us by our gracious Lord.  This message is still important.  It transforms lives.  Both in Luther’s Day and in our day.  

We continue to battle for the truth of the Bible.  The inspired, inerrant Word of God does not change.  We preach and teach the Law and Gospel.  Yes, we struggle in our sin but we are saved through forgiveness that comes through Christ Jesus.  We are strengthened in the Word and the Sacrament.  

The thermostat may not be worth the battle, but the Word of God always will be.  It needed to be reformed in Luther’s Day and so many believers came back to what our text says, “Fear God and give him glory…worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”  Our text also says, “the hour of his judgment has come.”  Therefore, we continue to stand for the truth of His Word.  We desire, through the Holy Spirit, as Scripture declares, “that all people be saved.”  We still have work to do.

The Reformation disagreement was and is worth it.  We do well to remember it with thanksgiving to God.

            Amen.              
    

October 23, 2022                                        Text:  Genesis 4:1-15

Dear Friends in Christ,

    “Raising Cain.”  Do you know where this statement and its variations come from?  Well, you are fortunate to be here this morning, because you are about to get the answer.  In the May 2, 1840 edition of the St. Louis Daily Pennant they had this quote, “Why have we every reason to believe that Adam and Eve were both rowdies?  Because…they both raised Cain.”  In modern day lingo we may say, “He said he would raise Cain if they didn’t give him a refund.”

    We still have a saying that ties us to the beginning of the world.  “Raising Cain” can be defined as causing trouble or behaving disruptively.  Cain does that in our text, doesn’t he?  What led to his action?  What motivated his behavior?  

“WHAT DOES GOD CONSIDER AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE?”

    Both these sons of Adam and Eve were workers.  Cain tended the soil given to Adam and Abel tended their flocks.  At the end of the growing season, they were bringing an offering to the Lord.  But what makes the difference here and then leads to murder?

    Cain’s heart was not right with God. His offering was given without a love for the Lord God.  Abel’s heart was right with God.  He wanted the Lord to have the firstfruits.  What kind of heart is not right with God, making a sacrifice unacceptable?  Someone just going through the motions because it is expected.  Cain simply brought some of his fruit.  The text does not say he brought the best or did it gladly.  Abel gave the firstborn of his flock and the fat portions.  He gave the Lord his best.

    Because of this the Lord “had no regard” for Cain’s offering and Cain became angry and “his face fell.”  We could say Cain’s heart wasn’t in it.  But then he is not bothered by the fact his sacrifice was unacceptable to God.  Rather, Cain was concerned that he was “shown up” by his brother.  Cain’s pride took a hit, he hated Abel so much he killed him.  It was all about Cain, not about God.

    Today we are all about the show.  “Don’t show me up.”  We can’t have our pride dented.  This week in the baseball playoffs a home run was hit, nothing unusual about that.  But as the baserunner rounded the bases, he rocked his arms back and forth to tell the pitcher “he was his baby.”  The video was everywhere.  Do you know what is going to transpire next?  This guy is going to get plunked, which means a pitcher on the opposing team is going to hit him with a baseball.  In the unwritten rules (does anyone know what that means?) you don’t “show up” another player.  Anger ensues.  Somebody is going to “raise Cain.”  

    Do you and I ever “raise Cain” because someone showed us up?  I have numerous times playing sports.  My anger came out.  What about you?  Maybe not in sports, but in a sibling rivalry?  Maybe a friend did something that you took the wrong way and the “I am going to get them” came out.  Do we ever take a joke from a family member the wrong way?  

    God warned Cain and gave him a chance to repent but it never happened.  Even after the murder Cain was only about his own safety.  We pray to the Lord to keep us from having such a heart.

    So, what kind of heart is right with God, making a sacrifice acceptable?  The heart of faith.  We are enemies of God who are headed to hell.  We are unable to earn salvation.  Faith is created and preserved by God, in His grace, mercy, and love.  This heart believes in the triune God, and in Jesus Christ as Savior.  This heart confesses wrongdoing and receives from Christ forgiveness and everlasting life.  The believer is covered with the righteousness Christ acquired for all people by His holy life and His innocent suffering and death.  Because of Jesus, the sacrifices of believers are acceptable to God.

    Abel had, and we have, this kind of heart.  Abel believed the Gospel promise of Genesis 3:15.  His parents, Adam and Eve, believed this Gospel, looking forward to the future Savior.  Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.  And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.”

    Abel does still speak to us.  Our heart of faith leads us to bring our best to the Lord.  Everything we have is from His hand, His blessing.  We bring our best sacrifices to the Lord willingly, with sincerity, because we love the Lord and because we are grateful for the salvation He freely grants to us.

    What are the sacrifices we bring to the Lord today?  Our monetary offerings.  Our sacrifice of praise.  Our lives are given to the Lord as a sacrifice.  We dedicate ourselves to God and to serving Him.  Empowered by His Word and Sacrament, we live according to His will, doing good, and showing love to others.

    “Raising Cain” can lead to unacceptable sacrifice.  But the Lord, through Abel, has shown again today what He expects from us.  Thank God that because of His saving work in our lives, we offer sacrifices that are acceptable to Him.  By His grace and power – let us continue!

                                                Amen.         

October 16, 2022                                Text:  Luke 18:1-8

Dear Friends in Christ,

    Phillips Brooks was an American clergyman of the Episcopal church who died in 1893.  You know him as the man who wrote the words to “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”  The story goes that at times he suffered moments of great frustration and irritability.  One day, a friend saw him pacing the floor.  He asked, “What’s the trouble, Dr. Brooks?”  And Brooks replied, “The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God is not.”

    Hit home for some of us?  Remember this, (God says) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” (Is. 55:8). There are many things that test our faith and the “things” have intensified.  So the question is . . .

“WHEN JESUS COMES BACK WILL HE FIND FAITH ON EARTH?”

    If God is real and full of love than why doesn’t He stop all the wars and hatred and molestations and shootings and starvation and…you name it.  Have you ever slandered someone?  Why didn’t God stop that?  Have you ripped someone’s heart with your words?  Why didn’t God stop that?  Ever told a lie or used God’s name in vain or lusted or flirted with someone other than your spouse?  Why didn’t God stop that?  Ever wished someone were dead?  Why didn’t God stop that?  Ever got caught up the peripherals of church instead of focusing on whether God’s Word is being preached here?  Why didn’t God stop that?

    Here is a better question.  Why doesn’t the human race stop doing all the terrible things they shouldn’t be doing but they do them anyway?  Why do the atheists and cynics ask all the pathetic questions that make no sense?

    Our text ends, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  The implication is that there is something wrong with all of us.  Something that drives us into all sorts of horrible thinking and verbalizing and deeds.  Something…called sin.  Why doesn’t man stop it?

    You have heard the parable, so what does it all mean.  First, the parable is not a comparison between the unjust judge and God.  The parable is a contrast between the two.  When the widow keeps persisting what is the motive of the judge?  “Because the widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.” (v. 5).  God is not an unrighteous judge.  But even if an unrighteous man will give justice to the persistent, how much more will our righteous God do so?

    God has a deep and abiding love for His people.  It is expressed in these words of Jesus:  “I am the good shepherd.  I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (Jn. 10:14-15). Time and again, the Gospel impresses upon us that Christ died for sinners.

    Ok, I know what some of you are thinking.  It is in the text, “Will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?  Will he delay long over them?  I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.” (vs. 7-8a)  How many of us are like Phillips Brooks?  We are in a hurry for a resolution, but God doesn’t seem to be?  “Why doesn’t God do…?”  And you fill in the blanks.  

    When Jesus said these words in Luke 18, what was near?  The most decisive act of God in vindicating His elect, namely the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Why doesn’t God stop our bad acts?  Because He can’t.  We are men and women who have free will.  But He will do something so we don’t carry around the guilty baggage.  He sent his Son, our Lord, to be the atoning sacrifice for our bad choices.  He forgives our slander, and bad words, and lust, and hatred and when we lose focus on the Gospel.  He sees them all and He forgives them all.  In our daily prayers, don’t many of us ask for that forgiveness?  The need never goes away.  The Good News is that God’s gift of salvation through Jesus never goes away.  The last verse of our text says, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  This is a rhetorical question, urging faithfulness.  This is the key ingredient in our prayers – faithfulness.

    Now let’s get to question:  why doesn’t God act quicker?  Scripture answers that.  “The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9)  Are you and I thankful that the Lord did not return the day before we were brought to faith?  Right?  It might seem a crazy question since we were brought to faith, but think about it.  Not wishing that any would perish.

    Matthew tells us, “lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” (Mt. 24:12)  The admonition is clear, “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mt. 24:13)

We as God’s people will not escape bearing the cross or suffering for Christ.  The focal point is not this world.  It is this, “your redemption is drawing near.”  “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

    God help us to answer in the affirmative.  “Always pray and never lose heart.”  The persistent widow is our example.  God’s answer is our strength:  “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?”

                        Amen.