Reflections

February 17, 2023

Today's Reading: Job 13:1-12

Daily Lectionary: Job 13:1-12

“But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.” (Job 13:3)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Martin Luther said, “Oh, faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing” But can faith be active even in arguing with God? It would seem so. Job is ready to speak and argue with the Almighty, but he’s not the only one. Remember the patriarch Jacob? He wrestled with God (Genesis 32:22-32) and insisted that God bless him. How could he be so presumptuous? It’s because God had already promised him, “I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea” (v. 12).  Jacob was on his way to meet his bloodthirsty brother, and insisted that God’s blessing was essential for that trip.

Arguing with God is a proper exercise of faith, when that argumentation is built on the foundation of confidence in what God has promised. Job’s friends were arguing for a god who is incredibly shallow: obey and I will do good for you; disobey and I will make your life miserable. This sounds a lot more like the Muslim Allah than the true God in whom we believe. The true God speaks and, by the Holy Spirit, faith works in us and clings to that Word. So, when it looks like that Word is being trampled, or that God isn’t living up to His revealed character, it’s time to argue with Him (think also of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15).

The Psalms give us wonderful examples of arguing your case with God (see Psalm 56 and 79 for example). Not that we ourselves have a leg to stand on (and that’s where Job began to err), but we hold fast to the covenant God made with us in Baptism, and that He made with His Church by the shedding of His blood. On the ground of His promises, we hold Him to it. We know Him as He has revealed His heart to us. This is a true exercise of faith because it holds to God, even when our eyes and experience seem to show the opposite.

This faith-filled arguing is more than complaining, “What’s happening to me isn’t fair.” Taking an honest look at our situation and the state of God’s people in this shattered world, we go where God tells us. You, Lord, promise to come to our aid—“Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:15). We rest in the assurance, that such prayer—such argumentation—is pleasing in His sight, “because He has commanded us to pray and promised to hear us.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

   O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your might.  O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my     mouth. (Psalm 54:1-2)

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

February 16, 2023

Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Daily Lectionary: Job 12:1-6, 12-25, John 5:30-47

“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Cor. 3:7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You might really like your pastor. You might think your pastor is out to lunch. Maybe your church has more than one pastor, but there’s one you’d rather go to.

What Paul is warning us of here is “behaving only in a human way.” (v. 3) when it comes to pastors. The Church at Corinth was having a big problem with this. Earlier in chapter 1:12, it was reported that people drew lines between following Paul, Apollos, Cephas (Peter), or Christ. Imagine that! Pitting the servants of Christ against the Lord Himself! The “human way” places the worthiness and power on the individual.

I’ve been told, “Pastor, you’ve done so much for us” and “I want you to preach my funeral.”  It’s high praise, to be sure. But, the “human way” wants to say there’s something indispensable about me. You can probably imagine what praise Peter or Paul had gotten because of their personal history with the Lord. It’s only natural (not in a good way) to want to put all your eggs in your chosen basket.

It’s really kind of funny that we do this, because when Jesus came to His hometown to preach, the congregation was so enraged by His preaching that they were set to throw him off a cliff (Luke 4:16-30). To be honest, some congregations have done that to their pastors, too.

We need to repent of our “human way” of looking at pastors, and be on guard against this kind of jealousy and strife. While every pastor has individual strengths and weaknesses, that’s not where our faith should be. What are we pastors? “Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.” Pastors are fellow sinners who have a special place in the church, but their labors are only ever in service to the Lord.

Pastoral vacancies can put this to the test. Although it hurts to lose a beloved pastor, it also chastises us for how we make too much of the man. In the vacancy, the congregation asks, “What are we looking for in a pastor?” blind to who that man may be. That’s because for a servant of Christ, the essential thing will be the same no matter who it is. He will be the man through whom the Good Shepherd ministers to His flock. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

 O Gracious Father, You led Your holy apostles to ordain ministers for the proclamation of Your Word and the faithful administration of the Sacraments of Christ. Grant to each congregation the guidance of the Holy Spirit to choose a suitable pastor according to Your will for the blessing of Your Church in every place; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

February 15, 2023

Today's Reading:Luther’s Small Catechism - Table of Duties To: Youth (1 Peter 5:5-6)

Daily Lectionary: Job 11:1-20, John 5:19-29

“‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It’s hard being a teenager.  You’ve come so far, and yet there’s still so much you aren’t allowed to do. Don’t you sometimes feel like it isn’t right? If you could be honest, you might say, “I can handle it! Leave me alone so I can shine!”  It’s true that experience has shown we do grow from having greater responsibility, even if it means we fail sometimes.

But what we need at every age is for God to keep our hearts humble.  We have a bent in our hearts toward thinking too much of ourselves.  Our self-appraisal is often more flawless than reality. Yes, even if you suffer from depression and sometimes tell yourself that you’re a worthless failure, that’s your broken mind thinking too much of your personal problems, magnifying your flaws and problems so they seem mightier than God.

When God humbles us, He teaches us once again to be receptive to learning. Most of all, we learn from Him through His Word, where He teaches us that, “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” (Ps. 147:10-11)

He also places His humbled children in the communion of saints, the Church. In this community, it is good for the young to learn from those more experienced. “Listen to your elders!” isn’t just something your grandma says because she’s cranky; it’s godly wisdom. In Titus 2, St. Paul shows how it is good for older men to be mentors, older women to be examples to the young. Even pastors learn from those more seasoned in the ministry.

With God’s gift of being humbled, we see that it’s not a bad thing to be a youth or inexperienced. It can be frustrating at times, and not everyone is automatically a good example. Yet, God does bless His children at every stage to receive His Word and grow in grace and holy lives in His Son. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

   Make ye straight what long was crooked;  Make the rougher places plain.  Let your hearts be true and humble,

   As befits His holy reign,  For the glory of the Lord,  Now o’er earth is shed abroad, And all flesh shall see the token

   That His Word is never broken. Amen. (LSB 347:4)

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: John 5:1-18 (Valentine, Martyr)

Daily Lectionary: Job 10:1-22, John 5:1-18

“Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk.’ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.” (John 5:8-9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Valentine has been remembered as a martyr since the early centuries of the Church. A priest and physician from Rome, he and his family ministered to those being persecuted by Emperor Claudius II. Soon Valentine also was arrested and martyred on February 14, 270. He was soon remembered for his acts of mercy, in spite of the bodily danger it would bring him.

The association with romance actually comes from an observation in England in the Middle Ages that birds began choosing mates around St. Valentine’s Day. People took that as a cue to do the same by choosing eligible suitors for their children. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the Roman god, Cupid, came on the scene, and we know what the people of today do “in the name of love.”

Today, we’re told, “Love is love.”  Yet, what they mean is a strong feeling. Love is actually much more than butterflies in our stomach or devotion to another person.  “God is love,” St. John tells us, and he follows that up by saying, “the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him…Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (see 1 John 4:7-12)

This is the purest expression of love, called in Greek, agape. Jesus exhibited that love to the lame man in John 5 by calling him to faith and healing his body.  Valentine reflected that love by ministering to his brothers and sisters in Christ as they were martyred by the authorities, eventually suffering the same cruelty.

Agape love is what we have from God. All other kinds of love grow out of it: Philos, friendly affection; storge, a natural, familial love; and eros, desirous love. Too often, we are told that love is merely the eros kind of birds and other creatures “pairing up.” But today, when the unbelievers tell you, “Love is love,” show them how God is love, and what that love did: God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Love divine, all loves excelling,  Joy of heav’n, to earth come down!  Fix in us Thy humble dwelling,

All Thy faithful mercies crown.  Jesus, Thou art all compassion,  Pure, unbounded love Thou art;

Visit us with Thy salvation,  Enter ev’ry trembling heart. Amen. (LSB 700:1)

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Deut. 30:15-20

Daily Lectionary: Job 9:1-35, John 4:46-54

“Obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days” (Deuteronomy 30:20)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. If there were ever a passage that seems to support decision theology, it’s this one. “I have set before you today life and good, death and evil…therefore choose life!”  Martin Luther strongly debated a popular scholar of his day, Erasmus of Rotterdam, on this very passage. Erasmus that since God gave the command, “Choose,” it must mean we’re able to do it. Luther countered that just because God commanded it, doesn’t mean we have the power to do it. Rather, this is how the Law humbles us and drives us to Christ.

is giving a description of faith versus unbelief, manifested in how one reacts to God and His Word. Loving the Lord, walking in His ways, keeping His Word—only faith is able to do this. A heart turned away, refusing to hear, being drawn to other gods—this is our default because of sin.

You can think of it like a magnet. Unbelief reacts to God’s Word the way that same poles on a magnet repel. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) Our sinful flesh pushes away the Word of God.  On the other hand, faith is attracted to and clings to the Word of God. It says, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day…I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.” (Psalm 119:97, 101)

But how did we come to believe and gladly be reading a Higher Things Reflection? This is the work of the Lord your God. The One who called Israel out of Egypt and brought them with a mighty hand, has also come to you with His life-giving Spirit. the Word of God reached you—in the waters of your Baptism, shared by your family, perhaps later in life by a Christian friend—and He powerfully raised you from spiritual death.

God has created this faith in you, achieving the polar opposite of sin. As His Spirit works in you, you do love the Lord, delight to walk in His ways, and keeping His Word sacred with a glad heart. It’s far from perfect or constant this side of the resurrection. Nevertheless, God promises to be continually at work in you, His child. He will bring you at last to Himself, victorious over sin, the devil, and death itself! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

 Oh, what blessing to be near You  And to listen to Your voice;  Let me ever love and hear You,
Let Your Word be now my choice!  Many hardened sinners, Lord,  Flee in terror at Your Word;

But to all who feel sin’s burden  You give words of peace and pardon. Amen. (LSB 589:2)

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Matt. 5:21-37

Daily Lectionary: Job 8:1-22, John 4:27-45

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (Matthew 5:30)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. This is the Gospel of the Lord? Praise to you, O Christ! Today’s Gospel gets us coming and going. If we came to church thinking we had it together, these words of our Lord are set to humble us deeply. Anger, lust, divorce, and taking the Lord’s Name in vain. It’s a good thing we have a week to recover before we hear him talk about retaliation, loving our enemies, and being perfect even as our Father in heaven is!

But there’s a reason Jesus pulls out the hammer of the Law. Each section begins, “You have heard that it was said to those of old…” What had been taught among His audience was that being faithful to God was just a matter of following the rules. The stricter the better. The more self-denial you can muster, the more righteous you are. This is what the Old Adam thinks the Law and the Prophets teach. And this is what the people were hearing from the Pharisees. It’s what people still hear from the Mennonites, the Wesleyans, and other holiness groups.

Yet, these words are on the lips of Christ, and that is the difference between being damned eternally and being saved by the forgiveness of our sins. Do you remember the three uses of the Law? This is the second use of the Law big time: the mirror that shows us how we have sinned against God. It leaves no stone unturned. Our hatred toward others means we deserve to be hated by God. Our lusts that look for pleasure with someone not our spouse have us dangling over the hell of fire. Our lips are quick to aggrandize our cause and drag God into it, but this has the hiss of the Evil One.

For every one of these, your sins, Christ has been sacrificed. His blood has answered the righteous wrath of God. He was forsaken, cut off, and conquered the Tempter—all for you. This is what makes you a Christian—not that you’ve kept God’s standard of perfection, but that Christ has kept it in your place so that He could give you peace with God and eternal life. And only that can bring us to the third use of the Law: the guide which steers us away from sin and toward living as God’s true children. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

 O Lord, graciously hear the prayers of Your people that we who justly suffer the consequence of our sin may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Introit for Epiphany 6, Ps. 98:7-9; antiphon: Ps. 98:2

Daily Lectionary: Job 7:1-21, John 4:7-27

“Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!” (Ps. 98:7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What do these two things have in common? A child tugging at his mother’s sweater, each time saying louder, “Mama!” and the prophets of Baal limping around their altar and cutting themselves (1 Ki. 18:26)?

Both are examples of times when our sinful flesh assumes that the authority—ultimately God—must not hear them.  They make a noise; they heap up empty phrases [Matt. 6:7] in an effort to get God to listen to them. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right?

But Psalm 98 says we have it all wrong, if that’s how we’ve thought about God the Lord.  Worship is not about trying to get God’s attention. That is actually a feature of pagan, man made gods. Rather, the True God acts first upon us, and we respond in loud shouts of praise!  While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us [Rom. 5:8].  He’s told us that His righteousness and our salvation have been since the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34, Ephesians 1:4-5).

So, if God accomplished His work of saving us before any of us were even born, what should make us think that we need to shout into His ears to get His attention now?  To put it another way, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) He comes to deliver His salvation in Christ and His fatherly care. That means for us that His hearing our prayers, accepting our worship, and blessing our days is based on something more sure than our heart-felt effort. It’s anchored in His promises spoken to us and His Holy Spirit, who gives and sustains our faith.

Since God is the One who has done such great things, then our response of praise is that much sweeter.  Together, we sing the new song of the psalms in the Introit and Gradual. We are freed to sing hymns which proclaim His mighty works: “This is the feast of victory for our God.” We joyfully sing spiritual songs which meditate on what our God has done. With the aftertaste of Christ’s true Body and Blood on our tongues, our hearts ring out, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace.”

Our own religious ideas can never bring such peace, but Christ can and does. As you prepare to go to the Divine Service, take a cue from creation: He has not only formed you in your mother’s womb, but He has also redeemed and promised you eternal life. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

 Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!  Let men their songs employ,  While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

 Repeat the sounding joy,  Repeat the sounding joy,  Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. Amen. (LSB 387:2)

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Job 6:1-13

Daily Lectionary: Job 6:1-13, John 3:1-21 

“Have I any help in me, when resource is driven from me?” (Job 6:13)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Human suffering: It’s universal. It’s agonizing to bear, and heartbreaking to witness. It’s caused by wickedness in the world. It’s caused by our own foolishness. It’s sent by God.

Wait! What did you just say? Surely God wants us to be happy! Surely, I haven’t deserved to have my parents divorce, to lose my friend to lymphoma, to be laid off from my job that I worked hard at.  What you’re facing is the problem of suffering, and you’re hardly the first person to be there.

Not that you can think away suffering, but consider these three truths which we know: God is good. God is omnipotent. There is profound evil in the world.

When we suffer, we venture into the land of theodicy, which means “to justify God.”  There, we wrestle with these three truths. We know God is good and He can do all things. So, what does it mean that so much evil is in the world and on our doorstep? If we dwell in theodicy too long, our sinful reason starts with doubts: Maybe God isn’t really good. Maybe He’s not really omnipotent. Maybe His Baptismal promise to never leave or forsake me isn’t so powerful after all.  Suffering is a dark place to be. Theodicy is even darker.

Our refuge in suffering is not our own minds. It’s not in being crushed, like Job prayed for. God’s answer to our suffering is found in Jesus Christ alone. Listen to how St. Peter explains it, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1 Pet. 4:12-13) This is not theodicy; it is theology of the cross.

Your Baptism is not an immunity potion against worldly trouble. It is a promise that you are joined to Jesus Christ—in His suffering now and in His exaltation at the last.  “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)  So to answer Job’s complaints, “What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?”  It is to look to your crucified and risen Savior, who ascended into heaven and rules all things for your good…even the suffering which He wisely sends to you. You do not bear it on your own, but as His own. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death,

that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation. Amen. (Psalm 9:13-14)

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: Luther’s Small Catechism - Table of Duties: To Employers and Supervisors

Daily Lectionary: Job 5:1-27, John 2:13-25

“Do not threaten them, since you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.” (Eph. 6:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. “My boss is such a jerk!”  This is a judgment we’re quick to pronounce. It’s socially acceptable.  And what did he or she do to earn that label?  Make you work Saturday when you’d rather sleep in?  Deny your vacation request?  Too often, we berate those in authority over us because they’re calling the shots and not us.

But when’s the last time you prayed for your supervisor?  I mean, think about the tasks and responsibility God has given to them.  Maybe they’re a business owner. They might have their manager breathing down their neck.  They are responsible for the schedules, productivity, and welfare of their staff.  But above even their manager, is a Master who is in heaven.  He is your Master, too, and there is no favoritism with Him.

When we remember who is the Master of us all, we realize how much trouble we all cause Him.  If you don’t believe me, just read the accounts of Israel in the wilderness!  Yet, look at how our Master in heaven treats us!  Worse than the gross-factor cleaning the public restroom, worse than the tedium of sorting the file room, harder than bearing a piano down five flights of stairs—is what the Son of God has done for us.  He became sin for us, wearing our filth and shame on the cross.  He agonized in Gethsemane and submitted to the Father’s will to save humanity. He bore in His own body the sins which merited the eternal wrath of God.  If this is how your Master in heaven acts, then maybe we can learn a thing or two from His example.  St. Peter teaches, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.” (1 Pet. 2:18)

Those in the seat of responsibility can also learn that they, too, are servants of God.  They are given their management for the good of someone’s business, for the good of those under them, and for how we all together are used by God to provide and maintain order in His world.  Remembering our heavenly Master who manages all for our good, we “commend ourselves, our body, soul, and all things” to Him.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

 Lord, help us walk Your servant way, Wherever love may lead, And, bending low, forgetting self, Each serve the other’s need.

 
You bid us bend our human pridem Nor count ourselves above, The lowest place, the meanest task, That waits the gift of love. Amen. (LSB 857:1, 4)

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: 1 Cor. 2:1-16

Daily Lectionary: Job 4:1-21, John 2:1-12

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. (1 Cor. 2:6)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Would you like to level up your Christianity?  What would you say if I told you there was some “secret and hidden wisdom from God”?  All you have to do is buy my book and I’ll show you how to unlock this hidden potential!  Maybe Simon Magus, who thought he could buy the Holy Spirit from the Apostles (Acts 8:18-24) had thoughts of writing a book like this.  But the fact that books like this sell should tell us something.

We crave to have power over our lives.  Anxieties and manic behavior plague us, especially in our age which promises ultimate knowledge, ultimate mastery over disease and the body.  This desire for some control also seeps into the spiritual realm, driving some to dabble in astrology or numerology, and perhaps even witchcraft.

 That is not the message which the servants of God, like St. Paul, preach.  Contrast Paul to a peddler of spiritual ’truth’: “I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom.”  So much for Paul selling them on his winning smile and charisma!  No, the wisdom and power are of God.

The wisdom from God is given as a gift, not unlocked by the wise of this world. “These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.”  There is real, ultimate power there! The power to know the mind of God!  But what is God thinking about?  How He condescends to us, lowly and sinful though we are.  “What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps. 8:4)

God the Holy Spirit reveals what we could never find ourselves—what we would never even think to ask!  That God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit would redeem His fallen creation through self-giving, suffering and that He would powerfully call people back to Himself by lowly-appearing means: words, water, bread and wine.  This truly is the “foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God [which] is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). Thanks be to God!  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

 Creator Spirit, by whose aid, The world’s foundations first were laid, Come, visit every humble mind;

Come, pour Your joys on humankind; From sin and sorrow set us free; May we Your living temples be. Amen. (LSB 500:1)

-Pastor Michael A. Miller is Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR.,

Audio Reflections Speaker: Patrick Sturdivant, Development and Marketing Executive at Higher Things.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.