Reflections

Today's Reading: Jonah 1:1-17

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 10:1-11:3; 2 Timothy 3:1-17

But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. (Jonah 1:4) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It's easy to conclude, when all you see is the storm, that God hates you, doesn't care, forgive, or want to help you at all but is only interested in your pain and suffering. If that's what you have concluded about God because of the storm you're in, the Book of Jonah has good news for you. Your conclusion is as far from the truth as the east is from the west.

By tossing Jesus into the raging sea of His wrath and anger toward the sin of the whole world, God has promised that, while there may be storms all around you, there is no storm at all in His heart now when it comes to you. Your sin remains as far from you as the east does from the west. Since you are forgiven, God delights and rejoices in you. All the wrath and fury stirred by your sin has forever been silenced in Him, stilled by the blood Jesus shed for you on the Cross. 

Listen to Zephaniah 3: "The LORD has taken away the judgments against you. . . Fear not. . . The LORD God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you by his love" (vv.15-17). And Isaiah 62:2-5: "You shall no longer be termed Forsaken. . . For the LORD delights in you. . .  And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you." And Romans 8:31: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

It's easy to conclude, when all you see is the storm, that God is against you. But you'd be wrong. Jesus died for you. And the blood Jesus shed on the Cross for you now promises that in every storm you face God remains your loving, rejoicing, caring, forgiving, saving heavenly Father. In fact, His water, His Word and His Supper still promise you, through every storm, that will never change. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way; When sorrows, like sea billows, roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is well with my soul. 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate And hath shed His own blood for my soul. It is well with my soul, it is well with my soul. ("When Peace, like a River" LSB 763, st.1,3)

-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

Today's Reading: Matthew 8:23-27

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 9:1-17; 2 Timothy 2:1-26

And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. (Matthew 8:24)   

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Ever felt like Jesus is sleeping on the job? Something really bad happens to you. The storm is raging. The winds are howling. The sea is unleashing all its fury. Then this goes wrong. Then that goes wrong. Then everything goes wrong. And your boat is now taking on water. At such times you, too, are crying out, "Save me, Jesus; I'm perishing!" Does He hear? Or, is Jesus sound asleep on the job? 

You're not the first to wonder. God's children have always struggled with fear and doubt. In the Book of Isaiah, God asks, "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God?'" God would speak to all our fears and doubts even then, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary" (Isaiah 40:27-28).

Sending His own Son to suffer and die for you and for all the evidence of your unbelief, washing you holy and blameless every day with the promise of Jesus' Cross in Baptism, sending pastors to speak His pardon over you, feeding you today with Jesus' Body and Blood, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins," guess what? There is no perishing, now, for you. It's gone. No matter how dark the skies get, no matter how tossed about you may be in this life, no matter how much of the sea gets into your boat, there is no perishing for you, now. That's been defeated for you by Jesus, when Jesus perished for you on the Cross.

I know there are times when it seems like Jesus is sleeping and not paying any attention. Today's Gospel promises that this is just your unbelief talking. Because the truth is, God sees you as holy now in His sight. His child. And as such, He loves you fiercely. Even in the storm. Especially in the storm. Because of Jesus. That's the truth. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany)

-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

Today's Reading: Introit for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany (Psalm 107:1, 8, 24-25; antiphon: v.28-29)

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 8:1-23; 2 Timothy 1:1-18

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. (From the Introit for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany)   

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow's Introit speaks of God's "steadfast love" (Psalm 107:1). That's what always holds and lasts. For while this world is constantly tossing us about like a stormy sea, filled with one upheaval after another, one thing remains constant: the promise God has forever tied to the death of Jesus on the Cross for you. You are forgiven. God declares you forever holy now in His judgment. You are an heir to eternal life.

God has not promised you your best life here and now. If anything, He has promised that our here-and-now will be filled with upheavals, trials, and troubles of every sort (Acts 14:22; Matthew 6:34b). It's why tomorrow's Introit, like a lighthouse, points the way for you by pointing to Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross for you. Many Christians may even be singing, "When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; in ev'ry high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ, the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand" ("My Hope is Built on Nothing Less" LSB 575, st.2).     

Or, perhaps many will be singing, "Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies. Heav'n's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me" ("Abide With Me" LSB 878, st.6).

Either way, by Jesus' presence for you on the Cross, and by His presence for you today with the promise of His Cross in His water, in His Word, and at His Supper, God remains constant and steadfast in His goodness and mercy toward you, as well as His forgiveness and love. For what He has promised with the Cross, He will never take back.

You may think, with all the upheavals all around you today like that stormy sea, nothing is solid, least of all the ground under your feet. But you'd be wrong. Today is just not that powerful. Nor is any upheaval or trial. God will not let that happen. Truth be told, Jesus be told, nothing is more powerful than the promise God has made with you on the Cross. It's a promise that still hushes the waves and calms the storm. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

 Why should cross and trial grieve me? Christ is near With His cheer; Never will He leave me. Who can rob me of the heaven That God's Son For me won When His life was given? ("Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me" LSB 756, st.1)

-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

Today's Reading: Romans 12:16-21

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 6:1-7:14; Romans 16:17-27

Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil. (Romans 12:16c-17a)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It seems like the smart thing to do. I mean, someone wrongs you, you wrong them back. Right? If they speak evil of you, you speak evil of them. Meet hatred with hatred, pushing and shoving with pushing and shoving. After all, if you aren't looking out for you, who is? Right? 

To all that, you can hear Jesus saying, "O you of little faith" (Matthew 6:30). And He is right. Thinking I am alone in this world, with no one to look out for me but me, I often take matters into my own hands, only to end up lashing out at others. Yes, such little faith.     

You, too? Repent, because those thoughts aren't true. You are never alone in this world. That our flesh insists on believing otherwise is just evidence of the unbelief still tucked away in our hearts. That's where all our sin comes from, "O you of little faith."

Good News: The antidote is not you, but Jesus. For every proof of the unbelief you and I were born with and that will be with us all the way to the grave Jesus answered for by His sacrifice upon the Cross. All the evidence of our unbelief lies forever buried now beneath His death for us upon the Cross. You are holy to God. You are His child. You are forgiven everything. God's gracious presence and happy smile are with you now and forever. Jesus' water, Word, and Supper promise you this.

So, you think it smarts when others hurt you? Guess what? It smarts God even more, because you are His dear child. He's got this. He's got you. And He will never let go. If others mean you harm, and God allows it, it's only because God is using it to accomplish a greater good for you, or for others, that you can't see right now (Genesis 50:20). Trust Him on that. If others refuse to live in peace with you, fine. You can do the honorable thing by leaving the whole business, and any vengeance, in God's hands and continuing on with the greatest work of all: love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

For how does good overcome evil? The Cross. That's how. That's always how. Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

We share our mutual woes, Our mutual burdens bear And often for each other flows The sympathizing tear. From sorrow, toil, and pain, And sin we shall be free And perfect love and friendship reign Through all eternity ("Blest Be the Tie That Binds" LSB 649, st.3,5)

-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

Today's Reading: Exodus 33:12-23

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 4:1-5:11; Romans 15:14-33

"And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." (Exodus 33:19b)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. They had lost every right to call themselves God's children. In fact, the taste of the golden calf, which Moses had them melt into a beverage and drink, was still in their mouths when God spoke these words. They had worshiped the golden calf, calling it their god, giving it the praise and glory for their rescue from Egypt. In wrath, God swore He would disown them. "And the LORD said to Moses, 'I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them'" (Exodus 32:9).

Moses steps into the breach by reminding God of His promise to redeem His children from all their sins (Exodus 32:11-14). For it is only that faithfulness, God's continued, forever faithfulness to Jesus and the Cross, that saves sinners from all their sins. It is the only reason God does not wipe out sinners , but continues calling them, even today, even you, His own.

This is who God is. Unpack His Name, and what you get is the promise of the Cross. Jesus will carry all of your sin to its logical conclusion for you. He, not you, will be disowned by God when He suffers and dies for you on the Cross. His sacrifice now defines you before God. You are holy. You are forgiven. You are redeemed, for God's faithfulness will always be greater than your sin.

Like we often do, Moses wanted to pry deeper into the mysteries of God. But as with Moses, God simply tells you the mystery that you need to know. He points you to your Baptism, where with His Name God promises you the daily cleansing and mercy of Jesus' Cross. He sends you pastors to absolve you and to preach Christ crucified to you. He even gives you Jesus' Body and Blood at the Holy Supper, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins."

And the only mystery you need to know is known: God's faithfulness is your joy, your confidence before God. Because God's continued faithfulness to the Cross and its promise is, and always will be, your salvation. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus has come as the mighty Redeemer. See now the threatening strong one disarmed! Jesus breaks down all the walls of death's fortress, Brings forth the pris'ners triumphant, unharmed. Satan, you wicked one, own now your master! Jesus has come! He, the mighty Redeemer! ("Jesus Has Come and Brings Pleasure" LSB 533, st.1)

-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

Today's Reading: Luke 10:1-9

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 2:1-3:10; Romans 15:1-13

 "And say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" (Luke 10:9)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Has come near" does not capture the full sense of the word that Jesus uses. "Has arrived" or "is present" says it better. It's what Jesus is telling His early "pastors" to teach and preach in His Name. Every leper cleansed, every sick person healed, every blind eye and deaf ear opened was a sermon in itself that said, "God and sinners are reconciled, now, in Jesus." Sins are forgiven. Judgments erased. Death defeated. Lives restored. Eternity promised.

Glad tidings to all, even to Titus who, unlike Paul and Timothy, was a Gentile. He was from Greece which, according to Jewish tradition, made him part of the "70 nation" world that surrounded Israel. By sending out the 72, Jesus is showing us that it really is the whole world God is embracing in His Son (John 3:16). 

A co-worker of Paul's and friend to Timothy, Pastor Titus was now preaching and defending this kingdom's Gospel from the pulpit (Titus 1:3,9), the font (Titus 3:4-7), and the altar (Titus 3:10, 15). And the kingdom's Gospel is this: The kingdom isn't just near to us in these places. It is with us in these places. For Jesus is promised to us, is with us today, in these places. 

"Peace be to this house!" (Luke 10:5) That's the kingdom's embrace you are promised at the font in Holy Baptism. It's the Jesus you hear from your pastor in every Absolution and sermon he speaks. It's the peace given you at the Supper with Jesus' Body and Blood, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins."

No matter the trial or burden you are facing, then, or the sin you must own up to, God is not rejecting you by sending you Jesus. He is owning you. He is claiming you. He is forgiving and embracing and reconciling you to Himself, setting you free from all your sin and from all your trials. And promising you a Day, even an eternity, to prove that to you. A forever Father in heaven who will never let go.

That's peace. And it's not just "near to you" with Jesus. It's with you, with Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, You called Titus to the work of pastor and teacher. Make all shepherds of Your flock diligent in preaching Your holy Word so that the whole world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for St. Titus, Pastor and Confessor)

-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

Today's Reading: Acts 9:1-22

Daily Lectionary: Zechariah 1:1-21; Romans 14:1-23

"Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine." (Acts 9:15a)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The Lord has a funny way of choosing, doesn't He? He finds an unbeliever, His harshest critic, His biggest enemy, an infamous persecutor. And says, "Here's my guy!" On what basis does God choose us? Certainly not on the basis of the Law and its works. 

No, God does not choose you because you love or believe in Jesus, any more than He chose Paul that way. Yes, you do love and believe in Jesus. But as with Paul, that doesn't come first. Jesus comes first. Jesus always comes first. And second. And third. And last.

Don't look at it as though you are saved because you love Jesus. You love Jesus because you are saved. It's the same with believing. You're not saved because you believe. You believe because you are saved. You don't come first. Or second. Or third. Or at all in the matter of salvation. Only Jesus does.

Think Jesus, then. Think the Cross. Think Baptism. Think the preaching of the Gospel. Think the Holy Supper. Leave you, the sinner, out of it, because it is not at all on the basis of the law and its righteousness that God chooses for you. It's all by His grace (Romans 3:23-24), by His love (1 John 4:10, 19), by His choosing (John 15:16).

When Paul was baptized, "Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes" (Acts 9:18). Smile at that. For while it is debatable whether Paul ever regained his physical eyesight (Galatians 4:15), he now had the converted and clear eyes of faith. God chooses us, chooses Paul, chooses you, chooses me, chooses sinners now, because of Jesus. And only because of Jesus. 

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Timothy 1:15). Those are Paul's words to Timothy and to us. They remind us that it's all Jesus. Always Jesus. Only Jesus. That there is no surer ground for us, no surer confidence before God, than Jesus. Only Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, You turned the heart of him who persecuted the Church and by his preaching caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world. Grant us ever to rejoice in the saving light of Your Gospel and, following the example of the apostle Paul, to spread it to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Conversion of St. Paul)

-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.

Today's Reading: 1 Timothy 6:11-16

Daily Lectionary: Joel 3:1-21; Romans 12:14-13:14

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. (1 Timothy 6:15a)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. "Flee. . . pursue. . . fight." With such language, you might think Paul is talking about kickboxers in an octagon or wrestlers at WrestleMania. No. He's talking about that fighter in the pulpit, your pastor. Yes, your pastor is a fighter, too. Why? Because he's just like you. Let me explain. 

Like you, your pastor struggles every day with doubt and despair over and against the promises of God. "Am I forgiven?" "Am I His?" "Does God care?" "Can I trust, in spite of everything I know, that I am holy and righteous in His sight, His child, an heir to eternal life?" Believe it or not, your pastor is a lot like you. 

But as your pastor, your pastor also knows that a happy answer can never be found in us (Romans 7:18), in our prayers (Romans 8:26), our works (Isaiah 64:6), our choosing (John 15:16), our love (1 John 4:10), our desire, or anything else that is ours (Romans 9:16). The answer lies outside of us, in Jesus. 

That is what makes the faith worth fighting for. The faith is not about some Jesus in us, but about the Jesus who is outside of us. The Jesus for us on the Cross. The Jesus for us in the water. The Jesus for us in the Word. The Jesus for us in the Supper. For this is the Jesus who saves, who brings us to the Father holy and righteous. This is the Jesus who calls us to faith, and keeps us there (2 Corinthians 13:5). Not the Jesus in us, but the Jesus for us.

Does God care? Am I forgiven? Holy and righteous in His sight? An heir to eternal life? Don't listen to your heart. Listen to the faith, for Baptism, the Absolution, and preaching of the Gospel, and the Supper all say, "Yes!" 

That is the faith every pastor should be fighting for. And today, we give thanks to God for Timothy and for all pastors fighting "the good fight of the faith." In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, You have always given to Your church on earth faithful shepherds such as Timothy to guide and feed Your flock. Make all pastors diligent to preach Your holy Word and administer Your means of grace, and grant Your people wisdom to follow in the way that leads to life eternal; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.(Collect for St. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor)

-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

Today's Reading: Matthew 8:1-13

Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:18-32; Romans 11:25-12:13

"I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 8:11)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. A great theme during the Epiphany season is that the Gospel is for everyone. It's why we sing, "Joy to the World." Not just to some, but to the world. No one is right with God because they are different somehow, or better than others. Not even you. You're not in with the Almighty because you responded the right way and met all of God's promises with faith. Or because you have this work or virtue in you that sets you apart from others and declares you to be God's child.

No. Jesus would rather we identify with the leper at His feet who, because of his present condition, has no claim at all on God. His only hope is that God lays claim on him through Jesus, no matter what. Jesus would want us to identify with the centurion who also knew how unworthy he was. "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed" (Matthew 8:8).

Faith does not say, "Look at me, God. I've got what it takes." Faith knows it has no merit, no value or worth of its own to count on. It's why faith says, "Look at Jesus, God. He's all I have to count on. In fact, He's Your claim on me, God. Your promise of love and forgiveness for me, no matter what." As rare as that may seem, Jesus calls that faith. 

Are you concerned that there's nothing in you, from you, about you--no quality, virtue, or work--that sets you apart from the damned, that gets you in with God or qualifies you for His forgiveness and favor? Fear not. For under orders from God in heaven to bring His goodness and mercy to all on earth, Jesus is God's favor on you. He is God's claim on you. "Joy to the World."

Don't let anyone tell you faith means anything less--as if faith isn't so great. Faith does not mean the leper, the centurion, or you. It just means Jesus. How great is that? Like I said, a great theme of the Epiphany season is that the Gospel is for everyone. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities and stretch forth the hand of Your majesty to heal and defend us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Collect for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany) 

-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House. 

Today's Reading: Introit for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany (Psalm 97:1, 10-12; antiphon: v.6, 9)

Daily Lectionary: Joel 2:1-17; Romans 11:1-24

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad. (From the Introit for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I have a friend who had asthma as a child. He tells how, when he would suffer an attack in the middle of the night, his father would convert one of their bathrooms into a steam room by turning on a hot shower and closing the door. He would then hold him in his arms and gently rock him while saying, "Breathe." "That always helped," my friend says. "After that, I would always breathe a little easier."

With all that is going on in the world today, it's easy to start thinking that you're suffocating. By pointing to Jesus, tomorrow's Introit encourages you to breathe. Everything is under control--His control. That's what it means for Jesus to be at God's right hand. That's theology, not geography. Politicians and armies do not rule. Plagues and viruses are not in control. Mother Nature does not reign. Nor does fate. Chance. The devil. Or anyone or anything else. Only Jesus does. Breathe.

Even sin, our own sin, including the unbelief that whispers, "God is not in control!" does not rule. Seeing all of our unbelief and sin from the moment we were conceived to our final breath, God put it all on Jesus when Jesus died on the Cross for us. You are forgiven everything. You stand before God, now, holy and righteous, His child. And God will not allow anything in all creation to end in the suffocating of His holy and righteous children (Romans 8:28).

"Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name" (Psalm 97:12). In other words, "Breathe." Live in the glad confidence that Jesus is always with you. He is not gone. He just hides His power sometimes behind this world's trials and troubles (Isaiah 45:15). But He's still there. And you are still baptized. Still absolved. Tomorrow you will hear again the promise that by the Cross of Christ God still declares you His concern, His righteous child. You will even eat and drink the Body and the Blood, "for you, for the forgiveness of sins." And though everything around you changes, God's promises never will. Breathe. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest upon His unchanging grace; In ev'ry high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand. ("My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less" LSB 575, st.2)

-Rev. Bradley Drew is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Metairie, LA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Pastor-psychiatrist duo Rev. A. Trevor Sutton and Dr. Brian Smith have teamed up to help you evaluate your technology use through a Christian perspective. Learn how to form healthy, faithful technology habits with Jesus at the center. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.