Reflections

Today's Reading: John 15:26-16:4

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 14:1-25; Luke 18:18-34

"[The Holy Spirit] will bear witness about me. . . I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away." (John 15:26c,16:1)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today is Exaudi Sunday. It means "hear." God gives us complete assurance that He hears us. And when He hears us, He assures us that He will never let us go (John 10:28-29). We therefore teach that our election is certain in our justification and our justification is certain through faith in Jesus.

Do you want to be sure that faith is still alive? Do not consult your feelings! Instead, confess your sins and receive Holy Absolution. Hear God's Word, always return to your Holy Baptism, and run to get the Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Through these, faith is safe. Thus, Jesus comforted His disciples by promising them that the Holy Spirit was coming to bear witness about Jesus.

Someone has called the Holy Spirit the "unselfish" person of the Holy Trinity (not that the other persons are selfish). The Holy Spirit doesn't call any attention to Himself, but only to Jesus. And true to form, Jesus isn't selfish, either, as He is always giving glory to the Father. Oh yes, the Father isn't selfish, either, since He delights in His Son.

The point here is that the Holy Spirit is always putting Jesus before your eyes of faith and this is what keeps your faith living and secure. Why did Jesus teach that the Holy Spirit would come to do this? In John 16:1 Jesus said, "I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away." Our eternal security comes from the Holy Spirit's constantly keeping Jesus in front of us. As long as that is going on, then we are 100% safe. Jesus taught this precisely so that we would not fall away from the faith.

God will never break His promise to be for us in Christ. At the same time, we are taught NEVER to desert Christ and His Word. The Word is that vehicle through which the mighty and comforting Holy Spirit works. We must therefore hold to the Word. Even when we are weak, completely aware of our sins, and discouraged, when we hold to the Word, then we are safe in the arms of Jesus. Then we know He has not abandoned us as we continue to hear the Word! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O King of glory, LORD of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Seventh Sunday of Easter)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Introit for the Seventh Sunday of Easter

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 13:1-3, 17-33; Luke 18:1-17

Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud. Alleluia. Your face, LORD, do I seek; hide not your face from me. Alleluia. Your face, LORD, do I seek; hide not your face from me. Alleluia. (From the Introit for the Seventh Sunday of Easter)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. One of the mysteries of the faith is that the LORD is a God who hides Himself. Isaiah 45:15 teaches, "Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior." He does it because people seek Him out of selfish motives.

Jesus told people not to tell others that He was the Messiah. After Peter correctly confessed that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus "strictly charged [the disciples] to tell no one about him" (Mark 8:30). Jesus said this because so many people wanted to turn Him into an earthly king. So once again: God hides Himself when people seek Him for all the wrong reasons.

The psalmist in Psalm 27 is not seeking God for the wrong reasons, but for the right reasons. He is in distress, so He cries aloud (vs.7a). He does not come to God in pride, but in humility; He does not come to tell God what to do, but comes seeking God's help (vs.8b). He seeks God's face for salvation (vs.1), and He seeks God's way to be his way (vs.11a). Again, he sought God out for all the right reasons. For these reasons, the psalmist is bold and right to pray to God to break out of His way of hiding Himself. The psalmist has strong faith in God's love and mercy in Christ to pray, "Your face, LORD, do I seek; hide not your face from me" (vs.8b-9a).

We should have the same faith and attitude towards God. Why? Because Jesus has made it plain to us that He came for sinners who know they need Him, for people who seek Him for all the right reasons. For those given faith, like YOU, Jesus reveals God as the merciful God, as the God of love. For you, God does not hide Himself, but has sent His Son so that you will know how to find Him every time--through His Son! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Teach me your way, O LORD. . . Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen." (From the Introit for the Seventh Sunday after Easter)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Acts 1:1-11

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:24-29; 12:1-16; Luke 17:20-37

[Jesus] said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority." (Acts 1:7)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. No one knows when Jesus will come again in glory on the Last Day. Only God knows. Over the centuries many so-called "Christian" teachers have claimed to know when the Last Day would be. But the LORD Jesus said, "It is not for you to know times or seasons [regarding the Last Day]." So whenever we hear someone going on about knowing when the Last Day will be, we must instantly conclude that they are a false teacher and not listen to their teaching.

This is consistent with other things our LORD taught. For example, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34). If any wisdom will keep us safe about Last Day predictions, then Matthew 6:34 is it. We have enough to focus on for today,especially since today is all we know we have on this earth! Luke in Acts 1 continues to teach us. The LORD Jesus before He ascended, led His disciples to anticipate the coming and pouring out of the Holy Spirit which happened at Pentecost for them and at your Baptism for you.

Once we have received the Holy Spirit and His gift of faith worked in us through Holy Baptism, then what? Jesus said, "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8b). So get back to when you were given the Holy Spirit at your Holy Baptism. Return to your Baptism every day. You have died with Christ and now you live with Him. And do whatever He has put in front of you to do. Befriend those around you. Get to know them and love them, and don't worry about when the Last Day will be. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

LORD Jesus, Your kingdom continues to be in our midst as You come to us now through holy water, holy words, and holy food. Help us to see that Your kingdom is a kingdom of suffering, but that through suffering, we will be prepared to enter into glory when You return on that final day; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Luke 24:44-53

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 11:1-23, 31-35; Luke 17:1-19

While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him. (Luke 24:51-52a)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. People easily get the wrong idea about the ascension of our LORD, which occurred 40 days after the resurrection and 10 days before Pentecost. The popular and wrong understanding is that Jesus was putting distance between Himself and us. With this false idea, then, Pentecost becomes a kind of "replacement theology" in which the Holy Spirit replaces Jesus on earth. In fact, just the opposite is the case. The ascension was a glorious event demonstrating Jesus' unlimited power. The ascension showed that nothing could ever interfere with Jesus' ability to be closer to us than ever before.

But the disciples did see Him ascend, right? Yes, they did, but Jesus did not permit this to imply that He would be limited, but rather to demonstrate power and authority, to show that the One ascending to heaven is unlimited. In other words, Jesus "sitting at the right hand of God the Father" in heaven is not a restricted physical location. Rather, it means that Jesus reigns everywhere, fully present with His people at all times and in all places.

The ascension proves the LORD has power to be closer to you than ever. Jesus knew the amazing gift that would result after the ascension. He once said to His disciples, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23). The ascension means that Jesus has kept this promise, and has the ability to make His home with those baptized into His life, death, and resurrection.

One more thing: Notice what the disciples did when Jesus ascended. The Word says, "And they worshipped him" (Luke 24:52a). To say that Christ is with us isn't just something we tell ourselves to feel religious. The disciples experienced the ascended LORD's reign as they worshipped Him. As we worship Him we, too, receive His Word and Sacrament. In this way we also experience His ascension power: He's right there with us, putting His Word into our ears, and putting His Body and Blood into our mouths. Ascension means that Christ has kept His Word to never leave us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our LORD Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for the Ascension of Our Lord)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Small Catechism: The Apostles Creed, Second Article, pt.1

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 10:11-36; Luke 16:19-31

And [I believe] in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our LORD, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. (Small Catechism: Apostles Creed, Second Article)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What does this mean? "I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my LORD," the explanation says. It is properly said that justification, God's declaring us righteous in His sight on account of Christ, is the central article or teaching of the Christian faith. It's true. It is incredibly important, but if someone does not know the person of Christ, WHO He is, then even the teaching on justification will be off.

This first part of the Second Article of the Creed is super-duper important. We must believe, teach, and confess, and trust and rely upon in our hearts and souls, the fact that Jesus is true 100% God and true 100% man. Everything of the Christian faith rests on this truth. Fourth-century Church father Gregory of Nazianzus wonderfully and accurately taught: "Whatever Christ did not become [or take onto Himself], He did not redeem." In other words, Jesus had to be as human as you are, taking your place, in order to save you. He had to wrap Himself in real human flesh with a real human brain and a real human soul. And because He was really human like you He was able to be your substitute in the eyes of God.

There is no negotiating here. Jesus is either completely a human being like us or He is not. Thank God that He was, and still is, but there's more. If He is merely fully human, and not fully God then our justification would still be in trouble. Thank God that He is also 100% God. As a result, He had the divine right and authority not only to take our place so that His life, suffering, death, and resurrection could be counted as ours, but also to forgive the sins of all people of all time. He can because He is truly God. Our Christology confesses that Jesus is true God and true man! Praise Him! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, You are the strength of all who trust in You, and without Your aid we can do no good thing. Grant us the help of Your grace that we may please You in both will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: James 1:22-27

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 9:1-23; Luke 16:1-18

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Our LORD Jesus Christ did not come into the world to save ideas and beliefs. He did not come into the world to save audio presentations and visual images. "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Timothy 1:15). I always recommend inserting ourselves at the end of this verse.

We can't reduce Christ's saving work to the saving of ideas, thoughts, and words, but of sinners, and sinners are real people with real lives--they live and move and have their being (Acts 17:28). They do things, they act, they impact the lives of others and the world. Jesus came to save these real people with real lives who do real things. So what happens when such people are saved? Their real lives are impacted, not just their beliefs. James is warning us, "For if anyone is a hearer of the word [only] and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at hi

mself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like" (James 1:24-25).

When the Christian faith is only a "belief" for someone, it is only a passing thought. But this faith that God creates in us through the Word holds to a strong and mighty Christ, and Christ is so strong and mighty that He affects our very lives. How does Christ do this in us? It isn't by looking into a dumb mirror, but by looking into what James calls "the perfect law, the law of liberty" (James 1:25).

This is a place in the Holy Bible where "law" does not mean strict convicting law, as in "Law" vs. Gospel. Here the word "law" refers to the WORD, and especially the Gospel! What is the only thing that gives you liberation from the bonds of your sin? The powerful Gospel of Christ! When the Gospel is yours, and your sins are forgiven through faith in Jesus, then watch out: Your faith isn't just thoughts and words, but real actions. You live for Jesus and you love those around you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O LORD, keep Your Church in Your perpetual mercy; and because without You we cannot but fall, preserve us from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Numbers 21:4-9

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 8:5-26; Luke 15:11-32

And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." (Numbers 21:8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. God sent the fiery serpents to the rebellious people of Israel in the wilderness. They were sent to bite the complaining and unfaithful people, to kill them. This was the wrath of God poured out at that time and place. In response to this judgement against sin, the people cried out. They came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that He take away the serpents from us" (Numbers 21:7a).

The LORD had mercy on the people and responded in grace toward those who cried out to Him in distress while confessing their sins. But the LORD demonstrated His grace in a really fascinating way: He told Moses to make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, so that when the people looked up to it, they would be healed (Numbers 21:8-9). Let's get this right: The image of the thing that was killing the people was going to save them. Hmmm.

Jesus told Nicodemus, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:14). We have our "fiery serpent," too, and it is just as deadly: our sin. So God did not change His method. He took the thing responsible for our death, our sin, and put it on the Cross. Jesus became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). He was our sin on the Cross. The thing killing us was now up high on a "pole," so that whoever would look at Jesus on the Cross would know what God had done with their deadly sin. It isn't on you anymore. Look up to Jesus, trust in Him, and rejoice. You're saved from your fiery serpents. They were nailed to the Cross of Christ. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

LORD God, our heavenly Father, You stood afar off, waiting to see Your prodigals appear at the gate. Then, running to us, You overwhelmed us with grace and invited us to sit at table, to rejoice at our homecoming. Help us to repent of our sins and strip us of every thought that we might merit Your salvation. Then bring us home to be with You at the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom which has no end; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our LORD. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: John 16:23-33

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 3:1-16, 39-48; Luke 14:25-15:10

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." (John 16:23b)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Today is Rogate Sunday, which is Latin for "Pray ye." As we continue to celebrate the resurrection of The LORD Jesus Christ, we gain important insight about prayer. Christians who are "in Christ" pray and pray and pray, so it makes sense that today's theme is "pray ye." It's what those who belong to the RISEN Savior do.

But what is the relationship between Christ's resurrection and prayer? In a very important sense, no one can call God "My Father" like Jesus can. Jesus is "begotten" of the Father, the only One in the universe with this distinction. That means that Jesus eternally progresses from the Father. He is One with the Father and extends from the Father with God's nature, power, and authority. This "extension" however does not make Christ subordinate; He is very God of very God. This is a theological progression, not a time-based one or a rank. In this sense, Jesus calls the Father "My Father" in a way that no one else can, and yet, Christ's resurrection even changed prayer for every child of God who is baptized into Jesus.

Jesus is our Mediator and will be forever, and yet at the same time, because our Mediator is so close to the Father, Jesus shares this closeness with you and me! You can now come to the heavenly Father directly in the Name of Jesus. Christ has won direct access to God for you! Jesus is our bridge to the Father (the WAY, John 14:6), and at the same time, Jesus wants you to know that His Father is yours, too. In John 14:26-27 He says, "In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." Heaven is now open to you, Christian. You can now pray directly to the Father. God listens to you because He listens to His Son who covers you. God answers you because He answers His Son in whom you're wrapped; and God loves to receive your prayers. So, pray ye! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter)

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Today's Reading: Introit for the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Psalm 66:1-2a, 17, 19-20; antiphon: Isaiah 48:20b)

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:21-33, 39-44; Luke 14:1-24

But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. (From the Introit for the Sixth Sunday of Easter)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Prayer is not magic nor is it designed and intended for the purpose of coaxing, convincing, or making deals with God. Prayer is rather the heartbeat of faith, the holy faith-generated language towards God. Prayer is also the work of the Holy Spirit in and through God's people who trust in the LORD. Sometimes He is the One interceding for us in prayers we can't even put into words (Romans 8:26). Again, it is not for changing God's mind, but it expresses the change we have received when God put us into the life, death, and resurrection of the LORD Jesus Christ through Holy Baptism.

Still, doesn't prayer, besides thanking and praising God, also ask God for things, whether they be for ourselves or others? Yes! Throughout Scripture prayer is asking. In fact, Jesus invites and commands us to do so! For example, "If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:14). Also, "And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). Furthermore, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:24).

So what's the catch? True prayer to God comes through faith in Christ, and faith in Christ always desires what Christ desires. Yet we still contend with our Old Adam, even when we earnestly pray. This means our motives are rarely pure. However, the key is to pray in the Name of Jesus for that which is according to His will (as we pray in The LORD's Prayer), and pray that God will turn your will to His This is so because there really is no other kind of prayer than those prayers which spring from faith in Jesus, when we pray for what Jesus wants for us. Yes, these will be answered every time, for our good and for His glory. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O LORD of grace and mercy, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to follow the example of Your Son in true humility, that we may withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds avoid ungodly pride; through the same Jesus Christ, our LORD, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:1-20; Luke 13:18-35

"[The kingdom of God] is like a grain of mustard seed. . . Strive to enter through the narrow door." (Luke 13:19, 24a)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The things of God and our salvation (being rescued from sin, death, and devil) are presented in humble ways, unimpressive to the world. This is the way God operates in the world. He lets the world have its own standards of what important things should look like. The world presents these things as glitter and gold to make them look grand and impressive to the human eye. Why? Because the world values the things of human pride and accomplishment, and human pride always thinks bigger is better and that more is always better than less. My wife, however, reminds me that "less is more." She's right.

So God goes the opposite way of human pride. He chooses humility as the sign of His presence for salvation, that which is far greater than the greatest things in the world. The Kingdom of God itself begins with a "mustard seed" (Luke 13:19), seemingly insignificant. As insignificant as when a 30-something Jewish man, a carpenter's son, was nailed to a cold Roman cross outside the city gates of Jerusalem. No biggie, just another execution of a convicted criminal, not exactly a sold-out concert of world-famous musicians where fans are going nuts.

And the entrance into this Kingdom is not wide, grand, and surrounded with strobe lights. It, too, is humble. It is narrow. It is as inconspicuous as a few drops of water, or some ordinary bread and wine,, because God doesn't want His holy things to be seen in the superficial "big" things in the world. The things of God only catch the eye and the faith of the humble; but the proud don't care about the things of God, and would rather get the catchy things, the "awesome" things that will turn to dust. But you've been baptized, Christian. So embrace humility in Christ, grab the mustard seed, and rejoice that you have entered the narrow door: Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O LORD, You have called us to enter Your kingdom through the narrow door. Guide us by Your Word and Spirit, and lead us now and always into the feast of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch