10-18-2024

Good Morning All,

     Micah 7:18; “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?  He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.”

    I remember when I was growing up.   I used to watch old movies after the 10:00 news.  There was a length of time when they used to show the old Charlie Chan movies.  He was a detective with the Honolulu Police Department. The interesting thing about those movies was you always knew when Charlie found a clue by the way he would raise his eyebrow when he saw or heard something.  Then at the end of the movie, he would explain each clue and how it pointed to the murderer.

    The Bible gives us many clues about God.  As we read it, God uses the Bible to reveal himself to us.  This is one of the purposes of the Bible.  It reveals to us who God is.  The Bible isn’t necessarily a history book, although it contains some history; it only contains the stories by which God chooses to reveal himself.  As we read the Scriptures the very nature of God is revealed to us. 

    Many believe that in the Old Testament, we have an angry God.  What is really revealed is a just God who punishes wickedness and sin.  Yet to a much greater degree we see a patient God; one that waits hundreds of years for the people to repent and when they don’t; even through the punishment, God shows mercy and saves a remnant of people to continue on.  When God flooded the earth, he kept Noah and his family.  When the Israelites were taken into captivity, God saved a remnant of the people. 

    God continually was remaking the covenant with his people and each time the people failed to keep their part of the deal.  This occurs over and over.  God keeps coming to his people and they keep turning away.  Until finally, God the Father provides for us the ultimate payment for our sins.  Jesus came and took our place so that we could be saved from eternal damnation.  Through this God reveals his nature; he reveals his steadfast love.  He reveals the merciful love of God.  We don’t earn it or deserve it.  God gives it to us freely.

     This is the message throughout all of Scriptures from Genesis through Revelation; we see God’s love coming through.  We see wherever man becomes involved, pain and suffering abound but then God reveals his nature and we receive the blessings of God; his peace, his forgiveness, his tender love and mercy.  The Psalmists write about it; the Prophets write about it, the Gospel writers write about it, the authors of the Epistles write about it.  The single clue throughout the whole Bible is that God loves you.  He calls you by name, he sealed you as his chosen child in baptism, he nourishes you through his Word and sacrament, he listens to your cries of joy or sorrow and through it all he pours out his Spirit upon you to guide you and keep you safe.

     All this we receive because God loves us even when the world tries to make us feel lonely and forgotten; God is always with us.  We can trust in God’s mercy, in his steadfast love, forever.

Dear Father in heaven, your love and grace abound in our lives.  You daily and richly bless us in all that we do and have.  Keep us safe in your loving arms and draw to you those who are lost in this world’s snares.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret