After all the commercials, mailings, calls, texts, and negative rhetoric the presidential election is over. This does not mean that everyone is happy with the results.

As followers of Jesus, we have a destination towards which we are headed: heaven.

We read in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” But when you can’t see how God is working through all things for the good of those who love Him, perhaps you’ve prayed something like this: “Dear Lord, I know that You know what You are doing, but can You help me to see what You’re doing in this situation in my life?” 

This weekend’s Gospel reading tells us about Jesus’ disciples James and John asking that Jesus would grant their request that one would sit at His right and the other at His left in His Kingdom.

When the other disciples heard about it, they were upset.

This weekend’s Gospel reading is about a man who came to Jesus wanting to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life. He was encouraged by Jesus to sell everything he had, give the money to the poor, and follow Him. The man went away sad because he had great wealth. The issue for the man was the difficulty in letting go and letting God.

We’ve entered October, and with a new month comes a new Mission of the Month: Lutheran Braille Workers. As stated on their website (lbwloveworks.org), “Lutheran Braille Workers exists to bring the Word of God to the 338 million people throughout the world who are blind or visually impaired …. In over 80 years of ministry, Lutheran Braille Workers has produced and distributed over 15 million volumes of Christian material, in 40 languages, to people in 164 countries. LBW has never charged a recipient to receive these materials as we believe in freely sharing God’s Word!”

This weekend, we’re finishing our series of messages based on sections from James with a message I’m titling “Prayerful Patience.” Patience, or forbearance, as it is sometimes translated, is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed by St. Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. I must admit, there are times when that fruit might be very evident in my life, and others not so much. For instance, I find myself becoming increasingly impatient when I am watching my favorite sports teams losing games, sometimes due to mistakes which I feel should not be made.

Ever since the Seattle Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970, I have been a fan. There have been more non-playoff years than playoff years, and so now that the Brewers have become the first team this year to win their division and reach the playoffs again, I am very happy.

This weekend’s message will continue our “Membership Has Its Obligations” series based on the epistle of James. Our focus will be on edifying speech. As James points out, none of us is perfect in this regard. But that doesn’t mean we simply say, “Well, I can’t help it.” What we can’t do, God can. “All things are possible for him who believes,” as Jesus points out in this weekend’s Gospel reading. But the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification (making us more and more like Jesus in our attitudes and actions), is a life-long process.

Today (Thursday, August 22) is the first day of our school ministry’s 2024-2025 academic year. Each year, a Bible verse is chosen to be the theme for the year. This year, it’s Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”

During our worship services for the next few weekends, we’ll continue to go through the final chapters of Ephesians, focusing on unity. Sometimes we think that unity means everyone must think the same, do the same things, and maybe even look the same. Christianity’s view of unity is much different.

When taken together, the Gospel readings for the next two Sundays (Mark 6:30-56) give a picture of how we as followers of Jesus can easily go through highs and lows, all the while being surrounded by the consistent perfect love and care of Jesus.

Have you ever spent a lot of time, effort and money on something only to end up asking yourself the question: “Was that really worth it?” That might even happen when it comes to following Jesus and seeking to walk in His ways. You do all the right things and then, bam!, something completely changes the course of your life.

Read a devotion written by former Lutheran Hour Speaker Pastor Ken Klaus from July 4, 2017, titled, “For He Is Good,” based on Psalm 107:1, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!”

We sometimes find ourselves in situations in which we wonder, “How can this possibly by God’s will?” We may even ask questions like this: “If God is all-knowing and a God of love, why would He allow this bad thing to happen?”

Joy is a major theme in the Scriptures – something that God wants us to have. It is listed in Galatians 5 as a fruit of the Spirit, right after love. Those who have joy also know how to rejoice in the Lord. Imagine what it would be like to have no joy in life.