Green Pastures With Jesus--Shepherd of the Lakes Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church

Unfaithfulness. Disobedience. Idolatry. And more. Israel had not been the people God called them to be and they were now facing captivity in Babylon, destruction of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. And yet God was faithful. "Comfort, comfort" he tells his people. He still called them his own and called himself their God. He would still keep his promise not to destroy them as his people but keep them so that the promised Messiah would still come. It is this faithful God we look to for comfort in our sins, knowing that when he comes back we shall not be afraid of him because of our sins. But, we shall welcome him and look forward to him because we are his people through our Savior!

Advent is the start of a new church year. Just as we ended the last church year we begin this one--looking at and preparing for the return of our God. But how can any sinner stand before God on that day and expect to be saved?! This is why we love Christmas! Because he came to us before, when he comes again we don't have to be worried!

God does not distribute his grace based on what we do. Our works cannot earn more favor in this life or for the next. We have no right to expect more blessings in this life or more favor with God for the next just because we think we do more or do better than our neighbor. God distributes his gifts and grace according to his own will and pleasure. And the standard for everyone is the same: through faith in Jesus. Through faith in Jesus is the only way to salvation, and through faith in Christ we are all equal in God's vineyard, working in his Church.

Can you imagine if God only had a little forgiveness to hand out to you? Neither could Jesus. And so as those who live for and like our Savior, can you imagine having only a limited amount of forgiveness to hand out to your fellow man? Neither could Jesus. We forgive freely, gladly, and always just as our God does for us!

The concept seems easy. Watchmen would stand on the city walls or in towers in the walls or outside the city and watch for danger. The watchman really was the first line of defense as he watched everything that was going on all the time. It was important to watch at all hours. And if he wasn’t doing his job or paying attention, then the city was in danger. People could get hurt or worse, killed and destroyed. Ezekiel was given the job to stand on this metaphorical wall and let the people know that danger was coming for them if they did not turn from their ways and repent, turning back to God before they died in their sins. And still today, he gives us fellow believers are given as watchmen. Watchmen who love because God first loved us. Watchmen who love you too much to let you live in sin and endanger your soul. Watchmen to remind us of the great lengths God has gone for our souls, to remind us how precious they are to God and how God would have them return to them so he can continue to grow their faith in the gospel of their salvation.

A building with no foundation is no building at all. It's dangerous and bound to fall and crumble. And so what is our foundation? It's Jesus. It's the grace of God through Jesus in the work he completed for us. That foundation is the only one, the foundation to defend you from every evil attack from the gates of hell.

The Church has stood for thousands of years built on Christ. It has stood through persecution, through false doctrine and heresies, through schisms, and through the all the guilt that the devil can muster to accuse us of sin. With Christ we stand, through persecution and into eternity, through schisms as we find Christ and his teachings in Scripture, and through the devil's lies by pointing to our foundation, not buried in the ground but resurrected and ruling above.