Afraid

I wonder why I’m so afraid of trusting? Is it God’s fault for making me this way? Is it something I did? Is it something I didn’t (or don’t) do?

I’ve read the Bible admonishments to “trust in the Lord.”

But how do I do that? And why am I afraid to do that?

It isn’t as if the Lord God Almighty, creator of the heavens and the earth, hasn’t done anything to earn my trust. (And I’m sure He’s greatly relieved to hear that He has earned my trust! By the way, that’s a little sarcasm on my part. Thank you to Susan Isaacs who taught me that “sarcasm is a viable form of communication".”)

Yes, God has earned my trust. He’s given me a wonderful wife of 19 years, three wonderful sons, a brother, mother, father, grandparents, friends. He’s gifted me to be a teacher and preacher – which I’ve been able to make a decent living with for 15 years. He gave me coffee and a sunrise most mornings that touches my heart in unspeakable (unwritable?) ways.

So why don’t I trust Him in all things?

I mean, I know I’m saved and my sins are forgiven by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I know I’ll spend eternity in the presence of Jesus and in heaven and all that. That isn’t my problem.

My problem is now. What about now? How can I trust God to get me through this month?

Someone will tell me to “just do it.” Heck, I’ve been that someone to other people. You can slap me now.

But, in my defense, there is some truth in that. We just have to do it. I just have to trust that God will provide, will take care of me. I mean, what alternative do I have, really?

I just wish, sometimes, that He would hurry up.

LiveJournal Tags: Ed Blonski,trust,fear,afraid,Jesus Christ,God

Leadership from the Biggest Brother

Here’s an excerpt from a book I’m writing right now. The time is ripe for a book on Leadership in our world. I’m looking at the leadership qualities of a man who led an elite unit of men in the U.S. Army in World War II. My intent is not to glamorize war, far from it. But the horrors of war brought to the forefront qualities of leadership in these men in the 1940’s that our world could use today.

Dick Winters looked to the west as the C-47 headed south and east toward the coast. The sun was setting here. It was still shining back home. It was lunchtime at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania. It was dawn in California. It was quiet back home. But where he was – at Upottery Field in England, it was very busy in the failing light of June 5, 1944.

Winters was the last one on the plane and he would be the last one to jump out. He was part of the first stages of the largest invasion force the world had ever seen. He was scared but he did his best to keep his fear under control. He had been training for nearly two years for this moment. All those runs up Currahee at Camp Teccoa. All the exercises under the leadership of Herbert Sobel, C.O. of Easy Company, Robert Strayer, Battalion Commander and Robert Sink, Regimental Commander made Winters and the men of Easy Company tough, confident, and ready to do what they were called upon to do – nothing less than save the world from the evils of Nazi Germany.

Richard Winters was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and grew up in nearby Ephrata. He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1941 with a degree in business; while in college, Winters painted electrical towers for extra money. There was nothing special about him, at least nothing we would associate with being special. He was just an ordinary man.

Dick Winters enlisted in the Army in the summer of 1941, thinking he would get his one year required duty out of the way and then get on with his life. December 7^th changed all that. After basic training he entered Officer Candidate School and upon graduation and commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant, he volunteered for paratrooper training. He was made executive officer in Easy Company – the group of men who would forever be known as “The Band of Brothers.”

On D-Day, when the CO of Easy Company – Thomas Meehan’s – plane was shot down and all aboard were killed, Winters became the CO.

Winters was gifted by God with leadership. This would be put to the test throughout France, Holland, and eventually Germany.

Dick Winters would later identify qualities of leadership. It was these qualities that caused the men under his command to follow him into bloody battles that would become vital to bringing victory to the Allies in World War II.

LiveJournal Tags: Ed Blonski,Band of Brothers,Leadership,World War II,D-Day,Easy Co.,Leader

Thy Will Be Done

This four-word phrase from the Lord’s Prayer is the key to all prayers. It takes the focus of our lives off of ourselves and puts it where it belongs – on God (He’s the “Thy” in the phrase).

Sometimes when I pray, I give God my “shopping list.” Ok, I’ll admit it – almost all of the times when I pray, I give God my “shopping list.”

The shopping list usually goes something like this:

Dear God, please keep my family safe. Heal those I love who are sick. Help me financially. Don’t let anything bad happen to me or my family.

And on it goes. I ask God for stuff. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – God wants us to ask for stuff as “dear children asks their dear father” (Luther’s Small Catechism).

I think most people pray like this. We ask God for stuff for our lives. We ask God for the stuff we need – like daily bread. We ask God for the stuff we desire (Psalm 37:4) – like a new iPad.

Lately, however, I’ve been feeling a little selfish praying this way. I hope I don’t hurt the feelings of those I have (and continue to) pray for who need heeling and comfort.

I need to pray more like Jesus, who said “your will be done” (Matthew 26:39-44). Jesus prayed for people and and for stuff, but with the understanding that not everything He was praying for was God’s will for Him.

It may not be God’s will that I have an iPad (but I hope it is, at least someday soon). It may not be God’s will that healing happens. Or it may. I don’t know. But I will pray “your will be done” because I know, and I believe it with all my heart, that God will bring about the very best for me (Jeremiah 29:11).

I’ll still pray for stuff (like that iPad) and for daily bread and for healing for my family and friends that need healing.

But my prayers will end with “Your will be done.”

LiveJournal Tags: Lord's Prayer,Prayer,God's Will,iPad,Small Catechism,Bible,Jesus Christ

Let’s Talk

Where would we be without communication?

I might argue that we’re in this mess (sin) because of a decidedly lack of communication between Adam and Eve.

We need to communicate. With each other and with God.

But there is good communication and bad communication. Could I also add, lazy communication?

Good communication is what God has with us. He communicates clearly His love for us in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Bad communication is what the devil uses against us. He lies, just as he did to Eve, “Did God really say…?”

Today there are so many different ways to talk to other people.

Twitter. Facebook. Myspace. Email. Texting. Instant Messaging.

There really is no reason or excuse not to talk to people. We are more accessible than ever before.

But it is also true that more and more people can hear what we say – even if we never intended to be heard by so many people.

Now, maybe more than ever, it is important to mean what you say and make what you say count!

LiveJournal Tags: communication,Facebook,MySpace,Twitter,God,Jesus Christ

Mowed Down by God

“He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth.” – Psalm 72:6

Mowing my yard where I grew up was a chore. We had a pretty big back yard. It would take about 2 hours to mow the whole yard with a push-mower. I would divide the yard up into sections because that seemed to make things go a little faster. I guess it’s the sense of accomplishment that achieves this effect. First I would mow a square section right in back of the house. Then I would get the section adjacent to that all the way back to the property line in the back of the yard. Then I would move to a sort-of square in the back corner. Finally I would get the section next to the garage. As I was cutting this last section, it’s shape reminded me of the state of Nevada.

Every Saturday I would have to mow the grass. Not much has changed. Each week I have to mow the grass at my own house as well. In the early Spring I do a silly thing. I put down lawn fertilizer and the result is that when it rains I end up having to mow the grass twice a week.

In Psalm 72, the “king” is compared to a rain failing on a mown field. Walking in a yard that has been newly mowed and after a rain is an exhilarating experience. A quietness seeps over you. Birds sing softly in the trees as water drips from the leaves. Taking your shoes and socks off, you walking through the wet grass and you can feel the life between your toes.

The “king” of Psalm 72 possibly two kings. First King Solomon. He is noted, in most Bibles, as the author of this Psalm and it is a prayer asking God to bless his reign. The second king could be the “King of kings.” Jesus Christ is seen all over the Old Testament, especially in the Book of Psalms. This Psalm could be outlining some of the attributes of Jesus as Messiah-King.

Jesus is like a shower on a newly mown field. He waters and feeds us with His love and blessings. He sustains us with His life-giving showers as He forgives our sins. He takes care of us. At times we must be “mown” – a rather violent treatment that is beneficial for growth. A lawn that is not regularly mown grows to a certain point but then begins to choke itself. God, in His perfect justice and love, disciplines us – “mows” us. And Jesus in His perfect salvation and love showers us with forgiveness and blessing.

“You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it.” – Isaiah 45:8

LiveJournal Tags: Jesus Christ,God,mow,grass,Psalms,isaiah 45

Change

The day dawned clear and bright. Cool but not yet the promised cold of autumn was in the air. It was a Wednesday. The sound of geese honking filled the crisp morning air.

But there was a sound missing. At first it went unnoticed. But after a few minutes, it became clear that this Wednesday was unlike any Wednesday in America for many decades.

The sound of jet airplanes did not fill the morning sky. Living near a metropolis like Chicago this was unnerving.

It was September 12, 2001.

Nearly 3000 people had died the day before in New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. The iconic skyscrapers of the World Trade Center were gone, having been replaced by a smoking hole that smelled of burning death.

They say that America changed on September 11, 2001. And for a while they were right. No airplanes would fly for a week. Professional baseball was put on hold for a couple of days. Ministers planned prayer services and memorial services all across the country – some working together with those they wouldn’t even think of worshiping with on September 10.

America did change on that day. September 12, 2001 was a very different day.

But would it last?

Looking back nine years later, there are some things that have changed but most others did not. Places of worship were full(er) on September 15 & 16, 2001, but most did not see a repeat of that attendance the following weekend. Air travel and baseball had resumed. People went back to work, back to school, back to living a “normal” life.

Yes, air travel had changed. Now you can’t bring a bottle of water through the security check point and you have to take off your shoes. We’ve gotten used to the color “orange” in the last nine years.

But other than that, I don’t see that much has changed.

Which leads me to the question, “What does it take to change the lives of people today?”

A great triumph like winning a war or a great tragedy like September 11, 2001 cause a pause, but do they really enact true and lasting change? If they cannot, what can?

The answer is paradoxical. The answer is ironic. The one thing that can enact true change is Jesus Christ, who is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

The one who does not change – Jesus, the Son of God – is the only one who can bring true change to a person’s heart and life.

Many thought that 9/11 would bring lasting change to American lives. That the attacks would turn peoples’ hearts back to God and that the places of worship would be full once again. The American memory recalls that this is what happened after December 7, 1941, and V-E Day and V-J Day.

But unless the heart is broken to repent of sin and turn to the everlasting peace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this change will not last, and for most will not happen at all.

Be the change you want to see in the world. Not even tremendous and horrendous acts like 9/11 can bring true and lasting change. But the one more powerful than anything in the universe can.

Jesus Christ brings change because He brings forgiveness of sins. Through the truest love in the universe Jesus died on cross to pay the price for all our sin. On that day – the first century’s “9/11” – true change came on the following Sunday. Places of worship weren’t filled like they were following our 9/11. It wasn’t a full place but an empty place that brought terrific change to the world – the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. He rose from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity.

And Jesus loves you with a changeless – and life-changing – love. That will bring true and lasting change to your life.

© 2010 True Men Ministries, Inc.

LiveJournal Tags: change,9/11,Jesus Christ,September 11

Open the Door

In Genesis 19, the two angels that had accompanied the Lord as He visited Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18) went on to Sodom and knocked on Abraham’s nephew Lot’s door. 2000 years before Jesus is born, Lot shows hospitality to these two strangers – not knowing they were really God’s angels. He showed great hospitality to them, and the Epistle to the Hebrews has this in mind when it tells us of one of the basic missions of our Christian faith.

Showing hospitality to strangers is how we can show the love of Christ to others. Most likely, there has been a time that a stranger has knocked on your door. How did you respond? Did you show them hospitality?

What did you do when you found out that the stranger was a Mormon on his mission trip? What did you do when you found out that the stranger was a Jehovah’s Witness on her mission trip?

I know of people who slam the door in their face. I know of people who yell at them that they are going to hell! I know of people who tell them, “I’m a Lutheran and I believe in the Bible” and then get into a bit of a theological argument with them.

These may not be angels from God. They may just be ordinary people who happen to disagree with what you believe about God. But does that mean you can’t offer them a cookie or a muffin or a cold drink of water on a hot day? You may not want to hear about the Mormon Church or hear that the end of the world is coming. But does that mean you can’t offer them a chance to get out of the hot sun into a cool home and sit for a couple of minutes and rest?

I do not agree with Mormon Theology about Salvation. I believe that a person is saved only by faith in Jesus Christ – True God and True Man – and His death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. (http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2708) I disagree with Mormon Theology that salvation is conditional (http://www.mormonwiki.com/Plan_of_Salvation) and that “God is a glorified, perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing, resurrected man.” (http://www.mormonbeliefs.org/mormon_beliefs/mormon-doctrine-salvation)

But does that mean I slam my door in their face when they come to my house? No! Jesus said to love all people. He spoke and ate and listened to those He disagreed with. And sometimes Jesus was able to change their minds and their hearts by sharing the Truth with them. The Truth is not a door slammed in the face. The Truth is love and compassion that opens the lines of communication. Truth is best shared through hospitality!

Two young men or women, wearing black pants and white shirts and ties may knock on your door this week. Or someone from across the street may stop by to say hi. You can slam the door in their face or you can open your door, show them hospitality and share the love of Jesus with them.

Open those doors and share the love!

© 2010 True Men Ministries, Inc.

LiveJournal Tags: Jesus Christ,hospitality,sharing,evangelism,Mormon