Tag: serve

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Those Who Protect Us

Dear Lord,
Thank you for those who put their lives on the line to defend our country and to protect and serve our communities. We take for granted the protections they provide us with as citizens and overlook the sacrifices so many make in our place. Allow your guardian angels to watch over those in harm’s way and limit the dangers they face. Minimize any injuries they may sustain while serving and grant them quick healing and recovery when they do. Keep them strong in mind and body so they are alert and ready at all times. Free their families and loved ones from worry and anxiety while they serve and fill them with peace. We are grateful for all they do on our behalf. May we express that gratitude and thanks to them often.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Hold Firmly

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(Titus 1:5-9)

Last week, at the start of this Meaningful Ministry (aka, gospel-geared, Savior-like service) series, we began with the reminder that our efforts will not always be appreciated by everyone. In fact, we can expect our efforts to be opposed, sometimes with even great effort. Nevertheless, we carry on with ministry because it’s what God calls us to do. 

Now we find the confidence we need in remembering whose authority backs our ministry, and where we find that authority. As one pastor writing to another, Paul reminded Titus that “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (v.9). Therefore, as we continue to consider what meaningful ministry looks like, we must cling to the truth that meaningful ministry is that which holds firmly to the trustworthy message. Meaningful ministry holds firmly to the Word.

If I may say so, although the title of this post is “Hold Firmly,” some of you are, quite frankly, holding rather loosely to the Word of God. That might hurt a little bit to hear, but if so, thank God that his Word – specifically the law – is doing what it is supposed to do. We might be inclined to push back against such a statement (because after all, what about all the others who are not reading this or who don’t regularly attend church?!?), and to do so wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But those Christians not reading or listening to sermons aren’t alone in their loose grasp on the Word of God – there are plenty more right there with them who have a rather soft grip on the Word. 

That can happen if Sunday morning worship or reading the occasional sermon online is about as engaged as one ever gets in ministry. If there is one thing that believer and unbeliever alike know about Christianity and Sunday mornings, it’s that Sunday mornings are for worship. While the unbeliever obviously doesn’t see any need to be there, the danger for the believer is to see worship as the bare minimum in his affiliation with the church. Yes, one of the greatest blessings God has given to his church as it carries out meaningful ministry is the blessing of worship; but even that blessing can become a bottleneck to anyone who severely shortchanges ministry by defining it as nothing more than going to church. Such a view is a soft grip on the Word. 

Imagine an actor just showing up for the performance. No study of the storyline or character. No rehearsing lines or any thought on how they might be delivered. Or an athlete just showing up for the games. No practice. No drills. No preparation or game-tape on the other team. Very few could pull either off, and to do so with such little effort beforehand not only reflects poorly on the craft, but also fails to set a high standard or raise the bar in that field.

Why would Christians settle for mediocrity in our ministry, settling for less than our best in carrying out Christ’s calling? Why would some idea of minimal means of grace involvement ever be satisfactory? No, we want to practice like we play. Prepare. Be in the Word. Deeply.

There is great reason to hold firmly to this Word of God. We do so because through it God sends us and serves us. Meaningful ministry is our lot, not because we wisely figured out on our own that Jesus might be good for people to know about, but because Jesus sends us, just as he sent his disciples. They went out with his backing, with his authority. And they went out not because they were qualified in and of themselves, but because they were called. He was the one sending them.

He is the one sending you. Not because you are qualified in and of yourself, but because you were called. You carry out ministry with his backing, with his authority. That started when he made you what you are today, when he gave you your most precious status and title: his. You belong to him. You are his. He made you his when he paid with his life and then gifted you with the faith to believe it. 

I most commonly close my emails with that very signature, “His.” It reminds me of the title that carries more weight than any other ever could. My worth and my value and my significance and my purpose are all wrapped up in the One to whom I belong. In a very real way, one of the simplest little hymns many of us ever learned to sing as children still holds dear in our hearts: “I am Jesus’ little lamb, ever glad at heart I am.” I have different titles. I have various responsibilities and roles. Like an umbrella over them all at all times is the precious truth that I am his – and I always will be. 

And he, dear friends, is the One who sends us. When we forget that bond, that relationship, and all that God did to establish it, ministry is less meaningful. That is when it becomes a job, nothing more than a series of tasks, as if the boss just gave you a list of things he needs you to get done. To lose that bond, that connection with our Savior, and allow it to fray, easily turns ministry into misery. I think you’d agree that Miserable Ministry would be a significantly different sermon series. So remember why we hold firmly to this Word: it is a constant reminder of the One who sends us.

It is also the way he has chosen to serve us. This might be the most significant hurdle that keeps many Christians away from more meaningful service: a willingness to continue to be served by God through holding firmly to the Word. Remember, ministry is gospel-geared, Savior-like service. Another reminder: you are incapable of carrying that out on your own. It must be worked into you through the Word. So there is no, “Jesus did this for me, and now I’d like to graduate beyond that and get busy with all of the work of his kingdom.” No, there is only, “Jesus did this for me, and now he will do this through me.”

So we do not busy ourselves with church work while avoiding church Word & worship. They are inseparable. Service is prompted by being served, and if I don’t have the humility to continue being served a steady diet of Word and Sacrament, then my service will be short-lived and running on fumes in no time. It will become about me. It will become a burden. It will burn me out. It will turn me against other Christians as I begin to resent them for not doing what I’m doing. When I am at that point, I fail to notice how much I have come to resemble Martha, begrudging the others who are too preoccupied with the Word in worship and Bible study to actually do the work to which we’ve been sent.

At that moment we are reminded of why it’s so essential to hold firmly to the Word: my jaded heart daily needs its forgiveness and renewal. In the Word alone do I find what my heart longs for: grace for my misguided ministry that somehow turned what is God’s around and made it all about me. That joy of salvation renews me, taking my me-minded ministry and making it captive to Christ. His sacrifice and salvation for me prompts my sacrificial service to others for the sake of that same salvation. It makes ministry meaningful again.

When I hold firmly to the Word of God at work in all of this, I see that same Word of God at work in me. 

In these verses, Paul laid out quite the list of qualifications for ministry to Titus. While this standard of expectations certainly applies to all Christians, there is an especially important reason Paul emphasizes it for a pastor: because the pastor is understandably associated most directly with God and his authority. As one called by Christians to serve them with the gospel in Word and Sacrament, he is God’s representative. But just as surely as all of these qualifications apply to all Christians, so does the call to hold firmly to the Word of God apply to all Christians. 

In fact, without this final point in this section of Paul’s words to Titus, what precedes is purposeless. Why? Because apart from the Word at work in us, there’s no innate desire to embody the qualifications Paul lists, nor is there any ability to carry them out.

Take note of how Paul refers to the usage of teaching and doctrine, which as often as not seems to get a pretty bad rap – even within the church these days. Many view doctrine as divisive (despite the reality that it is actually what unites). Many view doctrine as a hindrance to Christian living (despite the reality that Christian living flows from it).

But see how Paul touches on it! He uses the word “encourage.” To remain faithful to the Bible’s teachings, to hold the view that doctrine is so very important and matters greatly – this is encouraging. What is discouraging is to see it downplayed, to hear the point of view that only the Jesus and salvation stuff really matters, and we can politely agree to disagree on all the other stuff. The problem with that view is that all of the “other stuff” flows from the Jesus and salvation stuff; it isn’t some add-on or take-it-or-leave-it a la carte menu. It all ties to Jesus, and for that reason, it is encouraging, as Paul maintained. 

So hold firmly to that Word of God – all of it. Our Meaningful Ministry will be blessed as we do so. For it is through the Word of God that he sends us and serves us. And as he does, he will serve us and equip us with everything that we need to carry out faithful, meaningful ministry.

God Calls Me to Love and Serve My Neighbor

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(Luke 10:25-37)

It’s a modern re-telling of the story Jesus told, but without the happy ending. About ten years ago now, Hugo, a young homeless man from Guatemala, was stabbed on the streets of Queens, NY.  He had intervened to help a woman escape from an angry man and was stabbed in the process. After stumbling for a bit, Hugo fell to the ground bleeding. Tragic as that was, the account which was all caught on camera, gets more troubling when it reveals what happened over the next hour. One individual came upon Hugo, bent down on the sidewalk to shake him, and even moved him enough to see the pool of blood beneath him. He then walked away. Another two men saw him, talked about him for a bit, and even took a picture of him. Then they walked away, too. One passerby after another walked past, glanced his way, and kept right on walking. Hugo laid their dying for an hour before anyone called the police, at which point it was too late. Experts and psychologists have attempted to offer rational explanations for why no one helped a stabbed man, but they all seem to fall short, leaving us with the ugly reality of how easily mankind is inclined to avoid his vocation, his calling, to love and serve his neighbor. 

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that this is the type of story Jesus told to convict an expert in the law that his take on God’s call to love God and neighbor missed the mark. This story from Jesus, perhaps as much as any others he tells, makes us uneasy. We’d feel a lot better if Jesus had told a story about a cheating husband or a murderer or a liar or any number of other bad things that bad people do, because it’s easier for us to pretend we don’t belong lumped together with those kinds of people. But this one leaves us uncomfortable. This one doesn’t really leave us any easy loopholes by which to escape. It’s pretty clear when Jesus illustrates what it looks like to love and serve my neighbor, that I have neglected my neighbor often. 

And it’s not that we disagree that it’s important to help others. I don’t know too many people – believer or not – who would disagree that we ought to love and serve our neighbor. Most would agree that we’d all be better off as a society following this approach. So if so many people agree about it, then why isn’t it happening? The reason is profoundly simple, and I want to challenge you not just to hear it – don’t just listen for the reason – but take the lead in addressing the problem. You want to know what the problem is? We all agree that our vocation, our calling, is to love and serve our neighbor. In fact, we’re so much in agreement with the statement, that we spend most of our time monitoring how well everyone is doing it.

That’s the problem. How do we address it? Do it yourself, rather than living as if your life is a permanent stakeout, observing the lives of others while overlooking the neighbor you could be loving and serving right next to you. The world doesn’t need more arm-chair quarterback Christians, making it their business to assess how well the world is neighboring; the world needs more Christians – the world needs you – to step up your game in carrying out your calling to love and serve your neighbor. 

Admittedly, there is a HUGE obstacle that gets in the way of our serving our neighbor. The challenge with this obstacle is that we carry it with us everywhere we go: it’s our heart. Proverbs 20:9 asks, “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?’”  Since the Fall, our hearts have been hijacked by the prince of this world, and even though we belong to God by faith, our hearts still betray us and commit treason, serving the prince of this world instead of the Prince of Peace. Frankly, it shouldn’t surprise us when we struggle to love and serve our neighbor if our hearts, the very source of that love, are sour. Here are three ways that sour hearts stain loving service to our neighbor.

One: we prequalify those we are willing to help. When it comes to credit cards, no one likes to have to take the extra step of prequalifying. Credit card companies know this. It’s why you get all the junk mail for new credit cards that advertise that you’ve been prequalified for their latest, greatest card. Yet we prequalify those who need our help all the time. We have certain standards or expectations or opinions on those we’re willing to help. If we decide someone is taking advantage of unemployment, shame on them – they’ll get no help from me. The homeless drifter I am convinced is probably just going to use anything he gets to support his addiction will get nothing from me. The single mom who had children outside of marriage made that choice and now has to accept the consequences – don’t look to me for help. We prequalify all the time. We determine whose need is worth our time, when the better way is to see any neighbor in need, and take advantage of the time God has given us to meet that need.

A second way our sour hearts stain loving service to our neighbor: the motivation behind our service. What is prompting me to serve my neighbor? Is it genuine love for my neighbor, to meet her need at that specific time and place? Or, is it love for self, to feel better about doing something nice for someone? Or, is it a greater concern of other people’s opinion of me – that others take note of my kind actions? Is it a matter of quickly addressing what is perceived as merely an inconvenience for me? How often is my motivation so pure that it is nothing but genuine loving compassion for my neighbor that prompts me to love and serve him? Not very often.

This has a direct impact on the third way our sour hearts stain loving service to our neighbor: the extent to which we help. This deals with the wrestling match between helping to actually meet someone else’s need or to meet my need to feel good about helping someone. I’ll help meet someone’s needs… to the extent that it’s convenient for me. When that is the case, I am less concerned about whether or not what I offered actually helped the person, and more concerned with feeling good about having done anything at all. But real sacrifice, when it puts me out, when it takes more time than I have, when I have to return to square up the bill like the Samaritan? That is rare.

Then, in addition to these three heart issues, we Christians also have an escape clause that acts as a catch-all to get out of meeting my neighbor’s needs: we justify our neglect of others’ needs by reminding ourselves that Jesus is more concerned about people’s salvation and souls than he is their temporary needs. But why do we pit one against the other when Jesus clearly calls us to care about both? Did Jesus ever take anyone to task for feeding the hungry, telling them, “Stop that – they need spiritual food more than physical food. Don’t waste their time with silly things like hunger”? Or on the flip side, did he ever take anyone to task for talking about sin and grace and faith and forgiveness, saying, “Stop that – they don’t need all that religious talk; what they need is a hot meal”? No, Jesus says to do both, so why do we pit one against the other instead of looking for the countless opportunities he gives us to do both? 

Don’t be so shocked by any of the above – it’s all just a reflection of how corrupt our hearts are in a fallen world – so much for “people are basically good!” Yes, we’re pretty good at making sure our exteriors are nice and polished… as long as you don’t dig beneath the surface! No, don’t be shocked by the ugliness of what’s in here; be shocked by something else – that Jesus came to love and serve hearts like that! 

Wouldn’t it be something if the Samaritan did something else? Wouldn’t it be something if he tracked down the Levite and the priest and offered them some random act of kindness? How would we feel about the Samaritan if he reached out and helped those schmucks? It might make us bristle a bit. We’d cringe.

Until we connect the dots and realize that is our situation. Jesus was much more than a Good Samaritan; he is a perfect Savior. He didn’t just come for the left-for-dead on the side of the road; he came for those who heartlessly passed by the left-for-dead on the side of the road. He came to save sour hearts and souls. He came for you and me. Jesus is the solution David begged for in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a pure heart, O God.”  Through Jesus, he did! No more sour hearts; our hearts are pure! Take up the invitation extended in Hebrews, “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience…” (10:22)!

Friends, if that doesn’t change your heart, I am at a loss as to what possibly can. If the reality of the absolute best – Jesus – giving himself for you at your absolute worst doesn’t soothe your sour heart and cause it to start beating with an unyielding and relentless desire to pour yourself into loving service for others, then I am out of ideas. That’s all I have. I can’t drum up some inspirational, moving story that can ever pull at your heart strings like holy Jesus giving himself for heartless us. Rather than desert or ignore us, he mercifully rescued us. And we weren’t even his neighbor; we were his enemies! 

But not anymore! Now we are his friends. For eternity. Forever. What do friends do? They love and serve each other. Jesus continues to love and serve us with his Word and Sacrament to provide us with peace and forgiveness and gush over us with grace. How do we love and serve him? By loving and serving our neighbor. By loving and serving his other friends, the other souls precious and dear to him, the other souls for whom he died, the other souls with whom he longs to spend eternity. And no, you don’t need to wait until someone is left-for-dead to love and serve him; just look for someone who has a need – any need at all – and lovingly meet it as you’re able. THAT is your calling.