Tag Archive for: fic-series-power-gospel

Our treasure: the gospel: Part 6

/in ,

The gospel moves us to live as disciples of Jesus. 

Douglas C. Tomhave 

Trapped. Nine days in absolute darkness. Twelve boys and their soccer coach sat with little hope in a deep cave in remote Thailand. They were lost. It looked like the flood waters would rise even more. No one could escape. Time was running out. All they could do was wait and hope that someone would respond or that help was on the way.  

When a British diver emerged from the water into their darkness, he shined a small flashlight on the group. He asked if they were all okay. He said that help would be on the way. The light, to those living in the darkness, was blinding. But that light gave hope. That light meant rescue and life. 

Our rescue 

It’s a story that easily reminds us of our gospel rescue. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2). This prophecy made so many years ago by God was fulfilled. Jesus was the light that dawned. He rose up out of the waters of death and shined the light of his life onto a dying world. This rescue cost him his life. But his perfect life was exactly what he came to give. He actually lived as a sacrifice that God would accept. He conquered death to give life and hope to a dying people. 

Jesus said about himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Everyone who follows the light of Jesus will walk in darkness no more. They have been rescued and given the light that leads to life.  

This is your rescue too. Jesus’ light rescued you from certain death as his light shined on you through the waters of your baptism. Jesus says to you by faith, “Follow me, I know the way to light and life.” As a follower of Jesus, his light has shined on you and in you and changed everything. Not only has it changed where you are going, but it also has changed who you are until you get there.  

We become light 

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he described the change in us with these words: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). 

Jesus has completed his work here on earth. When Jesus ascended, his work of rescuing us was done. Jesus turned over the task of proclaiming the gospel of his complete victory to those who remained here on earth. Notice what Jesus says to his followers, “YOU are the light of the world.” When Jesus shines his light on you, you become a light to others. You have been chosen to be his light shining on a dying world  

I recently presided over the funeral of a pastor who served for a time as a missionary in Asia. As his widow and family made their way to the front of church, you couldn’t help but notice the man who came to sit right up front with the children. He was Asian, clearly not part of the missionary’s natural family. Yet with a smile he called himself, “The favorite son.”  

His contact with Christianity did not come from any formal missionary outreach or activity. His contact with the gospel came through the missionary’s Christian children who attended an international school. Through normal childhood activities, a friendship began. He was invited over to play and soon observed something different about this family. Over the years and experiences with the family, he saw the light of the gospel. He was included in their life, and eventually he became a Christian. 

His conversion was not received well at his home. His father was a Muslim, and his mother was a Buddhist. When he became a Christian, his father threatened him and disowned him. He was kicked out of his home for a time. He stayed with the missionaries and others until he was received back home. Even though the parents never converted, the young man’s father confessed about the missionaries, “You Christians know how to be better parents to your children.”  

Decades later, this Christian man flew across the country to be at the funeral with the family that shined the light of the gospel into his life. He saw their light—the light of Jesus—reflected in their lives. 

You are light 

Do you see yourself in this story? Jesus used the normal activities of children to shine his light into the darkness of a young man’s life. Jesus used normal family life to reflect his light to others that brought praise to his Father in heaven.  

Of course, Jesus accomplishes his work through missionaries, pastors, and teachers. That work needs our support, our time, and our prayers. But Jesus also accomplishes his work through the daily activities of his followers. You are in someone’s story.  

Jesus says, “You ARE the light of the world.” We need reminders to be who we are. You are the light of the world when you live your life as a Christian, whether you are a child playing in Little League or a parent on the bleachers, whether you are a senior in high school or a senior citizen in a nursing home, whether you are single in your 20s or a widower in your 80s, whether you have a house full of kids or are an empty nester, whether you are a recent convert or a lifelong Christian, whether you are an extrovert or an introvert. It may be in a conversation that stands up for the truth or a gentle deed that puts that truth into action. Your life is Jesus’ sermon to the world, letting “your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  

Stay close to Jesus. Be in his Word. Jesus will fill you with the light he expects to shine through you. Sometimes the results will be observable. Other times it may remain hidden. But all Jesus requires of you in life is to be a light in this world of darkness. Who knows what rescue Jesus is going to accomplish through you? Jesus may allow you to see what he is accomplishing even now through you. And when he returns, you will see it all clearly, and you will hear his voice announce to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant! . . . Come and share you master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23). 

Doug Tomhave is pastor at St. Paul, Lake Mills, Wisconsin.  

This is the final article in a six-part series on the power of the gospel.  

 

SUBMIT YOUR STORY

Do you have a manuscript, idea, or story from your own life you’d like to share for use in Forward in Christ or on wels.net? Use our online form to share it to our editorial office for consideration.

SUBSCRIBE TO FORWARD IN CHRIST

Get inspirational stories, spiritual help, and synod news from  Forward in Christ every month. Print and digital subscriptions are available from Northwestern Publishing House.

 

Author: Douglas C. Tomhave 
Volume 105, Number 10
Issue: October 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

 

Our treasure: the gospel: Part 5

/in ,

This treasure calls us back to Jesus.

Some wander away from God’s love—a few far away—but our heavenly Father never gives up on us.

Jonathan E. Scharf

“The voices don’t mess with me anymore.”

That’s what Grady told me. He had taken a detour in our conversation to let me know how much better things were. Grady had mentioned the voices once before—the first time we had talked. He doesn’t mention them often because he doesn’t want people to think he’s crazy. He just wanted me to know they weren’t a problem anymore. “Things are different now. The last couple months of our meetings and Bible information class and weekly worship and my reading routine . . . things are different now.”

The doctor told him those voices are called “auditory hallucinations.” According to the doctor, they are likely a side effect from past drug use. Grady just likes to call them “the voices.” And they played a part in his story.

The downward spiral

Grady’s dad had been a Baptist preacher, so Grady was in church every time the doors were open. But his dad quit and became a truck driver when Grady was 13. That was it. Grady hadn’t been back to church since, except for funerals.

He’s 36 now.

In the meantime, Grady confesses, “I’m pretty sure I have done every immoral thing you could possibly do.” And it had taken its toll. His body was suffering from addiction. His marriage was suffering. His family was a wreck.

The day he was planning to walk away from his wife and the two boys that mattered most to him, he got in the car and drove. Then something inside him told him to pray. Maybe it was a memory of the faith of his childhood or the influence of his dad. Maybe it was the prayers of his mom. But when he pulled over in Abiding Grace’s parking lot and stopped the car to pray, something happened. Grady says his steering wheel stopped working. The car’s wheels wouldn’t turn. So, he got out, pushed his car forward toward the parking stall, and started walking. He walked five miles to where he was staying, leaving his car diagonally covering a couple spots, a clear testimony that something wasn’t right. Whatever was going on, it prevented him from filing for divorce that day.

As Grady tells it, this was just the beginning of what God was doing. When he finally got around to coming back for the car with a trailer, the car started right up. The steering wheel worked fine as he drove the car onto the trailer. There was nothing wrong with it.

From parking lot to pew

Grady was raised not to even think about looking for help at church if you weren’t tithing. So when he came that day, he made sure he had some money. He brought $50 to give to the church as an “offering,” to thank us for not having his car towed. But the vicar wouldn’t take it. Grady tried to give it several times. He finally had to beg the vicar to get him to take it. “Vicar has no idea how important he is to me,” says Grady. “He has no idea what he did for me that day.”

Neither did Grady at the time. He left and drove away with his car, never really intending to be back. But, Grady says, “God wasn’t nearly done.” A couple days later, as the voices intensified, Grady tried to run away from them and instead ran into a pole. He remembers seeing himself laying in the back seat and then he opened his eyes on the helicopter. The next time he opened his eyes, he was in the hospital with a broken shoulder blade, a lacerated liver, several broken ribs, and more. Grady knew something had to change. His upbringing told him what.

So, there on that hospital bed, Grady promised God he’d go to church. And since he had just found one, he came to Abiding Grace. He wanted to go where they didn’t just want his money. This time, he parked in just one spot.

And his wife came with him. She wanted to support his efforts, so even though she never had done “the church thing,” even though she says she didn’t know anything about the Bible, she came too. They heard about forgiveness and rebirth. They heard about God’s grace that’s not deserved. They heard the treasure of the gospel.

After church, Tiffany asked if I did any marriage counseling. She knew they needed something, and she liked the hope in the message they heard that day. I told them I’d be happy to talk about what God’s Word says about marriage, love, and communication. There was one requirement, though: They had to come to church while we were meeting. They needed to be regularly reminded of God’s love in order to show it to each other. They told me they had already been planning on that.

Pretty soon, they were both in Bible information class and meeting to study God’s Word on marriage. Their boys were in Sunday school. They started devotions and prayers at home. One thing led to another, and soon Grady was sitting in my office telling his story because he wanted everyone to know that God never gives up on you.

I asked him about using an alias for the story, but he wouldn’t have it. He told me that as soon as I had called him to ask if I could use his story, he had called everyone involved and asked if they were okay with him telling it. “It’s an honor for me that you want to hear my story,” he said. “And hopefully my honesty will help someone else, because that’s the whole point of everything—to help others and pass it on. If not for divine intervention, I’d be dead already.”

A Father’s love

He’s right. If not for divine intervention, we’d all be dead. But “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus is the searching shepherd that leaves the 99 in the open country and goes after the lost sheep until he finds it (Luke 15:3-7). He joyfully puts that lost one on his shoulders and carries it home. He is the woman (Luke 15:8-10) who sweeps her whole house looking for that lost coin and rejoices with her friends and neighbors when she finds it.

Or consider the “prodigal” son in the story Jesus told in that same chapter (Luke 15:11-32). How quickly the son disposed of the wealth he had demanded from his father. Then consider all the little things, the “coincidences” that brought the son back to the father: the famine God sent, the irony of a Jew feeding pigs, the hunger, the memories. One memory pulled him home—his father’s love. Then, in that great undeserved love, his father forgave him and welcomed him as a son again.

Sounds a little like Grady’s story. Sounds a little like mine.

Jonathan Scharf is pastor at Abiding Grace, Covington, Georgia.

This is the fifth article in a six-part series on the power of the gospel.

 

SUBMIT YOUR STORY

Do you have a manuscript, idea, or story from your own life you’d like to share for use in Forward in Christ or on wels.net? Use our online form to share it to our editorial office for consideration.

SUBSCRIBE TO FORWARD IN CHRIST

Get inspirational stories, spiritual help, and synod news from  Forward in Christ every month. Print and digital subscriptions are available from Northwestern Publishing House.

 

Author: Jonathan E. Scharf
Volume 105, Number 9
Issue: September 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

 

Our treasure: the gospel: Part 4

/in ,

This treasure keeps our vision clear 

The gospel is a lifelong treasure that keeps us focused on Jesus. 

Kevin P. Westra 

I used to live near the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. When I first moved there and drove around the area and gazed at the beauty of God’s creation, I remember thinking to myself, I will never get used to seeing this beautiful scenery. I was surprised when lifelong residents didn’t share my excitement at seeing the mountains every day. I promised myself it would never happen to me. Well, after a few years of living there, the mountains were still there every day, and they were just as beautiful as always. But I didn’t always notice them.  

A missing treasure 

Can something like this happen to us when it comes to the gospel? Many of us grew up in Christian homes. We don’t really know a life that doesn’t have the beautiful treasure of the gospel in it. It is certainly a wonderful blessing. But it can also be something that Satan uses against us. It’s always there, always has been, always will be. We take it for granted. 

Sometimes we don’t appreciate that treasure until it is gone. Paul and Betty joined a WELS mission church in southeast Ohio. At one of their first Sundays there, the pastor announced that he was taking a call to another church. They liked the church and prayed that when a new pastor came he would preach that same gospel message that brought them there in the first place. They were not disappointed. Paul and Betty continued to worship there for many years.  

Changes in life—getting older and retirement—led them to move away from that town. They found a new home in a retirement village in another town. There was no WELS church nearby. They went to a church in town, one that was a denomination that they had been involved with in the past. Though they tried it for a while, they realized something was missing. Unfortunately, it was the clear preaching of the gospel. They were used to hearing about their sin problem and the only solution to that problem—their Savior—week after week. They were no longer hearing the message that for so many years had kept their vision clear and their life and hearts focused on Jesus. Instead they heard a lot of talk about society and politics. Something they were used to hearing every time they went to church was missing. The treasure of the gospel was no longer there.  

A treasured message 

The idea of living out their golden years without this treasure was both unappealing and scary. 

They called their former WELS pastor and said, “What do we do? We live over two hours away from you, and we aren’t getting the gospel here.” The pastor told them that they lived 60 miles away from another WELS church. Would they be willing to make that drive? They tried it out, and they found out the drive was worth it. They came almost every Sunday for a while, then age made it harder for them to make that drive so they tried to come on Communion Sundays. Eventually age made that drive too much as well, and they became shut-in members. But they were thankful to have a pastor and a vicar who regularly visited them with Word and sacrament and kept their eyes on the treasure of Jesus their Savior. 

During those years many situations developed in their lives. They had an adult son who lived only a few miles from their new church. He started coming, eventually took classes, and became a member. Shortly after that he was diagnosed with cancer, which eventually took his life. Another son who lived in a different state lost his job and his wife left him. He moved to Ohio with his parents and began looking to start a new life. He was then diagnosed with leukemia. He has since been baptized and started taking instruction classes. He continues his health battle. One year ago, Betty started having some serious health issues, and God called her home.  

Paul continues to get older, and his body is wearing down. He has moved to an assisted living home and has plans to move across the courtyard to a place that offers more care if he needs it and God continues to bless him with more days.  

On one of my visits with Paul, we were discussing all the challenges he has faced in his life. He made the comment, “I don’t know how anyone deals with all these things without Christ in their life. How do you deal with things like cancer, death, job loss, divorce, sin, and guilt without knowing Jesus? How do you live without that treasure?”  

A clear vision 

Paul and Betty’s life story is not much different from your story. Some of us may have more hardships in our life and some may have less. But we all deal with life and everything that comes with it. The longer we live here, the more challenges it seems we have to face. What a blessing it is to have the treasure of the gospel as we deal with all the things that life can throw at us. It keeps our vision clear. The Scriptures remind us so clearly, “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the author of our faith and the one who brings it to its goal” (Hebrews 12:2 Evangelical Heritage Version). We know life can be hard sometimes. But what a treasure it is to know that our sins are forgiven, our hardships here on earth are only temporary, and we have a home waiting for us in heaven. When we keep our eyes on Jesus and the treasure of the gospel, our vision is clear. In all of life’s ups and downs, the gospel keeps reminding us of the beautiful treasures we have in Jesus. 

Fourteen years after moving away from the mountains, I still miss them. The first several months that I lived in Ohio I would find myself looking toward the western sky, hoping to see the mountains. They still haven’t shown up. I didn’t always appreciate them when I could. Don’t let that happen with the treasure of the gospel. God’s gospel gift is here for you. It is here to keep your vision clear and to keep your eyes focused on your Savior, Jesus.  

As you think about what that treasure means to you, remember there are people who don’t know the message of their Savior. That treasure that is here for you is also a treasure to share with others.  

Kevin Westra is pastor at Beautiful Savior, Grove City, Ohio.  

This is the fourth article in a six-part series on the power of the gospel. 

SUBMIT YOUR STORY

Do you have a manuscript, idea, or story from your own life you’d like to share for use in Forward in Christ or on wels.net? Use our online form to share it to our editorial office for consideration.

SUBSCRIBE TO FORWARD IN CHRIST

Get inspirational stories, spiritual help, and synod news from  Forward in Christ every month. Print and digital subscriptions are available from Northwestern Publishing House.

 

Author: Kevin P. Westra
Volume 105, Number 8
Issue: August 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

 

Our treasure: the gospel: Part 3

/in ,

The gospel changes our outlook.

Aaron T. Mueller

The following letter with a sizable amount of cash was placed on my office computer keyboard a few months back: “Pastor, please gift this money to the family who has a past due account. I’m not concerned about the tax deduction, so there is no need to record this anywhere for my purposes. I know the parents have struggles. The husband loves the outdoors and allows it to take him away from worship. It may even be that the couple has the funds and simply prioritizes and spends them on other things. Sadly, I once was like that. It wasn’t until I met my [Christian] wife, came to church here, and got into the Bible that I realized how blessed we are by the sacrifice Jesus made. I like to think it is because of God and our church that I am where I am today. I don’t know if this donation will help this family reconsider the love we have for them as a church, and in turn the love God has for them in Jesus. I like to think it will. Either way, please anonymously gift this to them.”*

What makes the difference?

Wouldn’t you be humbled to find, open, and read that letter? The giver was selfless and generous. The gift had no strings attached. The funds were offered without any expectation of results. Yet most revealing of all was why it was given.

The donor recognized a major change had taken place in his own life. That change, by his own admission, was his whole outlook. So much had changed: his priorities, life habits, time allocation, financial giving, his attitude toward God and the Word, and even his dealings with other people. How did that happen? Paul wrote, “For Christ’s love compels us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). The cause was the good news about Jesus. The gospel made all the difference by revealing God’s forgiving heart for sinners in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It also created faith, faith that grasped that truth about Jesus.

Without that good news, there is no difference. Paul writes the same, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22,23). When it comes to sin, the whole world has it and is accountable to God for it. Apart from Christ, no sin-debt can ever be met before God. That means generous people without Jesus, in spite of their earthly generosity, are still on the path to hell. Kind letters and actions without the kind of heart God shapes by his gospel still earn God’s wrath. The powerful gospel makes all the difference between sin and grace, hell and heaven, death and life.

It is dangerous to be indifferent to the gospel. Peter modeled that very truth when he stood by the fire as Jesus was on trial. Warming the body at the expense of the soul never turns out well. But warming the soul with the power of the gospel will turn out well, because the gospel makes all the difference.

The difference it makes

The difference the gospel makes in our daily lives is like night and day. Having a police officer tail you with the lights on is a very different scenario than having a police officer flip the lights on to lead your car safely to the hospital. Having the Lord actively pursue you with the law is very different than having him lovingly lead you forward in life by the gospel. Knowing by faith how God deals with us in Jesus Christ winsomely changes our day-to-day thinking from worldly to spiritual.

Scripture drives that point home in various ways. While a thief on the cross suffered the punishment he deserved, Jesus led his heart and mind to see what was right in front of him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). When a paralytic was lowered through the roof and placed before the Teacher, Jesus lifted his soul right up to his heavenly Father’s forgiveness, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). When the Ethiopian eunuch heard the gospel, he wanted more of it. He said, “What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” (Acts 8:36). God’s people crave the gospel. They daily want to see heaven is their outlook through the forgiveness of sins Jesus won. Paul placed that same truth in front of the Philippians: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

Making a difference

The night-and-day difference shows itself in a joyful anticipation of heaven. Even more, it shows up on the calendar of events and priorities in our lives.

One of my elderly members frequently quotes her confirmation verses when I visit: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17). Those verses are set for her funeral text. It’s Jesus, not the world, who is to be her lasting confession. Even before she dies, she is confident she died to the world! She wants the miracle story told of how the gospel changed her thinking, her life, her will, and her choices. And it did just that. She raised her family in the Word and still daily reads the Bible. She gave one of her sons over to public ministry. Jesus was visible in her life and prioritized on the calendar.

By the gospel, Jesus is writing a very similar life letter to the world through your daily activities. Paul wrote, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God” (2 Corinthians 3:2,3). Can you see heaven in your future? Can that vision help you see the handwriting of God in your present? Take a look back over your years. Would your life letter look similar to the earlier one in this article?

We were all born apart from God. We confess with David, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). But the gospel changed us, and because of that our priorities also changed.

Growth is ongoing. Day after day, God works by his Holy Spirit in the Word to mature us, train us, and shape us for him and for his heavenly home.

And he’s not done. Until God puts his final punctuation on your life, let the gospel mark your life, your thinking, and your entire outlook. Make the gospel the difference.

Aaron Mueller is pastor at St. Paul, Howards Grove, Wisconsin.

This is the third article in a six-part series on the power of the gospel.

*Permission from the letter’s author was given for this article.

 

SUBMIT YOUR STORY

Do you have a manuscript, idea, or story from your own life you’d like to share for use in Forward in Christ or on wels.net? Use our online form to share it to our editorial office for consideration.

SUBSCRIBE TO FORWARD IN CHRIST

Get inspirational stories, spiritual help, and synod news from  Forward in Christ every month. Print and digital subscriptions are available from Northwestern Publishing House.

 

Author: Aaron T. Mueller
Volume 105, Number 7
Issue: July 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

Print Friendly, PDF & Email