Tuesday, September 25, 2018

ONE IS ENOUGH



        Sometimes all it takes is one: one point, one mistake, one person, one answer or one day late. Just one can make it all bad, or one can make it all good. It all depends on which one.
        A week ago, my two teams showed the importance of one. On the same day, September 16, the Denver Broncos beat the Oakland Raiders by one point, 20-19, and the Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants by one run, 3-2. Today’s games were very different. The Broncos lost by 13, and the Rockies won by 2, but sometimes all it takes is one.
        God’s Word tells us it took one sin to rebel against God, and that one sin turned into many more, enough to condemn the whole world. Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, broke their covenant with God with just one sin. What people did as a result of that one sin, destroyed a perfect world and brought death to all.
        Centuries later, God gave the world a solution. His one and only Son Jesus would sacrifice His one life for the sins of all others. Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome, “For if many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many.” (Romans 5:15)
        One sin by one man brought death to the world. But one perfect life sacrificed once on the cross of Calvary brought life to all who believe that this one resurrected man, Jesus, is the Son of God.
        What one thing or person has changed your life the most? What one has made your life the best? It doesn’t usually take many things, just the One which is right. God’s gift to us in Jesus is the one that is always best.

With Jesus as our Savior, “One is Enough.”

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

Monday, September 17, 2018

GOD'S GIFT OF REST


        I am often asked, “Are you keeping busy these days?” It’s usually asked by people being friendly or interested, although some may hope I will say I am bored and wish I was back at full-time work. Others may hope I will rattle off a whole list of fun things I’m doing, to prove that retirement is good to achieve as soon as possible. 
        Some folks just keep going and going. Yesterday I met an 83 year-old pastor who is still working and traveling and preaching and telling others about Jesus through a ministry he founded many years ago,  the “Lutheran Heritage Foundation.” This ministry publishes Luther’s Catechism and dozens of other books on the Bible and Lutheranism in dozens of languages for distribution around the world. 
        People tend to associate value with activity. If we hear someone who is involved in all kinds of activities, inside or outside their career, it may make us feel they are living a more worthwhile life. It might even inspire us to take on additional activities.
        But God values us whether we’re busy or not. While He is pleased when His people serve Him by sharing His Gospel or helping people in need, or encouraging the discouraged, God doesn’t place value on us just by our being busy. He loves us all, no matter what.
        But if we are busy, we need to take time to rest. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” It isn’t necessary for us to be active all the time. We are God’s valued and loved people even when we are resting or taking a break. Jesus taught His disciples to take ample rest from their work, even when the needy crowds became a burden. 
        What are you busy with these days? Does it accomplish very much? Would you invite Jesus along with you in your task, or would you be embarrassed that He showed up? What kind of burden might you give to Jesus to make your day easier? Do you just need some rest?

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

P.S. Check out www.LHFmissions.org and give them a financial hand if you can. Pastor Robert Rahn can use your help.

Monday, September 10, 2018

WHY FORGIVE?


        Yesterday in our worship service we heard, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19) Sometimes the affliction can be so grievous, that when we are delivered, just living each day can be overwhelming. Then we must be able to forgive those who’ve hurt us.
        In her book, Left to Tell, Immaculee Ilibagiza survived the 1994 Rwanda genocide by hiding ninety days in a small bathroom with seven other women. The women were Tutsi, Rwanda’s educated minority, and they were hunted by the majority Hutu people during the Rwanda rebellion. Immaculee’s parents and brothers were hacked to death along with nine hundred thousand others who died during that terrible tribal war.
        Amazingly, it was a Hutu pastor who hid the eight Tutsi women in his home, and his own adult children did not know they were there. Immaculee survived those terrible days on minimul food and constant prayer. Emerging from her tiny cell, she weighed only sixty-five pounds.
        When brought face-to-face with the Hutus who murdered her family, she forgave them. A Tutsi officer handed her a gun to kill them, but she would not even curse them or spit on them. She said she would rather forgive them because she did not want her bitterness toward them to hinder her from living the rest of her life.
        Immaculee said it was her Savior Who gave her the ability to forgive them and move past her terrible afflictions. Her constant prayers led her to see Jesus at work in her life. She knew she was also a sinful person, but God showed her the value of faith and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit helped her triumph over her afflictions and move forward in life.
        When we forgive others, we first are blessed. Forgiveness releases us from the pain of the past. It is a blessing from God that goes both ways.  
Could you have forgiven as Immaculee did?

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

Monday, September 3, 2018

FICKLE CHANGE

        Today is Labor Day, a U.S. national holiday held the first Monday every September. Unlike most U.S. holidays, it is a celebration without rituals, except for shopping and barbecuing. For most people it simply marks the last weekend of summer and the start of the school year. The holiday’s founders in the late 1800s were looking for two things: a means of unifying union workers and a reduction in work time.
        On September 3, 1967, the people of Sweden discovered how much work it is to change an old law. It was the day they changed their law of driving on the left side of the road to driving on the right side. It resulted in chaos on a scale rarely seen.
        The day of change had been advertised as “H Day” for over a year in advance. “H” stood for “Högertrafikomläggningen” which translates to mean “The right-side traffic conversion.” That day the traffic jams were numerous and humorous. Swedish drivers snarled traffic in cities and smashed into each other on country roads. Some drivers had forgotten about the change, and others hadn’t heard of it. Still others simply resisted the unwanted change and paid the price.
        A logo had been designed that was a large “H” with an arrow inside it moving from the left to the right. The country had been attempting to implement this change for over 40 years, and some had even composed songs played on media so the people would know about it. Despite many preparations, accidents and traffic mayhem reigned in the country for several days.
        People resist change or new customs because we are accustomed to our old ways. Even the word “accustomed” tells us how important “customs” are to us. Changing worship customs can drive members to another church, and change of government leadership can cause people to be resistant to new laws or those elected to enforce them.
        The Jewish leaders in Jesus’ time resisted new things, often violently. Early Christians were punished, jailed and sometimes killed for speaking of Jesus. Jesus Himself was condemned to crucifixion by Roman and Jewish leaders because His new message undermined their old ways.
        Jesus said, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins… But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” (Mark 2:22) Citizens may struggle with change that is needed, but Christians do not change what is essential – our faith in Jesus Christ and the customs surrounding His Lordship. Change should have a useful purpose, not just be to conform to the world’s fickle impulses.
What are you often tempted to change that is essential?
Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com