A NEW NAME FROM GOD

         During the 1970s and 1980s, thousands of refugees came to America from Southeast Asia, a result of the Viet Nam war. Congregations all over were asked to help sponsor families or individuals, and my congregation sponsored a family of eleven from the country of Laos.
        Ly and Chanh Keohavong stepped off the plane in Fargo with their nine children one cold February day, and the children immediately wanted to know what the cold white stuff was under their feet. The following months were filled with many “firsts”: snow, first big house, big car (station wagon), English school, first shopping for groceries and warm clothes.
        One of the firsts for me was the baptism of ten in one service. Chanh soon had a baby whom I was asked to name. I named her Sarah, and later found that they had hoped my wife and I would adopt her, a custom among larger Lao families.
        They eventually moved to New Orleans, and I heard little of them until recently when Sarah, now mother of two, emailed me. She and I are in contact now and have renewed our special relationship. Sarah means “mother of nations,” (Genesis 17:16). She is the only child I have named other than my own.
        In Isaiah 43:1 God says, “I have called you by name; you are mine.” In Baptism, God gives us the name of His Son, CHRISTian. Our new name has the promise of a special relationship with God forever. What wonderful news for all nations!

Thank You, O Christ, for giving us Your holy name.

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

HELP FROM GOD'S WORD

        The longer one lives, the shorter life seems to become. It’s an obvious realization, of course, but it should move us not only to rejoice in each day as it comes, and also be ready to meet our Lord in case it is our last. 

        A week ago the residents of Hawaii heard the announcement that a nuclear armed missile was approaching their islands and would be there in minutes. Fortunately it was a false alarm, but hearing it greatly jarred the Islanders from the safety of their normal lives. It must have taken hours and even days, to shake off their fear and trembling.

        Similar events can also cause us to be badly shaken. Fires that burn homes and mudslides that bury people, terrible auto accidents that take lives, loss of badly needed jobs when stores close, multiple murders by a neighbor or a dozen children imprisoned in squalor by their parents. Any of these can shake a person to the roots. 

        An aged pastor, speaking privately to friends, related how depressed he was when his native Germany was destroyed by war. He’d been part of the Hitler Youth, but realized he was duped by the Nazis. He moved to Canada, studied to become a teacher but felt his life empty, and he became fearful of nuclear war. Coming to America, he idolized President Kennedy, but was devastated by his murder as well as that of Martin Luther King. 

        “The music of the sixties almost destroyed my soul,” he recalled, “but God saved me through a Bible verse.” It was Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’.” Realizing this truth of Jesus and praying for guidance, he entered a Lutheran seminary and became a pastor, serving several decades in the Midwest. 

        Recent governmental politics may be disturbing, but the passage I heard a pastor read yesterday at worship was helpful: “What business is it of ours to judge those outside the church? Stick with those inside the church. God will judge those outside.” (1 Corinthians 5:12-13). The Bible is full of God’s promises, reminders that His compassion never fails, but is new every morning.

Thank You, Father God, for Your justice and mercy.

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.come

THE DIFFERENCE ONE LIFE CAN MAKE

            What difference can one life make? John Howland was one of 100 people who made it to the New World on the Mayflower, arriving in November, 1620. But Howland almost didn’t make it. An indentured servant, he was working topside when a swell pitched the ship and Howland fell overboard. He managed to grab a line dragging in the water and barely made it to safety.

            After surviving the winter that killed half the Mayflower passengers including John Carver to whom he was indentured, John Howland married Carver’s ward, Elizabeth Tilley. They were blessed with 10 children and 77 grandchildren.

            Today their descendants number over one million and include such individuals as poets Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, painter Amy Otis, actors Anthony Perkins, Maude Adams and Humphrey Bogart, and two presidents, George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush.

            What if John Howland had drowned instead of being rescued? Or if he and his future wife hadn’t survived that first winter? Truly, one life can make a very big difference for the future of a people.

            We can also say the same of Jesus. What if He hadn’t risen again, or what if He hadn’t lived at all? What then would be the state of the entire world? But God in His mercy planned that Jesus would be born as a human being and would be the source of blessing for people of all time.

            “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might be adopted as His children.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

One Person can change the course of the whole human race.

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Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

THE RIGHT PRESCRIPTION

        Like many others, I spent time in the pharmacy line to make sure I have my pillbox refilled. Certain meds are for taking in the morning and others in the evening. About half are prescriptions with names I can’t pronounce and the others are over-the-counter items. All are expensive, so I’m thankful for insurance. 

        I used to think my wife took too many pills, but now I have surpassed her. Regardless of any inconvenience, I appreciate them because they keep heart and other organs working well. Each medication has its purpose and each has its own effect, and I’m amazed they don’t work against each other more often. 

        A pharmacist told me some meds “fight” each other, so he spent the last ten years of his career developing a company to help people, especially the elderly, make sure their meds cooperate and won’t cause harm or cancel out the effects of others.

        Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just to take one pill that fixed everything? No more forgetting to take several kinds or trying to find the best price or being shocked at the cash register. How nice it would be to have just one prescription.

        But perhaps Christians have it already. God has blessed us so that sinful human beings have but one solution - Jesus our Lord - to fix everything. His sacrifice on the cross covers all our sins, from the least to the worst, and best of all, Jesus paid the full price for our sins. 

        Eternal life with God costs us nothing. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) That’s God’s promise, and God always keeps His promises. 

We may have many problems, but need just one solution, Jesus.

Rev. Bob Tasler, www.bobtasler.com

LIVING EACH MOMENT

      Happy New Year! Are you grateful for anything special on this New Year’s day? I am grateful to be able to live another day in another new year. May your new year be filled with wonderful blessings as God continues to allow us to live in our amazing world.

The longer we live the more it seems time goes by more quickly, and that is actually true. Albert Einstein discovered time goes by more quickly if we are at a higher altitude above the earth. Other scientists proved his theory true. Using the most accurate atomic clocks known, they showed that clocks run faster if they are raised up by just 12 inches.

Living in a basement, then, would help us live longer, at least in theory. But anyone thinking a lifetime in a basement is the secret to longevity will be disappointed. Living our entire life there would add just a quarter second to an 80 year life span. That’s about the time of a tiny sneeze.

Better, then, that we should live upstairs, enjoying life and all the blessings God brings us in the sunshine. May your new year be filled with sunshine as you live in “the year of the Lord’s favor” (Isaiah 61:2). May you find peace and joy each moment of your day with Jesus, your Lord and Savior.

Thank You, Jesus, for all the blessings You’ve given us.