NEW WINESKINS

Matthew 9:16-17 - “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

John the Baptist had a few disciples left, and though he had baptized Jesus and called Him, "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," (John 1:29), John still wasn't quite sure whether Jesus was the Messiah. So he sent his disciples to Jesus asking, "Why is it You and Your disciples don't keep all the Jewish laws?" (Matthew 9:14, paraphrased) Despite knowing all he did about Jesus, he was unsure of Him because He didn't follow all the rabbinic laws like all the other "good Jews."

Jesus uses a word picture to answer them. "No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made." (Matthew 9:16) He went on to say the entire piece of clothing needs to be replaced. He said the same about putting new wine into old wineskins - a new wineskin must be used.

Jesus is saying He is the new garment, or the new wineskin. He has come into the world to provide for people what the old, rigid and stale ways can no longer provide. If Jesus was required to live by the same old rules about prescribed eating, washing, fasting, and praying, He would not be able to complete the task God had given Him.

Today we may wonder about new ways in the Church, new liturgies, new hymns, and new expressions of worship. We must take care not to think the old cloth or old wineskin is the only one we can use. The important thing is that the message, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is present. HOW the Gospel is packaged is far less important than what is in the package. The Good News of Jesus can be explained in many ways. Jesus makes everything new, and for that we thank Him eternally.

Jesus, help us worship and serve You in all kinds of ways. Thank You! Amen.

BLIND CHANG SHEN

Chang Shen was a terrible man, known as Wu So Pu Wei Te, meaning "one without a particle of good in him." Gambler, womanizer, addict and thief, he had driven away his family, and when he was stricken blind, people said it was judgment for his evil ways.

In 1886, Chang heard of a missionary hospital where blind people were healed, so he traveled hundreds of miles to the hospital, only to be told every bed was full. But the hospital took pity and gave him a bed. When Chang’s eyesight was partially restored, he heard about Jesus for the first time. "Never had we a patient who received the gospel with such joy," reported the doctor. 

When Chang asked to be baptized, he was told, "Go home and tell your neighbors that you have changed. I will visit you, and if you are still following Jesus, then I will baptize you." Five months later, the man arrived at Chang’s home and found hundreds of people learning of Jesus, so he baptized Chang with great joy. 

Chang was now totally blind, yet he traveled from village to village, witnessing to hundreds about Jesus, praising God even when cursed and spat upon or attacked by dogs. He learned most of the Bible by memory and could quote entire chapters from the New and Old Testament. Missionaries followed him, baptizing converts and organizing churches.

When the Boxer Rebellion arose in the late 1890s, Chang was taken to a cave for protection. In a nearby village Boxers rounded up fifty Christians for execution. But a resident said, "You’re fools to kill all these. For every one you kill, ten will spring up while that man Chang Shen lives. Kill him, and you will crush this foreign religion."

The Boxers promised to spare the fifty if someone would take them to Chang. When it appeared the Boxers would begin killing them, a man found Chang and told him of their plan. "I’ll gladly die for them." Chang said. 

When he arrived, he was told he must worship Buddha. "I can only worship the One Living and True God," he declared. So the Boxers put the blind old man in an open cart and drove him to the cemetery for execution. As he went, he sang the first Christian song he had learned at the hospital.

"Jesus loves me, He who died Heaven’s gate to open wide; 

He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in." 

At the cemetery, Chang cried, "Heavenly Father, receive my Spirit!" He was beheaded, and the fearful Boxers burned his body and fled the village. The remaining local Christians were spared, but before the year’s end, 135 missionaries and their 53 children were martyred, along with hundreds of Chinese Christians who would not deny their Lord. Blind Chang's witness, however, led to the conversion of thousands and still lives in the hearts of believers today who repeat this story to others. 

Would we be willing to do what blind Chang Shen did for His Lord?

WHAT AN AMAZING LIFE!

Carol and I enjoy watching documentaries about different countries. With today's amazing photography, it's almost as good as being there. We recently watched "Wild China," a fine series live-streamed into our home via Netflix. We've also enjoyed watching other series that show us about the amazing world we live in. 

And we can do it so easily. Just punch a button or two on a small remote control, wait a few moments, and here comes the show. We watch it on a modern flat-screen TV, sitting on easy chairs in a comfortable home in such a lush and green time of year.

How fortunate we are to be living in a free country with plenty of food and water during this amazing time of history. We could easily have been born a couple of hundred years ago, on the barren Steppes of China, or with our mother wearing a burka, or trying to raise our family in a drug-ridden town in Mexico.

We can now take an Icelandic Air non-stop flight to Reykjavik for about the price of of good set of tires. If I don't feel well, there are a dozen places to get excellent medical care within a half hour of our home. The news tells me if I have a few spare million dollars, in a few years I will probably be able take a space flight, even at my age.

We have no control where, when or to whom we are born. The fact that we have been born at this time, in this place, with these privileges and rich blessings ought to make us fall on our knees every day and give God thanks. Instead, we'll probably get angry at Washington politicians, worry about our loved ones or grumble about our aches and pains.

I think most every one of us ought to consider writing God a long letter of thanks that we are alive today. Your life may not be quite what you want it to be, but you are alive, and that makes you richly blessed. Many people who lived just a century ago would have given all they had to live the life we have lived.

Instead of disappointment over what we don't have, let's be grateful for what we do. The poorest American is richer than 75% of the rest of the world. A Christian child has more blessings to come than a child born into a Buddhist or Hindu or Moslem family. 

"O give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever." (Psalm 136:1)

WILLING TO DIE FOR?

What are you willing to die for? For what cause or person would you be willing to sacrifice your life? That's a good question to consider today, because this Memorial Day weekend is set aside to remember those who have died in the Armed Forces of our nation.

What are you willing to die for? You might ask that of Hilbert Schauer who grew up in Kansas during the dust bowl depression. Being from a large family, he saw the hopelessness that came from crop failure, banks closing and dust sifting through the cracks and into the home. It hit his family most terribly when Hilbert's father died from dust pneumonia, leaving a large family behind.

When America was attacked in WWII, Hilbert entered the Army and was commissioned an officer in charge of a company of black soldiers. Though he'd hardly even seen a black man before the war, he was now ranking officer in a company of them. 

And hardest of all, their task was munitions disposal. His company was there to get rid of unexploded bombs, shells, grenades and anything else that blew up. Many in his company including some officers, died in the course of their duties, but Hilbert made it through the war okay.

He became a lawyer and then was appointed a district court judge, and eventually even a judge in the Colorado Supreme Court where he served many years until he retired. I am certain his response to the question, "What are you willing to die for?" would have included a variety of answers. Hilbert is a fine Christian man and a fellow member of my church. He helped to establish three Lutheran congregations in the Parker, CO, area.

Maybe another question we might ask is, "What was Jesus willing to die for?" Would the people He died for be the good people, the noble, the well educated or the wealthy? Or would He also be willing to die for the poor, the sick and the sinners? 

We know that answer to that one. Jesus died for us all, the rich or the poor, the wise and the wise guys, the good guys and the bad guys. Jesus was willing to die for them all. And that includes you and me!

That ought to make our Memorial Day a little brighter. 

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC

It was 8 AM as the young man stood next to a trash bin at a train station playing a violin. Dressed in jeans, T-shirt and baseball cap, for the next 45 minutes he expertly played six classical pieces as 1,100 people passed him by on their way to work one morning in Washington, DC.

Of all who passed by, only six people stopped to listen for more than a moment, and they were mostly children whose parents forced them to move on. Only one man stood and listened for several minutes.

No one knew that the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro station was Joshua Bell, one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on a near-priceless violin once owned by virtuoso Fritz Kreisler. Just two days before this, Bell had sold out a Boston theater at $100 a seat. That day a few folks tossed change into his violin case and kept moving.

This true story happened in 2007 as an experiment by a local newspaper. Joshua Bell, 44, is now the musical director of St. Martin In The Fields of London. He played the finest violin music by Bach, Brahms and Max Bruch on his 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius violin for which he paid nearly $4 million. And almost no one stopped to listen.

In such an ordinary setting at an inconvenient time, would you have noticed the beauty you had heard? I am ashamed to say I probably would have kept walking also.

If we do not have even a moment to hear one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written on the finest musical instrument ever made, how many other excellent things are we missing in life?

"Sing a new song. Shout and play beautiful music." (Psalm 33:3)

THE GOOD STEWARD

Just before returning from Arizona, Carol and I drove out into the desert to see the giant Saguaro cacti in bloom. Native only to the Sonora Desert, the Saguaro is the largest of all cacti, growing up to 50 feet high, weighing up to two tons, and living 150-200 years. It can only start to grow from seed, unlike most other cacti which can take root from parts just stuck in the ground.

The Saguaro uses desert moisture wisely and thrives where others will perish. Its large white blossoms open on top of the cactus arms, and when pollinated become juicy red fruit for birds and animals. They can also be prepared in special dishes by the Tohono O'odham (People of the Desert), a native American tribe of the Sonora.

A few years ago, the Desert People built a casino in Maricopa. Their relatives, the Akimel O'odham (People of the River), built a casino just south of Phoenix. I recently wrote of how some things are not what they seem, which is especially true of a casino. People go in thinking they will be winners, but they end up losers. It is a rare casino visitor who comes away winning more than was spent. Most stay until all their gambling money is gone.

Some will say, "No problem - it's just a for fun."" I personally believe life would be better without casinos. Yet, if you enjoy gambling for fun, go ahead - it's your choice. But if you think you will come out a winner, think again.

St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:23, "All things may be lawful, but not all things are helpful, and not all lawful things build you up."(paraphrased). Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should. Legal or lawful actions still need right motives and purposes.

All our blessings come from God, and He wants us to be good stewards. A good steward works hard to earn a living, investing wisely, and using what has been given to help others in the best way.

May God move us all to be good stewards of what we've been given.

GOD IS NEVER WRONG

There is a story told of a nobleman who went hunting with his Christian servant who had been witnessing to him by telling him of the goodness of God's plans. During the hunt, the nobleman was attacked by an animal and lost a finger from his hand. He angrily told his servant, "If God is good, I would not have lost my finger." The servant replied, "Despite this, sire, I can only tell you God is good. He knows why this has happened to you." In a fit of anger, the nobleman had his servant imprisoned.

Awhile later the nobleman went hunting again and this time was captured by pagans who practiced human sacrifice. Just before being offered on a pagan altar, it was noticed the nobleman was missing a finger, so he was let go. He did not meet their religious requirement that a human sacrifice must be sound of limb and body.

Upon return to his escape and return to his castle, the nobleman had his servant released and told him, "Your God is good, for I was spared." He then added, "But why did He allow you to be put in prison for a year?" The servant replied, "Sire, if I had not been in prison, I would have gone with you, and I would have been sacrificed, for have all my fingers!"

You and I may complain about our life and the negative things that happen to us. But we must remember that nothing is random for those who believe and trust in Jesus. Everything has a purpose, so every morning, offer your day to God. Ask Him to guide your actions, inspire your thoughts and ease your negative feelings. 

St. Paul tells us in Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Do not be afraid, for God is never wrong!