tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post1872788584317879572..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Occupied with joy. . . Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-40953664171121072852022-01-10T16:32:46.355-06:002022-01-10T16:32:46.355-06:00Larry: one of your best!Larry: one of your best!Padre Dave Poedelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033503960196272783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-3417334317465399442022-01-08T16:36:04.666-06:002022-01-08T16:36:04.666-06:00Wonderful blog, Pastor.
Sunday morning Liturgy is ...Wonderful blog, Pastor.<br />Sunday morning Liturgy is indeed the high point of my week.<br />Granted, I am pretty much isolated during the week but the Liturgy with Preaching the entire Bible through the 3-Year Lectionary and the Church Year, singing the doctrinal-based hymns, Confessing and receiving Absolution and Communion and "Remembering my Baptism" do bring Joy and Peace.<br />As does you Blog. Keep up the Good Work.<br />Joy is indeed in short supply in our world and we need to be reminded of the source of Peace and Joy: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit...through the Means of Grace...mainly within the Liturgy, Catechism and Confessions.<br />Timothy Carter, simple country Deacon. Kingsport TN.Timothy Carterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02203950953798690220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-50897416925857748362022-01-08T16:11:36.148-06:002022-01-08T16:11:36.148-06:001.to take or fill up (space, time, etc.):
2.to eng...1.to take or fill up (space, time, etc.):<br />2.to engage or employ the mind, energy, or attention of<br />3.to be a resident or tenant of; dwell in<br /><br />Amen to the sadness that fills me when I must leave the sanctuary after Divine Service, knowing I cannot maintain that joy (of course, God can).<br /><br />According to the definition above, Joy is something that fills us, and we are told to be full of joy in Scripture. Our minds and attention should be taken up by our focus on Joy. We are to live IN Joy. If we are occupied with Joy, (and this is the Spririt’s work in us, yes, but we should make the attempt to have and be that Holy Joy), it should show in lives lived so. I would dearly love to be a fly on the wall and hear someone recommend my life as an example of Joy.<br /><br />If only by the help of the Spirit I can focus on my Savior, whose life, and yes, even death was in Joy. It was all through the Joy set before Him he endured life with sinful humanity, then died in our place. Hebrews 12:2Janis Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02947508427040251166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-56190032996282070362022-01-08T11:10:40.388-06:002022-01-08T11:10:40.388-06:00In order for Lutherans to enjoy the fullness of jo...In order for Lutherans to enjoy the fullness of joy, we will first have to agree that some of our inerrant idols have been dead wrong.<br />Dr. Martin Luther, First of the 95 Theses, “1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said ‘Repent,’ He called for the entire life of believers to be one of penitence.”<br />Those whose eyes are veiled, preventing them from seeing the pure Gospel, eagerly support this Thesis, not realizing that the blessed Luther wrote it before he, himself, began to understand the joy of the Gospel. <br />We also piously quote Johann Gerhard, “The very foundation and principle of a holy life is godly sorrow for sin.” If that were true, there would be no place for joy in the life of the Christian.<br />Just as the people of Israel longed for the fleshpots of Egypt, so the souls, even of Christians, yearn for the Law. The Law is in accord with human nature; we can understand it; it tells us that we well be rewarded if we are good, and punished if we are bad. Therefore, many of our theologians unintentionally dilute the Gospels with the demands of the Law, essentially emptying the Gospel of its inherent joy.<br />People are, by their nature, incapable of understanding the Gospel. The Gospel proclaims that the person, who is bad, is loved, forgiven, nurtured and redeemed by God. In order to enable people to understand this essence of the Gospel, in Baptism, the Lord, the Holy Spirit, comes to dwell in us in order to convert our natures, so that we can understand and believe which the nature with which we are born cannot understand or believe. This Holy Spirit is God’s “earnest money,” by which He guarantees the gift of His love and nurture to us for eternity. He accompanies every Christian from the Baptismal font until that person enters into God’s heavenly Kingdom.<br />When, through the Holy Spirit, we understand that God, through the life, suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, the Christ, has made us, who were His enemies, His beloved children, and that we need not worry about where we will spend eternity, because God has guaranteed our eternal future through the blood of His Son, then we become capable of receiving the great gift of the Holy Spirit: Joy. <br />Much after Luther wrote his 95 Thesis, he is quoted as saying, “If I could believe that God was not angry with me, I would stand on my head for joy.” This is most certainly true.<br />As we wonder what we need to do in order to make our Church flourish again, there is really only one answer: Rejoice in the Lord, and praise Him for His priceless gift to you. Once, through the Holy Spirit, you realize that your own presence in God’s Kingdom is not dependent on anything you do, but on God’s guarantee, which he sealed with the blood of His own Son, you will be able do more than move mountains: you will be able to bring others into the Kingdom of God through the power of God Himself, the Gospel.<br />This is why I sign off with:<br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. Marquart<br />gamarquarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12732022122214378758noreply@blogger.com