Joy Lutheran Church Ocala, Florida

One of my granddaughters is a busy bride-to-be.  So many things to plan and prepare, so much anticipation.  Quite recently she selected her wedding dress.  As “grammy” I was fortunate to receive several pictures of the dress and the exciting day on which it was chosen.  She will be a beautiful bride, her handsome husband, a lucky man. 

The imagery and symbolism of marriage is applied to Christ and the body of believers known as the church. Believers in Jesus Christ are the bride of Christ, and we wait with great anticipation for the day when we will be united with our Bridegroom.  Christ, the Bridegroom, sacrificially and lovingly chose the church to be His bride (Ephesians 5:25–27).  Until then, we remain faithful to Him and say with all the redeemed of the Lord, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

How about you?  How about me?  Do we lovingly anticipate the day when we will be united with our Lord; the day when all troubles shall cease and all sorrows shall end?  Until that day we have lives to live, love to share, sorrow to bear.  As we proceed day by day, page by page, what a joy to know that the book of our life has such a happy ending!

Judy

Just saw a meme on social media. You might have read it or something similar to it: “A YES from God, blesses you.  A NO from God, protects you. And WAITING FOR GOD Prepares you.”

Well, watching an emotional movie today, triggered some feelings from the death of my first husband. I knew in my heart, and believed with my whole being that He could be healed. I made posters so my husband could read the promises of God. Believers came to his bedside and anointed him with oil as they prayed. Pastors came and served him communion and prayed over him. I KNEW he would someday share his story of healing…but my 41-year-old husband died. So, what do I do with all my “I KNOW, I BELIEVE?”

This meme reminded me, that even though he wasn’t healed in front of me, to live happily ever after, he was indeed healed. A YES answer. How do I know that? He died at 5:30 in the morning and that night, our oldest son “saw” him in his bedroom doorway. When he shared this with me, the next morning, through tears, he said, “Mom, dad looked great! He was strong and healthy.” Scriptures tell us there will be no more pain and suffering. No more dying and no tears in heaven. My husband was whole and well and with the Lord…OR… If I believed God had answered NO to me and did not heal my husband, then as the meme said, I was protected. The Holy Spirit carried me through the funeral and I was protected with stamina to work and return to college and provide for my boys.

God is so good, filled with unconditional love for us. Embrace Him. Send your prayers to Him and know that He will answer. Trust.  Have faith.  Believe. Be made whole! Yes = blessing you No = protection for you   Waiting = preparing you   God will answer.

Jill

I recently spent time with a friend who is a “worrier”.  It is often difficult to be around her as our conversations usually revolve around what she is currently having anxiety about. I have frequently asked her why she is worrying about such trivial things that will probably never happen. Her answer is usually, “Well, what if they do”?

We have had many discussions about how God instructs us not to worry in Matthew 6:34. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. When we spend our days being anxious or worried about tomorrow, we waste that day and accomplish nothing that will change the future.

This verse is not a call to shirk our responsibilities, but to trust God one day at a time. Mary Hemingway, a pioneering female journalist, a WWII correspondent and the fourth wife of Ernest Hemingway, made this statement: Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime, you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.

God knows our natural tendencies toward fear and anxiety. His Word repeatedly offers assurance of His promises to take care of us. Philippians 4:5-7 reinforces His teaching: Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. The peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Worry drains us, distracts us and distances us from trust. But with God and His unconditional love for us, He calls us to live differently; to remember He is in control, He is good, and He is with us.  He is LOVE. Thanks be to God!

Patty

When my dear mother died in 2013, while cleaning out her desk, I found her personal prayer list. It was several pages, handwritten in neat Palmer method, on the type of notepad that you receive from a charitable institution when they ask you for a donation. (Mom kept them all!) 

This list was inclusive. If I asked her to pray for someone, she wrote down the name and the why of the request. If a friend asked, she did the same. If someone she didn’t know asked for prayers, again, the same. Each morning, when she said her prayers, she held the list in her hands and looked at each name, putting them in the hands of God. 

She often followed up to see how the prayer recipient was faring. And, to take them off if warranted. My mother set such a wonderful example for me of service to God and others. She never bragged about what she was doing. It was done in the privacy of her room and in contact with the God she loved with all her heart. (And, as we all know, loved her with all His heart.) 

I was thinking about my prayer list this morning. I have tried to write down the names of those I want to bring to God’s attention. Sometimes my list is in good shape and sometimes I resort to just asking God to bless and take care of all the people in need of help. I need to work on that list. 

However, we recently had an answer to a long-running prayer request – more than 30 years! It is a request that Rich and I have been making together and separately for one of our dear children. Last night, our son made an announcement that he had come to a decision. We could tell from the sound of his voice and the smile on his face, that he was happy, really happy for the first time in a long time. We rejoiced with him and gave thanks to God who loves us all-unconditionally-all the time-no matter what. 

This past Sunday, Reverend Jill gave us this quote as she ended her homily: God gives us three answers to prayer, “Yes,” “Not yet”, and “I have something else in mind”. He always answers. Keep praying.  

God loves you unconditionally! Amen! 

Terri

It’s ninety-something degrees today. The good news is it’s less than four months until Christmas. 

The reason I’m mentioning Christmas is because of something I read by Henry Suso, a 14th century, German mystic. Suso had a vision that took place on August 29, the Feast of All Angels. A group of young men who were actually angels appeared to him. Their leader told him, “that they had been sent down to him from God to give him heavenly joys in his suffering. He could, he said, cast sufferings out of his mind, join their company, and take part in their heavenly dancing. They took the servant [Suso] by the hand for the dance and the young man began a cheerful little tune about the baby Jesus, which goes in dulci jubilo, etc.” We know that song as the Christmas carol, “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice!”

We sing some angelic songs, “Glory to God in the Highest” and “Holy, Holy, Holy,” but this is the first instance I’ve found where the angels sing one of our songs. It’s one of those strange connections between our worship and heavenly worship. Sometimes when we worship we lose the purpose. We think it’s about us. How will worship make me feel? Wrong question. Better question: does this honor, praise, and thank God? If we and the angels are all joined together in worship, we’re probably doing the right thing.

I don’t know what the angels’ favorite song (or dance) is, but it’s good to know they are sometimes singing (or dancing) along with us.

Read Revelation 7:11-12 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

David is credited with writing perhaps as many as eighty of the psalms in the Book of Psalms. He obviously had no knowledge of the singing brother and sister of a few recent decades ago, Richard and Karen Carpenter, known as The Carpenters. One of their songs, Sing, Sing a Song , flows along saying, “…sing, sing a song. Sing of good things not bad. Sing of happy not sad….sing out loud, sing out strong.”

David passionately seemed to display all of his emotions through his psalms. It appears as if he were quite honest and open with his God and poured out all of his inner self, good or bad. He wrote some as a young shepherd and throughout his life, even during his reign as king. David did not “sugar-coat” how he was feeling or go lightly on himself for wrongdoings he had committed.

Are you honest with God? Do you share your innermost thoughts with Him? (By the way, He knows you regardless of whether you withhold your emotions from Him or not.) If you do find yourself remiss in pouring out the REAL you, the inner you, perhaps you could write your “lyrics of life.” Allow your TRUE YOU to sing a song as David did in his writings. This release will free your spirit to repent, to receive forgiveness from God, and/or blessings from Him. You will feel whole. “Sing out loud, sing out strong … and sing of good things and bad.” You do not have to be a poet, like King David, nor a singer like The Carpenters, but you do need to open your being to God’s presence in your life. God loves you unconditionally and knows your heart and soul as He has chosen you and sent His Son to die for you. You have a lot to sing about!

Jill

 God sure knew what He was doing in the childbirth process. As grueling as it is for the mother, the laboring pains, we all know that it is oh so worth it. To hear that first borning cry – there really aren’t adequate words.

Of course, my wife Debbie did the heavy lifting – literally. Amy came out at 8 pounds 15 ounces at 8:15 p.m. I am not making that up. It was one doozie of a thunderstorm that my plane landed in from Norfolk to Dallas-Ft. Worth. I got my Navy leave approved just in time to catch that flight, without any time to get back to my apartment for my luggage. Thank gracious God that even back in 1988 we knew that Debbie’s labor would be induced, therefore buying us extra time.  Her Dad with the ice chips, her brothers also amazed to a point of speechlessness (rare indeed), and her Mom excited and anxious to make sure all went well for the delivery of her first grandchild. Oh – and “Top Gun” on the VHS! Everything as it should be, including the obstetrician’s name: Dr. Pickel. I am not making that up.

If you are similarly blessed, you have your own story to tell. The confirmation that the Garden of Eden directive still stands…”be fruitful and multiply”. The promise carried in vitro that humanity remains, the Creator’s crowning gift.

Amy screamed for her first two minutes of life as most newborns do. Then I got to hold  her. Still wailing. Until I kissed her, and then – immediate silence. I heard from someone, “hey! When you’ve got it, you’ve got it” The video camera faded out. Perfection. Such a wondrous gift, even if it had been a cattle stall. The where, the when, and the how of the Immaculate Conception and Holy Birth? We cant’ make that up, let alone conjure any sense about it. But God can and did. He, whose love overcomes political oppression, a tyrant’s rage, stormy weather, or the back seat of a taxi. Unconditional love and affirmation that the human race marches on one blessed birth at a time.

Pastor Art

Most mornings at 8 a.m. we head for the community swimming pool.  Together with just a few morning people, we enjoy a peaceful swim.  There’s something rejuvenating about the weightless feeling of floating.  Total relaxation, nothing hurts.

Journeying through the waters of life is more difficult.  We rarely feel that total relaxation of weightlessness, and yes, we hurt.  We need something to hold us up.  When life feels overwhelming, Jesus is always there to lift us up.  There’s a reassurance in God’s hold on us that is more secure than the waters of the pool 

Jesus’ love is constant and unchanging. Romans 8:38-39 affirms that nothing can separate us from His love. His promise of eternal security remains even through trials or failures, sustaining and lifting us in our weakest moments.  We will not sink; he will lift us up.

You may enjoy this hymn, “He Lifts Me Up,” from the Windsor Park Congregatiion, NAC. 

Judy

Our Luther League (teen youth group) in my home church was the BEST! We were good kids with big hearts, a wonderful parish worker who supervised us with Pastor, and we loved the Lord. We would often take 3–4-day getaways, usually to a campground about 70 miles away. So many great memories of dear friends and “campfire” time. We sang so many hymns, and so many funny songs. Harmonizing was spot on…we were great!  At least in my memories, we sounded wonderful.

Music can touch your soul. Colossians 3:16 “ Remember what Christ taught, and let His words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts.”  Many times, a song can make me smile, bring me to tears, touch my inner being. What I have discovered is “Signing” music causes the same reaction for me. I know sign language and have been blessed to teach sign language classes to others. Also, I have been honored to “sign” a song as others sing it. Those experiences cause the same reaction. My heart fills.  My soul is touched. I smile. I can be moved to tears even while I “sign.”

Paul and perhaps Timothy, too, co-wrote the Book of Colossians. Verse 16 says…let His words enrich your lives. God’s Word certainly does enrich my life AND when put to music, it stirs inside me. Here is a suggestion: use the Music app on your cell phone. Type in a hymn title you love. Ask your “device” at home to play a favorite hymn. Sing along. Hum along. I know your heart will feel Him from within. He loves you unconditionally.

Jesus the Very Thought of You . . .
 
Jill
(side note: new Beginners Sign Language Class starts in September ’25)

It was while I was suffering the isolation of the Covid epidemic, that I found myself thinking about Anne Frank. I was especially touched thinking about the Frank family and how they had lived in an attic in total isolation for almost two years.  It was a reminder to me that my semi-isolation paled by comparison to what the Franks and their fellow occupants endured.  Not only were they in seclusion but suffered from a bigger burden of living under constant fear of being discovered, captured and most likely killed.  Once again, my troubles and those of the people around me were miniscule by comparison. 

During this time Anne recorded in writing the happenings of her life and the events of the world around her in a vivid glimpse of living in what became known as the Secret Annex in a warehouse in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of Holland.  Anne had written the diary with the hopes of it being published when they got out of hiding and the war was over.  When the war ended and the concentration camps were liberated, Otto Frank, Anne’s father was the only family member to survive. Her father eventually returned to the annex, found Anne’s diary, had it published and her wish came true.  Anne Frank: The Dairy of a Young Girl has sold millions of copies all over the world and is a reminder to us to never forget what happened during this horrific time of the Holocaust and to never allow it to happen again.

Anne was a very strong-willed young woman, very intelligent and possessed deep thoughts and understandings of life seemingly beyond her young age of 15. This quote like many from her writing was profound then and remains timeless.  I keep my ideals because in spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build my hopes on a foundation based on confusion, misery and death.  I see the world around us being turned into a wilderness.  I hear the ever-approaching thunder which will destroy us too.  I feel the suffering of millions and yet, I look up to the heavens and I think it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end and that peace and tranquility will return again. (Anne Frank, 1944).

While we are not living in anything close to the unspeakable horror the Franks endured in their life time, these words resonate today.  We see many confusing and chaotic happenings taking place around us that are bringing misery, destruction and even death.  As Anne noted, the things around us look like they could turn our world into a wilderness and destroy us. I believe if we look to the heavens, ask for God’s help and guidance, through his unconditional love, our world will return to peace and tranquility because after all, I do believe like Anne, people are really good at heart. 

Patty

Adapted from a post of 2020.