Fear and Hope

/ The Pastor

Holy God,

there is much to fear in this world.
Satan is running around
trying to lead us astray through false worship.
He is trying to drag us down into hopelessness.
At times Satan succeeds
and thus paralyzes us with fear,
so much so,
that the Gospel is not proclaimed.

But we ask that You may send Your Holy Spirit
to teach us
and remind us
of the victory we have through faith in Jesus Christ.

Show us the cross.
Show us the empty tomb.
Show us Jesus.

May we see the life we have in You
and know that death has been defeated.
May we rejoice in You
and thus share this Joy with others.
And in the end,
may You and You alone be glorified.

Now may the words of my mouth
and the meditations of our hearts
be acceptable to You,
oh God,
through Christ Jesus our Lord,

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Majestic God

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

When I drive to and from the church office each day (and when the skies are clear) I am blessed with beautiful views of Mount Rainier. Each time I see this magnificent mountain I am reminded of God’s creativity and power. And each time I see this mountain I give God thanks and praise. Only God could create something so magnificent and glorious and beautiful and awe-inspiring.

IMG_20160530_162437984_HDR

 

But also…

This mountain is not lost in the midst of other mountains around it. Nothing is close to it to steal its glory. Mount Rainier stands alone in all it’s splendor. In this part of God’s creation, nothing compares to Mount Rainier. And when the clouds shield the mountain from view, I am saddened, but I know that she is still there.

And then…

as I view this glorious mountain, I am reminded that God is still bigger and this bigger God is for me and with me. This glorious God redeemed me through Jesus Christ. This spectacular God loves me. This creative God cradles me in his powerful yet gentle hands. This magnificent God is in complete control. God is not lost in the midst of other Gods, but stands alone in power. Nothing compares to God almighty. And, there are times when God seems distant and out of view, but God is still there. God has not left.

And so…

As I continue my blessed drives to and from the office I will continue to ponder this awesome God of ours and give God thanks and praise for His gentle reminders of his glorious magnificence. And when the clouds shield Mount Rainier from view, I will remember that she is still there and will never leave; reminding me of God’s ongoing faithfulness to always be with me.

All praise be to God!!!

The Pastor -|—

Moving

/ The Pastor

This pastor is in transition.

You may have noticed a lack of activity here recently. That is due to the fact that we have been packing and getting ready for a new call in Puyallup, WA. Yesterday (Fri, May 27) we arrived in Puyallup and today we unload. Tomorrow (May 29) is my first Sunday. I will be back at it soon, posting as usual. I do miss writing but it just became difficult with the transition.

So in the meantime, may God bless you as you prepare to worship our awesome God tomorrow.

Me?

I am thankful God brought us safely here through some difficult driving through two mountain ranges pulling a trailer.

May God be praised always and forever.

The Pastor -|—

Your Spirit

/ The Pastor

Holy God,

Send Your Spirit today
to rest upon us.
Teach us,
remind us,
show us
Your ways.

Send Your Spirit today
to rest upon Your Church.
Make it bold with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Make it firm in it’s faith.
Make it knowledgeable of
Your ways.

Send Your Spirit today
to rest upon this nation.
Stir hearts.
Renew minds.
Open eyes to
Your ways.

Send Your Spirit today
that all who call upon Your holy name
may speak of Your Son, Jesus, with
passion and conviction without backing down. May our Gospel proclamation be done with all grace. May our witness shine brightly with Your love. May forgiveness win the day.

Send Your Spirit today
that we may speak to a culture
that has drifted away from You. May our words and actions engage this culture with love without us conforming to this culture.

Send Your Spirit today, oh God.
Heal us.
Draw us to You.
Raise us up to New Life in Jesus Christ.

Send Your Spirit today, oh God,
and send us out in the name of
Jesus.

Amen.

The Pastor -|—

Weeping to Strength

/ The Pastor

I look out into the world,
and I weep over what I see;
for I see a people lost;
as sheep without a shepherd.
I weep and wish people would turn and look;
seeing a loving Savior;
Jesus,
reaching out to them.

Oh, how I wish people would see Jesus.
Oh, how I wish people would see their destructive path.
Oh, how I wish people would repent and live.

But all I see is a world spiraling out of control;
a world racing toward a cliff;
a world hell-bent on destroying themselves.

Why, oh God, why?
Why can’t people see?
Why don’t people know?

And as I weep I also fear.
I fear for my own children.
I fear for my family.
I fear for how I will respond.

Will I be strong?

Oh God, Creator of heaven and earth,
grant me Your Spirit that I may be strong.
May I stand firm and rely on the armor
that only You can give.
Grant me, oh God,
the belt of truth,
 the breastplate of righteousness,
the readiness given by the gospel of peace, 
the shield of faith,
(with which I can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one),
the helmet of salvation,
 and the sword of the Spirit,
(which is the word of God).
May this armor be my strength.

But one last thing,
oh God,
may I not be passive,
but rather may I go forth into battle with your armor.
May I brandish the sword of the Spirit
with all love and grace.
And in the end, may You be glorified.

Be my strength and hope.
Be my peace and salvation.

Oh God, You reign forever and ever,
through Jesus Christ my Lord I pray,
Amen.

The Pastor -|—

To Silence Satan’s Laugh

/ The Pastor

And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.[John 17:11]

I listened to a sermon recently where the pastor talked about oneness as the Father and the Son are one; using the above text. But something he said really caught my attention. He said that when we, as a church, get caught up in disputes or controversies or anything that takes our eyes off of Christ, Satan laughs.

He laughs.

Why?

Satan laughs because he won as he managed to get the church to take their eyes off of Christ. And ultimately that is what Satan is trying to do with all people. For you see, sin is a turning inward to see yourself as god; trusting oneself over God almighty. And when we look inward, we see only our agenda and our will. And let me tell you, our agenda and our will is not God’s.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. [Isaiah 55:8-9]

And Satan knows this and thus tries get us to focus on ourselves. For if Satan can divert our attention away from Jesus, then the church is not going to be the church as God wants. In scripture, the relationship of Jesus and the Church is like that of a husband and a wife, but only better. But if a wife (the Church) is not focused on her husband (Jesus); or worse yet, looking for another, the marriage is in trouble. And therefore, as the Church, we need to be one with Christ. For it is only by looking to Christ that we see his purpose and will for our lives. And that purpose? Is to be one as the Father and the Son are one. And when we are in one accord with the Father, the Kingdom of God is advanced. We are called to glorify God through the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ whereby letting the Holy Spirit add to “the numbers”.

But that won’t happen if the church is turned in upon itself. The Church MUST be Christ focused. The Church MUST humble itself before the throne of God. The Church MUST lay it’s burdens down and trust God to care for it’s needs. The Church MUST remain focused. The Church MUST be one as the Father and the Son (and the Holy Spirit) are one.

And so my prayer for the Church; the congregations I am leaving and the one I am heading to shortly, is that we are one; one in purpose. May our eyes remain fixed on Jesus, so much so, that we give no occasion for Satan to laugh.

All praise, honor, glory and worship be unto God our Father through Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Pastor -|—

P.S. If you want to listen to the sermon I referenced at the beginning, follow the below link.

Sermon by Pastor Gary Jepsen, May 1

Reigning

/ The Pastor

Darkness has fallen,
the day has ended,
but YOU still reign on.

This world is fallen,
rotten to the core,
but YOU still reign on.

Death still lurks around,
claiming it’s victims,
but YOU still reign on.

I am unworthy,
unfaithful always,
but YOU still reign on.

I am a sinner,
YOU are my Savior,
Jesus, YOU reign on.

The Pastor -|—

Stuff

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

For 12 years I have resided in a 12′ by 12′ office. One wall is the door and a closet. The next wall is shelving and cupboards. The next wall is my desk and space to open my cupboards, and then the final wall is more shelving, boxes and room to open the door. So really, my 12 by 12 office is a lot smaller than that when you factor in all the stuff lying around. So given that I reside in a space about the size of a prison cell, one would think that packing this space up would be a piece of cake.

Not even close.

Where did all this stuff come from?

I have five boxes of books I am getting rid of with more on my “free stuff” table outside my office. I have 10 boxes/containers packed of stuff I am taking with me with a couple more boxes to pack.

Once again, where did all this stuff come from. Just look at the banner on the top of this blog and you can get an idea of what I have been dealing with this week.

Stuff, stuff and more stuff.

Incredible.

And I am not even going to talk about the parsonage.

Why do we have so much stuff? I definitely don’t need it because a lot of it is getting tossed. And the stuff getting tossed is stuff I didn’t know I had in the first place and therefore I really didn’t need it to begin with.

That’s it. Every year I am going to purge my office of stuff so I don’t have to deal with this again. Ya right, that will never happen, but it’s a good thought.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal (if only they would steal some of this stuff), but lay for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[Matthew 6:19-21]

Now seriously, please tell me you are not surprised with the scripture I just used 🙂

In any case, I should be encouraged by this whole endeavor. I am not attached to a lot of this stuff and therefore it is easy to throw away, yet I am still keeping a lot of stuff. My treasures? No, not treasures. Just stuff. Stuff I could part with if need be. My real treasure is Jesus. I just wish Jesus hadn’t blessed me with all this stuff. At least He could come and help me pack.

Oh well, enough procrastinating, back to packing.

Come, Lord Jesus, and help me (pack).

The Pastor -|—

You

/ The Pastor

Holy God,

Bless this night.
Protect my dreams.
Watch over my family.
Keep me free from Satan’s attacks.
Grant me peace.
Heal my pains.
Strengthen my body.

But if trials and tribulations
should happen to come my way;
if suffering is the order of my life;
if pain is my reality,
then I only ask that my faith is guarded,
that my response is one that glorifies
You.

May this life of mine;
a life crafted by
You,
draw others to
You.

And may my life’s refrain be:
All glory be unto You.

In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen

The Pastor -|—

All Good Things…

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

“All good things must come to end.”

At least that is how the saying goes. And in my case that is true. Today, May 1, is my last Sunday as pastor of Salem and Belmont Lutheran Churches. Today I say good bye to 12 amazing years as I grew from a young, inexperienced pastor to (dare I say) a seasoned pastor. Fresh out of seminary, I began serving at Salem one week after graduation. One month later I was married and off and running we went. Who knew (God did I guess) that we would spend the next 12 years of our lives living and serving in this small SW MN community.

And now, God is sending us to the west coast. Well, not exactly the coast but close. We are heading to the Tacoma, Washington area to serve a fairly new congregation as they strive to reach out to their community. We are excited, fearful, optimistic and a whole load of other emotions. It’s hard to leave an area that one has called home for a long time. It’s hard to leave family and friends. It is hard to leave one’s support system, but when God calls, God calls, and so off we go; trusting that God will provide and do some amazing things to show His glory.

Following today, I will have three Sundays off before I preach my first sermon in Puyallup, WA on May 29. Three Sundays off, wow, I just might start peeling my skin off as I have never gone that long without preaching. Maybe it will be a good break but I guess only time will tell. I love what I do and therefore leaving the people here is going to be hard. I am sure many tears will be shed today. So I appeal to God to send His Holy Spirit to give me strength to share the Gospel one more time in corporate worship here. May this be about God and not me. May this be about what God has done here the past 12 years. May this be about God’s faithfulness moving forward. And may this be about worshiping our awesome God and placing our faith in Him to lead us into an unknown future here and a known future with Him through faith in Jesus. God is faithful and God will provide for me and my family as well as the congregations of Salem and Belmont Lutheran Churches.

In the mean time, I will continue to write here and look forward to sharing more stories of God faithfulness as we move to a “foreign country”. As God watched over Abraham and Sarah as they moved to a foreign land, I am confident God will do the same for me and my family.

So with that, I sign off on this “Sunday edition” as the pastor of Salem and Belmont Lutheran Churches. May God continue to be glorified here, and through all of our lives, always and forever. Amen.

The Pastor -|—

P.S. CORRECTION ~ Not all good things come to an end for God is GOOD. All the time. All the time, God is GOOD 🙂