Friday, February 8 – Acts 3:17-26
Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico [2]
All of the four gospels recount miracles. In John, these are given a more focused significance; John calls seven of the miracles “signs.” That is, they are miracles performed specifically to demonstrate that Jesus spoke with the authority of God, by showing that he wielded the supernatural power of God. Miracles had special significance to the first group of converts, who were Jews in Jerusalem, and as Jews, were accustomed to prophets showing their divine credentials by working miracles. The prophecy of Moses which is referenced in today’s Scripture is the first prophecy of Christ’s coming and one of the most strongly worded. In Deuteronomy 18:15-22, appearing right in the middle of the mass of laws given by Moses, is a law concerning the Messiah. Moses states that this law has been given to him by God. Moses predicts the coming of a great prophet, who will be Jewish. God commands the Hebrews to follow the prophet, because he will speak the word of God. But if he does not speak the word of God, he shall die. But how, one might wonder, could a confused Jew tell whether the prophet is true – speaks the word of God – or is false and speaking the words of other gods, or his own words? The answer is that, when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken. The Messiah (as this great prophet comes to be called) will make accurate predictions. Thus, one significance of Jesus’ signs is that they relate back to Moses’ prophecy.
 
Jesus did not perform miracles simply to wow the crowds; he was not a magician putting on a show. Most of his miracles were performed before Jews, many or most of who would have known their Moses like a preacher knows his Bible. More so, in fact, because the words of Moses were the law by which they were expected to lead their daily lives. When Jesus spoke, he put his listeners in a bind. Much of what he said seemed different from the Jewish Bible, and much of it was directly contradictory to the teachings of the Jewish religious leaders. This confounded the listeners; if Jesus was speaking the word of God, they should listen and follow, but if not, they should ignore him and possibly put him to death. So Jesus’ miracles, especially those miracles called signs by John, had special significance. When Jesus said something, it came true. Even more remarkably, when Jesus said something physically impossible, it came true. Because of this, the Jews were able to believe and follow him, for even Moses, the giver of God’s law, had told them Christ would come and they must follow him.

 
Saturday, February 9 – Romans 12:15
Keeping Our Spirits Up
People who have their minds set on a great goal can undergo extraordinary hardships, for long periods, to reach it. A person who wants to become a surgeon, for example, might spend eight years of constant work, living on bare essentials, just to get through school; and then another six or eight years of training, living with minimum comforts and often heavily in debt, before becoming certified. In fact, this kind of life is the rule for great achievers in life; many of the world’s billionaires grew up in poverty. To live with God is the greatest achievement any of us can conceive. Who would not rather have eternal life than a medical degree or a billion dollars? And many have given everything to reach this, the greatest goal imaginable. Francis of Assisi and countless others gave away fortunes and lived lives of intentional deprivation, just because such things were so paltry compared to the victory they hoped to achieve. Innumerable others have suffered scorn, prison, beatings, or death.
 
Most of us are not called upon to sacrifice so much. Christ tells us that his burden is light. Really, life as a Christian is sometimes not a “burden” at all. The joy we feel, the friends we meet, and the good choices we make, often allow us a better life on earth; and the burdens of the wicked can be heavy indeed. Today, Paul gives us the formula to lighten our load. First, he tells us, remember to let the joy of the Holy Spirit out of your mental cage. Remind yourself of your goal, for it will sustain you. Second, let God ease the pains we all feel in life. Patience is the state of mind of a person who knows that something good is on the way. Great things can come to those who wait. Everyone suffers. The agony of losing beloved family members, the pain of illness (especially with age), the desperate anxiety of money problems: life is full of pain. The pain is real; but the better we remember the virtue of patience, and the greater our hope and joy, the easier it becomes to bear the painful times.
 
And, finally, pray. Our minds cannot hold but a few thoughts at a time. When we think about the tasks of this world, we cannot hold God fully in our minds. We cannot possibly remember the lessons we have learned, while we are watching television or thinking about our troubles. Prayer is the time when we can empty our minds of the world, and remember hope and patience. We can remember how great is our goal and this will give us comfort and joy.
 
 
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Thursday, January 31 – Romans 12:3-8
Gifts of Grace
Paul gives us two messages today, one of humility and one of pride. Now that we have sacrificed our bodies to Christ, what are we to think of our lives in this world? We are members of something, a society, the body of Christian faithful; and we are all equal before the throne of God. If our earthly position is elevated, and the gifts we have been given to use on earth are many so that we are rich, or smart, or powerful, able to persuade others or in positions of leadership, we should not elevate ourselves above others in our minds. We might get used to feeling somewhat superior to employees, or those we give charity, or those we lead; it becomes a habit that spills over from our function as a boss, into our existence as a member of Christ. But as Paul taught us in the preceding verses, we should not be “conformed to this world,” but rather, we should be “transformed” in our minds, by the miracle of grace. To let our high position give us an attitude of superiority is a prime example of being conformed to the world. And if we are humble in our circumstances, we should feel no shame, no inferiority. Who was Jesus? A poor carpenter. Who was Mary? A homemaker, married to a carpenter. Who were Peter and Paul? Peter, a village fisherman, and Paul, a tentmaker who had become a henchman for the Pharisees. All of are members of Christ’s body and our gifts are those that God wants us to have. We must seek to use the gifts we have been given, no matter how great or small; because if a role in life was given to us by God, it is God-given. How can we question the merit of what we do, or the talents we have, if God gave it to us? If we use whatever talents we have, with cheerfulness and zeal, we may be satisfied with what we have done. God has told us we are completely adequate: Who are we, then, to be embarrassed or ashamed of our circumstances?
 
Friday, February 1 – Acts 2:40-47
The Enthusiasm of the Believers
Peter’s sermon has been a huge success. He has converted a large number of the Jews with his words and started the first church, the church of Jerusalem. The timeline and numbers are uncertain. The passage implies that 3,000 were converted on the day of his sermon and that more were converted every day, but it doesn’t otherwise record numbers of people or amounts of time. The first church is fervent and even fanatical. The members devote themselves to it, meeting every day to worship and forming a sort of commune, where property is shared freely. And every day their numbers swell. Not only do they meet to worship, but they take their meals together. Most remarkably, they meet in the temple courts, that is, the public areas in front of the temple. Remember, only a few days earlier the apostles and a few followers had hidden themselves away, out of fear of the Jewish authorities. They were, rightfully, afraid for their lives. Now, they are making a public spectacle of themselves. They are completely filled with the Holy Spirit, so much that they concern themselves with almost nothing other than worship of God through Christ, even in the face of very real danger.

 
Saturday, February 2 – Romans 12:9-16
Marks of the True Christian
In Romans 12:9, Paul gives us the Number One Rule for living our day-to-day lives. When we get confused or just too tired to think straight, we can help ourselves by returning to this basic principle: Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. In the following verses, Paul sets out a number of more specific examples, but we should not get lost in the long list of virtuous behavior he provides for us. When we have a decision to make, especially one that involves a moral question, we can get lost quite easily. So what confuses us? Well, the nature of life is what confuses us. The universe is chaos; God is the force that brought order to the chaos. Remember John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word.” The Word took a cloud of hot gas and created order; the Word made suns and planets and trees and people. Surely, the Word can help us when our minds are confused. And Paul’s words in Romans 12:9 are one way the Word has helped us. We know the difference between right and wrong. So when we have to make a decision, when we are struggling about whether to do or not to do something, we can always go to this rule: “Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” Concentrating on those words may solve our dilemma. And if it does not, it is guaranteed to be the correct starting point to bring order to even the most confused thoughts.
 
 

Sunday worship at Capitol Drive Lutheran Church begins at 10:30 AM starting January 13, 2019. At the same time, we are blessed to welcome Rev. Bill Mains as our Bridge Pastor.

Everyone is welcome to join us for Scripture, song, and prayer every Sunday at 10:30 AM.

Christmas Eve, Monday, 12/24 at 6:00 PM
 
Christmas Day, Tuesday, 12/25 at 9:30 AM
 

The People of God at Capitol Drive Lutheran Church stand with, support, and pray for our Jewish sisters and brothers during this time of tragedy and forever. El Maleh Rachamim is a Hebrew prayer for the rest of the departed: God, filled with mercy, dwelling in the heavens' heights, bring proper rest beneath the wings of your Shechinah, amid the ranks of the holy and the pure, illuminating like the brilliance of the skies the souls of our beloved and our blameless who went to their eternal place of rest. May You who are the source of mercy shelter them beneath Your wings eternally, and bind their souls among the living, that they may rest in peace. And let us say: Amen.
 

Heavenly Father, I am your humble servant. I come before you today in need of hope. There are times when I feel helpless. There are times when I feel weak. I pray for hope. I need hope for a better future. I need hope for a better life. I need hope for love and kindness. Some say that the sky is at its darkest just before the light. I pray that this is true, for all seems dark. I need your light, Lord, in every way. I pray to be filled with your light from head to toe. I want to bask in your glory, to know that all is right in the world as you have planned, and as you want it to be.  Help me to walk in your light and live my life in faith and glory. Amen.