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I'm sharing this journal entry from one of our sheep / shepherds for your encouragement and invite you to share your stories to keep us connected David
Thursday April 2, 2020: A journal entry:
JESUS WEPT.
A Morning mist of low cloud wrapped soft around the hills.
I read John 6 and tried to ponder on Jesus the living bread. But the mist beckoned and drew me outside, quickly enfolding me in its clammy embrace.
There was no pausing to choose direction. I headed straight up the hill blanketed in the foggy stillness, only birdcall echoing the inner certainty – she’s coming to pray.
Pray up the hill. I haven’t prayed up there for a while. I’ve prayed. But not there on God’s hill, my place of retreat.
At the summit, as cloud drifted and lifted, it was my heart that rained out its anguished plea, the cry for help with COVID19: LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER. Help us Jesus.
That was it. No wordy waffle. I perched on the rim of the damp bench, poised in grief and need; heart, mind and spirit turned to God, “Yet still do I praise you Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Living God.”
A lull then settled over me, like a mute button had been pressed to hush the turmoil of my distressed thoughts and wretched emotions concerning the plight of the world’s people. Wait. Be quiet!
Jesus wept. The words from last Sunday’s reading came to mind loud and clear.
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Judaeans who had come with her crying, he was deeply stirred in his spirit, and very troubled. 34 ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Master,’ they said, ‘come and see.’ 35 Jesus burst into tears. (John 11:33-35 NTE)
I too burst into tears, and as I wept, there at the top of the hill, I knew he was weeping with me. Weeping with all the world. Weeping for us all.
Turn to me. And I, turning, vision all awash, could see clearly, he was there. Feed my sheep. To this I shook my head, and thought, I’m no pastor. You are a minister of my word. Therefore, speak my word to others. Speak my word to one another. And suddenly understanding dawned. “You aren’t just saying this to me, are you? It’s your call to all of us: Feed your sheep. The responsibility is ours collectively.” And I pictured the scattered sheep, isolated from one another but belonging together and needing creative new ways of being church and speaking grace and hope to one another and others.
I plunged, then, down the hill, not following the worn paths but winding down the steeper slope, weaving through knee high weeds, around rocky mounds and patches of slippery flattened grass, to emerge at the wider base track.
Now is the time to forge new paths. Jesus is still the Way, the “base track” of my faith remains the same. It’s the network of familiar paths that represent how we have lived out our faith, that have fallen away, not God’s word or his kingdom, or his love.
I am thankful for this love that comes to us where we are: scattered sheep weeping in the mist of uncertainty. I’m thankful that Jesus wept and that his way isn’t set in stone. That he comes and calls us to discover a new and living way, today and tomorrow and the next day. Hallelujah! This is a new day! And the Jesus who weeps with us in our distress will renew us and lead us on beyond COVID19.
JESUS WEPT.
The autumn sun filtered a pale ray through the drifting grey. A reminder that the God who weeps, also sheds light as well as tears.
Not just a good season
by Mark Gierus
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest (Psalm 85:12).
Read Psalm 85:8–13
In the tropics, you have two seasons: the wet and the dry. In more temperate parts of the world, you have four seasons: summer, autumn, winter and spring.
Wherever you live, you may notice the seasons change, bringing new things, new weather patterns and new temperatures. There are seasons when there are more flowers or fruit, and seasons when vegetable crops are ready for harvest. But who sends the rain? Who sends the sun? Who governs the seasons?
God gives us what is good in every season. You may not enjoy every season, but God continues to give good gifts in them all.
We are funny as humans, aren’t we? When it is dry for a little while, we complain because we have to water our lawns and gardens. When it rains, we complain because it is too wet. When it is cold, we are tempted to complain and say we can’t wait for the summer. When it is hot, we complain and want it to be cooler. Yet in every season God gives good things.
What season of life are you in right now? Is it a cold, winter-like season, or are you living it up in the spring–summer season of life?
Can you give thanks and be filled with joy in every season of your life? God doesn’t change. He is still the loving God who cares for you and continues to provide what is good, no matter what season you are in.
Can you begin each day in the confidence and trust in God and say, ‘The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest.’
God is your God in all seasons – in times of harvest and sowing, growth, drought and flooding. He will bring a harvest of love in you as you live in him through every season. God is always present.
Loving Father, you provide so much for us, giving us all good things we need for this life and forever. Let me always be thankful for the gifts you have given, and let me always be willing to share these good gifts with those around me. Amen.
Pastor Mark Gierus currently serves as a Lutheran pastor in the Alberton Lutheran Parish, including the LORDS school at Ormeau in Queensland. He is married to Kerstin, and they have three beautiful girls aged 9, 13 and 23. They enjoy family things like hiking, going to the beach, singing and jamming, looking after their pets and going on road trips. Mark and Kerstin pray that God will continue to bless you as you grow in him and come to know him more and more through his life-giving eternal word.
What work should I do?
by Mark Gierus
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent’ (John 6:29).
Read John 6:25–35
What sort of work pleases God? Have you ever wondered what he requires of us?
We are told over and over again that when it comes to work, we are to do our best, often going above and beyond what is asked of us. Think of students at school or university – work hard and strive to do your best. You may even have been brought up that way, encouraged to finish every job well. But when it comes to working for God, what does he really require of us as his children?
Yes, God wants us to give the work we are called to do our very best, put our hearts into it and carry it out as though we were working for God himself rather than for a boss or system. Yet what is it that God requires of us?
Jesus tells us straight about what work God requires of us. The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.
Serving, loving our neighbour, sharing God’s love and telling and living the good news of the gospel – that Jesus died for my sins, in my place so that I might be forgiven and set free – is surely the work of God and what he requires of me, isn’t it?
Yes, but the work of God first and foremost is to believe in the one he has sent, his only Son, Jesus. Then, out of faith in Jesus come good works of service, sharing and living out God’s love toward others, giving all our work our best effort. This all flows from believing in the one the Father sent – Jesus.
Dear Jesus, you tell us that the work of God is to believe in you. I believe; help me when I doubt and worry to trust that you are the one the Father sent, and you are the one who gives me peace. Amen.
Pastor Mark Gierus currently serves as a Lutheran pastor in the Alberton Lutheran Parish, including the LORDS school at Ormeau in Queensland. He is married to Kerstin, and they have three beautiful girls aged 9, 13 and 23. They enjoy family things like hiking, going to the beach, singing and jamming, looking after their pets and going on road trips. Mark and Kerstin pray that God will continue to bless you as you grow in him and come to know him more and more through his life-giving eternal word.
God does far more than we can ever imagine
by Mark Gierus
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over’ (2 Kings 4:43b)
Read 2 Kings 4:42–44
What is God calling you to do that seems too big, too hard or simply impossible? Many things seem impossible to us, yet nothing is impossible for God.
There was once a man who was asked to build a big boat, kilometres from the nearest ocean or, for that matter, any sort of body of water big enough to float it. Yet he obeyed, and it happened just as God had said it would. This man, of course, was Noah.
There was a man who saw a bush that was burning, yet it didn’t burn up, and so he sat there and had a chat with God. Even though this man said, ‘Maybe, God, you’ve got the wrong guy to do what you would like me to do’, it happened just as God said it would. This man was Moses, and he led the people out of Egypt through the Red Sea.
We may not part the Red Sea or build a boat in a dry place, but we are called to trust in God’s provision, purpose and word, knowing that all things are possible for him.
When it comes to heaven and eternal life, you or I could not find a way there, nor could we make ourselves right in God’s sight to earn a place in heaven. We can’t save ourselves from our hopelessness in our sinful ways.
It was God who gave us a way, and that way is Jesus Christ. God sent his only Son, Jesus, to suffer and die on the cross so that we might have eternal life and be forgiven and saved from sin, death and the power of the devil.
We are free to follow Jesus as God’s children and to trust that God can do all things, knowing that he does what he says he will do. If God calls you to a seemingly impossible task, he will give you what you need to follow him.
Lord, you are amazing, always doing more and giving more than I can ever imagine. Thank you for all you do and for who you are in my life. Help me see day by day the blessings you have given me. Amen.
Pastor Mark Gierus currently serves as a Lutheran pastor in the Alberton Lutheran Parish, including the LORDS school at Ormeau in Queensland. He is married to Kerstin, and they have three beautiful girls aged 9, 13 and 23. They enjoy family things like hiking, going to the beach, singing and jamming, looking after their pets and going on road trips. Mark and Kerstin pray that God will continue to bless you as you grow in him and come to know him more and more through his life-giving eternal word.