Month: December 2015

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

Hope in the Word

Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

We can trust God’s Word even though we might not trust what people say.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Talk, talk, talk. People talk to us all the time. The preacher talks to us. Our coworker talks to us. Our children talk to us, yet too often that’s all it is: talk.

We don’t trust the words people pour into our lives. They say they love us and then have nothing to do with us. They say they will be there for us but when struggles come they disappear. They say we’re the most important people in their lives and they’d rather play video games than give us ten seconds of their presence.

We don’t trust talk.

Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

“You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.”
Psalm 119:114 English Standard Version

Can God’s Word be trusted? He promised to crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). He promised that a virgin would give birth to a son and he would be called God with us (Isaiah 7:14). He promised that his suffering servant would bear the iniquities of all (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus is God’s “yes” to all of these promises. God keeps his word.

By the way, in his Word he also promises that he is coming to his people to bring his bride home. God keeps his Word. It is a word in which we hope even though we still do not know the day of his return.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

Hope for the Downcast

Mt. Angel, Oregon

Jesus invites us into his rest even when our souls despair.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

As many of you know, my wife, Janice, is from Mt. Angel, Oregon, a small community most commonly know for its Oktoberfest.  It’s a predominantly Roman Catholic community with both a Benedictine abbey and convent; each established in the early 1880’s.

I’ve made numerous trips to the abbey which is set on a hill overlooking the Willamette Valley.  It is a place of peace.  You don’t see many people at the abbey.  Every once in a while a Benedictine brother dressed in black will walk the brick path to the chapel or some other building.  These brothers don’t interrupt your time at the abbey. Instead, they provide benches on which to sit, to pray and to take in the beauty of God’s creation.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God;
for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.”
Psalm 42:11 English Standard Version

What prompted the psalmist’s question was another question; the question of his antagonist.  “Where is your God?” (v. 3) When tragedy strikes people are quick to ask, “Where is your God?” God gets the blame and it seems that we often don’t have an answer.  We’re left speechless.  We might even feel that we’ve failed God because we cannot respond.

Mt. Angel, Oregon
Mt. Angel, Oregon

I find this statue of Jesus an inviting Jesus who draws us into his rest.  We don’t have to have all the answers. What we possess is a Savior who is our hope.  He invites us to sit, to pray and to take a peek at the beauty of his grace.

Copyright Douglas P Brauner

Categories
PWTE Daily Devotion

Joy in the Hands of God

God is the source of our joy.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me!
I sing for joy because of what you have done.”
Psalm 92:4 New Living Translation

I can’t stop smiling when I see this picture of my grandson, Eli. I took this picture at his birthday party. It was a beautiful July day in Loveland, Colorado. He swung his new golf clubs, cast his new fishing line, and enjoyed his candle adorned cupcake.

December 11What fills your life with joy?

That is a hard question for me to answer.  I’ve had bought a new camera lens before I took this picture.  I did my research and found a lens that fit my budget and gave me a focal length that I didn’t have among my other lenses, but does it give me joy?

I’m happy, but the lens doesn’t cause joy to swell in my heart.

There is this illusion that joy is the same thing as happiness, and we can produce joy when we strive to be happy.

Yet, as I written before, the two words have different meanings. I am happy when things go well in my life and sad when they don’t. Joy, however, doesn’t depend on my circumstances. As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, joy and grace come from the same Greek root. Joy is connect to grace. Grace is connected to joy.

Joy is in God’s hands. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End of joy. Joy is ours when we celebrate birthdays and when we gather at cemeteries. Joy comes from a God who loves us so much that would not hold back his Son from a cross. His deepest grief is our source of joy.

It’s okay to be happy, to smile, to laugh, and better yet is to be filled with joy.

Joy is in the hands of God

Copyright Douglas P Brauner