by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Trusting in the Promise of God

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

“The LORD says, ‘I will restore the ruined houses of the descendants of Jacob. I will show compassion on their ruined homes. Every city will be rebuilt on its former ruins. Every fortified dwelling will occupy its traditional site.'”
Jeremiah 30:18 New English Translation

I flew into Portland, Oregon on Saturday, October 9, 2021 to begin my sabbatical. I would drive to Mt. Angel that day and stay at my brother-in-law’s house for a month before returning to Colorado. As I was waiting for a connecting flight in Las Vegas, I received a text from my wife informing me that there was a massive fire in Mt. Angel.

A fire started at 12:48 Saturday morning in the Wilco building on main street. It was a four alarm fire which took over 120 fire fighters and thirty-five pieces of equipment to fight. Though the north side of the building still stood, it was a total disaster. The wood piles burned for over a week.

What’s next? That was the question of the Israelite exiles in Babylon. They hadn’t listened to the prophets like Isaiah or Jeremiah. They did what they wanted to do when they wanted to do it regardless of God’s commands. They turned their backs on the God who had chosen them, delivered them, and made a covenant with them. God was patient, but his patience ran out.

And yet, though they had turned their backs on God, God did not abandon them. Through Jeremiah, God gave his people a promise, a promise that he would do something different. He would have compassion on them, and in his compassion, God would rebuild the ruins.

Too often we have made a mess of our lives to the point that it might seem that all that’s left are smoldering ruins. We have a promise made sure in Jesus that God will rebuild our lives. God is in the rebuilding process now, but the completion of the process won’t be until the Master Builder returns in the fullness of his glory.

When Christ returns, we will experience something new every day! That’s what we anticipate this Advent season.

(Here is a link to a news article on the Wilco Fire.)

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO