Posts tagged joy

He comes, and he has died on the cross; shed his blood that we may have mercy.

He comes. So be glad. Rejoice. As St. Paul says: look: be joyful always.

For Jesus has given all, and he has done so in joy. Leave here today, then, pondering your worth, and still too in joy, contemplating this question:

Do you have any idea how much Jesus loves you? So much so, that he died. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us not say to Jesus that he can be our SOMETHING but not our EVERYTHING.

Let us not say to him that he is our HOPE but not our comfort, and CERTAINLY not our joy; those things come from this world.

And then, let us look at what the TRUTH of the promises are. NOT metaphoric. NOT for this world. NOT for this life. NOT for the self indulgent culture that seeks only those things that relate to itself.

This is outside of us. This is life. This is GOD. This is salvation.

JESUS has come. And Jesus comes again. He comes, and there will be joy just by us being in his presence! He comes, and he breathes life and restoration into the fallen creation! He comes, and all is healed, and all is made well, and all the evil that is in our hearts and in our lives is taken away! He comes, and DEATH is no more!

God loves you. And this is love: he gives you his commandments. He gives you his Law. And his Law is not burdensome. It is a BLESSING. Because you know what? Here’s the thing: all those veggies and bed times and homework and long sermons DO help us grow up to be joyous people. And so too, when we hear God’s law, and live by it, will it bring us joy.

-Aj Neugebauer LCMS pastor

The heart of the Holy Scriptures is the resurrection, victory over death, the destruction of sin. Amen. Do we always see the heart as the heart? Or have we replaced the heart with a foot or a hand or, even worse, with a stone?

Let’s say that I went up to my two year old daughter Audrey and offered her one of two things. The first thing she could have is to live forever in a world where there was no suffering or pain or death, but instead only joy and love and peace. And that world would never end.

The second thing is she could have a Dora the Explorer sippy cup filled with chocolate milk.

Do you know which one she would pick? She would yell “Dora!” at me before I could even finish the question!

And the reason is simple. She doesn’t understand eternal life. She can’t imagine that place of unending joy. It’s hard for her to grasp; goodness, it’s hard for her to understand the WORDS, when we speak of things like RESURRECTION, and a world where evil and sin and pain don’t exist.

Instead, she focuses on and has a grasp of what is right in front of her. She focuses on Dora and the chocolate milk. And besides her lack of understanding, children aren’t great at delayed gratification. They always just chase after what is right in front of them.

In all these things, brothers and sisters in Christ, I now ask you a question:

How different from a two year old are we?

To be continued…

God loves you. And this is love: he gives you his commandments. He gives you his Law. And his Law is not burdensome. It is a BLESSING. Because you know what? Here’s the thing: all those veggies and bed times and homework and long sermons DO help us grow up to be joyous people. And so too, when we hear God’s law, and live by it, will it bring us joy.

-Aj Neugebauer LCMS pastor

Christ takes away the pain of sin by not only taking it from us
but obliterating it so that it is no more. He takes our shame
by healing those whom we have hurt and making us not full
of guilt, but instead by giving us his righteousness.
He takes the scars and pains of loved ones lost and
sooths with an unending peace that passes all
understanding by, simply, raising them from the dead and
making a place where there is no life unlived;
there is no goodbye; there is no separation from those
whom God has given us to love.

-Aj Neugebauer LCMS pastor

JESUS has come. And Jesus comes again. He comes, and there will be joy just by us being in his presence! He comes, and he breathes life and restoration into the fallen creation! He comes, and all is healed, and all is made well, and all the evil that is in our hearts and in our lives is taken away! He comes, and DEATH is no more!

-Aj Neugebauer LCMS pastor

If you ever find yourself in a place of pain and suffering,
and cannot imagine how that could ever end; how your
grief could ever cease; Then simply hear the word
of God that is shared with us by St. Paul. Hear it, and
take heart, and believe it, and know that even if you
cannot see it nor understand
how, that because of Jesus Christ, it is true: 

"the sufferings of this present time are not worth
comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

In the darkest moments, before the age of endless light,
let that be our hope and source of joy, by the power
of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

-LCMS Pastor Aj Neugebauer