David Bahn – Reflections

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

² We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers,  ³ remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶ And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹ For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. – 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 [ESV]

Has your faith ever wavered? Have you ever wondered whether it’s all true? Have you grappled with doubts? I certainly have. The devil has a way of planting seeds of doubt, and a willingness to question all this about God. Does he really exist? Does something really happen when I pray? But these questions have not ever kept me from praying, preaching, studying, and wanting to learn more about God. Some of that was born of fear: I honestly do fear the dire consequences of abandoning faith in God. Some of it has to do with love. In fact I am more captivated and sustained by the pure truth of God’s steadfast love. I have no doubt of that. Some of it has to do with trust. I do not trust anyone other than God. I never doubt the trustworthiness of the God in whom I believe.

As a result of this, I continue to write, preach, teach, and give myself to God’s service as best I can. I rely desperately on God’s grace in all this. If he were not a gracious and forgiving God, I would have no hope. If he is not trustworthy, I would have no reason to share these thoughts with anyone. If he did not love me and all people, all would be lost. And it is the purity of God’s love that holds me fast in faith.

Love is truly good. Love is patient, kind, gracious, and constant. Love keeps no record of wrongs, bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (cf. 1 Corinthians 13 for a refresher course in the nature of true love – God’s love)

Because of this, I am willing to be generous. Because of this I delight to share the hope of God in the face of death. Because of this I resist temptation. Because of this I seek always to honor God. These are the works of faith. And whenever I falter or stumble, I fall back on God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. And I keep on going.

Yours may be a different list. A kind word to a troubled woman battling chronic pain. A word of encouragement to a struggling coworker. A gift to someone who needs cheering up. A listening ear to a wayward daughter. A word of forgiveness to someone who has hurt or offended you. A phone call to a grieving widow. A helping hand to a neighbor in need. A sack of groceries to a sick friend. A meal to a grieving family. A silence in the face of false accusation, knowing that God has the final say. A willingness to be known as a follower of Jesus…one who is still learning what that means and how to follow him well.

All these at best are works of faith. At worst they are an ugly cover-up for an unbelieving heart. And while ours will never be perfectly pure, faith’s essential tenet is that our sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake, and any work of faith flows from that faith.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

² We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, ³ remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶ And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹ For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. – 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 [ESV]

He sat across from me in my “office” in the school storage room at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He hemmed and hawed and finally said, “I hope you’ll take this in the way I mean it.”

“Yes,? I said, inviting more.

“Well, I’ve been thinking of this for a while. I want to give you this money for rent.”

Through the months following that encounter I learned more about Bob. He lived in a modest house. He had a serviceable car, and a generous heart. And he’s just one. I could name many others who have been generous with us, with others, with the church, and in support of God’s mission to save the world.

This letter to the church in Thessalonica begins with a thank-you to God for their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. I’m struck here by how important it is to Paul that the Thessalonians not only have faith, and have embraced the Gospel message, but that that faith is active and impactful. Because they believed they acted. Because they believed they held to hope. Because they believed, they showed love – apparently for God and for each other. 

There is no doubt that God saves us by grace through faith. Nothing we do makes him love us. Nothing we fail to do makes him take his love from us. Jesus died for the sins of the world. For this I am deeply thankful. Eternal blessings are promised to all who believe.

There is also no doubt that faith in Jesus moves us to work[s] of faith and labor[s] of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why Jim provided us with rent money for those two months we were in Cheyenne before I began my vicarage, and we waited for our son to be born. I do not doubt the faith of the people of that church. But I couldn’t have written a thank-you to them. We certainly did, however, write a letter of thanks to Jim! 

Your acts of kindness, love, and generosity, and your attitude hopefulness don’t earn God’s favor. They flow from God’s favor to you. And reading these verses now, I want to stay strong in works of faith, labors of love and steadfastness of hope, all grounded in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Join me in praying these psalms on this Lord’s Day. He loves us so much!

Psalm 21:13

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen – Revelation 22:17-21 [ESV]

Between the book I’m listening to (The German Wife, by Kelly Rimmer) and a very brief foray into the 1950’s south at the Henry Ford Museum, I’m having a very difficult time believing the terrible things described in each of these really happened. Nazi Germany was a caustic cauldron of hatred, bigotry, persecution, and injustice. Then, 20 years after the war, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in the front of the bus in Birmingham, Alabama. Peaceful protests were met with further arrests and another cauldron boiled over into riots, brutal beatings, lynchings, and even death. I shake my head as I write this. How can this be? Didn’t we fight a world war to put an end to such injustice and bigotry?

Against that background come the promises of Jesus in the book of Revelation. Tears will be wiped away. Injustice will be made right. Humble will be exalted. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be eternally satisfied. All will be made right in the world.

We may wish to paint a rosy picture of life. We want to believe we can live together in peace. We yearn for righteousness. We long for an end to war and violence of every kind.

But as long as we are waiting for Jesus’ return, we will live in a fallen world, and violence, injustice, suffering, sickness, and death will be the order of the day. We can close our eyes to it. But it remains. This gives witness to the fallen state of man, and the broken world in which we live. “There is none righteous, not even one,” writes the psalmist (Psalm 14:1-3).

But there is another witness to hope, joy, justice, and peace. This is the message of the Book of Revelation. Far from a book meant to scare the bejeebers out of folks, this book is testimony to the victory of the Lamb of God. He has taken away the sin of the world and now reigns and rules at the right hand of God. Far from a book that needs some sort of decoder ring to figure out, this book of apocalyptical scenes and symbolic numbers and images is testimony to one ultimate truth: God wins. 

God wins the war with sin, Satan, and every evil. He wins our hearts by his grace. He wins salvation for all who believe. And the only witness of that is Jesus Christ. This is the message here: He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” This is not a transcription of John’s nightmares or some hallucination dreamed up in an altered state. This is the testimony of Jesus. We can count on it. And we can rejoice in hope of his return. Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! 

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen – Revelation 22:17-21 [ESV]

We have been saved. Redeemed. Set apart. And yet we are still being saved, day by day, as God works in us for his good pleasure. And one day we will be saved, on the Great Last Day. This last saving is the subject of this chapter of Revelation. The whole book recounts how we have been saved through the suffering and death of Jesus. That had happened about 70 years before John wrote down this “Revelation of Jesus Christ.”

People were still being saved through reading these words and prophecies. Many of them are frightening and confusing to us 2000 years later. But to those under dire persecution these words were encouraging, hope-giving, life-saving words. God was using these words to save them in the midst of their struggles and temptations. This is the purpose of this book. 

They were being saved by being pointed back to Jesus’ victory and forward to the ultimate culmination and consummation of Jesus’ work of redemption. They were being pointed toward the day when God would wipe every tear from the eyes of his beloved children. They were urged to hope for Jesus’ return to end Satan’s rampage once and for all. They were called to believe that one day sin, sickness, suffering, and hardship would be ended. 

We have much in common with the people of John’s day, and to whom he wrote this book. We have been saved by Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection from the grave. We are being saved by the Holy Spirit’s continued work in us. And one day we will be perfectly saved in the glory of the life of the world to come.

This is the last saving. It will be a very good day for us all. Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! May his grace ever be with us all. Amen.

David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen – Revelation 22:17-21 [ESV]

How long will be the line in heaven? The line of people asking Jesus about some nuance of the faith, some difficult-to-understand Bible passage, or some missing piece of information. Why did you put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden? How was it that the walls of Jericho fell at the blast of the trumpet? Was it just a timely earthquake? What about the dinosaurs? Where do they fit in? Maybe you’ll be in that line with your own question. It might be personal: Why did you let me go through that dark time in my life? Why didn’t I get that job? Why? How? When? Where were you when? The list goes on and on. 

Sometimes we are more than tempted to read between the lines of the Bible, imagining how Judas felt and whether he had a last-millisecond change of heart, or what Jesus wrote on the ground when the woman caught in adultery was brought to him. It can be very frustrating to have to give up on knowing all the answers. 

The biggest question, called the Crux Theologorum (the theologian’s cross), is simply this: Why are some saved and others not? The Lutheran answer is quite unsatisfying to those with inquiring minds: I don’t know. Check out this thorough explanation of the reason we say that if you do have an inquiring mind.

While the I don’t know answer may well be unsatisfying to those with inquiring minds, it is well-aligned with the warnings in this passage. Don’t add to God’s word. Don’t take away from God’s word. And there’s good cause for this warning. 

We’re not God. We don’t have the wherewithal to speak things into existence. We cannot know all there is to know. We don’t see the whole panorama of history. We don’t have a full grasp of even our own sins or motives. We cannot take the place of God and try to improve on what he has revealed. Nor are we well served by taking out things that God has said. There are only two religions in the world: that which God has revealed in Scripture, and that which man imagines. God’s religion is the far better choice.

There is yet a more salutary reason for this warning. For it requires that we live by faith. And while we truly know precious little about God, the little we know is precious, and it invites faith. We are saved by faith. We are not saved by knowledge. We are not saved by understanding all mysteries. We are not saved by anything we may do, know, or understand.

We’re saved by God’s grace through faith. And filling in the blanks with our own imaginations is not a help to faith. Being able to say, “I don’t know,” is an act of faith, not an admission of theological ineptitude. 

Don’t add to God’s word. Don’t take away from God’s word. Believe God’s word. Believe in God’s Word-made-flesh, Jesus Christ, full of grace and truth. And be saved. And at peace in the knowledge of what he has revealed: He loves us so much!

David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen – Revelation 22:17-21 [ESV]

Diane and I presented Being an Obedient Follower to the staff of St. John’s Early Childhood Center. We were well received and very encouraged by the participation of all who were there. Part of that teaching had to do with the idea that everyone looks like a sheep from the front and like a shepherd from behind. In other words, we are all being led, and we all lead others. Others are following us. Being an obedient follower means that we are also leading others to be obedient followers of Jesus. 

Take a look at the opening words of this passage. The Holy Spirit is inviting people to come and receive the water of life. So is the Bride of Christ (the Church). And so are the ones who hear this invitation. They, too, are inviting others to come and take the water of life without price. 

I’ve actually heard people say that they don’t want to witness because they’re afraid they’ll say the wrong thing. Truth is, not saying anything is the wrong thing to say. Failing to give witness to Jesus’ love, faithfulness, grace, and salvation is not saying the right thing. It’s like the old FedEx commercial: FedEx is so easy that even a CEO can do it. Witnessing to Jesus’ grace and truth is like one beggar telling another where to find bread. Even the one first hearing the invitation can share it with others. 

Most of us are more thirsty than we realize. We’re too often sated by things that are not healthy or truly satisfying. We think we’re full because we stuff our souls with spiritual junk food, empty gratifications, or fleeting pleasures. But God offers true refreshment, the water of life. And this water is priceless, and freely offered.

“All the prophets of the Bible, all the apostles of the Bible, all the threatenings of the Bible, all the promises of the Bible, gather themselves up, and focus themselves into this one burning ray, ‘Come to Jesus. Come, and take the water of life freely.’” (Spurgeon)

Have you heard this invitation? Heed it. Invite others to join you as you come to Jesus and receive his free gift of the water of life. 

David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen – Revelation 22:17-21 [ESV]

One of my favorite movies is The Hunt For Red October. Based on the Tom Clancy novel by the same name, Sean Connery plays a Russian naval officer who defects to the United States, during the cold war, with his super-secret submarine (Red October). As the plot plays out there is need to verify his intentions to his US Navy counterpart. He is asked to respond with a ping from the sonar of his sub. When he calls for a ping, he is questioned. This was an unusual move. But he makes it clear: “One ping, Mr. [I don’t remember the man’s name]. One ping only.” By that his intentions to defect are communicated to the US Navy captain on the nearby sub. And the story continues to unfold. 

Here we have a final word – a single ping, if you will – at the end of the whole book. “Amen.” While some of the ancient Greek manuscripts omit the “Ἀμήν” (Amen), many modern translations include it. And it is found in other ancient Greek manuscripts. The word means truly. It’s the exclamation point of all that John has seen through this revelation of Jesus Christ to him. “Yes, yes, it shall be so,” as Martin Luther puts it. All of the foregoing truths, prophecies, pronouncements, praises, and proclamations are in fact most certainly true.

We have covered the hymns of praise in the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John. From hymns of praise to the Lamb who was slain and now reigns, to praise to God for his righteous retribution, to praise for the salvation given to the faithful, one chorus after another has been lifted up in praise to God. The book of Revelation is a celebration of the ultimate victory of God, Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit to inspire faith, and a vindication of righteousness and faith. 

In this last chapter there comes an invitation, a blessing, and a verification of all that goes before. The Ἀμήν is the verification – the One Ping Only – of Jesus’ words, promises, and warnings. 

• Will there be a Last Day? Ἀμήν
• Will Jesus reign forever on his throne? Ἀμήν
• Will those who hear and heed his invitation to receive the water of life enjoy that life-giving refreshment eternally? Ἀμήν
• Will those who have done such terrible things to God’s people through the ages be brought to justice? Ἀμήν
• Will those who acknowledge their sins and repent of them, acknowledge Jesus’ true and proper reign over all things be saved? Ἀμήν
• Will every tear be wiped away in the life of the world to come? Ἀμήν
• Will every sickness, sin, and all of Satan’s reign be brought to naught? Ἀμήν
• Will there be joy forever with all those gathered before the Lamb of God for he has taken away the sin of the world? Ἀμήν
• Will our faith in Jesus be vindicated and will we be deeply thankful for his steadfast love and faithfulness? Ἀμήν
• Will the grace of our Lord be with you? Ἀμήν

Truly. It shall be so!

Join me in praying these psalms on this Lord’s Day. He loves us so much!

Psalm 14:1-3

David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
²     for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
    who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

³ Once more they cried out,

“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

⁴ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” ⁵ And from the throne came a voice saying,

“Praise our God,
    all you his servants,
you who fear him,
    small and great.”

⁶ Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.
⁷ Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
⁸ it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹ And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. –Revelation 19:1-10 [ESV]

We occasionally receive “SAVE THE DATE” cards and quasi-invitations. A wedding is upcoming. An anniversary celebration is in the offing. A dinner party is being planned. Recently, however, after receiving the SAVE THE DATE card, we didn’t receive the follow-up invitation. Turns out that this dinner party invitation was sent by someone other than the one who sent the SAVE THE DATE card, and things got very mixed up in the process. We even got a phone call from the hostess, “Are you coming?” Yes. Did you receive the invitation?” No. That can happen. Well, it actually did happen. And we were glad for the phone call and personal invitation. 

On another occasion the follow-up invitation arrived well enough. But it got stuck behind some other pieces of mail or desk detritus, and we never RSVP-ed to the invitation. Again, a phone call rescued us from missing the wedding and reception following. We told the kind woman who called that we had it on our calendar but didn’t actually receive the invitation. OOPS! But all’s well that ends well. And the wedding was delightful and the reception pleasant enough. 

You may not realize that invitations to attend weddings or receptions are not high on my wishlist. In fact when a professor at the seminary told us that he hated weddings and would prefer a funeral any day, I was offended…until I did my first wedding. And then a funeral. Oh my! People are ready to listen to the word of God at a funeral. People are ready to get to the punch bowl and wedding cake at a wedding. Thankfully that isn’t always true, I hasten to add. But it is too often more true than I’d like it to be. 

This wedding invitation – the wedding feast of the Lamb of God – is one no one would want to miss. Two simple reasons for this:

• (1) It is the wedding of the King of the Universe. He’s been quiet, humbly-hidden, and our most lasting image of the Lamb of God is of him on the throne of the cross. But this will be dramatically different. He will make a glorious appearance. The feast will be far better than any feast we have ever experienced. Choice wine. Fine meat. A full and glorious spread.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
⁷ And he will swallow up on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    the veil that is spread over all nations.
⁸     He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    for the Lord has spoken.
⁹ It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” – Isaiah 25:4-6

• (2) We will be with all the redeemed of God and every impediment to the richest and most blessed relationships will be utterly gone. Uncle Eddie will be polite and respectful. Aunt Edna will be gracious and understanding. You will be celebrated. I will be content. We will all be at perfect peace. We’ll all be stunned by the grace of God who has invited us to the feast and provided it to us at such a great cost: the death of the Lamb of God…who now reigns in fullness of grace and glory.

Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. These are the true words of God. You don’t want to miss this party! Neither do I.