David Bahn – Reflections

Psalm 105:1

O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.

2 Corinthians 10:16

Paul wrote: We may proclaim the good news in lands beyond you.

The above very brief video is from the LCMS Mega-Church Conference opening worship service at Salem Lutheran Church.

Diane and I are at the LCMS Mega-Church Conference in downtown Houston this week, and it has been an edifying and refreshing experience for us. This conference gathers pastors and wives from the largest LCMS churches throughout the USA. We are thankful to be part of that group.

High on the list of encouraging experiences was the opening worship service, held at Salem Lutheran Church (our neighbor up the road from us at St. John). The pastors and people of Salem went out of their way to welcome us, having their school students greet us with welcome signs, high-fives, cheerleaders, and smiles as we arrived on their campus. Three things stand out in my mind that are worth noting:

• Pastor Doug Dommer made the point that “Praise isn’t praise unless it is expressed.” The whole service was a wonderful time of praise, and a celebration of God’s love. From their beautiful organ to their praise band, to their troupe of liturgical dancers, to the message by Pastor Tim Niekirk, God’s name was praised. We expressed his glory powerfully. 
• We were prayed for in a very touching (literally) and affirming manner. We were invited to come to the altar rail, kneel for prayer, and had people surround us and lay their hands on us. Those people included prayer partners from Salem, as well as a number of members of St. John who joined us for the service. Both Diane and I are deeply touched and very grateful to God for his love through those special people.
• The theme of the conference is “Be Loved” (or “Beloved” – depending on how you read it). We were made to feel loved and honored in a special manner. That, of course, is the reason we praise God: we are loved by him. And we love because he first loved us. 

Having experienced this love, it is my desire to express that love to others to the ends of the earth. This Good News message is one that I greatly enjoy sharing each Sunday at St. John. I have had the privilege of sharing this Good News in Russia, Kenya, and China. It is my hope to share it also with our new next door neighbors, the people in our subdivision, those around the corner from St. John, in downtown Houston, and places where I am given the opportunity to express my praise to God and express his love for all.

Psalm 79:13

Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

Colossians 1:12 (GNT)

With joy give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God has reserved for his people in the kingdom of light.

In the list of very bad things catalogued by Paul in the opening chapters of Romans we have notorious sins: not honoring God as God, exchanging “the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things,” as well as “slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil.” A pretty condemning list. There is, however, yet another. Paul says that “they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.”

While we may think of Thanksgiving as a national holiday, and as such something good to do, God thinks of it as essential to our life as his people. We owe it to God for all the Father’s providential care, Jesus’ saving work, and the Holy Spirit’s sustaining presence in our lives.

Today is a good day to give thanks for his grace, goodness, glory, guidance, and generosity. To fail to do so is all to often a forgotten sin. Lord have mercy! We thank you for all things!

Joshua 24:18

We also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.

1 Corinthians 4:1

Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.

Eugene Allen was a butler who served every president from Truman to Reagan and whose life was the basis for the film The Butler. Certainly he had some stories to tell. He experienced the arrival of Mrs. Kennedy after  President John Kennedy was assassinated and was given a tie owned by the former president. He and his wife enjoyed a glass of champagne at a state dinner having been invited by President and Mrs. Reagan. Servants know much about the comings and goings of those they serve. They become trusted confidants over time. They likely know more personal secrets than the sharpest investigative reporters ever will.

Would that also be true of servants of the most high God? Over time would those who serve God and the cause of his kingdom begin to have a sense of what their master is up to and what would please him? And when a lowly servant of the King conveys his master’s wishes faithfully would not those who hear the message do well to heed them?

When I offer the absolution on a Sunday morning, or in a one-on-one conversation, I make it a point to emphasize that I grant forgiveness “in the name of” the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I speak for God. That is no small thing. Even though I do that as a Called servant of Christ, I am not the only one who may serve him, or even speak for him. For Christ died so that all who believe in him may live under him in his kingdom and serve him in righteousness (Luther’s Small Catechism, The Creed, 2nd Article).

How well do you know your master? How faithfully do you speak for him? Is it time to reclaim your calling and the honor it carries to be his servant? It is a great privilege and worthy calling.

Isaiah 43:16

The Lord makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters.

Mark 5:36

Jesus said, “Do not fear, only believe.”

When you’re faced with a challenge you find a way around it, tunnel through it, climb over it, or make it go away. So says the motivational speaker. Abigail Adams* put it this way: “It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties.”

Those statements of strength provide encouragement for the strong. But sometimes we don’t feel so strong. Sometimes the waves are tsunamis. Sometimes the waters rise fast and sweep us away. We cry, “Lead me to a rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2).

Then there are those times when God shows up in power. What must it have been like to see Jesus walking on the water (Mark 6:45-56)! How great a comfort it is when an ally shows up. What relief we experience when God opens a path for us to follow!

We may find a way around a difficulty. We may discover a means to get through the challenge. Sometimes we figure out how to climb over or even tunnel under the obstacles in our lives. But there is one problem we cannot overcome by ourselves. No amount of effort of vigor of mind can outwit sinful brokenness and mortality. Only God makes the way for us through Jesus who has shown up with a message of hope and courage in the face of our gravest problem. For although we cannot get around the reality of our mortality, and the implications of our sin without Jesus, he has come with a message of hope and the gift of life and salvation. Therefore we do not fear. We believe in Jesus.

* Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams (second president of the United States) and the mother of John Quincy Adams. She has been called the second First Lady and the first Second Lady although those terms were not in use at that time.

Jeremiah 31:14

My people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the Lord.

2 Corinthians 9:8

God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

We have just begun the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University at our church. Although Diane and I have taken the one day Dave Ramsey class, and do have our financial house in order, we want to encourage others who might not be where they want to be with their finances so that they can be more faithful stewards of the financial resources God entrusts to them. Financial Peace University classes offer excellent guidance for people who want to gain peace in their marriages and within their own hearts in regard to their finances.

Moreover, as we become more financially secure, we are able to be more generous with others who are in need. When we see a need, if we have the resources we are able to respond to that need.

If, however, our desires overtake our discipline we are not best able to gain financial security. We cannot be generous, or we may not wish to be generous. We often need a wanter adjustment. Our wanter is that part of our heart that looks at the new car, the expensive jewelry, latest electronic gadget, or bucket list vacation and wants it more than it wants to save for a rainy day, for retirement, or even more than it wants to help someone in need.

God’s work in his people’s hearts is to satisfy us with his bounty. The riches we enjoy are intended to move us to thankfulness and generosity, not to incite further desires for more. The only way that will happen, however, is if we adjust our wanters, dialing them back a bit, we are embracing God’s calling and honoring his intentions for us. If our wanter is out of whack, we will not be willing or able to share abundantly in every good work.

Is it time for you to adjust your wanter?

Jeremiah 12:3 (NASB)

You know me, O Lord; you see me; and you examine my heart’s attitude toward you.

1 Corinthians 4:5

Do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.

Many years ago Diane and I attended a marriage enrichment weekend that was deeply rewarding. We learned that a fulfilling marriage was based on emotional intimacy and spiritual unity, as well as physical intimacy. For one exercise we shared a story from our past that was painful to us. We both had one we immediately thought of, and we shared it with each other. It was a moment of significant vulnerability. But it was also a moment of deepening love and compassion for us both. We knew each other better and we could love each other more truly.

While we cannot hide from God – try as we might – we can forfeit a fuller experience of his love by our attempts to close our hearts to his grace and truth. That effectively shuts us off from experiencing the fullness of God’s love. For he loves the real person, broken, ashamed, rebellious, sinful and fallen as we may be. Truth demands that we acknowledge our sin and shame. Grace looks beyond it and loves the sinner.

The Bible says that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). But God also says, “I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more”(Jeremiah 31:34). On the Great Last Day, furthermore, there will be a moment when we are surprised to learn that God also saw those good works we did; things done not to impress him or anyone else, but done out of love and Holy Spirit-inspired kindness and mercy. Through faith in the grace of God and his forgiveness we look forward to hearing God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21).

God’s knowledge of us does not preempt his love or grace. It highlights the beauty of his love and the richness of his grace.

Psalm 91:15

The Lord says, “I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.”

Hebrews 2:15

Through death Jesus might free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.

We go to great lengths to factor fear and trouble out of our lives. We install sophisticated security systems in our homes and cars. We avoid bad sections of town. We insure our homes, health, cars, income, lives, and investments. We hire experts to fix our computers, home automation systems, health, and financial mismanagement.

These actions, however, may be more motivated by fear than we would like to admit. And sometimes our best efforts to insure, secure, and insulate our lives from trouble fail. Even the experts we hire or the insurance we purchase don’t always prevent or fix the issues at hand. So we numb our minds with thoughtless entertainment, distract ourselves with sports events, and do what we can to ignore the troubles and fears of life.

When the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the realities of our sinful world and self do break in, the promises of God’s presence and redemption shine like beacons in the darkest of nights.

Jesus’ death has freed us from slavery to the greatest fear of all: the fear of death. The greatest and most unavoidable threat has been conquered. We need not fear. And even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God’s promised presence comforts us.

God’s calling and gifts are that we no longer must live in fear, or let the troubles of this world define us. Rather, rejoicing in our freedom in Christ, and relying on the presence of God’s Holy Spirit, we have confidence in the face of trouble and courage in the face of fear. Troubles and death do not define us. They are the venues of God’s faithfulness and occasions for God’s goodness to shine through.

2 Samuel 23:3–4

One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning.

Acts 20:28

Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.

I have two distinct early memories regarding church and pastors. I recall setting up a makeshift pulpit and “having church” for my sister in our living room. I was also aware of the importance of Holy Communion, and recall that I was disappointed that we didn’t have any saltine crackers to share with my single congregant.

Contrast that with another memory: I knew from early on that I didn’t want to be a pastor because I would have to go to church every Sunday (!), and stand up in front and yell at everyone. I didn’t want to do that!

So how is it that I will finish my 37th year of serving as a pastor in the Lutheran Church this June. I have had the privilege of serving in Utah, Arkansas and Texas, experiencing great joys and challenges along the way. There have been tears, laughs, celebrations, and disappointments.

The opportunity to shape the spiritual, moral, and mental/emotional character of the people in the churches I have served is a great privilege. To have the possibility of helping someone see the light of God’s love, understand anew the depth of his grace, be undone by the sheer weight of the Law, and renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit is a remarkable honor.

When I read the passages above, I want all the more to be faithful and effective in this calling. I must align myself with Martin Luther as I consider how “if it were up to me I would have ruined it long ago.” But thanks be to God that he uses broken people to accomplish great things for his kingdom. I thank God for the Holy Spirit who has made me an overseer of Christ’s flock.

Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Mark 11:24

Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Martin Luther Heretic is a BBC-produced docudrama and one of my favorite film depictions of the 15th century reformer. It has some classic lines and scenes, one of which comes to mind in regard to these texts. Luther is shown teaching his students in the university. He is teaching them about grace and forgiveness, telling them that God simply forgives sins. There’s nothing we do to earn it or deserve forgiveness. It’s a free gift.

The students struggle with this new concept (which is actually based on the Bible’s true teaching), and asks, “You mean we can do whatever we please?” Luther responds, “Yes. And what pleases you? Get drunk and spend the week in a brothel? Make faces at the Duke?”

The exchange goes on: “You shall know them by their fruits,” says the student. Luther replies, “So the fruit makes the tree good. I thought it was the other way around.”

The question must be asked, “What pleases you?”Do you delight in the Lord? Are you willing to pray as though Jesus himself were praying? If these mark our attitude toward God, our prayers will be shaped and guided toward things that honor him and bring true grace and goodness to us.

Ezekiel 11:19–20

I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them.

2 Corinthians 5:17

If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

I’ve seen it happen a few times in dramatic and powerful ways. More often, however, it happens quietly and with little obvious outward fanfare. But make no mistake, obvious or subtle, when a person’s heart is changed from stoney to new wonderful things happen.

God’s faithfulness and goodness is displayed in such transformations. This is not evidence of the goodness of man; how can a stone become flesh? How can a dead man revive himself? This is evidence of the work of God in our hearts. As such it is evidence of God’s faithfulness to keep his promises, such as those given through the prophet Ezekiel. It is evidence of God’s grace in that he reaches into hearts of sinners. We who are sinful, guilty, responsible and lost are found by God and made New, righteous, and redeemed.

When a person is made new it is also evidence for hope in all of life. Do you have a friend who is making a mess of his life? There is hope. Is there a relationship in your family that is broken and dysfunctional? God changes hearts and reconciles families. Is there a deep disappointment in your soul? God pours the balm of Gilead into broken hearts.

Sometimes these Great Reversals are subtle and hidden. But whenever they happen praise goes to God; Jesus is glorified; the Spirit rejoices. I’m looking for that today. I hope you are too!