Friday, March 27, 2026

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Once again, let us read and ponder the words of the prophet Isaiah.  The verses below continue the description of the Messiah, Jesus, from Isaiah chapter 53.  It is helpful to read this passage several times.

 

Yet it was the Lord’s will to

 

crush him and cause

 

him to suffer,

 

and thought the Lord

 

makes his life an

 

offering for sin,

 

he will see his offspring and

 

prolong is days,

 

and the will of the Lord will

 

prosper in his hand.

 

After he has suffered,

 

he will see the light of life

 

and be satisfied;

 

by his knowledge my

 

righteous servant will

 

justify many,

 

and he will bear their

 

iniquities.

 

Therefore I will give him a

 

portion among the

 

great,

 

and he will divide the spoils

 

with the strong,

 

because he poured out his life

 

unto death,

 

and was numbered with the

 

transgressors.

 

For he bore the sin of many,

 

and made intercession for

 

the transgressors.

 

(Isaiah 53:10-12)

 

Blessings,

Pastor Karl

Thursday, March 26, 2026

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This morning I would invite you slowly to read through Isaiah 53:1-7 a few times with the understanding that the prophet Isaiah was speaking of the coming Messiah, Jesus.

 

Can you feel the connection between what Isaiah wrote and the sacrifice of Jesus to the cross?

 

Who has believed our message

 

and to whom has the arm

 

of the Lord been revealed?

 

He grew up before him like a

 

tender shoot,

 

and like a root out of dry ground.

 

He had no beauty or majesty

 

to attract us to him,

 

nothing in his appearance

 

that we should desire him.

 

He was despised and rejected

 

by mankind.

 

a man of suffering, and

 

familiar with pain.

 

Like one from whom people

 

hide their faces

 

he was despised, and

 

we held him in low esteem.

 

Surely he took up our pain

 

and bore our suffering,

 

yet we considered him

 

punished by God,

 

stricken by him, and afflicted.

 

But he was pierced for our

 

transgressions,

 

he was crushed for our

 

iniquities;

 

the punishment that brought

 

us peace was on him,

 

and by his wounds we are

 

healed.

 

We all, like sheep, have gone

 

astray,

 

each one of us has turned to our

 

own way;

 

and the Lord has laid on

 

him

 

the iniquity of us all.

 

He was oppressed and

 

afflicted,

 

yet he did not open his

 

mouth;

 

he was led like a lamb to the

 

slaughter,

 

and as a sheep before its

 

shearers is silent,

 

so he did not open his

 

mouth.

 

(Isaiah 53:1-7)

Blessings,

Pastor Karl

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God.  (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

 

 

The Apostle Paul was convinced:

(1) God comforts us in our troubles, and

 

(2) therefore we can provide comfort to others with the comfort we have received from God.

 

Notice how “comfort” is something we receive during a time of trouble or emotional pain.

 

Comfort is not the elimination of our difficult circumstances.  Comfort comes to us in the midst of our troubles.

 

This is terribly important for us to grasp.

 

Continuing troubles is neither a sign of God’s displeasure with us, nor is it a sign of a lack of faith on our part.

 

The Apostle Paul, who experienced more than his share of troubles, understood how the comfort of Jesus Christ comes to us in the midst of our continuing pain.

 

This powerful experience of God’s comfort in trying times is the key to our being able comfort others.

 

When others suffer, our first inclination is to change the circumstances so as to eliminate the cause of the suffering.  So very often we find ourselves powerless to do so.

 

However, we always have the ability to comfort others in their suffering with the comfort we have received from God.

 

Our ability to do so begins with true and genuine compassion for those in pain.

Blessings, 

Pastor Karl

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

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To this you were called, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.  (1 Peter 2:21)

 

 

Two decades ago a Christian movement called, "What Would Jesus Do?" became popular.

 

Books were published.  Teens wore “WWJD?” wristbands.  Sermons were preached.

 

This movement was based on: (1) this text from First Peter, and (2) an early 20th century book entitled, “In His Steps."

 

The phrase, “What would Jesus do?” came as a challenge for Christians, in all of their words and actions, to consider how Jesus would respond to the situation at hand.

 

A slight “tweak” on this saying might be, “What would Jesus have us do?"

 

I have often been incapable of figuring out what Jesus would do in certain situations.  After all, Jesus often surprised people with His responses.  How could I possibly figure out exactly what Jesus would do?  Even if I did, was I capable of acting in such a way?

 

Our anxiety might be ratcheted down a notch or two if we consider how Jesus would like us respond, rather than us trying to figure out exactly how Jesus would have responded.

 

What Would Jesus Have Us Do?"

 

Either way, Peter definitely calls us to consider the example of Christ Jesus in everything we do.

“He committed no sin,

and no deceit was found in his mouth.”  (1 Peter 2:22)

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Blessings,

 

Pastor Karl

Monday, March 23, 2026

 

We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God…  (Acts 14:22)

 

 

The Apostle Paul spoke these words.  He knew well the hardships that come from following Jesus Christ.

 

Paul spoke these words not long after he was stoned.  He got up, dusted himself off, and limped on to the next city.

 

The New Testament book of Acts tells of the missionary journeys of Paul, including the hardships he faced and his response to those hardships.

 

We ought not be surprised when we encounter hardships in our endeavors to follow Jesus.

 

We do well to label them “hardships.”  When we do so, we are viewing them from the perspective of eternity.

 

I would invite you to read about Paul’s experiences in the book of Acts.  For Paul gives us a wonderful example of a faithful disciple of Jesus striving to follow his Lord in a dangerous world.

 

Blessings,

 

Pastor Karl