A Shepherd You Can Trust

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.  I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.  So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”  John 10:14-16Can you picture a flock of sheep grazing on a hillside, content and peaceful?  Can you picture a flock of sheep safe in a sheep pen from wild animals or thieves who want to harm them?  In a dangerous world, sheep need a good shepherd to lead them and protect them.  In a loud world with many false voices, sheep need to hear the calming voice of their good shepherd who knows them by name and loves them so much he will lay down his life for them.  They follow him because they trust him.Jesus lived in a dangerous world of competing religious voices, many seeking to take his life. As our Good Shepherd, he was sent by the Father to gather scattered sheep from all over the world into one flock.  He must lay down his life for the sheep.  He loves you, knows you by name and calls you into his flock now and forever.  Welcome to Jesus’ flock!Father, thank you for sending your only Son to be our Good Shepherd by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave.  AmenStephen J. Carter, Oakville, MO 

Who Is Jesus?

John 10:27-32

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”

A story of love and intolerance. That’s what this portion of John’s Gospel could be called. Jesus brings love’s stories; the Jews, stones. The Lord’s enemies do not tolerate Jesus’ affirmation that He comes from the Heavenly Father. The Jews’ blindness did not allow them to see the origin of Jesus’ works.

Open your eyes. Do you want to see Jesus’ good works, which point to the Father? Jesus healed a blind man, a paralytic, ten lepers, and another leper; he raised a little girl, Lazarus, and a boy in Nain; he fed thousands; he had compassion on thousands; he forgave a paralytic, an adulteress, Peter after he betrayed him, and even his enemies who crucified him; he walked on water and calmed a storm as well as his disciples’ fear; he was patient with the Emmaus disciples and explained the Scriptures to them. Jesus did all of this, and much more, so that we might see and believe that he comes from the Father.

The Jews could not tolerate Jesus’ affirmation of who he was. They could not understand the way Jesus explained the Scriptures! Do you doubt the Holy Scripture? The Bible came from God the Father! Is it hard for you to believe that God is compassionate and loving towards his children? No need to doubt. God has given you many signs that he loves you more than anything. He sent Jesus to die on a cross to pay for your sins. Now you can believe his promises to forgive you and to give you eternal life. God is good. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are witnesses of God’s love.

Hector Hoppe St. Louis, MO

Life Throws Many Things At Us

2 Peter 3:14 – “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”

Someone once said, “Proper prior planning prevents poor performance.” Planning is absolutely vital these days. How do you prepare for the future? Of course, that depends on what events are pending. Life can throw so many things at us.

Years ago, I played Little League Baseball. One of my early coaches gathered all the players on our team together and told us the obvious. “Guys, every time you take the field, ask yourself one question… ‘what if the ball comes to me?’” That is a good question for many aspects of life. What will you do if the ball comes to you?

Peter writes in his second letter to the church, “make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace” with our Lord. Those three efforts are a wonderful pattern for our lives. So many things come at us in this life. Change is all around us, unexpected events occur, and crises can overwhelm us. How do we handle it?

With prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, we make every effort to live as one who is a child of God and disciple of Christ, spotless and blameless. And because Christ suffered, died, and rose again victorious over sin, we live in total peace with our Lord. We cannot do this by our own efforts. Christ Jesus makes us spotless, blameless, and gives us peace. Now we can face the future fearlessly.

Rev. Eric J. Erkkinen Chaplain, U.S. Army (ret.)

By All Possible Means

By All Possible Means

The Apostle Paul writes: “I have become all things to all people that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Paul writes that although he is a totally free person, he chooses to make himself a servant, a “slave to everyone” so that he might bring the good news of Jesus to as many people as possible. It seems to me that the mission of Christian Friends of New Americans is like that. I have seen different ethnic refugee groups and families come to the Peace Center and participate in activities.

In that setting and in other churches, people of good will have reached out to welcome new refugees to our city and nation. For Christians, the goal is to share God’s love so that “by all possible means” we can connect them to Jesus and His body of followers, the church.

Helping at the Peace Center is hard work — always a degree of chaos, and lots of help needed with transportation, program support, volunteer recruitment, fund-raising, and facility upkeep But we see the CFNA vision bearing fruit as we continue to reach out to new families, to people young and old, over and over, so that “by all means” we might share with them the love of God in Jesus Christ, which is the “power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for the opportunity to reach out to New Americans. Help us to rejoice in the work of the Holy Spirit in the refugee community, and give us lasting joy as we share the love of Christ with people of “every tribe and nation” in as many ways as possible. Amen.

Chaplain Ted Wuerffel St. Louis, MO

Lifted Up

Luke 18:9-14: To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

Jesus once told a story about two men who went to the Temple. One man was very religious. He fasted; he gave offerings. He prayed: “God, I thank you that I’m not like other people. I’m not a robber or an evildoer. I am not even like this tax collector.”

The tax collector was standing in the back. Tax collectors worked for a foreign government, against their own people. Many of them got rich, taking money from people who had no choice but to pay. They were hated.

So what could the tax collector say? He couldn’t even look up. Instead he beat his breast with his fist and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Jesus said that God approved of this prayer, not the other prayer. “I tell you that this man went home, right in God’s eyes.” This man, who humbled himself before God, would be lifted up by God. Forgiven by God. Loved by God.

When Jesus came to this world, He came as the totally righteous Son of God. People called him “the friend of sinners”—and he agreed! That was why He came. The people who needed God to have mercy on them, needed Him.

Jesus came to humble Himself—even to the point of death—so that just as He is lifted up to life, so we also will be lifted up. He still is the Friend of sinners.

Jesus, we thank You that You do have mercy. You promise to lift us up, as You are lifted up, and give us a life, right with You, forever. Amen.

Bruce Cameron St. Louis, MO

The Father's Embrace

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20

Jesus tells a story about a son who demands his inheritance early and then leaves home for a far country where he wastes his property in reckless living. The son ends up starving, desperate, and guilty. He heads back home, hoping that he can survive by becoming a servant to his father. Have you ever felt desperate and alone in a far country with no hope? Who will help you and welcome you?

The father sees his عناق الأب son at a distance and feels compassion for him. He runs and embraces him and kisses him. He does not treat him like a servant but accepts him as his son. He puts the best robe on him, a ring on his finger, and shoes on his feet. Then he prepares a feast for the whole community to celebrate his son’s return.

Your heavenly Father gives you the whole world as a gift. Even when you waste His gifts and live selfishly, He forgives you and runs out to embrace you. Your Father sent His only Son, Jesus to live for you and die on a cross to pay for your sins. That Father welcomes you into His family because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. He prepares a feast of celebration for you here with His family and in heaven forever.

Father, thank You for Your embrace to welcome me home to Your family because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Amen.

Arabic Translation HERE

Christ Has Risen! He has risen indeed, Alleluia!

What does it mean for us that Christ is risen? We were not there when Jesus grew up and lived among the people, teaching, healing, and ministering to them. He assured them, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He suffered under Pontius Pilate and was crucified. As He died He cried out, “It is finished”—a  Victory Cry! His work of saving all people was now finished. Our sins were all washed away at Calvary. “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).Three days later Jesus rose from the dead. Christ is Risen, He is risen indeed. Alleluia! Jesus had earlier explained to Martha that His resurrection has a wonderful meaning for us, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11:25, 26).

What a comfort to know that Christ has done it all for us! He loved us so much that He died in our place and rose again. We now have the promise of eternal life with Him when we die. Jesus loved us and He faithfully loves and care for us today! Such love for us is summed up in this verse, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life.”

Let’s share that message with our family, friends, and neighbors.

Karen Wendt St. Louis, MO

View in Arabic!

The Poison of Resentment

Matthew 6:9-15[Jesus said to his disciples:] Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.A Sunday school teacher once said: “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other one to die.” Think about it. Resentment hurts more the one who holds it. Think about all the poison we take just because we don’t want to forgive.Did you notice that there are seven petitions in the Lord’s Prayer, and that after Jesus finished teaching it, he explained only one of them? Do you know which one? The one on forgiveness.Forgiveness is the key that opens heaven. To withhold forgiveness is to close the access to Holy Communion and the access to heaven. Not to forgive is to poison our lives to the point that we become bitter and sour people.Forgiveness on the other side, frees us, because forgiveness is not resentful. Forgiveness throws poison to the trash, where it belongs. Forgiveness does not keep account of wrongdoings and is not offered in a limited way.By Rev. Hector Hoppe