lord Archives - Faith Lutheran Church, Wesley Chapel

Kurt Steinbrueck April 30, 2021

Blog Apostles creed, god, jesus, Joshua 24:15, king, lord, Matthew 28:18, ruler, submission

My Lord and My God

Who do you serve?

“And (I Believe) in Jesus Christ, His (the Father’s) only Son, our Lord…”

This is the first credal statement of the Christian Church. Lord is not just some nice title that Jesus thought sounded good. It has real meaning. It means He has all power and authority. He rules over all things.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” – Matthew 28:18

Jesus, Lord of All
Sometimes, I think we use this title without really thinking about what it means. This phrase is both frightening and reassuring at the same time. Jesus’ commands are final and He is our judge, from which nothing can be hidden. He also is our savior who has the power to carry out any and all promises He makes.

I could go on about the authority of Jesus as Lord, but, today, I thought we’d focus on another aspect of this statement in the creed. Jesus is our Lord. This is both a statement of fact and a statement of submission.

Fact: On the one hand, we are saying that Jesus is, indeed, Lord. This is a fact. Nothing can change this, even if we don’t believe it.
Submission: On the other hand, we are proclaiming our full, personal submission to Jesus. Jesus is my Lord. I follow Him. I obey His commands. I trust His judgments. I rely on His promises. He has all authority not only in heaven and on earth, but in me.

This is our declaration to the world. You may serve other lords, but I serve Jesus.

It’s like Joshua said to the Israelites after having come into the Promised Land.

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:15

Dear Jesus,

You are Lord of heaven and earth and You are my Lord. All Your ways are good and Your promises sooth my soul. Help me to follow Your commands and trust Your promises.

Amen

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Kurt Steinbrueck June 27, 2019

Blog god, God's will, heaven, lord, lords prayer

What is God’s Will?

“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” – The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10)

My two-year-old has a will and he loves letting the rest of us know what it is. Whether he’s telling me he wants to ride his bike or doesn’t want to go to bed, he lets me know.

If I contradict his will…he lets me know his displeasure with my choice. On more than one occasion he has tried to send me to time-out for not doing what he wants. What he doesn’t know is I would be fine with a time-out. 😉

Eli knows what he wants, but not what he needs. Sometimes what he wants would actually hurt him. As he grows up, hopefully, he’ll start to trust me a bit to know what is best. Even more, I hope he grows up to trust that God’s will is best. After all, I’m far from perfect.

God, however, is perfect, He is wise, and He loves us. We can trust His will.

My wife, Melissa, periodically gets kidney stones. The last time she got one we went to the emergency room. They treated her, ran some tests, and got the pain to a manageable level. Before we left, the doctor prescribed some medicines. We asked the doctor which meds could be taken together and how often to take them.

Melissa followed the doctor’s directions for the medication not because she had no choice, but because she trusted the doctor knew what he was talking about and that he had her best interests in mind. She knew that going against the doctor’s directions was risky and could even be fatal.

I used to think praying for God’s will was me surrendering in a power struggle. If I wanted to follow Jesus, I had to be willing to give up my way, which was pretty great, and give into His will. However, I’ve come to realize that it isn’t so much a power struggle as a realization that God’s way is much better than mine.

Melissa not only trusted the doctor’s direction but sought it because she realized she didn’t know enough to make a wise decision on her own. Her doctor did. This is trust we see from Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane right before His arrest.

“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” – Mark 14:36

Jesus trusted the Father’s will was good and right even though it would be hard.

When we pray for God’s will to be done we do so because we realize His will is good and right. It is the best. We seek His will because we see we don’t know enough and sin has corrupted our wisdom. We aren’t saying, “Okay, fine. We’ll do it Your way this time.” We are saying, “Please, Lord, save me from my ways. Let Your will be done instead. I need Your will to be done.”

Heavenly Father,

You are good and perfect and so is Your will. You love me and Your will is loving towards me. You say it is Your will to save me and to break the plans of the enemy. May Your will be done in my life and in the whole world. Help, save, comfort, and defend us gracious Lord.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

lord

My Lord and My God

My Lord and My God

What is God’s Will?

What is God’s Will?

Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL serving Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, and New Tampa, FL