An Everlasting Sign

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He created the sun and the moon. He created the seas and the dry land. He created the plants and the animals. He created every seed-bearing plant and every fruit-producing tree. And then, as the pinnacle of creation, He created man and woman in His image and blessed them with the fruits of all creation.

From the beginning of creation, God created things and set them in order. He created the plants and the animals, and He arranged them in the Garden of Eden. The plants grew each according to their own kind. They flowered and produced fruit according to their various kinds. And it was all good. Things were beautiful. Adam and Eve were well fed through the bountiful provision of the Lord. They had merely to reach out and receive the fruits of the earth.

Creation was perfect. Every living thing brought forth according to its created order, and it was all very good. The Garden was in perfect order, subdued and in service to the man and woman to whom God had given charge over creation.

"Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” That sounds good. Good directions for the Christian life. Seek God while He may be found. And when is it that God may be found? Right now, of course! God is here, just like He has always been. The time to find God is always now, the present, this moment.

Of course there is a temptation in this knowledge. You can seek the Lord today, or you can seek Him tomorrow. He has always been here, so He will be here later when you decide that you need Him. Things are good now, you might think, so you do not need the Lord. All quiet on the western front, God is in His heavens, and let's leave well enough alone.

Martin Luther once compared the Gospel to a passing rain-shower. It is here today and gone tomorrow. The Lord may be found while He is here, but He does not promise to be handy to you at all times. The Spirit blows where He wills. If you turn your back on Him today, He may choose to leave you to your own devices tomorrow. “Have it your way” may work great for hamburgers, but it is a terrible word of judgment from the Lord of Hosts.

Eat With Your Ears

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What do you have that was not a gift? What do you have that you have not received from the hand of another? Your body is the product of the design of God and the flesh of man. Your life is a gift sustained by the providence of God. All that you have and all that you are is a gift from God, who has created you and called you into being.

What do you have that was not a gift? You have sin. You have the disease of concupiscence, that ancient evil infection that corrupts your entire being with a bottomless desire for all things opposed to God. This, even, was an inheritance received from your fathers and forefathers before you, who received it from their fathers, all the way back to our first-father, Adam. But your sin is your own. It is the product of your own sinful nature, which finds ever more inventive ways to flout the command and promise of God.

The Best Things in Life...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

They say that the best things in life are free. The Beatles proclaimed to the world, “Can't buy me love.” A wife's kiss, a son's hug, a daughter's grin – things like these have no price-tag. You cannot buy the sun or the rain. Good health is priceless. Indeed, many of the best things in life are beyond the ken of the marketplace. They may take work, but they cannot be bought.

In today's Old Testament lesson, the Lord exhorts you to come and receive great blessings at no cost to you. Come, buy and eat and drink, without price or cost! Come and receive all those things which are necessary for your daily life. You who thirst, come and drink deeply, and be satisfied. You who are hungry, come and eat your fill of rich food. Eat and drink and be satisfied by the bounty that the Lord provides. And keep your money, because the Lord has spread His table before you as a gift and a blessing. He asks no price, no admission cost. He only invites you to come and partake of the wonders He has in store for you.

God's Word Does What He Says

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

and do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

In these words, the prophet combines a multitude of teaching from our Lord. Here, we learn of the nature of God's provision for us in our bodies, His care for our souls, and He, by inference, reveals Himself and how He works toward us.