Great and Small Easter by B&H Kids Editorial Staff — Book Review

This delightful little board book would make a welcome addition to any toddler’s Easter basket.  Just the right size for small hands, it is sturdy enough to withstand lots on hands-on attention– a necessity as children will enjoy opening the flaps over and over.  Attractive drawings in lovely pastels illustrate animal pairs puddle-jumping, playing hide and seek, and singing and dancing to celebrate the season the the God who gives life to everything!

It closes with a Bible verse:

“Look, I am making everything new!”  Revelation 21:5

Little ones and their parents will love it.

VERDICT:  5 STARS

If you would like to purchase this book, follow the link below:

Great and Small Easter – B&H Publishing (bhpublishinggroup.com)

The Lutheran Ladies received a free e-copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.  Disclaimer pursuant to FTC 16 CPR 255.

For more books for children see:

What’s So Wonderful About Webster? by Stephen and Alex Kendrick–Book Review

GraceFull by Dorena Williamson — Book Review

The Great Farmapalooza by Jill Roman Lord — Book Review

 

Grade Yourself #3

I’ve been thinking a lot this month about grading yourself honestly on how you are doing spiritually — is it possible (see Grade Yourself)  and who/what should you compare yourself to in assigning a grade (see  Grade Yourself #2 ).  I concluded with input from a friend, that each of us should be “graded” against ourselves.  How have we matured in our relationship with God, our good works, our understanding of Scripture over the past weeks, months or years.

Recently I did another spiritual exercise that had to do with imagining my own death.  How would I want to be remembered?  What would I expect to be said in my eulogy.    What are my life goals and have I met them?  This too, is a kind of “grading” or evaluating.  Of course, it is my faith and not my works that save me, but will I feel at all  worthy to hear these words?

‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!'”  Matthew 25:23

I thought hard about this.  Looking back on my life, trying to grade myself, I would consider three things.  The first is my life verse(actually it’s two verses):

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Second is my personal mission statement What’s My Mission?:

“”To keep in mind that I am a pilgrim on a journey to draw closer to God’;  to recognize and respect this pilgrim quality in others and use my God given talents, insights, and resources to encourage them;  to enjoy the life, friends, family and work with which I have been blessed and to be a peaceful and harmonious influence in all of these places.”

Finally, my core values (L. A. T. C. H. On To Your Core Values):

• Learning
• Attentiveness
• Teamwork
• Creativity
• Honesty

These are the things I would use to “grade” my life–this is what I would use to see if I had worked toward being the kind of servant God created me to be.

If you haven’t done any exercises like these, I would encourage you to do so.  Knowing what you’re aiming for will help you persevere.  As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said:

“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.”

 

 

 

Did You Call Dad?

One of my daughters was in an accident recently.  The road was a little icy, and a truck in front skidded, causing others to hit their brakes and pretty soon … there were quite a number of cars running off the road and spinning in circles!  Luckily nobody was hurt, but standing on the side of the road, Beth texted her sister, who lives in another state.  The first response she got back was, “oh no, did you call dad?” And she had. They laughed about it later — here they are, adults, one 40 and the other in her 30’s,  yet when trouble strikes, the first impulse is:  Call Dad!  He will comfort, he will be there for you, he will know just what to do.

The nice thing is, we all have a dad to call on.  Even if your biological dad is gone, not in the picture, or completely irresponsible, there is someone who can fill those dad shoes.  Someone you can always count on — God.  In the book of Isaiah, He says:

“fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed, for I am your God;  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  Isaiah 41:10

Not only is God there for us, He cares for us with a fatherly compassion.  Thanks to the saving work of Jesus, we are His sons and daughters.  Listen to these verses from Galatians 4:4-7

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons.  And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’  So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

So don’t stress.  Whatever the problem, whatever the emergency, call God.  Call out to Him in prayer, because He is always there and waiting to listen and to help you.Make that your first thought.  He is your Abba, your Daddy.

For related posts see:

The Potter, Abba

God Will Take Care of You

O God Our Help

 

Grade Yourself #2

A while back I wrote a post about grading ourselves:  taking a realistic look at how we are doing spiritually (see Grade Yourself].  I was discussing this with a friend and she raised a very good question:  what standard are we using to grade ourselves?  In other words, to whom or what should we compare ourselves.

Possibly the obvious choice is Christ.  We are certainly to focus on Him, to imitate Him, to “walk as He walked.”(1 John 2:6).   However, if we compare ourselves to Jesus, we’re going to receive only one grade — “F”  for failure.  We can’t measure up, and ” for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”(Romans 3:23)

We might chose to compare ourselves to others, but that’s risky as well.  It can lead to sins like pride and self-righteousness (remember the parable of the  pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14) because we can always find people who seem more sinful (at least to us) than we are. It can also cause envy and despair because, on the other hand, there will alos be those who are further along on their spiritual path (often we don’t know their whole story either).  As they tell us at the end of every Via de Cristo, the pitfalls are thinking we are something, or thinking we are nothing.

So, it seems there is only one course left, and that is to grade ourselves against ourselves.  How am I doing compared to last year, last month, last week?  Am I progressing and growing more Christ-like?  Or am I content to stay the same?  Am I living water or a stagnant pool?

“But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone, and not in his neighbor.  For each will have to bear his own load.”  Galatians 6:4-5

God will not ask you why you weren’t as good as ____________ (fill in the blank).  He’ll ask if you were the best YOU could be.  So keep growing and grade yourself carefully!

Who were (are?) the Puritans?

Most Americans know little to nothing about who the Puritans were and what they taught….and a major part of what people do know is wrong!  Puritanism was nothing more or less than an English expression of the doctrines of the Reformation as formulated by Luther and his associates and other Reformed figures such as Calvin, Bucer and Zwingli.

For Lutherans it is interesting to compare Puritan thought with Lutheran Pietism–a movement which has profoundly affected Lutheranism in the United States.  The Association of Free Lutheran Congregations has its background in that Pietist movement brought here in the 18th and 19th centuries by immigrants.  When we look at the two movements (Puritanism and Pietism) we can see the relationship is not just between two past movements, but has to do with what we believe, teach and confess today at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Leitersburg.

Both Puritans and the Pietists sought to teach and experience a faith that was truly guiding their lives, the kind of faith we say we desire today.

If you are interested in learning more about the Puritans, my husband, Pastor Terry Culler, will be teaching a continuing education class through Shepherd University via Zoom.  The class will begin on Wednesday, March 17 from 3:30PM-5PM and will continue for 6 weeks at the same day and time.  To learn more follow the link below:

Shepherd University | Lifelonglearning

You can also contact Pastor Culler at St. Paul’s at 301-739-5443 or email him at freelutherans@myactv.net.

For other posts about the Puritans see:

Heaven is a World of Love by Jonathan Edwards — Book Review

An Introduction to John Owen by Crawford Gribben–Book Review

Beyond Stateliest Marble by Douglas Wilson — Book Review

For more on pietism see:

What is Pietism?

Lutheran Pietism

 

 

The Good Old Days?

After reading chapters 6 & 7 of Ecclesiastes, this is what stood out for me:

“Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.”  Ecclesiastes 7:10”

It seems that I hear many people my age bemoaning the present, and longing for the past.  Things were better then;  people were more courteous;  more people went to church;  children were not so spoiled, and so on. Some of these things may be true, but bad things are always going on (I talked about this in a previous post– Hoping for Something New?. It also depends upon your particular situation and perspective.  For example, somebody recently who is a bit older than I am said she grew up in the best of times — however, if you were a person of color during that era, you probably wouldn’t look back on those days so fondly.  Jim Crow laws, segregation, and discrimination were widespread.

God calls us to look forward, not back.  When He punished His Old Testament people by exiling them to Babylon, they were told by the prophet Jeremiah:

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:5-7

 

In other words, make the best of things in the place and time where God has placed you.  He has work for you to do. Stop complaining and concentrate on being a blessing to others.

In the New Testament Paul echoes the same sentiment:

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13-14

Yearning for the good old days is not helpful or God-pleasing.  It is not wise.  It is not even realistic!  Instead  look forward to the future God has prepared for you.

 

 

 

For more posts about the book of Ecclesiastes see:

God Moments in Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 3:3

Two Are Better Than One

Help! I’m Married to My Pastor by Jani Ortlund–Book Review

Many of the problems addressed in this book by Jani Ortlund are common to all marriages.  Everyone wants to support their spouse in his or her calling, everyone sometimes struggles with putting romance back into their relationship, managing a career while raising small children or dealing with depression. As the wife of a pastor for the past 16 years, I’ve also been the wife of banker, a financial advisor, a political appointee (yes, they were all the same man) and faced many of the issues that the author describes before I was the pastor’s wife.

Of course, there are some areas that are unique to being a ministry wife.  Mrs. Ortlund discusses how to respond to hearing her husband criticized, the hurt experienced when members who are also friends leave the church, or when false rumors circulate.  Families of pastors often feel pressured to be everything to everyone in the church, and to be perfect.  These unreal expectations can lead to disappointment and burnout.  This book will be helpful to any pastor’s wife who needs to know shie is not alone, that others have walked in her shoes and understand her feelings.  It will be especially helpful to younger women who find themselves immediately in a role that demands both self confidence and humility.

At the end of each chapter there is a short letter to the pastor, explaining how he can help his wife cope with the pressures of her position within the church.  The book also includes  an appendix of scriptural prayers a ministry wife can pray for her husband.

VERDICT:  3 STARS.  Well written and practical, but  it was not especially useful to me. Younger wives may appreciate it more.

The Lutheran Ladies received a free copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.  Disclaimer pursuant to FTC 16 CPR 255.

For more on being a pastor’s wife see:

What’s a Pastor’s Wife To Do?

 

Being a Biblical Christian, part 2

This is part 2 of my husband’s sermon on living biblically.

George Barna, who is well-known for his work doing surveys about the church was asked how we can know what another person truly believes?  How can asking questions open up something which can be kept hidden?  In his answer, Dr. Barna said that he does not just ask people what they believe, he also questions them about what they do.  The he said this:

“You do what you believe.  If your behavior doesn’t represent your (stated) beliefs, it’s not really a belief.”

Jesus says the same thing.  At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, he speaks of false prophets and how to tell who they are, saying:

“You will recognize them by their fruit…. every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. “

In other words, if you are believer, you will have a living faith, one which presents itself to the world through deeds.  Let’s continue with Paul’s words in the book of Romans:

“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another.  However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if prophecy, in proportion to one’s faith; if service, in the act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching; or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:3-8

Essentially what Paul does here is move everything that is spiritual out to the rest of our lives..There are people whose Christianity is limited pretty much to an hour or so on Sunday;  but our worship isn’t confined to one space, once a week.  Rather, our entire life is worship.

When someone lives a life of faith that is framed by a truly biblical worldview, they will come to understand how it is that God has blessed them in terms of the tasks prepared for them to do which build up His kingdom.  As Carl Olaf Rosenius said:

“Believers are not to use their time and gifts according to their fancy, but these are to be used for the glory of Him who paid such a tremendous price for us.”

Being a Biblical Christian

This is from the 2nd sermon my husband gave on having a biblical worldview.

Two things are important if we are to be biblical Christians.  First, we must understand and admit to the total sovereignty of God over His whole creation –including us.  Far to many people don’t do that.  I contend that one of the main reasons for our failure to admit God’s rule over our lives is our sinful desire to deny the truth of election  (see         –in other words, we want to believe we have some part to play in our salvation and having convinced ourselves of that, we then begin to think that if I’m in control of my salvation because I’ve made a decision for Christ, then I also have the right to determine which parts of Scripture I’m going to follow and what I can ignore or deny.

While few people express themselves that clearly, study after study has shown that is precisely how many who call themselves Christians think and act.  I want to turn our attention to the 12th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:1-2

Paul doesn’t begin with an order to people, because he expects Christians to want to live their lives in a holy and acceptable way.  Luther says of this verse:

“For he who does it (presents his life this way) not willingly, solely as a result of admonition, he is no Christian.”

In other words, Paul is speaking here to believers and he is saying that he knows this is how you want to live — as a living sacrifice.  You do not do it out of some desire to appear good to the world, or to earn credit with God, you offer yourself as a sacrifice because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall be saved.

The Apostle then shows us what it means in our day to day lives — we won’t conform to the world, but we will be transformed by the renewal of our minds.

To be continued …..

For more on sacrificial living see:

Living Sacrifice

What is a God Pleasing Sacrifice?

Be Transformed

 

The Perfect Pastor

My husband is retiring soon, and a call committee has formed.  I came across this list of qualities for the perfect pastor in a book I’ll be reviewing soon (Help My Husband is My Pastor) and I thought it would provide a bit of humor to a serious situation.  I’m sure you’ve read similar lists in the past:

• He preaches a sermon of exactly 20 minutes in which everyone is convicted, but no one is offended
• He is 27 years old and full of energy, but has thirty years of preaching experience.
• He invests 25 hours a week in sermon prep, 20 hours in counseling, 10 hours in meetings, 5 hours dealing with emergencies, 20 hours doing visitation and evangelism, 6 hours at weddings and funerals, 30 hours in prayer and meditation, 12 hours writing letters, 8 hours on administration, and 10 hours in creative thinking.
• He is a seminary graduate who uses only one and two syllable words.
• His children are perfect
• His mother is rich
• His wife plays the piano
• He doesn’t need his salary and gives most of it away
• He is talented, gifted, scholarly, practical, popular, compassionate, understanding, patient, level-headed, dependable, loving, caring, neat, organized, cheerful, and above all humble.

Let’s face it, ministry is not an easy job and it’s difficult for any human being to live up to the expectations of others.  So, give your pastor a break — I’m sure he’s not perfect!

 

For a similar post see:

The Perfect Church?