Friends in Christ,

 

Next Wednesday, February 17th, we will begin our Lenten season at Faith Lutheran with a 7:00pm Ash Wednesday service.  The theme of this year's Lenten series is "We Preach Christ Crucified".  All season we will highlight the blessings God has provided us as he points us to the cross of Christ.  We would love to have you join us at our Wednesday evening services for a season of to renew our hearts with repentant faith, peace and strength in Christ.

 

Also, you are invited to join us Monday, February 15th, 6:30pm, when missionary Jim Radloff will share with us the work he has been doing in China as part of a WELS group called China Partners.

 

Peace in Christ,

Pastor John Gensmer

 

Imagine a large eagle’s nest high on a rocky cliff. Inside are several young eagles. So far their lives have been easy. Their mother brings them food. They are safe from predators. And the lining of their nest is nice and soft with feathers and fur.

But it’s time for them to leave. It’s time for them to grow up. The problem is that, with such a comfortable nest, they don’t want to leave and grow up. They want to remain children in their soft and easy little world.

And so the mother eagle does what she always does. She stirs up the nest. She uses her powerful talons to pull out all the softness, exposing all the sharp branches, thorns and rocks that lie underneath. She makes the nest uncomfortable. In this way she gets her children to stop thinking like children. They grow up and go away from their nest.

My sinful nature loves to think like an immature child. It loves to avoid responsibility. It loves to keep pet sins. It loves to be lazy and impatient and self-absorbed. Most of all it loves to avoid painful truth. No doubt yours does, too.

Thank God for Jesus. Thank God that Jesus lived a life of perfect maturity on my behalf. And thank God that he faced the cross with courage to pay for my every childish moment.

And thank God, also, for those times when he stirs up my nest. For even the discomfort he allows into my life can be his way of getting me to realize that it’s time to mature in some way. It’s time to grow up. And with my Savior beside me, I can.

Prayer:
Father, I confess to you all my moments of sinful immaturity. Thank you for sending your Son to wash me clean. Empower me by your Gospel to grow and mature in my walk with you. Amen.