Dear Friends Through Christ:
I really do not worry about my future or the future of Peace Lutheran. Sure I/we will have our share of struggles, which is simply the nature of being church and life itself. However, I hope you are beginning to learn that if Christ Jesus remains in center of the Lampstand, the Church and those inside will be united and indestructible. God will always provide.
But what does it mean that Christ Jesus must remain in the center of Peace Lutheran Church? It means our focus must be upon Word and Sacrament, and everything we do as church must center around the teachings of Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection—i.e. The Cross. We should be different than the world because we are the body of Christ—i.e. The Church.
In our series entitled “It Is Enough”, we just read about seven individual churches, each having their own set of struggles, but over and over we hear a loud voice to repent—turn back to God—and keep Christ Jesus in the center of their Lampstand. Over the next few weeks, we are going to hear from the four riders of the Apocalypse, who have been riding out since Adam and Eve and will continue to do so until the end of time. The gospel of Jesus Christ on the white horse has been riding out since Adam and Eve, proclaiming, “Take care of this glorious creation, including each other. Trust that God has your best interest at heart.” But because we do not listen, we encounter war and terrorism riding out on the red horse. We see economic injustice riding out on the black horse, all leading to death, riding out on the pale green horse. Folks this has been happening since the beginning. It is happening now, and the riders will be here tomorrow. Christian and non-Christian will experience these trials, but the true Christian will never experience the end times, if and only if your robe has been washed in the blood of the Lamb—if you have accepted the forgiveness offered from the Cross, your robe has been washed. Now evil, the dragon in Revelation doesn’t have to be part of your life right now, today.
We are going to see how God uses nature; the rivers, oceans, ground, and air to warn us that things are going amuck. (Remember how Jesus controlled nature?) But according to the book of Revelation we will not listen, and the end times will come. Yet please, please remember those have their robes wash will instead be worshipping at the throne of God. Accept the forgiveness and start again, daily.
Next, we are going to see how evil, the dragon, Satan, the devil best performs her damage. The dragon will give its power to the magnificent beast from the sea and the powerful beast from the earth. The beast from the sea are simply any human institutions that come to power out of the chaos of whatever time. The beast from the earth are the messages that spew forth from whatever human institutional power—political or religious. Eventually, over periods of time our institutions and their messages end up creating our culture and according to our vision, this “whore” is who most humans will end up trusting. The whore is the one most will end up worshipping.
We are going to learn the importance of the Lampstands here on earth, because as long as we are living in the presence of the “two witness,” the Jewish belief in One God and the newly found Christian belief in Christ Jesus, as long as the Church focuses upon Word and Sacrament and Christ remains in the center, there is still hope for the world. The whore and the beasts will forever compete with the Lamb and its message for as long as humanity exist. However, when the two witnesses no longer exist, it now makes perfect sense that we have reached the end times.
We have returned to days of Noah, when no one knew God, and we will see that these days are not pretty!
But please, please try and remember, as we will be reminded throughout Revelation, any question of God’s ultimate goodness has been answered through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We as Christians should have no fear about our eternal destiny. Late in our series of It Is Enough, we will see that heaven is more than we could imagine, but it sure is fun to try.
Like I said, I do not worry about my future because I know that my robe has been washed in the blood of the Lamb. I do not worry about the future of Peace because Christ Jesus is always going to remain in the center of this Lampstand. Now we must take this message to the people we care about. We are the body of Christ—the Church. We keep the world alive!
PS: In Revelation, worship plays a vital role for all who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. The season of Lent and Easter give us multiple opportunities to fulfill our purpose. Wednesday Lenten worship, at 6:45PM, studying “What the Heck Is A Lutheran?” Maundy Thursday, March 28th, at Noon and 7PM, where the Bible comes together with the Passover, the Lord’s Supper, and the washing of feet. On Good Friday, March 29th, again at Noon and 7PM, you have the opportunity to say Thank-You to Jesus Christ for giving up his life for your salvation. Wow! Then on Easter morning, March 30th, at 6:30AM we will begin with a beautiful sunrise service, followed by an Easter breakfast, served from 7:30AM to 9AM. At 10AM, I hope we can fill our sanctuary with a grand worship, celebrating Christ victory over death, where none of us worshipping, no longer need to worry about our future because He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
In Christian Love,
Pastor Trexler