Matthew 27:25

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This is going to change the lives of you and your children forever. How would you respond if someone said that to you? Personally, I wouldn’t know how to respond. Who’s saying it to me? What is the context? Right? If it’s a doctor standing in my hospital room going over my test results, that sentence might make my heart drop through the floor. It’s not just a normal neutral sentence. It would be more like a death sentence, like a generational curse. But if the person saying that sentence to me is sliding a check to me across the table big enough to wipe out all of my debt and fund my retirement, all of a sudden that sentence isn’t a neutral sentence. It’s actually life giving. It’s a generational blessing. But it’s still the same sentence, but two completely different meanings.

In the Gospel of Matthew we find a sentence just like this, where Jesus, the Son of God, is on trial before Pilate. And Pilate, finding no wrong in him, says, I wash my hands of this man’s blood. But the crowd screams at him.

“Then let his blood be upon us and upon our children!” (Matthew 27:25)

You see, the crowd here is willing to take the guilt of Jesus’ blood upon themselves and upon their children, because so great was their hatred for him. They were willing to take on a generational curse to see him die.

Now we might shake our heads at the crowd, but the reality is, is that your sins and my sins are in that crowd as well, screaming the exact same death sentence. Let his blood be upon us and upon our children, and we know how the rest of the story goes. The crowd actually gets exactly what they want, exactly what they ask for. But ironically, the same sentence that they screamed for let his blood be upon us and upon our children was actually the exact thing that they needed most. The blood of Jesus.

You see the sentence the crowd meant as a death sentence toward Jesus, Jesus means it to you and I in a completely different way. He means that same sentence to give you life, a generational blessing upon you and your children. It’s as though upon the cross he is saying, let my blood be upon you and upon your children, and through faith that blood is indeed poured upon you and upon your children abundantly through Holy Communion. His body and blood is given to you to eat and to drink, and it is the very same body and blood that was given and shed for you upon the cross, for the forgiveness of all of your sins.

So yes, let his blood be upon us and upon our children, but don’t shout it as a death sentence, as a generational curse upon you and your children. But shout this life giving sentence to your Savior, who poured out his blood upon you and your children as a generational blessing. So may the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ be poured out upon you and your children this Lenten season, and always so that we might grow in true faith and obedience to him. Amen.

John 6:4-7, Matthew 5:48

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Loaves and fish. I give that phrase, I’ve answered that phrase to people several times recently who have been asking about, how are you going to get through all the things that you have going on this year, or how have you? This last year for me has been crazy. Maybe you can relate, but I’ve just had a number of things, many things that have been very challenging situations, difficult ones personally, but then also very just ones that have a lot of responsibility and are big tasks. And people have said, how do you keep getting through that? What how do you feel about this? And I just keep answering loaves and fish and here’s why.

I think about when we’re told in John chapter six that

The Jewish Passover Festival was near. When Jesus looked up and saw a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” But Jesus was saying this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii[a] worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to have just a little.” (John 6:4-7)

What I love is that Jesus asks Philip, where are we going to get bread for all these people, knowing full well that what’s going to happen next is what we call the feeding of the 5000. Jesus knows he’s going to multiply just a few loaves of bread and some fish to feed the 5000. When he asks Philip to do this, Jesus is not expecting Philip to be the source. He’s not expecting Philip to come up with this on his own. The whole point was to drive Philip and the rest of his disciples to look to him. Jesus did not ask his disciples to feed these 5000 and then expect them to do it themselves. Jesus said, hey, how are you going to feed them, knowing that they would need to look to him and he would provide.

And that’s why I keep saying loaves and fish, these things that have been in front of me this year and are continuing to be in front of me. How are you going to get through them? Loaves and fish. If God has put this in front of me and called me to do it, I know he’s not saying, now, Nate, you have to figure out how to get it all done. You have to muster up the strength. That’s not how God works. It’s not how the gospel works. These different life experiences like this where we have to depend on Christ, are all little exercises and reminders of how the gospel really works. Well, God, he does say, be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect, (Matthew 5:48) but as sinful people, God knows we are not going to be perfect.

He knows, though, that he had a way and has a way for us to be made perfect before him again. And that way is that Jesus came into this world to be everything you and I were created to be, but aren’t. He was perfect for us. He laid down his life and died for you, and rose again for you, so that through faith in him you could be right with God. When you are baptized into Christ, you are clothed with Jesus. And Jesus is God. Which means then that when God looks at you, he sees you through God. He provides what you need to be right with him. This is how your relationship with God works. And every time that you face a time where you are reminded, ah, I, I don’t have the capacity. I can’t do it. I need to look to him. It’s a little reminder, a little exercise, that yes, this is how our life with God works.

Loaves and fish. God doesn’t look to us to do it for him. We get to look to him and trust in him always. How are we going to get through this? The same way that we’re right with God looking to him, trusting him. Just bring your loaves and fish.

Matthew 6:24-26

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Everyone’s got worries. It’s so commonplace, it would probably be abnormal if you didn’t have worries. Well, there’s this children’s book series. They’re called Mr. Men Books, and every character has an absurd name that describes everything they are and everything they do. So Mr. Happy? Well, he’s always happy. Well, poor Mr. Worry. He is just constantly worried about every little thing. Everything in his life, whether he goes to the store or whether he doesn’t go to the store. He’s worried about it. He’s worried about his groceries. Whether he gets too much or too little. Spends too much. Everything causes him a great deal of worry and stress. Maybe you can relate to Mr. Worry.

Maybe if you were a Mr. Men book, you’d be Mr. or Mrs. Worry.

Well, if that’s the case, then these words of Jesus are especially for you. We read from Matthew chapter six, verses 24 to 26.

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon. For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? (Matthew 6:24-26)

Notice what comes before Jesus telling you not to worry. He says you can only serve one master. The master you should serve is God because God cares for you.

He cares for you while money, mammon does not. God cares for you more than everything else. And we see this especially in how he provides for us, especially in our most important need, in our need for forgiveness.

Because God saw in you more value than his Son’s life. And he gave Jesus to die in your place. Jesus lived a life perfectly trusting in God, perfectly serving God as his only master. He died to take away your sins of worry. Of mistrust when you followed after other masters. So don’t worry. Your sins are forgiven because God cares for you.

In these Mr. Men books, there’s a pretty good moral, I think, moral tale to Mr. Worry. At the end, he submits all his cares, all his worries on paper to a wizard, and the wizard makes sure none of those worries ever happens. Do you know what? Mr. Worry sleeps easy. Well, we don’t submit our worries on paper to a wizard, but actually, God provides us a much more abundant means to submit our worries in prayer. God promises to listen to your prayers, to listen to you, submit all your worries, all your cares, all the time.

And God promises to care for you. That’s a promise you can trust because of what God has done for you in His Son.

Amen.

Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5:13-16

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Do you aspire to be an influencer? It’s a rising trend these days. With the advent of social media and all these full access video channels like YouTube people want to share insights about their hobbies and sports. They want to wow and impress people with their tricks and stunts, give glimpses of their home lives, teach people things they want to influence people and have a positive impact on people. And that’s natural. We want to have a positive impact on our world and on those around us.

So what does God say about being an influencer?

Well, he doesn’t talk about being a social media influencer per se, but God does want his people he wants Christians to be good influences in the world. To show the world his love and to make a positive impact in the world. He wants people to know, he knows, he has seen, he does see how messed up our world is and how messed up we are as individuals, and that he’s come to do something about it.

Jesus was born as one of us in this messed up world, but he was always a perfect influence to those around him. He never fell victim to the peer pressure influences that surrounded him, but he lived in perfect love toward all those. And yet he didn’t come just to be a good influence or a moral teacher, a good example. He came to win salvation for us, and he did that by living that life of love but then, also giving up that life on the cross to pay for the sins of the world, your sins and my sins. To win us membership in God’s family, to make us heirs of eternal life in heaven.

And he brought all those blessings to you in your baptism. He washed your sins away. He gave you faith. He made you a new creation. And for what purpose? Ephesians two verse ten says,

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10 EHV)

He’s made us new creations so that we might live new lives of service and produce works to glorify his name. It’s not how we’re saved, not even a little bit. We’re saved by grace through faith. Jesus has done everything. But as those who know his love. He wants us to live in that love and positively impact the world through that love. And that’s what he’s talking about in Matthew five where he says,

You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world… In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16 EHV)

That is influence. That is impact. To show others the love of Jesus, to show others the love of their Savior. This is influence that makes an eternal difference. And what a privilege that he would give us the joy of serving in his kingdom work. And it is not even us that’s influencing others. It’s God working through us to show them his love and his mercy and the hope that we have in him.

How blessed we are to be instruments of influence in God’s Kingdom.

All glory be to his name. Amen.

Matthew 1:20-21

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We know where babies come from, so we understand why Joseph was considering divorcing Mary. They were engaged, but they hadn’t been sexually intimate. And yet Mary was pregnant.

Joseph knew where babies came from. And so being a righteous man, he was going to divorce Mary quietly. As he was considering this, Matthew, in his first chapter, records that an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,

Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:20-21)

When Joseph was considering divorcing Mary, God intervened. God sent an angel to change Joseph’s mind and show him not only Mary’s innocence, but his will for Joseph and Mary. Mary was going to give birth to a son. Joseph was to give him the name Jesus. The angel even revealed why the son had to have the name Jesus, because he would save their people from their sins. God intervened in Joseph and Mary’s life. But there’s a greater intervention going on. It’s an intervention in your life.

Jesus was to be born of the Virgin Mary so that God could intervene and take away your sins.

God became man in the person of Jesus, lived the perfect life, died an innocent death on the cross in full payment for the world’s sins, and rose triumphant on Easter morning. That was God’s undeserved gift to you and to the world.

God didn’t like the direction your life was going because of your sins, so he miraculously intervened. He came in flesh, lived and died for you, so that now the doors of heaven stand open to you. That is God’s gift to you at Christmas. That is the gift that he wants you to possess today, so that you can know that God loves you and is going to do everything he can to get you to heaven.

So this Christmas, as you ponder again the story of Mary and Joseph and Jesus and all of the things around it being born in a manger and so forth.

Remember, the miracle is that God was intervening for you so that you could be with him in heaven forever.

Amen.

Matthew 3:2-3

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How do you get ready for Christmas? Obviously, there’s a lot of different practical things that need to be done. You need to set up and decorate the Christmas tree. Probably pull it down from your attic or something. There’s lots of gifts to wrap. But more fundamentally, I think a lot of people get ready for Christmas by celebrating Christmas early. This year, at Sam’s Club, I saw these Christmas decorations up at the beginning of October. There were there was Christmas stuff right next to Halloween stuff, right? You got Christmas pushed so early. And then what does that do? By the time Christmas actually rolls around, you’re burned out of it. I know plenty of houses where the Christmas decorations come down the afternoon of December 25th, because you’ve been celebrating Christmas for over a month now. You’re getting tired and sick of it.

The church gives us a different way and honestly, a more healthy way to get ready for Christmas. But it’s also one that’s very countercultural and very counterintuitive.

Last time we talked about these different comings of Advent, and another figure that we’ll see on Sunday is John the Baptist, as he prepares the way for Christ to come into the world. And as we look at John the Baptist, we see what his message is. It’s a very odd one. He’s fulfilling this prophecy.

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” (Matthew 3:3)

How does he prepare? He says,

“Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near!” (Matthew 3:2)

He doesn’t say, prepare for Jesus coming by, rejoicing and being happy and starting the celebration early. We prepare through repentance, through looking at our sin, confessing our faults. Recognizing that we don’t measure up. This is the focus of Advent. It’s called a penitential season, one where we focus on our sins. That’s going to give a very different mood to the rest of your December.

But why do we do this? We have this season of repentance leading up preparing for Christmas so that when Christmas comes, it’s unlike any Christmas you’ve celebrated before. Because Christmas isn’t just about the cute little baby in the manger, it’s about what that baby would go on to do. That Jesus didn’t stay in the crib, but he would trade the wood of the manger for the wood of the cross. That in that child we have the Savior and Redeemer for all of our sins. When we prepare for Christ’s coming through repentance, we recognize why he’s coming, why he’s here, and we have a deeper joy, a stronger joy than we ever would have had in any other way. Because we know Jesus came to save and rescue us from our sins. And when we see how much we need that we have so much more joy in what he has come to do.

Amen.

Matthew 5:48, Psalm 14:3, 1 Peter 1:18-19

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Hitting a baseball is said to be one of the most difficult things to do in all of sports. The ball is coming at you at 95 plus miles per hour. It’s moving, it’s dropping, it’s curving. And the surface area of a baseball bat, they say there’s less than 5% of the bat is the sweet spot, the part that’s going to make contact and result in a hit. Even after that, that hit might just be a pop up. It might be hit straight back to the pitcher, who knows? But hitting a baseball, one of the most difficult things to do in all sports.

In the year 1941, a player named Ted Williams, he had a batting average of .406. Call it .400. What that means, though, at .400, is that six times out of every ten times he was at the plate, Ted Williams got out. He went down swinging. He popped up. He didn’t get on base. Six out of ten times. That was 1941. And since then, no one has had a batting average better, a season average better, than Ted Williams .406. Most modern players would be thrilled to be batting .300. That means they’re failing seven out of every ten times that they get up to the plate.

Well, Jesus said in Matthew five, verse 48,

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

If this were baseball, perfect means you’re getting on base every single time you’re making contact, you’re getting a base hit, or you’re even hitting a home run. But a 1.000 batting average. If we were talking about baseball, if our Lord was talking about it, but he’s not. He’s talking about life. He’s talking about us and our behavior. Be perfect. Not three out of ten, four out of ten, not even nine out of ten times. What the law demands from us is perfection. That means in everything we do, in everything we say, even in everything we think, in every little temptation that comes along that we don’t entertain it. We don’t think about it, but we’re too chicken to do it. Even that is sin. That is imperfection. And that condemns us.

Now, Adam and Eve, there was a time when they could have been perfect, but they chose not to. And because they did all of their offspring, you and me, we can’t do it. Psalm 14 verse three says,

There is none who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:3)

No one. No one but Jesus.

Jesus was perfect. And if it were baseball, what that means is that Jesus got on base every single time he was up to the plate. He never failed. He never went down swinging. He never struck out. He never got to the base late, the ball getting there before he did. Jesus, if it were, baseball would have a 1.000 batting average. A sure thing, but it’s not about baseball. It’s about our life. His life and our life. Because he was perfect for us. He came and he fulfilled the law. Doing what we can’t do. So that someone would have a perfect record, a perfect average. And he applies that average to you. He gives it to you.

Saint Peter, who knew a thing or two about striking out, right? Three denials. Saint Peter later on in life, Peter wrote this.

You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

So, my friends, the next time you go down swinging, the next time you fail, the next time you fail miserably to be perfect. Remember your Savior who was perfect for you, who stood there for you to do what you cannot, and who has ransomed you from that futile ways that we’ve inherited from Adam and Eve ransomed us with his precious blood. I pray that’s a comfort to you. I’m Pastor Pittenger, and until we see each other again, God bless and keep you. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Ephesians 4:10, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5

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I believe he ascended into heaven. Christians are familiar with the major festivals in Jesus’ life. We celebrate Christmas, a time we love where we remember Jesus’ birth on earth. And we love the hymns, don’t we? Or there’s Easter. Every Christian celebrates Easter, Jesus’ victory over death. And again, we love the hymns. But what about Ascension? People will ask, what is Ascension?

Ascension happened 40 days after Easter, a 40-day period where Jesus appeared to his disciples, proving to them that he was truly alive from the dead, teaching them. And then at the end of those 40 days, Jesus takes him to the Mount of Olives, and before their eyes he’s lifted up into heaven and is hidden by the clouds. Ascension day is the capstone of Jesus work on earth. It’s the culmination. It’s the proof that he’s done, everything he came to do is now completed, and he’s returned to his father in heaven. I love how the Apostle Paul says it in Ephesians chapter four.

He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things. (Ephesians 4:10,)

Jesus’ Ascension Day is essentially his coronation day, where he ascends to be seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and all things, all powers, everything is put under his feet. But why is that any different than before? Wasn’t Jesus already true God? Didn’t he already have all power in heaven and earth and all dominion over all things because he’s true God? The answer, of course, is yes, he did already have that power. But what makes the Ascension different is that now Jesus, as true man, has ascended to the very right hand of God the Father Almighty in heaven. Jesus, as a true man, rules over everything in the universe. And why that’s a comfort for you and me is, first of all, when we look at our world today and we see the chaos, we see the confusion. People ask who’s in charge, who’s driving this? What’s going on in the world? You and me know, we know that Jesus is in charge. Jesus is in control.

The very same brother who suffered and died for you, the very same one who loves you and gave his life for you, is ruling all things for your good. The other comfort we have is that as we go through this life and we feel alone, we feel isolated, and we live in a time where people will feel more isolated and lonely than ever before, but we have such a special comfort as Christians because of Jesus’ promise.

And surely I am with you always until the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

Jesus, your brother, the same one who lives and reigns in heaven, who fills the whole universe, is also personally by your side every day to help you carry through, to help you carry your burdens, to assure you that you are not alone. He promises,

I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you.(Hebrews 13:5)

And so my invitation to you today is actually take time to mark your calendars. May 14th (2026) is Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter. Celebrate that wonderful festival, that capstone of Jesus’ life on earth. He ascended into heaven. Amen.

Psalm 23:4, Matthew 27:46

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In January of this year, the Pew Research Center released the results of a new study they did on various social aspects of society. And one of the results that really stood out was to do with loneliness. Loneliness has rapidly increased in our society in recent years, and the results were very alarming for all categories, age categories, but particularly for the younger generation. In the 18 to 29 year-old group, 24% of them indicated on the survey that they were lonely all of the time, or most of the time. 24%. That’s a quarter of people in that group are extremely lonely. And the results weren’t much better for the other age categories either.

It seems like loneliness has become a major challenge for us nowadays, and perhaps this is something that our congregations should consider when they’re thinking about outreach and how to serve the community. Now, if you are experiencing loneliness, I have some comforting thoughts for you to consider. First of all, God loves you and he is with you. David said in Psalm 23 verse four,

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4 EHV)

God is with you even in those horrible dark days when you’re going through the darkness of loneliness. He does not abandon you, but he is your companion. Another thing to consider is that God tells his believers that they should gather together in their local areas and love one another as brothers and sisters, like a family serving one another and gathering around his word. And so I would encourage you, if you don’t have a congregation, a family of believers that you belong to, to find one, and I would recommend one of our Evangelical Lutheran Synod congregations.

Now, these congregations, the people there are not necessarily perfect. In fact, they gather together because they are in fact sinners. And they need that forgiveness that they get through Christ and the word, his word. And here is perhaps the most comforting aspect of all of this. Jesus loves you so much that he was willing to experience the most terrible Loneliness so that you could be saved. When Jesus was on the cross at one point. He said,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

At that moment, we recognized that the Father had forsaken his son. Jesus there was suffering the worst pains of hell with your shame and my shame, our sins. But he did it, and he endured it so that we could be saved. And God the Father was satisfied with that sacrifice of Jesus. And that’s why he raised him up on that first Easter Sunday.

God loves you. He forgives you, and he wants you to gather with your fellow believers as a family. You are not alone. Amen.

[This devotion is part of our series on The Apostles’ Creed, you can find all the videos in there series on our Apostles’ Creed Page. The devotions will be added as they are posted.]

Matthew 12:40

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I believe that on the third day Jesus rose again from the dead. Today there’s two common questions I get that I want to answer regarding this statement in the Creed.

The first one is this. If Jesus was placed in the tomb on Friday evening, just before 6 p.m. and he was in the tomb all day Saturday, and then rose again from the dead early Sunday morning, at most, that only puts Jesus in the tomb for maybe 36 hours? Far short of the 72 hours that it would take to be in the tomb for three whole days. Well, does this contradict Scripture? Because so often we talk about Jesus being buried for three days and rising from the dead on the third day.

But notice just that. Whenever Jesus anticipates or predicts his own resurrection, he almost always uses the phrase on the third day. However, there is one time in Matthew chapter 12, where Jesus says this, he says,

For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)

Well, there do we have a contradiction? Well, the answer is no. I like to explain it this way. Have you ever done long term airport parking before? I have. And what you do is you pay by the day whether or not you’re there for full day or not. So imagine if I check my car in late on Friday night, and it sits there all day Saturday, and I come back and pick it up on Sunday morning. Even though my car sat there for 36 hours, I’ve paid for three whole days, 72 hours of parking.

Think of Jesus resurrection the same way. Jesus paid for three days and three nights in the tomb. But boy, once he hit day three, he was free to check out anytime he wanted to.

The other statement that oftentimes gets questions is the word, again. He rose again from the dead. People will ask, well, does that mean that Jesus rose twice? The answer, of course, is no. But rather when we use that word again in the English language, it doesn’t just mean to do something over like making my bed again. It can also mean to return back to a previous state of being. For instance, he went off to war and returned home again. He didn’t go to war twice, but rather when he comes back from war, he returns to the state of peace and tranquility that he was in before getting shipped out overseas.

In Jesus’ case, it’s the same way, he rose again. In other words, he returns to the state of power and life he had before his death. Now, as we think about this, it’s all important because so often as I talk with Christians, as we picture the end goal of our faith going to heaven when we die. And don’t get me wrong, that is a wonderful comfort, a wonderful joy. Think about it this way, heaven is the five-star resort on our way to a final vacation, a final destination.

But the ultimate goal of our salvation is for God to return this creation again to the state in which it was before the fall. And while we’re up in heaven, we’re just waiting for God to do that, for Jesus to come back and raise the dead again and restore creation so that once again we may walk with God, as Adam and Eve did in the garden. Once again the world is a perfect bliss, a Paradise. Once again we return to a state of eternal peace and rest. That’s something so exciting that I would be willing to check out to go see. Amen.

Matthew 6:34

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So it used to be this really intense struggle whenever I would get up front to lead worship or to preach. And as I tell you about it, it’s going to sound a little weird. And some of the details might even be a little bit, a little gross. But just go with me here, okay?

When I was first a vicar, a student pastor, and then a pastor, I was terrified that I would throw up in front of church. I was. I wouldn’t hardly eat anything before I would get up there. I was just like, what? What would happen? And it wasn’t, it wasn’t because I was afraid of public speaking. I’ve always been comfortable talking in front of people, but it goes back to there was a time in high school before a football game, and I was a big football player. I was so excited that I got so worked up, I threw up. And so then when I started getting into the ministry, I was just afraid. Like, what if that were to happen up there, how terrible would that be? But then here’s the interesting thing is, is I would wake up in the morning, I wouldn’t feel sick to my stomach, but then I would worry about being sick to my stomach. And then, you know, what would happen to my stomach? I would get sick to my stomach. It was interesting how thinking about being sick to my stomach, I started to experience being sick to my stomach.

Now, why do I share this story with you? And first of all, actually, before I get into the why, I should clarify, this is not an issue anymore. I have full breakfast and then I go to worship and all is good. The reason I share it is actually it’s part of a reflection I have on when Jesus in his sermon on the Mount, he says,

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:34)

For the longest time I didn’t really understand why those words were comforting. Okay, sufficient for each day is its own trouble. That doesn’t sound that comforting to me. But then I realize, especially when I think about the Lord’s Prayer, I say, give us this day our daily bread. And literally when you read through it, it says, give us this day our bread for this day. We have a God who provides what we need for this day. Today he gives us what we need for today. But in the way our minds work is if we worry about what’s happening tomorrow, we can actually start to experience the trouble of tomorrow for today. So on top of today’s challenges, we can start to experience tomorrow’s challenges before they even get here.

And we have a God who provides what we need for today. And then when tomorrow’s challenges come, he will provide what you need for those challenges tomorrow. You see the challenge? You see the issue? We start to experience tomorrow’s trouble when we have today’s provision. But why do we do that? We have this tendency not to trust God. We start thinking about what we can maybe do to fix it or I don’t know, we’re so worried, we just think so much about all the problems might come with it that we have this tendency to take our eyes off of the God who does provide and the way that he provides.

Thankfully, whenever we realize that we’ve done that, we can always go back to the cross and see his ultimate provision that Jesus lived that life we were meant to live, laid it down, died for us on a cross, and he rose again to set us right with God. He’s provided new life with God for you. The Holy Spirit has provided you the gift of faith. The ultimate provision is yours: eternity with him. And if that ultimate provision is yours for eternity, you can trust that he will provide what you need for today. And then tomorrow he will provide what you need for tomorrow.

So why experience tomorrow’s trouble with today’s provision? Tomorrow he will give you tomorrow’s provision. Today, face today. And trust that he is with you today.

Matthew 4:19-20

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Our passage for today is found in Matthew chapter four, verses 19 through 20.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:19-20)

What is it that you spend most of your time doing? You spend most of your days golfing, reading a good book by the fireplace, maybe watching a movie? No, I think if you’re like most people, the vast majority of your time is spent at your job, so it’s important to find a job that you enjoy. Now, enjoy can mean a few different things. Maybe you enjoy it because of what it does, because of the community you have at the office. Maybe you enjoy it because it gives you financial security and that’s something important to you, but it’s important that it meets some criteria of enjoyment and providing what you need.

Imagine that you were working your job and you got a phone call at your desk. You answered it, and it was somebody who wanted to interview you for a job at their company. So you go and sit down for the interview and you ask the person interviewing you, what are the benefits? What is the pay? What does this job really entail? And the person interviewing you says, well, you can expect not to be paid. You can rely maybe on your coworkers or the community. Maybe they’ll take care of you. You’re going to work all hours of the night. There’ll be no time off. There’ll be no holidays. And you’re going to be risking your life. It’s going to be a very dangerous job. It might cost you your life. What are the odds that you would say I accept that job? Probably pretty low.

But we see that’s what Jesus is asking the disciples to do. In our lesson today, he is saying, stop what you’re doing and follow me. I will make you fishers of people. Just before our lesson for today, we see the miracle of the miraculous catch. We see thousands and thousands of fish pulled into the boat. And Peter, seeing what Jesus did and knowing who Jesus was, he fell at his knees before Jesus and said, he’s not worthy to be in Jesus presence, but Jesus doesn’t cast him away. He offers him this job. He offers them this position to be his witnesses.

God offers us that same job, that same purpose, that same important, meaningful work, but often were quick to make excuses. Maybe we say, well, I’m not really good at speaking or I don’t have the time to do that. I don’t have the money to do that. Somebody else can do that. But God leaves us without excuse because doing his work, sharing His Word, the weight of it is not on our shoulders. He called Peter to be a disciple, called him to be a witness. But Jesus was with him. Jesus gave him the words to speak when he was with him in person. And then when he was in heaven, Jesus was still giving them the words to speak, just like he gives us the words to speak in the scriptures.

I was a little bit tough on the job description before the idea that serving God means that we’re going to have no money and we’re going to be in danger, and it’s going to be a terrible 24/7 job, but that’s not the full picture. This job does have benefits, not a 401K. It’s probably not going to make you rich, but it’s an investment that lasts an eternity.

God gives us that beautiful picture of that gospel, the gospel that we share with others, but the gospel that we share with ourselves on a day to day basis. Jesus laid down his life for all of our sins. They’re all taken away. So through Christ, through that sacrifice, salvation is ours. What a beautiful thing it is to be a disciple. And again, it may not give us early retirement, but it will give us an eternal retirement, an eternal retirement with Jesus and all of those we have the privilege to share God’s Word with. So God is offering us a job. And how blessed are we to be able to accept it? Amen.