by Maria Rudolph
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Read James 3:1–12
I grew up in Germany, with today being St Nicholas Day. Now, it is my children’s turn to clean their shoes on the eve of 6 December and place them neatly outside their bedroom door. When they awake, they will find small goodies in their shoes - lollies, nuts and gifts. St Nicholas Day is a joyful event of giving and receiving.
Nicholas was the 4th-century bishop of Myra, located in modern-day Türkiye (Turkey). The stories surrounding his generous giving and godly conduct have somehow taken on a life of their own and curiously culminated in the modern-day creation of Santa Claus. While this is a far cry from the original person of Bishop Nicholas, it serves as yet another reminder of God, the giver of all things. St Nicholas is credited with this quote - ‘The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic God’s giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.’
How blessed we are with godly quotes from him and many other faithful Christians throughout the ages. How blessed we are with Scripture verses full of wisdom said and recorded by the people of old. Yet an observation and warning from St James in his epistle is true for all of them and us - ‘Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be’ (James 3:10). Even well-quoted people do not always use their tongues appropriately.
We already focus on giving gifts and sharing kind actions during this Advent season. But let us also focus on our tongues. Martin Luther instructs us in his Small Catechism on the eighth commandment:
Do not give false testimony. What does this mean? We should honour and love God and so we should not tell lies about other people, give their secrets away, talk about them behind their back, or damage their reputation in any way. Instead, we should speak up for them, say only good things about them, and explain their actions in the kindest way.
It takes effort to use our tongues appropriately, but with a focus on the giver of every good and perfect gift, we are on the right track. Let us all challenge ourselves to take note of our tongue and pray daily that we may use it solely for blessing.
Holy Spirit, living water, we need your help and guidance. We do not want to be a spring from which fresh and saltwater flow simultaneously. But we trip up and fail. Fill us with your living water so our cup overflows into our lives and the people around us from the spring of life inside us. Store the fruit of your Spirit in our hearts abundantly, so our mouth speaks of what our hearts are full of. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Maria is overjoyed to be a candidate for ordination as a pastor of the LCANZ while serving the St Johns Perth congregation and supporting the ministry of her pastor husband, Michael, at Concordia Duncraig congregation in Western Australia. They are parents to three children who are busy with primary and secondary schooling. Maria also serves the church as a member of the Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations.
What an inaugural vision that was!
by Sal Huckel
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This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking (Ezekiel 1:28b).
Read Ezekiel 1:4–6,22–28
Perhaps for you, like me, today’s reading is a challenge to relate to or even picture in our mind’s eye. This is Ezekiel’s ‘inaugural’ vision! Wow, the first time he heard from the Lord, this is what it was like. Ezekiel’s ‘entry-level’ experience!
Some of us will have had dramatic experiences of the Lord, while others, quietly growing and maturing in their faith, may never have experienced anything they would consider interesting to others or worth writing down for all to see.
Long ago, hearing those kinds of stories had me doubt if I was really saved (can you tell I wasn’t Lutheran yet?!). Yet now I share snippets of God’s work in my life when things come up in conversation, amazing passages I may have read and had a realisation over, or a lightbulb moment in church that I write down to think about later when I hear a verse of Scripture that is a treasure for a particular kind of question.
So, what do you make of today’s passage? Perhaps it’s a reflection opportunity: what was your ‘inaugural experience’ of the Lord? Or perhaps it’s the descriptions used in connection with the Lord’s voice (‘roar of rushing waters’, ‘tumult of an army’). How did Ezekiel recognise the likeness of the Lord? We may have so many questions. We see so many descriptions of different encounters of the Lord in Scripture and so many descriptors of his voice.
One thing we know: we hear his voice in Scripture. This is where we find him; this is how we recognise him. ‘My sheep know my voice’ (John 10:27). Stay in Scripture, learn his voice, and follow and recognise only him.
Lord, may I steep myself in your word so much so that I can never mistake anyone’s voice for yours. Thank you for guiding me through my faith journey so far: the valleys, the mountaintops, the parts that seemed ordinary and the wild rides as well. May I use my experience and my testimony to show others who you are and how they can recognise you too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sal is the wife of Matthew, pastor at Moorabbin–Dandenong Lutheran Church and assistant bishop of the LCA Vic–Tas District. They are blessed with six children who all love and serve the Lord in their different walks of life, from high school to post-grad. Sal is currently studying a master’s degree in counselling practice. She loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at any opportunity.
‘Of kings and emperors’
by Sal Huckel
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No one is like you, Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power (Jeremiah 10:6).
Read Jeremiah 10:6–16
This week, my family and I visited the ‘ROME: Empire, Power, People’ exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. My children are better educated than I was at their age, so they explained to me the significance of the statues and buildings erected in honour of emperors. Apparently, there were two ways to cement your legacy as an emperor:
- Win a war and add a province to the Empire.
- Construct a public building – a palace or a temple with your name on it (preferably both).
Bad news, emperors! ‘No one is like you, Lord; you are great and your name is mighty in power … Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you’ (Jeremiah 10:6,7).
As if that’s not enough: ‘They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols.’
However we feel about the ‘King’s Speech 2.0’ (as we hear and maybe even cheer for King Charles’ recent rhetoric in the USA), we know that our great and almighty God made the earth by his power! One cannot add to these words, so let’s read them together (Jeremiah 10:12,13):
But God made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
Friends! This is our God!
We pray the final verse of the hymn ‘The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended’ by John Ellerton (1870):
‘So be it, Lord; thy throne shall never like earth’s proud empires, pass away. Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever till all thy creatures own thy sway.’ Lord, thank you for adding me to the people of your inheritance (verse 16). My great and almighty God through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Sal is the wife of Matthew, pastor at Moorabbin–Dandenong Lutheran Church and assistant bishop of the LCA Vic–Tas District. They are blessed with six children who all love and serve the Lord in their different walks of life, from high school to post-grad. Sal is currently studying a master’s degree in counselling practice. She loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at any opportunity.
Talk with the walk, and walk the talk
by Sal Huckel
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children (Deuteronomy 6:6,7a).
Read Deuteronomy 6:4–15
Discipleship is a 24/7 job, and we spend a few hours of that time each week at church. As parents, we need to realise that we have a big responsibility to raise our children in the faith – promises we indeed make at their baptisms.
Today’s reading gives us a lovely picture of what it means to raise our children in the faith. Nothing fancy: just living our lives, as a family, talking about the Lord, teaching our children his ways as we sit at home, walk along the road, as we lie down, as we get up … as we go to the shops, drive them to basketball, and if we can throw in a few Colin Buchanan concerts along the way we can add some craziness and fun into the mix.
If we want to, we can put Christian symbols around our house, buy lovely prints from the Christian bookstore and set out ‘who we are’ and ‘whose we are’ as a family. In fact, for years now, as I drive the kids to their sports games, or their casual work, or give them massively tight goodbye hugs and wave them off to university at the airport, I say, ‘Remember who you are, and whose you are.’ They know what that means because we’ve discipled them and taught them.
Who are you walking along the road of life with right now? If you’re not walking anywhere these days, who is in the same room as you? Who’s brought you your cup of tea or your medicine? You are a precious and valued team member to whom the Lord entrusts his kingdom work, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. Remember who you are and whose you are! Love the Lord your God with all your strength, and he will work through you.
Lord, thank you for the teaching I have received in my life to now. Thank you for those who have discipled and taught me the faith. Please show me whom I, too, can disciple, teach and encourage. Lord, I also pray for our pastors. May they be upheld by those in their congregations, sharing the load and using their gifts, all for the glory of God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sal is the wife of Matthew, pastor at Moorabbin–Dandenong Lutheran Church and assistant bishop of the LCA Vic–Tas District. They are blessed with six children who all love and serve the Lord in their different walks of life, from high school to post-grad. Sal is currently studying a master’s degree in counselling practice. She loves writing, speaking and walking to the beach at any opportunity.