by Charles Bertelsmeier
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Read Luke 24:44–53
I find it interesting to contemplate the rollercoaster emotional ride the closest followers of Jesus had been experiencing. First, there was the excitement and adventure when they had first answered the call to follow Jesus. Then there were the challenges to their long‑held beliefs about what the promised Messiah would be, and even questions about whether Jesus was actually the promised Messiah. Then, after being with him for those three years, Jesus started talking about his impending death/execution. There would have been much unsettling confusion. Would the three years following Jesus have been a waste of their time if they had to go back to their old jobs after he left/died? And their future and security came tumbling down when Jesus was arrested, condemned and crucified.
They were afraid that they would be next, so they went into hiding from the authorities. But then there was the joy when Jesus came back from the dead and the 40 days with him as he clarified for the disciples what his ministry was all about.
However, when he left them again at his return to heaven, I would have thought that his followers would again descend into a time of grieving at his departure. But no. They went to the temple each day full of joy and celebration. Remember that they had not yet received the empowering of Holy Spirit – this was still 10 days away at Pentecost. But they had been transformed. Their fear of the authorities was gone, and they had the confidence that God was in complete control and that he was implementing a plan. They would play a part in God’s ongoing plan, even though they were unaware of many details. Any thoughts of returning to the lives they had before meeting Jesus were now completely expunged from their minds.
When a loved one who knows Jesus personally dies, we, of course, grieve their departure. But in a similar way to the followers of Jesus celebrating his return to heaven, we can celebrate that our loved one has also gone to join Jesus in heaven. And as his followers got on with their lives with the assurance that God had a plan and a future for them, so we too can, still in our grief, have confidence that our loving Heavenly Father will be with us through Holy Spirit in us. His presence helps us focus on God’s ongoing plans for our lives after our loved one is taken from us.
Loving Heavenly Father, thank you for your promise to be with us always, through all the experiences of life you take us through. Please take away our fear of the future, because we know it is all part of your loving plan for us. Amen.
Charles is a retired engineer who has worked on telecommunications projects for the air force, army and navy. He lives in a retirement village in the outer north-western suburbs of Sydney with his wife, Diane. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren, all of whom they love spending time with. Charles keeps busy caring for their pot plants and a community vegetable garden, researching his family history and volunteering in the community and at LifeWay Lutheran Church.
Another Pentecost needed?
by Mark Lieschke
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And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions (Joel 2:28).
Read Joel 2:28–32a
In his sermon on the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter quotes these words from the prophet Joel. Pentecost in Acts 2 was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit among believers, fulfilling Joel’s prophecy and marking what is usually called the birth of the church.
The Holy Spirit has come, is with us and will remain in God’s people until Jesus returns. While we may desire the Spirit to work more powerfully and want to be more open to his influence in our lives, we can be confident that he is at work in our lives every day.
As Christians, as people who are ‘in Christ’, we have the Holy Spirit. We couldn’t be Christians if we didn’t have the Spirit. ‘“No one can say Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit is not a feeling or an experience. He’s a person who lives in every believer.
So, we don’t have to sit around and wait for a ‘move of the Spirit’. For those in Christ, the Spirit is already present. We are Spirit-filled right now.
Wanting another Pentecost suggests that the first Pentecost wasn’t enough. It wasn’t sufficient. Joel’s prophecy needs updating!
After Peter quoted Joel’s words, he immediately pointed his hearers to Jesus. He spoke about his life, death and resurrection. That’s the prime work of the Holy Spirit – pointing us to Jesus.
The response from the people: ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’
They received the Holy Spirit. We have received that same Spirit. And with that Spirit, we are enabled, equipped and encouraged to live as the Spirit-filled people that we are, pointing others to Jesus.
Gracious God, you promised to pour out your Spirit on all people. We thank you for keeping your word and filling us with your Spirit. Empower us by your Spirit to be witnesses of your grace to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.
Who am I?
by Mark Lieschke
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They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted (Isaiah 62:12).
Read Isaiah 62:1–12
What a tremendous reminder! Prophesied by Isaiah hundreds of years before, come to fruition with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, convinced of this truth by the Holy Spirit, you and I can be confident that we are special people.
Just think of what we are called: ‘a crown of splendour’, ‘a royal diadem’, ‘no longer deserted’, ‘the Lord’s delight’, ‘Holy People’, ‘the Redeemed of the Lord’.
God rejoices over us. And he doesn’t keep quiet about the people he loves! ‘For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet’ (Isaiah 62:1). Zion and Jerusalem are references to the people of God’s church. And he wants his love and devotion to be shouted all over the world.
What is most remarkable is why he loves us. God didn’t fall in love with us because of the wonderful qualities and upstanding characteristics he found in us. In fact, there is nothing righteous of our own in us.
God loves the people of his church, despite our sins and imperfections. This inexplicable love for sinners is what caused Jesus to give his life for us on the cross. In Christ, our sins have been forgiven. We have been credited with his righteousness. And it is this righteousness that makes us so attractive to the Father.
Because of Jesus, God delights in us. What an extraordinary fact!
Celebrate that again today. Rejoice in who you are. Praise God for his grace in and through Jesus Christ.
Loving Father, we stand in awe of what you have done for us in Jesus Christ. May your Holy Spirit continue to convince us of this truth and inspire us to share this incredible news with those around us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.
Peace be with you
by Mark Lieschke
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Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:21,22).
Read John 20:19–23
The Christian faith is rejected by most people in the world today. Its truths are no longer generally believed or followed. And it can seem to many, both outside and even to some within the church, that the Christian faith is no longer the power it once was or an effective force in the world.
Maybe, in the back of our minds, there’s the same nagging suspicion. We look around us and see the many other things in the world that influence people, and we can wonder just what kind of influence the church has today. Has it lost its power? Have we lost our way? Are we becoming more and more of a lost cause?
On the day Jesus rose from the grave, the disciples gathered behind closed doors, and there was a good deal of confusion in their minds.
Their hopes about participating in a glorious kingdom lay shattered; their Lord and friend had been put to death. The years they had spent following and listening to him may have seemed wasted.
But when Jesus appeared and stood in the middle of them and said, ‘Peace be with you’, their fear was changed into joy. Doubt and confusion were transformed into belief. Despair and anxiety were replaced by excitement and a desire to share what they had seen and heard.
A change took place within them that would have a lasting impact on their lives, and in turn, on the lives of millions of others.
That power is still at work – despite what we may see and experience. The Holy Spirit continues to come today to empower, encourage, equip, transform, strengthen and motivate us.
The peace of the Lord Jesus be with you today. May your life be enriched as you receive this peace. And may the Holy Spirit give you courage as Jesus sends you to share that peace.
Merciful God, your Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, who gives hope and joy even as we live and serve in a world that can seem to oppose us at every turn. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and empower us to share your peace with those around us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and is a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church Buderim. He served in parishes in Adelaide SA, Palmerston North and Marton in New Zealand and Wagga Wagga NSW (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the LCANZ’s New South Wales District. He and his wife, Meredith, have four children (two of whom live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.