WHO IS YOUR MASTER?

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 money. Luke 16:13

Who is your master? Here is a test to find out? If you had the opportunity to choose between overtime at work where you could earn time and a half and Sunday morning worship which one would you choose? Or here is another test, say you had ten dollars in your pocket and you had to choose between buying a nice dinner tonight and giving half of it to church and going to McDonald's instead, what would you choose?

Which do you hold on to tighter your checkbook or your Bible? Which one has received more of your attention? Which one have you spent more time thinking about? Have you spent more time at the store this week than at your chair or table reading God's Word, on your knees in prayer, or in your community sharing the love of Christ?

I am often amazed at how defensive and even angry people get when you start talking about stewardship and money. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because it happens all the time. People actually leave church and never come back because you ask them to give a tithe to the Lord.

Why do you think that is? Everything else is fair game. Everyone can know how much time you have and how many things you are good at doing, but don't you dare touch my money. Don't talk about it. Don't ask about it. And especially don't ask me to give more of it away. Could it be that our hearts and our attitudes are more attached to our money than they are to our faith, our church, and our God?

Last week there was quite a bit of panic when the Dow Jones had its biggest one day drop in history. My question to that is this: Who would put their trust, their faith, and their peace in something as volatile and uncertain as the stock market or in money period? Does our happiness and our security really rely on the Almighty dollar that much?

I have heard people speak of the "Great Depression" before. Many of them say that it was a very hard time, but most of those people also say that it was a time that they remember with fondness, because neighbors helped each other out, churches grew by leaps and bounds, and families grew closer together. It was a time of great need, but it was also a time of contentedness and happiness for people whose happiness didn't reside in their pockets.

I pray that it doesn't come to a "Great Depression" again. I don't want to see people lose their jobs. I don't want to see people lose their life savings. I especially don't want people to be thrown out into the street. It hurts to watch people suffer. At the same time God has always used hard times to bring people closer to him. My question to you is how hard is it going to have to get before you realize who your master truly is?

I pray that you get your priorities in order in your own way and in your own time and that you are not forced to do so. I pray that you realize where your spiritual bread is buttered and for that matter your physical bread as well. Come to your senses and know that in order to have true peace and happiness in your life, God must be your master and master of everything in your life! Learn that the secret to contentedness does not lie in the checkbook balance but in God's love, mercy, grace and peace that He gives to you daily in His Word. Realize that God loving you enough to send His Son Jesus to die on a cross for you is not just something for Sunday mornings and funerals but for every day of your life to give you hope and peace.

Rev. Jeremy Klaustermeir

To God All Praise and Glory

ARE YOU FED UP WITH............

Are you fed up with soaring prices? Are you fed up with your government? Are you fed up with how things seem to be going from bad to worse? God knows how you feel.

Since the beginning of the downfall of humanity when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, things have been going from bad to worse. At times, such as right before the flood and right before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, things got so bad that God decided to have the whole world destroyed by a flood.

At this time God is holding back his wrath. He is keeping our complete destruction, which is truly what we all deserve, from happening to us. Just in this way we see God's mercy working in our lives. I can look back at so many times in my life where I didn't get what my sins deserve. There are too many moments of stupidity in my life to count. Yet God, who is rich in grace, keeps the full penalty of the stupidity of our sins from us.

At the same time I often hear people say things like. "Things are so bad. Pastor, do you think the end of the world is coming soon?" Or they don't even ask me but they simply say, "The world must be coming to an end, because everything is going downhill. My answer to these comments and questions is always the same. The world has been coming to an end since the beginning. With every rise of the sin the world is always one day closer to the end. In the New Testament writings of the Apostles there is great evidence that many at that time thought that the end of the world would come during their lifetime. Paul spends a great deal of time making sure people continue to live their lives instead of just simply waiting for the end. There is also an urgency in Paul's writings to share the Gospel for the "time is near", which is exactly what Paul did from his conversion on.

When we see things that make us think that the world is coming to an end we should be motivated greatly to increase our witness to Christ. We shouldn't cower in a corner, become pessimistic, or just sit and wait and tell that day comes. We should get to work! Jesus tells us that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. He tells us to ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into the harvest field.

Are you fed up with the way the world is going? Then do something about it! Share the Lord's truth with others. Fill your own life with God's Word, with His good news, and with His grace. Fill your community with these things. Tell your neighbors, friends, relatives, and everyone else about what Jesus has done for you and for them. If your world is falling apart around you and you aren't doing these things, you only have yourself to blame.

As has always been the case, it is God's Word, His truth that changes lives. It is His living Word that, when it reaches the ears of His creation causes people to go from belief and unbelief, from unsaved to saved. He has given us the joy and the opportunities to share His Gospel with others. Not only that, but the Holy Spirit gives us the power to share that good news with people from every tribe, language and nation.

You have no excuse, nor do you have a reason not to share the Gospel. The time is near when the end of all things will come, so instead of being fed up, start feeding souls with the food of the good news of salvation that only comes through Jesus Christ our Lord. Peace be with you as you get to work!