The Benefits of Fervent and Consistent Prayer Luke 18.1-8

The Benefits of Fervent and Consistent Prayer

Luke 18.1-8

 

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Give me justice against my adversary. 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

 

     A young man went to a pharmacy and bought three boxes of candy, one small, one medium and one large. The pharmacist asked why the three sizes? The young man said that he was going to have date that night. If she let him hold her hand, he would give her the small box. If she let him kiss her on the cheek, he would give her the medium box. If she let him kiss her on the lips, he would give her the large box. Later that evening he arrived at her house for dinner with the family. He was asked to pray. His prayer was fervent and lasted for five minutes! Everyone at the table was worn out. His date then said, “I never knew you were such a religious person?” He replied, “You never told me your father was a pharmacist!”  (from “P.U.S.H. Pray Until Something Happens” by Dr. David O. Dykes, SermonCentral.com). Note: I don't often include jokes in my sermons. Read the conclusion to understand why I used one here!

 

     Almost everyone will resort to prayer in a difficult situation. But God’s word teaches us that prayer is much more than that. It is one of the most important parts of our Christian life. Jesus Himself prayed fervently and often and taught His disciples to pray.  Paul, in several places, says that he himself prayed without ceasing, and he urges us to pray in the same way. “Be constant in prayer,” he said to the Romans (12.12). 

 

     Yet all too often our prayers become inconsistent and weak. Our sinful nature leads us away from prayer and from God.  We awake in the morning and turn on the radio or television. We hustle off to work and keep busy there all day. In the evening we are too tired to pray. And this pattern will repeat itself over and over again. It is to overcome this natural tendency that Jesus taught the Parable of the Persistent Widow.  

 

Fervent Prayer

 

     Let’s begin by pointing out the obvious in this story. Jesus compares our prayers to a widow that keeps bothering a bad and uncaring judge until he finally does something about her request.  The words “beat me down” (ESV) here literally mean “strike under the eye," or "to give someone a black eye" (ὑπωπιάζω).  We have an English phrase for this:  “to browbeat.”  Is Jesus saying that we should browbeat God in our prayers?  In a way that is what He is saying. We have other examples of this in the Bible. Jacob, the Bible tells us, literally wrestled with God and would not give up until He blessed him (Genesis 32.26).  Hannah prayed so fervently for a child that Eli the priest thought she was drunk (1 Samual 1.15-16). In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was facing the greatest test of faith – the sacrifice of His life on the cross, He prayed so fervently that His sweat fell like “great drops of blood” (Luke 22.44).  God wants us to be fervent in our prayers.

 

     But, really, what does it actually mean to be fervent in prayer?  We can begin by noting what fervent prayer is not.  It is not going through the motions of prayer without thinking about what the words mean. This is what Cain (Genesis 4.3ff) and King Saul (1 Samuel 13.8ff)  seem to have done when they came to worship God. Fervency is to look carefully at two things. It is to look carefully at ourselves and our problems. It is to be honest with our situation.  One of my most often said prayers is this, “Lord, help me to pray. Help me to see myself and my situation in the right way. Keep me from misunderstanding. Keep me from praying for the wrong things.”  The other part of fervency is to look carefully at God. Martin Luther liked to compare our prayers to God to his dog Tölpel.  “Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish or hope” (LW 54 p. 37). Prayer is as much about listening to God and concentrating on Him as it is to talk to Him about ourselves. Many people say that they pray all the time with fervency but nothing seems to come of it. That’s probably because they aren’t focusing on God and listening to Him.  When we focus on ourselves and on God in His word, we will be given understanding, comfort and strength. 

 

Consistent Prayer

 

     What about consistency? Jesus said we “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (18.1). The word for “not loose heart” is interesting.  It literally could be translated, “and not give in to what is bad (ἐγκακέω).”  The opposite of fervent prayer is worry and bad thoughts. All of us will sooner or later battle against these. Paul, in his first letter to Timothy talks about the “sound words” of Jesus. When we turn away from these we soon find ourselves struggling with what Paul calls “evil suspicions.” Our mind becomes “depraved” because it is literally “deprived of truth” (1 Timothy 6.4-5).  

 

     Hospitals maintain a positive pressure of purified air to keep bad air out. In the same way we need consistency in prayer to keep the bad thoughts out of our heads.  We need the pure words of God pouring into our minds constantly and the pure words of righteous prayer pouring out. This is not something that can be effective if it is done only intermittantly.  There are many things like this in life. If we take our medicine inconsistently, if we diet or exercise inconsistently, if we try to learn something inconsistently, it just won’t work.  

 

     God tells us in the Third Commandment to make prayer a consistent part of our life.  “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God” (Exodus 20.8-10). David said, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55.17). I would urge you to look at your weekly and daily routines and commit yourself to the priority of prayer. Don’t say, “I’ll worship if it is convenient.” Don’t think, “I’ll meditate on God’s word if I get some extra time.” Install that system of sound words, both those of Jesus in His word and your own in your prayers, and let it run regularly every day.  But, and this is very important, the command to pray consistently is not enough to inspire us! The command is good, but as Jesus said, "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26.41). The inspiration to pray consistently comes from the consistent promises of God. Psalm 91.15 tells us, "He (the one who believes) shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble..." In Isaiah (65.24) God said, "It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear." When Jeremiah was shut up in prison the LORD told him: "Call to Me, and I will answer you... " (33.3). Every week is 168 hours long. A couple of hours of worship each week will always make the other 166 hours much more productive and happy. The same is true for each day. Twenty minutes for meditation and family devotions out our twenty-four hour day will make the rest of the twenty-three hours and forty minutes so much better! God's promises encourage us to maintain consistent times of prayer, and in those prayers God is with us to help us. 

 

Prayers Are Answered with the Cross

 

     Jesus says in the end that justice will be done (v. 8).  We pray because things are wrong. Either something is wrong with us or with others or both.  A little boy was once sent to his room for being naughty. Eventually he asked his mother if he could come out. To appease her a little he said, “I prayed about it.”  His mother said, “Good. God will help you to behave better if you ask Him.”  But the boy replied, “I know that mom, but I also asked God to help you put up with me!”  

 

     God is all about justice. Justice for the stubborn and indifferent is God’s wrath. God fixes the problem by condemning the ones who are bringing it on.  Justice for the repentant is justification.  God fixes the problem by forgiving it and healing it.  For believers the answer to all our prayers begins with the cross.  When I pray, I often pray holding on to this small cross.  I know that every thing I need begins here.  Jesus said that justice will come speedily, and it has come to us in Christ. He takes what is broken and bent and fixes it again. He takes what is sick and heals it. He renews and refreshes what is dead and rotten.  This is no empty promise on His part.  It is the very heart of all truth and reality.  Jesus fulfills the promise of God’s justice in this earth by taking upon Himself all the wrongs of the entire world upon the cross.  There every righteous prayer that has ever been or ever will be uttered has been answered.  The Bible says, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8.32). There we see the beginning of every thing we need, and we only wait for all the rest of God’s blessings that He will give to us in Christ.  Amen. 

Conclusion

 

     I started this prayer with a little joke, and that's not something I usually do. I don't ever want people to get the impression that I'm not serious about God's word. But in this case I made an exception because I think Jesus is telling a kind of joke in this parable. In this case, though, the joke is not about the word of God or any promises God has made about prayer. The joke is on the devil. I just can't help but think Jesus is telling us a little joke when he portrays this bad judge who "neither feared God or man" being beaten down by a poor widow. The punch line is in these words by the judge: "Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming." Prayer is no joke. Prayer is powerful, and this parable shows how God's promises regarding prayer turn the devil and all his allies into a joke! Amen. 

A Christian Approach to Immigration - Bible Study

 A Christian Approach to Immigration

Adult Bible Study - Faith Lutheran Church, Beaufort, SC

October 19, 2025

As of 2025, immigrants to the United States make up about 15% of the population.

This is slightly higher than 1870 when the immigrant population was 14.5%. The

immigrant population dropped to almost 2% by 1960. Immigration has played an

important role in this country! Currently illegal immigrants make up 4.2% of the US

population or about 27% of all immigrants. (Information from MS Copilot)

 

1. How is legal immigration a blessing for our country?

     Legal immigrants bring many workers and creative thinkers into our country.

     (Levi Strauss, Andrew Carnegie, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Irving Berlin, Arnold Schwarznegger, Julia Child, Jonas Saulk, Elon Musk, Sonya Sotomayor)

 

2. How is illegal immigration a problem for our country?

     Felons make up 8% of the US population. If we allow ten million undocumented people into our country, we are allowing at least 800,000 criminals into our country. This has increased the problem of human trafficking, drug smuggling, murder, rape, etc. in our country. 

 

3. What role did immigration play in the Bible? Can you identify the immigrations mentioned in these chapters?

 

     Genesis 12.1ff Abraham is told to migrate from the land of his fathers to the land of promise.

 

     Genesis 37-50 Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. Later Jacob moved his family to Egypt because of famine.

 

     Exodus-Joshua Moses led one of the greatest migrations in history when he leads the children of Israel out of Egypt and to the Promised Land.

 

     Ruth 1 Ruth, the Moabitess, immigrated to Israel.

 

     2 Kings 24.14 The captives of Jerusalem were carried off to Babylon. Jeremiah promised 70 years of captivity in Babylon and tolds Israel to get used to it. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenego were migrants.

 

     Ezra 1 Ezra and Nehemiah led the migration of Israel back to Judah to rebuild the temple

 

     Matthew 3 Joseph, Mary & Jesus fled to Egypt and then returned to Israel.

 

     Acts 11.19 The Jewish Christians were scattered because of persecution. The went as far as Phoenecia, Cyprus and Antioch preaching the Gospel.

 

     Acts 13 Paul and Barnabus were sent on the first missionary journey.

 

4. Immigration played an important role in the Bible. How do these verses address both the blessings of immigration?

 

     Leviticus 19.33-34 Israelites were required to treat foreigners justly.

     Matthew 22.29 Christians must love their neighbors as themselves.

     Philippians 3.20 & Hebrews 13.14 Our ultimate citizenship is in heaven. Therefore we ultimately work for that "divine immigration process."

 

5. What do we mean by illegal immigration?  Why is the following Naturalization Oath important? 

 

     I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

 

6. Does God give a country the right to ask for such an oath? Must Christians respect immigration laws? When would they not?

 

     Romans 13.1-7 & 1 Peter 2.13-17 God establishes governments to punish evil doers.

     Acts 5.29 We must obey God rather than men when men command us to disobey God.

 

7. What should a country do about illegal immigration? 

 

     Seek the Wisdom of God's Word. (Proverbs 3.5-6).

 

     Avoid the Opinions of Men that Contradict God's Word (Colossians 2.8).

 

     Respect the Limitations of God's Word (Matthew 15.9)

 

     Work for Peace (Romans 12.18-21; 14.19) 

 

     Pray (1 Timothy 2.1-4) 

 

For Further Study: CTCR Bible study — ‘Immigrants Among Us: A Lutheran Framework for Addressing
Immigration Issues’ as well as the Report by the same name. Available for free online.

Why We Believe in God - The Book of Ruth

Why We Believe in God - The Book of Ruth

Pastor Michael P. Walther

Faith Lutheran Church, Beaufort, SC

October 12, 2025

 

Introduction

 

     God tells us about many important people in the Bible.  Many of them are women such as Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha, Lydia, Priscilla, Phoebe, Damaris, Dorcas and many others.  Many people today say the Bible oppresses women. This comes from people who think that men and women are in competition with each other. But the Bible presents men and women in cooperation - Fully dependent on each other and fully dependent on God. 

 

     One of the favorite women of faith in the Bible is Ruth.  I want to look at her life so that we might better appreciate God’s grace.  Before we leave this worship service today, I hope we will all be refreshed by our realization of God’s goodness and faithfulness to all - men, women, and children.  This is Why We Believe in God.  

 

1.  Ruth Shows Remarkable Faith in the Face of Tragedy.

 

     We don’t know anything about Ruth’s childhood.  She enters into the recorded history of God’s plan of salvation as a bride.  Foreigners from Israel had come to her country because of a famine in their land.  Ruth became acquainted with them.  Their names were Elimelech and Naomi along with their two sons Mahlon and Chilion.  To Ruth there was something special about this family.  Knowing what pious Jewish life was like, we can imagine that she was attracted to their decency, their love and respect for one another, and above all their unwavering faith in Yahweh, the God of Israel.  She probably expected them to think lightly of their God since there was a famine in Israel.  Others might have joked with Elimelech telling him that “his God wasn’t doing his job.”  Ruth was probably used to this nonchalant view of divinity that was common in the pagan world.  Since these were gods that they had imagined in their own hearts, they could do whatever they wanted with them.  But the God of Israel was different.  He was respected no matter what.  There was no other God.

 

     However it worked out, we don’t know the details, Ruth was joined to this family in marriage.  While the spiritual life of this family may have been strong, outwardly this was a family facing many tragedies.  First there was the famine, the move to Moab, and finally the death of Elimelech and Mahlon and Chilion.  The writer of the Book of Ruth stresses the idea that these women were “left” -- Left to go on with life without the help and support of husbands.  Without the benefit of a support system like we have today these women were in big trouble.  Desperate for survival Naomi decides to return to Israel.  As painful as it may have been she also realized that Orpa and Ruth stood a better chance of finding new husbands in their own land.  Not many men, she thought, would be interested in these women from Moab.  Confused and dazed in her own grief - her own faith was shattering.  She even recognized that as Orpa was turning back to Moab that she was returning to her people and to her gods.  It is a bitter, bitter situation dramatically described as these women kiss one another and raise up their voices in sad crying.  

 

     Tragedy.  It is the experience we all dread.  We’re very used to having the things and the people we need.  What happens to us when they are taken away?  Even for Christians there is the threat that tragedy can shake our faith.  The new parent worries for the safety of their child.  They want to ride their bikes, but will they watch out for cars?  Will the cars watch out for them?  The child worries for mom and dad.  Everyday they kiss and say goodbye.  What would happen if one of them were not coming back to pick me up after school?  The young couple worries that the early joys of married life could be destroyed by the dreaded sentence:  Mr. so and so, I have some bad news to tell you…”  

 

     Tragedy tests us.  It challenges us by asking, “Is your God faithful?  Can He be trusted?”  Daniel tells us about the three men who were thrown into the fiery furnace.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abendigo were challenged to believe in the goodness and faithfulness of God.  They would not bow down to another god.  In fact they said, “O Nebuchadnezzar, … our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.  But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up" (Daniel 3.16-18).  “He will… but if not…”  These are the words of one who knows that God is faithful.  Even if He does not deliver me from this present tragedy, I know that He will deliver me from the hand of the wicked and from the evils of this world.  

 

     Over and over again, the Bible tells us that despite apparent and present circumstances God is faithful.  One of our favorite passages comes from St. Paul:  “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.  Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10.13-14).  

 

2.  Leaving Behind the Gods of Moab

 

     That last sentence also reminds us of a very important choice that Ruth had to make:  She had to leave behind the gods of Moab.  “Flee idolatry” is the opposite way of saying, “trust in God.”  One of the gods of Moab was the god Chemosh.  His name means “to subdue.”  He was a god of war, and he required human sacrifices in order to benefit from his powers.  This god is an example of what human depravity can imagine.  Chemosh was not about faith but about covetousness – when you want something so bad, you’re willing to do anything to get it – even destroy another human being.  Chemosh, like another famous god, Molech, was especially appeased by the sacrifice of children, or so his worshipers thought.  

 

     Ruth could see the difference between Chemosh and Yahweh.  The God of Israel did not exist simply to give us power over others so that we could get whatever we want.  Ruth could see that Yahweh was the God of salvation who in His lovingkindness does not give us whatever we want but what we really need.  He gives us His faithfulness to deliver us from evil. 

 

     You and I are also called to abandon our gods.  These are the things that we imagine in our hearts – things upon which we rely to get the things we want.  Our Chemosh could be our education, our job, our wealth, our family, our government.  Someone might say, “but pastor these are all good things, how can they be false gods?”  The answer is that when we rely on any or all of these instead of looking to God, they become Chemosh – they become those things we turn to in order to subdue our enemies and provide us with our pleasures.  And we also make sacrifices to our Chemosh idols. Think back on that list: education, wealth, government, etc. What is the first thing that people sacrifice to these idols? They sacrifice their time with the one true God. They read the Bible less and less, pray less and less, and live more like the world than like God.

 

     The illusion of selfish idolatry is growing stronger and stronger in our American culture.  People are more and more willing to commit sin in order to get satisfaction for their pleasures.  Greed and jealousy drive corporation executives and government officials to lie and deceive and to leave their investors, employees, and citizens empty-handed.  Greed and jealousy drive people to get-rich-quick lawsuits, to gambling casinos, and to state-run lotteries.  Immoral sex is promoted everywhere: sex apart from marriage, pornography, homosexuality, and gender confusion. The result is unwanted children or no children at all, unstable relationships, unstable minds, and suicide. Laziness and self-indulgence lead to poverty, addiction and depression.

 

     The modern priests of Moab are leading people astray with foolish sayings such as “You can’t legislate morality," and "Most people are basically good, but they're the victims of a few oppressers," and "You can do whatever you want as long as you're not hurting anyone." Each one of these foolish sayings dressed up as wisdom is destructive and lead to death. 

 

     God called Ruth away from the culture of Chemosh. God called Ruth to the holy life of repentance for our sin (Stop being a victim; take responsibility), trust in God's forgiveness (Stop thinking you can live with sin; let God take it away), and live by faith in God's word (Let God guide you, don't try to guide yourself.)

 

3.  Looking Forward to God’s Salvation.

 

     “Orpa kissed her mother-in-law but Ruth clung to her” (1.14).  Ruth had no idea what hardships and difficulties were still coming to her.  She had a bitter, unhappy, and struggling mother-in-law that needed her help.  She also had to go on somehow – but she would not go on by herself.  Ruth tells Naomi in verse 16 “Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.”  God used Naomi to convert Ruth, now God would use Ruth to preserve Naomi in her faith.  Many times in history it has been the recent convert who has turned around and shown more faith than the person converted long ago.  God uses all of us to support one another.  

 

     Ruth trusted in God’s faithfulness.  She knew that somehow He would provide the best way for her.  They arrived in Israel at the time of the barley harvest.  Ruth was permitted to glean in the fields.  That is, she walked behind the harvesters and picked up the grain that they missed.  God provided for her and her mother-in-law. Then God led a man named Boaz to marry Ruth and to take care of her and Naomi.  He became a redeemer to them:  Taking up the burden necessary to care for them.  Again God provided.  

 

     As the account goes on we see just how much God was providing not only for Ruth and for Naomi but for the world.  Ruth had a son named Obed, who in turn had a son named Jesse.  Jesse had a son named David, who became the king of Israel.  When we turn to the opening chapter of the New Testament, we discover the rest of Ruth’s story.  Ruth was one of the ancestors of Jesus.  

 

     Ruth did not understand what was happening to her and what the future would unfold.  But Ruth knew Who was with her.  She knew that the one true God, the God life and salvation, was with her all the way.  That is one of the most consist promises of the Bible:  “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1.5);  “The LORD of hosts is with us” (Psalm 46.7); “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed” (Isaiah 41.10).  

 

     When God finally sent His Son into the world, He was named “Immanuel” which means “God with us” (Matthew 1.23).  Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God’s goodness and faithfulness.  He took up our burden of sin on the cross so that we could be freed from the slavery of selfish idolatry.  

 

Conclusion

 

     Why do we believe in God?  We believe because God is good.  He is faithful.  He is gracious. He doesn't bestow favors upon us because we make sacrifices to Him. He is not a Chemosh. He loves us and bestows His love on us first in the form of forgiveness, and then in all the other needs of life. And He is with us to save us and deliver us from evil through Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Lessons from an Interrupted Funeral Luke 7.11-17

Lessons from the Interrupted Funeral at Main

Sermon for October 5, 2025 Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Greenville, Illinois

"Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

Luke 7.11-17

 

Introduction

 

     God's miracles override the laws of nature and the curse of sin and give us a fantastic picture of Him and His work. A pastor once said that Jesus ruined every funeral He attended. This is true. He shut down the mourners at the death of Jairus' daughter. He stopped the funeral procession at Nain. He reopened and vacated the tomb of Lazarus. He cancelled the final burial preparations on the third day of His own death. The miracle of the raising of the widow's son at Nain is like viewing a painting in which we can see many important lessons about God and His plans for our lives. 

 

Miracles Are Divine Interruptions

 

     Let's begin with the definition of a miracle. Most of the time Jesus was preaching and teaching God's word. But along with this Jesus often put God's word into action as He interrupted the normal course of the world. Because of sin this world is under the curse of God. The Bible says, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (Romans 5.12). But God also loves this world, and His divine purpose is to save us from this curse through His Son, Jesus. Again the Bible says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us" (Galatians 3.13). When God intervenes, when He interrupts the curse of sin, this is a miracle. 

 

     Some people say that miracles don't happen. They usually say this because they say they've never seen a miracle. It is true that miracles like the raising of the man from Nain are rare. They may not happen often, but how can anyone be sure that they never happen? There are many things even in nature that happen rarely and that I've never seen. I've heard of a century plant that blooms once in it's life some time between twenty and thirty years of age. Amazing. I believe it because I trust the people who have told me about it, but I've never seen it myself. Just because something happens rarely and I've never seen it, doesn't mean it isn't real.  But the real reason people deny the miracles of God is because they don't believe there is a God who is saving us from our sins. They don't believe there is a God who has interrupted and is interrupting this world every day to do that. 

 

     A pastor I know taught his congregation that evangelism and believing in Jesus is a miracle. First, he taught them the words of God that people need to hear in order to believe: That we are sinners; that Jesus, the Son of God, gave His life to forgive our sin and to save us; that believing in Him is being born again from the dead. To really impress this upon his evangelism committe, he took them one night to a cemetery. He asked them to repeat the key Bible passages he had taught them. Then he said, "If you share those passages with somebody, and if the Holy Spirit causes them to believe and confess their faith in Jesus, that is a miracle no different than if you saw the ground in front of you, right now, begin to shake, the casket buried here rising up and opening, and the dead person whose name is on the headstone sat up and began singing." A miracle is God interrupting the curse of sin, and miracles like that are happening every day in one way or another as people hear the word of God and realize the effects of believing, healing, and saving. This is probably the most important lesson to take away from hearing about the miracle of the raising of the man from Nain. But there are more.

 

God Can Save Anyone

 

     Some early church fathers drew allegorical (symbolic) lessons from the resurrection miracles of Jesus. There were three of them as I mentioned early: Jairus' Daughter, Widow's Son of Nain, and Lazarus. They saw in these three miracles a lesson on how God forgives sin in its different stages. Jairus' daughter represented sins of thought (early stage of sin?). The Widow's Son represented more public sins (they were at the city gate). Lazarus represented God's forgiveness of really bad sins since he had been dead four days ("He stinketh!). Is it true that God forgives sins in all stages? Yes. If that's the lesson you draw from these miracles, then that is a good lesson. 

     The Bible tells us there is no sin that God cannot forgive except the sin you withhold from Him and the sin for which you refuse to repent. All sins are equally bad in the eyes of God because they are all connected to each other. If I try to touch a rattlesnake's head, I will probably get bitten quickly. If I try to touch a rattlesnake's tail, I may not get bitten as quickly, but I'm likely be bitten just the same. Yet the evil one loves to use our sins against us. First he acts as the devil, which means "deceiver." He lies to us and convinces us that it is okay to sin. Then he becomes the satan, which means accuser. He makes us feel guilty for our sin and never lets us forget about it. He convinces us that there is no hope, or he convinces us that we can make up for our sin with some good works. But he never tells us about forgiveness. The sin is always there. Yet God does just the opposite. Do you remember the sinful woman (probably a prostitute) who put ointment on Jesus' feet and washed them with her tears and kissed them? Jesus said of her (as He says to all of us): "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven" (Luke 7.47). The miracle at Nain shows us that God can save anyone at any stage of sin or death.

 

Saved by Grace

 

     During the Reformation both Martin Luther and John Calvin saw in this miracle the truth that salvation is by grace alone. They pointed out that there were no negotiations between the dead man or his mother and Jesus. He didn't ask if He could interrupt this funeral. Jesus halted the procession and raised the young man. In the same way our salvation from sin is brought about by the promises of God's grace not by our works. Good works follow the grace of God, not the other way around. Salvation is a free gift that produces good works in us. Good works are not a "have to" but a "want to" because of the good work and miracle of our conversion from "light to darkness and from the power of satan to God" (Acts 26.18). 

 

     One of the reasons this teaching of salvation by grace alone is so important is that it explains something we see around us constantly. There are many people today who try to say that the God of the Bible is bad. They love to point out the many judgments that God brought down upon this world in the past and His present warnings of judgment for sin today. These people don't take sin seriously and therefore think God is unjust for punishing sin. On the other hand there are many, many people who are very indifferent to sin or they think that they have somehow compensated for their sin. Neither of these two groups want to hear about God's grace. They either don't go to church because they hate the God who judges sin, or they don't go to church because they think they don't need God's forgiveness. They don't thank God for baptism. They don't care about receiving forgiveness of sins in confession and absolution or in the Lords' Supper. This is why Jesus wept when He came to Jerusalem to die on the cross. He knew that many hated Him like they hated the prophets of old, or they just didn't care. It saddens me so much to see so many people acting this way in the world. It is a mystery to me why they do this. But I can't blame God for it. No one can blame God for this. He has gone out of His way to tell people He loves them inspite of their sins. He sent His Son, who on this beautiful day at the city gate of Nain, showed His power over sin and death. But not long after this that very Son of God would be forced to carry a Roman cross through the city gate of Jerusalem to the place of the skull. 

 

     The teaching of salvation by grace alone shows us the true nature of God and, unfortunately, the true nature of this world. People are eternally condemned not because they didn't have the chance to believe but because they didn't want to believe. They just don't want a God of grace. I don't understand it. I don't know why. I just know that one day Jesus interrupted a funeral at Nain and raised a man from the dead, totally for free. That touches my heart. That stirs something inside of me. I know that three days after He died on the cross, the "Sun of Righteousness," as Micah called the Messiah, rose "with healing on His wings" (4.2). Because of God's miracles that interrupt and overcome the cycle of sin and death, He can boldly say, "Do not weep."  The world can deny or ignore that miracle if they want. I won't. I want it, and I hope you want it to.

 

Conclusion

 

     God's miracles override the laws of nature and the curse of sin and give us a fantastic picture of Him and His work. If you believe in Jesus, then you have been raised from the dead. "Do not weep;" “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” Amen.

Thoughts on Daniel Boone's Faith

 

Daniel Boone died on September 26, 1820 at the age of 85 "when the sun was half an hour high." 

These are a few notes taken from the book "Daniel Boone" by John Mack Faragher.

Page 25ff

Daniel Boone‘s family were Quakers. His father Squire Boone left the Quakers after he had a conflict with them about one of his children getting pregnant out of wedlock. Sarah Morgan, Daniel’s mother, continued with the Quakers. Daniel Boone left the Quakers at the same time at the age of 13. He always considered himself to be a Christian, but after this he no longer attended Christian services. He said “I never knew any good to come of religious disputes.“

Page 45

When Daniel Boone courted Rebecca, he was uncomfortable and awkward. There is a story that in his nervousness he tossed his knife to the ground several times, and at some point actually tour her apron. Boone, offered no apology. Later he told his children that he did it to “try her temper – thinking if it was fiery, she would fly into a passion.“ When she did not, he knew she was the woman for him.

Page 47

“hers was a world in which little effort was made to limit conception, and that pattern, which had characterized the women of previous generations, would persist in those that followed.“

Rebecca‘s four daughters had 33 children between them. Her daughters in law of her three married sons for another 35. These children and their spouses and children often resided in the home with Rebecca. A traveling preacher noted that in the Yadkin area he saw 23 persons living in the one room cabin of William and Mary Boone Grant.

Page 58

At one point Boone, was separated from his family for two years. During that time apparently Jemima was born. That raised the question of her father. One theory was that she was conceived by Daniel‘s brother Ned. Apparently Daniel was not too upset by this.

Page 60

Some are of the opinion that the frontier men did a little work around their farms. One preacher said that they often lived like the Indians.

Page 63

Boone did have some debt problems, and he was accused of running from his responsibilities. However, even though it might have taken a long time, he did try to make good on his debts.

Pages 64-65

Boone, took a party of adventurers to explore the Florida panhandle. Apparently this trip involved a good deal of flirting and cavorting with pretty serving girls and Seminole Indian maidens. At one point the party got lost. Boone, was once asked if he had ever been lost. He replied, “no, I can’t say as ever I was lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.”

Page 80

The American Indians were angered by the way Americans hunted deer for their skins and left most of the meat to rot. In the same way American farmers resented the Indian claims of large territories that they kept as hunting preserve but did not develop and use intensively as farmlands

Page 93

Daniel Boone’s oldest son James and several other young men were attacked during their trip to Kentucky by group of Delaware Indians. The Cherokee by the name of big Jim tortured them by ripping out their fingernails until they struck them in the head. Their bodies were shot through with arrows.

Page 121

“A set of scoundrels who scarcely believe in God or fear a devil” This is how Richard Henderson, Boone’s partner, described the men trying to settle Kentucky.

Page142-43

Boone, supported neither the revolution nor the loyalists. His main concern was his local community, his clan and his family.  This represented a lot of the early settlers. Rebecca’s family were loyalists.

Page 147.

The term for tough men: “men with the bark on”

Page 310

During Boone,‘s last year‘s, there was a lot of revivalism on the Feme Osage (the area in Missouri where Boone retired). And a few of the Boone family members were caught up in the revivalism. A Baptist pastor once asked Boone if he had any feelings toward the savior. "No, sir,” Boone, answered sharply, “I always loved God ever since I could recollect.“

Page 312

Toward the end of his life Boone did attend worship services, and he also read the Bible.

In a letter to Sarah Deb, his Quaker sister-in-law, he wrote (Boone had notoriously bad spelling.):

You can gass at my feilings by your own as we are So Near of age.... how we Leve in this World and what Chance we have in the next we know Not. for my part I am as ignerant a Child[.] all the Relegan I have [is] to Love and fear god, beleve Jeses Christ, Dow all the good to my Nighbour and my Self thi Can, and Do as Little harm as I Can help, and trust on god’s marcy for the Rest and I beleve god never made a man of prisipel to be Lost.

Page 316

Boone Quotes:

Better mend a fault than find a fault.

If we can’t say good, we should say no harm.

A man needs three things to be happy: A good gun, a good horse, and a good wife. 

A few thoughts of my own...

Daniel Boone was always torn between his responsibilities to his family and community and his great love for exploring the vast natural world. He wasn't quite the historical hero of a young America that I saw as a kid on the TV show with Fess Parker, but within the mixed bag of the good things and bad things he did, there was a lot of good. 

One of the things I wished the book would have explained better was the actual way in which Boone travelled so long and alone in the wilderness. What exactly did he take along in his kit? rifle, knife, blanket, etc.? How did he sleep, handle mosquitoes, stay warm and dry, etc.?

His religious life is interesting to me. I think Quakerism tended to lead people away from the church, but it must have planted some seeds of faith. The Quakers and many other Christian sects absolutely hated the religious controversies that raged in America. This happens when you have freedom of religion. In other countries many heresies would have been stamped out by the government. Unfortunately they often stamped out Christian orthodoxy as well. You can't have freedom of religion without religious controversies. If Boone would have read his Bible more closely as a younger man, he would have noticed that religious controversy rages throughout the Bible. That is because God's truth will always face major assaults on all sides. For our part Christians must avoid unnecessary controversies as Paul warned (Galatians 5.13-15), but they must also stay steadfast with the true church to which,

"He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4.11-16)