Belonging to God 1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:1-2 The passage above, the OT Reading from the Frist Sunday after the Epiphany, is one of my favorites. As I heard it read in worship again this year and as I was preparing to write this blog, I couldn’t resist the urge to use it as my devotional text. I find this passage to be full of love, grace, and strength. In fact, it is so dear to me that I have affixed verse 1b as the tag line to my email signature. More than anything else I associate my life and being as that of one who is created and redeemed and owned by God. In my baptism the Triune God has called me and placed his name upon me. Perhaps most amazing is that this is accomplished with no effort on my part! Notice in the passage that as God talks about making Israel his own he accomplishes it totally by grace without an mention of effort on Israel’s part! This is complete grace; God redeeming Israel for his own name’s sake. As Romans 5:8 teaches us “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” As with Israel, so with me, and so with you! I invite you to embrace this passage as well. By virtue of your baptism this passage applies to you as well. Rejoice not in any effort or response of your own toward God but rather in his grace. Rejoice that separate from your efforts he has created and redeemed you and now called you by name. Let it be your identity that you belong to God. Additionally, the gift that comes with this grace is that you can be free of fear! The passage mentions two forces of nature that can and do threaten us; water and fire. While these two forces do account for much of what threatens us they are by no means the only ones. In fact, the mention of these two is a literary device called a merism. A merism is simply two opposites that include everything in between. In effect God is saying that there is nothing to fear if we belong to God. The Sunday I heard this passage again the wildfires were raging in California. Lives were being taken and property was being destroyed. Tens of thousands of acres were being burned. These people were walking through the fire! My sister is one of those living in the midst of the threat. Her house was in an evacuation warning area, only five miles from the flames. At that moment my mind was very much on her and the many other people dealing with the threat. Here too this passage is great comfort. I know of God’s love for her declared in her baptism and of her faith in him. The possibility of earthly harm remained by I know that God’s promise is true; you will not be overwhelmed or consumed, you are mine. No matter what comes, she will be OK for she belongs to him. I cling in faith to this passage as I make my way through life and encounter the waters and fires. I encourage you to do the same. Please know that there is nothing that can happen in this world that can overwhelm or consume you, that can sever the tie of belonging between God and you. My dear friends in Christ, do not fear. You belong to Christ; you have been created and redeemed by him. Disaster Relief Helene Relief. A big thank you to all who participated in the hurricane relief opportunity. A total of $44,705.61 has been sent to the Southeast District of the LCMS (includes all the coastal states between Delaware and South Carolina) for distribution to their congregations, church workers and communities who have experienced loss. The time of availability for the matching funds has now come to an end. We have received both a phone call and a letter of thanks from the Southeast District for our generous donation. I want to make sure you know that the gift is very much appreciated and being used. California wildfires. The California wildfires are located within the geographic area of the Pacific Southwest District of the LCMS. If you are interested in donating toward relief for these victims please go to https://www.psd-lcms.org/. There are updates and a place to donate on the home page. NJD Work Plan IDM (Initiative for Ministry Development) held an Advanced Studies event on Epiphany (January 6th) for the purpose of ministry planning. All those congregations that participated in either SCC or NJDU were invited. The event was scheduled as an in-person event but the threat of snow moved it to an online event. Congregations were coached regarding next steps in their planning and given the opportunity to share ministry events that saw success in their congregations. A lot of good ideas were shared. There are still a number of congregations that have not participated in either SCC or NJDU. We will be offering additional opportunities to participate this winter/spring. If your congregation is interested please contact me soon to hear about possible options. In addition, I’m not sure how many more opportunities there will be since the number of congregations remaining is dwindling. Please take advantage now. District Convention 2025. There are currently two important tasks for congregations to do in preparation for the 2025 District Convention:
By way of reminder the NJ District Convention is scheduled for June 12-14, 2025 at the Crowne Plaza, Edison, NJ. The theme for the convention is Grace from Grace: Loving Our Neighbor, “You shall love… your neighbor as yourself”. Luke 10:27b ![]() National Youth Gathering. Time is growing short for youth to register for the 2025 National Youth Gathering. Our goal for this Gathering is 75 youth from across NJ. Plans are well under way but there is still time to get in on the fun and spiritually enriching adventures. This year’s theme is “Endure”. Hope Dunbar and Pastor Steve Vera are our District coordinators. Hope may be contacted at [email protected]. She is happy to help you with questions or information about the Gathering and registration. If you are a congregational youth worker and have a group attending the Gathering please let Hope know. She will make sure your youth are included in any information dissemination or District events at the Gathering. If you have a small group from your congregation and would like to join another group Hope can help with that too! Congregational News
District Short Clips Official Visits. All of my Fall Official Visits are complete. Currently 21 official Visits have been completed. Another seven congregations have been invited to schedule an Official Visit for the winter/spring months. The only others who have not been visited are those who are vacant or have a newly installed pastor. As these pastoral vacancies are filled they will be included in the visitation. Special arrangements may be made for congregations with longer vacancies. Circuit Surveys. The Office of the Secretary and LCMS Research Services are conducting a (to our knowledge first-time) survey of parish pastors (including emeriti and candidates), circuit visitors, and district presidents to assess how Synod's circuits are functioning. This 5-10 minute survey asks about forums, Winkels, visitation, representation, and other aspects of circuit life. If you get an email with this survey please know it is legitimate and take the time to respond, as this information is crucial not only to the 2023 Res. 9-06A Task Force, which is reviewing the Bylaw parameters for electoral circuits, but to understanding important aspects of our life together as the Synod. Conclusion
Hymn 716 in the Lutheran Service Book is titled “I Walk in Danger All the Way”. It reminds us of the many perils in life. Yet the last three verses remind us that God goes with us all the way too. For me Isaiah 43:1-2 does that in a most gracious and comforting way. It is the place from which I derive my identity and confidence for Christian living. I pray it does the same for you. The Lord be with you, President/Bishop Gewecke |