A lot has been going on over the last week or so. If you read last weeks post, you know about Kathy's mom passing away. Since then, a memorial service was held at the assisted living facility that Gladys spent the last almost 3 years at. A funeral was held yesterday and tomorrow Gladys will have her ashes buried.

All of this has caused me to reflect about God, His character and ultimately His sovereignty over all things. Last week I share about three of four truths that I have been teaching about:

1. Christ is Risen
2. Christ is Lord
3. Jesus is making all things new
4. He has chosen us for this particular time and place 

I left out truth / observation number four. It is that truth that I would like to share a little bit about today.

The truth that God has chosen us for this particular time and place can be found in Acts 17:25-27 - "25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,"

We all were know by God before creation, were formed in the womb by God's hand, and our days are numbered by God (Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13-18; Job 3:16; Isaiah 44:24, 49:1; Job 14:5-7; Psalm 139:16; Psalm 39:4).

As a part of all that has been going on in the last week, we as a family saw many moments of seeing God at work. I would like to share one of these stories.

This story involves four lives - lives that if we believe in God's sovereignty and the truth of God putting us into this specific time and place - where living out this truth at God's hand.

The people involved here are Gladys, her daughter Mary, her daughter and my wife Kathy, and an older woman on a flight from Atlanta to Milwaukee with Mary.

This story begins with Mary and her husband having a trip planned to Savannah, GA to celebrate the birthday of one of their grand children. They had plans to leave on Tuesday October 22nd.  Since Mary went over to see her mother Gladys at the assisted living almost daily, Kathy planned to drive down to be near her mom Gladys while Mary and her husband drove to Georgia.

On Monday October 21st Gladys is found in her apartment in assisted living on the floor having fallen out of bed with what appears to a broken wrist. Mary and Kathy coordinate so that Kathy heads down early to be with her mother, so that Mary and her husband can still go to Georgia. Kathy arrives early on Tuesday the 22nd and Mary and John head for Georgia. Gladys has been receiving extra care as her health had been declining, Kathy and Mary were told her mothers passing was not likely in the immediate week - that she probably had a few weeks to a month.

Kathy makes sure her mother is taken care of, getting a brace for her arm (given her age they could not do surgery or set the arm), that the pain is addressed properly. After all that is done, Gladys is finally comfortable and sleeps most of the day Wednesday the 23rd, with Kathy spending the day by her bedside. Mary and John finally arrive in Georgia.

My wife is a believer, a woman of faith in Jesus Christ and her mom Gladys has been a faithful Catholic all her adult life. So Kathy spends much of her time with her mom praying over her on Wednesday, even calling me Wednesday evening to ask for scripture verses that she can share to comfort her mother. Although her mom is not awake Kathy is certain she hears Kathy's prayers and scripture readings. That evening as Kathy is getting ready to leave her mother wakes up and Kathy is able to help her mother drink some water, and was able to speak with her mother - Kathy especially touched by her mom sharing her love with Kathy.

Kathy leaves for the night and returns on Thursday morning (all the while she has been  keeping her sister Mary  up to date because Mary is ready to return as fast as she can if something new happens). Kathy goes to her mothers apartment and her mother is sleeping, so Kathy spends time saying prayers over her. She then leaves about 10 am to talk with staff about added services to make sure her mom is kept comfortable and to discuss getting Gladys the Catholic sacrament of last rights.

When Kathy returned to her mom's apartment 10 minutes later, her mother had passed. Kathy immediately let Mary know. Mary caught the 1st flight she could get out of Savannah routing through Atlanta. 

She almost missed her flight in Atlanta because the connection was tight. She was in the very back of the plane sitting next to an older woman. Mary was not talkative as she was contemplating her mother's passing. However, 30 minutes ahead of arrival in Milwaukee, the woman next to her asked Mary if she reads because the woman wanted to give her a bookmark. After chatting a bit about reading, the woman shared the bookmark was to put in a Bible for someone who had passed away - Mary broke down in tears letting the woman know her mother had just passed away.

They continued to talk and Mary explained that she should have been with her mother when she passed since she normally was there everyday. Mary went on to explain to the lady that her sister Kathy was there and why she, Mary, was in Georgia. The woman than said to Mary that there is an explanation for why Kathy was there and not Mary. She told Mary that Kathy was there because God needed a person of faith with Gladys, someone who would prayer over in the name of Jesus Christ before she passed away. Mary, although she believes in God is not as deep in her faith as Kathy is.

Mary was stunned as all of us have been as we heard this story shared by Mary. Kathy, I and others, see God's sovereign and providential hand all over these events.

Four lives that were a part of God's plan, His plan for Gladys, for Mary, for Kathy and for this woman on the plane...

• God numbered Gladys' days
• God's plan led Kathy to spend the last few days with her mother, praying over her
• God's plan led Mary to be with her grand children
• God's sovereignty and providence placed the woman on the flight with Mary
• God directed the words that were shared by this woman with Mary - the woman had no knowledge of Gladys passing, of Kathy's and Mary's faith 

What do you think about this fourth truth - that God plans and directs the time and place for our lives? Do you see God's hand in this story?

I do and it is amazing.

Lord Jesus, my prayer as we go into this weekend is that all who believe can and do find hope and comfort through stories like this and that those who need You Jesus find reason to dig deeper because of stories like this. You are the author of our Hope  and our lives! Amen!

​Enjoy this weekend knowing the truth of the work, the peace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus,

​Patrick Engesser

I am sitting here in our office here in Rosemount in an otherwise empty house. My wife is in Pewaukee visiting her mother who then just passed away as I am writing this. Her Mom, Gladys, had been declining quickly. Kathy's siblings have been preparing themselves for this day for awhile now.

Having lost both of my parents, I can empathize with and understand the emotional turmoil and roller coaster that is a part of this kind of season of loss.

How about you - are you or have you gone through seasons of loss? Where did you find hope?

These are times worth our thoughtful consideration of whether we have or can have hope during these season's of losing someone close. Here are some thoughts from the perspective of a person losing someone close.

In my latest teaching at church, we are looking at four truths:
1. Christ is Risen
2. Christ is Lord
3. Jesus is making all things new
4. He has chosen us for this particular time and place
I think hope has a foundation in each of these truths as shared in God's Word. Let's take a look at the first three.

Peter in his first letter holds out hope to many Jews who now had received Jesus Christ, yet were under persecution as can be seen in 1 Peter 1:3-5:

1 Peter 1:3-5 "3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."

We see here that hope is anchored for those who believe in the resurrection, that we have an inheritance waiting. (See John 20, Mark 16, Matthew 27 and 28, Luke 24 and Acts 1 regarding Jesus' resurrection)

We therefore have a hope "in" rather than a hope "for" (something that is true and has already happened). Our hope is in Jesus Christ and His resurrection, something we know has happened and will never change, as a certainty rather than wishful thinking. 

Because we believe the truth of Christ is Risen, we also believe He is alive now. This fact has cosmic significance as this hope should anchor and secure our hope even in the midst of suffering, turmoil and loss.

Since Jesus is risen and is alive, we also know He is Lord - not just for my life, which He is, but also over everything - see Philippians 2:9-11:

Philippians 2:9-11 "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

And here we see the Lordship of Jesus highlighted in Act chapter 2 and chapter 4:
​
Acts 2:32-36
32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”’
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

Acts 4:11-12 "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Again, as we look at this truth, our hope finds a firm foundation in knowing that regardless of all the uncertainty and upheaval that comes during our seasons of loss Hope is anchored by these facts.

Finally, looking at the third truth that Jesus is making all things new (see Revelation 21:5 - 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”).

This truth contains so much hope. In even normal seasons without loss, we know there is something wrong with the world and if our view of the world is not seen through the lenses of God's Word and His Son Jesus Christ, it can be tempting to just give up and say nothing matters. 

In seasons where we are experiencing challenging loss, this desire to toss in the towel is stoked Satan pushing us to abandon hope - hope we see can see as discussed above is certain, not wishful thinking. 

But, when we look back to 1 Peter 1:3-5 we see have an inheritance in heaven (held by Jesus, under the power of God) that will be a part of our salvation.

A huge part of this hope is again that Jesus is alive right now - it is critical that we understand and get this! Couple that with Revelation 21:5 where we see Jesus sharing "I am making everything new", we can see that the statement is not "will" but rather "I am" - present tense -right now as you read this.

We may not fully see this now  (see 1 Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.")

Again, we have certain hope anchored in all cases by Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross, by His Lordship and through the fact He is in fact now doing the work to make all things new.

What amazing HOPE that is! Whether you are in a season of loss or not right now, I pray you see the Hope that Jesus provides us all!

Lord Jesus, my prayer as we go into this weekend is that all who believe can and do find hope in and out of seasons of loss and that those that do not know You will see You, the author of our Hope through those who know you! Amen!

​Enjoy this weekend knowing the truth of the work, the peace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus,

​Patrick Engesser

Despite being two weeks into "retirement" I have not yet found my rhythm and at times I feel as busy as I had been when working full time. Yet at other times, I feel things are too quiet and I do not have enough going on.

Of course this is not the most important thing. Most important is what is God saying to me. How is Jesus calling me and where is He looking for me to trust and be obedient to Him?

After a year away, I am again back in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) as an Admin Leader. As with all who are involved with BSF, there are weekly lessons to be done. Which is a good thing, keeping those attending focused on God's Word.

This year, we are studying Revelation which is all about the revealing of Jesus Christ, more about who He is and His second coming. There is much ado about this book and speculation about what all of this means and what and how the second coming / end times will unfold - with many different views.

However, I think a couple of things are important in all of this, that can be agreed upon:

1. The book is about Jesus Christ, what He has done, what He is doing and what He will be doing. We see the subject of this book clearly stated in Revelation 1:1-3 - "1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
2. Jesus Christ  will and is making all things new - Revelation 21:5 - "5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Not just will but is - now in the present moment making all things new.

These things are absolutely important to us as believers - not just individually but as the body of Christ, the Church.

But there are some things shared by Jesus in Revelation that should not just cause the Church to ask questions about their relationship and where the Church stands with Jesus (absolutely the Church needs to assess itself based on what Jesus shares in Revelation, especially in the letters to the seven Churches). These letters raise questions we also as individuals should ask ourselves about our relationship with Jesus.

This past Monday night our Class Administrator ask all of us Admin Leaders that very question:

How is Jesus speaking to you through the letters to the seven Churches? What of His Words cause you to stop and consider your relationship with Jesus?

For me the answer came almost immediately. These words from Jesus have penetrated my heart from the letter to Ephesus in chapter 2:

Revelation 2:4-5 - "4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."

I remember that February 2014 Wednesday morning when I had a radical encounter with Jesus, calling me to Himself. I felt on fire. Despite the consequences of my sins, I was ready to confess to anyone my sins, to ask forgiveness, to share how Jesus had just turned my life upside down in the most amazing way.

Over the years, although I am still passionate about my relationship with Jesus, I think Jesus' words to the Ephesians are an accurate reflection - that I need to be doing the things I did at first - stuff that glorified God and demonstrated my love for Jesus and what He did for me.

The Holy Spirit is convicting me and I am feeling my heart's desire to repent and return to the level of passionate love I had for Jesus when I first was called by Him.

My question for you today is "What is Jesus saying to you these days? And what are you going to do about it?"

Lord Jesus, my prayer as we go into this upcoming weekend, is that we have ears to hear what you, Lord Jesus are saying to us, what You are asking of us> And then that we follow the hearing up with action that demonstrates our whole hearted love for You! Amen.

Enjoy this weekend knowing the truth of the work, the peace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus,

​Patrick Engesser

Good morning!

I am continuing from last week with additional thoughts on relationships.
There are actually four important relationships that we need to be aware of as we live out our faith each day:

• Upward – our relationship with God
• Inward – our relationship with ourselves
• Outward – our relationship with others
• Downward – our relationship with creation

All four of these relationships were marred at the fall in Genesis 3. All four of these relationships need
redemption which comes through Jesus Christ first coming (His death and resurrection) and restoration through Jesus’ second coming (when He makes all things new – Rev 21:5).

Re-sharing this from last week - these four most important relationships can only be restored through Jesus Christ. Our upward relationship with God, our inward relationship with ourselves (when our hearts will be fully transformed), our outward relationship with others - neighbor and enemies alike (where we will be able to love in truth the way God intended) and finally our downward relationship with creation, what we were commanded by God to oversee and continue to form as very good.

I want to focus today on the “Outward” relationships – those we have with others – both believers and non-believers.

Some thoughts on how Jesus approached relationships with others from a fellow Christ follower, Arlin Sorenson and his morning email –

Have you ever thought deeply about how Jesus made disciples during His earthly ministry?

He preached to large crowds of pre-believers (unbelievers), but that is not what He did with the twelve.

When Jesus was with His team, He discipled them by:

• Building Relationship - They lived, traveled and spent time together.
• Interactive Discussion - The vehicle for growing in understanding was asking and answering questions, NOT one way teaching.
• Working Together - Jesus shared responsibility for the work and gave opportunities for the disciples to grow by doing.
• Feedback and Debriefing - They talked about what happened and why, so they could integrate knowledge with their real-life experience.

Jesus spent his time WITH His disciples (believers) doing life and ministry together.

Now from my perspective, another place to look regarding outward relationships would be John 13 – Jesus washing of the feet of His disciples. One of my favorite passages of scripture because of how God speaks of relationships through this piece of His Word.

You will note that Jesus did not exclude Judas, although He knew that Judas was going to betray Him later.

And then Jesus goes on to tell His disciples after finishing their feet:

John 13:14-17 “14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

Highlighting a few things here – in the culture of the day, what Jesus did in washing the feet of His disciples was only done by the lowliest servant – it was considered disgusting.

However, after Jesus finishes he tells them – “I have set an example” – Jesus is clearly saying in relationship to others (outward) we must be willing to be servants to others, even if that service may be what the world considers disgusting, because even if we are over others in some capacity, we are not greater and in fact should act as if they are the one over us.

In carrying this attitude in our daily living, Jesus tells us we will be blessed.

Some other pieces of scripture that speak to our outward relationships with others include -

• 1 Corinthians 13 – love chapter of Paul’s letter especially verse 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

          Love anchors our relationships with others

• Galatians 3:28, “28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

         We can see that only through Christ’s work can cultural barriers be hurdled to build up one another in love. 

• Romans 5:6-8 “6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

        This shows the depth of love that God has for us and points us to the depth of love God would desire us to have for others.

• Matthew 22:37-39 – “37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

         We see here that Jesus is pointing us to have full hearted love for Him which should then be the kind of love we have for others as well.

One of the challenges of living out our faith is what happened to relationships as a part of the fall in Genesis 3 and we know this includes our relationships with those around us.

And as I shared last week - God always had a plan - one of redemption and restoration - one that costs Him. God in sharing with us through His Word has pointed to what His plan was - that of sending His son Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, who would be the perfect sacrifice making it possible for us to restore these most important relationships - if only we respond to His drawing and calling to us. With our response, our asking for forgiveness of our sin, repenting and turning back to Him through Jesus, we can now through the power of the Holy Spirit start walking with God again.

And because of this redemption through the work of Jesus, our relationships with others can be transformed into more of what God had designed and intended our relationships with others to be.

Lord Jesus, my prayer as we go into this upcoming weekend, we focus on your redeeming work and allow your mercy and grace and love to fuel our relationships with others! Amen.

Enjoy this weekend knowing the truth of the work, the peace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus,

​Patrick Engesser