Welcome to St. Jacob's Lutheran Church

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Ephesians 6:14-18 (NIV)
I have taken many lessons out of quarantine, a few examples: always having hand sanitizer on hand, gratefulness for face-to-face conversations, and many new meals that I can cook; but the most important lesson I bring out of this is the importance of the Word of God. I have always loved reading scripture, from early on in my life to studying it in college courses. It has always fascinated me and given me so much. With so much uncertainty in our world today, we should be clinging to the Truth. Our only source of life, peace, and comfort—Jesus. With all of the extra time, I was excited to be able to read some books that have been on my shelf for a while and to also revisit some of my old favorites; but I had to remind myself that although those commentaries and stories are great and helpful, they cannot take the place of Scripture in my daily routine. My daily worship has looked a lot like Psalm 119:105-112, which we studied last Wednesday, a prayer for a person who wants to dedicate themselves to the Word of God. It’s no secret that there is a lot going on right now and this is to be expected – since sin entered the world. God has given us the tools to have strength and hope even during times like these. In Lamentations Chapter 3, Jeremiah is sit-ting in a cave overlooking Jerusalem. If you know the story (or if you don’t, check it out), he is sitting in the ruins of the city amongst death and destruction. Jeremiah is at an all-time low, and similar to many of the Psalms we have read over the past two months, feels like even God has turned against him. BUT, the best part is found in Verse 21, “but this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.” It goes on to say “because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compas-sions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “the Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him…” Jeremiah shifted his thinking from himself to thinking about God. He remembered the promises of God. The only thing that was able to carry him through. Even though it didn’t look like it at that moment, he knew that God was merciful, compassionate, and faithful. We have the same option every day to believe this to be true or not. Jeremiah kept the Word of God at the forefront of his mind and recalled it during times of trouble. I want to reach for God before I reach for anything else, when I’m bored, when I’m uncomfortable, when I need answers or entertainment, and when I’m lonely. Help us, God.
Miss you all,
Rachel