St. John's Lutheran
Sharing Your Love...How do You do That?

Colossians 1:9-14 New International Version (NIV)
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[a] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[b] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Fri. November 13
In the movie, Saving Private Ryan, set during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, a group of soldiers are given the task to find one man, Private Ryan. Ryan’s three brothers have all been killed in action and the war department decides that his mother should not have to lose all four of her sons. When the group finally finds Private Ryan he says, “It doesn't make any sense, sir. Why? Why do I deserve to go? Why not any of these guys?” Throughout the movie, the men sent to find him and save him thought the same thing. At one point, one of their group said, “I don’t see the point of wasting eight guys for one. Does anyone else see this logic.” Like Private Ryan, we don’t deserve the “saving” that Jesus has given us. Why would Jesus go through all he did to save us? Living a life “worthy of the Lord” has nothing to do with earning salvation. Jesus has taken care of that! A worthy life is a life of faith focused on the illogical love of Jesus and sharing that with others.