| 2006 | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| 2008 | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| 2009 | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| 2010 | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
Think of the power of God's Word, when the almighty God who utters it stands behind it! When His people hungered in the wilderness, God spoke. And by His Word He called forth manna and fed His people the bread of heaven and satisfied their hunger, though there wasn't enough grain in that desert wasteland to feed their flocks and herds much less them.
When His people grew tired of manna, when they complained because they had no meat to eat and griped because all they had was manna, God's anger was kindled and He spoke in His wrath. "And the fire of the Lord burned among them" (Num 11) and consumed them.
Not as the fire from burning coals sears meat, locking its flavor in, did the fire of God's rage burn among them, searing their hearts, locking His favor out, because their hearts were turned against Him, locking Him out and His wrath in.
Then the people cried to Moses, and Moses cried to the Lord. The Lord spoke. And the fire abated. But this didn't stop their crying or their complaining. This didn't stop their contempt for manna, their craving for meat. Their despising God, their utter disregard for His promises and disrespect for His providence, didn't end here.
Their seared hearts, locking God's favor out and His righteous wrath in because they had locked God out of their hearts, continued unabated when the fire of the Lord did abate. "And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly." The fire grew. And Moses cried out to the Lord. He wasn't wearing an asbestos suit!
How could he carry all this people in his bosom, as a nurse carries the sucking child, all through this desert wilderness to the land which the Lord swore to give their fathers, when he couldn't give them the meat they craved much less the tender hearts they sorely needed--hearts that admitted God and locked His favor in and His anger out?
"I am not able to carry all this people alone. I am not a nursemaid. My bosom isn't big enough. The burden is too heavy for me." Moses possessed such a heart--a heart not seared against the Lord, though it was on fire for the Lord, ablaze with the Lord, a heart that readily admitted the Lord and locked His favor in and His disfavor out.
Moses cried to the Lord. And the Lord answered. "Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them. And bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. And I will come down and talk with you there.
"And I will take some of the spirit which is upon you and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone." The Lord spoke. The Lord stood behind His Word. And it was done according to His Word.
The Lord carried all this people in His bosom, as a wet nurse carries the sucking child, all through that vast desert to the land He swore to give their fathers. It was a big land. And it was a big job. Only His bosom was big enough.
He gave them drink from the Rock which accompanied them. And that Rock is Christ, the Rock of Ages cleft for them. He gave them to eat of the Bread of Heaven. And that Bread is Christ, the living Bread come down from heaven to give His life for the life of the world.
And He gave them meat, though they numbered some six hundred thousand strong, six hundred thousand famished sheep meandering lost in the wasteland of this world. He gave them meat, though there were neither flocks nor herds sufficient to satisfy them.
Nor could all the fish in the sea nor all the fowl in the heavens suffice. But God is all-sufficient and all-availing. "Is my arm too short or my hand too weak?" God bawled out Moses when he balked at God's promise. "Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not." And they saw. And God's Word did come true for them.
God spoke. And it was done according to His Word. And the people ate. And they were satisfied. Think of the power of God's Word, when the almighty God who utters it stands behind it! He does. He speaks and it's done.
This is why St. Paul writes, "I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith. . ." (Rom 1:16). The Gospel is jam-packed with God's power for every heart not seared shut against God, for every heart God has tenderized, every heart that admits God, locks in His favor, seals in its freshness and locks out His wrath. We too have seen. His Word has come true for us as well.
You see, we're among those six hundred thousand famished sheep meandering lost in the wastelands of this world that our Shepherd Jesus has found. You and I are all this people whom He carries in His bosom, not as a wet nurse but as a mother carries her sucking child very near her breast, all through this vast desert to the land He swore to our fathers. It's a big land. And it's a big job. Only His heart is big enough.
And His big heart is our heartland. His big heart goes out to us all. He is the Rock of Ages cleft for us from whom we drink of the wells of salvation and upon whom we're built. He is the Bread of Life who, in coming down from heaven to give His life for the life of the world, bids us partake of Him and live.
Ashamed of the Gospel? Not on your life! Because it is jam-packed with God's favor, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith. And you and I have faith because He's given it to us, just in time for Christmas, gift-wrapped in His only-begotten Son, the Gift we look forward to all Advent long, in hearts He's tenderized with the Gospel. God stands behind it. He speaks and it's done. Amen.
- Pastor Erickson