I’m sure that most of you know this already. In fact, you have probably had this date circled on the calendar for weeks now. You’ve been counting down the days. 

Filled with anticipation. 
Barely able to sleep at night. 
You likely have so many plans in place already.
Ways to celebrate.
Long guest lists.
Special foods.
Fancy decorations.

Yes indeed, the day has finally arrived.  Today is Ascension Day! 

Who’s excited? Who’s ready to party?

On the off chance you don’t know what I’m talking about, Ascension Day celebrates Christ's exaltation—His ascension into heaven. While on earth, He was a servant. Now in heaven, Jesus is the ruler and Lord of all. By entering heaven as the representative of mankind, He completes the work of our salvation and guarantees the eventual glorification of all who put their faith in Him. Because the date of Easter varies from year to year, the celebration of the Ascension moves with it. It is always on the fortieth day after Easter and, since Easter always falls on a Sunday, Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday. Thus, it is frequently called "Holy Thursday." But few holy days in the church year get overlooked more than this day.

It is indeed a forgotten festival. When we tell the story of the life and ministry of Jesus, we tend to focus on His death and resurrection, and with good reason…talk about a glorious moment! But that’s not the only wonderful image we get, because after He reveals Himself to His disciples, He ascends into heaven. There are two main things happening in the Ascension. First, Jesus ascends to the Father to fulfill all things (Ephesians 4:10). He becomes hidden from our physical sight, but present with us in even more tangible ways when His Word is preached, when the Lord’s Supper is received, when forgiveness is bestowed, every time there’s a baptism. Christ promises at the end of Matthew that he would “be with us always” and this remains true – especially in light of the Ascension.  What the Ascension changes is where Christ is now located. Jesus is not only the Word made flesh in a Bethlehem stable; but now He is ever-present with His people. He shows up for us in so many ways. The Apostle Paul confesses that Christ’s Ascension is not Christ’s absence, but a re-packaging of His real presence. Because of Christ’s ascent to the right hand of God He is not constrained to one place, but is, as both God and man, filling all things.

The second thing that occurs in the Ascension is a triumphant image. Picture watching this on the big screen. As the disciples watch Jesus rise up, He fades from their sight, then the camera cuts to the throne room of heaven, where God sits surrounded by elders and angels and cherubim, holding a scroll. When an angel asks who is worthy to open the scroll and carry out God’s plan for salvation, there is no answer in heaven or on earth. Jesus suddenly appears before the throne and takes the scroll from God’s hand! And the crowd of heaven goes wild! They sing songs of praise to the Lamb of God, and fall down and worship Him (Revelation 5). Then, Satan appears, in dragon form of course, gets into a battle with Michael and the other heavenly angels, who by the blood of Christ, are able to cast him down to earth. Jesus ascends and “boots Satan out of the presence of God,” so that the Devil can no longer stand before God and accuse His people (Revelation 12). Salvation has been accomplished, Satan has been cast out of heaven and bound, and Christ is crowned victor!

Is that not an amazing image?

Christ’s Ascension is a critical part of His story, of our story. It shapes our understanding of who Jesus is.  He is still active and still reigning, and in the physical places of this world where He promises, we can still find Him. It also reveals that Jesus didn’t just leave us to go lounge around in heaven waiting for us to come join Him. His crowning, triumphant moment, reminds us that not only has He not abandoned us here, but this battle that we fight, our constant struggle against sin, has already been won by His blood on our behalf. Christ has been crowned the victor! Now, the ascended and enthroned Christ cares for His suffering people as we bear witness to Him. Doesn’t that sound like a reason to party to you? 

“When you went to bed last night Jesus was at work subduing his enemies. While you slept, he was continuing to rule over the world. He was still at it when you woke up this morning and even now as you read this. That is the outrageous claim of the ascension.”  (Tim Chester & Jonny Woodrow)
 
“At His Ascension our Lord entered Heaven, and He keeps the door open for humanity to enter.” (Oswald Chambers) 
​
“He controls all things for the church, and therefore you can face the world with peace in your heart . . . he’s at the right hand of God as the executive director of history, directing everything for the benefit of the church. If you belong to him, then everything that happens ultimately happens for you.” (Tim Keller)

Earlier this week, I heard a pastor say that the church is place for “everyone to be comfortable.”  Though I understand, I think, the sentiment behind what he was trying to say, the phrase still struck me in an awkward way. Indeed, the church should be a place where all are welcomed and embraced. But should the church be a place where we are actually, completely comfortable? Should it be a place where our personal comfort is catered to? Should it be a place where our sin is overlooked? Where we are never called to repent?  Where we are not challenged to change? Should the church be a place where we are never confronted? Where we never grow? It brought to my mind, from John 8, Jesus’ interaction with the women caught in adultery.  She absolutely found acceptance and deliverance. Even more than that, she found salvation as Jesus' fended off her stoners. But she was no doubt made a bit uncomfortable by Jesus’ acknowledgement of her sin. In order for her to go and live her life differently, Jesus calls her away from the selfish and sinful ways she was living. There was no condemnation, but there was absolutely a call to do better, to sin no more.
 
A recent study by Lifeway Research revealed 67% of U.S. Protestant pastors believe comfort is a modern-day idol that has a significant influence on their congregations.  This idol is hardly noticeable.  But think about it.  In a world of “church shopping” do we not try to have church our way? We choose churches where the worship music matches our taste, the hymns are always easy to sing, the sermons fit our preferences, the teachings tell us what we want to hear, our peers never disagree, and the building suits our style. We talk to the same group of people. We sit in “our” pew. Of course, although these habits aren’t inherently bad, they quickly reveal how easily we can turn the church into a country club—a place that never challenges us, never makes us a bit uncomfortable.

Yet, in our congregation, we begin each service with something to this effect. “We confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean,” or  “We have sinned against you in through, word, and deed,” or  “I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess…” This hardly seems user-friendly and comfortable. Admitting our evil. Owning our immorality. Acknowledging our iniquities. Imploring God to deliver His mercy and forgiveness hardly seems like a comfortable thing to do. To be sure, no one want to admit their flaws or failures. Yet this is the very first part of our timeless Lutheran liturgy. Why?  Because the Word of God puts us in our place. We stand in front of the spiritual mirror with a harsh reality check; we are reminded that we are sinful and cannot stand before God who perfect and holy. But no sooner than we get the confession out of our mouths, then the holy and grace-giving words of God’s absolution are spoken over us. As the mercy of Jesus is poured over us, we are cleansed of all unrighteousness.  The unholy are made holy. The wretched are made righteous. The sinful are made sacred. We arise from the uncomfortable kneelers as blessed children who have been made new, forgiven.
 
The church, our church, can never be driven by self-interest or human comfort. On the contrary, it must be the place where we are forced to face the uncomfortable reality of our sinfulness and brokenness. It is essential because only then can we rejoice in the Gospel of Jesus and in the incredible acts of love that He does on our behalf. Remember these words from Jesus, when He was being ridiculed for the flawed company He kept: “And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’” (Mark 2:17) We cannot fully appreciate the cure, unless we understand the severity of the sickness, our sickness.  This is why we continue to be a church that is fully entrenched in the Word of God.  This is why we make ourselves rightly uncomfortable to start the service, so that we can leave the worship service far better than comfortable—renewed and recreated in the image of our Savior (cf. Ephesians 4)!  There should be Sundays, most Sundays, when you are challenged, when you are a little rattled, when you ask questions. There should be times when you resolve to do things differently than those around you, especially when the truths of God’s authoritative Word are penetrating the lies that we all believe in this fallen world. There should be those moments when you feel itchy and uncomfortable, and you end up going home and searching for answers in Scripture.  Because the whole point is not to be happy and comfy– the whole point is to humble ourselves and find rest in Jesus, to pattern ourselves to be more like Him.

"The church is a place where broken people can fall in love with a beautiful God." (Shane Clarborne)
"The church is not a select circle of the immaculate, but a home where the outcast may come in." (J. H. Aughey)

​This past Sunday we had to take our puppy, Buddy, to the emergency animal hospital. He’s on the mend and completely fine; but on Saturday night he was severely limping and a bit lethargic. He certainly wasn’t himself. He didn't immediately run over and jump on me when I walked in the door after church, and he had no interest in eating or playing. Most pet owners have had experiences like this. It’s tough when you know something is wrong but don’t have the ability to figure out what hurts or how it happened. It is relatively similar to those early parenting years with a newborn or infant child. You can see the tears and hear the cries, but there is an obvious barrier that prevents us from immediately identifying and fixing the problem. There were times when Buddy would look at me with his head hung and sad puppy eyes.  What a helpless feeling!
 
Almost two weeks after Easter, we are reminded that this was Gods way of healing His wayward children. Children who had become inerrantly sick and spiritually lethargic. Children who couldn’t save themselves. And, worse yet, really had no idea that their situation was so dire and damning. Easter finishes the healing begun for us on Good Friday. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) God breaks through the barrier between the holy and sinful, the Creator and the creation to bestow healing to the helpless. Thankfully and wonderfully, the ailment and plight of His people was never a mystery to the Heavenly Father. God knew the problem; and He knew the solution. In fact, He was the solution. Help was on the way. In the death of Jesus our sickness was diagnosed, and the prescription was written in His unblemished blood. The nails of the cross acted as a scalp carving out the lingering effects of sin. The empty tomb of Easter was our bill of clean health. It was our declaration that we were no longer tethered to the destructive curse of sin. “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” (Romans 5:8, NLT)  Indeed, my friends, we are made new. We are healed.
 
It has been good to see my dog’s tail wagging again.  It is good to see the pep in his step and the energy in his face. He wants to play; he wants to run. How about you? Is your tail wagging?  Have you rejoiced in the fact that we are Easter people who have been rescued from all that ailed us?  The eggs have all been found, the chocolate has all been eaten, and the lilies are starting to lose their flowers... Yet we still rejoice with the psalmist, "Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion." (Psalms 103:2-4)  Fellow redeemed—may the hope and healing of Easter continue to put a song in your heart and a smile on your face. Alleluia, Christ is risen!
 
“All our infirmities, whatever they are, are just opportunities for God to display his gracious work in us.”
(Charles H. Spurgeon)
 
“Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”
​(Jeremiah 17:14)

On Monday afternoon and again Tuesday afternoon, we had water pouring out of our basement ceiling. Paint peeling. Drywall flaking. Puddles forming. Never a good thing, but fortunately this is a slow week for me. ;-) 

The first plumber stopped in, and after taking a reciprocating saw to my damp ceiling, could not find any evidence of water leakage or plumbing issues. Hmmm. Clearly there was a problem, we just couldn’t find the cause of it. But nonetheless, to add to the waterlogged basement, I now had a hole in my wallet and an even bigger one cut out of my ceiling. Long story short, after another visit from the plumbing company, we were able to finally pinpoint the problem as a defective dishwasher.  In some sense, this is good news. It could have definitely been worse. Thankfully, all of the plumbing and waterlines in the house are fine. The HVAC is not leaking or overly sweating. The drywall damage is minimal. Cleanup was not too burdensome. However, at this point, we have an unusable dishwasher that spews out as much water as Old Faithful Geyser.  The still, somewhat new appliance was deemed “damaged, defective, and needs to be replaced.”  Even though we’ve only been in the house for just over two years, any helpful warranty has seemingly expired. Not that it matters. The builders blame GE and GE blames the builders. How incredulously convenient for them. So, forget about the chocolate bunnies or plastic Easter eggs, apparently this weekend we will be on the hunt for a new dishwasher.  Again, there is a teachable moment in all things… especially during Holy Week.
 
Tonight and tomorrow night, we will be remembering and contemplating the sufferings and sacrifice of Jesus. Lest we forget why this all had to take place, the scriptures pinpoint the problem—SIN. From the moment Adam and Eve took a bite of the forbidden fruit, our world has been submerged with corruption, anguish, and death.  All these things and all our heartaches are just symptoms to a deeper, hidden evil.  God graciously surveys the irreparable damage brought about by the deception of the devil and our own unfaithfulness. He looks around at a fallen world—flooded with pain, saturated in sin, and dripping with despair. He pinpoints the root cause of the issue—SIN.  Sin has rendered us all defective. We are far beyond self-repair. There aren't enough YouTube videos in the world that will resolve our unenviable plight.  Sin has separated us from God, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2).  Sadly and emphatically, we are unable to save ourselves. And we cannot pass the blame. There is no use even trying. We have all fallen; we all stand short of God's glory and expectations.  Thus the Lord steps down from His throne, rolls up His sleeves, and gets to work. No flashlight in hand, His tools are not wrenches or screwdrivers. Instead, He works with nails and spear, a crown of thorns and a wooden cross. Wonderfully, after His diagnostics are logged regarding His fallen, yet still beloved, children, our Heavenly Father graciously goes about fixing the problem, “…But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
 
What we celebrate during Holy Week is that our Savior goes to work to piece back the broken relationship we had with the Father. Afterall, everything that He endured, all that He suffered was really not His problem to deal with. He was holy; He was sinless.  It was our problem. But Jesus took our place; and we are better for it. More than better, we are redeemed. We are fixed.  “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)  We are healed.  By His cross, Jesus stops the damning drip of sin. He patches the brokenness. He cleans up the mess.  And most wonderfully, He then takes care of the bill. There is no cost to us. The message of Easter declares that we no longer have sin weighing us down and destroying. The problem has been remedied and the cost has been covered.
 
I implore you to come and worship with us (7pm each night) or elsewhere. Don’t skip these Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services; they set the stage for the celebratory shouts of Easter. After all, we cannot truly appreciate the redemptive handiwork of God, unless we rightly, and humbly stare into the depths of the sin that entangled us. The cross indeed shows us our sin, but it also beautifully declares the fixing-power of His grace.
 
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
“We are all broken images of God, but Jesus can fix us; that’s what He does.” (N.J. Heikkinen)

I’m on the hunt for an elliptical machine. Perhaps it’s a midlife crisis. My most recent birthday, a trip to the doctor, family history, and a future beach vacation have me thinking about my health again.  Time to drop a few of the extra pounds, shed the excess winter weight, and stay away from the Easter candy. This is what we do in America. We join gyms. We diet. We cleanse. We purge our pantries. We download fitness apps. We start programs. We eat fresh. We watch our weight. We have operations. And if that doesn’t work, according to the many observed clickbait ads, we create pills and magical potions so that we don’t have to join gyms and diet. We do all kinds of things and spends so much money to make ourselves healthy, to prolong our lives, and to stave off death for as long as we can. This country music lyric rings true, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now.”  We want to stay earthbound for as long as we can; and we will do whatever we can to look good while we’re here. But the reality is, that no matter how healthy we are, we will still die. This is not breaking news, but a harsh, unavoidable reality nonetheless. For all the wonders of science and advancements of medicine and modern technology, the human race has still not been able to solve the problem of death. It still comes for us all. 
 
The Apostle Paul bluntly states this fact too. “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a) Death has been an abhorrent and uninvited part of our world ever since the Garden of Eden. So, what can we do about it?  Nothing. Bummer, right? This is the undeniable limit of our human ability. We can make ourselves healthier, but we cannot prevent death from coming. No matter how strong and smart we become, no matter how much exercise equipment we purchase—death still eventually calls our name. 
 
The Christian faith does not sugarcoat death. We don’t pretend like it doesn’t hurt. We don’t minimize the grief or the sorrow. We speak directly of it as an enemy. Death is horrible; it is evil.  We read about this last Sunday in our Gospel reading, from John 11, and Jesus’ miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead.  In verse 33, it says Jesus was “greatly troubled.” This is an understatement. Jesus was more than just troubled, he did more than just groan, he was more than just angry at death. A better translation from the original Greek, could say that Jesus 'snorted' with anger at death (literally to snort like a horse).  Jesus was so completely agitated and annoyed at death, so angry that it moved him to physically shudder because he was filled with such intense emotion. Standing there beside his friend’s grave, Jesus looks at the havoc, separation, and mourning brought about by the evil one. Then, Jesus, as a precursor to His own resurrection, stares death down and destroys it. He looks at the grave and crushes. He takes the tomb and reverses the curse. Author Chad Bird writes, “At Lazarus’ grave, Jesus did not say, ‘Death is natural, a normal part of the cycle of life.’  No, he wept. Then he kicked death in the teeth.”  Death… kicked in the teeth. I love that!  Long before Chuck Norris, it was Jesus who delivered the most mighty blow to our greatest enemy. 

How beautiful those life-giving, gospel words were that Jesu spoke over Lazarus. “Come out… unbind him.”  Death no longer was the winner. Momentum swung. The battle raged on. The Devil was backed into the corner. And with a mighty word, Jesus took away the power that death for so long relished in. Death and the devil no longer had the final word; they were the ones defeated; they had met their match. Theirs was the unfortunate end brought about by the Savior Jesus’ and His powerful, performative word. A new day had dawned. They were knocked over, down and out.  No wonder St. Paul later trumpeted, "O death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15)
 
Death may beat us; but it is no match for our God. And if we cling to God, through our own tears and grief, God has promised to be the resurrection and life to all who believe.  Just like Mary and Martha, our sorrow will turn to joy, and we will go from weeping to dancing. This is what we will celebrate throughout Holy Week. The wages of sin may be death, but God delivers us from that permanent peril, “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b).  God’s victory over death. Our victory. Come celebrate with us. Hope to see you in worship!
 
“But God raised [Jesus] from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:24)
 
“Jesus didn’t escape from death; he conquered it and opened the way to heaven for all who will dare to believe.” (Steven James)

This past week, I spent three days in St. Louis. Why? Not to avoid the snow, although the timing was wonderfully convenient. While most in our area were shoveling out and enjoying a snow day, I was in 60-degree temps with sunny skies. Plus, if I’m going to flee the snow, it will not be to the middle of the country where there is no beach in sight!  It also was not, primarily, for the delicious St. Louis BBQ, fresh Anheuser-Busch brew, or local Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. The actual reason that I was in St. Louis was for the Set Apart to Serve (SAS) initiative that you’ve seen mentioned several times over the past many months in our weekly blasts and church bulletins.  Our church body, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, has its headquarters located in St. Louis and they hosted all members that are part of this pilot group for an onboarding conference.

So what is Set Apart to Serve?  Again, it is a synod-wide, intentional commitment, and meticulous approach to raising up, educating, and sending new church workers. There is an incredible shortage of full-time church workers. For example, we currently have about 6,000 active pastors in our synod. If nothing is done, due to retirement and low enrollment at our... 

An online article in the town I live, speaking of an effort to prevent a ‘mega-warehouse’ from building and moving into the community, starts off with this statement—"Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world.” As I continue to think about the future of our ministry here at King of Kings, this statement rings loud and true. How can we bless our community? What needs can we help meet? How can we make a difference? How do we fruitfully share the Gospel of Jesus?
 
It is easy to think, what difference can a small church make? We can fall into the dangerous, evil trap of comparing our worth to the bigger churches around us. (And believe me, I have!) But the Bible wonderfully reminds us that the Church started off as only a small group of Jesus’ followers. Yet from that small group, the church grew. As the Gospel was shared, God powerfully blessed the efforts of these earliest followers. This is still the way God works. Let us be the salt and light that we heard Jesus speak of this past Sunday--His modern-day, divine difference-makers! Don’t hide your Christian life. Let it shine. Let the world know what gives you joy, let them hear about the One who gives you hope. The saving gospel, the good news of Christ, isn’t just good for you. It’s good for everybody.  And when we all embrace this renewed life and this blessed calling together, no matter how small our group may be, God will bear fruit. He will change the world! 
 
“Let your love for God change the world, but never let the world change your love for God.” 

Throughout our years in Wisconsin, right about this time of the winter, we would spend a couple of nights at a nearby indoor waterpark.  Less than an hour away, was the self-described waterpark capital of the world in the city of Wisconsin Dells. Two years ago, after we moved out east, we were excited to see that we were now about the same distance away from similar indoor options up in the Poconos of Pennsylvania.  Our family’s winter waterpark tradition could continue!  Yet recently, I was slapped upside the head by significant sticker-shock when I went to check on the pricing for a quick 1-2 night getaway that worked within our kid’s school schedule.  For a basic standard room, during a time when I would not have to pull the kids out from school, the cost was $980 per night. Add on taxes and fees, and a 2-night venture would have cost over $2,000.  However, if I were to book a reservation one week later, on a Monday and Tuesday but thereby needing to have the kids miss school, the cost—for the same exact room—went down to $222 per night.  Same hotel. Same room. Same number of beds. Same amenities.  $758 more expensive per night! Despite my attempts to chat and schmooze with a “reservation agent” there was nothing they could do. They are a “dynamic pricing” resort. The costs are not negotiable. I received only their apologies and encouragement to keep checking their website for occasional price drops and future specials. 
 
So why do they charge like this?  Because they can.  If not me, they know that still another family will end up reserving the high-priced rooms. The more money they make, the better. Plain and simple, it’s all about the dollar. They don’t care about the sad stories of families trying to make memories if it cuts into their gain.  If you’ve purchased a new car within the last couple of years, you probably found yourself paying an extra “fee.”  Whatever they call it, they will attribute it to a variety of different things like shortage of computer chips, pandemic hangover, worker shortage, or reduced inventory. Hogwash!  According to a handful of people I talked to in the car sale industry, it is essentially the “just-because-we-can” fee to increase their profit. They assume that if people really need the car, they’ll pay whatever is on the ticket. It is certainly not like there are cheaper options elsewhere. For the most part, I suspect this is the same reason gas prices remain high and the cost of a carton of eggs continues to climb. Sure, there may be several other factors involved, but corporate greed undoubtedly plays a role. They know we need it; hence they’ll charge us more.  I never took a business or economics class, but I believe this is the very definition of supply and demand. The more the need, the higher you can price your items.  Business bigwigs don’t care about family budgets; their decisions are based on the numbers. They know such things like gas, milk and eggs are a necessity of the consumer; thus, they hike up the prices and watch people pay, grumbling the whole time. Why? So, they can continue to pad their pockets and increase their profits. 
 
Reflecting on my waterpark getaway-less frustration, it brings me great peace to know our God deals with us in a drastically different way. Can you imagine if He functioned similarly?  Can you imagine if He preyed on our desperate need and lack of options?

“You need salvation?
You want forgiveness? 
Interested in an all-inclusive stay in the heavenly mansions?
How much are you prepared to pay?
This is really going to cost you!” 

Thanks be to God that our gracious, heavenly Father does no such thing.  In fact, this is the beautify of the Gospel. We are not restrained by exorbitant costs, hidden fees, or inflated prices. We are set free from it all. There are no barriers. There are no obstacles. The Bible tells us, “Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19) The cost is covered. The bill is paid. No reservations are required, or online booking needed. Our room is ready. The blood of Jesus that poured forth from the cross becomes the magnificent means by which we are assured of our place in His eternal kingdom. Definitively and thankfully, we will never find ourselves in that awkward position—with a desperate need that can only be met by satisfying the demands of a selfish, greedy tyrant. Instead, we find ourselves as beloved recipients of God’s great gift. Jesus paid the price. And because He did, we are the beneficiaries that have “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, and riches of His grace.” (Eph. 1:17)
 
Therefore, my friends, whether at the grocery store, gas station, local restaurant, or on Amazon… do not let the wretchedness of climbing prices overwhelm you. Do not take out your frustration on workers who do not control the bottom-line pricing. Try not to secretly curse those getting rich on overpriced eggs and butter. Instead, let it be a moment where you thank God for His material blessings. Greater appreciate the abundance of your daily bread and be assured that thrill of our heavenly paradise will be better than any earthly waterslide or wave pool.  Take that Kalahari! 😉
 
“Better it is to have little with righteousness, than great revenues with injustice.” (Proverbs 16:8)
“Better to have little, with fear for the LORD, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.” (Proverbs 15:16)