After the Israelites left Egypt, they were led through the desert for many years. There isn’t a lot of food in a desert, you know, and they got hungry. Then the complaining started. “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” they grumbled. “We had all kinds of good things to eat there. So what if we had to slave 24/7! Let’s go back.”

In spite of their ungrateful attitude, God said, “OK, I’ll give you food. Every morning when you wake up, you’ll see this white stuff on the ground. Its manna. Take as much as you’ll need for each day, but no more.”

Most of the people did just as God said. The moms shared recipes for making roasted manna, toasted manna, and grilled manna. Some people, though, gathered more manna than they really needed and saved it till the next morning. What a mistake! Their manna was full of maggots and, wow, did it stink!

Sometimes we’re just like those Israelites.

God gives us good things every day and asks us to use just what we need and to share our extra with others. But we like to hoard, don’t we?

— How can I give an offering on Sunday when, on Monday, my phone may break and I’ll need a new one?

— What if I rake my elderly neighbor’s leaves after school and then have to study when my friend calls and wants me to do something fun?

What if? What if? And we take care of our own needs and ignore our neighbor’s.

On June 7^th you will have the opportunity to serve your neighbor. During the Christ Cares Community     Service Sunday you can serve. After we worship together at 8:00 am, we will depart Our Redeemer for       various locations in the Iowa City, Coralville, and Johnson County area. From playing Bingo to painting the barn, from washing cars to weeding the yard, there are opportunities for all skill and strength levels. Following two hours of service, we return to Our Redeemer to eat and share our experiences.

Being God’s stewards means using all the gifts God gives us – money, time, strength, energy, knowledge – to serve others. Then everyone wins, because God is pleased, others are helped, and you have satisfaction of knowing you could be of benefit to   others and have obeyed God’s will at the same time.

Dear Christian Friends:

Ascension Day – an often overlooked Christian holiday is coming – Thursday, May 14, 2015.

Then Jesus took them out to a remote area, blessed them, and “was taken up into Heaven” (Luke 24:51) before their eyes. Joyfully they went back home and waited – waited for the gift Jesus had promised would come to them.

Before He departed, He commissioned them:

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey  everything [He had] commanded [them]” And He added His promise, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” ( Matthew 28:19-20).

The book of Acts tells the story of what happened as those disciples, armed with Jesus’ promise to be with them, started their own community and then branched out into all nations, preaching and teaching, baptizing and discipling others, performing miracles in Jesus’ name, facing persecution and death for the sake of the Gospel.

The book of Acts ends after 28 chapters, but the work is not over.  The story goes on through the lives and witness of the thousands of Christians who have picked up the task where the first disciples left off.

Your story may never be written down for other Christians to read, but those around you are seeing it     unfold. They are hearing you speak the Gospel message; they are recipients of the good deeds you do in the Lord’s name; other workers for the Gospel are equipped by your financial and prayer support; they take notice of the stand you take in defense of Truth over the lies with which Satan would blind the world.

No, it’s not over. We have the privilege of carrying on Jesus’ work till He comes again to take us to     Himself, saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21)

In the love of Christ, Pastor Hartwig

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!

Throughout Scripture, everyone who has come into the presence of the Lord has been in awe of Him and has adored Him.

Think of Moses and the burning bush. Quietly watching over his father-in-law’s sheep, Moses saw a bush on fire but not being consumed. When God spoke to Moses telling him to remove his shoes, Moses realized who was speaking, and “Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God” (Exodus 3:6). But he listened and spent 40 years showing adoration to God by obediently leading God’s people according to God’s direction.

Think of Isaiah and his vision. Isaiah writes about the vision through which God called him to be His prophet: “I saw the Lord…high and lifted up… [and the angel] called to another and said. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” His reaction was to confess his sinfulness and, like Moses, to adore God by answering His question, “Whom shall I send?” with “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:18).

Think of the Wise Men and their gifts. The Wise Men came in search of the newborn King, bringing their gifts and bowing before Him in adoration. Matthew 2:11 records, “And going into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him.” And they offered to the Christ Child the gifts they had brought for Him, “gold and frankincense and myrrh.”

Think of the shepherds and their angelic revelation. The shepherds adored Him, too. They heard about Jesus from the angels as they sat outdoors watching their sheep and ran to Bethlehem to see the Christ Child. They didn’t have gifts to bring as the Magi did, but they, too, responded in adoration. Luke writes, “And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning the Child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them” (Luke 2: 17-18).

God gives gifts to each of us and uses us to tell the Good News of the birth of His Son Who came to bring us forgiveness of sins, salvation, even life eternal.

So think of our response.
Sometimes, like the Wise Men, we give monetary gifts to support mission and ministry.
Other times, like the shepherds, we “make known… [what has] been told [us] concerning the Child.”
And all the time, by God’s grace, all of us can respond in faithful obedience to God’s Word.
In these ways, we adore our Savior.

Merry Christmas!
Pastor Hartwig

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

Thanksgiving is coming! At my house, before the turkey and the mashed potatoes and the green bean casserole and the stuffing – can’t forget the stuffing – we have a tradition of sharing one-by-one what we are thankful for in our

Thanksgiving devotion. Each of us list family and friends and many blessings from God.
But here is really something to be thankful for!

How many stars are there in the sky? Who can count them?
God created and knows each of them.

How many different kinds of animals in the forests and deserts and oceans?

We have not come to the end of discovering them all, but God has created each one in its unique way.

Nor has God been less meticulous with us, for, even though all humans have the same body structure, a face with nose, eyes, and mouth, and all our various parts, yet each of us is uniquely different from another.

Not only has God created each of us, He knows us intimately and cares about every facet of our lives and activities. David, the psalmist, wrote about this characteristic of God in Psalm 139:

“0 Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways.”

Here is really something to be thankful for!

The Creator of the universe cares so much about you that He searches your heart and mind in order that He might know you! We talk about our need and desire to know God; have you ever thanked Him that He wants to know you?

Are you thankful that you can never get away from God? That He knows when you sit, when you stand, when you go somewhere, and even when you lie down to go to sleep at night?

We can never get away from God. Should we ascend to the clouds or descend to the depths of the ocean, we would not go there alone (Psalm 139:8). God loves us so much that His presence is with us wherever we are. Yes, even when we do not feel, know, or sense it! He is there!

Like the three-year old who stamps his little foot in defiance when his parents make him go to bed when he needs rest, and like the rebellious teen who believes his parents are out to control him, we do not always recognize all that God gives us and does for us and, yes, even demands of us, is for our good because He loves us.

Sometimes we, too, stamp our feet and shout at God in defiance, while we should be thanking Him for His presence,
for His constant care,
for His love that will not let go of us.

Tenderly He forgives our waywardness, restoring us again to His presence, giving us ever more cause for gratitude. This year, I will thank God that He desires to know me. Thanks be to God!

May your thankfulness for all God had done for you overflow this Thanksgiving!

Pastor Hartwig