Bloghardt's Reflector

Is this the real life...

Bloghardt — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:40:18 -0600

Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see-
Im just a poor boy,i need no sympathy-
Because Im easy come,easy go,
A little high,little low,
Anyway the wind blows,doesnt really matter to me,
To me

And then it made it on youtube...

Michael....

Bloghardt — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:53:55 -0600

Meet "Michael" Borghardt... like the archangel. Also... like "Mike the Tiger." Here he is sleeping... So much for me sleeping before the conferences...

LSU in the CWS!!!!

Bloghardt — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:03:38 -0600

Back in Omaha. Way to go Tigers! LSU plays NC tomorrow night in the first round of the CWS. Geaux Tigers!

St. Matthew 19:5 � Lindsay Jonnson & Landon Reed Wedding

Bloghardt — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 21:26:08 -0600

St. Matthew 19:5 – Lindsay Jonnson & Landon Reed Wedding
St. Mark Lutheran Church, Conroe, TX

In the Name of Jesus. Amen. Clearly, our Lord Jesus loves you, Landon. Here is Lindsay, so beautiful. What she sees in Landon - a mystery to us all. Only Jesus. Only the Lord Jesus could do this!

And Landon, how can I not believe that the Lord alone could do this: Here you are, on time, dressed properly – no flip flops or cowboy's cap. Though, he seems a bit sickly and extra sensitive to light and loud sounds.

Yes, the Lord Jesus is going to have Himself a wedding! Christ loves weddings. Been doing weddings since well... day six!

Remember... on the sixth day, God made man. Now, Adam all by himself was not good at all. That's understandable, I mean, anyone who knows our Landon can understand – Landon all by himself – not good.

So, God went about to find Adam a helper. He brought before Adam all that He the animals, one by one and no suitable helper was found. Not even a Labrador like Sassy would be a suitable helper.

Then, a deep sleep. Then, from the rib, from near Adam's heart, God made a woman and gave Him to the man.

“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called 'woman' for she was taken from a man.”

No more Mom and Dad running things. No more “I” or “my.” Now, there is “we” and “ours.”

The Lord made the two one. He did the wedding. And it wasn't just good, it was very good. The husband loved his wife. The wife respected her husband.

But, on a different day, it all went wrong. The serpent. The lie. The fruit not given them to eat. Nakedness. Shame. Hiding from the Lord who made them. Then, blame... “That woman, God, the one you gave me... she gave me of the fruit and I ate...” It was as if Adam didn't want his bride. As if the wife He was given was a chore.

Finger pointing. Sin. Judgment. Punishment and Banishment from Paradise. Birth pains. Suffering. And Death. For them, for you and me too. For in Adam all died, because all sinned.

To save us... the Lord had for Himself another wedding. He Himself would be the husband, the Church would be His bride. Yes, He found for Himself a bride!

He took on our flesh. Came into our fallen world and lived as Adam - as we - are required to live.

His bride rejected Him. She wanted other suitors. We always think we can do things on our own, don't we?

But, He is for her. He came to win her – to save us from her sins, from her death, and from her hell.

Jesus wins His bride by taking upon Himself all her faults and sins, suffering the penalty due us for all the times we lived as Father Adam lived – for himself, in his sins.

So, for His Bride, He is beaten. For her, He is bruised. For her, He suffers. And for her, for His bride, He dies.

He dies, not just for the Church, but for all – and that all means He dies even for you and me.

Risen from the dead, He presents His Bride to Himself. Holy. Pure. Undefiled. Without spot, blemish, or any such thing. She's glorious!

No blame. No sin. No hanging her out to dry like Adam did. He will have none of that. His bride is pure. She's holy. She's spotless. She's washed – washed in the blood and water flowing from His pierced-side.

The Church's one foundation, is Jesus Christ her Lord. She is His New creation by water and the Word. From heav'n He came and sought her to be His holy Bride. With His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died. (LSB 644)

Be that husband for your bride, Landon. Be Christ for her. Love her with the love that went through death for you. Lay down your life for her.

Don't tear her up or find fault with her. She's without sin in Christ. So, let nothing come before her – not your friends, not the Cowboys, not even killing ducks.

You aren't good all by yourself. Lindsay is your bride, the one that the Lord made just for you. She's pure. Holy. Spotless. Washed by water and the Lord's Words. And her beauty will last long past this day ... in Christ, her beauty will last to everlasting life.

And Lindsay, submit to your husband as you do to the Lord. That is, let Landon be Christ for you. Let him be your husband. Let him love you as that delicate vessel you are – putting you before everything else.

Be the Church, receiving from him all that Christ has for you. Let him do everything that He does for you. You before anything else – even His own life. Respect him.

And when he fails, Lindsay. When He's Landon and not Christ, forgive him as God in Christ has forgiven you.

And after this wedding, who could ever doubt God's love for us in Christ Jesus again? Landon, she loves you. We don't know why. Lindsey, he's here. And Christ, He does weddings – loves weddings.

And Christ's forgiveness, life, and salvation will carry each of you, each day until death parts you. “For what God has joined together, let no one put asunder.” INI. Amen.

Borghardt and Ray Reed

Bloghardt — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:07:51 -0600

My Hiding Place & My Shield

Bloghardt — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:09:09 -0600

"You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word." (Ps. 119:114)

In the name of Jesus. Amen. What happens when I look around my life and I feel like the gum that is on the bottom of God's shoe and it's like He's tracking me around, stretching me all over the place. What then?

Little here, little there, each part of me left behind. It may be for good works, it may be for bad ones. But, a little bit of me only goes so far and then I look down and I feel like there is nothing left. Every feel like that?

It's lived out in my body. How could it not? People see me and they do that genuine, “You don't look like yourself. Is it me? Am I bothering you? Should I leave you alone? Why aren't you fun any more? Where is that twinkle in your eyes? Do you have too much on your plate?”

Their concern just adds to it. Doesn't it? It's not you. The Lord put me here for your sake. He's working this out in my life for your life. So, don't ease up. All I know is that you worrying about it only adds more weight. More pressing down. More tracking me around.

So, I smile and say, “Don't worry. I'm fine. I've got it under control. I'm just tired. Let's not talk about it, leave it be, if I can just catch my breath for a second, I can get a hold of it. If I can wrap my mind around it, I can figure out what to do...”

But, I can't and I know better than to try. I probably couldn't tell you what's wrong anyway. I can't figure it out myself! It's just everything at once. But all of it has torn through all my strength and stripped of my cape. And without my Superman symbol on my chest, I'm just done. I'm gonna fail. I just know it.

And then.. on cue... all my life-long enemies surrounding me, I see them smiling because they finally have me where they want me. My "friends" join them. I guess they weren't my friends at all - even the "bestest" of my friends.

It's just me. All by myself. My enemies raise their weapons armed with the very bullets that I have given them by my sins and failures. My arrogance, my pride, my self-righteousness, my vanity, my secrets, all loaded up and fired at me.

Yet, all I can feel is the wraith, evil, and pain,of all the world weighing down on me. I'm drowning in it and I can't breathe any more. And stripped of all my defenses, all that is left is to close my eyes and spread my arms.

"Finally, at least it will be over when they finally do me in..."

I hear the sound of them firing, but feel nothing. Then the sound of another wave of bullets, and nothing again. Did they miss? Did they hit and this is what death is like? Shouldn't the whole thing have hurt more?

I open one eye to see what's up.. and there is...

Jesus. It all hit Him first! Again, again, and again. It all hits Him, not me. They could pick up the kitchen sink (I have no doubt that some day they will!) and fling it at me and it would hit Him first. He's a giant shield that blocks every thing!

Jesus. When there is nothing else, no other protection, no cape, no armor, no friends, no other sanctuary, there is only Him. Only Jesus to save me.

Christ before me. Christ before you too. He was despised. They surrounded Him. His friends abandoned Him. They betrayed Him. He was mocked as He was beaten. They finished Him off. Then He who knew no sin was done in by the sin of the world, having becoming sin in our place. That's "for me" and "in my place!!"

When striped of my “S,” I have only Christ. When the twinkle is gone and I am tracked around like gum, there is only Jesus. When the only illumination that I have in my world is my own personal darkness, He alone is My Light. For in my weakness, in my sickness, in my failure, in my sin, and especially in my death, Christ's strength is made perfect (2Cor. 12:9).

And if they do me in because I stepped around Him, He'll save me then too. He always does. Always. Not because of me, but because He truly is so unbelievably Faithful.

Right there. In front of me. Right there. Protecting me. Right there. Shielding me... from me.

For all my failures have been placed on Christ. All my weaknesses, all my sicknesses, even my death, He has taken upon Himself and has redeemed. He has bought it all back and has proclaimed it holy.

White. Baptismal. Forgiven. That's me. Bodied and Blooded. That's me too. Absolved by the Word. Amen. That was me before my enemies fired, I just didn't believe it. That's me now too - even when everything looks dark.

For Christ is for me, even when I'm not for me. Christ is for me, when I'm not for Him. Christ is for me when everyone is for me. Christ is for me, when no one else is for me.

Which brings a smile to my face and the start of a twinkle in my eyes. It's coming back. And I have just enough to peek around Jesus, my hiding place, and wave at Satan and my enemies.

"Fire away. You may do me in, you may ultimately get what you want with those bullets that I gave you, but He'll protect me. He'll save me. He'll take even you doing me in, or me doing me in, and use it to save me."

And if you kill me, all you'll do is fulfill my Baptism. And make all of this... every Word of Gospel... more real to me than it ever has been for me.

Christ will save me. He always does. He already has. He's that much for Me. He is my hiding place. He is my shield. Yours too. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

"So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you....” (2Cor. 4:12)

When What shouldn't fall falls...

Bloghardt — Sat, 31 May 2008 00:40:07 -0600

In the name of Jesus. Amen. A construction crane falls and two die in New York. That's two deaths too many. Cranes are used in every city to do work every day. We see them without thinking that they are dangerous. They aren't supposed to fall. They just aren't. What happens when they do? Why did this one fall?

Sin. Fall. Adam. Eve. That blasted fruit that they ate and shouldn't have eaten. That's where sin and death originated. They took what wasn't given to them. Today, we sin too – daily and much.

Events like this should cause us all to pause, mourn, and pray for salvation. Your sins and my sins are the reason these things happen. As the Psalmist says, “ Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight “ (51:6) With all my sins, it's a wonder the stars don't fall down on me! One day, they will.

And here's the real kicker: We are born into this sinful world where things fall, and the evil that befalls us is because of our own Fall. With that truth in your mind, who would even want to get up in the morning? Why doesn’t God do anything about this?

Step back. Contemplate the Cross of Jesus Christ. God has done something, He has saved us – despite us – in the giving up of His Son. He buys us back with all our sins by having his Son die in our place. Christ takes upon Himself our suffering, all our falls, our death, so that we might have life in His Name.

There are no accidents. Not really. Our lives, our days, our years, are in His hands. There are no guarantees in this world – not even that the sun will come out tomorrow. Which leads to a valid question, “Why don't all cranes fall?”

God's grace. That's what keeps everything from falling down around us – even the stars. His kindness and loving mercy for us in Christ.

What He does, He does for our good. What He allows, He allows for our sake. He calls us to repent. He enlivens us to faith. He comforts us in our suffering.

And when our last hour comes, whenever that may be, it is not because He is angry with us. No, He gave up Jesus for that. So, when we fall asleep and one day do not wake up, or when the stars themselves fall on us, at that moment we will most know what it means that Christ died for us.

Then, as certainly as Christ has risen from the dead, we too shall rise in Him. We already have - in our Baptism.

Consider that: He's most our God, He's most our Savior, at the point in which it all falls down around us. That's the love God has for us – even us – in Christ Jesus. Until that day, dear Lord, preserve us and keep us.

"Lord, please comfort the families who saw their loved ones and won't see them again until the Last Day. Thank you for this day. Thank you for safety. Thank you for your grace in another day to serve you by caring for those around us. In the name of Jesus. Amen."

More Rascal Flatts...

Bloghardt — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:26:01 -0600

WOW. I'm working on the pre-conference Bible Studies for "Amen."

I was just taken back again by the depth of understanding in this song too. Like the last one, these guys get that the Lord turns our bad stuff and even make it good - even in our relationships.

Kohlmeier is trying to tell me an IM window that this doesn't count as "country." Well, it's certainly not CCM. But, these guys get it....

Rascal Flatts - "Here"

There's a place I've been lookin'for
That took me in and out of buildings
Behind windows, walls and doors
And I thought I found it
Couple times, even settled down
And I'd hang around just long enough
To find my way back out
I know now the place that I was trying to Reach
Was you, right here in front of me

[CHORUS]
And I would'nt change a thing
I'd walk right back through the rain
Back to every broken heart
On the day that it was breakin'
And I'd relive all the years
And be thankful for the tears
I've cried with every stumbled step
That led to you and got me here, right here

It's amazing what I let my heart go through
To get me where it got me
In this moment here with you
And it passed me by
God knows how many times
I was so caught up in holding
What I never thought I'd find
I know now, there's a million roads
I had to take
To get me in your arms that way

[Repeat Chorus]

In a love I never thought I'd get to get to -here
And if that's the road
God made me take to be with you

[Repeat Chorus]

And I'd relive all the years
And be thankful for all the tears
I've cried with every stumbled step
That led to you and got me here, right here
Oh, baby-Ooo
Oh, got me here

Rascal Flatts Gets It!

Bloghardt — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:22:27 -0600

This is from 2004, but it so nails the Gospel... And when it popped up on my ipod, it hit me. This is why I'm starting to appreciate Country Music.

Rascal Flatts gets the Gospel of the "Lilies of the Field!"

Check it out... Rascal Flatts' Bless The Broken Road ...

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you
Every long lost dream lead me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

Every long lost dream lead me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

St. Matthew 6:24-34 � Pentecost 2A (2008)

Bloghardt — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:38:07 -0600

St. Matthew 6:24-34 – Pentecost 2A (2008)
St. Mark Lutheran Church, Conroe, TX
Listen Here

In the name of Jesus. Amen. He calls us oligopistoi. That not-so-little Greek word means, “little faith ones.” Or “ye of little faith.”

Little Faith ones, why do you worry? Little faith ones, why do you fret? I take care of the birds of the air. I take care of the lilies in the field. Aren't you more important to Me than the birds and lilies? If you know that, why do you worry?

The Father has saved you. He has bought you back from your sins, from your unbelief. Not because you are faithful, but because His Son was faithful unto death in your place.

Life and salvation given to you in the forgiveness of sins. And if you have heaven itself, then you have everything. Not a worry or care at all – your sins are forgiven. So no worrying, oligopistoi!

But, worry worry worry is what we do. We excel at it. We worry about tomorrow. We worry about our future. What we will do, eat, wear. We worry about our health. Then, we worry about your wealth. Worry about dreams, what we will be, what will happen to our job. Worry about little things, big things, and temporary things. Worry Worry Worry.

I think I've told my mother that she's not allowed to look at webmd.com 'cause she doesn't actually have any of the rare disease that it makes she think she has!

Mammon. Our stuff. Money. That's our favorite worry. Do we have enough? Can we pay our bills? Can we make it?

But, we've all learned at St. Mark that you can be dirt poor at the beginning of the voter's meeting and have a surplus that abounds at the end. No worries, we have a God who cares for us.

And if today has so much to worry about.. how could you possibly worry about tomorrow? You should prepare for it. Budget for tomorrow and keep to that budget. But, worry about it?

And why do you worry? It doesn't actually help. They say there are near earth asteroids that barely miss us all the time. Does my worrying make them miss? No, I can't even add a foot to my height or a year to my life by my worrying.

Worrying actually hurts us – ulcers and stress aren't good for you.

Then, you take that stress out on those around you. You forget that they are more important than you are and you put them in their place. “You just don't understand what I'm dealing with!”

Worrying is crippling. It takes energy. And when someone tells us to not worry, we worry about worrying. Why, why, why do we worry?

Jesus tells us today: oligopistoi. Little faith ones. You worry because you forget about the Father. You forget God loves you and cares for you in Christ.

Jesus tells us today that God cares for the grass of the field and the birds of the air which are here today and tomorrow tossed into the fire. God cares for you in Christ. Not gonna forget about you – even you when you worry.

The lilies, birds, grass, the water, the animals, all made by Your Father and all made for your sake.

The same God – there is only one – made the stars – for you. Sun for you. Moon for you. Asteroids for you. Planets for you. He does all of that and keeps everything up there in the sky far from you. Just far enough to light up your way at night.

And He hasn't forgotten about you. No, to you and for you He sent His Son. Beaten, bruised, crushed, and discarded like the trash – like the lilies that have been plucked and then die.

That's Jesus for you. The Father has given you every thing – even the life of His Son. Christ's faith for your unbelief. His certainty for your uncertainty. His trusting only in God for all the times you trust in the other gods in your world.

His faithfulness even makes that little Greek word oligopistoi a gift. It's not a condemning word. It's the word from a parent to a kid that everything is going to be ok.

Just wait, you'll see. It's going to work out for your good. Just watch, oligopistoi.

What you need, He'll give you. It may not be what you want, but you'll have what you need to get by. And if you have to skip that nice shirt, not eat out, or spend a bit less in the process, that might not be bad. You don't have what you don't have by God's grace. So, don't fret, little faith ones.

And if you have some and then more, well that's good too. A surplus isn't a bad thing. It's useful to help those around you with. And don't put your trust in the little bit extra you have. You have what you have because of the grace of God. Don't worry, oligopistoi.

You see, it isn't faith to believe that God exists. Nor is it faith to believe that God is powerful and strong enough to fix your problems. Every religion has that!

Christian Faith is to live like the lily in the field – perfectly trusting the God who made you.

Consider the One who held the lily in his hand that day – He lived, suffered, and died, certain in all things that God was going to be good to Him. Even when the goodness of God drove nails into His hands and feet! God was always good to Him – even when He breathed His last. That's faith!

You see, faith believes, faith trusts that God is always good to us. Which means, everything that befalls you, everything that happens, from the rising of the sun, to the bug that flies into your windshield, to the person who lets you down, to the person who smiles at just the right time, all of that is happening for your good.

The Cross shows us the God who is always – always good to us. No need to worry or doubt. No need to despair. For One who tends to the birds and the lilies is the One who tends to you.

Lily. Not the big old Easter lily, but the lily of the field. Growing wild where they weren't expected nor wanted. Carefree. Like the Texas Bluebonnets - each one different, each unique, each wonderfully and fearfully made by a God who can't get enough of you because of what Christ did for you.

And each one here this morning and thrown into the fires at sunset!

That beauty, that freedom, that mercy was given to you in your baptism, in the Word, in the Supper. His forgiveness. His faithfulness. His life right in your lips.

Why would you ever worry again! You have eaten and drunk eternal life!

Jesus for you. Never will you be discarded thrown into the fire. Not after He was in your place.

So, with death and hell handled by the One who truly believed that God is always good for Him – even through Cross and Grave, you can cling to Christ through all scarcity, adversity, trial, and tribulation.

Or better, He will cling to you. Through it all – even death itself. Don't worry, oligopistoi.

Instead, think on the birds of the air. They don't have a job, a check card, or a bank account and the Father feeds them.

And when things get particularly dark, consider the lily in the field. Solomon, the richest king, in all of Israel in all his glory isn't dressed up like one of these little wild flowers.

"And if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith."

Oligopistoi. That's little faith ones. Little faith ones who have a heavenly Father who sent the Christ to die for them.

No worries. He's done the faithful job. For you. In your place. For me too. So, consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Lord, I believe. Help now my unbelief. INI. Amen.