Devotionals 

Pastor's Monthly Devotional Message

September 2024

"Joy Cannot Stand Still"

by Pastor Dolby

This September is a special time to remember, recognize, and celebrate all God has done for and through his people of All Saints over the past 50 years. We are given opportunity to marvel at the home God has provided for us through the dedication and devotion of members and pastors of All Saints’ history.

We have a responsibility to honor and celebrate those who have gone before us. Like runners in a relay race, we Christians have received this “baton” of faith from God and his people before us. It would be strange to watch a relay race at a track meet and the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th runner stopped running as soon as they received the baton.

How will we celebrate this “baton of faith” from those past members and pastors? This joy of the Gospel we have received cannot stand still. The race continues. The “baton of faith” must be passed on according to Jesus’ command and God’s design.

This celebration is not a stagnation.

As your pastor, I invite you to pray and prepare for our future work with authentic hope and biblically based determination. We begin with the only source of hope we have, God and his Holy Word. Consider our monthly memory work.

But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. - Isaiah 50:7

This verse is part of an amazing chapter God’s Holy Spirit divinely inspires the prophet Isaiah to write. Chapter fifty alongside the previous chapter has the LORD directing us to his promises, namely, the promised Redeemer for the exiles of Israel and for all of exiles hopeless against the reality of sin.

Verse seven instills the tangible and concrete hope that death is not defeat for the Servant (the Redeemer, the Messiah, Jesus). The Servant displays ultimate trust in the Father’s provision. When Jesus makes his final journey to Jerusalem, he does so in unwavering faith. He is so determined and set in God’s way that he sets his face like a flint. This undeniable fact is confirmed in Luke 18:31 and Luke 24:44 when Jesus is determined to fulfill everything written by the prophets…because of his love and the Father’s love for you.

I am thankful we have received an incredible Gospel message and mission from the Father, through his Son upon the Cross, and his Holy Spirit – who together as the One True God, provided for all the saints who have come before us. 

God calls on us to remember his promises. God’s promises are like gifts meant to be shared. It would be strange (and against God’s will) for us to keep the gift for ourselves.

What will that look like to share God’s promises in our actions as the All Saints family this fall and over the coming years? We have this blessed God-given opportunity to pass on to our neighbors, near and far, what we have received from devoted members and pastors who came before us.

The celebration of All Saints this month is not stagnation. Joy cannot stand still.

May the grace and provision of our Maker, our Redeemer, our Helper be a gift that flows out from us to bless others as they see and hear the love of Jesus in our actions towards them. By God’s grace, may we set our faces like a flint, in joyful determination to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to others so they can be blessed like we have been blessed by God and his saints before us.

I pray this is accomplished as God designs it, for his glory alone and for the sake of our neighbors, all of them – because Jesus died and rose from the dead for all of them. God bless you and keep you as you carry on this “baton of faith” to those who come after us! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Dolby

August 2024

"Psalms and Proverbs: Growing up in Christ"

By Pastor Dolby

Our August memory work is from the fourth chapter of Saint Paul’s letter to the Christians at Ephesus. I want to begin my devotional reflection for August a bit earlier in the chapter.

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” – Ephesians 4:1-3

As the summer begins to make way for the fall season to come, many of us begin to sense the urgency or internal pressure to have a strong start to the new academic calendar regardless of whether we are a student, parent, teacher or any other position. The truth is, we are all continually learning and growing: We are always students!

It is certainly good to have a strong sense of personal responsibility and ask oneself, “Where can I grow this year? What can I try a little bit differently than how I approached my duties last fall?”

I want to put a warning in each of our hearts to not use this good sense of responsibility to try to do “too much” … and how much is too much? The answer is as unique as each of us. I pray that you and I take time to honestly assess where we can try more, less, or even consider a different approach.

I would like to offer each of you a challenge from my calling as your pastor: Growing up in our faith does not mean we need to add more to what we are already pursuing! It does not require the gift like the Old Testament prophets to confidently declare that most (if not all!) of us already have sufficient (or too much?) on our plate of personal responsibility.

So I want to close with an invitation: Do not be afraid to stick to one simple, peaceful subject to become more disciplined from September 2024 to June of 2025.

I want to offer you an example in what I am practicing in August so I can be all about this simple, daily task from September to June for my family to see and join me in. Like most good ideas I come across, this one is not mine! It is based on something a fellow pastor has shared quietly in recent years: https://sonsofsolomon.net 

Praying the Psalms in Jesus’ Name.

In the morning, I will rotate reading one of three Psalms: Psalm 123, 125, 127.

In the mid-day, I will rotate two Psalms: 124 & 129

In the early evening, I will rotate two Psalms: 126 & 128

Before I go to bed, I will rotate two Psalms 130 & 131.

Finally, every day I will read one of the 31 chapters of Proverbs.

*You do NOT have to follow this exact formula. But what can you put on your daily schedule to show yourself and others close to you that God’s Word is of utmost importance to your daily health, spiritually and otherwise?

Our monthly memory work is Ephesians 4:15, Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.

My desire for this academic year is to allow myself more space rather than taking on “too much” and not really growing as effectively or responsibly as I should. I want to improve in speaking the truth in love whether I am preaching, teaching, or find myself in an unexpected witnessing opportunity. I can only do this if I am being filled with God’s Word daily, intentionally. I am excited to see how a simple walk in a few Psalms and the book of Proverbs will be used by the LORD’s Holy Spirit to help me grow up in every way into the One who is my King, Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

Pastor Dolby

Lutheran Hour Ministries

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