Emma Denise Malheim: Child of God

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart... [Jeremiah 1:5a-b NIV]

"I was there to hear your borning cry,

I'll be there when you are old.

I rejoiced the day you were baptized,

To see your life unfold.

- John Ylvisaker, 1985

Dear Emma,

Today, October 16, 2011, at Grace Lutheran Church, Oakes, North Dakota, you will be received into the kingdom of God's grace through the washing of Holy Baptism. How perfect it will be that you will receive this gift of God at the baptismal font in front of a congregation of His people that celebrates His grace everyday by their very existence as Grace Lutheran Church. One day, when you are a little older, you may ask your mother to recount a simple way to remember the G.R.A.C.E. of God. In confirmation classes and sermons preached by me, grace has been explained as God's Riches At Christ's Expense.

Imagine the grace of God coming to us through simple means - water and the Word. In Baptism, we are not the ones doing. As Martin Luther explained, "Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God's command and combined with God's Word." We are reminded of Jesus' life-changing, world-changing directive to His disciples: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." [Matthew 28:19 NIV]

"Baptized into Your Name most holy,

O Father, Son and Holy Ghost,

I claim a place, though weak and lowly,

Among Your seed, Your chosen host.

Buried with Christ and dead to sin,

I have Your Spirit now within."

Luther, in his Small Catechism continues: "...the Word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this Word of God in the water. For without God's Word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the Word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit..." Your parents and godparents bring you to receive the new birth in Christ. Your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and the members of Grace Lutheran Church and the entirety of Christ's Church pray God's constant blessings upon your life as you grow in stature, in faith and in His grace.

Emma Denise Malheim, God has a plan for your life. To the prophet Jeremiah, God said: "I know the plans I have for you, ...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." The truth is, no one but God knows those plans but I am confident that He has great things in store for your life. You hold a special place in His heart as His child. May God pour out His abundant blessings on you today and always!

Love,

Grandpa Turnmire

This Journey of Faith: Part I "Baptism"

What I would like to call "my journey of faith" began 50 years ago today on Sunday, August 16, 1959. It began at Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Claremont, Minnesota as Pastor Wilmer A. Schultz spoke poured water over my forehead and spoke words similar to these: "David Brian Turnmire, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Uncle Edward and Aunt Sylvia Wessel took a vow as my godparent sponsors to support my parents and me in my Christian upbringing. Now if I fully well realize that not every one of my family members and friends will share my beliefs. This is my journey of faith and there is no more appropriate day to begin a series of blogs reflecting that faith than the anniversary of my baptismal birthday.

Baptized into Your name most holy,

O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

I claim a place, though weak and lowly,

Among Your seed, Your chosen host.

Buried with Christ and dead to sin,

Your Spirit now shall live within.

Christ's command to baptize is clearly outlined in Matthew 28 where Jesus instructed his disciples: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore 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 I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." [Matthew 28:18b-20 NIV] In another context after the Easter Resurrection, Jesus rebukes His disciples for their failure to believe He has risen from the dead. "He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.' " [Mark 16:15-16 NIV]

Not only do those verses from Scripture lay out the baptismal commandment, they also serve as the basis for the ongoing debate over infant baptism versus age of accountability (or adult) baptism. For those who insist on baptism based on the age of accountability, does that mean that my baptism, or any of the millions over the centuries who have been baptized as infants, is not effective? Please note Jesus' words to His disciples in Matthew 28. He instructs His followers to go out and make disciples of all nations. How? By baptizing and teaching.

Jesus did not say, "go out and teach people and then when they reach an age at which they can answer for themselves, go ahead and baptize them". To those who would debate saying, "Where does Jesus command us to baptize infants?", I will say, "Where does Jesus forbid the baptism of infants?" Another argument would be that infants do not have the intellect to believe. Is it possible for an infant to have faith? Absolutely. The psalmist David confesses in Psalm 22, "You brought me out of the womb; You made me trust in you even at my mother's breast." [Psalm 22:15 NIV] David trusted in God from the time he was a young infant.

In fact, there is evidence of faith in one not yet even born. After Mary had been visited by the angel who announced the good news that she would be the mother of her Lord, she went on a trip to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who bear a special child of her own. "At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!' " [Luke 1:39-45 NIV] I do not believe that the inspired writer of Scripture would included such detail if it was like, as some say, the baby inside of her jumped because he heard a loud voice.

The power and effectiveness of Holy Baptism does not depend on us or how strong our faith is at the time of Baptism. God's Word is the power of Baptism. Water is the simple element that Jesus commands us to use along with His Word to baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". It is most certainly true that Lutheran Christians, for example, do not place enough emphasis or importance on the work of the Holy Spirit. However, I believe that at my Baptism when I was merely twenty days old, God sent His Spirit just as Jesus promised His disciples.

Martin Luther explained the power of Holy Baptism is his small catechism, which was intended as a help for the heads of household to teach their families. He answers the question: "How can water do such great things?"

"Certainly not just water, but the Word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith that trusts this Word of God in the water. For without God's Word the water is just plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus chapter three:

'He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying.'

[Titus 3:5-8 NIV]

Luther's Small Catechism, 1986

Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO

"There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." [Ephesians 4:4-6 NIV]

I was there to hear your borning cry,

I'll be there when you are old.

I rejoiced the day you were baptized,

To see your life unfold.

I was there when you were but a child,

With a faith to suit you well;

In a blaze of light you wandered off

To find where demons dwell."

Until next time......

~ DB Turnmire

What Does This Mean?

By now, observant readers of this blog will have identified my background as a Lutheran pastor. In the foot steps of Martin Luther, one of my favorite theological and practical questions in many situations is "What does this mean?" Some of you may know that Luther wrote an entire volume of catechetical instruction base on the premise of question and answers. The primary questions utilized for the six chief parts of the catechism is "What does this mean?"

Today was another typical day in this non-employment era of my life. Apply for more jobs, submit more resumes and receive more e-mail letters informing me that I am no longer being considered for a certain position. One such letter regarding a non-profit position for which I had applied contained the following statement. "While we were very impressed with the strength of your prior experiences and education, we are no longer considering your application." What does this mean? Does the aforementioned statement mean that I am not qualified for the position? Does it mean that I lack the necessary skills to perform the job effectively for which I applied? Does it mean I am overqualified or too old?

Or what about the following line which often appears in notifications that I am no longer being considered for a specific position? "Your information will remain active in our system, so please check back for future opportunities. " In this case, the onus is completely placed on me to check back for future job openings with the same company. Sometimes the response is something like this: "Your resume will remain active in our system for six months. Should a future job opening closely match your skills and experience, we will contact you to set up an interview." Of course, six months went by and apparently no job openings matched my skills and experience. What does all of this mean?

Well, seven months into the current era in my life, one thing is sure. Bill and I have learned to survive on a fraction of our former income. Metro area Caribou Coffee stores are missing two of their better customers! Our spending on gas has decreased dramatically even when prices took a major dip. Now that gas prices are climbing again, I am hoping and praying for a position closer to home than farther away. Then again, any position that utilizes my skills and experience will be welcomed as long as the compensation is reasonable. When that times comes that I am once again gainfully employed, our entire approach to finances is likely to be more closely guarded.

Perhaps the most important lesson to be learned is that none of us should ever take anything for granted. October 30, 2008 was among one of the most shocking days of my life, yet I was not surprised. Therein lies one irony of this experience. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah (chapter 40) compares human beings to the grass of the field. As long as there is plenty of water, the grass grows and flourishes. Once the water dries up and the dry winds blow in, the grass withers and dries up. Many things in life are very tenuous like that. Our jobs, our families, our friends, our homes and even our lives - all of them may be intact today but any one of them or all of them may be gone in an instant.

What does this mean? If I were to sum what all of this means to me, I would have to say that we may consider living each day like it is our last. Or as Tim McGraw's hit country song so aptly put it - "live like you were dying". Each tomorrow is a gift, whether it be another day on the job, another day with a terminally ill loved one, another day in the home you worked so hard to obtain or another day with your family. "This is most certainly true!"

~ DB Turnmire

Writer's Block or On Hiatus?

By now, a number of you have been wondering what happened to me and my "daily" blog? Of course, it would be easy to claim writer's block as the cause for my absence. Or I could simply state that I had decided to take a hiatus from writing which could be considered a mistake on my part. I am aware of the great danger of losing readership during an extended absence so please make sure that you tell everyone that "I am back!"

Recently, I finished reading a novel entitled At First Sight by author Nicholas Sparks. This work is actually a follow up to the story which begins in the novel True Believer by the same author. The main character in both novels is Jeremy Marsh, who writes a monthly column for a scientific focused magazine. He also does freelance articles for other publications and investigative reporting on the side. In the second of these novels by Sparks, Jeremy has relocated from New York City to a small town in rural North Carolina. While the home he has purchased is being renovated, Jeremy finds it extremely difficult to continue writing his column. I would highly recommend any of Nicholas Sparks' novels. You will probably be surprised at the movie titles that you recognize among his works.

There is some similarity between Jeremy Marsh and myself in that over the past week, it has been hard to focus on writing. You see, about ten days ago or so, Bill and I decided that we should make a conscientious effort to make the house we have lived in for over two years our own. I think it all started when the washer quit and we had to purchase a new washer and dryer. That starting a cleaning frenzy that has been ongoing ever since. So we eventually removed the carpet from the last room on the main floor, exposed the hardwood floors, cleaned them and began the process of redoing our home office.

Since all of this began, we have basically touched every room in the house. Furniture is being re-purposed and used in other rooms. In the words of one of the historical church fathers who has influenced my life greatly, Martin Luther, what does this mean? One of the main things it means for me is that I am stepping out in faith. After all, why go to all this work at a time when I remain unemployed, Bill is on medical leave and the future of the house in uncertain. Because for the first time in several years, I find purpose in the things that I am doing to make the house a home. For over two years, we have existed in this expensive space without really allowing ourselves to enjoy it.

I also am able to find solace in the Old and New Testament scriptures which I studied in preparation for the ministry. Putting my future in God's hands allows me to move forward with confidence. He explained it to the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." [Jeremiah 29:11] For me, it is a no-brainer. If I believe that God has been the guiding force in my life to this point, then it seems natural to trust him for my future. For many, that is called "faith". "... Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." [Hebrews 11:1]

So in the meantime, we find ourselves making a house into a home and enjoying each day as it comes. I pray for strength to carry on and trust that God will deliver, confident that whatever lays ahead is in keeping with God's will. While it might be easier to give up, I am reminded of my lifetime Scripture verse spoken at the rite of confirmation. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." [Joshua 1:9] Borrowing the thoughts and words of Martin Luther (May 1521), "Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen."

~ DB Turnmire