“CLING TO THE CROSS”, as based upon Psalm 118 verse 14, was the theme of our teachers conference in Des Moines: “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” This was quoted from the victory song at the Red Sea found in Exodus 15 verse 2a. This was the spiritual focus of the Iowa District East/West Teacher’s Conference last Thursday as Lutheran school teachers from across the state came together to grow in God’s Word and in quality Christ-centered education.
Psalm 118 was Martin Luther’s “own beloved psalm. Although the entire Psalter and all of Holy Scripture are dear to me as my only comfort and source of life, I fell in love with this psalm especially. Therefore I call it my own.” (Luther’s Works) The Lord is my strength. I do not know about you, but I have learned over and over again that my strength does not come from me. My strength is only that which comes from Christ. I am dependent upon His grace and mercy and it is through Him that I am able to face the challenges of this life. This victory song was sung by Moses and the people of Israel after He had delivered them from “the hand of the Egyptians…Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians…” when they were caught between the Egyptian army and the waters of the Red Sea. In Robert Morgan’s book, The Red Sea Rules, he shares that these types of difficult situations are when God reveals His strength to us. When we do not seem to have anywhere to turn and then God answers our prayers and gives us deliverance.
I thank God that His ultimate deliverance is from sin, death and Satan. He has given us this deliverance through Christ’s death on a cross and resurrection from the grave. Knowing and believing God’s plan for our salvation is truly what we can cling to during our Red Sea moments. Indeed, we are invited by God to cling to Jesus…to cling to the cross. May God reveal His strength to you this week.
Rev. Henry Pahlkotter