Living in grace by faith, faith we receive from God, faith promised in the gospel of St. John who writes, “John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life … whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” This is the faith that saves.

When you look at this passage as a Christian and see the term “believe” you may conclude that it would be ludicrous not to believe in Jesus.

But, a believer does not necessarily believe in Jesus. A person can believe and put their faith in a variety of things, not just in God.

As a believer you may have faith in something false, perhaps one of the following:

– Money means everything;
– Power over others is a certain way to glory;
– I am better than you.
– Lucerne isn’t worth my time. Say what! Where that attitude exists, it must be changed.

The most unfounded belief in our world is that money can buy happiness. People believe that is a fact, but it is not. We’ve seen this numerous times and the fact remains, money cannot buy happiness. In fact, it often results in disaster.

An example is the story of the fellow who won one of the first lottery draws ever held in Canada. It was $1 million, tax free. That was in the 1970s, some 45 years ago, a lot of money back then and it remains so to this day.

It was the worst thing that could have ever happened to him. He lost his wife and kids, his respect for himself and others, he became a drunk and womanizer, and he died in a car accident in a fit of rage.

The only thing money bought him was a beautiful coffin for burial and a one-way ticket to hell because he believed in one thing and one thing only; money is my god.

So, what does wealth have to do with our task here in Lucerne? My friends in Christ, if there is one thing we don’t have to worry too much about here in Lake County is wealth. That’s because there is very little of it around.

What we must worry about is what happens when we have to deal with other side of the coin, poverty.

When people don’t have the resources to survive, the only hope they have is other people who are willing to do whatever they can to provide assistance, help revitalize the area, getting all people in the community engaged, and spreading the gospel so everyone can prosper through a revitalization of Lake County.

This means all people working together and sharing of their time, talents and resources, and believing that through faith in Jesus, we will all survive and thrive.

That is the foundation of faith – believing that Jesus died for our sins on Good Friday and rose again on Easter with the promise of eternal life. It is living in grace by faith.

We will dig deeper into this on Sunday, March 11, so please join us for Bible Study at 9:30 a.m., worship at 11 a.m. and a hot lunch immediately following the worship service.

All are welcome so come as you are.

Chris DelCol is pastor of First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, Calif. The church is located at 3863 Country Club Drive, telephone 707-274-5572.