Things can become very frustrating for the person who seeks to serve the Lord in this world.

            Well, it's that time of the year again, isn't it?  It's summertime--time for vacation--time for a little "R and R," as they say.

A wise teacher I knew once gave this advice to a group of his students:  "The best way to solve a problem," he said, "is to avoid it."

            We have a close Friend and Brother who is powerful and influential and has also seen the very lowest levels of poverty and despair. 

            "How much do you love me?"  That's an often-repeated question, to be sure.  It's an often-repeated question because people always have and always will try to measure love. 

  At one time or another in our lives, most of us have probably studied the three articles of the Apostles' Creed from the Small Catechism of Martin Luther.  We learned there how each of these three articles describes a particular Identity and work of One of the Persons of the Godhead.

Today is not only Confirmation Sunday; it's also the Day of Pentecost, when we celebrate the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.  He is the One who Jesus describes in today's sermon text as "the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name."  It is this Spirit who helps us remember