Grace Alone, Not By Living A Righteous Life

"What good are you as friends?" Job asks, as he listened to those who came to comfort him. "What good are you?"

"Have I any help in me, when resource is driven from me? "He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as torrential streams that pass away, which are dark with ice, and where the snow hides itself. When they melt, they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish from their place. The caravans turn aside from their course; they go up into the waste and perish. The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope. They are ashamed because they were confident; they come there and are disappointed. For you have now become nothing; you see my calamity and are afraid." - Job 6:13-21 ESV

His friends were nothing but melted snow and ice that disappears when it gets hot. He felt like men in the caravans of Tema (Gen. 25:12-16), the travelers of Sheba who found no water in the desert. They plodded along in the dry lands, hoping to find water, but found nothing but parched desert. They were but dried up streams. Job's friends accuse him of some wretched sins for which God is punishing and disciplining him.

But now, be pleased to look at me, for I will not lie to your face. Please turn; let no injustice be done. Turn now; my vindication is at stake. Is there any injustice on my tongue? Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity? - Job 6:28-30 ESV

Poor, wretched, miserable Job (Job 6:1-10). He loathes his life. He cannot sleep. His flesh is clothed with worms and dirt. His skin hardens, then breaks out with new sores. He complains to his "friends" and to his God. In the anguish of his spirit and the bitterness of his soul he cries out. Instead of being comforted he is terrified and scared with dreams and visions. When will it ever end?

What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, visit him every morning and test him every moment? How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit? - Job 7:17-19 ESV

OK! Enough already. If I am guilty of sin and deserving of this sick and troubling disease, show me.

If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you? Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be." - Job 7:20-21 ESV 

Cyperus Papyrus

Next it is the turn of Bildad the Shuhite. He says the same thing as Job's other friend. God does not pervert justice and the right way of life. If you are pure and upright God will restore you to your former life. You must not forget God. To emphasize this he uses a number pictures drawn from the natural world.

"Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water? While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish. His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider's web. He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays hold of it, but it does not endure. He is a lush plant before the sun, and his shoots spread over his garden. His roots entwine the stone heap; he looks upon a house of stones. If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, 'I have never seen you.' Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the soil others will spring. - Job 8:11-19 ESV

So Job and his friends struggle with a type of religion that continually seeks to bargain with God. It is a religion that tells us that if we live a righteous life God will bless us. If we do not, He will punish and humble us until we repent and return to His ways. This is a religion of works. It does not look deep into the teaching of God's Word to discover what the Apostles of Christ taught. Listen to Paul as he despairs of ever being righteous. No one is. All have gone astray. This is the true teaching of Scripture.

As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." - Rom 3:10-18 NKJV 

How then shall anyone be saved from eternal death and destruction? Paul's answer:

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, - Rom 3:20-25 NKJV 

It is all by God's grace, undeserved and unearned, yet given and available to all who put their faith and trust in the death and resurrection of the promised Messiah, the Christ whose birth we Christians celebrate at this time of the year.

My Birthday Gift To You

Last Sunday I heard a sermon that touched me deeply. The Pastor spoke about how we all like to compare ourselves to others. They have this, but I don't. They are recognized and praised, but I am not. Or the other way around. I'm so very happy that I have this or that I am better than him. And so forth. Yes, I realized, this is indeed how I am. I'm forever comparing myself to someone else, someone who is better than me, who has what I want and so forth.

At that point he changed gears and asked all of us hearers to turn to Psalm 139.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. ... 

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! - Psa 139:1-2, 11-17 ESV

My LORD Jesus knows everything about me. He knows how my pride-filled heart urges me to be jealous of others or to boast about how wonderful I am in comparison to them. He knows how I love to make myself out to be what I am not or how I beat myself down because I am not applauded as this one or that one is. . . He knows my sin and my sinful nature.

And yet He loves me, forgives me and has formed all these days for me, days in which I may receive His forgiveness and mercy, days in which I may praise and thank Him, days in which I may serve others in His name. He had this all worked out long before I was formed in my mother's womb, when as yet there was not a single day in which I lived.

All this is so precious, so wonderful, so vast. And it comes to me from the living and active Word of God. This is the Word that gets to the very bottom of my being, dividing even my soul from my spirit, just as if I were slicing up a side of beef or pork for a meal. My God discerns every thought and intention in my heart, knows them better than I do. Not a single one of my thoughts is hidden from Him. I stand naked and exposed before Him. . . and yet He loves me. This is what Jesus has come to reveal to me. This is what the Hebrews letter tells me—and you as well (Hebrews 4:12-13).

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. - Hbr 4:14-15 ESV

Jesus, my high priest, understands me. He knows my weakness. He knows how I fall into the temptation to boast one day and then the next fall head-long into the ditch of despair and doubt. He sympathizes with me. He can relate, because He too faced these temptations, along with all other kinds. But He did not sin. Instead He assumed responsibility for my sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Hbr 4:16 ESV 

Because Jesus has identified with me, because He understands what I'm going through, I can draw near to Him unafraid. He is praying for me. He is pleading my case before His Father. He is asking the Father to forgive and bless me—all because of His perfect obedience and His suffering and dying upon the cross for my sake. So He is always there with His undeserved yet complete grace. In my time of need I always have Him.

As I said, I needed to hear that last Sunday. I want you to know about it today. Today is my birth-day. And on this day I want this good news to give you new birth, new life, a new beginning. It is my birthday gift to you—in the name of Jesus.

Terra Nova, The New World To Come

We Christians are inveterate optimists. We believe a better world is coming. I write these words in a week when once again a demented, tortured man entered the DC Navy Yard to murder 12 people. I say once again, because such murders have become too much a part of the news here in the United States, murders of school children, movie theater goers, college students, office workers, train travelers and on and on. And in far away places like the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan the ravages of war leave thousands dead and other thousands of refugees homeless.

I hear the cry both in my own heart and from the mouths of others. "Get me out of here! I want a new world, a better place, a place of peace and prosperity, of hope and happiness, of life without death and fear. Get me out of here!"

Is there such a place? Will there ever be a world where we can start anew?

I sense that longing in the interest viewers have in movies and TV series promising a new world. For a time the sci-fi series Terra Nova — a new land, entertained us. The FOX network series centered on the Shannons, an ordinary family from 2149, who are transported back 85 million years to prehistoric Earth where they join Terra Nova, a colony of humans with a second chance to build a new civilization. The premise is that the world of 2149 was being destroyed by human neglect, greed and selfishness. Using newly discovered time-travel technology selected groups are sent back to the world of millions of years ago to make a new beginning and thus save the human race. But it didn't work, because humans, being human, brought their greed and selfishness with them. The series ended after one season.

Hebrews reflects this longing and offers a much more certain hope of a new beginning, centered firmly on Jesus, God's Son, the One sent to fulfill all of God's promises of a coming new world.

For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, 

"What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet." (Psalm 8:4-6)

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,  

"I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." (Psalm 22:22,25)

And again, "I will put my trust in him." (Psalms 18:2; 36:7-8; 91:2)

And again, "Behold, I and the children God has given me."(Gen. 48:9; Psalm 127:3) 

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. - Hebrews 2:5-15 ESV

Jesus has become one with us. He who is truly a Man and also truly very God of very God, is forever one with us. For a little while He subjected Himself to the hatred of men and the power of the devil. He even endured the suffering of death, "so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

Yet He is the One for whom and by whom all things exist. And now in Him we find mercy, forgiveness and hope. Because He is truly and ever shall be The Son of Man, He is not ashamed to call us who trust in Him His brothers, "the children God has given" Him.

The devil can no longer accuse us. He can no longer threaten us with death. Sure, our bodies will die. They must. They belong to this age, to this current state of affairs. We must be clothed with new bodies, filled with the Spirit and life of God and cleansed from all sin. We look forward to this new world, a real terra nova! It will not be a world brought on or brought back by human ingenuity, politics, technology or some yet-to-be discovered magical power. It will be a world given to us by God's grace, pure, undeserved and yet certain, because it is ours in Christ Jesus, our Brother.

We who have this certain hope are still tempted to doubt it. More on this next time.

God's Kingdom Comes Without Our Prayer

In his Small Catechism's teaching on the Lord's Prayer Martin Luther writes,

The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.

What is the kingdom of God or of heaven? The term occurs in all four Gospels, Acts, Paul's epistles and in the Revelation. Here are the references just in Matthew:

• Matthew 3:2, 4:17, 5:3, 10, 19-20, 6:33, 7:21, 8:11, 10:7, 11:11, 12:28,  13:24,31,33,44-45,47,52, 16:19, 18:3-4,23, 19:12,14,23-24, 20:1-2, 21:31, 21:43, 22:2, 23:13, 25:1. 

Obviously kingdom of God is a primary theme in the New Testament. The foremost meaning of the terms translated as kingdom in both Testaments is the rank, authority and power exercised by a king. The kingdom includes both the realm or territory and  the people who belong to that realm and over whom the king has authority. The principal meaning, however, is always the authority to rule. The king is sovereign. He has the power. 

Satan, as Matthew shows, knew from the outset that Jesus had this power. This is why he attacked Jesus in the wilderness. 

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." 

Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" - Mat 4:8-10 ESV

Satan laid claim to the kingdoms of the world. Despite his rebellion, he is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), blindly worshipped by the people of the world and under his control. Jesus came to de-throne this false god. Satan's demons know about this. When Jesus drove them out of the two Gadarenes the demons cried,

"What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" - Mat 8:29 ESV

The demons shudder in fear. The King has come; judgment awaits (James 2:19; Jude 1:6).

On some level the unbelieving people of the world also know this. Notice the constant mockery of our LORD's name by them. Listen as they cry out or curse, "God damn you! Jesus Christ!" Even in this back-handed way they are acknowledging His authority and power. The King has come. He has arrived to set His people free. And this is all His doing. As Luther said, "The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer."

The point Luther made was that none of us are able to usher in the kingdom. The initiative was and remains God's doing. As John so beautifully teaches us,

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - Jhn 3:16 ESV

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ... We love because he first loved us. - 1Jo 4:9-10, 19 ESV

If this is all God's doing through His only Son, why pray, "Your kingdom come?" We'll look at that tomorrow as we consider in more detail how the kingdom comes and how the king continues his gracious rule in our lives.

Chief of Sinners Though I Be

Brother Tim,

One more thought before I end this week's correspondence . . .

In 1967 I enrolled in Chicago Theological Seminary's first Doctor of Religion class (now Doctor of Ministry), along with 15 other clergy of various denominations. It was a brand new and quite innovative program. I was the only Lutheran. The program I chose led to a doctorate in pastoral counseling. It began with a very intensive summer of training in hospital chaplaincy. Half of each day was spent visiting patients in The University of Chicago Hospital. I was assigned to the "dirty-gyn" ward (gynecology patients with cancer). The other half of the day we chaplains-in-training attended lectures and participated in a group where we made a verbatim, word for word report on the visits we made on patients in our assigned ward. Each one of us had his turn in the hot spot. During that time all the others in the group had opportunity to focus on the one whose report was being reviewed. What a frightening experience!

The questions came at you something like this.

You said what?! Why did you say that? She made you feel quite uncomfortable, didn't she? What were you feeling when you said that? Were you feeling anger? Did you realize what you were really saying? 

The approach was to get us to be in touch with our feelings and, in turn, to what was going on down deep inside. I have a very distinct memory of not knowing what they meant when they asked, "How did that feel?" I really didn't know how I felt. It was a brand new and most unsettling experience for me to take a look at what feelings, fears, doubts, anxieties, desires and all sorts of other feelings lurked below. I know now what my teachers were aiming for, but at the time I would walk away feeling attacked, despised, helpless, alone and incapable. On the weekends my wife was my sounding board. She told me that she had to work hard to "put me back together again" in preparation for another week of that training.

In one sense that summer was a law-Gospel experience that helped me to understand what the Apostle was getting at when he wrote these words in his first letter to his young apprentice.

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. - 1Tim 1:12-17 ESV

During those weeks I too came to realize what Paul was getting at when he was forced to take a deep and hard look at himself. His conclusion: I am chief or sinners! During the summer several of the women on the "dirty-gyn" ward left this life. They had to stand before their Maker. Did I have a message of mercy for them? For that matter, did I have a message of mercy and forgiveness for myself? Did I really believe in "the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus"? Did I truly know of the strength that comes only from Him?

Tim, I am convinced that we who are called to the pastoral ministry have nothing to share if we do not first know about that grace as it applies to us personally. I urge you to open your heart to the good and proper work of God's law. Learn from it what we all must. We are all by nature sinful and unclean. But learn also then to flee to Christ and the Gospel He has entrusted to us. In the years following that summer I have come to appreciate again and again the words of William McComb's hymn. I commend them to you as well.

Chief of sinners though I be,
Jesus shed His blood for me;
Died that I might live on high,
Died that I might never die;
As the branch is to the vine,
I am His, and He is mine.

O the height of Jesus’ love!
Higher than the heaven above,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lasting as eternity;
Love that found me—wondrous thought!
Found me when I sought Him not!

Chief of sinners though I be,
Christ is all in all to me;
All my wants to Him are known,
All my sorrows are His own;
Safe with Him from earthly strife,
He sustains the hidden life.

O my Savior, help afford
By Your Spirit and Your Word!
When my wayward heart would stray,
Keep me in the narrow way;
Grace in time of need supply
While I live and when I die.

The Spirit Blows Where He Will

For these past two weeks I've posted studies on spiritual gifts, based upon Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4. Today I'd like to pull these studies together with a brief summary. This is, of course, only a small part of what could be said about this important part of life in the Christian community.

In speaking about spiritual gifts it is easy to overlook what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit and the work of the Spirit. It is easier to focus upon the recipients of the Spirit's gifts by fashioning various inventories and questionnaires so that the congregation can help members identify their gifts, put these members to work in order to grow in numbers and influence. Nowhere in any of the four texts examined are there any instructions given by the Apostles to carry on such a practice. Why not?

The answer to that question is found in the very nature of these inventories. Members are encouraged to look internally at their own experiences and feelings. Here are some questions from one such spiritual gifts discovery tool I found online:

1. I am successful at getting a group to do its work joyfully. 
2. I enjoy making something that is artistically appealing.
3. I can readily sense when someone is promoting God’s purposes or their own personal agenda.
4. I look for occasions to share what Jesus means to me with unchurched friends and neighbors.
5. I welcome opportunities to minister to people who need comfort, consolation, encouragement, and counseling.
6. I see life as an adventure and am not afraid to take risks if it moves God's work forward.
7. I have a real hunger for seeing others spending time together in the Word and in prayer.
8. Without hesitation, I give generously and freely to worthwhile projects and ministries.
9. I count it a privilege to relieve someone in a responsible position of some small task, so that they may attend to more important things.
10. I truly feel that the needs and well-being of others are more important than my own.

Note the emphasis upon 'I' this and 'I' that. I am successful, I enjoy, I sense, I look, I welcome, I see, I have a real hunger, I give, I count it a privilege, I truly feel, etc. Such an emphasis leads us away from the Word of God and from the Spirit speaking directly to our hearts from that Word. Instead we are encouraged to focus upon my experiences, my feelings, my viewpoints, my giving, my senses, etc.

Further, in the discussions of spiritual gifts, we are told that these are different from creaturely or natural gifts. So we are led to believe that the Holy Spirit only wants us to focus upon our spiritual gifts, for these are not the same as our natural gifts. So some would point out that a reborn and truly spiritual Christian will always speak in tongues. In this way, there are two types of Christians, e.g. believers and Spirit filled or born again believers. In that connection it is important to note that in those Scripture verses that speak about disciples being filled with the Spirit nothing is said to indicate that this filling is a permanent and continued gift. In other words, we do not own or control the Spirit. He blows when and where He will (Acts 2:4, 4:8,31; John 3:8). 

Above all the Scripture teaches that everything is by God's grace. The Spirit working in God's Word teaches that everything comes down from the Father as God's wondrous and unmerited gift. Our whole lives, our bodies, our personalities, our intellectual abilities, our artistic talents, our athletic skills, our powers of perception—everything we have and are has been redeemed by Christ and given to us. As Paul says,

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? - 1 Cor 4:7 ESV

 All this we offer back to God in praise and worship as a living sacrifice. 

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. - Rom. 12:1 NLT

What the Spirit also teaches is that not only are we redeemed by Christ, we are members of his body. We are part of that community, that wondrous and varied body of believers in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. Speaking to the entire community in Corinth, Paul writes 

Do you not know that you (plural) are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? - 1 Cor 3:16 ESV

 So it is that we are the temple of God and the body of Christ and individually members one of the other. Each is important and each is God's gift to the other. So God intends that each of us is a gift to the other members of the body. Our unique personalities, experiences, gifts, abilities, talents and vocations are gifts of God through which God blesses others. Thus if I am a father, I have the calling to care for my children and to bless them through the uniqueness of who I am. If I am called to be a pastor-teacher, I have the opportunity and responsibility to bless the flock over which I am assigned with the teaching and application of God's Word. If I am a musician, I shall bless others with my music. So Paul writes,

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. - 1 Cor 12:4-7 ESV

It may be that spiritual gifts inventories could be used to help Christians discover their gifts. The cautions listed above are most important however. At most such inventories must be seen as tools toward the end of helping one another to give as they have received. Pride, discouragement and fear always lurk in our hearts because of sin. The Apostles speak to this as they emphasize in all these matters that we live by grace. It is in the Gospel and the forgiveness of sins for the sake of Christ that we find our life, our joy and our strength, never in the gifts we have or do not have.

There Are Prophets And Then There Are Prophets

In my last post we looked at the Bible's warnings about turning to mediums and psychics who predict the future and claim the ability to contact the dead. You may note that I did not deny their existence or their ability to deceive, especially since they are undoubtedly guided by what the Apostle John calls the spirit of the antichrist. That spirit is under the control of the prince of this world, the great deceiver, Satan (Luke 11:15-19; John 8:44; 12:31; Eph. 2:2).

You will also note that I listed a number of the members of God's kingdom with psychic abilities, from Jacob to the Apostle John. I called them psychic, not because they are "natural born" with such abilities, but because they were chosen by the LORD God to receive revelations in dreams and visions.We must, however, do some further sorting out, especially since the matter of the gift of prophecy has become a source of confusion and contention among us Christians. To help us in this matter I turn to the Apostle Paul's discussion in his first letter to the Corinthians.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. - 1Cor 12:1-11 ESV

What does the Apostle refer to as he speaks about varieties of gifts, of service and of activities (vv. 4-6)?   The word for gift (charisma in Greek) means nothing more or less than simply gift. It does not refer to the so-called charismatic movement, often pushed today in various discussions of spiritual gifts. It is often used in a quite non-charismatic manner, for example, in the following:

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. - Rom 5:15 ESV  

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Rom 6:23 ESV 

I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. - 1Cor 7:7-8 ESV 

. . . you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift [granted] to us through many. - 2Cor 1:11 NKJV

 As the Apostle emphasizes in Romans 5:15, everything is given as God's gift, unearned, undeserved and unmerited. And gifts are just that, free. That's what grace (charis in Greek) means. Beginning with the salvation that Jesus Christ won upon the cross, God pours out His grace, enabling believers to acknowledge that Jesus is LORD (YHWH of the OT), Emmanuel, God with us. This is the working of the Holy Spirit who creates and empowers such faith.

That same Spirit gives to God's people a wide variety of gifts, abilities or ways of serving and diverse activities or powers. In many ways the Spirit is always manifested or revealed for the good of every member of the Body of Christ. So NT records the Spirit giving revelations or visions to certain men and women, also called prophets in the NT, as they were in the OT.

Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). - Acts 11:27-28 ESV  

While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'" - Acts 21:10-11 ESV

 These prophets differ from the Apostles and those who inherited the apostolic office from the original Apostles. The revelations of these prophets were sporadic, specific to the situation and for a particular time. This is also why Paul emphasizes the need for another gift, namely the ability to distinguish, sort out and discern whether these prophets are truly guided by the Holy Spirit or by another spirit not from God, for there were and always will be false prophets (Acts 13:6; Titus 1:12; Rev. 16:13, etc.).

I leave open the question of whether such prophets still exist within the Body of Christ. Does God still speak to certain people in dreams and visions, revealing specifics about what is to happen to certain persons or even to entire nations? Perhaps. None of us may tell the LORD what He can and cannot do. However!! in all of this we need those with gifts to discern and distinguish between what is from the Holy Spirit and what is from the spirit of the anti-Christ as John urges (1 John 4:1-3).

At another time I will carry on with this discussion about gifts and the so-called charismatic movement.

There Is But One Baptism

As noted earlier, the more we ponder John's Gospel the deeper gets the water. In previous postings on Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, the Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin (John 3:1-17), we learned about the work of the Spirit in the water of baptism, a word Christians borrowed from the Greek. Jesus’ incarnation is a type of baptism. Just as the Word (logos in Greek) ‘became flesh and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14), so in Christian Baptism the Spirit becomes water and dwells among the community of believers. Martin Luther explains this in his Catechism:

Water doesn't make these things happen, of course. It is God's Word, which is with and in the water. Because, without God's Word, the water is plain water and not baptism. But with God's Word it is a Baptism, a grace-filled water of life, a bath of new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul said to Titus in the third chapter :

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people." - Titus 3:4-8 ESV

Here's what Jesus Himself says about His baptism when James and John asked for permission to wield power in Jesus' kingdom by sitting or exercising His authority from his right and left hands:

Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" And they said to him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." - Mar 10:38-40 ESV

Indeed all Christians acknowledge that they share in Jesus' baptism, for there is but one baptism, namely the baptism of Jesus. Paul reviews this in his letter to the Ephesians as he urges his readers to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace:

There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. - Eph 4:4-6 ESV

This bath of new birth in the Holy Spirit that Jesus and His apostles write about, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit that creates a new life within, is a creative act of God's Spirit, an act that unites us to Jesus and His baptism. Over and over the Apostles write about and teach this mystery.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. -1Cor 12:12-13 ESV 

. . . in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Gal 3:26-28 ESV

And what is Jesus' baptism that brings rebirth? It is His incarnation, His union with all mankind as truly a man, born of Mary. And why this union? As the ancient prophets foretold, to carry our burdens and bear our guilt, to be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Isa. 53:4-12). On the cross of Calvary He completed that work. So John records Him saying from the cross,

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. - Jhn 19:30 ESV

In the water of Baptism the Holy Spirit speaks God's Word of completion. The work of salvation, the task of gaining forgiveness for all men's sins is finished, come to an end, concluded, fulfilled and wrapped up. Jesus has joined Himself to us and to all mankind. He has made the punishment we deserve for our sins His own. Now the Holy Spirit announces to us in our baptism that we have both died with Christ and risen with Him to new life. Paul summarizes this:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. - Rom 6:3-5 ESV

All baptized in the Name of the LORD (Psalm 148:13, Phil. 2:9), the Name shared by every person of the Trinity, the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—all share in the life of Christ, the life that cannot end. They will, therefore, certainly share in Jesus' resurrection.

Having said this, I acknowledge that we are now swimming in rather deep water. The water will get even deeper as we discuss the gifts of the Holy Spirit and untangle the confusion about so-called water baptism versus Spirit baptism, etc. But that must wait for another time.

Defining Faith

In the past two posts I have invited you to struggle alongside Thomas the Apostle. I stated that doubting is actually part of the process of arriving at a mature faith. Remember the quote from Barclay?

To believe in Jesus Christ is not simply to accept what he says as true; it is to commit ourselves into his hands, for time and for eternity.

But, having said that, I've not emphasized the fact that the Holy Spirit teaches that faith itself is always God's gift to us. Here is what the Apostle Paul writes.

But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. - Rom 10:8-17 ESV

Note the emphasis upon the word, the word of faith, the Scripture, preaching, good news, gospel, the word of Christ. 

Paul is talking about righteousness, the righteousness of God. To be righteous is to be like God, to live, think and act in full accord with Him and His commands. Who lives like that? Who can? Nobody.  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So what hope does Paul offer?

. . . all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. - Rom 3:23-26 ESV

He's talking about God's righteousness again. God demonstrates or shows His righteousness in a most peculiar manner. Instead of condemning us sinners, He sent Christ Jesus, His Son, into the world. He put forward His Son as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. Wait, what's that all about? We need to return to the Old Testament and the Old Covenant Tabernacle or later the Temple. The Greek translation of the Hebrew (The Septuagint) has the word Paul uses here in Exodus 25. The word is hilasteyrion. This is the word for the cover or mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Covenant.

You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. - Exd 25:17-18 ESV

The Ark was kept in the most sacred part of the temple, the Holy of holies. No one other than the high priest was ever allowed in that room. And he entered it but one time each year on the Day of Atonement. On that most sacred day the High Priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrificed bull and goat on the mercy seat or atonement plate. The writer to the Hebrews explains how this relates to the sacrificial death of Christ. He tells us that Christ offered himself and his blood once and for all to "purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:11-15). He thus became the propitiation or hilasteyrion that Paul writes about in Romans 3.

This is the Good News, the Gospel, the Word of Christ. As this Word is proclaimed, preached and taught God does what He always has. He creates. In our case He creates faith in our hearts. As Paul said, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).

This is why the church has always emphasized the grace of God, that free and undeserved mercy and forgiveness God gives to us in Christ Jesus. This is why we stress the truth that we are saved from judgment and declared righteous in God's eyes by virtue of His grace. We receive and welcome this good news in our hearts by putting our trust and hope in Jesus Christ. This is why we stress that we are saved by faith. This is the message of the Scriptures from one end to the other. This is why we stress that we have no other source and authority for the message, the good news, other than Scripture alone.

Salvation for Special-Needs Children

Life With Trig: Sarah Palin on Raising a Special-Needs Child - The Daily Beast:

When I discovered early in my pregnancy that my baby would be born with an extra chromosome, the diagnosis of Down syndrome frightened me so much that I dared not discuss my pregnancy for many months. All I could seem to muster was a calling out to God to prepare my heart for what was ahead. My prayers were answered beyond my shallow understanding of what true joy could be. Yes, raising a child with special needs is a unique challenge, and there’s still fear about my son Trig’s future because of health and social challenges; and certainly some days are much more difficult than if I had a “normal” child.

My parents didn't have a special-needs child, but I grew up with one such in our home. His name was Eddie. He was a teenager when he came to our farm to work for my Dad. He could read at about the third grade level. In a sense, he was always my little brother. He was a ward of the state and remained as my parents' ward until he died in his middle fifties.

Eddie is the source for Orville, one of my favorite characters in the three novels I've written. I touched on this in an earlier Blog: Caring For Mentally Challenged People. You can also read there a brief article about mental retardation and Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services, now known as Bethesda Lutheran Communities.

In searching for what others have written about the mentally retarded—better 'special-needs'—I came across a most tragic answer to a parent's question about her 20-year old son, with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy with cortical blindness, epilepsy and mental retardation. Since he is cognitively less than a year old, she worries he cannot make a decision for Jesus. So she asks, "Will he go to be with the Lord forever?"

The author responds, "Perhaps one of the most damaging doctrines to parents is the one that says children are sinful from birth. The scriptures seem to teach otherwise."

He continues,

Our sons (the author also has a mentally retarded child of 26 years), incapable of understanding right from wrong, are not guilty of sin, and will not be excluded from heaven. Someone once phrased it that they are "not saved, but safe" . . .You do not need to say the 'sinner's prayer' for Elijah (her son). If he needed salvation, which he does not, it would have to be his own decision; you couldn't do it for him. 

How sad. What an incomplete and non-biblical answer to a very critical question. This is the blind alley down which one must go if you are caught up in a theology that makes salvation in Jesus dependent upon your decision!

What will you do with Bible verses like the following?

For God shows no partiality. For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. - Rom 2:11-12 ESV

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. - Ecc 7:20 ESV

I suppose you might say, as did the author quoted above, that the challenged are not men, that they are not capable of making decisions to sin. But you still have the problem with other teachings such as,

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. - Psa 51:5 ESV 

The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. - Psa 58:3 ESV  

Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. - Jhn 3:5-6 ESV

All the fears and doubts about our mentally challenged, special needs children go away when you understand that salvation is a pure gift of God's grace. It does not and it never has needed anyone's decision, be they young, old, brilliant, retarded, challenged, difficult or anything else. The Apostle, following our Lord's comments above to Nicodemus, writes,

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Eph 2:8-9 ESV

That includes, by the way, the work of making a decision. The challenged share their parents' sinful nature, as do we all. We cannot be separated one from the other. We are all children of Adam and Eve. By Adam's sin we all died (1 Cor. 15:22). But the blessed good news is that in Christ we shall all be made alive. In truth, all who are buried with Christ in baptism already share in His life. When the waters of Holy Baptism are poured upon us we have His Word that He has taken us with Him into death and from death to life. If this is so, then we, including the special-needs, will certainly be united with him in his resurrection (Romans 6:3-5).

If you are a Christian, born anew by the power and blessing of the Holy Spirit, and are troubled about your retarded or special-needs child's salvation, fear no longer. Bring her or him to the waters of Holy Baptism. Let Jesus speak to you and to your child the comforting words of the Gospel. Listen as Jesus joins your child to His baptism. There are not many, many baptisms! There is no such thing as making a decision to be baptized! There is but one baptism, the baptism of Jesus.

There is but one Lord, one Faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. - Eph 4:5-6 ESV 

And rejoice. You and your baptized child will be with Jesus forever. You have His Word! 

 

No Marriages In Heaven

In my last post I spoke about a trip we we were about to make and about the transiency of life. Our journey is over now. We are back home. We have completed our visit to a family reunion in Illinois. While there, I spoke with several widows. One of them commented that she still misses her husband greatly and is sad that the two of them will not be husband and wife in heaven. That, at least, is what she understands our Lord Jesus to have said, as recorded by the Gospel of Matthew.

The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.'

Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her."

But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." (Matthew 22:23-30)

Jesus pointed the Sadducees to the Scriptures and the power of God. What Scriptures? Where is it written that men and women "neither marry nor are given in marriage" in the resurrection? Since the Sadducees looked primarily to the Torah or the five books of Moses as the Scriptural source of God's commands, it is best to move there. What does the Torah teach about marriage? We look to the very beginning of Creation and Genesis 2 where we read,

The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:20-25).

The Apostle Paul interprets this passage as he discusses the relationship between a husband and wife.

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."

This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:18-33)

 Paul speaks about a great mystery. The mystery revealed through the Apostles is that God is a God of grace. His forgiveness and mercy have been revealed in Christ, mercy that extends to all mankind (Ephesians 3:6). It is grace, a gift. It cannot be earned. All mankind, all races, all genders, everyone is to be one flesh, one body in Christ. This has been God's eternal purpose from the beginning (Ephesians 3:9-11).

Even now in this present age Christian marriage reflects that plan. Wives reflect it by submitting to their husbands in everything just as the church submits to Christ. The word we translate as "submit" has obviously been a stumbling block for many wives. "In everything?" I've heard them ask. "You've got to be kidding."

The point is this: "the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior." What does that mean? Simply this. The body depends upon the head to nourish and cherish it. Eyes, ears, nose, mouth and brain are all located in the head. Cut off the head and the body dies. The head sees, hears, smells and tastes. This information is forwarded to the brain where it is interpreted. The mouth receives food and drink, tastes and swallows it. The body then receives it, absorbs it and is nourished and strengthened.

In the same manner, we are totally dependent upon Christ. We who are His body are utterly, totally and completely dependent upon His grace—all of us, regardless of age, size, race, culture or sex. This is why we respond in faith by exercising our wills, openly submitting, yielding to and obeying Jesus Christ as our Lord and God. We do it out of phobos, a Greek word often translated as "fear", a translation that needs to be expanded. It is more than "reverence" for Christ.  Fear of God in Christ has its roots in the O.T. It speaks of total awe, wonder, terror, dread, reverence, and respect for a perfectly holy, righteous, and just Creator. 


So all of us, male and female, willingly submit, subject and yield ourselves to the other members of the body out of phobos for Christ. We stand in wonder, awe, reverence, and the deepest respect before Him. He is our Head, Savior, Master, Redeemer and Lord. We respond to His grace by submitting ourselves to one another. 


In marriage this means that we husbands submit, subject and yield ourselves to our wives, acting as their heads. We nourish guide, protect and provide for our wives, all because we believe this is what Jesus, our Head, does for us. 


A Christian wife believes the same thing. Out of reverence (phobos) for Christ, she respects, subjects and yields herself to her husband. Paul actually uses the verb form of phobos when he speaks of this respect. His point is that the believing wife treats her husband as if  he were Christ. She shows her love for Jesus by this kind of respect for her husband. 


So where is all this going? Simply here. In the resurrection the mystery will be completed. In the new creation all of us will joyfully and willingly have only Jesus as our LORD and God. We will completely love, honor and serve Him and in so doing we will honor His Father (John 14:9-14). Marriage in this age is a type of Christ's union with His body, the church, His bride. He came to earth to unite us to Himself. We are made to be one with Him, His flesh and bone, but were are separated from Him by our sinful nature (Pss. 51:5; 58:3). We have now come with Him from the "deep sleep" of His death into a new life of oneness with Him. We are bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. And when He returns the wonder of that gift will be fully realized. 


We have here but a glimpse of what that fullness will mean. On that day we will be like the angels, ever rejoicing together in His presence and power forever. We will certainly know one another in heaven. We will not miss our marriages nor pine away for their loss as do some widows in this age. Something more wondrous awaits us all, as we are bonded to our heavenly Husband and His Father and to one another in ways never before possible, even in marriage. 

I'll Do It My Way!

During this Lenten season I am proclaiming God's Word at a small congregation of Lutherans in an area village. Today I invite you to join me as I work on that meditation. The series of sermons I'm developing is based upon the temptations of Jesus by the 'god of this world,' the devil, as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11. This week we'll focus on the first lie of the tempter, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."

Note that our Lord spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness. This points back to the 40 days and nights Moses originally spent on the mountain when he wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone (Exodus 24:12-18). The people of Israel rebelled against the Lord while he was up there, forcing Aaron to create a calf of gold, an idol they began to worship as the god who had delivered them from slavery. The LORD was so angry He wanted to destroy them all, including Moses' brother Aaron. But Moses returned to the mountain to pray for these stubborn, stiff-necked people for 40 days and nights (Deut.9:8-29). Now Jesus has just completed 40 days of fasting and prayer for all of mankind, including you and me.

Jesus is the LORD of the Covenant who has come among us to pray for us and to give battle to the tempter. The devil tempted Jesus in the same manner he tempted Israel when the LORD brought them out of bondage and slavery in Egypt. No sooner had they escaped than they began to complain, "Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger" (Exodus 16:3). That was when the LORD, in His abundant grace and forgiveness, covered the camp with quail and began to give them their strange daily bread they called Manna—which means, "What is it?"(Exodus 16:4-36).

I find the adjective 'stiff-necked' to be an apt description of us all. It originally referred to an ox or a donkey that would not yield to the directions of its driver. The animal that insisted on going its own way would stiffen his neck. So do we all. Should the LORD test our faith by causing us any difficulties, we are inclined to stiffen our necks. This is not my way of doing things. Why has God brought these problems into my life? It isn't fair. It's not right.

And yet the LORD gives us our daily bread and provides us abundantly with all we need for this body and this life, even though we grumble, complain and gripe about what we do not have. In his explanation of the Lord's prayer petition, "Give us this day our daily bread," Dr. Luther urges us to receive this bread with thanksgiving and praise. We do not deserve it—in the least since we are stiff-necked sinners to the core. And yet He gives us spouses, homes, family, children, parents, work to do, good government and a land filled with blessings.

Back to the temptation, "If you are the Son of God . . . "

Jesus had been baptized in the Jordan and the Spirit had descended upon Him. The Father had spoken from heaven to declare, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." But now comes the tempter to plant doubts in Jesus' heart. After all, He had not eaten in 40 days and He was hungry, to say the very least. Why should He hunger any longer? He was, after all, the Son of God and that must imply that He had the power to turn stones into bread. So get on with it, Jesus. Do it. Carpe diem, seize the day. You have within you the power. Do what you need and want. I'm reminded of Frank Sinatra's famous song, "My Way."

And now, the end is near, 

And so I face the final curtain. 

My friends, I'll say it clear; 

I'll state my case of which I'm certain. 

I've lived a life that's full - 

I've travelled each and every highway. 

And more, much more than this, 

I did it my way. 

Regrets? I've had a few, 

But then again, too few to mention. 

I did what I had to do 

And saw it through without exemption. 

I planned each charted course - 

Each careful step along the byway, 

And more, much more than this, 

I did it my way. 

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew, 

When I bit off more than I could chew, 

But through it all, when there was doubt, 

I ate it up and spit it out. 

I faced it all and I stood tall 

And did it my way. 

I've loved, I've laughed and cried, 

I've had my fill - my share of losing. 

But now, as tears subside, 

I find it all so amusing. 

To think I did all that, 

And may I say, not in a shy way - 

Oh no. Oh no, not me. 

I did it my way. 

For what is a man? What has he got? 

If not himself - Then he has naught. 

To say the things he truly feels 

And not the words of one who kneels. 

The record shows I took the blows 

And did it my way. 

Yes, it was my way. 

LORD Jesus, in our baptism you have taken us into Your death and out of death into Your life. Truly, we are Your children by Your undeserved grace and mercy. So Lord, teach us humility and give us the power of Your Spirit. Help us, we pray, to humble ourselves before You and accept with praise and thanksgiving all the You give us, even those times when You allow our faith in You to be tested. In the moment of trials and temptations teach us to pray as did you, "Not my will, but Yours be done." For we have learned from Your most holy Word that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from Your mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3).

Peace and Fingers

We worship in a liturgical church. Among many other things, that means that we take the time to touch, sometimes hug and greet one another. However, we don't do it in an off-handed or casual manner. Rather, there is a set time in our worship service when everyone present is invited to turn to his/her neighbor and speak the blessing of peace. And we take peace quite seriously, even if not all of us understand the implications of what we are saying.

Peace is a very interesting Bible word. The Apostle speaks his prayer for peace at the beginning of his first letter to the Corinthians as he writes, " Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." A word or two about peace in that context.

First, peace is so much more than the cessation of war. Many articles about warring nations begin with a comment about the search for peace. For instance, we often read, "The search for peace in the Middle East dates back to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948." The assumption is that peace can be found by stopping the fighting and building some type of economic ties between Israelies and Palestinians. Peace in the Bible means so very much more than that.

Of course it refers to the cessation of war between nations, but it also refers to concord and harmony between nations, communities and individuals. How vital, for instance, it is for us to be at peace in our marriages and how difficult it can be to bring about this type of reconciliation. I'm thinking this may be one of the reasons why the Holy Spirit ties grace with peace in the greeting.

Grace refers to the undeserved and unmerited mercy of God offered in the work and life of Jesus Christ. Paul writes to the Ephesians, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast" (2:8,9). And then he goes on to say that Jesus himself is our peace, who has made both Jew and Gentile one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. No room for boasting when you are saved by grace.

In my years of working with couples and families to restore peace and harmony in their homes I soon discovered that little progress could be made until all stopped boasting and accusing to acknowledge the need for undeserved forgiveness and grace. When all parties acknowledged their faults and contributions to the conflict we began to make progress. We began to move toward peace, especially when the couple or the family members accepted the fact that we are all beggars in the eyes of God and by faith all receivers of forgiveness and mercy in Jesus Christ.

That's at least one meaning of the greeting of peace in our worship services.

If you are looking for reconciliation in your personal relationships, start with taking a good, hard look at yourself. To quote an old canard, "There are always three fingers pointing back when you point your one finger at another." Then accept God's grace, given in spite of the fingers pointing at you and begin anew.

The Most Normal And Useful Thing

My goodness! Has it actually been a month? And do I have any excuse for neglecting my Blog? 

I think so. How about a quadruple heart-bypass! I thank my God that my heart was strong and I did not have any damage prior to the operation. My docs tell me my recovery should be quite successful and six weeks after the operation I will dive into the physical rehab side of it. Even now I am walking a couple blocks each day and moving about, very slowly of course. 

I am finally finding enough strength to return to my computer and start thinking about something other than how nauseated I felt. But you don't need to hear about all that. 

What struck me moments before I was unconsciously wheeled into the operation room was what my surgeon, Dr. Mark Mettauer, did. He took hold of the hand of his anesthesiologist and she the hand of my daughter and so on. As they all stood around me holding hands Dr. Mark offered a prayer, humbly asking our Lord's blessing upon him, upon those who worked with him, upon my recovery and upon our family. It was the last thing I really remember until I awoke in the recovery room. 

To date, his prayer and that of many, many others, has been answered. 

What a wondrous truth is ours. Our Father in heaven hears our prayers offered in the name of Christ. I take great comfort in that truth and wait for His continued guidance and renewed strength in my recovery. 

I like what Oswald Chambers wrote long ago when he said, 

"The grace you had yesterday will not be sufficient for today. Grace is the overflowing favor of God, and you can always count on it being available to draw upon as needed. ". . . in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses"— that is where our patience is tested ( 2 Corinthians 6:4 ). 

"Are you failing to rely on the grace of God there? Are you saying to yourself, "Oh well, I won’t count this time"? It is not a question of praying and asking God to help you— it is taking the grace of God now. We tend to make prayer the preparation for our service, yet it is never that in the Bible. Prayer is the practice of drawing on the grace of God. Don’t say, "I will endure this until I can get away and pray." Pray now — draw on the grace of God in your moment of need. Prayer is the most normal and useful thing; it is not simply a reflex action of your devotion to God. We are very slow to learn to draw on God’s grace through prayer."

My days are filled with this most normal and useful thing. May yours be as well. 

Stupid But Still Loved

"Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed." - From The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

One of the newsletters to which I subscribe recently listed some of the stupid things public figures have been caught saying. Curious, I thought there must be a website listing that kind of stuff. There is, no there are thousands. Samples:

"The people in the Navy look on motherhood as being compatible with being a woman."
-Rear Admiral James R. Hogg

"Those who survived the San Francisco earthquake said, 'Thank God, I'm still alive.' But, of course, those who died, their lives will never be the same again."
-- Sen. Barbara Boxer, (D, Calif.)

"You can't just let nature run wild."
-- Wally Hickel, former governor of Alaska

And of course there are whole sites with President Bushisms, like:

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

The same for former VP Al Gore: "When my sister and I were growing up," Mr. Gore told a small audience made up mostly of women, "there was never any doubt in our minds that men and women were equal, if not more so." (Source: NY Times, 08/12/00)

And so it goes.

Then I listened to a Lutheran Hour sermon podcast about this misquote from the Bible: "The love of money is the root of all evil." That got me thinking about how many sayings supposedly in the Bible there are. Here's a short list:

*Pride goes before a fall.
*Cleanliness is next to godliness.
*Adam and Eve ate from an apple.
*All things work out for the best
*God helps them who help themselves.
*Do unto others before they do it unto you.
*Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

It gets worse when people start using the Bible to try be funny. Samples:

Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah. He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.

Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.

Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he got married?
A. Ruth-less.

Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.

Q. Where is the first baseball game in the Bible?
A. In the big inning, Eve stole first, Adam stole second. Cain struck out Abel, and the Prodigal Son came home. The Giants and the Angels were rained out.

Q. What is one of the first things that Adam and Eve did after they were kicked out?
A. They really raised Cain.

Q. The ark was built in 3 stories, and the top story had a window to let light in, but how did they get light to the bottom 2 stories?
A. They used floodlights.

If you're still reading, please forgive me. I'm only trying to make a point. We all do stupid things, say stupid things, sometimes misquote the Bible and talk out of turn. What does that make us? Human.

Here's what the Bible says about stupid humans:

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1

"So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly." Ecclesiastes 7:25

"Even as he walks along the road, the fool lacks sense and shows everyone how stupid he is." Ecclesiastes 10:3

"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels." 2 Timothy 2:23

The wonder of Christmas is that our eternal, all-knowing, perfect God chose to become human with us. We join shepherds to worship the Child, Jesus, the God-Man. Here's another real quote from the Bible:

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth," John 1:14.