Song in my heart this July

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way;
When sorrows, like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

He lives–oh, the bliss of this glorious thought;
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And, Lord, haste the day when our faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trumpet shall sound and the Lord shall descend;
Even so it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

-Ho­ra­tio G. Spaf­ford, 1873

simul iustus et peccator

I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

--Romans 7:15-8:2 The Message

Some days are just like that, aren't they?

Mother's Day

My mom has been gone a year tomorrow. I miss her.

It was a bittersweet Mother's Day.

I've been reflecting on all of the things I learned from her. And thinking of what a good example she was of sacrifice, resilience and faith.

What I learned from my mom that is especially important in my life right now is stability. The constancy and reliability of character that is so necessary in a family. And so difficult sometimes.

Being there. With a hug. A word of encouragement. Or just conversation.

24-7-365.

That's the kind of mom she was and that is the kind of mom I hope to be.

Holy Thursday: The Elements

This past Holy Week I attended a Passover Seder put on by a Messianic congregation. It was amazing! I learned soooo much. These are just some of the random things I've been thinking about....

Above is a Passover Seder plate. Note the egg (beitzah) in the 10 o'clock position.

From Ask Moses.org:We place an egg on the Seder Plate to commemorate the Chagiga sacrifice (holiday offering,) which was offered in the Holy Temple on the 14th of Nissan, and eaten during the Seder, along with the Paschal Offering...In addition to its role on the Seder plate the egg serves another purpose at the Seder. Before the beginning of Shluchan Oreich, the meal part of the Seder, we eat the egg...because an egg also represents our mourning of the destruction of the Holy Temple...The egg is eaten as an appetizer before the meal...and is traditionally dipped into salt water before being eaten.

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

Matzah - Unleavened bread. The Passover Seder is part of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Matzah looks a lot like a cracker. It has holes & stripes. Three matzah are set apart on the seder table. The middle matzah, which symbolizes the Paschal Lamb (or Isaac), is called the afrikomen (that which is coming). It is broken and hidden until the end of the meal. After the meal, the afrikomen is found and passed around the table and all participants break off a piece. After saying the blessing over the bread, it is consumed.

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

The blessing over the cup is recited and the third cup wine in the seder is consumed. This third cup of wine is known as the "cup of blessing" or "cup of redemption".

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

Attacks on Catholic Christians. Sad & Sadder.

Last weekend: --A fire is started under a 75-year-old man's statue of Jesus in his backyard prayer garden in St. Paul. --In Lakeville, a man walks into a church during mass and pours urine on the altar and Book of Gospels. I'm not accustomed to this type of overt, threatening, physical persecution and I don't want to be. This shouldn't be run-of-the-mill stuff in the Upper Midwest. It is sad that these atrocities took place. And sadder how unconcerned secular society is.

More Counterfeit Christianity!!

The very same week I published the example of Counterfeit Christianity from Family Time Radio, I received an Anointed Unusual Bible Faith Church Prayer Rug from St. Matthews Churches. This scam is well-documented on the Internet. The "rug" is a piece of paper about the size and weight of a paper place mat. I'm suppose to kneel on it and pray for something I need then send it back to the church along with a letter telling them my name and address and asking them to pray for me. Will they pray for me? I don't know. Will they prey on me? Definitely.

There are five pieces in the envelope - an instructional letter, the prayer rug, a special prophecy, success stories, and a return envelope. The only Gospel message is on the back of the prophecy sheet. It says, "Due to Christ's death on the cross and His resurrection, we all who are redeemed can gain eternal life. Christ died on the cross for our sins (St. John 3:16)." What I find most disturbing about the mailing is the trinket I'll receive if I return the letter and rug with my prayer request: a Deuteronomy 8:18 Prosperity Cross. (Deut. 8:18: "You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.")

The "prosperity" found through the cross is NOT worldly wealth. I would say the prosperity of the cross is defined in Colossians 1:19-20: "For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."

Or in 1 Peter 2:24: "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed."

Yes, pray for what you need. Yes, ask fellow believers to pray for you. But, no, don't get caught-up in prosperity gospel scams. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

Counterfeit Christianity

I got this flyer in the mail some time ago. What really caught my eye is the date: May 21, 2011 – my wedding anniversary! The end of the world on my anniversary?! Maybe I need to rethink my dinner plans....Or maybe not.

Eschatology is my least favorite subject so I didn’t rush to read through the flyer. It is a legal-sized piece of paper divided into four columns, printed on the front and back in smallish (for my old eyes) print. It is from Family Radio.

So this week I finally read the flyer. First time through I thought (among other things) Where’s the Gospel? The second time through I found what I think is suppose to be the Gospel. It is the only time Jesus is mentioned. From the bottom of page 2 and top of page 3 of the flyer:

Because God is so great and glorious He calls Himself by many different names. Each name tells us something about the glorious character and nature of God. Thus in the Bible we find such names as God, Jehovah, Christ, Jesus, Lord, Allah, Holy Spirit, Savior, etc. Names such as Jehovah, Jesus, Savior, and Christ particularly point to God as the only means by which forgiveness from all of our sins and eternal life can be obtained by God’s merciful and glorious actions.

This forgiveness was made possible because Christ took upon Himself each and every sin of each and every person He saves from the wrath of God. The Holy Bible describes this astounding action as it was demonstrated by Jesus, who never ceased to be God, being put to death on the cross to show how He paid for sins. He then was raised from the grave and returned into heaven.

That is why the Bible has much to say about those who place their complete trust in Christ, who did all the work required for salvation, after they become saved from the wrath of God.

To make things more interesting, the last two paragraphs are deleted from Family Radio’s html version here, but are still found on the website’s pdf version here.

Family Radio claims to be a Bible-based Christian broadcasting ministry with no church affiliation. If Family Radio is Christian, and its founder Harold Camping claims to be Christian, why are they ashamed of the Gospel???

Salvation comes by the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone as Lord and Savior who was crucified and died on the cross for our sins.

…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. – Romans 5:8-9