How Does One Respond to Deliberate and Malicious Misrepresentation?

How does a person respond to deliberate misrepresentation by an attacker?  How should one respond to one who takes clear facts and twists them into something other than what they demonstrate in order to hurt the presenter and his reputation?

This is what my friend the Canadian Atheist has done to my presentation of my father’s loving actions that is presented in the post below.  He has taken my father’s acts of love, that I clearly presented as acts of love, and has labeled both my father and me as abusive people who should be avoided or even arrested.

His reasons?  Prejudice toward religions and especially toward the God of the Bible and those who fear, love, and trust in Him.  He is an atheist.  As such he wants to eradicate all faith in God.  He wants all people to be turned from faith in God to trust in themselves and their governments, and in his religion of his own version of secular humanism.  He would like to see all other religions annihilated.

He actively pursues this end, while denying that he seeks this.

So how should one whom he has attacked and tried to label as dangerous respond?

Well, the God whom he rejects, while trying to label his rejection as something more innocuous, says to recognize him as one who has made himself an enemy.  He declares that this is necessary so as to know to avoid his attacks, and to recognize him as one who needs forgiveness, love, and prayers on his behalf.  The God whom the Atheist rejects says not to return evil for evil, but to do good to all.  This God teaches and declares this in both the Old and New Testaments.

The Atheist says of the writers of the Biblical texts: “Don't take the word of men who wrote those texts in a time when the wheelbarrow was considered emerging technology.”  Wow!  I wonder whether we should treat Pythagoras and his algebraic and geometric writings with this same contempt.  Perhaps we should disregard that chariots and various gear driven machines were used by the ancient Egyptians of Moses’ era and even long before.

More importantly, however, we should ponder the message of these men moved by the Holy Spirit.  The Atheist says that their message of not seeking vengeance upon those who wrong them is outdated and should be ignored.  He says that the preaching of Jesus that we should “Love our enemies and bless them” is dangerous and should not be taught to our children.  He says this while he takes the loving actions of my father to protect his young son from danger and twists these actions and says that my father should have been arrested.

I shared in very clear terms that my father was very careful in his demonstration regarding the need to fear the hot stove.  My father held his own hand on the burner for two purposes.  The first was to guarantee that it would be safe and that no possible harm, bodily or emotionally, would come to his son.  Secondly, by holding his own hand on the burner he demonstrated that he could be trusted, even when the immediate reflex would seem to teach otherwise.

As I presented in my post, his lesson was very effective in both regards.  I was taught to understand the association of the word “Hot” with heat and with danger.  I also was taught to trust my father’s judgment in such matters and to respond to his loving voice and command of warning.

This enabled my father to save my life on multiple occasions. It enable him to steer me clear of many dangerous situations throughout my life.

From the Burn Foundation web site:

Safety Facts on Scald Burns

Hot Liquids Burn like Fire

Over 500,000 scald burns occur annually in the United States.
The two highest risk populations are children under the age of 5 and adults over 65.

Also at this site is this recommendation:

Consider marking a "NO ZONE" in front of the kitchen stove. Teach children to remain out of this zone. This can be done with colored tape on the floor.

Oh, for sure!  Curious toddlers and children under 5 will surely benefit from this!


The Shriners Hospitals for Children’s site says:

Every day, hundreds of young children with burn injuries are taken to emergency rooms. They were not even near a flame. The children are victims of scalds.

Clearly, this is a real danger. Scald burns (caused by hot liquids, steam or foods) are the most common burn injury among children age 4 and younger. According to Safe Kids USA, an average of 12 children ages 14 and under die from scald burn injuries each year. Children ages 4 and under account for nearly all of these deaths.

While the injuries and the numbers are distressing, even more disturbing is the fact that many of these burns could have been prevented.

O.K.  HUNDREDS of young children with burn injuries are taken to emergency rooms EVERY DAY!

Wow!  Doesn’t that sound like FUN?

My father took action to make certain that anyone in the family could turn his children away from such danger with a single word.  The Atheist says this is child abuse.

The Atheist also says: “Your children have rights and no parent is an overlord.”

Tell this to a child whose parents drag the child kicking and screaming to receive a vaccination or to the dentist’s office.  Tell this to the child who wants to go down the stairs to the basement and the parents block the path with barriers.  Tell this to the child who wants to investigate the kitchen cabinet and the parents have installed protective locks.  Tell that to the child who is throwing a temper tantrum because TV privileges have been taken away.

As a hospital chaplain in a research hospital I witnessed children whose parents gave consent for their children to be strapped in a bed and denied water and told that they could only receive a tiny dampened sponge on which to suck.  I observed young children who cried and screamed every time that a person in a white coat walked past the doorway. I’ve been with children who cried “No.  No!”as they received bronchial drainage treatments for cystic fibrosis.  I’ve been with children who were crying because they were told that they would have their limbs amputated.

For the sakes of the children, let’s be honest.  For the safety of the children, let’s face reality.  For the parents’ sakes, let’s not label their loving lordship over their children as criminal activity.

It is quite frightening to realize that social workers with prejudices like these demonstrated by the Atheist have the power to make criminals of parents.  He says that my father could have been arrested for his actions.  His implication is that he would seek to make this happen today.  He points to laws that empower such injustice, where acts that are not abuse are labeled and punished as abuse.

Indeed, parents today face such fears.  Over the past year people have also been arrested for handing out free bottles of water to thirsty passers by.  People have also been arrested for giving free food to homeless people.  Here in Wichita a group was legally prevented from setting up a free meal center for the poor and for the homeless because of prejudice against the poor and homeless who were not wanted in the area.  And yes, in each of these instances that I mention, it was people professing to be Christians who faced these legal hindrances.

Future comments will not be allowed apart from an apology for the disgraceful twisting of the truth with hurtful intentions.  Any comment other than an apology will be deleted, as these attacks are not helpful, honest, or in any way for the good of others.

What I present on this web site is in the name of the God of Love in accord with what He has revealed in His Holy Scriptures.  Those who desire to hear and read of this God and His self-sacrificing actions on behalf of His children will find this doctrine proclaimed here, along with comments about issues facing us all in this world of corruption and sin.  No one who does not like God and His written declaration of His will and interaction with mankind, and does not want to hear of Christ and His Church, will not find this site at all to one’s liking.

I desire nothing but good for all.  This is what I receive from the Lord my God.  This is what I in turn desire for all.

Regarding my earthly father and his dealings with me, no other human being is in a better position to evaluate the goodness of his fatherly care.  No one else has a right to judge him with a judgment contrary to what I myself testify concerning his relationship with me.  I bear witness to his tireless and self-sacrificing love toward me, love that imitated the love of the Lord to both my father and to me.  Anyone who says otherwise is wrong and is way out of line.

On two occasions, my dear father expressed his concern about failing as a father.  I acknowledged that he had failings, and assured him of both God’s forgiveness as well as ours. I also reminded him of the things of primary importance, all of which he faithfully and consistently fulfilled.  I assured him that the things that I and the rest of the family needed most from him he had given to us.  I assured him that he was a good father for whom I give thanks to God.  I have never declared otherwise to anyone and no one will ever convince me to believe otherwise concerning my father.

For those who did not grow up under such a father, I remind you of the Father of all who loves you more than you can know.  I urge you to receive His love through the means by which He makes His love available without limit.  If you do not know this and would like to hear of it, I will be very happy to explain it to you.

God’s peace to all in Christ Jesus.

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The Toolbox Daddy’s Little Boy Made

When I was a little boy, my father decided that I should have a toolbox of my very own. So he told me that I would make a toolbox for myself. It would be like some of the other toolboxes that he had.

He supplied the materials. He carefully measured and sawed the wood to precise specifications. He applied the glue. He drove the nails. If I remember correctly, he gave me the nails to hold for him and then had me help him to hold the pieces of wood in place. When it was securely fastened, he gave me some paint and a brush with which to apply a couple coats of paint. When it was dry, he secured the hardware to the box along with some leather straps to hold the lid open.

When all was done he told me what a good job I had done. Now my box was ready for my tools, my own hammer and saw and screwdriver, which Daddy also gave to me.

This is how God does with His children, too. He performed the work of redemption and salvation. He established His Church for preaching of the Gospel and administration fo the Sacraments. He generates faith in the heart through these means. He baptizes the child into His Church. He gives His Holy Spirit to call, gather, enlighten, and sanctify His children. He supplies all that is needed, even the faith by which His children believe. Then he gives them some paint to brush on, that is, He gives them the good works that flow from their faith-filled hearts to embellish their lives, and he gives them the tools for their lives of faith. In the end, He tells them what a good job they have done.

I still have the toolbox that my daddy made for me. It has been through quite a bit of abuse over the forty-five or so years that I have used it. It still functions perfectly. I still hear his words telling me what a good job I did.

I also still have the faith and life that the Lord built for me. I continue to believe in accord with that faith and to live in accord with that life. And I still hear Him tell me what a good job I have done. He is our true Father and we are His true children. He provides all that is good and then tells us what a good job we have done, even though it all has been worked by Him.

This wonderful perspective is what He declares in the Aaronic Benediction:

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and grant you peace. Amen.

I especially love the look upon my wife’s face every time that she hears these words, especially after I explained them in fuller detail. The first sentence seems to be understood fairly easily, although its richness is certainly greater than most people first realize. But the second and third reflect the Lord’s attitude toward His children over and above His gracious blessing and providence and protection. Here He promises that He lifts us up from our guilt and shame, having proclaimed His Gospel to us and having fed us at His Table of forgiveness and life, and He makes His face to shine with the loving pride that He has as our Father who has declared us to be righteous with the righteousness of Jesus. He promises that rather than looking down upon us with the disgust that we have earned for ourselves, rather than looking down and away from us as we deserve, He lifts up His countenance so that we see how He loves us and takes pride in us and calls us to Himself so that we receive that peace of His Holy Communion. The divine service closes with His promise that He lifts up His countenance upon us, showing us His smiling face of love and mercy, so that we have the peace that surpasses all understanding that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

God does it all for us and then He says to us: “Look and see how pleased I am with you, my wonderful children.”

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Who’s Your Daddy?

     Wow!

     I’m just here to support the president of the United States. The president of the United States is, you know, our boss. But he’s also, you know, the president and the first lady are kind of like the mom and the dad of the country. And when your dad says something, you listen. And when you don’t, it usually bites you in the ass later on. So, I’m here to support the president.

     Wow! I wonder whether this was meant as a joke. After all, Mr. Rock is a professional jokester who will say or do anything for a laugh.

     Having observed the decline in societal ability to think, however, it seems that he may be serious. For the last hundred years Americans have accepted more and more spoon-fed doctrine from the media, Hollywood, government and so-called education.

     This is actually a very easy sell. The most effective deceptions are those that mimic the truth the most closely.

     Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. (Ephesians 6:2-3)

     From this all authority flows. This is the natural order, ordained by the Lord God from the very beginning. This law, this truth, is written on our hearts and in our consciences. It is taught to us by our generation into this world. It is taught from our conception, gestation, parturition, and rearing. We come into this world by the coming together of our father and mother. We are brought forth into the world entirely dependent upon them for everything. Honoring them is the natural response. In honoring them, we ourselves are blessed. In honoring them we are kept safe by their protection and care and instruction. In honoring them, we are properly fed and clothed and housed. In honoring them, we learn what is good for us. These are undeniable facts, even when the parents are not all that they should be. Even when parents are abusive and evil, many of the blessings that accompany honoring them still manifest themselves.

     So it seems that Mr. Rock is actually right. The President is our boss and the president and his wife are like our dad and mom. It is indeed meet, right, and salutary that we honor them.

     It is sad that very often the full declaration of the Fourth Commandment is not embraced.

     Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
     And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:2-4)

     Parents and those in authority are not to forget the one from whom this special honor is entrusted. They are not to act as though this authority were theirs for their own purposes or glory. Parents and those in authority are given this authority from above. They are specially designated servants of their Father, to rule according to His will for the sake of His family.

     When parents and those in authority forget this, their actions do indeed provoke the children to wrath. Where the love of God is not acknowledged as the source of all good, parents and rulers become abusive of their power and those under their rule eventually rebel. Neither the abuse of power nor the rebelling is good. Neither is of God and His gracious will.

     From the beginning all things were created good. Life was peaceful and harmonious. But the devil tried to raise himself above God and thereby cast away from himself the love of God. Lucifer cut himself off from the good and gracious will of God and led a rebellion in a vain attempt to make himself God. The stupidity of such an attempt is astounding, to think that the creature would seek to overthrow the Creator.

     Once the rule of God’s love was lost to Lucifer, he acted according to his self-made image. He acted hatefully and deceitfully, seeking to overthrow and destroy everything that God had created. Adam fell for the temptation, but the Lord came calling him back into the life of grace with the confrontation of his sinful choice and the promise of the Seed of Woman who would crush the hateful head/ruler of the serpent.

     With this promise, stated as a condemnation of the serpent and its head, flowed the further promise of restoration of the family order. Woman was promised that despite her usurpation of her husband’s rule that she would be moved toward him again so that he would rule over her and that together they would be God’s instruments of life through the promised Seed. Adam was promised that the ground from which he was made would resist his efforts so that he would be continually called to turn from his own efforts and choices to trust the Lord and His Word.

     For those who trusted in the Lord and clung to His Word and promise, no other rule was necessary. It was always the refusal to trust the Lord that led people to appoint rulers for themselves to whom they would be subjected. The chosen people of Israel had only the rule of the Word, taught through their parents, until they chose not to trust the Lord and to demand to be subjected to a king like the other nations had chosen for themselves.

     In the Church, however, we see the Lord’s order restored. In the Church there is only the servant/slave of the Word ordained over the families. This slave is called shepherd, or pastor, or elder, or presbyter/over-seer. His rule over the Lord’s household is strictly defined as the pure preaching and administration of the Word and the Sacraments. From this all the families are restored to the life of grace, mercy, and peace in which parents are honored and obeyed and children are brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

     At Pentecost this was manifested with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the conversion of at least 3000 souls. The life in which they shared was a beautiful manifestation of God’s gracious rule amongst His saints. And in every place where the Lord rules through His means of grace, this is the result. It is true today just as it was then.

     Sadly though, it is a rare occurrence today. As with the people of Israel, those professing to be the Church often do not trust the Lord to rule through His means of grace and so they begin to subject themselves to rulers of their own choice. In every case tyranny is the result. The people turn from the Lord and what He has ordained and bind themselves to various forms of tyranny with such devotion that they endure terrible things as if they were necessary. It is as James warns in James 4 and James 5.

     Those who trust in the Lord and walk in His ways do not appoint earthly rulers for themselves. Rather, they subject themselves to the rulers whom the Lord raises up over them. First He gives them parents. Secondly He gives them pastors. He also gives them rulers whom the rebellious have raised up in their rebellion. The saints subject themselves to such rulers for the sake of good order, obeying in all things which do not demand sinful acts on their own part. Wherever the rulers demand what is wrong, the saints peacefully disregard the tyrannical orders and suffer the abuses that result.

     And so Mr. Rock is right, regardless of whether or not he knows why. But does this mean that the president should be supported in disobeying the authority under which he is subjected? When he is placed with an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, is he to be supported when he willfully disobeys the authority under which he is placed?

     The American people have squandered the power given to them to hold such unlawful rulers in check. They have chosen to squander their votes, voting for the lesser of two evils. They have worshiped their false security of the promise of pensions and Social Security checks and voted according to their idolatry. They have voted for a woman’s right to choose death rather than voting to defend life for all. They have voted to support our soldiers, even when the military was being used for wicked and evil agendas. They have voted with selfish and irresponsible motives and so they have elected selfish and irresponsible and even wicked rulers.

     Now they cry out and wonder how this could happen, and worse, many say that they are thankful that the consequences will come after they have departed from this world without genuine care for those who will be left to endure the consequences. What sort of parents and grandparents would speak with such selfish and wicked disregard for their responsibilities? Mr. Rock stood and said that he supports Obama in violating the Constitution. Is this not what the passing generation has done as well? Have they not ignored their responsibilities concerning the younger generations? Those who fear, love, and trust in God above all things do not act in this way. They love their neighbors as themselves. They honor father and mother and they display this honor as loving fathers and mothers. They endure abuse while speaking out for what is right and true and calling for right treatment of their families and neighbors.

     Oh that people understood the holiness of the Lord that is taught to us in the Ten Commandments. Then we would not have wars and rumors of wars but we would fall together on our knees confessing our need for remission of our sins and reconciliation to God and one another. No one who bows the knees and head to God as Father and Redeemer and Savior and Justifier and Sanctifier rises up rebelliously to murder and make war. Rather, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guards their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus forevermore. Where peace rules honor is displayed toward all.

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12/12/12

     In our household this unique alignment of repeating numbers was especially significant. While the rarity of this occurrence is obvious to all, being the last calendar date with such repeating digits for this millennium, for us it also is our twentieth anniversary of our wedding. Thus it is not only significant as it draws special attention to the twelves of 12/12/12, but it also embodies the twenty for the fulfillment of our twentieth year together as one in the Lord, 12/12/2012.

      We both included this in our little cards to each other, but my wife designed a graphic that captures the essence of the symbolism beautifully.

     In our discussions throughout that evening, in addition to giving thanks to God for His gift of bringing us together to live as husband and wife, and especially His merciful and continual intervention to keep us from destroying this union so that we are brought together again and again in His love through His never-ending forgiveness, we also noted how this special choice of dates is one that we chose according to what He worked for us as we attempted to find a date when all of our family and friends could be with us on the day of our wedding. In this we acknowledged that we had no idea that He was giving to us also this special date on which our twentieth year of marriage would be marked perfectly by the numerical notation of 12-12-2012.

      This stands as a reminder of how the Lord always works on our behalf even without our awareness, acknowledgment, or even asking. It is a wonderful blessing that the Lord Jesus has given us a common prayer among us where by His command we do acknowledge all things and receive them with thanks, as we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

      Luther gives a wonderful explanation to this petition:

Give us this day our daily bread.   What does this mean?—Answer.      God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked men; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

What is meant by daily bread?—Answer.      Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as meat, drink, clothing, shoes, house, homestead, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful magistrates, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

+ + +        If we are willing to see it, the Lord makes His goodness and mercy manifest in everything in our lives, even in something as seemingly tiny as a grouping of repeating numbers. Certainly He does so in our marriages that demonstrate to us His holy union to His bride the Church, and in the manifold blessings poured out to us, the children of that union, through the means of grace administered to us within His everlasting household and especially at His Table. Through this we observe in the clearest way possible how truly good our Father and God is.

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Rogate versus Mother’s Day

Today is The Fifth Sunday after Easter - Rogate.  Rogate is Latin for “Ask ye,” from today’s Gospel reading:

     And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.  Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.  These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.  At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:  For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.  I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 
     His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.  Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. (John 16:23-30)

The Lord Jesus tells His disciples: “For the Father has affection toward you-all because you-all Me held in affection and have believed that I from God have come out.”

Love is not a very good translation for this is not agape but philos.  This is not agape.  It is not the unconditional unidirectional love of John 3:16 by which God was moved to give His only-begotten Son to save the world.  This is the relational response of communion.  This is the Fatherly attitude of God with His adopted children who have been regenerated into the life of the body of Christ, who live in His agape, abiding in His Word, being guarded and kept in His peace that surpasses all understanding.

This is a lot like the emotionalism of Mother’s Day, where children of all ages desire to demonstrate that inborn affection that they hold for their mothers.  When that bond that was created through nine months of gestation and then the tender care of nursing is not broken by various interfering factors, the children and their mothers continue to hold each other in affection, desiring to be close.  And even when this bond is stretched or even broken, there often remains the desire for the closeness to be reestablished.

In the case of the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, God the Father affectionately listens to the prayers of His sons, “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”   (John 1:13)

Within this holy household of faith, the Church of Jesus Christ, these beloved children whom the Father holds in deep affection are brought through the urging of the Holy Spirit into the unity of the one true faith.  They confess together the same doctrine.  They embrace the same practice.  They live and breathe and think and speak the same, in communion with their Lord Jesus.  They grow in this affection for their Lord and for one another until they truly think and speak as one.  They pray the very will of God that is has been made to be their own will.  And thus, God does and even must grant their requests.  After all, they are praying what He Himself has produced in them.

This is demonstrated in the Collect of the Day for this day of Rogate as well as last Sunday’s Collect.

     “O God, from whom all good things do come, grant to us, Thy humble servants, that by Thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be right and by Thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. ”

     O God, who makes the minds of the faithful to be of one will, grant unto Thy people that they may love what Thou commandest and desire what Thou dost promise that among the manifold changes of this world our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

Notice what is prayed.  Notice what is taught.  Notice what is confessed.  Notice what is promised and granted.

Today I called a dear friend, a pastor in another state.  We spoke on the phone for nearly four hours.  In our conversation we each shared many things, things from our past, things currently taking place, things of deep theological nature, things of the life of the Church.  In our conversation we did not disagree on any point.  As we discussed very important and deep matters, we were in true concord.  He spoke of things that he learned and received from me and I spoke of what I learned and received from him.  Even as we each heard new things that we had not previously given proper attention, as we heard these things from one another as they flow from the Holy Scriptures, we readily agreed with one another.

This is what God promises.  His sons, His daughters, will hear and acknowledge together what He reveals as His Word and Will.  His children will readily move toward the unity of the true faith.

Afterwards I called my mother.  We do not share this unity together.  We hold each other with the affection of blood, but not of Spirit.  We do not even dare to converse regarding the deep things of faith, because we have not that common bond.  Over the years she has remained with the church body that has departed from that united confession and practice and faith.  She has moved in the same direction, a direction that no longer allows us to speak openly in full agreement.

I also encouraged my wife to call her mother, with whom we are estranged.  She, too, has chosen to remain with the church body that has drifted into the worldly and disintegrated ways.  My wife and her mother both expressed their desire to be close, but the discussion ended with acknowledgment that her mother no longer believes such unity to be possible.  Her mother openly denies that it is possible for the Church to have what my friend and I expressed in nearly four hours of intense theological discussion, true unity and agreement.

My wife and I were very saddened by this, but as we were expressing our deeply felt grief another dear pastor called to share the jubilant news of the baptism that he performed this very day.  A sweet newly born baby was baptized into the body of Christ from a couple who were unmarried and not members of Christ’s body when this baby was born.  But now the parents are eagerly receiving the pure Word from this pastor, and are excitedly growing in the faith that has been handed down by the prophets and apostles and the Church to this very day.  And so our hearts turned from sorrow to great joy in the Lord and His faithfulness.

It boggles my mind that my family and my wife’s family no longer believe this to be possible.  Once upon a time they professed this as their belief, but no longer.  They have chosen tolerance in place of unity and the pretense of not judging for falsely judging both us and the faith of Jesus.  But the unity that God promises does still exist in His Church, not only the Church triumphant, that is, not only the Church in heaven, but also the true Church on earth.  For where Jesus is truly confessed as Lord, that is, where the Word rules the Church, true unity is produced.  It cannot be otherwise.

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TGIF - Weekends

Last night my wife sent me to Walmart to purchase some household ammonia. As I waited in the checkout line I conversed with the lady ahead of me about a couple of things. I talk with almost anyone who is willing to converse.

After paying for my purchase I told the cashier “Have a good evening.” She responded, “Have a good weekend.”

I was a bit surprised. I realized that I don’t really think in terms of weekends. The common expression of “Thank God it’s Friday!” really means nothing to me beyond the everlasting blessing of Good Friday.

I am self employed, so Saturday is just another day. Sunday I prepare and preach and conduct the divine service.

This is not a good way to live. Wives and mothers often live this way, too. For many wives and mothers a day of rest only comes when they become too sick to get out of bed.

This is why the Lord established the Third Commandment: “Thou shalt remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.” While that commandment was given in accord with the Old Testament, what it instructs us certainly still applies in accord with the New Testament. We still need a day of rest in the holy communion of the Lord.

What the Lord declares in the Ten Commandments is given for our good. He knows how He has made us and what we need. Without a time of rest we do not function well. That is why He Himself set the example, as our loving Father, ending all His work of creation and resting on the Seventh Day.

He truly is our loving Father. His commandments are given not to restrict us but to set us free from the bondage that we choose for ourselves. All of His commandments are given to set our hearts and minds free by restoring our thoughts and desires in accord with His holiness and His good and gracious will. Truly the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever!

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Sharp enough to do the job

Earlier this week, a locust thorn penetrated my finger and lodged within, causing considerable discomfort. I tried serveral times to remove it with my pocket knife, but the point of the knife was not sharp enough to get the job done without unnecessary injury to the finger. Even after sharpening the knife, the point still was not sharp enough.

Some people use a needle to extract thorns and splinters, but this method leaves the puncture wound, which is more likely to become infected than a wound that has been laid open. Puncture wounds are difficult to cleanse thoroughly. Serious infection and even blood poisoning can result from puncture wounds.

Since my pocket knife was not accomplishing the job, later that evening I utilized one of the kitchen knives that had a sharper point. I was able to open the wound sufficiently without excessive cutting. The thorn popped out. The finger has already healed of its wound.

This scenario is not unlike the more serious penetration of our being by sin. Sin is even more serious as it is so deeply lodged within our body and mind and spirit that it corrupts our very soul. It is beyond what we can reach and remove by anything at our disposal. For this reason God Himself has provided the means by which this can be accomplished.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

As this passage instructs us, the Word of God is sharp. It is sharper than any sword or knife or scalpel. It is sharp to the point of being able to separate the spirit from the soul. It is sharp enough to lay bare all that is within, all of the corruption of our sinful nature, so that it may be washed away with heavenly cleansing.

This living and powerful Word is connected to the preaching of the Gospel, and to water, and bread and wine. God Himself has ordained this and established this for our cleansing and salvation. Through these means He cuts through to remove even the deepest portions of our sinfulness, even the things so deep within that we are unaware of them.

This is because God is the Word. As the Word is poured over us through these ordained means, it enters into us, and with the Word is the fullness of God. Thus the Holy Spirit as well as Jesus come to us to pierce deeply into our hearts and souls and work the miracle of conversion. In Baptism the Holy Spirit is given to dwell within the newly generated believer. And where the Holy Spirit is, so also is the Father and the Son, for they truly are one. But this is most powerfully manifested in the Holy Supper of God’s Communion, where the Holy Trinity draws us to partake of the fullness of His Communion, not only in our hearts and souls, but also in His body, the Church, the communion of saints. And so God not only removes our thorny sin and all of the filthy corruption of our sinful nature, but He heals us and restores us and continually renews us and nourishes us in His Holy Communion.

However, we are inclined to turn to less invasive means. We tend to want to remove the sharpness of the Word. We are inclined to attempt to restrict the cutting that the Word would do so that the pain of exposing the deeper cancer is avoided. We even are inclined to try to explain away the disease of sin as something less damning. The judgment that cuts so deeply that even the tiniest fragment of our sinful nature is exposed and purged hurts. We cringe from this and try to avoid it. But in so doing we hinder the wonderful work that our heavenly physician would do for us. In fact, when we interfere in these ways, we not only hinder Him and His miraculous means of grace, but we actually reject Him and His works. By so doing we cut ourselves off from the means through which He works these miracles for us. We cut ourselves off from His salvation and His kingdom of pure grace.

God’s way only works when it is truly His way. When we interfere and interject our words and ways with His words and ways, they are no longer His words and ways. His Word is pure. His Word is perfect. His Word is powerful. His Word is life. His Word made Himself to be flesh and blood so as to cut through to the entire corruption of humanity and carry it to the cross and grave. If we reduce this with our corrupt words and ways, we join ourselves again to the very corruption from which He is working to save us.

We need the cutting power of the pure Word. God gives this to us in ways that remove us and our corruption from them entirely. This is why God works through the ordained means of grace. For in these, if we do not interject our own ways into them, God is the only one at work. If the preaching is truly the preaching of the pure Gospel and if the Sacraments are truly administered as God has given them, then we are merely vessels that receive them and not actually the doers of them. When He is the doer of the works, the works can be trusted fully. It is, after all, His kingdom and His Word and His Church and His salvation.


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