Showing posts with label blood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blood. Show all posts
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Sermons, Why Bother?
Why should we still bother with sermons? Why not simply bypass them or do as many churches do and simply turn them into Bible Studies?
Is there a difference between a Bible Study and a Sermon? Many people think not. Yet I cannot imagine a single person counting standing in a grocery store checkout line as being the same as being called to the supper table. What is the difference? In the first instance the food items are gathered together and bagged and carried home. In the second instance the food items are prepared as a succulent meal and served to those hungrily awaiting to gobble it down.
A sermon is not merely gathering together facts to present to people in an organized manner. A sermon is not merely a lecture. A sermon is a prepared feast that is fed to those who have been called together to gobble it down. This feast is not mere facts and information. This feast is the very Word of God, the Lord Jesus Himself, fed aurally to those who have come to receive Him into their hearts yet again. The sermon is also preparation, like an appetizer, for the greater feast of the body and blood of the Lord in His Holy Supper of everlasting Communion.
Sermons are without a doubt a lot of work to prepare. The initial stages are sheer agony. But the pastor receives more than he exerts, and what he receives he delivers to those whom the Lord has entrusted to his pastoral care. They in turn receive what their loving pastor feeds to them and they carry it with them wherever they go throughout the week, sharing morsels with others whom they encounter in their daily journey.
† † †
Monday, August 29, 2011
Collect for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity
One of the things that continues to leave me in awe about the historic liturgy is the use of the Collect of the Day. Each Sunday these wonderful snippets direct our hearts to important aspects of the daily pericopal readings.
Here is the Collect from this Sunday:
O God, who declarest Thine almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity, mercifully grant unto us such a measure of Thy grace that we, running the way of Thy commandments, may obtain Thy gracious promises and be made partakers of Thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
This collect marvelously directs our hearts to acknowledge what the Lord declares to us concerning Himself. The Lord God to whom we pray is the one who declares His almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity. His primary means of making His almighty power known to us is not through signs and wonders in the heavens and in the earth and in the seas, but in showing mercy and pity.
Is this not absolutely wonderful? Is this not magnificent? Is this not worthy of our full devotion and attention? This is what the divine service is given to teach us and deliver to us. This is what the Holy Spirit calls us to congregate to hear and to receive. Throughout the entire service this is what God works and gives to us.
Notice that the collect directs us to remember that it is through the declaration of God’s mercy and pity to us that we are enabled to run the way of the commandments and obtain God’s gracious promises and we are made to be partakers of His heavenly treasures. Notice that the true faith teaches us that we do not obtain God’s gracious promises through our own obedience, but through His mercy and pity declared unto us. We are made partakers of His heavenly treasure not through our obedience, but through the declaration of His mercy and pity to us. The power is in His declaration. Even the power to honor the commandments and to value them as part of the way through which God blesses us, is through the declaration of His mercy and pity.
God does bless us through His commandments, because He produces the obedience in us through the faith that He gives. For example, He commands that we administer the Sacrament and partake of it together for the forgiveness of our sins and renewed faith in His mercy and grace. Because He works faith in us to believe His good and gracious will and to believe His promise of forgiveness and renewal in the Sacrament, we administer it in the congregation according to His commandment and we come forward and receive His blessings through this blessed means of His grace. This obedience is not something that we choose to do, but rather, it is produced in us through the faith that He generates in us concerning His mercy and gracious will toward us and concerning His promise to grant us forgiveness and renewal through the body and blood of Jesus. At the Last Day, even as He does today, He will count these works that He produces in us as our own works and say “Well done!”
Who but the Lord would even imagine such to be possible, let alone actually to make it so? Truly this requires almighty power, which He declares to us chiefly in showing mercy and pity.
† † †
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Type O Negative Blood Needed
The following is from an American Red Cross E-mail:
Need for Type O Negative Blood Reaches Critical Levels
The supply of type O negative blood at the American Red Cross has dropped to critically low levels.
If you are a type O negative donor you can make the difference between an adequate blood supply and a summer shortage.
Type O negative blood is always in high demand because it can be transfused to patients with any blood type, especially in emergency situations.
While all blood types are needed during the critical summer months, the Red Cross urges those eligible donors with blood type O negative to make and keep appointments to give blood this summer.
We highly encourage all type O negative blood donors who meet the eligibility requirements to double the difference by becoming a double red cell donor. If eligible, you are able to give two donations at once.
Please call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org to find a convenient blood donation location and to schedule a lifesaving blood donation appointment.
Thank you from your Red Cross and the hospital patients we serve.
Need for Type O Negative Blood Reaches Critical Levels
The supply of type O negative blood at the American Red Cross has dropped to critically low levels.
If you are a type O negative donor you can make the difference between an adequate blood supply and a summer shortage.
Type O negative blood is always in high demand because it can be transfused to patients with any blood type, especially in emergency situations.
While all blood types are needed during the critical summer months, the Red Cross urges those eligible donors with blood type O negative to make and keep appointments to give blood this summer.
We highly encourage all type O negative blood donors who meet the eligibility requirements to double the difference by becoming a double red cell donor. If eligible, you are able to give two donations at once.
Please call 1-800-RED CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org to find a convenient blood donation location and to schedule a lifesaving blood donation appointment.
Thank you from your Red Cross and the hospital patients we serve.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Winter Weather Increases Need for Blood
Red Cross Action Alert: Winter Weather Affects Donations
Snow and ice storms across the nation are to blame for numerous blood drive cancellations. Plus, poor driving conditions are keeping donors away from our blood donation centers.
As a result, the Red Cross is unable to collect and produce enough blood platelets. Platelets are the fragile cells that control bleeding and can be used by cancer patients and those undergoing chemotherapy.
Your platelet or whole blood donation will help us meet the needs of area hospital patients.
Please consider scheduling an appointment to give blood today. Call 1-800-RED CROSS or log on to redcrossblood.org.
(This notice is copied from an e-mail notice from the American Red Cross.)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Be Nice to Me
Today the lady at the blood donation center put this little sticker on my shirt, saying that now people would have to be nice to me. She said, just point to the sticker, it says so.
This sounds silly to hear. The sticker obviously does not have the power to make people obey the command that is written upon it.
Yet people treat the Law of God in this way, imagining that by quoting the Commandments that people’s lives will be changed. Preachers hold the statements of what God says should be and imagine that doing so will change people’s hearts and minds.
But the power for salvation, the power that regenerates the heart and mind is the Gospel. The power for a new life is the power of God, the Word made flesh, who perfectly obeyed the will of the Father and lived without yielding to the power of sin. He defeated sin. He defeated all the powers of wickedness and disobedience. He overpowered all that works against us. He did so not with commandments, but with love. He is love, and He gave Himself as a sacrifice for sin so that sin would be destroyed by His sacrifice.
Preachers imagine that it is their job to teach people how to live. But this is a false understanding of the preaching office. Preachers are ordained to preach the one who is life. It is in receiving Him through the ordained means that life is restored to people dead in their sins. The life that is lost on account of sin can be restored only through the one who takes the sin of the world. Jesus takes our sin and gives to us in its place His life of holiness. He imparts to us the forgiveness that He purchased with His suffering and death. He raises us up to the new life that He guaranteed by rising from the dead. He rules our hearts by the Gospel and the Sacraments that He entrusted to His Church on earth and by the Holy Spirit who is poured out to us in Baptism. He keeps us united in His body and in His forgiveness and new life through the Holy Communion. Living each day in the knowledge of this that we receive by faith is what preachers are ordained to teach and proclaim.
This, then, is truly teaching people how to live, by grace, through faith. This is what is taught from the cross where God is nice to us, saying, for you I gave blood today. And He continues to give His blood for us in the supper of forgiveness and life so that we may truly learn how to live.
This sounds silly to hear. The sticker obviously does not have the power to make people obey the command that is written upon it.
Yet people treat the Law of God in this way, imagining that by quoting the Commandments that people’s lives will be changed. Preachers hold the statements of what God says should be and imagine that doing so will change people’s hearts and minds.
But the power for salvation, the power that regenerates the heart and mind is the Gospel. The power for a new life is the power of God, the Word made flesh, who perfectly obeyed the will of the Father and lived without yielding to the power of sin. He defeated sin. He defeated all the powers of wickedness and disobedience. He overpowered all that works against us. He did so not with commandments, but with love. He is love, and He gave Himself as a sacrifice for sin so that sin would be destroyed by His sacrifice.
Preachers imagine that it is their job to teach people how to live. But this is a false understanding of the preaching office. Preachers are ordained to preach the one who is life. It is in receiving Him through the ordained means that life is restored to people dead in their sins. The life that is lost on account of sin can be restored only through the one who takes the sin of the world. Jesus takes our sin and gives to us in its place His life of holiness. He imparts to us the forgiveness that He purchased with His suffering and death. He raises us up to the new life that He guaranteed by rising from the dead. He rules our hearts by the Gospel and the Sacraments that He entrusted to His Church on earth and by the Holy Spirit who is poured out to us in Baptism. He keeps us united in His body and in His forgiveness and new life through the Holy Communion. Living each day in the knowledge of this that we receive by faith is what preachers are ordained to teach and proclaim.
This, then, is truly teaching people how to live, by grace, through faith. This is what is taught from the cross where God is nice to us, saying, for you I gave blood today. And He continues to give His blood for us in the supper of forgiveness and life so that we may truly learn how to live.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Blood Donor News
The American Red Cross sends out e-news letters to their blood donors with updated information about local needs for blood donations. In the latest news letter the following is stated:
Who Can Receive My Blood?
At the Red Cross, we are often asked who can receive which blood types. This chart helps answer that question. Find your blood type in the left column. The blood drops to the right of it show which blood types can receive your blood. For example, if you are type AB+, then you can only give to other people with AB+ blood, but you can receive blood from all blood types. If you are O- you can give blood to people with any blood type, but you can only receive blood from people with O- blood.
Right Type
Blood typing is very important. When it comes to emergency situations, most people are given O- blood since people of all blood types can receive O- blood. Because of this, type O blood is in high demand and often in short supply. While O- is the universal donor for red blood cell products, AB- is the universal donor for plasma-containing products, including platelets.
In order to have the most blood available, we encourage people to do the "Right Type" of donation for their blood type to best fulfill the needs of hospital patients. People with O+, O-, B+ and B- blood should do a regular whole blood donation or a double red cell donation. Blood shortages often occur in these blood types. People with AB+, AB-, A+ and A- blood are encouraged to donate platelets.
When we make the best donation possible for our blood type, it helps ensure that the most compatible blood product is available for patients in need. The next time you make a donation, ask the staff more about what donation type is right for you!
You can learn more about blood donation needs and the role of the American Red Cross at Blood is Needed and Blood Facts.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Remember, Be Careful!
How often do mothers and fathers cry out with these words to their children and wives to their husbands? “Remember, Be Careful!”
Yet even while being careful, things like this still happen.
This is the second day, when it looks much better. I’ve started soaking it in vinegar today, to help reduce the swelling. It looked rather bad when I pulled my hand from my work glove.
It was the end of a long hard week, with many challenges and long laborious hours. But Saturday night was the end of a good week. Overall it had been quite productive and all the challenges had been met successfully and without dangerous incident. Saturday had been a long day. One tree had been felled, other trees and their canopies raised and their deadwood and internal growth cleaned. The limbs have been cut up and chipped. The logs and stump had been cut and all but the last load of the largest logs had been loaded and hauled. It was after eight o’clock and darkness was encroaching and as I was swinging one of the logs into the pickup, I did not swing quite highly enough, and the log slammed my finger against the edge of the tailgate. The finger and log rolled over the edge of the tailgate into the truck. I rolled the log off my finger and cried out, “Ow! Shoot! Oh that hurts! Ahhh!” (Yes, those are the actual words.)
Then I looked at my glove to see whether I’d torn it. I had not, but I observed the flow of red oozing into the fabric over my knuckle. Extreme pain and red are signs that things are not well. The man who had taken some of the logs and was helping me load the ones he did not want asked me if I had broken my finger. Thankfully, no. I removed the glove and found that I peeled back the skin from over my knuckle. It was bleeding but not badly. So I asked the customer for a bandage, and a few minutes later, having found one in the house, he applied it to my finger. By then I was feeling dizzy, nauseous, and even faint. I knelt down on the ground, and then lay in the grass for a couple of minutes. Then I finished loading the truck, drove home, unloaded the truck, and went in to tell Stephanie, who helped me clean it and apply peroxide and a new bandage.
Now this is what I must present to the world as I try to keep my finger straight so as not to reopen the wound. I hope that others understand.
Such occasions as this are truly observances of the goodness of the Lord. Certainly the injury could have been much worse, which He prevented. But even beyond that, it is an occasion to observe the marvelous design that He created in the functioning of our bodies. That such an injury can occur, and yet the skin can pull together and mend again, that the bruised bone also will heal, the trauma to the flesh will be repaired, and all without any work on my part. Such is the goodness of the Lord. Such is His good and gracious will. Such is His providence.
Therefore, though I am frustrated with myself for becoming too tired to work carefully and for my misjudgment that caused me this injury, nevertheless I find myself thankful to God for His great mercy and continual protection and never ending display of His love.
Yet even while being careful, things like this still happen.
This is the second day, when it looks much better. I’ve started soaking it in vinegar today, to help reduce the swelling. It looked rather bad when I pulled my hand from my work glove.
It was the end of a long hard week, with many challenges and long laborious hours. But Saturday night was the end of a good week. Overall it had been quite productive and all the challenges had been met successfully and without dangerous incident. Saturday had been a long day. One tree had been felled, other trees and their canopies raised and their deadwood and internal growth cleaned. The limbs have been cut up and chipped. The logs and stump had been cut and all but the last load of the largest logs had been loaded and hauled. It was after eight o’clock and darkness was encroaching and as I was swinging one of the logs into the pickup, I did not swing quite highly enough, and the log slammed my finger against the edge of the tailgate. The finger and log rolled over the edge of the tailgate into the truck. I rolled the log off my finger and cried out, “Ow! Shoot! Oh that hurts! Ahhh!” (Yes, those are the actual words.)
Then I looked at my glove to see whether I’d torn it. I had not, but I observed the flow of red oozing into the fabric over my knuckle. Extreme pain and red are signs that things are not well. The man who had taken some of the logs and was helping me load the ones he did not want asked me if I had broken my finger. Thankfully, no. I removed the glove and found that I peeled back the skin from over my knuckle. It was bleeding but not badly. So I asked the customer for a bandage, and a few minutes later, having found one in the house, he applied it to my finger. By then I was feeling dizzy, nauseous, and even faint. I knelt down on the ground, and then lay in the grass for a couple of minutes. Then I finished loading the truck, drove home, unloaded the truck, and went in to tell Stephanie, who helped me clean it and apply peroxide and a new bandage.
Now this is what I must present to the world as I try to keep my finger straight so as not to reopen the wound. I hope that others understand.
Such occasions as this are truly observances of the goodness of the Lord. Certainly the injury could have been much worse, which He prevented. But even beyond that, it is an occasion to observe the marvelous design that He created in the functioning of our bodies. That such an injury can occur, and yet the skin can pull together and mend again, that the bruised bone also will heal, the trauma to the flesh will be repaired, and all without any work on my part. Such is the goodness of the Lord. Such is His good and gracious will. Such is His providence.
Therefore, though I am frustrated with myself for becoming too tired to work carefully and for my misjudgment that caused me this injury, nevertheless I find myself thankful to God for His great mercy and continual protection and never ending display of His love.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Growing and Declining in Faith
In today’s “Faith & Values” section of the Wichita Eagle the following question was presented to Billy Graham along with his answer. It is a regular feature included in the paper.
The question is a very common question, one that every “person of faith” encounters. The Reverend Graham’s answer is quite typical, and it falls far short for reasons that will be presented later in this post. First the question and the Reverend Graham’s answer:
The Q&A is also available here.
This question is a very common question. I doubt whether any Christian has lived in this world without facing this challenging question. It is a very disconcerting question. If left without the true answer to this question a person will despair of all hope of everlasting life or will spend a lifetime groping after what cannot be found.
Sadly, the answer given by the Reverend Graham falls short.
It falls short for a reason. That reason is actually given in the title chosen for this regularly offered column in the daily paper.
Did you catch the reason in the title?
The title is: MY ANSWER/BILLY GRAHAM.
This is the reason that the hurting individual is troubled by this dreadful question in the first place. The answer that is needed is not a pastor’s answer. The answer that is needed is not a church body’s answer. The answer that is needed is not the Reverend Graham’s answer.
God’s answer is the one that is needed.
The Reverend Graham’s answer sounds very solid to a undiscerning heart. It sounds very Biblical and godly and Christian. His answer to the hurting and troubled person is: “. . . you never did anything to strengthen yourself spiritually -- and over time you became spiritually weak.”
This is a typical response from those who count themselves as spiritual and “more spiritual” than others. This is the response that people typically expect and even seek to hear.
But is this really the answer? Upon whom does this answer direct the individual to depend?
Consider the rest of the Reverend Graham’s answer:
To the undiscerning heart this sounds like a very helpful answer. But upon whom does this answer direct the person to depend?
First and foremost this answer directs the person to depend on self. It directs the person to what actions the person takes to strengthen self.
Is this what the Scriptures teach?
Is the “food” by which one’s spirit is fed the “Bible and prayer”?
The food or bread of life is not the Bible and it is not prayer. Jesus, the Christ, is the bread of life by which the spirit is regenerated and kept alive.
The Bible does not have the power to impart faith. The Bible is the written record that declares the Word. JESUS is the Word.
The question presented by Q.S. betrays the cause of the doubts and fears and pains that this dear soul is experiencing. Q.S. says, “A year ago I accepted Jesus into my life, . . .”
This is a lie. This person is hurting because of a major misunderstanding regarding the way of faith.
No one accepts Jesus into his life.
Jesus comes into the person’s life and then that person acknowledges the presence of the Savior and rejoices in this knowledge..
This sounds trivial until a person understands the fullness of the distinction.
The Scriptures teach that kingdom of God does not come by observation. The Scriptures teach that faith does not come by an act of the human will. The Scriptures teach that a person receives Jesus and is thereby given the power or authority to be born as a son of God.
This reception Jesus calls a rebirth or regeneration when He explains to Nicodemus the way of life in John chapter 3. He tells the confused preacher and teacher of Israel that no one can even perceive or see the kingdom of God unless that person be regenerated. Then He further explains that no one can enter into the kingdom of God unless that person be regenerated by water and the Spirit.
St. Paul writes to Pastor Titus:
Again the apostle writes to the saints in Ephesus:
By these we learn that faith is not a work that is done by ourselves but a work that God works in us. It is by the hearing of the Word that the Holy Spirit comes to us and works the miracle of faith in us. This faith is a gift of God. He gives it freely. By this faith He regenerates us. Jesus Christ, the Word, is the one through whom the Holy Spirit is given. The Holy Spirit creates faith in us and that faith changes us from unbelievers to believers.
This is truly good news to anyone who has doubts and fears about the strength of his faith. Our faith is weak on account of it being counted as our own. According to our own faith, we do not truly trust God to be merciful and forgiving. According to our own faith we are full of doubt and fear and weakness.
But according to the faith of Jesus, the faith by which He came to the world and lived without sin and then took our sin in His own body to die on the cross and be buried, according to this faith, which is preached in accord with the pure Gospel and administered in the pure Sacraments, no doubt or fear or weakness remains. This is the faith that God works. It is everlasting and it cannot fail. It is a done deed. Therefore we may rely upon it without doubt or fear, and then no weakness of faith remains.
It is essential that we know where this faith lives. It lives in the body of Christ, which is the pure and holy Church that abides in His words and works. The Lord Jesus established His Church of the New Testament in His blood. He commanded that His Gospel be preached without compromise so that all doubts would be dispersed. He commanded that disciples be made through the means of the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, that is, Baptism. He commanded that these regenerated saint/sinners be kept in His grace, mercy, and peace through the Holy Communion of His body and blood.
The Bread of Life is Jesus. The warmth that we need flows from being connected with His body through Baptism and the Holy Communion. This “warmth” is not the sense of comradery or fellowship that people often mistake for the holy koinonia. This warmth is the life that is in Christ’s blood, poured out for the forgiveness of many. This warmth is the life that is received through Baptism and renewed through the Holy Communion.
Contrary to what the Reverend Graham and most Christians imagine, Christ is not the center of life and faith for the Church. Christ is the life and faith of the Church.
When this is understood, people no longer seek to make Christ the center of their lives. Rather, they live in Christ, trusting that He is their life and their all. With this understanding, doubts and fears are washed away, for then the person no longer looks to his own faith for hope and peace and assurance, but simply lives by the faith that God gives. The person simply trusts that Jesus really is the answer, and having received Jesus through the faith that the Holy Spirit works, that person continues in the great Eucharist or Thanksgiving, partaking of the Bread of Life and being strengthened and renewed in His blood of life.
The answer really is this wonderfully simple.
The question is a very common question, one that every “person of faith” encounters. The Reverend Graham’s answer is quite typical, and it falls far short for reasons that will be presented later in this post. First the question and the Reverend Graham’s answer:
MY ANSWER/BILLY GRAHAM
DEAR REV. GRAHAM: A year ago I accepted Jesus into my life, and for a time I really felt He was with me. But now I find myself wondering sometimes if God even exists. Why has this happened? Is the devil trying to turn me away from God? --Q.S.
DEAR Q.S.: The devil will always try to turn us away from God; after all, this is the main thing he wants to accomplish in our lives. And one way he does this is by probing for our weak spots and trying to take advantage of them.
But don't blame everything on the devil; he doesn't deserve all the credit! The real problem, I suspect, is that after you gave your life to Jesus you thought this was the end, and it was all you needed to do. You knew your sins were forgiven.
But afterward you never did anything to strengthen yourself spiritually -- and over time you became spiritually weak. In order to survive and grow, you need spiritual food and warmth -- the "food" of the Bible and prayer, and the "warmth" of fellowship with other believers. If these were missing, your spiritual life inevitably suffered.
God has not abandoned you; He loves you and yearns for you to grow stronger in your faith. Confess your weakness to Him, and then take time each day to be alone with God in His Word and in prayer. In addition, ask Him to lead you to a church where Christ is central, and where you can grow in your faith.
The Q&A is also available here.
This question is a very common question. I doubt whether any Christian has lived in this world without facing this challenging question. It is a very disconcerting question. If left without the true answer to this question a person will despair of all hope of everlasting life or will spend a lifetime groping after what cannot be found.
Sadly, the answer given by the Reverend Graham falls short.
It falls short for a reason. That reason is actually given in the title chosen for this regularly offered column in the daily paper.
Did you catch the reason in the title?
The title is: MY ANSWER/BILLY GRAHAM.
This is the reason that the hurting individual is troubled by this dreadful question in the first place. The answer that is needed is not a pastor’s answer. The answer that is needed is not a church body’s answer. The answer that is needed is not the Reverend Graham’s answer.
God’s answer is the one that is needed.
The Reverend Graham’s answer sounds very solid to a undiscerning heart. It sounds very Biblical and godly and Christian. His answer to the hurting and troubled person is: “. . . you never did anything to strengthen yourself spiritually -- and over time you became spiritually weak.”
This is a typical response from those who count themselves as spiritual and “more spiritual” than others. This is the response that people typically expect and even seek to hear.
But is this really the answer? Upon whom does this answer direct the individual to depend?
Consider the rest of the Reverend Graham’s answer:
In order to survive and grow, you need spiritual food and warmth -- the "food" of the Bible and prayer, and the "warmth" of fellowship with other believers. If these were missing, your spiritual life inevitably suffered.
To the undiscerning heart this sounds like a very helpful answer. But upon whom does this answer direct the person to depend?
First and foremost this answer directs the person to depend on self. It directs the person to what actions the person takes to strengthen self.
Is this what the Scriptures teach?
And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. (John 5:37-40)
Is the “food” by which one’s spirit is fed the “Bible and prayer”?
Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:28-35)
The food or bread of life is not the Bible and it is not prayer. Jesus, the Christ, is the bread of life by which the spirit is regenerated and kept alive.
The Bible does not have the power to impart faith. The Bible is the written record that declares the Word. JESUS is the Word.
The question presented by Q.S. betrays the cause of the doubts and fears and pains that this dear soul is experiencing. Q.S. says, “A year ago I accepted Jesus into my life, . . .”
This is a lie. This person is hurting because of a major misunderstanding regarding the way of faith.
No one accepts Jesus into his life.
Jesus comes into the person’s life and then that person acknowledges the presence of the Savior and rejoices in this knowledge..
This sounds trivial until a person understands the fullness of the distinction.
The Scriptures teach that kingdom of God does not come by observation. The Scriptures teach that faith does not come by an act of the human will. The Scriptures teach that a person receives Jesus and is thereby given the power or authority to be born as a son of God.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
This reception Jesus calls a rebirth or regeneration when He explains to Nicodemus the way of life in John chapter 3. He tells the confused preacher and teacher of Israel that no one can even perceive or see the kingdom of God unless that person be regenerated. Then He further explains that no one can enter into the kingdom of God unless that person be regenerated by water and the Spirit.
St. Paul writes to Pastor Titus:
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)
Again the apostle writes to the saints in Ephesus:
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
By these we learn that faith is not a work that is done by ourselves but a work that God works in us. It is by the hearing of the Word that the Holy Spirit comes to us and works the miracle of faith in us. This faith is a gift of God. He gives it freely. By this faith He regenerates us. Jesus Christ, the Word, is the one through whom the Holy Spirit is given. The Holy Spirit creates faith in us and that faith changes us from unbelievers to believers.
This is truly good news to anyone who has doubts and fears about the strength of his faith. Our faith is weak on account of it being counted as our own. According to our own faith, we do not truly trust God to be merciful and forgiving. According to our own faith we are full of doubt and fear and weakness.
But according to the faith of Jesus, the faith by which He came to the world and lived without sin and then took our sin in His own body to die on the cross and be buried, according to this faith, which is preached in accord with the pure Gospel and administered in the pure Sacraments, no doubt or fear or weakness remains. This is the faith that God works. It is everlasting and it cannot fail. It is a done deed. Therefore we may rely upon it without doubt or fear, and then no weakness of faith remains.
It is essential that we know where this faith lives. It lives in the body of Christ, which is the pure and holy Church that abides in His words and works. The Lord Jesus established His Church of the New Testament in His blood. He commanded that His Gospel be preached without compromise so that all doubts would be dispersed. He commanded that disciples be made through the means of the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, that is, Baptism. He commanded that these regenerated saint/sinners be kept in His grace, mercy, and peace through the Holy Communion of His body and blood.
The Bread of Life is Jesus. The warmth that we need flows from being connected with His body through Baptism and the Holy Communion. This “warmth” is not the sense of comradery or fellowship that people often mistake for the holy koinonia. This warmth is the life that is in Christ’s blood, poured out for the forgiveness of many. This warmth is the life that is received through Baptism and renewed through the Holy Communion.
Contrary to what the Reverend Graham and most Christians imagine, Christ is not the center of life and faith for the Church. Christ is the life and faith of the Church.
When this is understood, people no longer seek to make Christ the center of their lives. Rather, they live in Christ, trusting that He is their life and their all. With this understanding, doubts and fears are washed away, for then the person no longer looks to his own faith for hope and peace and assurance, but simply lives by the faith that God gives. The person simply trusts that Jesus really is the answer, and having received Jesus through the faith that the Holy Spirit works, that person continues in the great Eucharist or Thanksgiving, partaking of the Bread of Life and being strengthened and renewed in His blood of life.
The answer really is this wonderfully simple.
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Easter Yeahbut
Did you encounter the Easter Yeahbut this year?
Many people did. In fact, we all encounter him at various times and need to chase him out of the garden of our lives so that he does not eat up the fruits and produce of the true faith. Sadly, however, for many, the Easter Yeahbut is a welcomed guest.
The glorious message of Easter is the promise of the Resurrection of our Lord. The promise is the proclamation of the Lord’s death till He comes, and this proclamation is the Holy Communion. Since the Lord Jesus redeemed us from the powers of sin, death, and the devil by sacrificing Himself in our place, His gift of restoration to life in God’s Holy Communion is accomplished for us in Baptism so that we may come to the Lord’s Table in the good conscience of our baptism and partake of the body and blood of our Lord for our forgiveness and our nurturing in His kingdom.
All of this is by the working of the Holy Spirit through the Word and the Sacraments. All of this is a gift. God works it for us and we enjoy the fruits of His works.
Often people refer to this as salvation by grace through faith. They express a hearty “Amen” and shout “Hallelujah” to the good news!
However, then the Easter Yeahbut comes forward and lays his Yeahbut eggs all around. Then people say “Yeahbut” to God’s gift and the good news that our new life is purely God’s work. They say, “Yeahbut, I have to cooperate using my free will, don’t I?” “Yeahbut, I must decide to believe, mustn’t I?” “Yeahbut, I must commit my life to Jesus, mustn’t I? “Yeahbut, I have to believe, don’t I? “Yeahbut, I have to make Christ the center of my life, don’t I?
The Easter Yeahbut is very prolific. He seems to have an endless capacity to produce Yeahbut eggs and he seems to have lots and lots of Yeahbut assistants, because these Yeahbut eggs seem to be everywhere.
Even to the clear promises of Baptism and the Holy Communion the Yeahbuts bring forth disconcerting arguments. The Scriptures plainly declare that Baptism saves us, like in Acts 2:38-39 and in Titus 3 and in 1 Peter 3:21, and people read these clear promises of God and respond, “Yeahbut, these passages don’t mean what they say. These mean to say that Baptism symbolizes the salvation that Jesus won for me and that I choose to accept from Him.” There are many other Yeahbut arguments regarding matters of the true faith and regarding the life that God gives to us. The Lord’s Supper receives all kinds of Yeahbut responses. The Easter Yeahbut seems to spread responses of doubt to every article of faith declared in the Scriptures.
But the Easter Yeahbut is very friendly. He is very good friends with the Old Adam and with all who are of his family. Anyone with a personal interpretation of the Scriptures, anyone with contemporary ideas about how to win people for Christ and how to make the Church more appealing, anyone with an agenda of satisfying felt needs and accepting people where they are, will immediately receive the Easter Yeahbut as a close and trusted friend.
So be on guard. The next time that you encounter the Easter Yeahbut or find one of his eggs lying around, remember the one whom the Easter Gospel proclaims. There are no yeahbuts in the Holy Scriptures. There are no yeahbuts in the kingdom of God. In Christ God’s promises are all “Yes and Amen!” (2 Corinthians 1-18-20)
Technorati Tags: +Easter, Easter Rabbit, Resurrection, Baptism, Lord's Supper, Holy Communion
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Happy Birthday, Mother!
Today is the birthday of our mother, the Church of the New Testament!
This night, the night of our Lord’s betrayal into the hands of sinful men, is the night in which the Church of the New Testament was brought into being. The Church of the Old Testament, the Testament of the Circumcision and Passover, gave birth to the Church of the New Testament of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Church of the Old Testament had reached the day of parturition. The Lord fulfilled the Old Testament by sacrificing and pouring out His blood. The Old Testament, sealed temporarily with the blood of the men and boys of God’s household and with the blood of animals, needed to be constantly renewed with new blood until the day that the Lord sealed the Testament with His own shedding of His own lifeblood. Now the Old Testament was carried to completion so that no more sacrifices would be needed. Now the Lord’s own blood would be given in the Cup of the New Testament, sealing all to whom it is communicated in the Lord’s death till He comes.
And so the Lord continues to be betrayed, that is, handed over, into the hands of sinful men to seal them into His Holy Communion. First they are sealed with the renewal of the Holy Ghost in the washing of regeneration (Titus 3). Then they are fed the body and blood of the Lord Jesus so that they may be continually and regularly strengthened and renewed into the Holy Communion into which they have been baptized.
Truly this is a holy day of blessed memorial as we remember the birth of our mother and partake of the life that is poured out freely for us and the many.
Technorati Tags: +Holy Communion, New Testament, Old Testament, Maundy Thursday, betrayal, blood, Lord, life, forgiveness, renewal, Sacraments
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
This night, the night of our Lord’s betrayal into the hands of sinful men, is the night in which the Church of the New Testament was brought into being. The Church of the Old Testament, the Testament of the Circumcision and Passover, gave birth to the Church of the New Testament of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Church of the Old Testament had reached the day of parturition. The Lord fulfilled the Old Testament by sacrificing and pouring out His blood. The Old Testament, sealed temporarily with the blood of the men and boys of God’s household and with the blood of animals, needed to be constantly renewed with new blood until the day that the Lord sealed the Testament with His own shedding of His own lifeblood. Now the Old Testament was carried to completion so that no more sacrifices would be needed. Now the Lord’s own blood would be given in the Cup of the New Testament, sealing all to whom it is communicated in the Lord’s death till He comes.
And so the Lord continues to be betrayed, that is, handed over, into the hands of sinful men to seal them into His Holy Communion. First they are sealed with the renewal of the Holy Ghost in the washing of regeneration (Titus 3). Then they are fed the body and blood of the Lord Jesus so that they may be continually and regularly strengthened and renewed into the Holy Communion into which they have been baptized.
Truly this is a holy day of blessed memorial as we remember the birth of our mother and partake of the life that is poured out freely for us and the many.
Technorati Tags: +Holy Communion, New Testament, Old Testament, Maundy Thursday, betrayal, blood, Lord, life, forgiveness, renewal, Sacraments
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
