Larry Devich
Sunday, July 16, 2006
War in the Middle East
I'm posting this photo because it is by far the best shot I've ever seen of a missile impact. Quite simply this is a very cool picture. Click for a slightly larger image.
Not so cool if you were standing there of course.
Pray for peace. ¶ 7/16/2006 10:18:00 AM 0 Comments
I'm posting this photo because it is by far the best shot I've ever seen of a missile impact. Quite simply this is a very cool picture. Click for a slightly larger image.
Not so cool if you were standing there of course.
Pray for peace. ¶ 7/16/2006 10:18:00 AM 0 Comments
Sunday in Week 6 of Pentecost
Daily readings
Sunday
Numbers 14:26-45
Acts 15:1-12
Luke 12:49-56
All three of this morning's readings seem to be talking about dissension in the church and in the family as well. Numbers continues the tale of the Israelites doubt and it's consequences, followed by direct defiance of God when he pronounced his judgment. Instead of humbly accepting God's decree and repenting they pretended to repent and went up to fight in Canaan in defiance of the Word of God they were given through Moses. The consequences were predictable.
In Acts the dissension is over the method of salvation. Some taught that there were certain acts that the new believers must do to be saved, in particular circumcision and following the law of the Old Testament. Peter and Paul taught that "we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus." Sadly this same debate continues up until this very day. Many, if not most, churches teach that there are things we must do to be saved. The Roman church is one and many of the so-called Evangelical churches do the same thing, you must accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, presented as something the unbeliever can actually do. The truth is that only with the work of the Holy Spirit can an unbeliever say Jesus is Lord and once they do that they are already in the kingdom, the Holy Spirit has begun to work in them at that point. Why do we struggle so hard to take back from God the gift of salvation and claim some bit of credit for it? "Oh yes, it's a free gift, but I have to accept it!" This is a lie, a dead spirit cannot do anything but reject salvation, we fallen sinners in our natural state hate God. It is only when the Holy Spirit gives us new life through the means of grace, through the Word of God and the Sacraments, that we can become children of God. I asked why we would try to take back the credit for our salvation from God, that is easy, we do it because as long as we are in these fallen bodies we are as Christians both 100% sinner and 100% saints. The old Adam struggles mightily to go his own way again. We repent daily.
In fact that is one of the very good things about the historic liturgy. In the liturgy we are presented with the truth of our sinfulness, we are called to repentance and we are provided with God's forgiveness each and every week. Our old man is nothing if not persistent, and Satan is the same. Satan and our old nature conspire together to cause us to forget our salvation. That is why we need to be constantly reminded of what Christ has done for us on the cross. There is never a time when we can safely say, "Well, I've got that down now lets go on to something else."
Finally we have the very words of Jesus in Luke telling us that his gospel will divide people. This is so very true. The true gospel of God's grace, the gospel centered on the Cross of Christ, is offensive to normal sinful man and we naturally want to reject it. The natural man rejects the work of Christ on the Cross and claims we must do something do earn it. The natural man rejects the Word of Jesus on the Cross when he proclaimed "It is finished" and says, it is finished but we must...
Dear Father in heaven, You have adopted me as Your very own and given me Your name in the waters of my Holy Baptism. You have generously poured out upon me Your Holy Spirit through Your Son, my only Savior, Jesus Christ. By the washing of the water with Your Word, i have been united with him in His death. Just as surely do I have a share in His resurrection and His never-ending life. For His sake You have called me a beloved child and declared me to be well pleasing in Your sight. For all of this I thank and praise You. Yet my old Adam remains, with all my sinful desires, while the devil and the world seek to entice me away from You. Only You can help me and save me. Be gracious to me; guard and protect me from all evil. Surround me with Your holy angels; keep the devil at bay, and all his works and all his ways far from me. Return me always to the saving waters of my Holy Baptism, and thereby drown and destroy the Adam within me. By Your Word and Holy Spirit, bring me daily to contrition and repentance, and by Your free and full forgiveness of my sins, strengthen and sustain my faith and lift me up with Your dear Son to that new life that shows forth Your praise; through same Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.
(Lutheran book of Prayer p. 80)
¶ 7/16/2006 06:39:00 AM 0 Comments
Sunday
Numbers 14:26-45
Acts 15:1-12
Luke 12:49-56
All three of this morning's readings seem to be talking about dissension in the church and in the family as well. Numbers continues the tale of the Israelites doubt and it's consequences, followed by direct defiance of God when he pronounced his judgment. Instead of humbly accepting God's decree and repenting they pretended to repent and went up to fight in Canaan in defiance of the Word of God they were given through Moses. The consequences were predictable.
In Acts the dissension is over the method of salvation. Some taught that there were certain acts that the new believers must do to be saved, in particular circumcision and following the law of the Old Testament. Peter and Paul taught that "we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus." Sadly this same debate continues up until this very day. Many, if not most, churches teach that there are things we must do to be saved. The Roman church is one and many of the so-called Evangelical churches do the same thing, you must accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, presented as something the unbeliever can actually do. The truth is that only with the work of the Holy Spirit can an unbeliever say Jesus is Lord and once they do that they are already in the kingdom, the Holy Spirit has begun to work in them at that point. Why do we struggle so hard to take back from God the gift of salvation and claim some bit of credit for it? "Oh yes, it's a free gift, but I have to accept it!" This is a lie, a dead spirit cannot do anything but reject salvation, we fallen sinners in our natural state hate God. It is only when the Holy Spirit gives us new life through the means of grace, through the Word of God and the Sacraments, that we can become children of God. I asked why we would try to take back the credit for our salvation from God, that is easy, we do it because as long as we are in these fallen bodies we are as Christians both 100% sinner and 100% saints. The old Adam struggles mightily to go his own way again. We repent daily.
In fact that is one of the very good things about the historic liturgy. In the liturgy we are presented with the truth of our sinfulness, we are called to repentance and we are provided with God's forgiveness each and every week. Our old man is nothing if not persistent, and Satan is the same. Satan and our old nature conspire together to cause us to forget our salvation. That is why we need to be constantly reminded of what Christ has done for us on the cross. There is never a time when we can safely say, "Well, I've got that down now lets go on to something else."
Finally we have the very words of Jesus in Luke telling us that his gospel will divide people. This is so very true. The true gospel of God's grace, the gospel centered on the Cross of Christ, is offensive to normal sinful man and we naturally want to reject it. The natural man rejects the work of Christ on the Cross and claims we must do something do earn it. The natural man rejects the Word of Jesus on the Cross when he proclaimed "It is finished" and says, it is finished but we must...
Dear Father in heaven, You have adopted me as Your very own and given me Your name in the waters of my Holy Baptism. You have generously poured out upon me Your Holy Spirit through Your Son, my only Savior, Jesus Christ. By the washing of the water with Your Word, i have been united with him in His death. Just as surely do I have a share in His resurrection and His never-ending life. For His sake You have called me a beloved child and declared me to be well pleasing in Your sight. For all of this I thank and praise You. Yet my old Adam remains, with all my sinful desires, while the devil and the world seek to entice me away from You. Only You can help me and save me. Be gracious to me; guard and protect me from all evil. Surround me with Your holy angels; keep the devil at bay, and all his works and all his ways far from me. Return me always to the saving waters of my Holy Baptism, and thereby drown and destroy the Adam within me. By Your Word and Holy Spirit, bring me daily to contrition and repentance, and by Your free and full forgiveness of my sins, strengthen and sustain my faith and lift me up with Your dear Son to that new life that shows forth Your praise; through same Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.
(Lutheran book of Prayer p. 80)
¶ 7/16/2006 06:39:00 AM 0 Comments
