Job 3:1-26
Acts 9:10-19
John 6:41-51
Psalter
79, 80 81-83
Cyprian of Carthage, Pastor and Martyr
Cyprian (A.D. ca. 200-258) was acclaimed bishop of the North African city of Carthage around 248. During the persecution of the Roman emperor Decius, Cyprian fled Carthage but returned two years later. He was then forced to deal with the problem of Christians who had lapsed from their faith under persecution and now wanted to return to the church. It was decided that these lapsed Christians could be restored but that their restoration could take place only after a period of penance that demonstrated their faithfulness. During the persecution under Emperor Valerian, Cyprian at first went into hiding but later gave himself up to the authorities. He was beheaded for the faith in Carthage in 258. [From "Commemorations Biographies," Lutheran Service Book, LCMS Commission on Worship]
The Aardvark has a longer biography of Cyprian here.
Higher Things Reflection for today:
For one moment, imagine that God’s forgiveness in Christ did not exist. How does this make you feel? Angry, scared, frustrated, hopeless, lost, confused, bitter, overwhelmed? The majority of people in this world do not yet know the love of God in Christ Jesus. Little do they realize that God loves them in Christ Jesus. In fact, in Christ, God loves all people.
We did not choose Him, He chose us. We are “God’s chosen people” because He made us His through the Blood of His Son. And through the forgiveness of Christ, we forgive one another. The compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience we have for our neighbor is a direct outcome of God’s love for us.
God’s forgiveness in Christ also came to us before we loved Him. The same should be true of our love and forgiveness for our neighbor. It does not matter whether our neighbor first loves us.
The Holy Spirit cannot be contained within us. He works in us and through us to share God’s gifts for the world. It is God’s greatest desire that all should come to know salvation through Christ.
The only hindrance to God’s plan of salvation is us. We ask ourselves “How could God possibly use someone like me?” The answer to this question is simple. He knows us even better than we know ourselves. He knows we are not perfect, but He sends us out into an imperfect world filled with imperfect people and works through us – even through our imperfection.
Christ’s salvation is a certainty for all believers. God promises eternal life to all who believe. It is for this reason we can and do clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and be patience and bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances we may have against one another. We forgive as the Lord has forgiven us. Amen. ¶ 9/16/2006 08:07:00 AM 0 Comments
Do not do this unless you have several hours with nothing else to do!
Without warning me that this was not a simple upgrade that would use the same settings as before it has, for some reason known only to the goofy gurus at Apple, gone into a lengthy period of agonizingly slow reconfiguration of the 8,000 + tracks on my computer!
I've been at it for several HOURS now! All I actually wanted to do was to update my podcasts and go to bed!
A WARNING that you are going to take over someone's computer for four or five hours of pointless "updating" would be really nice you Apple Jerks!
There, I feel much better now :-) ¶ 9/16/2006 12:22:00 AM 0 Comments
