tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89342983016634995612024-03-12T13:54:31.056-04:00The Christian CurmudgeonOpinions by Curmudgeon are his alone (excepting homilies). They are not the views of his parish or denomination.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.comBlogger391125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-4205738909070680822015-09-20T16:08:00.000-04:002015-09-20T16:32:56.436-04:00I Am the Man!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I Am the Man!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80C_zll2uu1UD4hd4wImBdBm2UTVdl4KqYZBp80LG6rneZxbk9kjo2GOA4dZhdkTU86e1EPkYKYAQXfGphuCuJrqgK4AzXydfgBZSTvLLExTN-5rhgAqi5Bvz6Hez2MtIU47odr7mA14/s1600/David+Psalm+51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80C_zll2uu1UD4hd4wImBdBm2UTVdl4KqYZBp80LG6rneZxbk9kjo2GOA4dZhdkTU86e1EPkYKYAQXfGphuCuJrqgK4AzXydfgBZSTvLLExTN-5rhgAqi5Bvz6Hez2MtIU47odr7mA14/s400/David+Psalm+51.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Psalter 51: Miserere mei, Deus. Book of Common Prayer, p. 341</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; according to the multitude of thy mercies do away mine offences.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 Wash me throughly from my wickedness, cleanse me from my sin.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 For I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 Against thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that thou mightest be justified in thy saying, and clear when thou shalt judge.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 Behold, I was shapen in wickedness, and in sin hath my mother conceived me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6 But lo, thou requirest truth in the inward parts, and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7 Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8 Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9 Turn thy face from my sins, and put out all my misdeeds.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10 Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11 Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12 O give me the comfort of thy help again, and stablish me with thy free Spirit.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">13 Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked, and sinners shall be converted unto thee.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">14 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou that art the God of my health; and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">15 Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall show thy praise.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">16 For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it thee; but thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">17 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt thou not despise.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">18 O be and gracious unto Sion; build thou the walls of Jerusalem.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, with the burnt-offerings and oblations; then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; line-height: 1.2; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">People who know no other stories about King David know two - David and Goliath, and David and Bathsheba. In one story David is a hero; in the other a villain.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">Familiarity with the Bathsheba story may diminish our sense of the enormity of David’s sin. He committed adultery with Bathsheba the wife of Uriah, one of his soldiers. When she became pregnant, he arranged for her husband to be killed in battle. Then David covered his tracks by marrying her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It seemed he got away with it. Then the Lord sent the prophet Nathan. The king was in denial till Nathan said, “Thou art the man!” Psalm 51 is the convicted David’s response: “Yes, I am the man!”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is a mistake if we think that because we have not committed David’s sins - if we have not - Psalm 51 is not for us. No, I have sinned; you have sinned. I am the man; you are the man. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">What does David teach us to do about sin? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Confess your sins. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> David was an Old Testament believer; we might say a sincere Christian. Yet he sinned gravely, and then suppressed his sense of guilt. But when God broke through David’s defenses, David said, “I acknowledge my faults; my sins are ever before me.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Confessing includes three things:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.1. Confess sin as sin. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have many ways to avoid acknowledging our own sin. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">blame</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> others. Adam responded to the Lord’s question, “Have you eaten from the tree I told you not to eat?” with, “This woman whom you gave me gave me the fruit and I ate.” There are many to blame - parents, dysfunctional homes, spouses, bosses, friends. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can </span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">minimize</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> our sins. We can do that with this Psalm: “David committed the really big sins, adultery and murder. My sins are pretty ordinary, pretty small, the things everybody does.” </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can </span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">explain</span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> our sins by calling them something else. We call sin: “Acting out.” “Addictive behavior.” “Co-dependence.” These terms can be helpful, but not if we use them to avoid saying our sins are sin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">David uses the words we must use: sins, offenses, wickedness, faults, misdeeds, blood-guiltiness. These describe anything in our heads, hearts, character and conduct contrary to God’s will.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.2 Confess the essence of sin. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Against thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight…”.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">How can David say that when it is so obvious that he sinned against others? Uriah whose death he caused. Bathsheba whose marital purity he corrupted. The nation whose trust he betrayed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">But what is sin. All sin is treason and rebellion against God our Creator and King. It is the rule of Self, with Self’s wants, desires, and needs. And for believers, sin is denial of Christ who redeemed us, ingratitude for his grace and mercy, and failure to grasp the cost of our salvation, Christ’s death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because David gets this he declares that God his Judge is “justified.” He does not contest God’s verdict of “guilty.” David will not accuse God of being too harsh. David’s crimes deserved the capital punishment prescribed under the Old Testament Law. David was in the wrong; God was in the right. Whatever our sins, that is always true.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.3 Confess the origin of sin. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">David confesses, “Behold, I was shapen in wickedness, and in sin hath my mother conceived me.” </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are we sinners because we sin? Or, do we sin because we are sinners? Yes and yes. We are sinners by doing, and we are sinners by nature. We did not start out good, innocent, or even neutral. Sin is at the root of our being; sin in intertwined with every part of our lives- not just our doing, but also our thinking, feeling, desiring, willing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">This truth is taught in Holy Scripture. It is observable. Does anyone need to learn to be selfish? To lie? Sin is universal, because the sinful nature is universal. It is natural to sin, because sin infects our nature.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do we do about sin? Confess it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. Ask for mercy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">What do you do when you are convinced of your sin?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.1 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The human tendency is to ask, “What can I </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">do</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">?” </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We think, “The good in my life will outweigh the bad on God’s scales.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or, “I will try harder to love God and love my neighbor and to obey the 10 Commandments, make up for my sins, and earn my way back into God’s favor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or, “I will go to church, say my prayers, and receive sacraments. God will accept my sacrifices of worship.” David knew better: “For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it thee; but thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt thou not despise.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nothing that we do or offer is adequate. God wants a troubled spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Without sincere sorrow nothing is acceptable. But we must not think that while God will not accept good works, resolve to do better, or acts of worship, he will accept our sorrow as making up for our sin. We can’t do enough good, or try hard enough, or offer enough worship, or cry enough to deal with our sins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Anglican minister and poet, Augustus Toplady, got it right:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Not the labour of my hands</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Can fulfill Thy law's demands;</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Could my zeal no respite know,</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Could my tears forever flow,</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">All for sin could not atone;</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thou must save, and Thou alone.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">2.2. Because only God can save, we plead for mercy. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Have mercy upon me, O God.” David has no claims on God. No bargaining position. Nothing to offer to God. No plea of mitigating circumstances. He can only beg for mercy. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The only reasons he can give for God to show mercy are God’s great goodness and multitude of mercies. “Goodness” is God’s steadfast, irrevocable love. The “multitude of mercies” is God’s deep compassion toward his people, even when they sin. The prodigal forfeited any right to be a son, yet the father never stopped loving his son, and, when he saw his son in rags, his heart was moved with compassion. Despite your sins you can plead for mercy because of God’s great love and multitude of mercies.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">2.3. We ask God to cleanse our guilt.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">David asks for mercy, but he knows there is still the reality of what he has done. The charges of adultery, murder, and betrayal are recorded with indelible ink. So long as they are there, he cannot be reconciled to God and restored to his favor. So David asks, “Do away mine offenses. Blot them out. Put out my sins. Thou shalt purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Turn thy face from my sins; and put out all my misdeeds.” </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t just draw a line through my sins, but blot them out with ink so dark they cannot be seen. My sins are like dirty and stinking clothes I wore when I crawled through the mud and dung of a feed lot. I now see and smell myself. I am unfit for God’s company. I need God to wash me thoroughly and make me dirty self whiter than snow. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is thick enough to blot out our sins? What is strong enough to wash them away? Only the blood of Jesus. When we know this we sing,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nothing in my hand I bring,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">simply to thy cross I cling,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">naked, come to thee for dress,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">helpless look to thee for grace;</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">foul, I to the Fountain fly;</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">wash me Savior or I die.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">3.4 We ask God to renew and restore us.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We objective guilt which we ask God to forgive. But we also know we have a pollution inside our selves. We feel estranged from God and fearful he will abandon us. We know we need strength to be able to do God’s will. So we pray with David:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;"> right spirit within me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">O give me the comfort of thy help again, and stablish me with thy free Spirit.</span></span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is not a prayer we pray once, but over and over again as we walk through this world, aware of how sinful our hearts are, sometimes fearful God will withdraw his fellowship from us, and knowing how weak are our wills and how prone we are to fall. At Holy Communion, we ask the and the Lord assures he will create and continue creating clean hearts in us; we ask and the Lord assures he will not forsake us but restore us to his favor in Christ. We ask and the Lord assures he will give us strength to do his willingly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">With David we confess our sins, and we hear the Absolution:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Almighty God, our heavenly Father, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all those who with hearty faith and true repentance turn unto him; Have mercy upon you; pardon and deliver you from all your sins; confirm and strengthen you in all goodness; and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-54554790782853030862015-09-13T21:31:00.003-04:002015-09-13T21:31:36.587-04:00Consecration of Covenant Church<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">Consecration</b><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;"> </b></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Covenant Reformed Episcopal Church</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">September 13, 2013</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;">The Most Rev. Royal Grote, Presiding Bishop</b></div>
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<b style="font-family: inherit;">The Rt. Rev. Daniel R. Morse, Bishop Ordinary</b></div>
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<b>The Rt. Rev. Peter Manto, Bishop Suffragan</b></div>
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<b>The Very Rev. W. Scott Thompson, Dean</b></div>
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<b>The Rev. William H. Smith, Vicar</b></div>
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<b>The Rev. Richard W. Worskowski, Assistant</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Church</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bp. Dan Morse</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NpFXP03ffXsiMTiq2h_YHwi6UD2zYaP_KoIbBDWwLqBTAkwDCg4C6ikXXO9T2BgI47wtQepEBB2MgZUvdlEAjF5EefHklBZFJRH83BqdAPbbqK-mr4nKUvOlHjfpsByIWjf1PLLFcjM/s1600/Consecration6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NpFXP03ffXsiMTiq2h_YHwi6UD2zYaP_KoIbBDWwLqBTAkwDCg4C6ikXXO9T2BgI47wtQepEBB2MgZUvdlEAjF5EefHklBZFJRH83BqdAPbbqK-mr4nKUvOlHjfpsByIWjf1PLLFcjM/s320/Consecration6.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fr. Rich Workowski</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Clemmitt Sigler</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fr. Bill Smith</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drummer</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piper<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trumpeter and Organist<br /><br /></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-26925612692724631742015-09-09T16:03:00.002-04:002015-09-12T17:34:05.244-04:00At Least I'm Not That Kind of Sinner<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">I'm With Doug Wilson on This One</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes we think that because we disagree with a person much of the time, we must disagree with them all of the time. We may be tempted to think that if a person is wrong about some really big things, he must be wrong about everything. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I admit that even before he became as controversial as he is now, I was never a fan of Doug Wilson. I never got on board with his approach to "classical Christian education." I really don't like his brand of patriarchy, though his is not so totally objectionable as that of my <i>bete noire</i> Tim Bayly. I think his ecclesiology is crazy. I think he is wrong on the so-called "federal vision." I think he is smart but quirky. I do like the humor which he injects into his writings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, lately he has been taking a lot of heat about a convicted pedophile to whom his church has ministered. He and his elders have issued an <a href="http://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/an-open-letter-from-christ-church-on-steven-sitler.html">open letter</a> on the subject. I do not know the history of the case, nor do I have any knowledge on which to have any opinion about current allegations regarding the person. But that does not have an impact on what I do know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is what I do know: I have read the open letter, and I think that the approach to people guilty of serious sins that he defends is right. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Billy Joe Shaver wrote a song <i>If You Don't Love Jesus Go to Hell. </i>I sometimes get the impression that some Christians would like sinners, especially sexual sinners, even if they are Christians, to go straight to hell without passing go or collecting $200. And, if you don't agree with them about this, you can go to hell, too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are a few excerpts from the open letter:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">On the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus, he (the man) is as welcome as any other sinner is, which is to say, <i>he is very welcome</i>.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">...the task of ministering to broken people is one of the central glories of the Christian church. For us, there are two causes of rejoicing in this. The first is that Christ came into the world for the sake of the screwed-up people. “And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Luke 5:31, ESV). We refuse to abandon that glory for the sake of our own reputation or convenience. This is the gospel—through Christ God saves sinners. Second, the church is a hospital for sinners, not a rest home for saints which brings us to the second glory. When we minister to people in this kind of desperate condition, there will be others in the grip of bile and bitterness who use the occasion to attack the hospital staff for “supporting and applauding” the diseases the hospital staff is actually laboring to eradicate.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">If God were to mark iniquities, no one could stand (Ps. 130:3). All of us would go down before the wrath of God, like grass before the scythe. No one is righteous, not even one (Rom. 3:10). This is the meaning of the Lord’s saying when dealing with the accusers who wanted to stone the woman caught in adultery (John 8:3). When Jesus said that the one without sin should cast the first stone, He did not mean that sin should not be dealt with. It must be dealt with because God dwells in unapproachable holiness (Is. 6:1-3). But it cannot be dealt with by Pharisees with rocks in their hands and anger on their faces. That is the so-called solution of religiosity, filled to the brim with its own moral impotence. In order to deal with our wickedness—and by wickedness, we mean child molestation, child murder, racial enmity, sodomy, slanderous accusation, fornication, adultery, theft, blasphemy, bitterness, disrespect of parents, pornography, hatred, malice, envy, drunkenness, drug abuse, and more—the Son of God had to die on a gibbet.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>I wrote what follows four years ago. I thought maybe it deserved a republication:</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Mercy, Mercy on Me</b></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Empathy is the ability to feel what another is feeling. It comes from our having had similar experiences and feelings in such a way that we remember and are able to put ourselves in the place of another. If we lack empathy, we may at worst despise others and at best fail to help.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">If there is one thing all of us ought to be able to do, it is to put ourselves in the place of sinners and the need for mercy for the simple reason that we ourselves sin and need mercy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Both the office and the ministry of the Old Testament high priest gave him reason to show mercy to Israelite sinners. According to the writer of Hebrews: “He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifices for his own sins just as he does for those of the people” (Hebrews 5: 2, 3).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Whenever the high priest offered sacrifice, he was called to remember that not only the sinner at the altar needed sacrifice; he too, and no less, needed sacrifice. At the altar especially he should have remembered, not merely that he was sometimes weak, but that he was beset by weakness. Self-knowledge – of one’s sin and need of mercy – plus God knowledge - of his mercy and provision of sacrifice – should add up to gentleness in dealing with other sinners.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Did it? Probably not always, if we are to judge by our own treatment of fellow-sinners. The question that puzzles me about myself and sometimes others is why we don’t deal with fellow sinners as ourselves sinners in need of mercy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Why? Here are some possibilities:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">(1) Sometimes we are hypocrites. The fact that there is not just a splinter but a telephone pole in the eye of another does not mean that we still do not have logs in ours. And, one of the ugliest tendencies of our hypocrisy is that we can be very indignant about the sins of others. We can even persuade ourselves that we are different from them or that our sins are different from theirs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">(2) We can forget our own pasts. Sometimes those who come to faith after a life of profligate sin forget where they once were, especially if they have never slid back. But, we can also forget the sins we have committed as believers, grievous as they can be. We forget that the worst of our sins may be been committed, not as unbelievers, but believers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">(3) We can develop unhealthy expressions of piety that lack the beauty of God’s holiness. We can lose perspective and become hard, cold, prissy, priggish, censorious, judgmental. Our experience can be so insular that we are unable to see these things about ourselves.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">(4) We can find it hard to deal with really serious sin, especially if we ourselves are pretty “normal” sinners. There are sins and then there are sins, and the ones of the second category don’t fit into our concept of sins that occur in Christian lives. No Christian will deny the reality of his own sin and need of a Savior, but, if we have seen spared the “big” ones, we may find it difficult to understand other believers who have not. We know in theory we Christians have the seeds of every sin in our own hearts, but we cannot deal with those who prove the theory in practice.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Our evangelical sub-culture is not very good at dealing with the sins that exist among us. We respond with shock, embarrassment, and bafflement to the sins of others. Or, if we are the offenders, we hide and perhaps suffer secret despair all the while fearing discovery while do our best to keep up a good front. There is an unintentional conspiracy of silence, dishonesty, and denial.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">We understand when a believer says, “In the past, the good that I wanted to do I did not do, and the evil that I did not want to do I did.” The past tense we can deal with. The present tense, not so much.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">When I was a very young minister, I read Calvin as I prepared to preach on Psalm 130. It was one of those things you read or hear and never forget: No sinner will ever come to God unless he is convinced that God is inclined to be merciful to him if he comes. We would do well to remember that about ourselves, too. Sinners are not likely to come to us unless they sense that they will receive mercy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Jesus had no sin but ours, and suffered nothing but was ours to suffer. Yet, having known the guilt of sin when he was made sin for us, and having experienced the condemnation of sin when he was delivered up for our transgressions, he never fails to show mercy to sinners.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">By the way, if you think that writing this reveals that I am a sinner, sometimes unmerciful to others, but always in need of mercy myself, you could not be more right. You saw right through me</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-20505009356938052522015-09-07T11:31:00.000-04:002015-09-08T16:24:26.562-04:00The Bayly Boys' Sex Problem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">They're Obsessed*</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Receptionist in Law Office: <i>May I get you a cup of coffee?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My Dad: <i>I didn't think y'all did that kind of stuff anymore.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And you wonder why the man is my hero.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To say that Tim and David Bayly are obsessed with sex is an understatement. No, I don't accuse them of being obsessed with the erotic in a teenage boy or arrested development way. But I do mean they are obsessed with sex and have a sex problem because that is their chosen word for talking about all that it means to be male and female. They talk about sex all the time. They hate the word "gender." They love the word "sex." (Some other words they love: "sodomy", "sodomite", "effeminate", "authority", "rule" "rebellion", "precious", "mincing and prancing".) A few quotes: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The craziness started when sex morphed into gender and the distinctions between men and women went from the hard reality of body parts to the soft fiction of social constructs. Back in the old days, a baby was born and the doctor or nurse took a quick look and said either "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!"</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">'Sex' was out and 'gender' was in. Sex was binary and hard, while gender was a continuum and infinitely plastic, submitting to each man doing what was right in his own eyes. Everyone was free to choose the point on the continuum where he, she, or it felt most comfortable.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's not "gender." It's sex! God-ordained psychological, physiological, and spiritual bifurcation.</span><span style="font-size: large;">Gender </span><span style="font-size: large;">roles are social constructs, but God's order of the sexes is perpetual </span><span style="font-size: large;">and binding. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">We also need to teach everyone in our congregations the difference between sex and gender; and that sex trumps gender and is fixed by God—not man. Such teaching is the first step of repentance and faith in our perverse generation, and thus the first step of loving the souls of our perverse generation. And such teaching will be needed as much or more by those souls coming into our congregations from Reformed churches as those coming in from rank paganism.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">("Sex" and "gender" used to be exchangeable words, with gender the more euphemistic way of referring to sex. Now "sex" is about chromosomes and body parts, while "gender" is about social constructs such as identity and roles. Of course, "sex" as in "having sex" has to do sexual acts. In an older and better world "gender" had to do with grammar. When it came to Greek I sometimes experienced gender confusion.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For the Baylys sex and sex-based roles are absolutely fundamental teaching of Scripture:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">As many have pointed out above, this order of God's creation of the sexes is a central theme of Scripture.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Turning from God to man, the postmodern's attack on sex is a mishmash. The enemy can breach the wall as well by stealth and confusion and radar jamming as a ramrod smashing against the gates. Postmoderns are furious that God made Adam first, then Eve; that He decreed Adam to be our federal head; and that He named our race "adam" rather than "adam-eve" or "eve," and this fury has led to changes in English usage which, in turn, have motivated thousands of deletions of the original Hebrew and Greek in our latest Bible products.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Baylys do not think the word "complementarian" is strong enough to refer to male and female roles. They prefer the word "patriarchy" or "father rule." Patriarchy is more than a very rigorous and somewhat odd view of male headship and female submission in the home and in the church. Patriarchy is God's design for the ways men and women relate to one another in all of life:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When we deny that sex and authority have any connection outside the home and the Church, we are limiting God's Order of Creation to the private spheres where the doctrinal commitments of Christians may remain hidden from the sight of unbelievers. Thus we change our Lord's command </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">to "you are the salt of the Church, so don't be ashamed of my commands, but let your light shine before other believers."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">After denying that every woman is subordinate to every male, Tim seems to deny what he just wrote:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But to say there is no authority-subordinate relationship between every man and every woman is not to say there's no universal standard of relationship between men and women. In other words, the relationship between man and woman is never asexual.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Every man made in the image of God is either a man or a woman; and every man or woman testifies to his sexual nature in every contact with a member of the opposite sex--either by faithfully confessing the Order of Creation or by rebelling against it. In fact, this distinction God blessed us with is so basic--so fundamental and foundational--that we never stop testifying to our faithfulness or rebellion...</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">A woman relating to a man should relate to him in a way that is </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">womanly just as a man relating to a woman should relate to her in a way that is manly.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Teach your daughters the nature of feminine deference and your sons the nature of masculine responsibility and leadership.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">They say of the PCA (David's present connection and Tim's former):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">...they have lost any understanding of the nature of femininity, other than that the husband is the head of the wife and men are the only ones allowed to be elders. After all, most men still want to be king of their castle.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Men like this have absolutely no doctrine of sexuality, other than the bare-bones of adhering to the explicit rules of Scripture (where those rules don't cut too deeply into their lifestyle of libertinism, that is). </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">What has them all hot and bothered right </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://baylyblog.com/blog/2015/09/rachel-miller-and-valerie-hobbs-where-apostle-paul-when-we-need-him" style="font-family: inherit;">now</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">is an </span><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2015/09/02/the-subordinate-place-of-supreme-honor-response-to-douglas-wilson/" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">article</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> by Valerie Hobbs and Rachel Miller in which they criticize the views of </span><a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/should-women-be-police-officers" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">John Piper</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> and </span><a href="https://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/carve-outs-and-ghettos.html" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Doug Wilson</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> about whether women may be police officers. Piper, responding to a question by a woman who feels drawn to police work (but who would quit if, when she marries, her husband objects), nuances his view (in ways the absolutist Baylys would not) and stops short of saying "no", but leads his questioner toward the negative answer. Wilson writes with with his characteristic humor (one thing I like about his writing, and something the Baylys sometimes attempt but don't pull off), but criticizes not only the housewife theologian Aimee Byrd but also the always male and almost always sane Carl Trueman. Wilson is a definite "no" on women as cops: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">"So, no. A Christian complementarian woman should not become a cop, especially when it involves riot gear. No."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Tim had earlier thought this one out:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Let me be clear, here: I am not saying that Christian men should </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">rebel against authority when, contrary to God’s Creation order, it is</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">exercised by woman. If a female police officer pulls me over and </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">tickets me, I’ll respect and submit to her, not because she has a gun</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">and a radio, but because she has been placed over me by God, bearing </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">the sword in His behalf.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Still, I will recognize that her authority is contrary to God’s </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">creation order in the matter of sexuality, and it will grieve me </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">causing me, like Lot, to gnash my teeth. And this is how every biblical </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Christian should view the exercise of authority by woman over man no </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">matter where it occurs. As the Holy Spirit said, woman is not to teach</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">or exercise authority over man because Adam was created first, and then </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Eve.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I have read the Hobbs-Miller article. It is largely a linguistic analysis of Doug Wilson's writings which, I suppose, proves that he is a chauvinist who has some idiosyncratic views of marriage, roles, and sexual relations. Though I found their article ponderous (what else could statistical linguistic analysis be?), lacking in humor, and failing to spell what submission in home and church means, I share some of the concerns of Hobbs-Miller about Wilson. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Not so Tim and David. Tim, especially, is apoplectic. These women are in rebellion against God and his creation. The fact of their being women disqualifies them from criticizing Piper and Wilson. They are excluded from the kingdom of God:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Currently, there are several pieces out there on the web that display the depth of rebellion against God's Order of Creation that has taken over the Reformed church today. Let's start with two women who have gone to the internet to correct and rebuke a number of church officers including Pastors John Piper and Doug Wilson.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The first thing to note is that they are women. Of course my pointing this out will elicit howls from the Joni Rebel side. "Our being women has absolutely nothing to do with it," they'll protest. But of course, it has everything to do with it. When women such as Dr. Valerie Hobbs and Ms. Rachel Miller publicly admonish and rebuke men, particularly men who are ordained officers of Christ's Church, it would be hard to imagine any clearer rebellion against their sex. To say these women are immodest or that the viewing of their public exercise is unseemly is a gross understatement, Scripturally. This is sexual rebellion on the order of the male effeminacy that Scripture tells us disbars a man from </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">the Kingdom of God...</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Christians, who ought to see the evil of Hobbs-Miller, do not because they have been conformed to the wicked world:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Yes, there will be protests against such a severe condemnation of these women's rebellion, but only because we live in a decadent age when almost no one recognizes, let alone feels, the depth of this violation of God's Order of Creation. "How can something be so evil that seems so unremarkable—almost normal—to me?" you may ask.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Because pastors today have stopped guarding the good deposit in any way analogous to the Apostle Paul's guarding of the souls under his care as recorded in the New Testament. When the Apostle Paul was faced with women rebels in the New Testament churches, how did he respond?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">He taught to the issue and his teaching was simple and straightforward: God created Adam first and Eve second, and this act of God, combined with Eve being the one who was deceived, condemns women teaching and exercising authority over men...</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Following the quotation of 1 Timothy 2:12-15, Tim delivers the final condemnation:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Read Dr. Hobbs and Ms. Miller's corrections and rebukes of these men who are church officers set apart to the work of shepherding God's sheep and it's hard to imagine women doing anything more directly contrary to the command of God above. Their correction and rebuke of Pastors Piper and Wilson is a public act flaunting their disobedience of God and the worst response we could have would be to avoid pointing out that rebellion, and condemning it.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">If Pastors John Piper and Doug Wilson have betrayed the Word of God in their teaching on sexuality, they both are surrounded by pastors and elders whose duty it is to watch over their teaching and correct them when they are in error. This is not women's work.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">So says the Word of God. So says God's Order of Creation.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My counsel to Baylys: Boys, try to think about something else. Sublimate. Distract yourselves. Get some vigorous exercise. Take a cold shower.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">If that doesn't work, we can send Priscilla and Aquila over to take you aside and explain to you the way of God more accurately (Acts 18:26). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">*I have not submitted this for approval to the management here. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-18197791713987580742015-09-06T17:21:00.001-04:002015-09-06T17:22:00.172-04:00Please But No Thank You<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Please But No Thank You</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5N7ogyQsr4AroR3ycSb8cL8yH3kFd-JJbjGVfONWBr_UEriAWS5xY687xth2OK1oYf0n-lUT0dWWvC3cq_e0H8hzSA2s7Ahcu7hwBaNyuRIxM5dyRSZbTcQKAA21SSJmHLWAANSs11E/s1600/One+leper+at+Jesus%2527+feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY5N7ogyQsr4AroR3ycSb8cL8yH3kFd-JJbjGVfONWBr_UEriAWS5xY687xth2OK1oYf0n-lUT0dWWvC3cq_e0H8hzSA2s7Ahcu7hwBaNyuRIxM5dyRSZbTcQKAA21SSJmHLWAANSs11E/s400/One+leper+at+Jesus%2527+feet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-99670a44-a486-d3df-59db-bbfbd980926d" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fourteenth after Trinity</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gospel: Luke 17:11-19</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Susan recently got on me for not minding my manners, “You didn’t say, “Please,” or, “Thank you,” she said after putting drops in my infected ear. My defense is that it did not occur to me to use my magic words, since I did not find the procedure pleasant.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Luke tells us about 10 men who said, “Please,” but only one who said, “Thank you.”</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. The Men</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.1. Destination. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke marks a turning point in Jesus’s ministry in chapter 9, verse 52. Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” You see in his face absolute, irreversible determination. Though ultimately he will be raised from the dead and will ascend to heaven, he knows that first he must face arrest, trial, mockery, condemnation, and crucifixion. He is stubbornly committed to his mission of saving us from sin and all its consequences. This miracle is not just a remarkable event. It is a sign of the redemption Jesus will accomplish. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.2. Lepers. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus is traveling along the border between Galilee and Samaria when he comes to an unnamed village. Ten lepers approach him. </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What we call leprosy is a bacterial disease that can be cured by antibiotics. However, in Biblical the word translated “leprosy” in our Bibles covered a whole range of skin diseases. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People with skin symptoms were required to go to priests who examined them and put them into one of two categories, clean or unclean. If the person was pronounced unclean, the consequences were severe: </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Leviticus 13:45-46)</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The point of all this was not disease control. The camp was clean, because God, who is holy, lived there among his people. Anything or anyone unclean had to be excluded from the camp. The worst thing about these diseases was not that they were necessarily fatal or incurable but that a person was unclean, not allowed to participate in worship or the life of family and community. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes these skin diseases cleared up. If a person thought his disease healed, he could not just declare himself well. He had to go back to a priest for examination. If the priest thought he was well and should be reclassified as clean, there was an elaborate process for a person going back to his community.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These ten men lived together because the only company they could keep was with fellow lepers. That is why this mini-community included not only 9 Jews but one Samaritan. Normally Jews and Samaritans did not have contact with each other, but this was a community of unclean men. Shared trouble can overcome a lot of barriers and bring people together.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are ten men, all afflicted with leprosy, all classified unclean, cut off from synagogue and temple, removed from their families, exiled from their communities. The victims wore the torn clothes of mourning because their condition was like a living death.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. The Miracle</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.1. Mercy. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the men realized Jesus was near, they cried out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” They were suffering the miseries of leprosy; they had little to lose; so they begged Jesus to show them mercy by healing them.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is no prayer that expresses more accurately our deepest needs than, “Lord, have mercy.” We want God to look at our miseries in this sinful world, to have pity on us even when our miseries are the result of our sinful choices, and to relieve us. We are in pain, physical or emotional, because of illness, job loss, bill collectors, marital infidelity, addictions, and we call out for mercy.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We ask the Lord to see our misery, even self-caused, and to show us mercy. We ask him to look upon us sinners, miserable, guilty, and condemned and to spare us, deliver us, relieve us. Last Sunday, when we said the Litany we called out to the Lamb of God, Christ, our Lord, four times to have mercy upon us. This morning, after we heard the summary of the Law, we sang three times, “Have mercy upon us.” Shortly in the Prayer of Confession we will ask the Father to be merciful because of the burden of our sins. The absolution will invoke God to be merciful and to pardon and deliver us from all our sins. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.2. Healing. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus did not touch them or say anything except, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” He only spoke those words which no doubt challenged them. In the Old Testament the leprous Syrian general Naaman stumbled over the word of the prophet Elisha who told him to go and wash 7 times in the Jordan River. These men may have looked at their skin, and seeing no change have asked themselves, “Why would we go to the priest when there is no sign of improvement much less healing?”</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But they went. And it was as they went that they were healed. They had to trust and act on the word of Jesus, and the result was their healing. Let me tell you what this means and does not mean for us.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It does not mean what faith healers, prosperity gospel teachers, and name-it-and-claim-it preachers say. You don’t say, “I have cancer, and I believe Jesus wants me to be well, so I am going to believe that Jesus has healed me, and I am going to cancel all my medical appointments and go on with my life.” You do not have a word from Jesus for that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But you do take Jesus at his word, as he speaks in Scripture through prophets and apostles, even when your feelings deny it or you cannot see it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You believe that there is no condemnation for you in Christ Jesus.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You believe your true identity is that you are a new creation in Christ. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You believe that nothing can separate you from the love of God in</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christ. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You believe that to be absent from the body is to be present with the</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lord.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You believe that, though your body is laid in a grave</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at the last day</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christ will raise you up in glory.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The lepers asked for mercy and Jesus showed them mercy.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Gratitude</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.1 Samaritan. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All 10 were healed. All ten were relieved. They would get their lives back. Nine of them kept going to the priests to get their cleansings confirmed so that they could return to their families and communities. But one stopped in his tracks and went back to Jesus. He had called out loudly for mercy and now with loud voice he glorified God. When he got to Jesus, he fell down at the feet of Jesus with his face to the ground, and thanked him. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As it turns out, the one who returned to give thanks was the one you would least expect, for he was a Samaritan. The Samaritans were of mixed ethnicity. When the Syrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, they deported many of the Jews and moved people from other nations into the area. The Samaritans were the product of the intermarriages that took place. They accepted only the first five books of the Bible and had their own temple. Therefore, they did not know the true God or the way of salvation. This man did the unexpected. He glorified God and thanked Jesus.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.2 Jesus. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This man’s action led Jesus to ask a poignant question. “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was not one found to return and praise God, except this foreigner?” The nine Jewish lepers, who had far greater religious privileges and much purer knowledge of God and his salvation, are the ones who should have been expected to return with gratitude. Earlier in Luke’s Gospel we meet another surprising Samaritan. When Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” he told the story of a man who was robbed and left for dead. A Jewish priest and the Levite did nothing for the man, while a Samaritan cared for him. The priest and Levite did not understand what it means to love a neighbor, while the Samaritan did. Now in this story the Samaritan leper understands and practices gratitude while the Jewish lepers do not. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus said to the man, “Rise and go away; your faith has made you well.” The man’s gratitude revealed his genuine faith. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This man challenges us. Do we realize how much we needed cleansing from our sins? Do we understand that the way we are cleansed is by the shedding of the blood of Jesus on the cross? Do we sense what a wonderful thing he has done in removing the guilt and condemnation of our sins? Do we glorify God for this? Do we fall in humility at Jesus’s feet and thank him for saving us? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you know what is more important to the Christian life than a sense of duty? A sense of gratitude. The key to faithfulness in worship and to all obedience and service is not grinding out our duty but gratitude to Jesus who cleanses us from all sin.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I stand before the throne,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dressed in beauty not my own,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I see Thee as Thou art,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love Thee with unsinning heart,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then Lord, shall I fully know—</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not till then—how much I owe.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even on earth, as through a glass</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Darkly, let Thy glory pass,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make forgiveness feel so sweet,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make Thy Spirit’s help so meet,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even on earth, Lord, make me know</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Something of how much I owe.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-25427591471854143622015-09-04T08:51:00.001-04:002015-09-04T10:52:05.908-04:00Saying Something about Kim Davis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>Everybody's Doing It</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffcP8zI_rod2Y_zPVZ7lUiLN_Wl2w5ty5EOS9mmKlETgQ-p4v68ykSnDXnMAv959BveJmgeUlOZ2YqLR041y32P5xC-f005oqnk81wseI6RcW566dIu6roYUebyaWh4oqyAg_WESmWHk/s1600/Kim+Davis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffcP8zI_rod2Y_zPVZ7lUiLN_Wl2w5ty5EOS9mmKlETgQ-p4v68ykSnDXnMAv959BveJmgeUlOZ2YqLR041y32P5xC-f005oqnk81wseI6RcW566dIu6roYUebyaWh4oqyAg_WESmWHk/s400/Kim+Davis.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Joe Carter provides <a href="http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-you-should-know-about-the-kentucky-clerk-marriage-license-controversy">information</a> on the Clerk, her stance, and the consequences she is experiencing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">RNS <a href="http://www.religionnews.com/2015/09/03/ky-clerk-found-in-contempt-jailed-for-refusing-to-issue-marriage-licenses/">reports</a> Clerk is jailed but some deputy clerks will issue licenses.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Adree Seu Peterson says she would do the <a href="http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-you-should-know-about-the-kentucky-clerk-marriage-license-controversy">same thing</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Al Mohler shows how <a href="http://www.albertmohler.com/2015/09/03/in-this-world-you-will-have-trouble-welcome-to-rowan-county/">complicated</a> the world i</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">s and how much trouble Christians can expect in the aftermath of the sex and marriage revolution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">John-Henry Westen says Davis is a <a href="http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/john-henry-westen/jailed-christian-clerk-kim-davis-hero-not-villain">hero</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Darryl Hart argues that understanding the <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/protestprotest/2015/09/christianity-and-christianityism/">relationship</a> between Christianity and the secular society could help Davis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">David Murray contends that the Clerk is a <a href="http://headhearthand.org/blog/2015/09/04/we-dont-get-to-choose-our-martyrs/">martyr</a> for whom we must pray as an imprisoned Christian sister.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And, of course, the Curmudgeon has some thoughts, these written in response to Ms. Peterson's column for World:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Clerk was elected to an office which licenses marriages in her county on behalf of the state of KY. KY, as all other states, is bound by the decision of the Supreme Court which asserts that the Constitution trumps state laws with regard to right to marry. The Court found that there is a fundamental right to marry, granted by the Constitution, that extends to all persons regardless of whether the proposed marriage is heterosexual or homosexual. That right may not be abridged by state laws limiting the right to marry because state laws may not conflict with Constitutional rights. The clerk as an officer of the state is obligated to follow the laws and court orders that apply to her state and thus to her office. The office she holds is now obligated to issue licenses to both heterosexual and homosexual couples which means she as the office holder is obligated to do so. If she will not do it, then she must resign or the state must remove her. In my view the Court made a bad decision. But it made a decision. I do not think she is implicated in the sins of others by fulfilling the duties of her office. (What should a clerk who is a member of a church that forbids divorce in all circumstances do when a couple one or both of whom are divorced appear and ask for a license?) But, if she cannot in good conscience issue the licenses then it is better for her to resign than to continue to defy the law.</span></blockquote>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-18740256401461630362015-08-30T14:58:00.004-04:002015-08-30T17:08:03.331-04:00What If God Keeps Score?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhAEr-bXjFXjrLbQvDn-i49FXeeOxQaY6Qu_FjOoG7CG3VA-d48hK5bKRaWHR1WpW31c49gm8dqXwWR5mxsqmKklIRkPYQEalE7PM7PvSXDTKpqs2j711yf5wjxSh7hhGSz2wZcSUyus/s1600/Behavior+Report+Card.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKhAEr-bXjFXjrLbQvDn-i49FXeeOxQaY6Qu_FjOoG7CG3VA-d48hK5bKRaWHR1WpW31c49gm8dqXwWR5mxsqmKklIRkPYQEalE7PM7PvSXDTKpqs2j711yf5wjxSh7hhGSz2wZcSUyus/s640/Behavior+Report+Card.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.6666666666667px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thirteenth after Trinity</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Psalm 130 (BCP p. 436)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O LORD; </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lord, hear my voice. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O let thine ears consider well </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the voice of my complaint.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If thou, LORD, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O Lord, who may abide it? </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For there is mercy with thee; </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">therefore shalt thou be feared. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I look for the LORD; my soul doth wait for him; </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in his word is my trust. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My soul fleeth unto the Lord before the morning watch; </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I say, before the morning watch. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O Israel, trust in the LORD; </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for with the LORD there is mercy, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and with him is plenteous redemption. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And he shall redeem Israel </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">from all his sins</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In case you don’t keep up with such things, Ashley Madison is a website where people created accounts who wanted to have extramarital affairs. This website got hacked; the hacker is publishing the names of those with accounts. There are only 3 Zip Codes that have no accounts. A Christianity Today writer estimates that today 400 church leaders will resign. Why? They signed up for Ashley Madison accounts and are being outed. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The internet keeps score. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Consternation</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.1 Desperation. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first three verses of Psalm 130 reveal a desperate man. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You hear that in his voice. He cries, “O Lord,” four times. A child who is danger and afraid, cries, “Daddy, help me! Daddy, I’m scared!” When you’re in trouble, you call to whom you think can help, and hope he can and will. All of us recall times we have called out to the Lord, knowing only he can deliver. You get fired. You can’t pay your bills. The doctor gives you bad news. Your spouse leaves. Your close friend betrays you. “O Lord, help; O Lord, save me.”</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You feel the desperation as he says, “Out of the deep have I called unto thee.” When we were with family in July, we swam in the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the grandkids liked to go out till they were standing on tiptoes and then jump when a wave came. But you could tell when they were afraid. They clung to the nearest adult. The Psalmist feels he’s drowning in deep, threatening waters.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He calls: “O Lord, hear my voice. O let thine ears consider well voice of my complaint.” Nothing is worse than to feel desperate, and call out for help, but no one is there. When Elijah met the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, they agreed to a contest to determine the true God. He and they would prepare a sacrifice and call for their god to prove himself by sending fire to consume their sacrifice. From morning till noon the prophets of Baal called out, “O Baal, answer us.” Elijah started mocking them, saying perhaps Baal was thinking, or using the bathroom, or taking a trip, or asleep. They called out more frantically and cut themselves to try to get Baal’s attention. Nothing worked. The Scripture observes: “But there was no voice, and no one answered... there was no voice. No one answered, no one paid attention” (1 Kings 18:26, 29). The Psalmist feels the desperation of a person who is crying out for deliverance right now, but fears that there is no hope for him.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.2 Cause </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At verse 3 we discover the cause of the Psalmist’s desperation. “If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who may abide it?” Or, better, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (ESV) </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vester Lee Flanagan (or, Bryce Williams, his TV name), murdered a reporter and her cameraman during a live broadcast Wednesday morning. Two experts in workplace violence describe him as a “grievance collector.” Such people keep score of who did what when. But you don’t have to be deranged to keep score of wrongs. A couple went to see a Christian counselor. The counselor asked about the problems. The wife pulled out a notebook and put it on the desk. She had recorded every wrong done by her husband. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can be like that wife. Some are quick to list every wrong as it happens. Others say nothing but never forget. Others keep quiet till provoked and then pour out all their grievances, great and small.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What if God were like that? God is present at all times in all places. His vision is perfect. His memory is perfect. Nothing hinders him from keeping a perfect record of everything ever done by everyone of us.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Someone says, “God is not petty. He would never keep score like that.” God is not petty. But, that person often assumes that the things we do are not all that bad - after all we’re not Hitlers or Bryce Williamses - and the things most of us do are so insignificant that God would never be too upset about them. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That view misunderstands God’s nature. God is holy and righteous. As we read from Habakkuk, God’s eyes are too pure ever to look on iniquity with indifference. That view misunderstands the nature of ourselves and our actions. In Romans 1 Paul says Gentiles are sinners. “Amen,” says the Jew. But then he turns to the Jews, and says, “</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things” (Rom. 2:1). He concludes that, “all, both Jews and Gentiles, are under sin” (3:9), that, “none is righteous, no not one” (3:10), and that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23).</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who can stand if God keeps score? Not one human being. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Confidence</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.1. Forgiveness </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For only 3 letters, the word “but” is extremely powerful. “I almost failed that class, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I didn’t.” </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with you there is forgiveness.” God forgives. If he did not, there would be no hope for any human being - not me, not you. He does not hold sins against us. He does not treat us as we deserve.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He forgets them, not that there is anything wrong with his memory, but that he chooses to forget our sins. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> King David well knew what he wrote about the Lord: </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(He) forgives all your iniquity. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He does not deal with us according to our sins,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nor repay us according to our iniquities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For as high as the heavens are above the earth,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 72pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">as far as the east is from the west,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so far does he remove our transgressions from us.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Ps. 103:3,10-12)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He promised through Jeremiah: </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">their sin no more. (Jer. 31:34)</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No one who knows the holiness of God or the sinfulness of his own heart and life would ever come to God, if he did not believe God is a forgiving God. Like Adam we would hide and try to avoid any dealings with God. If God is not forgiving, going to God would be like a guilty criminal going before a judge who is bound to punish him for his crimes. But, you can go home, no matter what you have done - no matter if you have never believed or you have been a Christian from childhood. God forgives all who with genuine sorrow for their sins come to him and ask pardon.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.2 Fear</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do you respond to such forgiveness? You can stand on your pride and reject it. Or you can receive it with gratitude and awe. That’s what the Psalmist means when he says, “With you there is forgiveness that you may be feared.” </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Forgiveness does not make us more ready to sin or to take advantage of God’s mercy. Forgiveness should not make us take sin less seriously, or make us less inclined to please God. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God’s merciful forgiveness creates reverence for God, so that with the prophet Micah we say: “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression?”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Conclusion </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What happens when the Psalmist’s consternation about his sins resolves into confidence in God’s forgiveness?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.1 Waiting </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He waits for the Lord like the night watchman waiting for morning. The watchman waits for the first glimmers of dawn that signal the coming a new day. What is the Psalmist waiting for? He is waiting for what we call ‘the “absolution or “the assurance of pardon.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How will that come? It will come when the priest offers the sacrifice on the altar that will make atonement for his sins. He puts his hope in the word that assures pardon through sacrifice.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We know our sins are forgiven, not because we present an offering to God, but because Christ has presented himself to the Father, as “a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction” for our sins. The sacrifices of the Old Testament could never secure forgiveness but only point to the sacrifice of Christ that would. The forgiveness of our sins is not in doubt, because Christ makes forgiveness certain. In his sacrifice we hear the sure word of pardon.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.2 Exhorting</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You don’t keep good news to yourself. You share it with others who have your need. Do you know a Christian who fears his sin is so grave he cannot be forgiven? Do you know an unbeliever who feels under condemnation because of his sins? You can say what the Psalmist said:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O Israel, hope in the Lord!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For with the Lord there is steadfast love,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and with him is plentiful redemption.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And he will redeem Israel</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">from all his iniquities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Martin Luther’s conscience troubled him night and day till he found peace in Christ. As he reflected on Psalm 130 he wrote these words:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From depths of woe I raise to Thee</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The voice of lamentation;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lord, turn a gracious ear to me</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And hear my supplication;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If Thou iniquities dost mark,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our secret sins and misdeeds dark,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O who shall stand before Thee?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 72pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To wash away the crimson stain,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grace, grace alone availeth;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our works, alas! are all in vain;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In much the best life faileth:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No man can glory in Thy sight,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All must alike confess Thy might,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And live alone by mercy.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 72pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Therefore my trust is in the Lord,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And not in mine own merit;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Him my soul shall rest, His Word</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-33644925645099050502015-08-26T20:58:00.001-04:002015-08-27T05:28:21.324-04:00Satan Uses Animals to Attack Me<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Plagues of Gnats, Ants, Bats, Dogs, and Wasps</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Since Eden Satan has been making use of animals to carry out his attacks. I suppose then it is not altogether surprising he has used animals to carry out his attacks against me as a minister.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When I was first out of seminary I served two churches in a farming area of north Florida. Shade grown tobacco was still grown, but there were also cows, pigs, corn, etc. In August a plague of gnats descended upon the land. They were everywhere including the church building. As I was preaching one Sunday, a multitude surrounded me. As I opened my mouth to speak I got a mouthful of the little creatures. It was not so much the mouthful of the gnats themselves as the thought of where they had been on the nearby farms that troubled me. I believe this was a Satanic attack to try to force me to close my mouth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When I was a campus minster, and we lived in Hattiesburg, MS, we had a dog named Pokey. There were certain of our students Pokey did not particularly like. One day, when we were having a cookout at our house, I emerged from the kitchen to our back porch to find Pokey barking like he had treed a squirrel and a student standing on our picnic table. We also hosted a Thursday night Bible study for adults. One man who had had an army career was very faithful along with his dear wife. As they approached the back door one night, Pokey was lying in wait near the back gate, and suddenly attacked as though he were coming through that big wooden gate. Our friend was caught so off guard he let loose with a string of words he had probably not used since he got out of the army. Pokey no doubt was demon possessed, but we have had more than a few laughs as we have remembered that night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Louisville, Mississippi, a group of us one evening were working to get a building ready to use for worship. Toward sunset I was in the church yard when I had an encounter with fire ants. From past experience I knew this might not be good. We had a doctor in the church, but, he was inconsiderate enough to be home sick. When consulted on the phone, he told the pharmacist, who was also in the church, what to give me. When the pharmacist looked at me, he wasn't sure that the oral medicine would be adequate so, after talking with the doctor on the phone, he sent me to the emergency room. They checked my vitals to make sure I was not going to die on them, but soon they seemed to look at me less as a patient and more like something grotesque from which you cannot turn your gaze. Nurses started coming from various places in the hospital to get a look at me. My face and shoulders were the color of a fire engine, I was broken out in big hives, my lips were swollen to double or more their size, and even my ears were were swollen. All this from 3 or 4 bites on my legs. I believe fire ants are themselves devils.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the Washington, D.C., area I was preaching away one Sunday night, when people started looking at each other and at me, breaking out into big smiles bordering on laughs. Thinking it was all about me, I tried to continue to preach while trying to review in my mind what I had said so far. I figured I must have said about the stupidest thing ever said by a minister while preaching and that everybody but me knew what it was. Then I looked behind me and bats were flying around the choir loft. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was our black Labrador retriever whose name was Hunter.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> For the same church one Saturday morning I was teaching an officer training course in our living room. I had concluded the teaching, and the men were visiting with one another before leaving, when the dog, having been trained in the importance of hospitality, came in to greet the men and promptly peed on an elder nominee's shoes. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Later a pastoral search committee from Pittsburgh came one Sunday night. Before church Susan served them a light supper at our house. Hunter showed them warm hospitality, too, but it turned out that one of the female members of the committee was much afraid of dogs and did not regard his greetings as friendly. We got through that without the dog doing anything but causing her discomfort and probably some misgivings about the people with five boys and a big dog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then we went to the church for the service. The committee had a video camera so that they could tape the sermon and take it back to show to members of the committee who had not come. They decided to sit in the church balcony and to set the camera up there. I felt things were not going too bad with the sermon when the bats, which had not been seen since the choir loft incident a year or two before, emerged and began to fly over the congregation. Not content with the lower level they flew into the balcony where they began to swoop and dive bomb the two ladies on the Committee. They were bats out of the home of the devil.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuX92Hzp4M4cQWJbIYG-I3KTAI3s8oLzeTuDDFU4Q3d_a7J3bqlAulgyEPhbEK34Q2FQaOVEkl5JQfJWrD5b2112pYwrNtT1s3GIHfkXfGjzjcxK17uVnzcNx5zyGEVhxetYZyjIn1TM/s1600/Murphy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuX92Hzp4M4cQWJbIYG-I3KTAI3s8oLzeTuDDFU4Q3d_a7J3bqlAulgyEPhbEK34Q2FQaOVEkl5JQfJWrD5b2112pYwrNtT1s3GIHfkXfGjzjcxK17uVnzcNx5zyGEVhxetYZyjIn1TM/s200/Murphy.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Now we come to Roanoke. We have an English Shepherd named Murphy whom Susan got because I am not an adequate conversationalist. Last May I was instituted (or installed) by our Bishop who also is an old friend going back to college. Susan was showing some friends, who had come for the service, around town so after the reception the Bishop and I came to our place to visit until it was time for him to go to the airport. I let Murphy out of his crate, and was preparing to put him on his leash and take him outside, when he decided to welcome the Bishop by taking a dump on the floor. I am glad the devil waited to possess Murphy until after I was officially made Vicar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This brings me to last Sunday. I preached the homily, which I thought, given the apparent attentiveness of the congregation, had gone better than I expected. I was actually feeling pretty good about it, when I began a brief prayer. Then, as I was praying, I was struck in the butt. I opened my eyes to see what was behind me, and I caught a glimpse of my colleague, Fr. Rich Workowski, sneaking back across the chancel to the Epistle side. While I was still praying I began consider what manner of action this was on his part. Was this pent up frustration as he realized what a mistake it was for him to suggest me as the Vicar? Was it rivalry he had covered up as long as he could? Or, more likely, had I said something he strongly disagreed with? Well, as it turned out it was none of the above. Doing almost the entire time I was preaching a wasp had been crawling on the front of my surplice. Several times as I folded my hands across my stomach I had come close to touching him. Eventually he moved from the front to the back, so, when I began to pray, Fr. Rich took the opportunity to deliver a blow which stunned the instrument of Satan (the wasp, I mean). </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-10672044671487511872015-08-24T17:10:00.002-04:002015-08-25T07:28:09.961-04:00Apocalypse Now in Mississippi?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Because Band Can't Play How Great Thou Art</b></span></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit;">That's stupid - this is still Mississippi</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit;">Oh gosh they really did the right thing and showed that stupid judge he couldn't tell them what to do!!!!! GO BRANDON, MS</i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It would also seem to me that a certain federal judge needs to be put on sick leave. i am sure he will be wearing a few casts and bandages....that should qualify for sick leave, right? NATION! GOD HELP US!!!</i></span></blockquote>
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<i><span style="background-color: #f6f7f8; color: #141823; line-height: 16.0799999237061px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sc</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">rew our worldly leaders and let's stand behind our Christian leader! Amen! Let's all worship our Lord the way we want to people!</span></i> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> - Comments on MS State Senator Chris McDaniel's Facebook Page</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When I was in high school, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a student read 2 Chronicles 7:14 over the PA system for that morning's devotional. Seemed appropriate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">My first serious thoughts that having God in the public schools might not be such a good idea came, when I was a couple of years out of seminary, in Union, Mississippi. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Union in the 1970s was like a lot of small Mississippi towns. There was a big Baptist Church. There was medium-size Methodist Church. There was a small Presbyterian Church. The Baptists pretty much ran things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was sitting in my study at the Presbyterian Church one morning - probably staring at the wall waiting for a sermon to appear - when the phone rang. It was a secretary at the public school. "Brother Smith, we need you to come to the school. Some of the kids are really upset." What was the problem? That week was spiritual emphasis week which, so far as I know, neither the Methodists or the Presbyterians had anything to do with planning. That morning some of the students were having a "sinners in the hand of an angry God" moment. They had seen a movie dramatizing the rapture and were afraid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What was I supposed to do? Maybe I should have taken advantage of the moment and said, "If you don't want to be left behind, come to my church. I'll show you how to be sure you'll be caught up in the clouds before the tribulation." If it happened today, I would be pretty likely to say, "That rapture stuff is not in the Bible. It's crappy, novel doctrine." Soon it would be all over town that I don't believe the Bible. But, really, as a minister, you do have to worry about the kids, don't you? What should and could I say and do in that situation? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My one (or was it two then?) son was a baby. I think there was one, maybe two, kids from our church in school. I wasn't too concerned about public school. But that incident did two things. (1) It made me realize that, if you are going to have religion in a public school, the majority religious culture will decide what it is. There is probably a pretty good chance it won't occur to them that anyone wouldn't believe what they believe, and, if it should occur to them, they will probably think, "Majority rules." (2) I made me understand what if feels like to be in a minority that does not want your kids exposed to what you don't believe. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last Friday the Brandon, MS, High School Band did not put on its half-time show. Why? Well the program included the hymn, "How Great Thou Art," and on Thursday the Rankin County School Board decided that song must not be played. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBh4dVrNRG7fSuKj-h372tP277ZBHXg58Dic4iTQsNCppJkmFjJkidPqfeJV3_UZIEPpGvkUI0YZkIQYMK5sS7oOYP_qdPCHQm-aCw67EtEtuLydLZIcuLtpqa9NXbXlJnNjlvWl_sZjQ/s1600/Brandon+HS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBh4dVrNRG7fSuKj-h372tP277ZBHXg58Dic4iTQsNCppJkmFjJkidPqfeJV3_UZIEPpGvkUI0YZkIQYMK5sS7oOYP_qdPCHQm-aCw67EtEtuLydLZIcuLtpqa9NXbXlJnNjlvWl_sZjQ/s320/Brandon+HS.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">The background is that the School Board had been sued because prayer assemblies were held at another high school in the same county. The school district agreed it was improper and signed an out of court agreement that included a pledge that it would not happen again. However, later the same school held an awards ceremony at which a minister prayed. Southern District Court Judge Carlton Reeves found that the district had violated the agreement. He imposed a fine and "permanently enjoined (the district)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> from including prayer, religious sermons or activities in any school sponsored event including but not limited to assemblies, graduations, award ceremonies, athletic events and any other school event. That means administrators, teachers and staff of the Rankin County School District may not participate in any religious activity, or solicit or encourage religious activities at school or while performing duties as a RCSD employee."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The School Board, perhaps being overly cautious, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98IHu6VyaqMyUlQm7_zkyCxfQsxfU7mc1JVv9hi9Psb4I-MeySXsk67p4ffLyKk6Nmy4W3yGQmWeaHolUBoaO5Hn94r1vb61LDUxELlM8Z-80XDxK7k-jO5YuF297AMpvkG-TG-syhtU/s1600/Casablanca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98IHu6VyaqMyUlQm7_zkyCxfQsxfU7mc1JVv9hi9Psb4I-MeySXsk67p4ffLyKk6Nmy4W3yGQmWeaHolUBoaO5Hn94r1vb61LDUxELlM8Z-80XDxK7k-jO5YuF297AMpvkG-TG-syhtU/s1600/Casablanca.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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facing another lawsuit and fearing being found in contempt of the court's order, told Brandon High School that "How Great Thou Art" could not be played. But, the fans, like David defying the God-defying Goliath, the three Hebrew young men defying the command to bow before the image of Nebuchadnezzar, Martin Luther defying the Pope, and Ross Barnett defying the order to let James Meredith attend the University of Mississippi, would have none of it. They stood and sang "How Great Thou Art" before the kickoff. It brings to mind the scene in Rick's Cafe in Casablanca when the French patrons drown out the Nazis and defiantly sing </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">"La Marseillaise." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Immediately the two leading true conservatives in the Mississippi State Senate, Chris McDaniel and Melanie Sojourner, jumped in, both posting more than once on Facebook. Senator McDaniel wrote:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Out of fear it might violate a a federal judge's order, the band was told it would not be able to </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ujc1j7Op3JLLqLL3hiIUq-8JiRzjesoBdrScfrXYQ6tSao13NA4xd3Do5ZKoh5ZpZ3F6Zl7Y7ZmoQjnUrF4H2Z0imPlZMAEexqtR1X3I21KsCCqn5fu6H1ghaPwvKE3ng8Qa-RQKN2s/s1600/Chris+McDaniel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ujc1j7Op3JLLqLL3hiIUq-8JiRzjesoBdrScfrXYQ6tSao13NA4xd3Do5ZKoh5ZpZ3F6Zl7Y7ZmoQjnUrF4H2Z0imPlZMAEexqtR1X3I21KsCCqn5fu6H1ghaPwvKE3ng8Qa-RQKN2s/s200/Chris+McDaniel.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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perform at halftime during the season opening game.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">This is absolutely ridiculous, and an absurd interpretation of the Constitution's establishment clause. The federal court is dead wrong. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">It's time to push back. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Conservatives better wake up.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I'm proud of the people of Brandon, MS.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Rankin County School District (out of fear of a federal judge) may have kept the Brandon High School Band off the field on Friday night, but they didn’t stop the parents and fans from voicing their support for the band’s intention to play the hymn “How Great Thou Art”...</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Keep singing. Keep fighting. We will eventually prevail.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The liberal chattering class is arguing that a high school band playing a religious song somehow violates the Establishment Clause. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Don't fall for it. Pure ignorance, on display for the world to see.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Confusion over the legality of public displays of religion prompts government officials and "everyday people" to choose a "safer course" of purging "from the public sphere all that in any way partakes of the religious,"...</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Time to take a stand.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Senator Sojourner posted:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Enough is enough. Students don't yield their religious rights just because they go to school.</span> <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWRWVN6en5yjj8R9QIj4_K014npj7jTQU8mGodPaAjbma87wsmCs7odYtT0qXSfS57DxpsBEDUPJ_DcmAU2LkUSOyjoeXfpgBtseSB_WJKqz4KvXfTKLnNvU6m_C1aiUYjjMGrowIcUY/s1600/Melanie+Sojourner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWRWVN6en5yjj8R9QIj4_K014npj7jTQU8mGodPaAjbma87wsmCs7odYtT0qXSfS57DxpsBEDUPJ_DcmAU2LkUSOyjoeXfpgBtseSB_WJKqz4KvXfTKLnNvU6m_C1aiUYjjMGrowIcUY/s200/Melanie+Sojourner.jpg" width="133" /></a></span></div>
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understand the Rankin County Schools have an injunction against them for religious activities that are considered to have been "state sponsored". But, we can't let it end there.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Two years ago, along with Sen. Chris McDaniel, we passed the Student Religious Liberties Act, which clarifies how a student can exercise their religious rights, even at school </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Students absolutely can take actions and push back. In the coming weeks we will be scheduling student workshops with several church youth groups in Pike County to inform students on the language of the law that does help protect their religious rights.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">God bless the parents and students at Brandon High who refused to yield!! If we are going to make our nation great again we must continue to push back on those in the system who failed us. No one should yield their rights because a federal judge misinterpreted the Establishment Clause. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I keep up with Mississippi politics, and I find it very hard to figure out what to make of these two "no compromise" conservatives. When I read their comments on the Brandon High School Band and the comments they allow to remain on their Facebook pages, I get the impression that for them believing in Christianity, being committed to conservative politics, detesting Haley Barbour,Tate Reeves, Mitch McConnell, and John Boehner, refusing to change the Mississsippi State Flag with the Confederate Battle Flag in upper left corner, and stirring people up about a high school band halftime show are all pretty much the same. I wonder: "Do they really believe these things they say? Or, are they just feeding red meat to their bases which they hope to use for their longer term political goals?" A "yes" to one requires belief either that (1) they are simplistic thinkers, or (2) they are cynical politicians. I don't know. But the word "demagogue" comes to mind with increasing frequency.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But, why would a school in effect pick a fight by including "How Great Thou Art" in a halftime show? I mean, is the band music library so limited that you cannot help but use hymn arrangements? And, why would sincere Christians want to cheapen a hymn by its being played by a marching band with its flag girls on a high school football field? (Given the state of church services today, maybe I do get that.) And why would they turn a spiritual exercise (singing the hymn) into an act of political defiance? How many schools have hymn sings in the stands while they're waiting for kickoff? If you've got to engage in culture wars, aren't there better fields of battle than whether a high school band can use a hymn in its halftime show?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">All this reminds me of how impossible it is and how unwise it is to try to have religion in the public schools. Whose religion? What sect? Why yours? Why not mine?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">J. Gresham Machen wisely argued that, if you want school education mixed with religion, the place to do it is not the public school but the private. In other words don't ask the Presbyterian, or Methodist, or Episcopalian, or Roman Catholic, or Jew, or atheist, to pay for your Baptist public school. On Bible reading in the school Machen wrote: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I think I am just about as strongly opposed to the reading of the Bible in state-controlled schools as any atheist could be.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">For one thing, the reading of the Bible is very difficult to separate from propaganda about the Bible. I remember, for example, a book of selections from the Bible for school reading, which was placed in my hands some time ago. Whether it is used now I do not know, but it is typical of what will inevitably occur if the Bible is read in public schools. Under the guise of being a book of selections for Bible-reading, it really presupposed the current naturalistic view of the Old Testament Scriptures.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But even where such errors are avoided, even where the Bible itself is read, and not in one of the mistranslations but in the Authorized Version, the Bible still may be so read as to obscure and even contradict its true message. When, for example, the great and glorious promises of the Bible to the redeemed children of God are read as though they belonged of right to man as man, have we not an attack upon the very heart and core of the Bible’s teaching? What could be more terrible, for example, from the Christian point of view, than the reading of the Lord’s Prayer to non-Christian children, as though they could use it without becoming Christians, as though persons who have never been purchased by the blood of Christ could possibly say to God, ‘Our Father, which art in Heaven’? The truth is that a garbled Bible may be a falsified Bible; and when any hope is held out to lost humanity from the so-called ethical portions of the Bible apart from its great redemptive core, then the Bible is represented as saying the direct opposite of what it really says. (From "The Necessity of the Christian School)</span></blockquote>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-58025293936936790842015-08-23T14:50:00.001-04:002015-08-23T14:52:06.250-04:00The Finger of God in the Life of Man<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheclLCd0vCnLjiI9q7BB3OvLbnqYN4sri-ZBVH75eJeUWIxmK3MTvQivjtD5f0tTlhf0dtN6WN0CgnXfIMeiC9Re9i_6ykQOhLWmKwbCmKC-LFINTIhnipa0ANywmkYjuiksX_b9YAH40/s1600/Deaf+Girl+Hears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheclLCd0vCnLjiI9q7BB3OvLbnqYN4sri-ZBVH75eJeUWIxmK3MTvQivjtD5f0tTlhf0dtN6WN0CgnXfIMeiC9Re9i_6ykQOhLWmKwbCmKC-LFINTIhnipa0ANywmkYjuiksX_b9YAH40/s1600/Deaf+Girl+Hears.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twelfth after Trinity</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gospel Lesson: Mark 7:31-37 (KJV) </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are sensitive to people who lose their sight. We understand they have a disability and are not to blame. Not so with people who are losing their hearing. Somehow we blame them. It irritates us to repeat things or to have the radio or TV blaring. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus encountered a man who had two disabilities that often go together. He was deaf, and he had a speech impediment.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. The Circumstances</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.1 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This incident is the second of two stories in a row that take place in predominantly Gentile area. North of Israel along the Mediterranean Coast Jesus cast a demon out of a little girl whose Gentile mother begged him to do so.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then he traveled around the Sea of Galilee to region southeast of the Sea, called the Decapolis because it contained ten city-states. While Jesus spent most of his time inside Israel ministering to Jews, the salvation he came to accomplish was for the whole world, and these trips previewed the worldwide mission of his church.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus had been in this region once before and met a man possessed with many demons, who was so demented and dangerous that he lived among the tombs where he went naked and shrieked and bruised himself with stones. When townspeople tried to bind him with chains, he too strong and broke the chains. But Jesus set him free. Soon he was clothed and in his right mind.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Jesus, left he told the man, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man “went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” If Jesus has done something for you, there is no greater gratitude than to tell others. Don’t get up on your moral high horse, but just say, “I was bound by the guilt of my sins and fear of condemnation, and Jesus set me free.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1.2 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some in the Decapolis knew about Jesus saving the demon possessed man from the torments of the devil. When they heard Jesus was back in the area, they thought of their friend who was deaf probably from childhood. Childhood illnesses like ear infections, measles, and chickenpox can lead to hearing loss. Hearing loss then causes speech problem because the child is not able to hear and reproduce sounds. Inability to hear and speak is very frustrating for both the sufferer and those who try to communicate with him. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The friends brought the man to Jesus and begged Jesus to lay his hand on the man to heal him. We can minister to people in many ways, but there is nothing more important we can do for others than to bring them to Jesus and to pray to him on their behalf. As important as this is for those with physical problems, it is far more important for those whose ears cannot hear the saving word of the Lord in Scripture and sermons and whose tongues cannot speak his praise. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. The Miracle</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.1 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus took the man away from the crowd of people. Sometimes Jesus did miracles before many, as when he fed the feed 5000 from 5 loaves and two small fish. But Jesus never put on a show the way magicians and modern faith-healers do. His purpose was not for people to say, “Wow! Did you see that? ” There was reason and purpose in Jesus’s miracles, but never just to create a spectacle.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.2 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus had the man alone; he put his fingers into the man’s ear. I had an ear infection recently. I could barely hear in that ear, and it felt like it was stopped up and felt like it need to pop. I kept putting my finger in the ear canal and moving it around as though I might open it up. Jesus put his fingers in the ears where the man needed healing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then Jesus spit onto his finger and touched the man’s tongue. This is one of three miracles when Jesus used spit. (Please don’t get angry as did a woman who thought I said too much about spit when I preached on one such miracle.) In the next chapter Jesus spits into a blind man’s eyes before restoring his sight. In John 9 Jesus spits on the ground, makes a mudpack, and puts it on a blind man's eyes before healing him. I don’t know why Jesus did this. I do know that my mother was a great believer in the use of saliva. It was good for removing smudges and patting down cowlicks. For some reason, Jesus used spit in dealing with the man’s impediment. It may be he accommodated himself to beliefs that saliva could have healing effects, and so said in effect, “I am going to heal your tongue.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.3 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then Jesus sighed. Why? Yesterday Fr. Rich told several of us to move some wood from one place to another. We sighed, and said to ourselves, “We really have to do that?” When I got home, I sighed both because I was tired and disappointed that so little work caused so much tiredness. When I work on homilies I sigh in frustration as I try to form thoughts. When we got word of the deaths of two friends in recent weeks we sighed in sadness. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deafness and speech impediments are just two of the things we suffer in this world because of the sin of Adam and God’s judgment on the human race. We sigh beneath the heavy load of suffering brought into the world by sin. Jesus is not indifferent to us but is touched with our weakness and infirmity. He identifies with us and tells us he shares our disappointment, weariness, frustration and sadness in this fallen world.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.4 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He not only cares, but he means to do something about it. He said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened.” That’s all it takes - a word from Jesus. He says to this man’s ears, “Be opened,” and they were, even as God said, ‘Let there be light, and there was light,” and even as Jesus stood at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, already dead for four days, and said, “Lazarus come out,” and out walked Lazarus. Immediately the man could hear. He could speak plainly as though a string tied to his tongue had been cut. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus worked miracles in more than one way. This time he used his fingers and saliva. But putting his fingers in the man’s ears was not a magical action, nor did his saliva have magical powers. Similarly the sacramental elements and actions are not magical. The two essential things in all works of grace are the will and the word of Jesus. “He speaks and, listening to his voice, new life the dead receive.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Aftermath</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.1 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus told those who saw this miracle not to tell anyone. Why? Jesus knew two things: (1) He knew there was the danger of people hearing about his miracles and following him just to see miracles without any real understanding of his ministry or commitment to him. (2) He also knew that hostility toward him was growing with the scribes and Pharisees in Israel, and King Herod Antipas had already killed John the Baptist. He knew the time for completing his work by dying for our sins had not yet come. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.2 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The people who saw that the man could hear and speak, they “were beyond all measure astonished” and they said, “He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.” </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The prophet Isaiah foresaw when God would intervene in the world and overturn the works of the devil and relieve the consequences of sin. The Messiah would come and establish God’s kingdom of salvation. Isaiah wrote:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the ears of the deaf unstopped;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">then shall the lame man leap like a deer,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Isaiah 35:5,6</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All of Jesus's miracles point to him as the Messiah. The kingdom of God is breaking in to this world to set in irreversible motion God’s plan of salvation and deliverance. Jesus does not heal just to heal. He heals to show us that he is God in the the flesh - his finger is the finger of God at work to accomplish God’s salvation. Whether Jesus calms a raging sea, or cures the leper, or makes the blind to see and the crippled to walk, Jesus is saying, “I am the Messiah and Bringer of God’s salvation.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What the world did not understand and we can forget it that the whole plan of deliverance meant that he would take responsibility for our sins and redeem us by dying in our place. “By his stripes we are healed.” </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus will not stop till he frees us from all sin’s ills. What Jesus did for a few during his ministry on earth, he will do for all his people at the Last Day. We will hear his voice and rise to bodily life without any sickness, suffering, or sorrow. Jesus will command, and instantly we will be truly, fully, and eternally alive.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hear him ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">your loosened tongues employ,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ye blind behold your Savior come,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and leap ye lame for joy.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-82596237104837401332015-08-20T11:24:00.001-04:002015-08-20T14:29:48.080-04:00Consistently Inconsistent<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Consistency, Contradictions, Complications</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO90SJYNFUdoscG34IuqB_ny4Kt7wrBx6jFVznb42Ne_qrm2i75xEdxXA6i4XcgBj9Yoh8k5R6j4YtULvbnB7enLcAEIUicXNbi7UFRDMsXzZ4SSY2-XqkfR-kcwoNIRLLVMHb7fqeGsQ/s1600/Charlie+Brown+-+Nobody+Likes+Me.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO90SJYNFUdoscG34IuqB_ny4Kt7wrBx6jFVznb42Ne_qrm2i75xEdxXA6i4XcgBj9Yoh8k5R6j4YtULvbnB7enLcAEIUicXNbi7UFRDMsXzZ4SSY2-XqkfR-kcwoNIRLLVMHb7fqeGsQ/s320/Charlie+Brown+-+Nobody+Likes+Me.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My oldest son got the idea of predestination very early and his answer to any "why" question was, "Predestination." That was a better answer than, "Free will." He also got the idea of creation. When his younger brother asked me who built a road, he jumped in to reply, "You dummy. God did." That was better than, "God had nothing to do with it." His grasp of truth was simple and hence his answers to questions lacked nuance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Life has its way of knocking you around enough that you realize it is full of inconsistencies and contradictions, and that consistency isn't all it's cracked up to be. Principle and practice live in tension with each other. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Couples (I guess I better add heterosexual, married couples) who are not yet parents say things like, "As a parent I will never...", or, "My child will always...". When they say such things they often have in mind the failings of their parents. The young will follow rules that will make growing up much better for kids and produce healthy adults: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. "Never raise your voice. Always speak calmly." </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">2. "Education is the responsibility of parents. Public school never. Christian school a little better. Home school is the way."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">3. "Go ahead and spank your kid and get it over with; it's the Biblical way."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. "When your kid is bad, try distracting her. When calm speaking and distraction don't work, send her to timeout. Never spank."</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">5. "Let him express himself. It's OK if he makes himself the center of attention when you have company. Let him run wild. Suppression and repression are bad."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. "Never tell your child she's is bad. Always speak positively. Positive reinforcement."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">7. "Tell your child he's a hopeless little sinner, and unless God changes his heart he always will be."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">You can only hope such parents will learn enough not to make consistency their parenting god. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the problems you run into when you are not consistent or predictable is that you please no one. You get shot at by people committed to consistency on the right or the left. I have been thinking of some of my inconsistencies that displease some folks:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. There was a time I was considered a liberal on racial matters and got criticized for it. (No need to rehearse this.) Now I am considered insensitive at best, racist at worse. I know a black man was shot in the back in North Charleston, SC, by a white police officer. I also know that Mike Brown was not an innocent black teenager killed by a racist cop and that "Ferguson" is not an honest symbol of black oppression. I am told that I don't get it. No. I get it . But I don't agree with you. Do you get that? </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. I am for changing the state flag (which contains the Confederate battle flag) of my adopted home state of Mississippi. I understand that it cannot ever be a symbol of pride for and cannot stir the loyalty of all Mississippi citizens. But I am tired of the need for endless apologies for being a white Southerner whose ancestors fought in the War. I will support you in changing the flag. But I will not say that Robert E. Lee was a traitor and war criminal. Can we be allies?</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. I am a political conservative, and have been all my life. I want a balanced budget, a smaller government, a strong military, more freedom for the individual, more federalism, judicial restraint, etc. But I am not for flame-throwing rhetoric, not for wreck-and-ruin agendas, not for conservatives, when they get power, using the power of government in ways they object to progressives using it. I understand that Ted Cruz and Chris McDaniel are "true consistent conservatives." But Reagan was a realistic conservative who was both principled and pragmatic - in other words, inconsistent. Stop telling me I am not a "true"conservative. It's not true.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. I believe parents should require their children to obey and should discipline them, including the use (but not exclusive use of) of spanking. I don't believe schools should spank kids at all. I'm the parent; you're the school. I don't delegate all my parental authority or responsibilities to you. Don't accuse me of being a liberal. Or I may have to whup the tar out of you.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. I believe welfare is often abused and tends toward the creation of a permanent dependent underclass. I believe in reforming but not dismantling it - because I don't know how to help the permanent underclass in places like the Mississippi Delta. Where are the jobs? I don't want mothers and kids to go without things like food and medical care. You come up with solutions that will work before you call me a liberal. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. I sometimes watch MSNBC for amusement. But that's also why I listen to Rush Limbaugh. I sometimes wonder about both: Do they deliberately distort or are they that stupid? I talk back to and sometimes yell at both. I also have not liked a single female host since E.D. Hill left Fox and Friends. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">7. I am strongly against illegal immigration. I want the borders closed. I oppose President Obama's executive order. But I know it is not possible to round up and ship out the millions and millions who are here now. I favor a path to legal status for the majority. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">8. I was against </span><span style="font-size: large;">Obamacare</span><span style="font-size: large;"> when it passed. I hoped the Supreme Court would overturn it. Now that it is in place I am for replacing it, not just repealing it. It's not possible to go back to the system we had before, and I don't think it would be wise. Besides, I like my Medicare with the supplement and drug plan added.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">9. I believe in male headship in the home and church. I don't believe that male headship is the principle for all of life. I don't want a woman boss (other than the one I have), but I think it's OK for them to be presidents, managers, etc. I don't think the majority of women have the physical attributes to be policeman and soldiers. I don't think mixing male and females in the services is wise. These issues call for clear headed practicality, not the rigid </span><span style="font-size: large;">principledness</span><span style="font-size: large;"> of either the feminists or </span><span style="font-size: large;">patriarachs</span><span style="font-size: large;">. I think Rachel Held Evans is nuts. I also think Tim </span><span style="font-size: large;">Bayly</span><span style="font-size: large;"> is nuts. I think Carl Trueman is mostly sane.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">10. I am a law and order man. I support the police. But I hate radar, cameras, and most traffic enforcement. I believe the police are under tremendous pressures, but I also believe they sometimes apply too much physical pressure when they make arrests. I think the United States greatly needs sentencing and prison reform. I am very angry whenever a policeman is falsely accused or shot. But put up that radar gun and sell off those motorcycles. Go easy on the taser.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">So why did I write this? Predestination.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-16567400669492430062015-08-17T16:45:00.000-04:002015-08-18T16:34:08.617-04:00Back to Future: PCA on Its Way Back to PCUS?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> A Day Late </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">and Dollar Short</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>to Social Activism</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfkBSz5709X2vYlrPBBOG0jpYcZXveUSkXE28wLocVnduMfI6-MtdDi_iATiigg8lUEgJsmQrIrVdAMPdAsr5vWmO9ftf6tZDO932rpUaCt6H0AeYLeq0ehT6o7YSCiyEYyMcEDujxUU/s1600/Orthodox+activism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfkBSz5709X2vYlrPBBOG0jpYcZXveUSkXE28wLocVnduMfI6-MtdDi_iATiigg8lUEgJsmQrIrVdAMPdAsr5vWmO9ftf6tZDO932rpUaCt6H0AeYLeq0ehT6o7YSCiyEYyMcEDujxUU/s640/Orthodox+activism.jpg" width="492" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Why has Christianity never undertaken the work of social reconstruction? Walter Rauschenbusch</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Theologically, the Social Gospellers sought to operationalize the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:10): "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Wikipedia</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">P<span style="font-family: inherit;">ostmillennialists want to see God answer another prayer: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done ON earth, as It IS in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). Gary North</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As soon as we get this right we destroy at a stroke the disastrous dichotomy that has existed in people’s minds between ‘preaching the gospel’ on the one hand and what used to be called loosely ‘social action’ or ‘social justice’ on the other. Preaching the gospel means announcing Jesus as Lord of the world... N.T. Wright</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rather than waiting passively for the new heavens and the new earth, Christians can pray and work for God's will be to done on earth as it is in heaven; together, today. Orthodox Activism Brochure</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Leadership Development Resource Conference will present "Orthodox Activism: The Church in Pursuit of Social Justice" September 4-6 in St. Louis. The keynote speakers are Dr. Carl Ellis, Mrs. Karen Ellis, Dr. Sean Lucas, and Dr. Thurman Williams. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVoR4TrIVXBBysSt9P6nVoYfdtJR28Q9gS7NrOcbWAEVKCcZ4o0Dh0ZKav-Ke-r7C62ZpkVpZKWrY-l1k2kK68bDUwrhd5G8RK8Q9K5goVOLoiwMFrVPue2lPLu6a2YHrj5JlqmEIM-U8/s1600/Mike+Higgins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVoR4TrIVXBBysSt9P6nVoYfdtJR28Q9gS7NrOcbWAEVKCcZ4o0Dh0ZKav-Ke-r7C62ZpkVpZKWrY-l1k2kK68bDUwrhd5G8RK8Q9K5goVOLoiwMFrVPue2lPLu6a2YHrj5JlqmEIM-U8/s1600/Mike+Higgins.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">One of the presenters will be Dr. Mike Higgins, Pastor of South City Church, a multi-racial PCA church in St. Louis. Last week Dr. Higgins published an Open Letter to his congregation and to any other interested persons. I read it at the Reformed African American <a href="https://www.raanetwork.org/an-open-letter-justice-is-not-blind/">website</a>. Among the things Dr. Higgins reported to his congregation was his commitment to civil disobedience:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">On Monday, August 10th, I participated in a Saint Louis Clergy civil disobedience that involved a march from Christ Church Cathedral downtown to the Tom Eagleton Federal Building. The purpose of this action was to go forward as a show of unity and solidarity, to pray, sing hymns on the steps of the Federal Building and demand that the United States Attorney for Eastern Missouri move forward on the changes that must be made to ensure that all who are sworn to serve and protect will be better equipped to serve and protect people, not systems.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When the federal marshals and STLPD threatened the peaceful crowd with chemical agents, some of us decided on the spot to be dragged, tazed and/or cuffed as a way of distracting (or at least slowing down) that type of dispersal tactic, hoping to prevent many (including children) from being harmed.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">This action was announced last Friday night at the conclusion of our First Friday Prayer meeting. Obviously, though the possibility of arrest was discussed at the meeting, my arrest could not have been announced. My hope, along with those of everyone who participated, was that we would not be arrested, but engaged. I believe we were heard, in some small way, but I believe we must keep speaking, keep confronting.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">And I will do it all again if the circumstances are ever the same. I would do it again because I am not just doing this for myself. I was out there for my family, for our family. And I was there for everyone else. I hope that something I do keeps the next generation from being raised to become racists without even knowing it.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">He wrote also of his view of justice in America:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Brothers and Sisters, this world is broken. Justice in America – and so many places on earth – is not blind. If she were blind, she would not be blindfolded. She can see very clearly. She can see which ethnic group you belong to, how old or young you are, which side of the tracks you live on.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Justice, without the blindfold, can be manipulated by those who claim to exact it; to make you afraid of black people or Hispanic people; to make you dismiss addicts and ex-cons; to prevent us all from embracing equality or extending grace; to prevent us from affirming that we are all made in God’s image.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I think the blindfold was pulled off in this country when, not long ago, white men constructed a phenomenon called Race to make sure that people of color would never be considered equal, based solely on skin tone. Justice needs someone to help her with her blindfold, and we marched this Monday to demand that she retie it.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Constitution says US citizens are innocent until proven guilty, but as a black man I am treated as if I am guilty and have to prove my innocence. The Church knows this tension -more than anyone. We are a community of people called to love and trust one another, but we remain suspicious, cynical, and judgmental of people who do not fit into the categories we have deemed proper.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Let’s be first to admit this hypocrisy, and turn from it. Let’s run to testify to our communities, and let’s demand that the authorities search themselves for this hypocrisy as well.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">We march on, pray on, sing on – because we know The God of righteousness and justice; true justice.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">This Justice is neither blind nor blindfolded, it need not be. While justice in America is blindfolded to ensure some artificial security from bias, true Justice sees all our differences, discerns all distinctions, and judges fairly still. This is our future: we will all see, and finally see rightly.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Presbyterian Church in America will be 42 in December of this year. It's interesting to go back and read some of the things that were said to justify the establishment of a new denomination. In their newsletter "Contact" Concerned Presbyterians published a criticism of both the social gospel and civil disobedience: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When Paul came to Corinth, in the early fifties of the first century, he found a city reeking with slavery, oppression, crime, prostitution, social inequities, and poverty. Burdened as he was with this situation, <b>he might have organized demonstrations and sit-in protests. He might even have engineered a program of civil disobedience </b>against the Roman authorities in an effort to remedy the appalling conditions. But he did not. He later said concerning his coming that he was determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In time, Paul and the other Christian Apostles altered the face of t<b>he Roman Empire not by riots, demonstrations, civil disobedience, and the like, but by the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ </b>which alone could free men from the shackles of sin and make them holy and good. (Emphasis added.)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In preparation for the founding of the church they published "Reaffirmations of 1973." Confusion about the mission of the church was one indication the PCUS had departed from the faith:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large; line-height: 1.38;"><b>CONCERNING THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH </b>The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS), when first established, declared its mission to be the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world. Further defining this mission, the Constitution of the PCUS declares that "Christ hath given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering and perfecting of the saints ... ," "the functions of the Church are to proclaim, to administer and to enforce the law of Christ revealed in Scripture." Today the Assembly, through its boards, agencies and committees has replaced the Church's mandate to be first-of-all missionary and evangelistic, with a primary <b>emphasis on social, economic and political mission</b>. We reaffirm the doctrine of our founding fathers that the primary mission of His Church is given us in the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ. We rededicate ourselves to the task of proclaiming the Gospel throughout all the world and nurturing His chosen ones in the faith. (Emphasis added.)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">One of the topics to be addressed at the St. Louis Conference is the doctrine of the spirituality of the church: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 1.38;"> </span><b>CONCERNING THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE CHURCH</b> The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) was organized as a distinctively spiritual communion and our founding fathers emphasized that it was to be kept separate from the State. The Constitution of the PCUS calls upon us as citizens to be obedient to the laws of civil government for Christ's sake, refraining from meddling with civil affairs which concern the commonwealth unless by humble petition in cases extraordinary. Nevertheless. agencies of the General Assembly have deviated from this basic doctrine of the Church, and the Assembly itself has supported civil disobedience. Moreover, said agencies and the Assembly have<b> supported the violation of civil law</b>, have unfairly criticized the foreign policies of the United States, and have endorsed programs designed to incite rebellion against constituted authority. We reaffirm our devotion to the Church as a spiritual institution knowing that the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is not of this world. We <b>acknowledge our obligation as citizens to obey duly constituted civil authorities</b>, limiting our relationship as a Church to the area of "humble petition'" according to the Scriptures. We rejoice in the religious freedom guaranteed us under the Constitution of the United States of America, and we would <b>support those in lawful authority by our prayers and sympathy</b>. (Emphasis added.)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Three comments:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">(1) When the PCA next year in Mobile adopts the successor to Dr Ligon Duncan's and Dr. Sean Lucas' resolution calling for repentance because of the PCA's generational and covenantal sins, part of which involve failure to support the Civil Rights Movement, should the statements of the founders (the Reaffirmations were adopted unanimously in February of 1973) be repudiated? Should a statement be made that the founders of the PCA should have joined the Mike Higginses of their day in acts of civil disobedience?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">(2) I have said before, and it becomes ever more clear, that the pressure on the PCA regarding matters of social/racial justice comes not primarily from the Bible or the Bible's theological and ethical teaching. The pressure comes from sociological and political progressivism. Now it's just fine to be a progressive if you wish. Political views are like psychology. They're best not dressed with a Biblical suit of proof texts. Just let them be what they are. I am a political conservative. (Actually, I am a political "conservative" acccording to former MS Senatorial candidate Chris McDaniel.) I will discuss why I hold my postions, but I will not try to coerce you to agree by telling you my position is Biblical and yours is not. I'd appreciate it if you'd not say such things to me. You're a Christian who happens to be a progressive. I'm a Christian who's not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">(3) The only Biblical issue I'd raise with Mike Higgins is his civil disobedience. I wonder if his Presbytery will.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-45605027394973102162015-08-16T13:21:00.000-04:002015-08-16T13:21:43.607-04:00No Facts, No Faith<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (KJV)</span></h1>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a famous line from the radio and television police drama, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dragnet.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Sgt. Joe Friday says to female characters he’s interviewing, “Just the facts, ma’am.” There’s just one problem. The fact is he never said it. The line came from spoof of the show.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unless you’re playing </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeopardy </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that fact doesn’t matter. But the Gospel is different. The Gospel stands or falls with facts.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. The Gospel and the Corinthians</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Corinth was a seaport town, capital of the Roman province of Achaia, and, with a population of 200,000, one of the largest cities in the Empire. It was a Gentile city with a large Jewish community. Corinth had many pagan temples, and its citizens practiced many forms of immorality. It was so bad that the verb “to Corinthianize” meant engage in sexual immorality. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But in Corinth people, both Jews and Gentiles, had become Christians and a church planted. How did that happen?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Paul preached the Gospel.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> What is preaching? Preaching always includes teaching, but it is more than teaching. It is an announcement, or proclamation, of the good news of what God has done in Christ with a call to respond with faith, repentance, and discipleship. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul arrived in Corinth and each sabbath reasoned in the Jewish synagogue seeking to persuade Jews and Gentiles that Jesus is the Messiah. The Jews became hostile. Paul left synagogue and moved to the house of a Gentile believer. Over a year and a half many people believed and received Christian baptism. (Acts 18:1-17)</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Gospel Paul preached was the same all the Apostles preached: “...whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.” There can be great differences of personality and style among preachers, but no differences of message. There is only one Gospel. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul had received and passed on the Gospel. Paul uses the language of tradition. Families have Christmas traditions. Susan’s family opened presents Christmas mornings, working their way around the room from youngest to oldest, each opening only one gift at a time We received that and passed it on to our kids. So it is with the Gospel. Christ gave it to the Apostles. They preached and inscripturated it. By the Scriptures they handed it down to the church, a tradition to be preserved unchanged from generation to generation.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Corinthians received and believed the Good News of salvation. Faith means more than possessing information, or believing the information is true. It is entrusting yourself to the Jesus Christ proclaimed. The Corinthians had not just received and believed while Paul was there. They continued to have their secure standing with God by the Gospel.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They were being saved by the Gospel. They had been saved from sin’s guilt and condemnation when they believed. But the Gospel’s work is not static but dynamic. The Gospel preserves us now in our relationship with God, delivering from sin’s control, and gradually transforming us into Christ-likeness. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Gospel has this saving effect for us, assuming we continue to hold fast to it (better ESV “if you hold fast to the word I preached to you” than KJV “if ye keep in memory”). Paul does not mean to undermine our sense of security in Christ or to suggest we can move in and out of salvation but to tell us that not believing in vain means continuing to believe and hold fast to the Gospel.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We, like the Corinthians, are Christians because the Gospel was preached to us and because we believed. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. The Gospel and the Facts</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Gospel is based in historical facts. Some think that Christianity is not a religion of historical truth but mythological truth. A myth is not necessarily a lie but a truth not dependent on objective historical facts. The original audience may have thought it was historical fact. We know better. There were no fire eating dragons, but myths about evil dangers in the world. Some take this view of the history in the Bible, including the history Jesus. Jesus may or may not have ever lived, but the story of his life tells about a life lived with love, goodness, and God-consciousness.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul stakes the Gospel on facts.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christ died. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No one then or now would object to saying he died, for all die. They would have a problem but with the way he made sense of it: “Christ died for our sins according the Scriptures.” Paul is thinking about places such as Isaiah 53. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">... he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities...the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all….he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Is. 53:5,6,12).</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jews and Greeks had their problems with Christ’s dying for sins. But what about today? The main objection today is, “Why would it be necessary for Christ to die for our sins? We’re doing the best we can. And, if God has anything against us, why can’t he just be nice and let it go?” But the Gospel is for transgressors. It is good news for those who cry out with the Publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” They find mercy because Christ died for our sins.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was buried. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One significance of Christ’s death is to establish the reality of his death. He was, as Scrooge said of Marley, “dead as a doornail.” When he appeared to be dead, to be certain a soldier thrust a spear into his side. Then he was buried. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christ rose again the third day. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the most controversial fact. Then and now, people object, “Dead men don’t rise.” Paul says that Christ was seen by (1) Cephas [Peter], (2) the Twelve [the other Apostles], (3) 500 brethren at one time, most of them still alive, though some by now had died, (4) James, the half-brother of Jesus, and (5) all the Apostles, not just the original Twelve, but all including Matthias and Paul. Paul is saying that there are eyewitnesses and so many of them who saw him at different times that the resurrection cannot be explained as an hallucination. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nothing is more likely to be re-interpreted as myth than Jesus’s resurrection. On a Good Friday the Washington Post had a story about the coming Easter. It quoted a theologian who said that, if the bones of Jesus were discovered tomorrow, it would make no difference to her faith. She would still go to church on Easter. Some take the resurrection as a myth that about renewal and hope or the conviction that the dead are alive to our memories or alive in some spiritual way. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul will have none of that kind of stuff. He writes later in this chapter: </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up.. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. (1 Cor. 15: 14,15,17,18)</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christianity is a faith built on facts. The facts of Christ’s death for our sins, his burial, and his resurrection from the dead. By believing these things and entrusting ourselves to Christ we are saved. St Peter says, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul was not just a preacher of this Gospel. He was first a recipient of the Gospel and its grace. He had been “a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” but “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:13, 15). But so great is the grace of God in the Gospel that, though Paul had persecuted the church of God, God chose him to be the last eyewitness of the risen Christ who appeared to him on the road to Damascus. And Christ chose him to be an Apostle to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the Gospel saved Paul, don’t you think it can save you and me? If the grace of the Gospel is such that God made Paul an Apostle, don’t you think he can use people like you and me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At this Holy Table we testify that we believe Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he rose from the dead. And here by faith we have Holy Communion with the risen and ascended Christ who nourishes us with the food of his sacrificed body and refreshes us with the drink of his shed blood.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-27699379487204001682015-08-13T13:56:00.000-04:002015-08-13T14:24:35.063-04:00From Atlanta to Hiroshima<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large; line-height: 26px;">From Sherman to Truman</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>My God, what have we done?</i></span></div>
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Robert Gray, in the log of the Enola Gay</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWN4-JxtBvlwu2buQMYDt0qM7gOtTaZtG1TTiunV818E4n_5q6HRAkx_tkySo2EPhgAnGHJECeq-HzS7EOlRdr5EGF5yPrLD1nyILuvI2REbkIfWmcfCwDmDaPGUbzNP14LZveTG6AYMg/s1600/Hiroshima.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWN4-JxtBvlwu2buQMYDt0qM7gOtTaZtG1TTiunV818E4n_5q6HRAkx_tkySo2EPhgAnGHJECeq-HzS7EOlRdr5EGF5yPrLD1nyILuvI2REbkIfWmcfCwDmDaPGUbzNP14LZveTG6AYMg/s400/Hiroshima.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br />August 6 marked the 70th anniversary the use of the first the atomic bond. Somewhere between 70,000 and 80,000 people, about 1/3 of the population of Hiroshima, Japan died immediately, about 20,000 of whom were military men. Another 70,000 people were injured. On August 9, 1945 the second, and so far the last, use of the bomb occurred, this time against Nagasaki. Estimates of deaths range from 39,000 to 80,000, 150 of them soldiers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>President Truman</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In his official statement on August 6 President Harry Truman said: "</span><span style="font-size: large;">The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold. And the end is not yet. With this bomb we have now added a new and revolutionary increase in destruction to supplement the growing power of our armed forces. In their present form these bombs are now in production and even more powerful forms are in development...</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #55514c; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.7999992370605px;">.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have above ground in any city. We shall destroy their docks, their factories, and their communications. Let there be no mistake; we shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war." After the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki he invoked God, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">"I realize the tragic significance of the atomic bomb ... It is an awful responsibility which has come to us ... We thank God that it has come to us, instead of to our enemies; and we pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">One of the notable things that came out after the War is the extent to which military men objected to or second-guessed the use of the bomb. Admiral William Leahy said, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">“It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was taught not to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children.” Admiral Bull Halsey: </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">“The first atomic bomb was an unnecessary experiment. . . . It was a mistake to ever drop it. . . . [the scientists] had this toy and they wanted to try it out, so they dropped it. . . . It killed a lot of Japs, but the Japs had put out a lot of peace feelers through Russia long before.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">General Dwight Eisenhower wrote: </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">“I had been conscious of depression and so I voiced to (Sec. Of War Stimson) my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at this very moment, seeking a way to surrender with a minimum loss of ‘face,’" and, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">“Japan was at the moment seeking some way to surrender with minimum loss of ‘face’. It wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Richard Nixon spoke about the view of General Douglass MacArthur: "</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">MacArthur once spoke to me very eloquently about it, pacing the floor of his apartment in the Waldorf. He thought it a tragedy that the Bomb was ever exploded. MacArthur believed that the same restrictions ought to apply to atomic weapons as to conventional weapons, that the military objective should always be limited damage to noncombatants. . . MacArthur, you see, was a soldier. He believed in using force only against military targets, and that is why the nuclear thing turned him off." According to MacArthur's pilot: </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">“General MacArthur definitely is appalled and depressed by this Frankenstein monster." According to Army-Air Force Gen. Hap Arnold's deputy: </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">“Arnold’s view was that it was unnecessary. He said that he knew the Japanese wanted peace. There were political implications in the decision and Arnold did not feel it was the military’s job to question it.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">However, while the atomic bombs brought about a new level of potential destruction and terror in warfare, their use was not by any means the only example of the waging of total war during World War II. For instance, on March 9, 1945 between 80,000 and 130,00 civilians were killed in the firebombing of Tokyo, the worst firestorm in history. Three months before the German surrender, February 13-15, Britain and the U.S. firebombed Dresden causing 18,000-25,000 deaths.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who is responsible for the modern concept of waging of total war? William Tecumseh Sherman who after burning Atlanta began his March through Georgia to the Sea, culminating in the surrender of Savannah. Sherman's Army made war on civilians, their food, and their properties: "Sh</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">erman...burned or captured all the food stores that Georgians had saved for the winter months... Sherman believed his campaign against civilians would shorten the war by breaking the Confederate will to fight, and he eventually received permission to carry this psychological warfare into South Carolina in early 1865." The destruction in South Carolina was greater than that in Georgia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">John Marzalek of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University writes, "</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">And so, in Atlanta, Sherman instituted tactics later generations of American war leaders would use in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. In these later conflicts, largely through the use of air power, Americans attempted to destroy enemy will and logistics (a doctrine colloquially known as “shock and awe” in Operation Iraqi Freedom). On the ground and on a much smaller scale, Sherman pioneered this process, becoming the first American to do so systematically. <b>He is rightly called the American father of total warfare, a harbinger of the psychological tactics of the next century." </b>(Emphasis added.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The arguments in favor of Sherman's total war and the use of the atomic bombs against Japan are remarkably the same: 1. Those who suffered deserved it. 2. War against civilians is necessary to remove the enemy's will to make war. 3. The war was shortened by the use of of total war. 4. Likewise, lives, at least for the victorious side, were saved, by employment of the policy. 5. Total war may be a deterrent to current and future enemies who see what the kinds of </span><span style="font-size: large;">suffering and devastation they might experience. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are some Christians who may seek to justify total war today by appeal to <i>herem</i> war in the Old Testament in which Israel engaged in total war against the Canaanites (Deuteronomy 7, 20). However, the wars against the Canaanites are not intended to teach "God's plan of warfare." Israel fought as the Old Testament form of the kingdom of God (a nation in covenant with God) against the enemies of God. God was at the same time executing his judgment against the Canaanites and giving his people the land he had long ago promised them. The church alone, not any nation, is the kingdom of God today, and God has not called his church to alliance with any state, nor given to the church any worldly instruments of warfare, nor authorized his people to execute his judgment on his or their enemies. The day will come when God will defeat and judge all his enemies and give his people the earth as their inheritance, but that will be accomplished by the coming in judgment and glory of his Son Jesus Christ. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Christian theologians and philosophers from Augustine on have tried to construct a Just War Theory. There can be little doubt that total warfare violates the Principle of Distinction which is part of Just War Theory. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: "</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Soldiers are only entitled to use their (non-prohibited) weapons to target those who are, in Walzer's words, 'engaged in harm.' Thus, when they take aim, soldiers must discriminate between the civilian population, which is morally immune from direct and intentional attack, and those legitimate military, political and industrial targets involved in rights-violating harm. While some collateral civilian casualties are excusable, it is wrong to take deliberate aim at civilian targets. An example would be saturation bombing of residential areas. (It is worth noting that almost all wars since 1900 have featured larger civilian, than military, casualties. Perhaps this is one reason why this rule is the most frequently and stridently codified rule in all the laws of armed conflict, as international law seeks to protect unarmed civilians as best it can.)"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Some questions occur to me: Does traditional Just War Theory have any relevance to the world in which now live? If the concept remains in principle, has its use been rendered impracticable and hence impossible since the institution of total war? We cannot put the nuclear genie back in the bottle; can we put the total war genie back in the bottle? If it retains validity, how does Just War Theory work in engagement against terrorists and Islamic movements such as ISIS? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I am not an historian-philosopher-theologian-strategist. I don't have answers. Just questions. But I have to admit that the more I think about the dropping of the atomic bombs on those cities with their old, their sick, their children, and their women the less comfortable I am. And I've never liked Sherman. If there is any such thing as a "damn Yankee" he is surely one. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-79670039810338786132015-08-10T19:04:00.002-04:002015-08-10T19:04:51.745-04:00I'm So Disappointed in Santa, George, and Mike<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've had a lot of disappointments in life. Like when I </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhn-IniZBa-g054NZqBZhF-8oOJRh01qFqfbYzGuZZKWtNrHfwq23ioH4hJQhwqPavv7fbUtmjRjQzSh4YcvcpSjK4DxyqY8wfTgKupGcAmG0AqTAENwlN1PYDjromQlFVzTVd7sQ-mc/s1600/Santa+Claus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhn-IniZBa-g054NZqBZhF-8oOJRh01qFqfbYzGuZZKWtNrHfwq23ioH4hJQhwqPavv7fbUtmjRjQzSh4YcvcpSjK4DxyqY8wfTgKupGcAmG0AqTAENwlN1PYDjromQlFVzTVd7sQ-mc/s1600/Santa+Claus.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">found out that Santa Claus wasn't real. I asked. I got the answer. I knew immediately I had made a big mistake. No more looking up the chimney. No more cookies and hot chocolate left on the hearth. No more waking my parents up in the dark on Christmas morning. No more rushing into the living room to see what the Big Guy left. I am depressed about it to this day. It ranks right up there with when my mother told me there are no women who are built like Barbie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then there was George Washington. He did not chop </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">down the cherry tree. He was not asked about it. He did not own up to it saying, "I cannot tell a lie." There were all those places he didn't sleep. It makes you wonder about all those drunken Hessians and his crossing the Delaware on Christmas night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now there is the case of Mike Brown who was </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB73OwWt8owaXFGqEDRHbbi4zRaNUTu57wi1f8hSheEOvEGqS4OyyV2J_gVpm7osyqvc3VKsG8yAKUdRzG1C76aYi4QMbC84afPoh0XBOPX1dyqPwJdMfvpUGD5fZnd6BG09POtVjgpa0/s1600/Michael+Brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB73OwWt8owaXFGqEDRHbbi4zRaNUTu57wi1f8hSheEOvEGqS4OyyV2J_gVpm7osyqvc3VKsG8yAKUdRzG1C76aYi4QMbC84afPoh0XBOPX1dyqPwJdMfvpUGD5fZnd6BG09POtVjgpa0/s1600/Michael+Brown.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">honored yesterday in Ferguson on the one year anniversary of his death. Gentle Mike had graduated from high school and was planning on getting the training to learn the heating and air conditioning trade. This unarmed black teenager's life was cut short when he was confronted by a white policeman, who first ordered him out of the street, and then shot him dead. "Hands up! Don't shoot!" Yesterday they commemorated Mike's death beginning at 12:02 P.M., the time at which he was shot by observing 4 1/2 minutes of silence symbolic of the 4 1/2 hours his body lay in the street. We owe to Mike the whole "Black lives matter" movement that has had such salutary effects as making liberal Democrat Martin O'Malley having apologize for saying all lives matter making Socialist Bernie Sanders stop speaking at a rally because he was shouted down. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As it turns out there is the myth about Mike and the reality. Not long before he was killed he had strong armed a convenience store clerk for several packs of cigarillos. (Apparently no one was there asking, "cigars, cigarettes, Tiparillos?") The physical altercation began with Brown reaching inside the police cruiser where the first shot was fired. It continued as the officer pursued Brown on foot, and the 300 lbs. 18 year old turned and charged the officer. At that time the officer began firing. No bullets were found in the Brown's back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But in such cases facts don't matter. Myths are truer than the facts. Myths serve causes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is sadly appropriate that the day ended with a street gun battle during which 40-50 shots were exchanged. When the police chased a suspect he fired into their van, and they returned fire. When the police got out of the van pursued him on foot, the suspect again shot at them. and they shot him. As of this writing the shooter is in critical condition (let us pray for his recovery), and St. Louis County is under a state of emergency. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not to go all spiritual or anything, but not long after reading the newspaper report about the Mike Brown commemoration in Fergurson, I checked the Book of Common Prayer to see what are the Lessons for next Sunday. The Epistle (from which I will, DV, preach) is 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 where St. Paul gives the facts of the Gospel. Christ died. Christ was buried. Christ rose again. He adds a list of witnesses to the resurrection. Christianity is a religion of historical fact. If the facts are not true, Christianity is not true. Take down the facts, and Christianity tumbles down after. Myths will not do. Not even true ones. As St. Peter wrote about his witness to the Lord Jesus Christ: "</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16). </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-996961613551764242015-08-09T17:48:00.000-04:002015-08-10T06:31:10.044-04:00A Prayer for Life in the Wilderness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Psalter: Psalm 90 (ESV)</span></div>
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<tr style="height: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom: solid #000000 0px; border-left: solid #000000 0px; border-right: solid #000000 0px; border-top: solid #000000 0px; padding: 7px 7px 7px 7px; vertical-align: top;"><h4 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.96363636363636; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 11pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.</span></h4>
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.<br />
Before the mountains were brought forth,<br />
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,<br />
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.<br />
You return man to dust<br />
and say, “Return, O children of man!”<br />
For a thousand years in your sight<br />
are but as yesterday when it is past,<br />
or as a watch in the night.<br />
You sweep them away as with a flood; <br />
they are like a dream,<br />
like grass that is renewed in the morning:<br />
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;<br />
in the evening it fades and withers.<br />
For we are brought to an end by your anger;<br />
by your wrath we are dismayed.<br />
You have set our iniquities before you,<br />
our secret sins in the light of your presence.<br />
For all our days pass away under your wrath;<br />
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.<br />
The years of our life are seventy,<br />
or even by reason of strength eighty;<br />
yet their span is but toil and trouble;<br />
they are soon gone, and we fly away.<br />
Who considers the power of your anger,<br />
and your wrath according to the fear of you?<br />
So teach us to number our days<br />
that we may get a heart of wisdom.<br />
Return, O Lord! How long?<br />
Have pity on your servants!<br />
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,<br />
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.<br />
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,<br />
and for as many years as we have seen evil.<br />
Let your work be shown to your servants,<br />
and your glorious power to their children.<br />
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,<br />
and establish the work of our hands upon us;<br />
yes, establish the work of our hands!</td></tr>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-07f35860-146d-9c90-52b9-45a25a4e5e3f"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-07f35860-146d-9c90-52b9-45a25a4e5e3f"><span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is the glass half empty or half full? Your answer reveals paradigm you use you interpret the things that happen in your life. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What paradigm should we as God’s people us to understand our lives? Psalm 90 provides one Biblical paradigm. We are liberated from the Egypt of sin. We are on our way to the perfectly blessed Promised Land. Now we are in between, traveling through the wilderness of this present world. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. The Psalm and Its Setting</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Psalm 90 is the only Psalm attributed to Moses. He wrote the Psalm sometime during Israel’s journey through the wilderness. They were no longer slaves in Egypt, but they lived with dangers, deprivations, temptations, and hardships.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Israel approached the Promised Land, Moses sent 12 spies to check it out. Two returned and reported that the land was all that God had said and that Israel should immediately take possession of it. But ten said that the Canaanites and their cities were too strong and that it would be impossible to conquer the land. The people sided with the ten and rebelled against the Lord. The Lord judged them for their unbelief, and said:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">... your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land...But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in...But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure. (Numbers :14 28-35)</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moses wrote this Psalm knowing the whole first generation would die in the wilderness, and that it would be 40 years before the next generation would enter the land. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Man’s Mortality and God’s Eternality</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Psalm 90 is often read at funeral services. Why? Because it straightforwardly, even brutally, faces the reality of mortality, and of the brevity and hardships of this life. Moses gives us pictures of who fragile and short life is. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You sweep them away as with a flood.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The Indian Ocean tsunami in December of 2004 caused crashing waves and floods hundreds of yards inland. In 14 countries, 230,000 died. Mortality is a great tsunami that carries away all humanity without exception. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They are like a dream</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Dreams can be so vivid, yet are so ephemeral. We can awake in a bad or happy mood, knowing our feelings are connected to our dreams, but we cannot remember what we dreamed. Our lives are like dreams - fleeting and transitory.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They are like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moses had seen brown clumps, renewed by overnight dew and in the morning showing promise of flourishing. Then the sun baked it all day, and it withered. So it is with human life, so strong and full of promise in youth, but so soon drained of health and then of life.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even the longest lives are short: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had a friend in Pittsburgh who cared for his wife through years of dementia. Then she died, and he lost his life’ routine got depressed. One day he said to me, “You know I’m gonna die - soon.” He was in his early 80’s. As it turned out, he was wrong. He lived to be 97. But he died. No matter how many years the Lord gives us, they are not infinite.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Life, while we have it is hard: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For all our days pass away under your wrath;</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we bring our years to an end like a sigh.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moses saw a lot of hardship in those 40 wilderness years - the hardships he shared with the people as well as the burdens of leading a rebellious people. Most of us do not experience such unremitting hardship, but all of our lives are a mixture of joys and sorrows, ease and hardship. Then they are over. Our lives end, as T.S. Elliot said of the world, “not with a bang but a whimper.” We come to the end of life, having experienced weakening, gradual or sudden, and we pass away with a sigh.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why did Israelites face such hardships? Why do we? Why did they die? Why must we? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You return man to dust, and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a particular fulfillment of what God had said to Eve and Adam, the foreparents of us all, “you are dust and to dust you shall return.”</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The people of Moses’ generation were dying not only because of original sin, but also because of their particular sins. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lord had sentenced them to did in the wilderness because of their sins - public and private, open and concealed. Neither Moses, nor the people, nor we can argue with God about his judgment of the impenitent or his discipline of those who believe, because our sins are all known to God.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But who lives taking into a account the reality of God’s anger against sin? Who lives in the fear of the Lord? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who considers the power of your anger and your wrath according to the fear of you? </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The human tendency is to minimize our sin and to deny the rightness of God’s judgment. What, even we as believers fail to appreciate as we should, is that the only reason we are spared God’s wrath is because Christ accepted in our places what is due to us for our sins.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is there any hope when life is so hard and transitory and so soon over? Robert Frost was thinking about something to ground our lives upon when he wrote, “We may choose something like a star, to stay our minds on, and be staid.” But it will take something more than a star to stay our minds. The only foundation for mortal man is the eternal God. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lord, you have been our dwelling place </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in all generations.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before the mountains were brought </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> forth,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or ever you had formed the earth and </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the world,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from everlasting to everlasting you are </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> God.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are mortal, but he is the immortal God. We are constantly changing, but he is the unchanging God. We are transitory, but he is the everlasting God. The fact that God is immortal, unchanging, eternal might be of no comfort to us. Knowing someone else is well but we are sick, someone else has a good job but we are unemployed, someone else has a happy marriage but ours is miserable does nothing to comfort us. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But in his blessedness, God is not indifferent toward us. He is not like the person who says, “My life is good, so what do I care if yours isn’t so long as mine stays good?” Despite our sins and our deserving his judgment, when we turn to him with faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior God is willing to be our dwelling place - our fortress in life’s dangers, our security in life’s uncertainties, our immovable Rock in life’s constant changes. He is our home in this world and the next. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. God’s Mercy and Man’s Prayers</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What can people living in this world’s wilderness pray for? </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For wisdom. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can pray that the Lord will help to take into account the brevity life and not to waste our lives but use them as we trust in and serve the Lord. The goal is not to live frantically but faithfully.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For mercy. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we sin against the Lord and come under his discipline, we can appeal to him to return his favor to us and to deal with us mercifully. David prayed for the life of his son; his request was not granted, but it was not wrong for him to ask.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For joy in God’s love. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Satisfy us in the morning with your </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The fact that our lives are hard, even if the hardship is discipline, does not mean we cannot live with joy. The source of joy is knowing that God loves us and always will. We can ask the Lord to help with St. Paul to live confident that nothing at all “can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For our children. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let your work be shown to your servants and your glorious power to their children. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We must not be shortsighted, concerned only for our own lifetimes. We can pray that our children will be more faithful than we, that God will do more glorious things for them and the church in the future than has been true in our time.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For permanence of our work for the Lord. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Most of us live very ordinary lives that nobody notices, and then we die. But, we can pray that the Lord will use our lives, despite their brevity, despite sins and failures, despite their seeming insignificance to count for the future of his kingdom people.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-73967146559871525992015-08-06T10:39:00.002-04:002015-08-07T18:40:35.046-04:00The PCA Has a Lot of Repenting to Do<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>It's a Heavy Load</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9gnnLuKtFCCSmTuz5jitM45hHKNmqpxkYL4Z_2oLcOIEjjY7NqR4aI9mL_tB42gV8_ByayxLjCIAjP2_hyphenhyphenIrMAUSKRcfH3efWocTWSe0Dw3CwzsjODt4YMU_gxcD4y3pZIu9qB8vBIE/s1600/Heavy+Load.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9gnnLuKtFCCSmTuz5jitM45hHKNmqpxkYL4Z_2oLcOIEjjY7NqR4aI9mL_tB42gV8_ByayxLjCIAjP2_hyphenhyphenIrMAUSKRcfH3efWocTWSe0Dw3CwzsjODt4YMU_gxcD4y3pZIu9qB8vBIE/s400/Heavy+Load.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> The Bayly Blog has published a piece by <a href="http://baylyblog.com/blog/2015/07/topple-abortion-we-must-strike-root">Lucas Weeks</a>, an assistant pastor at Clearnote Church, in which he argues that the root of abortion is feminism. He contends that the PCA soft-peddles feminism; thus the PCA is complicit in the acceptance of and practice of abortion. The PCA needs to repent:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">We must never forget that the blood sacrifice for feminism is abortion, and if we really desire to live in a nation free from the bloody slaughter of abortion, we must repent of our feminism. Regardless of the brand of feminism we're talking about, the vampire that has been feeding on the blood of our children for decades was unleashed by our sexual sin and our rebellion against the very simple and easy to understand words of Scripture regarding manhood and womanhood. Whether it's the hard-core leftist feminism of Camille Paglia and Sallie Tisdale, or the soft-peddled feminism that's increasingly common in the PCA, or even the Sarah Palin style of feminism within the GOP, the rejection of God's clear Word is the same.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In the discussion that followed among those who have not offended the patriarchs of patriarchy to the point of being banned one brother questioned Weeks' words about the PCA. This provoked Fr. Tim himself to write even stronger words, taking aim at one of his favorite targets, Tim Keller: </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">To say that conservative Reformed denominations like the PCA are responsible for the continuation of abortion in our country is an unassailable truth, as I see it. The most influential pastor of the PCA brags about not preaching against abortion and claims this is an effective tool in opposing abortion. But of course, every pastor knows why we avoid preaching against abortion, and it's not because we believe it's an effective technique in stopping abortion.</span> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">So that pastor and all the many pastors who mimic him in his conflict avoidance are responsible for little babies being killed in their congregations who would have lived had their pastors warned their mothers and fathers (and grandmothers and grandfathers) not to murder their unborn. As Pastor Weeks wrote, this is the fruit of feminism. Preaching against abortion is seen as anti-women's-rights and male pastors will do almost anything to avoid any accusation that we're anti-women's-rights.</span> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But it's a self-perpetuating thing in that the blood of abortion is the engine that drives feminism, so as PCA pastors avoid preaching against both feminism and abortion, they have more blood on their hands and that blood drives more feminism and more abortion.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;"> <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But this is just the beginning of PCA and other conservative Reformed pastors' complicity in abortion. We have not preached the Biblical calling and godliness of wifehood and motherhood to our young women, but instead called them to pursue academic and financial success ("excellence"). This, too, causes abortions to increase in the PCA. I would go on. There are tons of abortions within PCA and other Reformed congregations and many of them are the direct result of pastors not being faithful to oppose feminism—both abortion's cause and its result.</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Pastor Weeks was not "libelous," dear brother. He was only stating the simple truths that those of us who are pastors and have read Acts 20 have dogging our consciences all the time:</span> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. (Acts 20:26-31).</span> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">Like every conservative Reformed denomination, the PCA is filled with a kinder and gentler feminism that is often promoted and otherwise simply left alone by pastors and elders. And there is not one single bit of feminism that does not add to the death toll of our unborn children in such a direct way as to have to work very hard not to see it. Let me put it this way: every single diminution of the Biblical doctrine of the sacred calling of motherhood leads to the murder of unborn children. Every single diminution of the Biblical doctrine of the sacred calling of fatherhood leads to the murder of unborn children. That's how prevalent sacrifices to Molech are in our day, and they are common in Israel (the PCA) as well as in Canaan. But we avert our eyes not wanting to know how many abortions have been committed by the members of our own families and flock.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Let me put it this way: one of the most effective things we could do to root out this bloodshed in our midst (our congregations and families) would be to put back in our marriage ceremonies the bride's vow to obey that feminism browbeat pastors into taking out of their marriage ceremonies three or four decades ago. If someone says they can't see how this would suppress the slaughter of the unborn, they don't understand Scripture or the power of God.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The PCA is guilty of promoting abortion because the PCA holds to (a relatively mild sort of) feminism which in turn is caused by the PCA's unwillingness to declare the a woman's place is in the home and under her husband's thumb. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But abortion, feminism, and failure to preach and practice patriarchy are not the only sins of which the PCA is guilty. The PCA also bears the guilt of slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, and racism. This week Dr. Sean Lucas one of the authors of the Resolution on Civil Rights Remembrance, posted this statement on Facebook:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I have to admit: not sure how a white person can read any history of race in America & not think there's a lot to repent of & apologize for.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">As would be expected the discussion turned to the PCA and her complicity in race-based sins and her need to confess and repent. Ken Pierce explained the significance of the PCA's being a "continuing" church, the heir of the Southern Presbyterian Church:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Our denomination is quite consciously a continuing church, beginning as a remnant of Southern Presbyterianism, with all that implies, good and bad. Nearly all our historic churches are in the Deep South. It's not about a war or states' rights, but the fact that our churches barred fellow Christians from membership and worship, even while providing cover and venues (like suddenly discovering Christian education after Brown) for the most violent and hateful aspects of the anti civil rights movement, all in the name of Christ. Now, we would rather not acknowledge that fact. Many if not most would rather those things not be known. When they are known, we expect those wronged to get over it, to grant repentance without</span></span></span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">any acknowledgement of guilt on behalf of our </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">churches. I think that's misguided.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Jim Meek pointed out that members of the PCA have benefited from slavery and imposed segregation, both of which contribute to the present plight of blacks, and that there were segregationists and segregated churches at the founding of the PCA: </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I believe that we all do have things to acknowledge responsibility for. </span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">My ancestors owned slaves. The entire southern and national economies benefited from the labor of slaves in the South (and, yes, Northerners owned slaves as well). Slaves were generally prohibited from marrying by state laws and their owners, overturning God's intention that two should become and remain one and lastingly damaging the social fabric in black communities. Slaves were generally prevented from receiving education (by law), ensuring generations of poverty and struggle. Even many who did not own slaves, in both north and south, viewed blacks as a distinctly inferior race, and treated them accordingly. The consequences of the importation of African slaves into this country and their destructive treatment remain with us to this day. It seems to me that all of this makes most of us complicit in the conditions faced by African-Americans in the U.S. today. </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Further, we now see brothers and sisters around us poorly educated, poorly employed, suffering injustice, lacking decent housing and healthcare, and struggling in so many ways as they lack the good things we enjoy and seek for ourselves. "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity in them, how can the love of God be in that person?" (1 John 3:17). Even those who reject any corporate responsibility for the past and its continuing applications today, are we not as a society, church, and individuals responsible to extend significant and concrete care to brothers and sisters, as well as others, around us?</span> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Finally, yes, the PCA began after the high point of the civil rights movement. But a number of founding leaders and churches had a long histories supporting segregation and brought that history and outlook with them into the PCA; in fact, that was one of the primary reasons for their separation from the PCUS and their participation in the founding of the PCA. When I was church planting in Louisiana in the early 1980s, one family for another PCA church (in another city) was disturbed to learn that this new church would be open to black members: "we thought this was going to be a conservative church." That view at the time, was all too common, that the PCA was and would be not only conservative theologically but also conservative socially and politically (i.e.. segregationist). So, yes, this is part of the PCA's heritage and historical identity. And if that is sin, it is something that the PCA should be sure it has adequately repented of pursued reconciliation for with the brothers and sisters we and our forefathers wronged. Have we really done everything that we need to do to make sure these brothers and sisters (and others) recognize our repentance and perceive genuine welcome among us and acts of assistance from us? Until we are sure this is the case, it seems clear to me that we must continue to discuss how to state and implement our repentance.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">So far as I can tell the confession the PCA is called on to make is that it is guilty not only of racial injustice within itself but also in society, not only that it (some of its members?) worked actively against racial reconciliation but also that it failed to support the Civil Rights movement, and that not acknowledging this failure of not doing the right thing during the Civil Rights movement is a hindrance to the reconciliation with African Americans it is obligated to seek:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">... many of our conservative Presbyterian churches at the time not only failed to support the Civil Rights movement, but actively worked against racial reconciliation in both church and society...</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">... our denomination’s continued unwillingness to speak truthfully about our failure to seek justice and to love mercy during the Civil Rights era significantly hinders present-day efforts for reconciliation with our African American brothers and sisters...</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">..the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America does recognize and confess our church’s covenantal and generational involvement in and complicity with racial injustice inside and outside of our churches during the Civil Rights period...</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">It is clear that what is desired goes well beyond sins of which the church as church is guilty. It would be one thing to state: "Some of our churches refused to admit black persons to worship and failed to receive them as members on the same basis as they received persons of other races. This we confess was wrong, and we repent." It is another thing for the church to say: "We are responsible for our own sins as a denomination and as member churches. We are also complicit in and therefore guilty of the sins of society. Moreover, we were wrong not to support the Civil Rights movement and for the offense this failure continues to give to our African American brethren."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's a heavy load of sin and guilt the PCA must bear. Sins of commission: abortion, feminism, slavery, segregation. Sins of omission: failure to promote patriarchy and the Civil Rights movement. It makes one think of the PCA as the New Testament replacement for Israel as the Old Testament suffering servant bearing its own and the world's sins. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-78267586185794561252015-08-02T16:04:00.000-04:002015-08-02T16:04:19.899-04:00Don't Let History Repeat Itself<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Don’t Let History Repeat Itself</span></div>
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<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Ninth after Trinity</b></span><br /> <br /><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Epistle Lesson: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (KJV)</span></b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.</span><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">“Those who cannot</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> remember</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> the </span><span style="font-size: large;">past</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> are condemned to repeat it,” said Spanish philosopher, George Santayana. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant...” He wanted them and us to remember Israel’s history so we won’t let it repeat itself.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>1. All </b></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>a. Continuity</b> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Paul can use the history of Israel to teach </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Christians because there is a continuity between God’s Old Testament people and God’s New Testament people - between Israel and the Church. Though almost all the members of the Corinthian church were Gentiles, Paul calls Israel “our fathers.”<br /> </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">God does not have two peoples, but one people. The Old Testament church was predominantly Jewish.They lived in the age of preparation for the coming of Christ. We live in the age following the coming of Christ, the age of consummation. We are the people upon whom “the ends of the world have come” (v. 10) - the age after Christ’s first coming that will end with his coming again. </span></blockquote>
<br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">There were two two things all Israel experienced that parallel two things all Christians experience.</span><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b> b. Baptism</b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Israel underwent a baptism. The Lord sent Moses to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt and to lead them to the Promised Land. The Lord gave them a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud to guide them.<br /> </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Egyptians regretted letting them go, and Pharaoh and his army gave chase. The Egyptians caught up to them near the Red Sea, and Israel was trapped between the Sea and the pursuing Egyptian. At that point the Lord moved the cloud behind Israel, and prevented the Egyptians from attacking.<br /> </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Lord also opened the Red Sea so that Israel crossed as if walking on dry land. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">When Israel had crossed and the Egyptians followed, the waters crashed over the Egyptians, destroying Pharaoh and his army.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Being under the cloud and crossing the sea was a baptism into Moses. This baptism united them to their Deliverer and Leader.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>c. Eucharist</b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Israel also participated in a Holy Communion as the Lord miraculously provided food. Every morning six days a week a flake-like material they called Manna was on the ground. It was bread sent by God. It was “spiritual” food, not because it wasn’t real, but because it was the bread of heaven given to them by God’s special provision.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">They also needed water. Twice the Lord provided miraculously causing water to come out of a rock. It was spiritual drink, as the bread was spiritual, because it was given by miracle. The Rock the water came from was Christ. St. Paul says it followed, not that a rock literally followed them, but that Christ was always with them. </span></blockquote>
<br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Paul wanted the Corinthians and wants us to think about parallels between Israel and the church. What was true of all Israel is true of all of us. Christ has delivered us from our Egypt of sin and death and leads us to the eternal Promised Land. All of us are baptized into Christ our Savior and Lord. All of us eat and drink the spiritual bread and spiritual drink of the Lord’s Supper. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>2. Some </b></span><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>a. Many Overthrown </b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">All Israel received baptism and spiritual food and drink, but other things were true of some of them. It turned out that God was displeased with many Israelites who were baptized and received spiritual food and drink. The proof of God’s displeasure was that many were overthrown in the wilderness. Many died under judgment and never got the Promised Land. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The warning to us is clear. We dare not think, “I am a baptized Christian, and I receive the Lord’s Supper; therefore, I will certainly be numbered with God’s people on the Last Day.” Sacraments are effective instruments of God’s conveying grace to us, but it is dangerous to rely on them, for they are not magic; they do not work automatically or inevitably. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>b. Negative Examples</b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">St. Paul says what happened to Israel are examples for to us of what to avoid - not to crave after evil things that displease God and harm our spiritual welfare. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b> 1) Idolatry (Exodus 32).</b> Remember the Golden calf incident. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Law, the people demanded that Aaron make them gods, so he made a golden calf. When Moses came down from Sinai, he found the people eating, drinking, and dancing before their idol - having a drunken orgy.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Paul confronts the practice of some Corinthians who said they had the freedom to go to the pagan temples and participate in the temple feasts. Paul agrees that idols are not real and that food is food. But he wants the Corinthians to understand that behind pagan worship are demons and that to participate in idol feasts provokes God and is spiritually destructive to those who participate in them.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">There is a warning also for us. Whether we join in false worship, or devote ourselves to evil desires, or give good things the place of God in our lives, idolatry destroys pure worship and harms our souls and the souls of others. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>2) Fornication (Numbers 25). </b>When Israel came near the land of Moab, the men “began to whore with the daughters of Moab.” This in turn led to Baal worship. At Sinai idolatry led to immorality; here immorality led to idolatry. Over 20,000 were killed for this sin.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Corinthians needed to deal with immorality among them. One man had an incestous relationship with his stepmother. Some did not understand that involvement with prostitutes is against God’s will. They needed to deal with these things in their personal and congregational life.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Many are distraught because of the Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage. But standards of sexual morality eroded a long time ago, even in the church. Sex has become disconnected from marriage. While sexual immorality is common, God is not pleased. Sexual sins destroy souls and churches. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>3) Testing (Numbers 21).</b> Some of them tempted Christ, or put him to the test. They said it would have been better to have stayed and died in Egypt. They were displeased with the variety of diet, tired of not having a reliable water supply, and bored with the manna. They were saying, “Can God provide? Why doesn’t he provide better?” God sent fiery serpents among them as punishment. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Whenever we say in our hearts, “Is Christ enough? Do we need to hedge our bets about our salvation?” or “Do we need to look to other sources for our security and happiness?” we put him to the test, saying, “Are you really enough for us?”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b> 4) Murmuring (Numbers 11:1-3, 14, 16). </b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> Murmuring or complaining was Israel’s chronic sin. It began at the Red Sea, when they said, Did we really need to come out here to die?”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They complained about the Lord’s provision, the leaders he gave them, the hardships of the wilderness, and about the Lord himself. They suffered judgments of the Lord such as outbreaks of fire and plague. Murmuring comes from discontentment, which comes from a lack of faith, failing to trust in the Lord to be our only God, Savior, and Provider. All sins are traced to a lack of faith. Lack faith will keep us from eternal joy.</span></blockquote>
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<br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>3. Us</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">St. Paul tells us that the history of Israel is recorded for our benefit. “Now all these things happened unto them for examples: they are written for our admonition.” Paul’s admonition includes a warning and an encouragement.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">a.Warning</span></b></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The warning is, “Let him who thinketh he stands </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">take heed lest he fall.” Paul wants to undermine false confidence. Sometimes people are indifferent to their heart health.They reason, “It couldn’t happen to me. Nobody in my family has ever had heart disease.” So they don’t pay attention to symptoms and don’t get medical care. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Paul warns those who think, “I don’t need to be concerned about my salvation or spiritual health. I have a strong faith. Temptations don’t bother me. I can endure trials. I’m not much worried about a fall.” But Paul says, “Remember Israel. Some became idolaters. Some fell into sexual sins. Some tested Christ. Some complained and murmurred. These were serious sins that revealed lack of real faith. Don’t think these things could not happen to you. No one is that strong. Strong Christians can and have fallen into all sorts of sins. Take heed.”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b> b. Encouragement</b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Paul offers strong encouragement. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Paul uses the word “temptation.” That’s one of two </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">English words that translate one Greek word. Sometimes the word is translated “temptation” and sometimes “trial.” All temptations to sin are trials of our faith. All trials of our faith present temptations to sin. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">You don’t experience any unique temptations or trials. All of them are common to man. Sometimes we are tempted to think, “My temptations are stronger than those of other Christians, My trials are worse than others’.” Not true. Not only are they common to all people, but they are trials and temptations that other Christians have endured without falling into sins or falling away from Christ.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">“God is faithful.” Our confidence needs to be not in our faith but in God’s faithfulness.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">One option for God is that he will not allow us to go through a trial or temptation that is too much for us. God will tailor the trial or temptation to strength of your present faith. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Another option for God is to give you a way of escape. What that means is not necessarily that God will give you a way to get away from the temptation or trial. Sometimes God will do that. But other times God will provide you with a way to escape from sin in the trial or temptation. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Paul’s point is that we are never in a position where there is no way out but to fall - no way not to fall to the temptation, no way but to fail in the trial. There is always some way to endure the trial with faith, always a way to get through the temptation without sinning.</span></blockquote>
<br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">We are going to celebrate the Holy Supper, by faith to eat and drink the body and blood of our Lord. Don’t think that participating saves you. It does not. But don’t think that because you feel your trials are too hard or you temptations too strong for you that you should stay away. The Eucharist assures us of God’s love and faithfulness and strengthens our faith so that we may stand in the grace of him who gives us strength.</span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-13112185910097644052015-07-19T19:57:00.000-04:002015-07-19T19:57:06.619-04:00A Happy Place<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6wBzg49vLKUHfb-dYX7MxnUFs1SRRw0mU9NRl5-frHMvfhuJ1abBigXRsye0UVX0I9F1DaIIUGdof0sjLACEZ7x-O5aMsIYrDXv_Ew5oJ9f_YEpQ6HjwU5w4n8N5Z9DBc_qrBifkT1o/s1600/Mt+Hermon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia6wBzg49vLKUHfb-dYX7MxnUFs1SRRw0mU9NRl5-frHMvfhuJ1abBigXRsye0UVX0I9F1DaIIUGdof0sjLACEZ7x-O5aMsIYrDXv_Ew5oJ9f_YEpQ6HjwU5w4n8N5Z9DBc_qrBifkT1o/s640/Mt+Hermon.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Hermon</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 40px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seventh after Trinity</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Psalter: Psalm 133 (KJV)</span></h1>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-77f112c4-a619-d301-4061-21e023dff680" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When my wife is stressed, she may close her eyes, and say, “I need to go to a happy place.” She pictures herself alone on an isolated beach where she feels the warm sun and gentle breeze, watches the ocean, and hears the waves breaking on the beach. I note that I never make it into these pictures.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most can imagine happy scenes - a mountainside, a meadow, a Thanksgiving table, a baseball park. David thought of happy scenes when wrote Psalm 133.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Pictures of Unity. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">David compares the unity of </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> God’s people to two happy scenes from the life of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Israel. </span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; list-style-type: lower-alpha; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aaron’s Ordination</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He goes back to the scene of the ordination of Israel’s first High Priest, Aaron. In preparation a perfumer mixed a holy anointing oil, a mixture of myrrh, cinnamon, aromatic cane, caccia, and olive oil. Aaron was bathed and dressed in the High Priest’s vestments. They put a special turban on his head and a crown over it. Then Moses poured the holy oil over Aaron’s head. It flowed down over his beard and clothes. It was a joyful occasion, the ordination of the High Priest, who would preside over Israel’s worship, offer sacrifices, oversee the the Tabernacle, and represent the people before God. The impressive ceremony included the delightful smell of holy oil. A very pleasant memory in Israel’s history. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> b. The Dews of Hermon</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mt. Hermon is at the extreme northern border of</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Israel and consists of three peaks, the highest of </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">which is over 9000 feet above sea level. Hermon </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">gets winter and spring snows and the top is snow </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">covered most of the year. (Today it has a ski </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">resort.) Hermon is very important in this dry part of </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the world because of how much precipitation it </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">receives. Below the snow line is an important area </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for vineyards and timber. Streams and rivers </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">formed by the melting snow unite to form the</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jordan Rivwe. The dews of Mt Hermon contribute to </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the verdancy of the whole land. Those snow </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">capped peaks and the water flowing down from</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">them was a beautiful sight and refreshing thought.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">David compares the beauty of the unity of God’s people to two happy scenes, the ordination of Aaron and the dews of Mt. Hermon.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Beauty of Unity</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can imagine David watching as members of the tribes of Israel made their way up to the tabernacle on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem to worship the Lord and thinking to himself, “What a happy and beautiful thing to see!” </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was a recent development. David had been born in the days of the judges of Israel when Israel was not united under a godly king, but everyone did what was right in his own eyes. They were vulnerable to their enemies and sometimes fought among themselves. Then Saul became the first king of all Israel, but worship remained a hit or miss affair, with no central place to make sacrifices, celebrate the festivals, and unite in the worship of God. After Saul’s death, there was civil war, with those still loyal to Saul and those loyal to David battling for control. It took 7 ½ years for David to unify the nation and establish his capital in Jerusalem. It took longer before he was able to move the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and place it in the tabernacle. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now he watched the pilgrims from all over the land coming to worship the Lord and thought how good God had been to him and the people to give unity - a unity most clearly expressed and experienced in the worship of the Lord on Mt. Zion. He wrote this Psalm to celebrate unity - a Psalm that was sung by future pilgrims as they traveled to Jerusalem. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is a Psalm that is ours to say or sing with greater meaning because our unity is broader than Israel’s. Israel’s unity was of twelve Jewish tribes; our is of Jews and Gentiles, and “all sorts and conditions of men.” “For he (Christ) himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility…for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father ” (Eph. 2:14,18). Our unity is not in a mortal and earthly High Priest and King, but in Jesus Christ, who having made the once-for-all sacrifice for our sins, ascended to heaven to present that sacrifice to God, to take his place of authority at the Father’s right hand , and to pour out the Holy Spirit of unity on his church. “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God…” (Hebrews 10:12). </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Christ there is no east or west,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in him nor north or south,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but one great brotherhood of love</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">throughout the whole wide earth. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The most beautiful expression and most powerful experience of unity for us is when we gather in worship. Every aspect of worship is essential to our experience of unity - the hymns, the confession of sins and absolution, the reading and preaching of God’s Word, and the celebration of the Holy Supper. In the Eucharist we eat one bread and drink from one cup because we are one people in Christ. We acknowledge we all are sinners who receive forgiveness through the one sacrifice of Jesus. As we commune with him, we commune with one another and declare our unity. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our hope is that anyone who observes our communing should say, “How good and pleasant it is to see these brothers and sisters living together in unity through Jesus. It’s as beautiful as a bowl of spring</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">flowers, as refreshing as a mountain stream, as delightful as an evening with good food and good friends.”</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Maintenance of Unity</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unity is beautiful but not easy and never to be taken for granted. God joins us in marriage, but we must preserve it; in a similar way the Spirit creates unity but we must maintain it in the bond of peace.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the church at Philippi there were two good women named Euodia and Synteche (Philippians 4:2,3). They were sincere Christians whose “names,” Paul said, “are in the book of life.” They were also hard workers who “labored side by side with me in the gospel” and “my fellow workers.” </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But something had happened. They had fallen out with each other. Perhaps they did not speak if they could avoid it. The congregation may have noticed their lack of harmony. There was tension in the air when they had to be together. People were feeling pressure to take a side. Church unity was threatened and at a very bad time, for the church had opponents and believers were suffering for Christ.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What were the problems between them? Paul does not tell us but we can be sure that the differences were not over vital doctrine or morals. These must have been the kinds of differences that are common. </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perhaps they had a personality conflicts. Some are extroverts, some introverts; some optimists, some pessimists, some laid back, some hard-driving; some tightwads, some free spenders; some precise, some muddled. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or, perhaps it had to do with different ways of doing things. My wife believes in the theory of handling a pieces of paper once; I believe in putting them in stacks and coming back to them later. Different ways of doing things creates stress between people. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or it may have been differences of opinion. People have all sorts of opinions about politics, education, economics, health, art, music. People feel very strongly about these things, and they can fall out about things where no Biblical truth is at stake.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paul asks them to agree in the Lord, but that does not mean they will come to say or do things the same. He tells them to have one mind, which is the mind that is theirs in Christ Jesus - who did not stand on his reputation or rights, but humbled himself to become a man and servant, willing to go to death to serve his Father and to serve us.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have a lot stake in our unity. God commands his blessing and life evermore to dwell among his unified people. Do you like to visit a home where there is tension and conflict? Probably not. God doesn’t either. He delights in the harmony and unity and visits them bringing with him gifts of blessing and life. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-19939905658923030452015-07-14T11:13:00.000-04:002015-07-14T16:09:44.678-04:00What Would Robert E. Lee Do?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #252525; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28px;"><b>A Question I Sometimes Ask Myself</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXrWRNSxjzCcwQ5KyHmG65tbvC0X2HhFirOSrJ18ZT8OfEJw1vQzbGVGFFLZ3MMpibOlZ0ppPMHrnt4v9F441YSh8Ah8kiN-mDgV4nrycAbfzS_u0LkBAl2rVm2lPI9g2hsmGd0GUZH4/s1600/robert-lee-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXrWRNSxjzCcwQ5KyHmG65tbvC0X2HhFirOSrJ18ZT8OfEJw1vQzbGVGFFLZ3MMpibOlZ0ppPMHrnt4v9F441YSh8Ah8kiN-mDgV4nrycAbfzS_u0LkBAl2rVm2lPI9g2hsmGd0GUZH4/s320/robert-lee-large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Down in my adopted home state of Mississippi they're </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3UZiWtMx0S7kBJQPeCiMAN5ib_77T7EV6j_b36qmPY8ljzqbEJdBlN5eqPqFayGaptT36YatNJxtamEfzYVcJOeQC9oQZph_xJY5zWTM-2fI1h7IR8rbCRGQDzZMeM0CyYixC0XY-gLw/s1600/Mississippi-state-flag-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3UZiWtMx0S7kBJQPeCiMAN5ib_77T7EV6j_b36qmPY8ljzqbEJdBlN5eqPqFayGaptT36YatNJxtamEfzYVcJOeQC9oQZph_xJY5zWTM-2fI1h7IR8rbCRGQDzZMeM0CyYixC0XY-gLw/s200/Mississippi-state-flag-.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">having a big fight about the Mississippi State Flag which incorporates the Battle Flag of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Virginia. The Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, Philip Gunn, the two United States Senators, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, and other state leaders have called for the elimination of the Battle Flag from the Mississippi State Flag. Others, such as Governor Phil Bryant and Lt. Governor Tate Reeves, have pointed out that Mississippians in a 2001 referendum overwhelmingly voted to retain the present Flag and that it would be up to the voters to decide if any change is made. Still others, prominent among them, State Senators Chris McDaniel and Melanie Sojourner, who consider themselves the embodiment of "true conservativism", have said in effect, "Never!" </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwfRy3xR-UmSwA0qfTuYpyITXOPo6-XV1C3qYw867D2FtTcuZKj_Ws2nwQ-xBsKIEMUMKy2l9UKjZi-FEs0aBH8YAzyv0qEHxcW_WZwrAlYQGAO9hPvjqHp0VNE3SPAjrwXi8gfI4hQA/s1600/lee+pissed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwfRy3xR-UmSwA0qfTuYpyITXOPo6-XV1C3qYw867D2FtTcuZKj_Ws2nwQ-xBsKIEMUMKy2l9UKjZi-FEs0aBH8YAzyv0qEHxcW_WZwrAlYQGAO9hPvjqHp0VNE3SPAjrwXi8gfI4hQA/s200/lee+pissed.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is where I ask my question, "What would Robert E. Lee do?" One of the more fractious followers of the two intransigent Senators has invoked Lee to take his stand against Northerners, Democrats, and spineless Republicans. The problem with this kind of stuff is that all we know about Lee tells us that Lee would have no sympathy whatsoever with such imposition of his portrait on the Battle Flag. </span></div>
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Lee was and is the epitome of a gentleman, one characteristic of whom he eloquently described:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly — the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past. A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">Lee opposed secession, though his unwillingness to take up arms against his state and his sense of duty to defend her led him to resign his United States Army Commission and enter the service of the State of Virginia:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honour for its preservation. I hope, therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before there is a resort to force. Secession is nothing but revolution. The framers of our Constitution never exhausted so much labour, wisdom, and forbearance in its formation, and surrounded it with so many guards and securities, if it was intended to be broken by every member of the Confederacy at will. It is intended for 'perpetual Union,' so expressed in the preamble, and for the establishment of a government, not a compact, which can only be dissolved by revolution, or the consent of all the people in convention assembled. It is idle to talk of secession: anarchy would have been established, and not a government. … Still, a Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me. I shall mourn for my country and for the welfare and progress of mankind. If the Union is dissolved and the Government disrupted, I shall return to my native State and share the miseries of my people, and, save in defense will draw my sword on none.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">After the War, Lee counseled moderation, acceptance, and reconciliation:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The questions which for years were in dispute between the State and General Government, and which unhappily were not decided by the dictates of reason, but referred to the decision of war, having been decided against us, it is the part of wisdom to acquiesce in the result, and of candor to recognize the fact.</span> </blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEcXnecKnwfTz1Xke5d-MJOmXIB8IGfX3s4PfYO-s1BIN692W5tOpaQABfClLGUgU3N-gvLbqknoRDJLfE0Gl8hlKnQTU_Aa9driBG_pRcHGrbNlfuvR-1kQJN8F_Ds2Zb14aRkcjO3kI/s1600/Lee+Quute2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEcXnecKnwfTz1Xke5d-MJOmXIB8IGfX3s4PfYO-s1BIN692W5tOpaQABfClLGUgU3N-gvLbqknoRDJLfE0Gl8hlKnQTU_Aa9driBG_pRcHGrbNlfuvR-1kQJN8F_Ds2Zb14aRkcjO3kI/s200/Lee+Quute2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I think it wisest not to keep open the sores of war, but to follow the example of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, and to commit to oblivion the feelings it engendered.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Madam, don't bring up your sons to detest the United States government. Recollect that we form one country now. Abandon all these local animosities, and make your sons Americans.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that slavery is abolished. I believe it will be greatly for the interests of the South. So fully am I satisfied of this, as regards Virginia especially, that I would cheerfully have lost all I have lost by the war, and have suffered all I have suffered, to have this object attained.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The interests of the State are therefore the same as those of the United States. Its prosperity will rise or fall with the welfare of the country. The duty of its citizens, then, appears to me too plain to admit of doubt. All should unite in honest efforts to obliterate the effects of war, and to restore the blessings of peace. They should remain, if possible, in the country; promote harmony and good feeling; qualify themselves to vote; and elect to the State and general Legislatures wise and patriotic men, who will devote their abilities to the interests of the country, and the healing of all dissensions. I have invariably recommended this course since the cessation of hostilities, and have endeavored to practice it myself.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">So, I come to ask about the Mississippi State Flag, "What would Lee do?" I think there can be little doubt, given what we know about his character and the things he both counseled and practiced after the War, that Lee would say, "Change it. Take the Battle Flag (of the Army of Northern Virginia) off it." </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lee's counsel would be formed by his desire to see the hostilities within the nation put away and the disunion healed. He would have counseled removal of the Battle Flag in the interests of national reconciliation and unity. That much we can surmise from what Lee wrote.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But, I think it is not unduly speculative to think that, if Lee could give us his counsel now, he would counsel </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">removal of the Battle Flag for other reasons: (1) The Battle Flag unfortunately has been so co-opted by racists and those who have sought to stir sectional hostility and resistance to equality of rights that it is no longer a symbol of the courage and heroism of those who fought under it. (2) When a black citizen of Mississippi sees that Battle Flag corner of the Mississippi Flag, he or she sees a symbol of slavery, the KKK, Jim Crow laws, the Dixiecrat Party, Mississippi politicians such as Theo Bilbo, John Bell Williams, and Ross Barnett, unequal opportunity, denial of voting rights, and all the worst things about Mississippi. I do not much see those things, but it is undeniable that black people do - and that it's understandable. (3) The purpose of a state flag is to provoke pride and loyalty and to symbolize the unity of the state. All citizens should be able to salute a flag and feel a sense of attachment to the state it represents. Not quite 40% of the population of Mississippi is black and practically none of them find the Mississippi State Flag a symbol of unity. My guess is that is also true of whites who, either as Southerners share the values of General Lee, or who don't care about the War and the reasons it was fought and, therefore, feel no need to have the Battle Flag on the State Flag. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">There is an unverified Lee quote that does sound like the man, and which, whether he said it or not, aptly summarizes what I think he would counsel about the Battle Flag: <span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 28px;">"</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Fold it up and put it away."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But a disturbing thought intrudes. I think of black </span><br />
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evangelical and reformed men such as Jemar Tisby, co-founder of the Reformed African American Network and newly appointed Director of the African American Leadership Initiative at Reformed Theological Seminary. I think of the things that have been said in connection with discussion of the resolution on racial reconciliation introduced at this year's PCA General Assembly. They can correct me if I am wrong, but I think they would say, "Never inform your decisions by asking, 'What would Robert E. Lee do?' Not only does the Flag need to go; Lee needs to go. He was a traitor to his country, and he fought to keep blacks enslaved. He was not a honorable man. He is no example. Furl the flag, and put it away. Free yourselves of this man who that has no place among America's heroes. Forget about Lee." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In other words, I think there is no satisfying of such men - if you have any sense of attachment to your ancestors, as I do to Francisco Moreno, Jr. who died at Shiloh; if you have any sympathy for the position of the Southern states in the dispute that was settled (mind you, it was and is settled) on the battlefields; if you are deeply stirred at the graves of Lee and Jackson and from the Southern battle line on the fateful day in Gettysburg; if Southern soldiers are your boyhood and adult heroes and even now inform your sense of courage and honor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Memphis City Council has voted unanimously to exhume the bodies of General Nathan Bedford Forrest (whom Shelby Foote said was one of two genuises of the War, Lincoln being the other) and to remove and sell his statue. Nevermind that he was converted to Christ and showed respect for black people and sought racial reconciliation:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I believe I can exert some influence, and do much to assist the people in strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to elevate every man, to depress none.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I want to elevate you to take positions in law offices, in stores, on farms, and wherever you are capable of going. I have not said anything about politics today. I don’t propose to say anything about politics. You have a right to elect whom you please; vote for the man you think best, and I think, when that is done, you and I are freemen. Do as you consider right and honest in electing men for office... I came to meet you as friends, and welcome you to the white people. I want you to come nearer to us.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I can serve you I will do so. We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">They all must be dug up - Lee, Jackson, Davis, every one of them. And we who have considered them heroes must say, "I denounce you."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">No. Not I. It would not be honorable. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-42911527236313543052015-07-13T19:42:00.000-04:002015-07-14T06:55:37.033-04:00You've Got a Friend, Or Do You?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>Sweet Baby James and Me</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">A friend had some bad news for me. As we talked, he made it clear where he stood, "If you think I'm going to the wall with you, you're wrong." As it turned out, he was a member of the firing squad. If I did not know it before, I knew then, that you never know who your friends are till you are in trouble - till you and/or your cause are unpopular, till it costs to be your friend. Then you may be singing, "You've gotta walk that lonesome valley, you've gotta walk it by yourself."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The wise man knew what the depression era song says: "Nobody knows you when you're down and out":</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The poor is disliked even by his neighbor, but the rich has many friends (Proverbs 14:24).</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friends" (19:4).</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> Many seek the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts. All a poor man's brothers hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but does not have them (19:6,7). </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Who your friends are may have a lot to do with your circumstances. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">If ever there were a true friend, it was our Lord, who had for his disciples the love than which none is greater. But though he would lay down his life for them, their friendship to him failed in his time of greatest need, first not being able even to watch and pray with him in his distress, then to a man deserting him, and Peter even denying he so much as knew him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is another kind of friendship, however:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity (17:7). </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Better one constant friend than an entourage of lesser friends: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (18:24). </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The proof is in the adversity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">But the question of who our true friends are is one that, like the question of who your neighbor is, needs to be turned on its head. You never know who you are a friend to till your friend is in trouble, till your friend needs you, till your friend becomes unpopular, till all have deserted, and you are still there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">We want to know who our real friends are, but to whom are we real friends? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What friends would we go to the wall with or for? Or, to think of more likely scenarios: Who are the friends with whom we would not just begin the journey but walk with all the way through the valley of the shadow of death? What friends would we stick with if they became overcome by a fault or entangled with the sin that so easily besets? Which friends would we abandon if loyalty to them could hurt a cause we believe or threaten the success of our ministry? What friends would we be seen with if it were embarrassing? Or, it cost us acceptance with those whose acceptance we want? With whom would we be friends if there was not a thing they could give us? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One thing I have observed since my ordination in 1973 </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">is that ecclesiastial politics and true friendship are incompatible. The former sooner or later will divorce the latter. Which makes Harry Trueman's statement about Washington aprapos to ecclesiastical bodies: "If you want a friend, get a dog." However, given my experience with my dog, I'm doubtful you can count on a dog. But then, thinking about my response when he embarrasses me in public, I'm not much a friend to Murphy either.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-38780624714933922772015-07-12T16:15:00.002-04:002015-07-12T16:16:24.032-04:00A Day for Big Macs and Milkshakes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Day for Big Macs </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">and Milkshakes</span></h1>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sixth after Trinity</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Old Testament: Nehemiah 8:1-12 (KJV)</span></h1>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One idea among many about proper diet is that we should eat foods low in fat and sugar. Let a husband, whose wife feeds that, go on a trip and and there’s a good chance he’ll get in line at McDonald’s for a Big Mac and milkshake. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It’s really hard to celebrate with low fat and sugar foods. Celery and carrot sticks are not celebration fare. Nehemiah 8 tells us about a day when the priests told God’s people to go home and celebrate with fat meat and sweet drinks.<br /><br /><b>1. Reading God’s Word</b><br /><br /><b>a. Background</b><br /><br />God moves the hearts of rulers to fulfill his purposes. In 538 King Cyrus decreed that Jews exiled in Babylon could go home to Judah. A first wave returned. Life was hard, and resources were limited, so they built an altar but did not rebuild the Temple. However, the Temple was most important for it was necessary for the worship of the Lord. God used the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah and the leadership of the governor Zerubbabel and priest Joshua for a great building campaign. By 516 the Temple was complete. <br /><br />A half century later in 458 a priest named Ezra, who had been born in Babylon, went to Judah to teach people the law. He has some success instituting reforms, but there was much still needed for the physical and spiritual welfare of the people. About 445 Nehemiah came as governor. Immediately he saw what must be his first priority. Almost 100 years after exiles began to return, the city walls still had not been rebuilt. With Nehemiah’s energetic leadership the walls got rebuilt within a few months. The people were now safer. <br /><br /><b>b. Book </b><br /><br />Then it was time to shift to the spiritual welfare of the people. That is the background for Nehemiah 8. On a designated day the people gathered near the Water Gate. The crowd was inclusive - men, women, and all who could understand. They called for Ezra to bring the Bible, the Book of the Law of Moses. This Book was not just a book of Moses. It was God’s Word, for the LORD had commanded it. When we read the Bible we should always remember that whether it is a Psalm of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, the prophecy of Isaiah, the Gospel of St. Mark, or a letter of Paul, it is God’s Word to us. When we read the Lessons the reader reminds us that this is “The Word of the Lord,” or, “The Gospel of the Lord.”<br /><br /><b>c. Priests</b><br /><br />Ezra and the other priests did two things with the Book:<br /><br /><b>First</b>, they <b>read</b> it. Whether it was all five Books of Moses, or a part, a great amount was read, for they read from early morning till noon. In some churches that gather great numbers, you will hear very little Scripture read, sometimes only a verse. It’s not that way with Anglicanism. Today we had three readings, a Psalm and the Old and New Testament Lessons, plus other portions of Scripture that are included in the Liturgy. When we celebrate Holy Communion, there are four Lessons. <br /><br />Stephen Neill in his book <u>Anglicanism</u> tells us that Thomas Cranmer said the Anglican Church is “the greatest Bible-reading Church in the world.” He had and the other Reformers “fell in love with the Bible.” He believed that it was “the living word of God to every man” and that when people were exposed to the Bible it would “make its way into their hearts and consciences.” (Neill, p. 54). Alan Jacobs in his <u>The Book of Common</u> <u>Prayer: A Biography</u> says that Cranmer wanted to assure that everyone understood the plan of salvation, and that “the first requirement of that understanding was the reading of Scripture.” (Jacobs, pp. 16,17).<br /><br /><b>Second</b>, they <b>explained</b> it. The priests “caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The Word of God comes to us in two ways in worship - the reading and the preaching of the Word. The first business of preaching is to explain the Bible so that people can understand what it says. One of the great problems Cranmer faced in England was that the church’s priests were not competent preachers. So he composed a Book of Homilies on essential subjects to be read in the churches. But how much better it is to have pastors who can and will study the Bible till they understand it and then compose homilies to enable particular congregations to understand what the Bible says and what it tells them to believe and do.<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>2. Receiving God’s Word</b><br /><br />As Ezra and the priests read and interpreted the Word of God the people received it in five ways. <br /><br /><b>First</b>, they <b>listened</b>. “The ears of all the people were attentive to unto the Book of the Law.” <br />There is no blessing in the mere reading of the Word of God by a lector. The Bible is not magic as though grace were given by being in room in which Scripture is read. People have to hear, which puts a great responsibility on those of us who read to read distinctly and loudly enough for people to hear. <br /><br />But, if lectors must read so that people can understand, those who listen must give pay close attention, seeking to comprehend the words that are read - “to hear them, read, mark, and inwardly digest them.” In Cranmer’s day people could only listen, as the only access most had to the Bible in print was the copy in every church that was chained down. But we have our Bibles. I think it helps us when we can simultaneously hear and read the Bible in one translation so that the Word enters by through the ear gate and the eye gate. Whether we practice that or not, the responsibility of each hearer is to listen attentively, striving to understand. <br /><br /><b>Second</b>, they <b>reverenced</b>. When Ezra opened the Book, the people stood up. I know it makes me sound old to say this (which, of course, I am!), but I was taught that when an adult woman or any person older than you entered a room, you should immediately stand up. It was a physical act of respect. That is why the people stood when Ezra opened the Book. <br /><br />They also bowed and worshiped the Lord with their faces toward the ground. American protocol is that the President is not supposed to bow to any foreign head of state. The reason is that bowing is a sign of submission, an act acknowledging superior dignity and authority. When the Jewish people bowed as Ezra read, they were submitting themselves to God’s authority as he spoke through his Word. <br /><br />It is not so much the particular posture that matters. The quick guide to Anglican worship is that we “stand to sing, sit to listen, and bow to pray” which is fine. But, whatever our bodily actions, we reverence God’s Word by honoring it and submitting to it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Third</b>, they <b>praised</b>. As Ezra prepared to read, he blessed the Lord, the Book’s Author. Blessing the Lord is not giving God a blessing he would not otherwise have, but acknowledging his greatness, goodness, and glory. The people responded, “Amen, Amen,” as they raised their hands raised upward to God. Many Christians think the “Amen” is roughly the same as saying, “The end.” But it means, “I confirm it,” or “I agree with it,” or “Let it be so.” It is one way we make our own what another person has said. When the people said, “Amen,” they showed their agreement with Ezra’s blessing of the Lord. When we read the Psalm, we respond, “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.” When we hear the Old Testament or Epistle, we respond with, “Thanks be to God,” Before the Gospel, we say “Glory be to thee, O Lord,” and after the Gospel, “Praise be to thee, O Christ.” <br /><br /><b>Fourth</b>, they <b>mourned</b>. The initial reaction of the people as they heard the reading of God’s Word was to mourn and weep. Because they realized how far short they fell as a community, as families, and as individuals from what God said in his Word. They experienced conviction of their shortcomings and sins. This is a response to God’s Word that many churches and Christians know little or nothing about. In some churches the last thing desired is for people to feel bad. Joel Osteen, for example, says he preaches only positive sermons because he figures people already feel bad enough about themselves. I believe one possible reason that so little Scripture is read and some parts always avoided is that churches are afraid of people being uncomfortable. But, mourning for our communal, family, and personal sins is one healthy response to God’s Word. <br /><br />However, Nehemiah and Ezra told the people this was not the right response on this day. This holy day is not for mourning.<br /><br /><b>Fifth</b>, they <b>partied</b>. The right response was to go home and throw a party. This was a day to prepare fatty meats and sweet drinks, food appropriate for celebration. They needed to share so they everyone could celebrate.<br /><br />What were they supposed to celebrate? They celebrated that God spoke to them through the Scriptures. One of the worst things in a relationship is for one person to be uncommunicative. Communication is essential to a healthy relationship. In Scripture God speaks to us.<br /><br />They celebrated the story of God’s salvation, his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, his preservation of Israel through the more than 400 years in Egypt, and his intervention to deliver them from bondage - all of which is a wonderful picture of what God has done in Jesus Christ to save us from Satan, sin, and judgment.<br /><br />They celebrated the renewal of their relationship to God. Though they had neglected God’s Word and their relationship with him, he did not write them off. They were still his people; his covenant with them stood; he would renew his fellowship with them and blessings to them. Their reading of the Word, listening carefully to it, and understanding of it, enabled them to return to the Lord and renew their relationship with him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They had joy in God’s Word, God’s salvation, and their relationship with him. This joy would strengthen them to serve the Lord even in all their hardships. It’s much easier to serve the Lord with a smile in your heart than a grimace on your face.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">God still speaks through his Word. Listen. Understand. Rejoice. Go have a Big Mac and a milkshake.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-52654754218018409282015-07-05T14:26:00.001-04:002015-07-05T14:29:10.845-04:00How to Live in a Hostile World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaWr9pQF_cyVBieeSnxyL4n30UZTQBiHJCWdBNdhpt2nr1qHFC1_senIsJp0YqHNoTpyrIdBI7IA0IDhtAvj7n6ZltCz8p8bGQWggZzjn7mQzhwGuw11YyG7aFDYuvB4AuB81rKsn-X0/s1600/Christian+martyrs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaWr9pQF_cyVBieeSnxyL4n30UZTQBiHJCWdBNdhpt2nr1qHFC1_senIsJp0YqHNoTpyrIdBI7IA0IDhtAvj7n6ZltCz8p8bGQWggZzjn7mQzhwGuw11YyG7aFDYuvB4AuB81rKsn-X0/s400/Christian+martyrs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fifth after Trinity</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Epistle: 1 Peter 3:8-15a</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and see good days,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">let him keep his tongue from evil</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and his lips from speaking deceit;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">11 let him turn away from evil and do good;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">let him seek peace and pursue it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and his ears are open to their prayer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Nikita Khrushchev threatened, “We will bury you,” many Americans feared he was right. It was not uncommon for ministers to warn that if Khrushchev’s prophecy came true. Christians could face persecution for their faith. Then the Soviet Union collapsed and with it that fear. But many Christians are persecuted, as the brutal executions in the Middle East testify. How should Christians live in a hostile world? St. Peter tells us.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Circumstances</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It will help us to know the circumstances of Peter’s writing this letter.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peter was in Rome. The Emperor was Nero, but he had not begun the intense persecution of Christians that followed the burning of the city.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The readers are Gentile Christians. They lived in a region of Asia Minor which is modern Turkey. Peter calls them scattered exiles, not because they were dispossessed from their homelands, but because heaven is the homeland of Christians.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was not a general persecution of Christians in the Empire, but there was sporadic and localized persecution which these Christians were experiencing. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is not surprising. Jesus told his disciples the world would hate them as it hated him. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christians in the West have been spared the kinds of persecution faced by many Christians. We don’t fear having our country conquered by foreign power that could be hostile to Christianity. However, there are responsible Christian leaders who warn that churches and Christians could soon face significant restrictions on their freedoms of speech and religion. Our Bishops are sufficiently disturbed to advise clergy not to act as agents of the state but only as priests in the conduct of weddings. </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Apart from such dangers there is no doubt that we live in an increasingly secularized culture, and sympathy for the historic Christian faith and morals is in steep decline. We have reasons to be concerned. The world is hostile to Christ and his people, and that hostility may be more severely expressed in both words spoken about and to Christians about Christians and the ways Christians are treated.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How should we respond?</span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Church</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peter begins by telling us how to live together in the church: “All of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This list of ways we should relate to one another is not a list of duties or rules that stand by themselves. Christ is the motivation, empowerment, and example of how Christians live together. Christ “ransomed” us by his “precious blood” (1:18,19), “bore our sins” (2:24) “suffered once for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous” (3:18). His love, mercy, and compassion transform how we treat each other.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peter tells us to have…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">...unity of mind, which does not mean we have to </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">think the say way about everything, politics for </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">instance, but that we have one Lord, one faith, one </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">baptism, one God and Father of us all. We are </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">saved and made one body by the same gospel of </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">...sympathy, which means that instead of </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">distancing ourselves from others in their sorrows </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and envying them in their joys, we share one </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">another’s feelings, rejoicing and weeping together.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">....brotherly love, which is the family love we have with one another as those born of the Spirit, adopted into the Father’s family, and acknowledged by Jesus as his little brothers and sisters.</span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">...a tender heart, which is a heart that is not hard but filled with love and mercy toward one another.</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">...humility, which means we are not concerned about our status, reputation, rights, or power, but consider others better than ourselves.</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We need to be a healthy church with good relationships for two reasons: (1) Stress in the church as in the family either draws us together or drives us apart. When we cultivate these Christian qualities we will be able to stand together and support one another. (2) When we live as this kind of community, we give a powerful testimony to the world. Tertullian said that unbelievers said of Christians, “Look how they love one another and are ready to die for each other.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Contrast</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peter has told us how to live as a church in a hostile world. Now he tells us how to live in the world itself. There is a stark contrast between the way the world may respond to us and how we respond to the world.</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The world may do evil to us. Jezebel, a Baal worshiper. tried to kill the the Lord’s prophet Elijah. King Herod executed John the Baptist. Before he his conversion the Apostle Paul was a persecutor and violent oppressor of Christians. So it is today in Pakistan, Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and parts of Iraq and Syria.</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The world may revile us. Unbelieving Jews accused Jesus of being demon possessed and a blasphemer. King Felix said Paul had lost his mind. Even we who say Jesus alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life may accused of intolerance. Christians who openly profess Christianity’s teaching about sexual morality can be accused of hate speech. </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is our natural reaction when people do us evil and revile us? We get angry; we want to pay them back. But Peter tells us that should not repay evil with evil or reviling with reviling. Rather we should bless those who hurt and slander us. Not bless them in the evil they do, but we treat them with respect, show them mercy, and pray for and seek their salvation in Christ. The best revenge you can get on those who persecute you is to see them become Christians.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peter got that from Jesus: </span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:43-45).</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Paul teaches us the same thing about how to live in a hostile environment:</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:17-21).</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are called to be blessed. We experience God’s blessing when, depending on his grace, we bless those who hate us. Peter tells us that this is what David tells us in Psalm 34:</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whoever desires to love life</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and see good days,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">let him keep his tongue from evil</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and his lips from speaking deceit;</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">let him turn away from evil and do good;</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">let him seek peace and pursue it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and his ears are open to their prayer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the face of the Lord is against those who do</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">evil (3: 10-12).</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God called us to himself to bless us, and he blesses us as we respond to those who hate us as Jesus did.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Confidence</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we bless the world that hates us, we have confidence that as we are zealous for good works no harm will come to us. The best way to stay out of trouble with the world is to do what is right, such as being good citizens. But Peter is not promising us that we will always be safe from persecution if we do good works. He is telling us that God will so protect us that no eternal harm will come to us. God will save us from persecution and death or through persecution and death.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If do are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, we are blessed along with all believers in history who have been persecuted for the loyalty to Christ. Jesus told us how to regard such persecution:</span></div>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11,12).</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-4194896191514601562015-07-03T08:28:00.002-04:002015-07-05T08:54:20.669-04:00Oh! Say, Can You See?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">In honor of Independence Day, here is a collection of The Curmudgeon's Blogs touching on topics of God, country, partiotism, and the Christian's relationship to his country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2011/07/hymn-of-hate.html">A Hymn of Hate</a> - No Christian should ever sing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." It's hymn filled with bad theology and hateful sentiments. If you absolutely must sing it, never ever sing it in church. This is the third most visited of The Curmudgeon's Blog posts.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2011/08/hand-over-mouth.html">Hand Over Mouth</a> - Does the church need to speak "prophetically" to the issues of the day? No. That is not its calling or mission. When the church speaks to the "issues" it dimnishes itself. My father told me it was important to learn when to keep your mouth shut. It's a lesson the church needs to learn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2012/04/christians-need-paradigm-shift-where-do.html">You're in Babylon, Not Israel</a> - Where does a Christian live today? The paradigm should be Israel in exile in Babylon, not Israel as the kingdom of God in its own land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 is not a prayer for Christians to pray for the United States.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-partiotic-american-denominational.html">Patriotic Alien</a> - Peter tells us we are strangers and aliens in the world. I found myself a stranger and alien at a patriotic service held at a Presbyterian General Assembly following the first Gulf War. You can't sing the songs of an alien kingdom in God's kingdom, the church.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-much-maligned-doctrine-of.html">The Much Maligned Doctrine of the Spirituality of the Church</a> - The doctrine of the spirituality of the church, under attack now because churches were silent during the Civil Rights Movement, is a doctrine that has been frequently maligned by those who believe the church should "engage" the culture and address the issues o fthe day. However, the doctrine, rightly understood and used, is nothing more nor less than Apostolic doctrine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-election-end-is-not-yet.html">The Election: The End Is Not Yet</a> - Thoughts on the Presidential election of 2012 and the Christian's relationship to his counrty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2012/12/more-moore-was-america-ever-christian.html">Was America Ever a Christian Nation?</a> - Judge Roy Moore, the Ten Commandments Monument at the Alabama Supreme Court, and the mistaken view of America as a Christian nation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2013/09/so-simple-even-theonomist-could.html">So Simple Even a Theonomist Could Understand</a> - Israel and the Church and how to understand, use, and preach about Old Testament Israel today. It's not that complicated when we have the right principles of interpretation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2014/03/i-got-my-fig-leaf-on.html">I've Got My Fig Leaf On</a> - Response to a theologian's defense of transformationalism and criticism of Two Kingdoms theology.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2014/04/bad-newsthis-morning.html">Bad News This Morning</a> - Thoughts on the attacks on Robert E. Lee at the University that bears his and Washington's name.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2015/06/lets-free-god-from-politics.html">Let's Free God from Politics</a> - The constant temptation and the problems with thinking our political views are God's. Most of our political commitments do not reflect the mind of God - and that's not bad.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8934298301663499561.post-54688830249455525282015-06-29T12:09:00.000-04:002015-06-30T05:28:27.898-04:00Everybody's Doing It<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">(That's "me" for those who didn't have strict English teachers.)</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I was a boy (yes, I am sounding increasingly like an old man because that is what I increasingly am), I never found the argument, "Everybody else is doing it" an effective argument. You got answers like, "If everybody else was running straight into hell, would you follow them?" This was the answer for everything from, "Everybody's going skating Friday night," to "Everybody's going to the dance," (this really was getting on the path to hell) to "Everybody's gets to use the car on weekends." </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I note that everybody else is commenting on the SCOTUS decision on gay marriage, so why not I?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Can the church survive the decision? Of course, it not only can but will. It may have fewer numbers or lose tax exemptions, but it will be more distinct from society, there will be less civil religion, Christians will be forced to decide if being a Christian means anything significant, and we will see ourselves more as <a href="http://thechristiancurmudgeonmo.blogspot.com/2012/04/christians-need-paradigm-shift-where-do.html">as exiles living in Babylon than as Jewish believers living in apostatising Judah</a>. To put it in another way, we will live in a context more like that of the Apostolic Church in the Empire than the Elizabethan Church in England. The church will survive as it has for 2000 years in different places and in varying circumstances. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The question that troubles me is, Can western civilization survive? There are many things that feed my natural pessimism. Multiculturalism that insists that all cultures are equal. Postmodernism that teaches that all truth is perception. Obsession with race that is destroying what little unity remains in American society. All these things are triumphant in the universities, ascendant in public education, and increasingly influential in the church. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With regard to the Court decision we face questions such as: Can a civilization long exist that not only tolerates but approves homosexual practice? That undermines the family structure which seems necessary to societal stability? That turns on their heads both the historic understanding of marriage and the confidence that language has meaning? I loathe the disintegration of western civilization as an intellectual tradition and the possible loss of the societal, civil, and political benefits it has produced. God will work out his purposes with or without western civilization and the western democracies, but I have to wish he would work his purposes with them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There, I've done what everybody's doing. I have expressed an opinion about the SCOTUS decision. Now I want to turn to another sense of "everbody's doing it" that I think in part led to the decision - sex.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It seems to me that what opened the door to the demand for "marriage equality" for homosexual couples is the fact that marriage itself has long been in the process of becoming meaningless. The world of the Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice" which existed in high school for my generation (more evidence of my advanced age) is almost impossible to imagine - even among Christian young people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 30px;">Wouldn't it be nice if we were older?</span><br style="line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 30px;">Then we wouldn't have to wait so long</span><br style="line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 30px;">And wouldn't it be nice to live together</span><br style="line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 30px;">In the kind of world where we belong</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 30px;">Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up</span><br style="line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 30px;">In the morning when the day is new?</span><br style="line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 30px;">And after having spent the day together</span><br style="line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 30px;">Hold each other close the whole night through</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 30px;">Maybe if we think, and wish, and hope, and pray, it might come true</span><br style="line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 30px;">Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do</span><br style="line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 30px;">We could be married</span><br style="line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 30px;">And then we'd be happy</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 30px;">Today everybody's doing it without marriage. To be sure a lot of people were doing it in my youth, including Christian kids. If they were doing it, they might talk about doing it with their close friends, and, if they lacked class, brag about it to their buddies. But they knew they were going against social morality, and if they were a Christians, against God's and the church's morality. As the Beach Boys' song reveals, marriage still meant something. If we were older and could get married, we wouldn't have to wait so long.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA65IJdteySvh0O-XhwH1Xl08C0Z87DcrydG-CkMf7ipQlJP0ebzVnMMDwez8ekdcj8d8MrXBo2RmZmhFntKDNGrBZg02Mqo33lwFZGmDH2jBySUDmgu2lNm9LS7-kH2liFgJsk9-lnxA/s1600/making+out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA65IJdteySvh0O-XhwH1Xl08C0Z87DcrydG-CkMf7ipQlJP0ebzVnMMDwez8ekdcj8d8MrXBo2RmZmhFntKDNGrBZg02Mqo33lwFZGmDH2jBySUDmgu2lNm9LS7-kH2liFgJsk9-lnxA/s320/making+out.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 30px;">If a guy and his girlfriend got caught up in the passion of "making out", and they "did it", they knew they had "messed up" or "gone too far." Their consciences bothered them, at least for awhile. The concept of immorality testified to the existence of morality. Pretending you hadn't done it and pretending you were virgins on your wedding day was the homage that vice did to virtue, that wrong did to right.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 30px;">For a long time now, marriage has not been a state-sanctioned (and to some extent-state regulated) permanent relationship consummated by sexual intercourse. Now a wedding is just a ceremony and and a party. It's a spectacle that means at most, "Of the people I have had sex with, including this one, I sort of plan not to have sex anymore with anyone but him/her." Marriage is not the gateway to sex. People open that gate long before marriage. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 30px;">So you have sex with whomever you wish (so long as he/she is willing) whenever you want in all the places available to you without marriage - not your car on lover's lane but your dorm room, a hotel, your apartment, maybe your bedroom in your parent's home. If you really like each other, move in and see what it's like. If you get pregnant and don't want to avail yourself of your right to an abortion, have the baby. Someday, if for whatever reason(s) you decide you want to get married, go ahead, but the day before marriage and the day after marriage are no different, except that the day before you were in your home together and the day after at a resort together. There are no blushing brides and no elbowing the groom in the ribs after the honeymoon and slyly asking, "Well, how was it?" And if you don't like the way it works out, see your friendly divorce attorney who can fix that for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 30px;">This affects Christian young people. Some live according to the new standards. They have sex, move in together, probably avoid having a child, and go to church and Bible study and prayer groups. But, even if they do not adopt the new ways themselves, they do not disapprove of those who do. As they see it, everybody's got to make their own decisions about these things. At all costs, we must be accepting and tolerant. We must avoid judgmentalism - even if judgmentalism does not mean shunning and condemning but simply asserting that standards exist and that all sex outside marriage is wrong. "Things have changed since your day, Dad." "The world's different now, Mom."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 30px;">I cheekily said, "Homosexuals want to marry for moral reasons. They don't want to have sex before marriage." Well, no. Primarily they want to make a point and compel society to recognize their relationship. Morality and marriage have very little to do with one another. It's the meaninglessness of heterosexual marriage that creates the logic of homosexual marriage. </span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07146011447109951026noreply@blogger.com2