Relevant Luther

I don't know about anyone else but I am sick and tired of hearing the word relevant. When did the Word of God become irrelevant? I guess the bilge being promoted by televangelism, purpose driven fools, and emergence is relevant. Seems kind of strange though because none of these alternatives are really grasping what being Christian is all about. Televangelism is busy saying give money and you can get it back and you never do. Purpose Driven Life Drives us right into the arms of despair and emergence is apostasy version 2.0. i can speak from experience ; before Christ called me back home I had been involved in other versions of these movements. A story that I may cover in the future. What seems to be lacking with each of these movements is the lack of transedence. In televangelism you have only the desire for a prosperity that may never occur and not looking to God's Kingdom for assurance. In the purpose driven life you have no hope because your success is not dependent on faith but on how much you do, Works Based Righteousness anyone? I don't think so! Emergence it isn't emergent it is actually descending to hell! With a promotion by people such as Tickle,Willard, McLaren,Campolo, Jones, Pagitt,Bell and the list goes on there is no hope at all.

So what does Luther think about depending on Works Based Righteousness? That is what these movements or philosophies are promoting. Here is one from the 95 Theses. Theses 40 states:

We do not become righteous by doing righteous deeds but, having been made rigteous , we do righteous deeds. This is in opposition to the philosophers.

I think to call the Televangelists,Emergents, and Purpose Drivers of this world philosophers is a little stretch. These people stopped loving God's Word as truth a long time ago. Some people will say this is just my opinion . We will see!

Happy Earth Day!

The only difference between what I think about Earth Day and Ira Einhorn and the rest of the godless think is. I look at the Earth as God’s Creation and I do not believe in Mother Nature as Yahoo obviously does as they have an attractive looking anima holding the Earth in her arms. I guess I should not be surprised at this coming from the “goddess bless crowd”. I remember the song,” He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” , Do you?

After all if they admit God is supreme then they have to give up myth and legend.

Good theological material and not Scripture.

If what the Church Fathers taught was holy on the same level as Scripture?Then what is to stop others today from making new opinions which contradict but could still be considered Patristic Literature? (I.E. Popes!)It is safe to conclude that the writings of the Fathers were for the most part derived from Scripture therefore since it was derived from Holy Writ it is not Holy Writ because unlike the Scriptures it was not written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and is therefore an opinion. Opinions are not holy as is in the case of, the Fathers because opinions are not Scripture of which there is only one Bible.If the Fathers and Popes are supposed to have opinions on the level of Scripture then the Scripture is contradictory to these opinions and can be made subject to man's preferences and viewpoints. This is nothing short of Higher Criticism and actually has given to the Jesus Seminar, Bultmann,Barth, Ehrman and others. The reasoning of such men in short is nothing but the theology of opinion.

Another example would be people who are in the Emerging Church. The stuff they write is worth using for tissue if you can get past the scrape of the paper as many of them now have decided to deny the validity of Scripture. In short anything published outside God's Word is not scripiture it is only literature and some of it is very bad!

I wonder if anyone thought of answering the question of evil in the settingof free will to sin but not free will in the way of life. As a Christian, Iknow that man has no capacity for good outside of God, that is by himself hedoes no good work. I understand that Christ also said this, Apart from meyou can bear no good fruit.So isn't it possible that the ungodly actions of men are all done to serveGod's purpose? An evil takes place so a good may result. It is a harsh thingto say but it can be said that many good things have taken place as theresults of evil acts. For example, relief organizations working on behalfof citizens on a war torn country the Pope( thought he is the Anti-Christrescuing a condemned man from the evil Mohamedan Malefactors), People beingbrought to justice after committing felonious crimes. Something definitelygood has resulted from these evils. I am not saying that we should do evilso good can result rather, I believe that good happens to destroy the evilthat was committed and exacted the wrong.Yes these actions take and are in motion for God to accomplish his purpose.This purpose accomplished by those who have no free will.

It has been to long since I have visited here. Where has all the time gone everywhere but here. I want to make a comment on the familiar quote in some circles , What would Jesus do? I have one answer everything I wouln't. After all he is Lord and Savior and I am not Him and as a sinner I am totally dependent on Him for all things. All good work I do is out of living faith and reverence for Christ. This is something I often fail and so I ask the Lord for His mercy and also receive The Word and Sacrament.
I suppose if anyone reads this they will wonder why I am writing well for one out of thanks to God for the grace he has provided me always and two for some who have holier than thou attitudes. We certainly need the Law after all the Law is our tutor that leads us back to Christ. But it is not the end all or we would all be doomed to perdition( Cursed is he who does not do all that is written in the book of the Law) Most of us Lutherans realize and I would like to think all Christians do too. Unfortunately , this is not the case when many seek to be more concerned about how to live the Christian life rather than remembering Christ has paid for their sins and will take them to heaven and not theri works which cannot save them. The Law is holy and good and we would not know the evil we do if it were not for it and the good we wish to do we cannot carry out. Who will save us from this body of death Christ Jesus our Lord. This is pure Gospel and let us not carry on by believing we have meritorious works before God which actually lead to death. In my Christian life I have moments of doing good and I always do bad. This is why Christ is so much more important to me than looking at my own life and only seeing filthy rags. For when Jesus died so did my sins. My work =0 and Christ's Work all is won.
AMEN!

To many gods and not to little of God.


Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities his etrnal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

God is always here and the main fact is there is no way to not see him.He provides all things in life and is with us through thick and thin even when we sin.He is there with his outstretched ready to dispense his mercy wrought out on the cross.Through Him all things were made,without Him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3

In the same way , count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in in Christ Jesus.Romans 6:1

I feel great ful every day to be able to go to the cross and confess my sin ,have fellowship with Christ,praise Christ and give thanks him and Knowing full well true peace with God and true freedom and knowing that he does all for the benefit of his church.I can call on God anytime and no that I will be heard and that he saves may by his Grace and Work done for us on the cross.

This is certainly the God I want to know the Lord Jesus full of grace and truth the almighty only Son of God Our Father.Who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and forever.

Many people want to know other gods and not the God of the Scriptures.For many it is a veneer Of God fashioned for themselves. One of my favorites is the survey of the belief in afterlife where a large number of those surveyed said they believe they will go to heaven because they are a good person.What is their definition of being good.Perhaps it is deeds because many people think that as long as they harm no one and do good deeds here and there they have no worries.What Does the Bible say?

John 5:24 I tell you the truth ,whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal and will not be condemned he has crossed over from death to life.

There is no mention of good works here.However, we have people and other Christians who have decided to fashion God after there own desires or teachings.


How is this any different from the pagan world? When teaching is negotiable there is no Gospel and no redemption because the teaching is all about what they want it to be that day and tomorrow something else.I know that any good works that I do are the result of God working through living faith which he fosters and causes to grow in me. Apart from we can bear no fruit.

There are also those who say that theu do not believe in God and look down on those of us who do. Some of these people evenhave at one time been members of a church and somehow have either found it worthwhile to discard,distort, or be skeptical about Christ and the Bible. I say they do believe in a god. Themselves!( Refer to Romans 1:18-32).

When we get right down to it the Cross is all that really is going for us sinners.I know that each day I am thankful for the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ everyday for bringing me to faith in Him.I do not know what I would do without it. For us there is no other Savior.

Thoughts on Ecumenicism and Bumper Stickers.


I was riding down the street the other day and I noticed a bumper sticker reading "One nation many faiths".It is a true statement.The grocery store I go tofeatures an employee's vehicle with all sorts of stickers. Two in particular stood out for me. One of the stickers features a crescent moon, a Star of David, a pentagram and various other symbols along with the Cross.. This person I am sure believes they are tolerant and open to other things and of course practices random kindness.

Except for one thingthat is obvious.She believes that if men got pregnant abortion would be a sacrament. Well I am a man and I have never endorsed murder of the unborn. I would not endorse it if I could become pregnant. Let me return to the prior issue of religious unity . It is true we are a nation of many faiths, as a matter of fact, so is almost every other country with a few exceptions. Each of these religiously tolerant countries allows their citzens to worship freely. As a Christian it is my desire to spread the Gospel of the Lord as often as possible. But since I am compelled by love and the Gospel I must speak the truth! These faiths are not allequally valid and cannot be in agreement. They are not equally valid because Jesus is the way the truth and the life and there can be no agreement when we do not believe in the same things or doctrinally agree with one another.I must also say that even the demons believe in God and they shudder and they have no problem with interfaith and ecunemical movements that distort the Gospel some even reject the Gospel. It is the rejection of the Gospel that damns one to hell.

Our love for Christ and others is what propels us to confess Christ and his Gospel. We have this zeal to tell those whoare not enthusiastic about Jesus or who are enthusiastic for Mohammed , Charles T.Russel, Joeseph Smith and a host of other heresies we should not and cannot have fellowship with that are in fellowship with Satan and the demons.

What is shameful is that many of these people who claim to love life and approve of slaughtering the innocent ;but we must be tolerant of abbhorent lifestyles and false beliefs or we are biggoted. These same people who claim they are so tolerant also want tobutcher life in the womb and kill the old and infirm. Is this humane?They also feel that the death penalty is murder. Tell that to the surviving family of Charles Manson's murders.It is the right of the state to administer execution of murderers accordinding to the epistle of Romans. These so called "intellectual humanitarians in the election year of 2,000 were on MTV trumpeting Al Gore's campaign that thank the Lord, failed. One particular rock star who has children said he was voting for Gore because of his support of a woman's right to choose(infanticide). I wonder how he would feel knowing the joys of his children as he knows them now if he would want them aborted? Probably not!

This view is not prevalent in Liberal circles alone. It is even prevalent in the so called Christian Church some synods allow funding for abortions,homosexuality,cohabitation, and every other sin. This Gospel reductionism and outright disacknowledgement is sending souls throught the wide door. The best thing that those of us who hold to Christ can do is to hold to the Word and Sacrament and Cling to Christ.

Some People Think the Works of God are Evil.

My pastor reiterated something beautiful about God in Bible last Sunday. He reminded us that God allows evils and disaster Such as Katrina to happen, to bring his people to repentance, to discipline them, and allow Christians to do good works. Let us not forget that these good works were prepared in advance for his people to do.

The human idea contrived from the sinful nature believes that when we are not gratified or free of pain in life's tempest that life's disasters do no good for anyone. We all try to avoid the disasters in life and often they do discipline us and sometimes they are punishment for our actions and are not enjoyable . Underlying all of this however, is God's great and rich mercy. A mercy that is prevalent though we deserve His punishment. A mercy through Christ alone.

The next question to answer is the one that says God is not gracious or merciful because he allows evil to happen to good people. Is anyone inherently good?By what standard is goodness judged? Generally not by Christ's standard.

Christ's standard is that only God is good alone. That seprates everyone from goodness on their own merits. The truth is you can be a nice person and not be a good person. For those of us who claim to be "Do Gooders", we must be honest with ourselves. We have done much evil in our lives by what we have said or done and again God is rich in mercy and overflowing with love and forgiveness for the repentant. Despite what some may think God wants all to have a repentant and desires to have mercy on all.

In many ways we can say this mercy is in action whether it be in New Orleans where much good is being done by many churches and average people with generous hearts. These workers have gone into the field and given others hope when none seemed possible. The good thing is there is probably much more being done than is known. The works of God are great in circumstances whether we understand them or not.However, with the good that eventually results which is sometimes over time, his work is not evil.just remember back to a time 2,000 years ago at a cross on Calvary.

The Apathy of Judges and their opposition to the God who gave them their Power.


While some of us still cherish the Doctrine of Two Kingdoms there are others who blur the distinction.

I live in San Diego, CA. and for the past 10 years or so there has been a debate over the Soledad Mountain Cross War Memorial and whether it violates the establishment clause of the Constitution. This issue has been in and out of court. One side is represented by a disgruntled athiest and the other by families of fallen heroes,the Christian community, and other citizens of San Diego with varying religious backgrounds.Who would have thought two Jewish men would have been on the forefront of this charge to keep the Cross where it is.There are even some athiests who show no aversion to the cross and think it should remain even if it is for historical value. I do not find it bad to pray and hope that maybe these people who are not Christians and support the Cross will be driven to discover the Gospel. This is a topic for later discussion.

In July we believed this situation to finally be solved.The residents of the city were preparing to vote to keep the Cross as it is and where it is as a U.S. Government war memorial.However, as they always do, a judge decided that the residents of San Diego needed a 65% approval for the Cross to remain. Thanks be to our Lord we had 76% and it looked as if the Cross would remain at the Soledad War Memorial and not be moved to the Presbyterian church Downhill or to some other non public location away from public view.

Much to the displeasure of many, the same Judge has now decided that our vote is unconstitutional and now has made it possible dependent on future proceedings that the Cross could yet be removed.This is amazing because this same judge set the rule of majority vote in motion and now because she has been defeated has hardened in her position again.I admit I did not expect them to go away and never return.This is even in opposition to the Supreme Court.

What bothers me is where did the integrity of our justice system go. Our Founding Fathers mention our Creator(God) in the Constitution and many of them were religious men. These Judges seem to forget that they would have no power if it were not given to them by God.I als o do not understand how the Ten Commandments can be thought of as merely religious symbols and therefore cannot be displayed. The last time I looked I thought stealing was against the law. We would not what Law is if we had not been told by the Scriptures and it is valid for believer and unbeliever alike. It is shame that the stewards of the Law do not have any regard as they once did for God who made it. The presence of the Cross is no more an endorsement of religion than one on a tombstone.Which is exactly what a memorial is for the military heroes buried there.