The Holy Name of Jesus

XVIII. Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ.
They also are to be had accursed that presume to say, That every man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that Law, and the light of Nature. For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved. (The Articles of Religion)

When people ask me what my faith is I reply, ‘I am a Christian!’ I do not say I am Anglican or Episcopalian or Protestant or Catholic. I am a Christian.

To say I am Christian is to say I am not a Buddhist, nor a Muslim, nor a Hindu nor a Jew. Our Articles of Religion are quite clear, “only the Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved.”

Why did Jesus come to us at all? Because we must be saved! Saved from what? From the fires of hell! And how does He do this? He imputes His righteousness into us exchanging it for our sins and their penalty. (2 Cor. 5:21, Is. 53:6) Buddha cannot do it. Mohammed cannot do it. Krishna cannot do it. And we cannot do it!

As St. Paul writes:

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)

So the next time someone says to you is doesn’t make a difference what one believes, remind them of the consequences of sin and the only hope for salvation that can be found in Jesus alone.

The Holy Innocents

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

  “A voice was heard in Ramah,
   weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
   she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Mt. 2:16-18)

Death comes to everyone. (Heb. 9:27) It is our wage for the sin we bear (Rom. 6:23) And this is what rubs us the wrong way. Don't we really see ourselves as innocent?

The killing of the Holy Innocents is one those passages that atheists use to justify their lack of belief. After all, how can anyone believe in a god who would stand by letting innocent children die and selfishly protect his own son? And the modernist 'Christian' rationalizes that this is just midrash equating Jesus birth with the Passover. For a historical argument opposing such a rational see Gordon Franz article here. That still leaves the atheist's conundrum, how could God allow such an evil to happen?

My answer to that question is to acknowledge a few basic Christian doctrines with the most basic being the doctrine of original sin. Original sin is the sin we inherit from Adam. It is a part of our nature. (See Article 9 of The Articles of Religion) How many parents are amazed by the ability of their child to lie to them at such a young age. "Where did they learn to do that?" they exclaim. Scripture has the answer! (Psalm 58:3) We are in denial that we are wicked from birth. On more that one occasion, Jesus reminds of us how wicked we are (Lk. 11:13) A healthy dose of this reality keeps us humble and reminds us why we need the cross. And it reminds us that if we don't see our sinfulness and the need for repentance we are all like King Herod.

Death is the norm of mankind.

Whether we die young or old, it is the judgment for our sinfulness. The cure for death is Jesus and His death upon the Cross. (Col. 2:14) But everyone of us must see ourselves guilty deserving death before we can with faith trust Jesus with His forgiveness. To believe otherwise is to believe we can work our way into heaven by our good deeds, a notion even God finds objectionable (Is. 64:6)

Everyday children die. They die from birth defects and abortions, from violence  and disease. Those who are alive to witness it have been shown God's mercy. Not because we are good, but because in God's sovereignty, He is showing us His mercy in order that we may repent. (2 Peter 3:8-10) The death of others reminds us of our death to come.

In the 12 Days of Christmas, we are reminded of death in the midst of Jesus birth. The very Second Day of Christmas we remember the first martyr, St. Stephen, who was stoned for his faith. And the Fourth Day we remember children who by accident of their birth found themselves the object of a mad king's rage. Both witness to Christ's glory. For Stephen he died because of the Wisdom he found in the One True God (Acts 6:10) For the toddlers in Bethlehem, they had no opportunity to be self-reliant on their righteousness, but were totally dependant on God's mercy after death. In Jesus, we die to self and are raised to new life in Him alone! 

O ALMIGHTY God, who out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast ordained strength, and madest infants to glorify thee by their deaths; Mortify and kill all vices in us, and so strengthen us by thy grace, that by the innocency of our lives, and constancy of our faith even unto death, we may glorify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Santa, Jesus and Bobby Hull Table Hockey

When I was a little boy, Christmas was a time of Advent Calendars, anticipating Santa Claus and midnight Mass. Of course, the most exciting of the three is Santa Claus. One year I wanted a Bobby Hull Table Hockey Game. It was in the Sears Wish Book. I do not remember exactly how old I was but I do remember I was in grade school and that Santa was actually my father. But I did ask Santa for it.


That year Santa did not bring what I had asked for. And I cried. I spent the next few days crying. And I finally got it. I remember my mother coming to me and telling me the reason that it was not under the tree is because my parents could not afford it. As a child I never knew our financial situation. I just knew I had it better than my parents who grew up in the depression. They eventually bought it for me because they felt sorry for me. And that was a mistake. 


What I know as an adult I just didn't know as a child. And as a child I did not learn to deal with unreasonable expectations nor disappointments. And I, too, am guilty of trying to keep my children happy with their temporal wants. 


The truth is Santa Claus is not real but Jesus is. He is the Christ in Christmas. God condescended to us. As the classic carol goes:


Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

Unfortunately our Christmas season has become one of covetous greed. We are all children wanting what we don't need. And we are parents forgetting that the pain of not getting what we want is temporary and a discipline to be learned! 

I am still learning that lesson in my middle age. And I know what my Lord teaches me in His adult years, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Mt. 6:19-20) I know these words and I know where I need to repent!

If God was content with a manger for a bed for His only Son, should we not be content with what God has provided for us? (Heb. 13:5-6)

Steve Jobs, Christopher Hitchens and Pascal's Wager

1. "God is, or He is not"
2. A Game is being played... where heads or tails will turn up.
3. According to reason, you can defend neither of the propositions.
4. You must wager. (It's not optional.)
5. Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.
6. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is. (...) There is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite. And so our proposition is of infinite force, when there is the finite to stake in a game where there are equal risks of gain and of loss, and the infinite to gain.  ( Pensées, part III):

Much is said when a noted celebrity dies. And a lot is said when a celebrity has spent a life denying God's existence dies, especially by Christians who hold out hope for salvation. When Steve Jobs died he was remembered for being born into Lutheran home but as an adult became a Buddhist. Yes, many people have benefited from Jobs technical visions. When atheist Christopher Hitchens died, author of your god is not great, people reminisced over how well he 'knew' the Gospel because, after all, he grew up in the Church of England. And for both, I read blogs on how maybe, just maybe while in the very last moments of their life, they realized Jesus was real and they accepted Him as Lord & Savior. I am simplifying some of these sentiments. But the crux of the issue is our desire that we can live our life as we please and then at the very last we hedge our bets and say some prayer just in case they were wrong along. Isn't this the hope we have for all of our lost friends? 

Let's be clear, true repentance can happen on a death bed. A soul sees his life in the rear view mirror and understand that what follows after death should be hell. They know the only escape is to realize they cannot enter on their own merit but accepting Jesus' death upon the cross as a propitiation, in its fullest meaning which is to satisfy God's wrath, can they go to heaven. My most effective moments in ministry has been to the dying. They know death is eminent and they know life is eternal. I share the Good News of Christ and they receive it with joy because they understand their guilt. But I feel too many of my Christian friends see salvation as Pascal's wager, a bet to made just in case I am wrong.

Many will ask, "What about the thief on the cross?" (Luke 23:39-43) Well, what about him? He was a criminal sentenced to death! He knew what was coming and when it came he understood that he justly deserve to be crucified. (Lk. 23: 41) He did not ask to be removed from the cross and saved some pain. He recognized who Jesus was. (Lk. 23:41) He asked for mercy. (Lk. 23:42) He did not command Jesus to save him from what he deserved. He even rebuked his friend in his insolence. He truly was sorry for his condition. That's repentance. Waiting to the end to make an act of contrition is not the same for being sorry over one's sins.

After his death, many will read your god is not great and be influenced by it. God knows that. Many will download sermons onto their iPod. God knows that too. But He also knows whom his elect are. (Eph. 1:5) There is no chance throwing of the dice. We, Christians, do a disservice putting out a hope that there is always an act we can do at the very last to save ourselves. After all, we will never know if we will be in a fatal car accident or struggling for breath during that massive heart attack. We all die. And so we all must repent for it is this life we have only one chance to come to Christ on bended knee!

Yes, Hitchens knew the foolishness of Pascal's Wager

St. Thomas the Faithful

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio

Growing up I had always heard about the apostle who would only believe Jesus had risen from the dead if he could see and touch his wounds. (John 20:25) He was called doubting Thomas. I also remember sermons on how faith came to him when he was brought back into community. It was because he was absent from the upper room that he did not believe. The moral of the story, don't miss church.

In reality Thomas knew what to look for. He knew that by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5) When faced with the gruesome reality of the scars of torture and death and the subsequent conquering of it by this carpenter/rabbi, Thomas could proclaim, "My Lord and My God." (John 20:28) If anything, this is a statement of absolute faith!

Unfortunately, growing up in church, I really did not understand what Christ's death and resurrection was really about. Much of what I heard was God loves me and there will be a pizza party for the youth next Sunday night.    No one really explained to me what was meant by this propitiation for sins, substitutionary atonement or a perfect sacrifice once offered. If I wanted to see God, I had to come to church. Thomas on the other hand wanted to see the marks of Jesus death, the signs of his personal salvation.

When we exclaim, 'My Lord and my God', we should see the wounds meant for us each time we break God's law. After all, sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4) Thomas knew that. For any of us to have a saving faith, we need to know that Jesus stood in our place on that bloody cross. We die because we are sinners. Yet eternal life is for those who believe that Jesus died for them thereby removing the sting of death which is hell. When Thomas saw Jesus, he saw the Man who stood in his place and that is faith!

As Christians, our invitation should not be 'Come to church' but Jesus died so that we may have eternal life. Even Jesus reminds us, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed!" (John 20:29)

Jesus Was Born into a Dangerous World

Jesus was born into a dangerous world. So dangerous that for a brief moment He almost did not have an earthly father. (Mt. 1:19) So dangerous that the local king was jealous of any threat to his throne deciding to murder all children around Bethlehem two years old or younger. (Mt. 2:16) Jesus was born into a dangerous world.

What would you have done if you found out your girlfriend is pregnant? Abandon her? Pay for an abortion? What if you lived under the rule of an evil tyrant? Would you protect the innocent lives of those whom he chose to kill? Or let the murders happen. I ask you to take 33 minutes and watch the following video because it is this world that Jesus was born into!

Advent 2011

We are now in the Advent season. The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus which means coming. It is used to translate the Greek word, parousia, which means arrival or official visit. In the Church we recall Christ's birth as He came into the world and we look forward to His second coming as He gathers the elect unto Himself at the end of time. Into the world Jesus came and out of the world we will be rescued. (Mk. 13:27)

Our world is a place that is hostile to God. (John 15:18) Israel continually prayed to be saved from their enemies that surrounded them. (Lk. 1:71) But all too often, Israel succumbed to the very practices that they were to witness against. It’s easy to be a part of the world. In the United States, many people will be spending time and money buying gifts for others and taking advantage of sales for one’s personal desires. Buying gifts and looking for bargains do not seem to be bad things but our society has used the Nativity season as an excuse to encourage consumerism before the end of the year’s accounting for corporate shareholders. And with that comes the exposure of human sin. This past Black Friday saw the use of pepper spray by a customer in order to get ahead of another customer. Fist fights broke out over waffle makers. The list goes on and on. When Jesus returns, what will He find? And more to the point, who will He gather unto Himself?

Advent is a time to call the world to repentance. It’s what John the Baptist did!  It’s what Jesus did! It’s what the Apostles did! And it is what the Church does for the world is hostile to God! Covetous is idolatry according to St. Paul. (Col. 3:5) We are to be content with what we have! (Heb. 13:5-6)

ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for the First Sunday in Advent.)

Do you recognize the darkness of our world?

My Observations on Occupy Atlanta

With The Occupy Wall Street 'movement' making news I thought I would visit Occupy Atlanta and see what it was really about. I was expecting wall to wall tents in Atlanta's downtown Woodruff Park. What I saw was a nearly vacant park on a sunny fall day near Atlanta's historic district.

12 Tribes Members Dancing

When I arrived at the park I saw 2 tents, a trio of senior citizens singing '60's folk songs in the middle of the lawn and a group of hippie looking people sitting in folding chairs dancing to live music provided by a a flute, accordion, and recorder with people dancing. A bearded gentlemen with a pony tail approached me and we began to talk. His group with the live band and dancing is a member of the The Twelve Tribes . They came down from Chattanooga to show their support for Occupy Atlanta. Now I know something of the 12 Tribes as I lived close to one of their communes in Cambridge, NY.They take Acts 2 & 4 literally. They renounce private property and run businesses such as a sandwich shop or crafts to support the commune. Their coffee shop in Cambridge made very good sandwiches.  The gentleman I spoke with was named Malak, the Hebrew word for 'angel'. He proudly talked about building a new kingdom on earth. I did not disclose that I was an ordained seminary trained priest. I asked him about his theology and he had all the right answers. But I also knew they, the 12 Tribes, hold heterodox views. They may initially say they believe in grace, the communities are quite legalistic.

These Gentleman are Capitalists Selling T-Shirts. But They Did Not Have Permission from the 'Central Committee'.

I wondered away and walked around the park until I heard an announcement from a gentleman that a General Assembly was about to begin. A small circle of people maybe 30 at the most gathered and a gentlemen began with the rules of the meeting. We were instructed on how to communicate with certain hand signals.Waving your fingers in an upright position meant agreement and downward meant disagreement. After that a statement of purpose was read. I was expecting some manifesto of economic justice but instead it went on and on about gays and transgender equality and solidarity and the such. Minutes of the last General Assembly was read and announcements made about helping people get out of jail, where the next meetings will be held, etc. The crowd was mostly white and young. In the end, I felt this 'movement' was a waste of time. There are committees one has to go through to get permission to do things like sell t-shirts and the such. But I did discover one thing about Woodruff Park. They have a corner dedicated to public speaking. And of course, the irony is that no one was using the corner for public speaking. Speaking of ironies, Woodruff Park is dedicated to Robert Woodruff a capitalist and philanthropist who gave away tons of money to support education and the arts. Think Coca-Cola!

So in the end, I came away believing Occupy Atlanta was nothing more than an excuse to make oneself feel important and offering no real solutions that plague our country today. But I did discover a government provided soap box where I can open air preach if I feel so called!







Now for something completely different, this video captures the mood of Occupy Atlanta's meeting!

THE BARABBAS EFFECT or Why the Penn State Riots Occurred

 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, "Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" And they cried out again, "Crucify him." And Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him." So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (Mk. 6-14)


I am amazed by how human beings react when a revered person is found to be complicit in a crime. Many times people will justify their behavior or excuse it altogether. Never mind the person's guilt! He is bigger than that. We saw this happen when Penn State announced the firing of their long-time and successful coach, Joe Paterno! Several boys, and at this writing more are coming forward, were raped by Paterno's assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky. When Paterno heard an accusation against Sandusky, he 'kicked it upstairs' notifying the president of the university. But he did not report it to the police. At the news of Paterno's firing, the student body erupted into riots. Interestingly, no one rioted when it was becoming apparent that children had been harmed by a man responsible for their welfare employed by the university. They rioted when the head coach was fired! I call this the Barabbas Effect!


The Barabbas Effect states that people will defend, excuse or justify a criminal. Pilate was asked to execute Jesus on the charge of treason. Pilate could find no fault in Him. But as was tradition, Pilate released a prisoner before the Passover to mollify his Jewish subjects. He gave the people a choice, murderer or Jesus. Now Jesus had a reputation. He healed the sick, casted out demons, brought the dead back to life. But this was not enough to keep Him alive. The people chose the murderer. Even St. Matthew reports that Pilate wished to avoid a riot! (Mt. 27:24) How could the mob desire to have a man who may take another life be release? The answer is that each and every one of us wants to be excused for our crimes. We see in ourselves Barabbas. We may not have taken a life, but we have hated someone. We may not have committed adultery, but we have lusted. The list goes on. The Sermon on the Mount is about our guilty character!


I discovered the Barabbas Effect in my first year of ministry. I served under a pastor who hired a woman to be a hospitality minister. She was responsible for coordinating coffee hours and dinners. It was soon discovered that she was having an affair with the pastor when her husband discovered love notes from him in his home. A lot of people were angry when all of this was revealed. And a lot were very angry with the Bishop for removing the pastor from his position. I heard a stream of people within the parish complain about the Bishop's decision. Of the pastor, they said, "But he baptized my children." or, "He works so hard." Even one woman, a woman, blamed the pastor's wife for her husband's philandering! Nobody named the sin! Nobody complained of the use of the parish budget to compensate this woman. I was flabbergasted. And somehow, I became the bad guy all because I refused to support the pastor. 


In Anglican tradition, The Gospel of the Passion is read in parts by the congregation on Good Friday and by many parishes on Palm Sunday as well. The congregation as a whole plays the part of the crowd crying aloud, "Crucify Him!" We shout it because we want to see the man who is in every way like us be excused for his crimes. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this 'cheap grace' or forgiveness without repentance. What the crowd in Pilate's time did not know was that this perfect man will stand in their place on the Cross for all of their sins. He will satisfy their debt to their Creator. The life we owe will be paid by someone else who is innocent of our crimes. 


"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. (Acts 2:22-24)


Do you see yourself in this video?

Pro-Choice is NOT God's Choice

PRO-CHOICE

Click on the words "Pro-Choice" above and you will be taken to a website showcasing a 33 minute documentary on the moral choices we make when it comes to life. Many people, men and women, believe we have a choice over who should live and who should die. The moral center of these choices is usually the self and what best serves the convenience of the self. But God is Lord over all of us and He will not be mocked.


As a pastor for over 20 years, I have met many adult women who have been wracked with guilt over the choices they made years earlier when they aborted a child. Their conscience would not let the issue lie quietly. God's moral law states murder is a sin. (Ex. 20:13) Our conscience bears witness to God's moral law. (Rom. 2:15) Deep down we know right and wrong as 180 Movie points out. 


If you are contemplating abortion, please watch this movie first. If you had an abortion, please know forgiveness is available for those who are truly sorry for what they have done. Jesus died on the cross for thieves, fornicators, murders and liars. He died because that is the just sentence we deserve for every lie we tell, stuff we steal or the hate we harbor. Put your trust in Him who took the punishment we deserve from a just, perfect and righteous God. Because God is perfect He desires to be the center of our self, which by nature is sinful and in need of His help! (Psalm 51)

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Rom. 3:19-26)

Do This in Remembrance of Me - A Reflection on the Lord's Supper

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Cor. 11:23-26)

When we celebrate Holy Communion we are proclaiming that Jesus died. Specifically, He died for our sins. No longer do we need to take animals and slaughter them. But why did we have to do that to begin with? Because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Heb. 9:22) A body cannot survive without blood (Lev. 17:11) Since Adam's disobedience, we have carried the consequences of his sin. That consequence is that we die. (Romans 5:12-13) Until that appointment with death, God called us to make sacrifices of living creatures, innocent of our sin for each time we did not fulfill the laws of God. (Heb. 5:1-3, 9:7) This reminds us that life is not cheap. A price must be paid. So out of one’s flock or herd, a gift is given to God for His mercy.  Blood is shed in place of our own, a life is taken in our place.

But Jesus changed all that. At the last supper with His disciples, He took bread and wine and identified Himself with it. What once had been signs of God’s people’s escape from slavery has now become for us signs of our escape from sin and its consequences. He became the Passover lamb. His blood was poured out for the forgiveness of sins. (Mt. 26:28) He identified His passion that had yet to happen with our release from the captivity of sin which His death will satisfy! And it was satisfied! A perfect man, one with God, offered Himself fulfilling the Law and it’s demands. ( Col. 2:13-15)

So when Jesus commands us that we are to remember Him in a particular way, we are to remember His death and why He died. It is a proclamation (1 Cor. 11:26) And we should not forget that He died for each and everyone of us personally. We are to examine our conscience acknowledging our need for Jesus' sacrifice. If we don’t we bring judgment on ourselves. (1 Cor. 11:29)  Therefore, when Jesus says, “Do this...” we are to know exactly what we are doing and why! It is a reminder of our forgiveness through His death upon the cross! (Heb. 10:14)

Article 28 of the Articles of Religion expresses the teaching of the Anglican Faith regarding Holy Communion.

28. Of the Lord's Supper.
The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather it is a Sacrament of our Redemption by Christ's death: insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith, receive the same, the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ; and likewise the Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of Christ.

Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of Bread and Wine) in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.

The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is Faith.

The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped.

Spiritual Warfare: Dealing with Doubts and Accusations

Our authority is found in Jesus Christ. He is authoring or writing our life to fulfill His purposes here on earth. But while we remain on earth awaiting our future glory we are often faced with doubts about where is God when trouble afflicts us or whether or not we are saved from the eternal judgment. Sometimes these doubts come though the imaginations of our mind and other times through other people who accuse us of a sin or character flaw. And why is this?

Gustave Dore's Depiction of Satan Being Cast out of Heaven in MIlton's "Paradise Lost"

At the Cross a battle was won. Jesus rose in victory over the strongholds of Satan. The very name of Satan means ‘accuser’. He accuses Job before God regarding the motivation of Job’s righteousness. (Job 1:9-11) He accuses the high priest, Joshua, before the angel of the Lord. ( Zech. 3) Satan uses our own thoughts against us when we do not see ourselves as God see us. And he can use the criticism of others and gossip of our neighbors to heap false judgments upon ourselves. All because Jesus won for us eternal life on Calvary. John in Patmos reminds us, And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!" (Rev. 12:10-12)

Satan’s time is short as he will be thrown into the lake of fire at the final battle. (Rev. 20:10) Until then he is confined to earth trying to bring the saints down with him. And he will if we don’t put on Jesus for our salvation. When we believe that Jesus did die for our personal sins paying our debt to the Law, our names will forever be written in the Book of Life. (Rev. 21:5-8)

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits  of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:8-15)

Remember, when Satan brings up your past, remind him of his future!


Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The strife is o'er, the battle done,
the victory of life is won;
the song of triumph has begun.
Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The powers of death have done their worst,
but Christ their legions hath dispersed:
let shout of holy joy outburst.
Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
The three sad days are quickly sped,
he rises glorious from the dead:
all glory to our risen Head!
Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
He closed the yawning gates of hell,
the bars from heaven's high portals fell;
let hymns of praise his triumphs tell!
Alleluia!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Lord! by the stripes which wounded thee,
from death's dread sting thy servants free,
that we may live and sing to thee.
Alleluia!

---

Words: Symphonia Sirenum Selectarum, 1695;
trans. Francis Pott (1832-1909)

What Really Happens on Halloween Night

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:19-20)

When I was growing up, Halloween was no big deal. I was taught it was All Hallow's Eve or the evening before All Saints' Day, a principle feast of the Church in the Anglican tradition. My understanding is that as missionaries came to the British Isles, they took pagan customs and reinterpreted them for the new converts. Because of the growing influence of neo-paganism and the desire for more and more kids to act out stuff that is not wholesome, I, as a pastor, have begun to downplay the trick or treat aspects and have begun observing Reformation Day as October 31st is the date of Luther's nailing his 95 thesis on the Wittenburg Church door. And the Reformation seems to be a forgotten history of Anglicanism as well in many quarters of our various denominations. 

But why is Halloween so popular? My answer is that deep down we know we are the monsters we portray. In Anglicanism we believe in original sin (Article 9 of the Articles of Religion). Somewhere inside our soul lurks an ax murderer. And somewhere deep in our soul we know we are supposed to live forever hence we dress up as zombies or vampires and the like. Of course these living dead have to eat off of other living souls which means that in order to live they have to take a life. So we are conflicted human beings wanting to live forever but never able to escape our evil nature. And so when we dress up with masks and costumes, we are not really disguising ourselves inasmuch as we are revealing ourselves. It is in real life that we wear the masks.

When Jesus uses the word, 'hypocrite', He is actually saying to His audience, "You mask-wearer!" Hypocrite means in Greek 'actor'. And actors in Jesus' day wore masks to portray their characters. This is why we see the double masks, "comedy and tragedy" on theaters and playbills. Much of the Sermon on the Mount is devoted to the condition of the heart. If we hate someone we are murderers. If we lust after someone not our spouse, we are adulterers. Is it any wonder then, that when given a choice, the people asked Pilate to release Barabbas? So what if he has killed someone? He is just like one of us! Our outward appearance hides our true nature. Our outward appearance is our mask. So on Halloween, we are actually taking off our masks when we put on our costumes!

Christ came to rip our masks off and show us our nature. "You Hypocrites" is also followed by a warning of God's judgement. God's wrath will fall on all murderers, thieves and adulterers. The light of Jesus Christ shines on our dark nature. It is then we can see our need for a redeemer, someone to stand in our place and take our punishment upon Himself meeting the legal demands of the law. When we see who we truly are deep in our souls, we can with authenticity plead for God's mercy. We then die to sin and live in Him who washes us of our uncleanliness giving us eternal life, something we have always wanted deep in our souls.

The Power to Save is God's Alone!

The Raising of Lazarus, Rembrandt

When [Jesus] had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus come out!" (John 11:43)

By what power did Lazarus come out? How could he hear the voice of the Master when he was four days dead. He had no faculties such as hearing and seeing. He was dead. His body was decomposing. Lazarus came back to life not of his own will but only by the will of Jesus.

And so it is with us. To say we are born again implies we were once dead. We come into this world as cute cuddly babies but infused with the stench of sin that leads to death. (Eph. 2:1) We have no power to revive ourselves from the spiritual death that is in us.

And so it is with Jesus who does not want to see His friends remain in death. He came that we might have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) Our dead souls come alive when we hear His voice. To think we had anything to do with our salvation means the stench of pride still remains in us and we have not fully awoken to the life giving Spirit. Our conversion belongs to God and God alone. (John 6:44) The lost sheep does not find his way back to the sheepfold because he is lost and does not know his way back. If this were not so, he would have journeyed home. The sheep is brought back by the shepherd who cares for his sheep. (John 10:7-18)

Like Lazarus coming out of the grave, our conversion is new life, a new birth. (John 3:3) Flesh cannot give birth to flesh. Only spirit can give birth to spirit.

So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. (Rom. 10:17)

Jesus, Our Teacher

The word 'disciple' in Greek means a learner, a student. In order to be a disciple one has to have a teacher. As Christians we understand we are disciples of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus is our teacher.

Let us look back upon the days we were students. We went to school, received instruction, studied and made our grades. If we did not listen to our teachers or behaved in class, there were consequences such as low grades and the unwanted correction from our teachers. Is it any different being a student of Jesus Christ? To say we are students of Jesus Christ means we have to listen to His teachings and accept His correction. But Jesus is no ordinary human teacher. After His death and resurrection, He ascended to His Father in Heaven. He has poured into us His Holy Spirit. Wherever we are, He is there also. Which means wherever we are, Jesus is teaching us something.

The story of the sisters, Mary and Martha, illustrates how Jesus will teach us something even if we think we know the answer. Jesus enters a village and Martha invites Him into her home. This was a common practice in accordance with middle-eastern hospitality. In other words, Martha did the right thing. She was busy fulfilling what she thought was expected of her so much so she expected her sister to help out in the kitchen. Jesus teaches her saying, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”  Mary had chosen stillness and being at the feat of Jesus. Martha learned something about herself, she is anxious and troubled and she learned what Jesus expected of her, to sit and learn.  (Lk. 10:38-42) If Jesus did not love Martha he would not have bothered to teach her anything. In fact Jesus loved Martha so much that when He heard the news of her brother’s illness, Jesus made a point of staying where He was two days longer! I am not being sarcastic. The text actually says that! So Jesus comes to Bethany after Lazarus has died. It is Martha who greets Him. There Martha learns from Christ, Himself, that He is the Resurrection and the Life! Mary runs to greet Him and like her sister, assumes Jesus is late. But she gets to see Lazarus raised from the dead. Jesus is such a great teacher, that one can be assured, Mary, Martha and Lazarus knew without doubt, death has been conquered in Jesus. But they still experienced their natural emotions of loss, grief and despair. Their classroom was their life. Their teacher was their Lord. (John 11:1-44)

And it is the same with us. Our life is our classroom. Things may not go our way. But they always go God’s way, like Jesus waiting two days to see His friend, Lazarus.

“...He saw a great crowd and He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.” (Mk. 6:34)

REPENT!

"...therefore I despise myself  and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:6)

"If man does not repent, God will whet His sword; He has bent and readied the bow" Ps. 7:12


"Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." (Matthew 3:2)

The word, 'repent' in the English language means to feel sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct; regret or be conscious-stricken about a past action., attitude, etc. (Dictionary.com)

In Hebrew the word repent is often used to translate the word 'shuv' which means 'to return' and the word 'nicham' which means to feel sorrow. One would feel sorrow for an action and seek or desire to go back to a previous state of innocence. In Greek 'metanoia' is used for repent. This word means to change a thought or to change one's mind about a given action. When we put together the biblical nuances of the word, 'repent' we can understand that God's desire for us is to have a changed heart about who we are and what we think and do.  Perhaps the most famous example of a changed heart is when David was confronted with his sin of coveting Uriah's wife which led to adultery and murder.  He writes in Psalm 51 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God,  You will not despise. (v. 17) A changed heart is a heart that has the knowledge of the person's true character brought to light. It feels sorry for the sins committed against God and neighbor. (Luke 15:18)

The prophet Ezekiel understood man to have cold hearts of stone. No feeling, no sensitivity that in thought, word, and deed, we hurt God. Man is lawless not keeping the commandments God gave us. But God can and will change man's heart as it is written, "...I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in my statutes..." (Ez. 11:18-20) A changed, godly heart is one that can follow God's laws. (Heb.8:10)

In order for us to enter the Kingdom of God, our hearts have to be broken. Disciples of Jesus are broken-hearted people as we see how we have been sinners since birth. When we come to the knowledge of our sins, we will have heartfelt sorrow towards God who gave us life.  We will understand that we are lawless in God's sight. (Ps.51.3) But we have Good News! Jesus, the spotless lamb of God, met the legal demands of the Law when He died upon the cross. (Col. 2:14) When we have this knowledge our hearts will change, broken as it were and we can rejoice as we can be assured that we are a forgiven people. "Thus it is written, That Christ should suffer and that on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Lk. 24:46-47)

Where Is Our Heart in Worship?

In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." (Gen. 4:3-7)

What is our attitude in worship? Is it something we 'must' do as in an obligation? Do we worship out of convenience when it suits our plans? Or do we worship God because we are in love with Him alone and cannot do anything but worship Him who gives us life?

The story of Cain and Abel is about two men from the same family. One labored the ground bearing fruit and the other tended sheep. The text only tells us that God had regard for Abel’s offering and not for Cain’s. It really does not say why. Mosaic law did require grain offerings so we cannot say God does not desire the fruit of the land. (Lev. 2) The clue maybe in the description of the offerings themselves. Abel brought forth the ‘firstborn’ and fat portions whereas Cain brought ‘an offering’ perhaps as an afterthought. And Cain did not take his rejection likely. Jealously ensued, murder and lying followed. In other words, we saw the true heart of Cain. (1 John 3:10) It is our true heart that God sees. (1 Sam. 16:7) Even a warning from God could not keep Cain from killing. So, when we gather for worship, let us ask ourselves, where is my heart in relation to my Maker? Is it centered on me and what I‘m doing, or is it totally centered on God alone and what He has done for me through His Blood upon the Cross?

The heart is the part of man which God chiefly notices in religion. The bowed head, and the bended knee–the grave face and the rigid posture–the ritual response, and the formal amen–all these together do not make up a spiritual worshiper. The eyes of God look further and deeper. He requires the worship of the heart. “My son,” he says to every one of us, “Give me your heart.” ~ J.C. Ryle

Does God Let His Children Commit Suicide?

I am often amazed at the attitudes Christian have toward suicide. I have known rabid anti-abortionists somehow excuse suicide under the heading of 'Once saved always saved'. I have heard clergy rationalize that people who kill themselves go to heaven because God is merciful. Both of these sentiments confront the commandment. "Thou Shalt not Kill!" Why would infanticide and homicide be against God's Law but suicide is not. Our bodies no more belong to us than we can own another person's body. Another way of stating this is, "Who is the Lord of my body, Jesus or me?" (1 Cor. 6:15)


Now before you conclude I am a callous person, there was a day in my life when I actually thought I would be better off dead than alive. I imagined myself walking into the woods with water and poison to take my life. Before I could carry out that plan, my physician who had suspected I was depressed, confronted me about my symptoms and set me on the road to recovery. Not only did I begin to see a therapist, and take an anti-depressant, I sought help from a friend in my congregation who tried to kill herself as well a few years earlier. She failed at that but became one of the most faithful Christians I ever knew. When I disclosed my depression to my congregation, another parishioner came forward to tell me how she tried to take her life as a young adult. She wasn't very successful at that either. But she, too, became a person of great faith giving me comfort in my journey. All of this is to say, that each and everyone of us has an appointed time that we die. But that appointment is set by God. For the Elect, those whom God has called before time, (Eph. 2:1-10) suicide may be attempted but can never succeed as it is a violation of God's Law. Below are two stories of men who tried to kill themselves and failed. Their failure resulted in changed lives for the glory of God. If God is our Father, can He really sit idly by allowing the children He loves to destroy themselves? Please read the following stories and ask yourself, "Does God Let His Children Commit Suicide."


By Cal Samra
Editor, The Joyful Noiseletter

© Copyright 2010 The Joyful Noiseletter

The Joyful Noiseletter and the Fellowship of Merry Christians may have started, ironically, under a giant saguaro cactus in Carefree, Arizona, 27 years ago.

I was in the depths of depression and despair. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong in my life. My health had greatly deteriorated, forcing me to resign my job in Michigan as a newspaper reporter and, on my doctor’s advice, to go to the warmer climate of Arizona.

I was jobless, looked like skin and bones, weighing barely 103 pounds, and in great physical and emotional pain. I was full of bitterness, anger, self-hatred, fear, and doubt, and considered myself the most miserable of men.

An urge to be finished with the pain overwhelmed me one sunny, beautiful morning. I bought some sturdy clothesline rope at a hardware store and drove all over Phoenix looking for a suitable tree to hang myself from.

But the palm trees were much too tall to climb, so I finally drove into the desert near the elegant town of Carefree, sat in the sun next to a giant cactus, with its excruciatingly prickly spine, and for a couple of hours tried to figure out how to hang myself from it. How do you hang yourself from a cactus? Could I go down in history as the first person to hang himself from a tall cactus?

Finally, I decided that it was all very ridiculous, and that there was no way it could be done – not from a giant cactus, and I began laughing at my ineptness.

Then I got into my car and drove over to Scottsdale where I happened to pass by a Franciscan retreat center. Though my family roots had been in the Greek Orthodox faith, I was attracted to the beauty of the retreat center. I stopped by and entered the chapel, where I found myself down on my knees, praying for the strength to endure my pain and to go on in spite of it.

A warm-hearted Franciscan priest, Father Gavin Griffith, an Irish wit who could have made a living as a stand-up comedian, invited me to share a meal with him. At dinner, Fr. Griffith had me laughing again with his whimsical remarks and jokes.

I remember seeing on a kitchen wall a drawing of Jesus with a big smile on his face, the first such portrayal I had ever seen.

Another Franciscan gave me a gift of a print of a smiling Christ. The print of a smiling Christ gave me a different perspective on Jesus and cast him in a new light.

The effervescent and good-humored friars and sisters at the Franciscan retreat center, as well as Fr. Tom Walsh, a Scottsdale humorist and counselor who taught seminars on “stinkin’ thinkin’,” showed me how to reach out again to other people, and to laugh again. They helped reignite my faith and my sense of humor.

I discovered that when you are down-and-out and you pray for help, the Lord never fails to send people to you who will help you in one way or another, people who will cheer and lift you up, people who will encourage you, people with a variety of different healing gifts, people from a host of different faith traditions.

Cal's complete story can be found here The Joyful Newsletter

From the Desiring God Blog, we find the biography of William Cowper, poet and hymn writer a portion of which follows: 


In the week before his examination (October 1763) he (Cowper) bought laudanum to use as a poison. He pondered escaping to France to enter a monastery. He had illusions of seeing himself slandered in the newspaper anonymously. He was losing his hold on reality almost entirely.

The day before the Parliamentary examination he set out to drown himself and took a cab to Tower Wharf. But at Custom House Quay he found the water too low and "a porter seated upon some goods" as if "a message to prevent" him (see note 5).

When he got home that evening he tried to take the laudanum but found his fingers "closely contracted" and "entirely useless." The next morning he tried three times to hang himself with a garter. The third time he became unconscious, but the garter broke. The laundress found him in bed and called his uncle who canceled the examination immediately. And that was the end of Cowper's brush with public life—but not the end of his brush with death.

Conviction of sin took place, especially of that just committed; the meanness of it, as well as its atrocity, were exhibited to me in colours so inconceivably strong that I despised myself, with a contempt not to be imagined or expressed ... This sense of it secured me from the repetition of a crime which I could not now reflect on without abhorrence ... A sense of God's wrath, and a deep despair of escaping it, instantly succeeded (see note 6).

Now everything he read condemned him. Sleep would not come, and, when it did, it brought him terrifying dreams. When he awoke he "reeled and staggered like a drunken man."

So in December 1763, he was committed to St. Albans Insane Asylum where the 58 year old Dr. Nathaniel Cotton tended the patients. He was somewhat of a poet, but most of all, by God's wonderful design, an evangelical believer and lover of God and the gospel.

He loved Cowper and held out hope to him repeatedly in spite of his insistence that he was damned and beyond hope. Six months into his stay Cowper found a Bible lying (not by accident) on a bench in the garden.

Having found a Bible on the bench in the garden, I opened upon the 11th of St. John, where Lazarus is raised from the dead; and saw so much benevolence, mercy, goodness, and sympathy with miserable men, in our Saviour's conduct, that I almost shed tears upon the relation; little thinking that it was an exact type of the mercy which Jesus was on the point of extending towards myself. I sighed, and said, "Oh, that I had not rejected so good a Redeemer, that I had not forfeited all his favours." Thus was my heart softened, though not yet enlightened (see note 7).

Increasingly he felt he was not utterly doomed. There came another revelation and he turned again to the Bible and the first verse he saw was Romans 3:25: "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

Immediately I received the strength to believe it, and the full beams of the Sun of Righteousness shone upon me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement He had made, my pardon sealed in His blood, and all the fullness and completeness of His justification. In a moment I believed, and received the gospel ... Whatever my friend Madan had said to me, long before, revived in all its clearness, with demonstration of the spirit and power. Unless the Almighty arm had been under me, I think I should have died with gratitude and joy. My eyes filled with tears, and my voice choked with transport; I could only look up to heaven in silent fear, overwhelmed with love and wonder (see note 8).

The entire story can be read here Insanity and Spiritual Songs 

William Cowper wrote poetry many of which became Christian hymns. He even collaborated with John Newton of "Amazing Grace" fame. He coined the phrase, "God moves in mysterious ways." Below is his hymn acknowledging God's providence and protection.