Author Archives: Pastor Jim Driskell, Lutheran Church

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About Pastor Jim Driskell, Lutheran Church

I am the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Chestertown, Md. I pray that you will come and worship with us, worship is 10 am Sundays. We are a renewal church and we are lifting God up in classical worship, and being faithful disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. 101 Greenwood Av, Chestertown. Plenty of parking behind the church.

Ser consciente de sus alrededores Efesios 6: 10-20 Primera Iglesia de St Johns 30 de agosto 2015

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el nombre de Dios Padre, y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo, y todos aquellos que son conscientes del mundo que les rodea en Jesús dijo … AMEN!

Debemos estar familiarizado con; “Los que están en Cristo están en el mundo, pero no son del mundo.” Oración sacerdotal de Jesús por sus discípulos Juan 16 y 17, Jesús subraya “ESV Juan 17:16 No son del mundo, tal y como soy no del mundo “.

Somos los discípulos de Jesús, estamos en el mundo, pero no somos del mundo. Somos Su, Jesús es nuestro Señor, nuestro Salvador. También sabemos las cosas que están constantemente a nuestro alrededor. La cita de San Pablo nos recuerda que somos de una mente diferente a los que están en el mundo: “ESV 2 Corintios 4: 4 En los cuales el dios de este siglo cegó el entendimiento de los incrédulos, para que no les resplandezca la luz del evangelio de la gloria de Cristo, quien es la imagen de Dios. “A pesar de las palabras de Jesús, de San Pablo, todavía tenemos muchos en la iglesia que creen que de alguna manera podemos reconciliar esto y estar en paz con el mundo. Eso es ciertamente no idea de Jesús “, ESV Juan 17:14 los he dado tu palabra, y el mundo los ha odiado porque no son del mundo, como tampoco yo soy del mundo.” El mundo va a hacer lo que sea puede separar los que están en Jesús de Él y nos influir en cualquier cosa, siempre y cuando no sea Jesús.

Todos debemos ser muy conscientes de las influencias que nos rodean y defendernos de ellos, no ceder a ellos. Muchas de esas influencias son muy tentador, a menudo están hechas para parecer “ehh, no es un gran problema”. Pero son las pequeñas malas influencias que pueden mantener que nos afectan, nos impacta, poco a poco que nos separa de la verdad que es en Cristo Jesús. ¿Estas malas influencias “contaminan” con nosotros? Jesús dice que no, en el pasaje de hoy. La palabra griega koino, medios w: “1) para hacer 1a común) para hacer (levíticamente) impuro, render impía, destruyere, profano 1b) para declarar o contar impuro.” Jesús nos está diciendo alto y claro en nuestra lectura del Evangelio No ! Las cosas que están a nuestro alrededor, no nos hacen impuro. Usted encuentra algo en Internet o en la televisión, o por casualidad en algo en sus viajes que te hace sentir sucio. He visto cosas que me hizo querer correr y tomar una ducha. Seamos realistas, muchas de esas cosas te hacen sentir “contaminado”, especie de violaste. Pero en Cristo esas cosas no nos hacen impuro, si lo hacen, darles la vuelta a El, pídele al Espíritu Santo para darle una manguera espiritual abajo … AMEN ?? Pero no te sientes como si te has convertido indigno o tan sucio que no se puede tomar a Él, a ser parte de Su iglesia.

Pero eso no nos exime de la responsabilidad de ser conscientes, de sólo evitar las cosas que nos hacen sentir de esa manera, que nos hacen sentir violados y separado de Jesús. Hoy más que nunca, una de las cosas más comunes que se escuchan en el ejército, el trabajo policial y otras áreas que requieren de la interacción en el mundo es la advertencia de “ser consciente de su entorno, de su entorno”. Durante la mayor parte de la guerra la historia o el crimen fue bastante sencillo. Ahí está el enemigo, está el malo de la película, ir a buscarlo y restablecer el control. El 11 de septiembre 2001, una mañana sin complicaciones martes, el mayor problema para la mayoría de la gente era verano había terminado y hacer frente a la realidad de la llegada del otoño y el invierno. Nadie en su imaginación más salvaje hubiera pensado que al comienzo de su día en el World Trade Center que el edificio se vendrá abajo alrededor de ellos y muchos no estaría en casa esa noche. No había ninguna amenaza aparente, no hay razón para estar al tanto, otro día como tantos otros que había vivido. Y, sin embargo, de la nada, llegó un muy real, amenaza muy mortal.

Tenemos amenazas espirituales como que todos los que nos rodean, día tras día. Televisión, Internet, tanto en forma impresa, hay amenazas espirituales en el toque de un interruptor.

Así que estamos de acuerdo, vivimos en un mundo peligroso. No hay duda de que nuestra seguridad física puede ser motivo de preocupación también. Pero, francamente, lo más importante de nuestras vidas espirituales se pueden destruir aún más fácil, la tentación para degradar nuestra vida espiritual está a nuestro alrededor, justo en nuestros hogares, mucho más cerca de lo que nos podría matar físicamente y este es el caso, incluso más ahora que nunca en la historia de la humanidad. Estamos de acuerdo en que tenemos que estar fácilmente conscientes del hecho de que el peligro espiritual es todo alrededor de nosotros y tenemos que ser muy conscientes de nuestro entorno. Eso no sólo significa caminando por una calle de la ciudad, estar en una multitud, pero los alrededores en nuestra propia casa. ¿A qué nos mantenemos a la derecha alrededor de nosotros que nos puede afectar negativamente, puede espiritualmente matarnos? Estamos de acuerdo en estas cosas, pero lo que hacemos con ellos? Pablo nos dice que seguimos confiando en Dios y lo que Él nos ha dado, ya ha hecho por nosotros.

Se nos dice que nuestra fuerza está en Dios, en su fuerza. Eso nos ponemos toda la armadura de Dios. Yo no pongo mi casco de mi bolso casco, el chaleco de Kevlar de mi armario, nuestro mayor enemigo es “poderes cósmicos … huestes espirituales de maldad”. ¿Qué tenemos para defendernos? Pablo nos dice: el cinturón de la verdad. Cuando el mundo nos dice lo que debemos hacer nosotros sabemos la verdad, es justo ahí alrededor de nuestra cintura. La coraza de justicia, protege nuestro corazón, alma, las cosas que hacen corruptos nosotros. Él nos da la piel de la disposición, no sólo para proteger lo que nosotros, a nuestros pies, nuestra estabilidad en la Palabra apoya, sino que también nos mueven al mundo para anunciar a Cristo, contra el mal que nos rodea. Tenemos un escudo, el escudo de la fe lo que Dios nos da para protegernos contra los ataques del mundo, los múltiples ataques del mundo. El yelmo de la salvación, nos recuerda de lo que es realmente importante. Podemos obtener todos los involucrados en el mal y la tentación del mundo, o podemos recordar que nuestra verdadera vida está en la resurrección, el mundo que Dios nos salva por la manera en que Dios quiso que vivimos. La espada del Espíritu, la Palabra de Dios, la Biblia. Esto es lo que traemos para empujar la Palabra de Dios al mundo. No es suficiente con sólo estar allí y recibir los golpes del mundo, tenemos la Palabra de Dios y Él nos llama a llevar su Palabra en el mundo. Ser consciente de su entorno no es sólo estar a la defensiva, pero es pro-activamente ir al mundo y proclamar la Palabra de Dios, para hacer retroceder contra la oscuridad con Su Palabra, la Biblia, el Evangelio. AMEN ??

Por supuesto Pablo termina con “orando en todo tiempo en el Espíritu, con toda oración y ruego. Arma más poderosa de la iglesia es la oración, nos levanta encima de nuestras oraciones al Padre, y el Padre que nos guía en nuestras oraciones para que podamos estar en Su voluntad. En cinco años de ser ordenado, he visto a Dios hacer cosas increíbles en respuesta a la oración de su pueblo fiel. Así que nos pusimos de toda la armadura de Dios, todas las cosas que nos protegen, mientras mantenemos “conciencia situacional”, y nos levantan nuestra situación a Dios en oración y confiar en que Él contestará y Él también nos llevará a donde Él quiere que seamos, por sus mejores intereses y los nuestros. Nuestra seguridad, nuestra familia, a nuestros seres queridos, nuestra conciencia, es en Él y la armadura que Dios nos ha dado para permanecer en él. Físicamente podemos ser lastimados y sufrimos, pero eso es sólo por un tiempo, nuestro verdadero peligro es en la vida eterna, dejando que el mundo que nos arrastre hacia abajo porque no éramos conscientes de nuestro entorno y dejamos que ellos nos influyen y no la protección de Dios. Pasa algún tiempo esta semana en su diario que trabajar realmente donde se necesita mejorar en el uso de los equipos Dios te da.

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom.

Being aware of your environment Ephesians 6: 10-20 First St Johns August 30, 2015

[Click on the above link for the audio of this sermon]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father, and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who are aware of the world around them in Jesus said … AMEN!

We should be familiar with; “those who are in Christ are in the world, but are not of the world.” Jesus’ priestly prayer for His disciples John 16 and 17, Jesus stresses “ESV John 17:16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

We are Jesus’ disciples, we are in the world, but we are not of the world. We are His, Jesus is our Lord, our Savior. We also know the things that are constantly around us. St Paul’s quote reminds us that we are of a different mind then those who are in the world: “ESV 2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Despite the words of Jesus, of St Paul, we still have many in the church who believe we can somehow reconcile this and be at peace with the world. That’s certainly not Jesus’ idea, “ESV John 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” The world will do whatever it can to separate those who are in Jesus from Him and influence us into anything, so long as it’s not Jesus.

We should all be very aware of the influences that surround us and defend ourselves against them, not give into them. Many of those influences are very tempting, often they’re made to look like “ehh, not such a big deal”. But it’s the little bad influences that can keep affecting us, impacting us, slowly separating us from the truth that is in Christ Jesus. Do these bad influences “defile” us? Jesus says no in today’s passage. The Greek word koino,w means: “1) to make common 1a) to make (Levitically) unclean, render unhallowed, defile, profane 1b) to declare or count unclean.”[1]  Jesus is telling us loud and clear in our Gospel reading No! The things that are around us, don’t make us unclean. You find something on the Internet or on television, or happen on something in your travels that makes you feel unclean. I’ve seen things that made me want to run and take a shower. Let’s face it a lot of those things make you feel “defiled”, kind of violated. But in Christ those things don’t make us unclean, if they do, turn them over to Him, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a spiritual hose down… AMEN ?? But don’t feel as if you’ve become unworthy or so unclean that you can’t take it to Him, to be a part of His church.

But that doesn’t relieve us of the responsibility of being aware, of just avoiding the things that do make us feel that way, that do make us feel violated and separated from Jesus. Today more than ever, one of the most common things you will hear in the military, police work and other areas that require interaction in the world is the warning to “be aware of your surroundings, of your environment”. For most of history war or crime was pretty straight forward. There’s the enemy, there’s the bad guy, go and get him and restore control. On Sept 11, 2001, an unremarkable Tuesday morning, the biggest issue for most people was summer was over and dealing with the reality of the coming fall and winter. No one in their wildest imagination would have thought that at the start of their day at the World Trade Center that the building would come crashing down around them and many would not be home that evening. There was no apparent threat, no reason to be aware, another day like so many others they had lived through. And yet, out of no where, came a very real, very deadly threat.

We have spiritual threats like that all around us, day in and day out. Television, the internet, so much in print, there are spiritual threats at the flip of a switch.

So we agree, we live in a dangerous world. There’s no question that our physical safety can be of concern too. But frankly, more importantly our spiritual lives can be even more readily destroyed, temptation to degrade our spiritual lives is all around us, right in our homes, much nearer than what could kill us physically and this is the case even more so now than ever in the history of mankind. We agree we have to be readily aware of the fact that spiritual danger is all around us and we have to be very aware of our surroundings. That doesn’t just mean walking down a city street, being in a crowd, but the surroundings in our own home. What do we keep right around us that can negatively impact us, can spiritually kill us? We agree on these things, but what do we do about them? Paul tells us that we continue to trust in God and what He has given us, has already done for us.

We are told that our strength is in God, in His might. That we put on the whole armor of God. I don’t pull my helmet out of my helmet bag, my Kevlar vest out of my closet, our greatest enemy is “cosmic powers … spiritual forces of evil”. What do we have to defend us? Paul tells us: the belt of truth. When the world tells us what we should do we know the truth, it is right there around our waist. The breastplate of righteousness, protects our heart, soul, the things that do corrupt us. He gives us the shoes of readiness, not just to protect what supports us, our feet, our stability in the Word, but also to move us into the world to proclaim Christ, against the evil that is around us. We have a shield, the shield of faith what God gives us to protect us against the attacks of the world, the many attacks of the world. The helmet of salvation, reminds us of what is really important. We can get all involved in the evil and temptation of the world, or we can remember that our true life is in the resurrection, the world that God saves us for, the way God intended for us to live. The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, the Bible. This is what we bring to thrust God’s Word into the world. It’s not enough to just stand there and take the hits from the world, we have God’s Word and He calls us to bring His Word into the world. Being aware of your surroundings isn’t just to be defensive, but it is to pro-actively go into the world and proclaim God’s Word, to push back against the darkness with His Word, the Bible, the Gospel. AMEN??

Of course Paul ends with “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplications. The church’s most powerful weapon is prayer, us lifting up our prayers to the Father and the Father guiding us in our prayers so that we will be in His will. In five years of being ordained, I’ve seen God do some amazing things in answer to the prayer of His faithful people. So we put on the whole armor of God, all the things that protect us while we maintain “situational awareness”, and we lift up our situation to God in prayer and trust that He will answer and He will also lead us to where He wants us to be, for His best interests and ours. Our safety, our family’s, those we love, our awareness, is in Him and the armor that God has given us to stay in Him. Physically we may be hurt and suffer, but that is only for a time, our real danger is in the eternal life, letting the world drag us down because we were not aware of our surroundings and we let them influence us and not God’s protection. Spend some time this week in your journal to really work out where you need to improve in the use of the equipment God gives you.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.

[1] Strong’s in BibleWorks

The Joy of Church

This really is kind of a plea, please, please really hear me out. In this world, that is just so temporary, so phoney, so wrong, so lacking in hope, in promise, please consider a genuine alternative, the church. I think we’ve all see more than enough to show us that there is nothing that the world can offer that gives us any long term promise. Clearly the church of Jesus Christ does, everything around us fails, disappear, just let’s us down. The Christian church, for 2,000 years, has been the only hope and promise for eternity. I know, we all have to function in the world, we do, I worked in corporate America for 20 years and I served in the military reserve for 29 years. I’m not asking you to be a monk, I am telling you what you are painfully aware off, none of these things last, Jesus told us “I’m am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.” Coming to the Father means eternal life. Jesus was crucified, rose  from the dead, ascended into heaven and promised that for those saved in Him, they would be resurrected to life eternal. This is true life, the life that God had intended for us until we messed it up with our sin.

Being in Jesus means being part of His church, the one He said He’d build on the rock of His disciples, the church that is His Body. To be in communion with Jesus who is our only promise, our only hope, means being in communion with His Body, His church.

So I submit the following, this is from Matthew Harrison, Dr Harrison is the President of the Lutheran Church and I wanted to share his thoughts on the Christian church. Being a part of the church, serving each other, being served, living life in Jesus and eternal life in Him. If you would like to see the blog site which includes this and other similar posts check out  lcms.org/president :

The Bible teems with joyous, paradoxical truths. God is three in one. God is man. God dies on a cross. The God who visits His vengeance upon trespassers has mercy only on sinners. We die to live. We live to die. The sinner is righteous .The weak are strong. Saints are sinners. Sinners are saints. Afflictions are blessings. The word of man is the Word of God. The poor are rich, and the rich are poor. The first are last, the last first. Law and Gospel. It is a hallmark of Lutheranism that it does not, as a matter or principle, try to resolve these paradoxes. Is it bread, or is it body? The texts simply state that it is both. If salvation is God’s act alone, and faith is a result also of an eternal election to salvation (Ephesians 1), and god wants all to be saved, then why are not all saved? Must not God then have determined to condemn some from all eternity? No. The Bible says, “God wants all to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). Lutheranism lets the paradox stand. . . .

The maladies in the life of the twenty-first century church, and in the Church in every age for that matter, are the result of missing “the narrow way” (Matthew 7:13–14). It is for me a paradox itself, that the “high” road of orthodoxy—right teaching and right praise—is freeing! For ortho-dox-y is both right doc-trine and right dox-ology (or praise). It also leaves plenty of space for us to rejoice in God-pleasing differences of gifts, emphases, practices, and even personalities.

The Church is a paradox. She is the Bride of Christ, “spotless,” “holy,” “washed” (Ephesians 5:25–27), the “[pillar and foundation of truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:1ff). And yet she only appears in this world hidden under the guise of poor sinners, flawed leaders tensions, divisions, and even false teaching. This is at once both disturbing and comforting. It is disturbing because we find ourselves in such “spotted” congregations, denominations, and Christendom. It is comforting because—despite its outward appearance, despite the fact that there have been times in the history of the church when the pure teaching of the Gospel all but disappeared from the public confession of the Church and its practice—nevertheless, the “gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The Church endures because Christ endures, and he will never let his Gospel go un-believed, until the end of time. That’s worth rejoicing over, especially in the times in which we live. And there is also comfort in knowing that because the Church exists well beyond the genuine Lutheran Church, we will also find truth spoken by others. And when we do, we are free to heartily and gladly acknowledge it as such. . . .

The secret of living a good news life in a bad news world is knowing that despite our manifold weaknesses and sins, precisely of Christians and the Church, Christ remains wherever, so far and so long as, Christ and his Word are heard and to the extent that true Baptism and the Lord’s Supper remain. That is the expansive joy of generous, faithful Lutheranism. Thus genuine Lutheranism is simply genuine Christianity. And Christianity, with all its manifold weaknesses and sins, is far broader than genuine Lutheranism. . . .

That’s the joy of a generous, faithful Lutheranism – generous in recognizing the Church wherever the Gospel is, and faithful in recognizing its sacred duty to be faithful to the truth of God’s Word. It may be a paradox, but it’s a joyful paradox, nonetheless.”

Yea the church is important for the individual person, for those who come together to support each other and to be supported. It’s important to come together to support those around us, many rely on the church in times of trial, inside and out, of the church and when we come together to support each other and others, we truly serve God who serves us and gives us the promise of true hope in our earthly life and our life eternal in the resurrection of our bodies and the real world.

As Adriane Heins points out in the same issue: “You are a part of something greater than yourself – the true Church. You are loved in christ, and you are not alone.” (The Lutheran Witness August 2015 pp 2, 3)

Prayer. Let’s just get started!

Again one of my beefs with Reformed Christianity, Christianity that is so prevalent in the United States today, is this obsessiveness with how everything has to be done right. Otherwise? What, just don’t?
I’m really not picking on the Blackabys but again, there are differences between Lutheranism and Reformed Christians. “Only when we pray according to God’s will is He pleased to grant our requests (John 15:16)”. So we limit God to what wecan request and require Him to answer prayer within these limits? Sounds a little presumptuous, He is going to do what His will is and, as it often goes, it’s not going to always make sense to us.
I submit that if it’s a choice between someone who’s not praying or, they will pray but they might not be in conformance with the rules the Blackabys list out:
If we are selfish. (James 4:3)
Are our requests worthy of the God we approach?
Do we lack the faith God requires…? (Matt 17:20)
Is there unconfessed sin? (Isaiah 1:15)
If we will ask according to His will. (Jeremiah 33:3)
(Henry, Richard Blackaby “Experiencing God Day by Day p 244)
I’d much rather that they pray. I have no doubt that God leads us in prayer. That by our taking a submissive posture, intentionally turning to and addressing Him, that He will lead us in prayer and that He is going to get us where He wants us to be from there, which doesn’t require our going through a briefing of what is and isn’t acceptable. But we have to start by being in prayer.
Getting people obsessed with, again, rules will discourage or give them another excuse not to even get started.
Bartimaeus asked to not be blind, to have sight (Mark 10:51), that’s kind of selfish. He could have asked for someone else’s benefit. But from that Jesus led Bartimaeus to follow Him. Maybe Bartimaeus became a disciple who subsequently taught and led other people.
As mature Christians we should pray in His will, and shouldn’t be self-centered. People will grow into spiritual maturity led by the Holy Spirit and hopefully by a faithful mature Christian disciple. Isn’t the Holy Spirit going to lead that new person into maturity? I have no doubt many aspects of a new prayers life are brought into closer conformance with Jesus’ will by taking to prayer. Let’s not get people obsessed with dos and don’ts, let’s get them praying first, then disciple them into efficacious prayer.

You cannot “earn” your way to salvation in Jesus, it is a gift through grace.

When Dr Martin Luther started to raise issues with the Roman Catholic Church (remember he was an Augustinian monk), he wasn’t trying to undermine the church, he was trying to reconcile his Biblical studies and the teachings of the church. The church emphasized what we are supposed to do in order to be “worthy” of salvation. Dr Luther said, No! What can we add to what Jesus did? He was the sacrifice that paid for our sins. What else can we add through anything we could do to Jesus’ full payment for our sins? Are we fully forgiven in Jesus? Yes, we know Him as our Savior, we are baptized into new life in Jesus, we take His Body and Blood, we hear His preached word, we are saved. We are led to salvation by the Holy Spirit, not by anything we do. All of these things are given to us as part of the Body of Christ, His church. We receive baptism, we receive His Body and Blood, we receive/hear His preached Word. Nothing we did, all of what He did.

Dr Luther tries to lead the Christian church back to the original understanding that we are only forgiven and saved in what Jesus does, nothing that we do. Do we do good works? Absolutely, but these are works that are done through us by the Holy Spirit. Any works we do don’t get us any more saved. When we are baptized, the old/dead man is drowned and we are born again, we are a new creature in Jesus. We are now children of God the Father and are His. Nothing that we did, everything that Father, Son and Holy Spirit did for us.

So there were new Christian churches, teaching and preaching that we are wholly saved by what Jesus does and nothing about what we do. But along comes these Americanized Christians who decide that there must be something that we need to add to Jesus’ works in order to assure us of our salvation. “Yet with salvation comes the responsibility to work out our salvation.” (Henry, Richard Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day p 205). This is referred to as “works righteousness” in other words, it’s our works that make us righteous in addition to what Jesus did. There has to be both what Jesus did and what we add to that.The Blackaby’s are great Christian brothers, but there are too many in Christiandom that continue to try to stress what we do and undercut what Jesus has done and does do for His people. The extreme examples being Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses who try to put our salvation entirely on our efforts and try to undercut Jesus entirely. I’ve always wanted to ask one of them, what if I am just not capable of doing anything? Then what? Too bad for me?

In the July 17 devotional (p 199), the issue is that not only are there works that need to be done by us, but we also seem to achieve almost sinlessness. Don’t get me wrong, I am not preaching antinomianism (the belief that since we’re saved in Jesus, then we can pretty much sin at will because our forgiveness is already assured because of our redemption in Jesus). Reality is this, we are never going to be sinless, we just aren’t. Sure I hope that in Jesus the Holy Spirit is going to make me completely pure, holy and sinless. I am completely righteous through Jesus! But I’m not through me, or some bizarre idea that I have achieved sinless perfection. I’m just never going to make that level

The Blackaby’s say “It is exhilarating to be set apart by God, knowing that God observes your consecrated life and is pleased with what He sees.” Sure, absolutely! I do want to lead a God pleasing life and I should not be committing gratuitous sins. But the fact of the matter is that I will be. At the beginning of every Lutheran worship we start with Confession and Absolution. Well if we have just been perfect in our selves for the past week, what do we need that for? Because the reality is that we need forgiveness, as often as possible. We aren’t going to make it through a week without sin. Sure sometimes they’re acts of omission vs commission, but sin nonetheless and we want to be absolved, to be forgiven and not by virtue of having “a special place in God’s heart!” We do! By virtue of what Jesus did, nothing we’ve done. Not by virtue of our works or our sinlessness, solely through redemption in Jesus’ sacrifice.

I’ve talked to many people who have experienced Reformed Christianity (various types of Calvinism, Arminianism), that feel they’ve had to jump through hoops to be “saved”. There’s of course the “accepting” Jesus, Walking down the aisle during worship to declare that you have some how “chosen” Jesus. Ya…, no! “You didn’t chose me, I chose you.” Jesus tells us. Martin Luther put it forthrightly, you are saved by grace, sola gratia, nothing you did, everything Jesus did. Stop fretting whether you’ve done enough works, or too much sin. Jesus died for your sins, you are saved in Him. If He has chosen you to be saved, you are saved! Done deal, lead pipe guarantee, nothing you did, everything He did. That should be incredibly reassuring. If God has done it, it’s done! If part of it is up to us, oh boy, that is a problem! It’s not, you’re saved in Him. Not in you. Praise God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit for that! Sola Fide, Sola gratia, Sola Scriptura, Sola Christi. If you don’t know what that means drop me a message.

13 Things unsuccessful people never stop doing.

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IMAGE: Getty Images

Recently, close to 9,000 Inc.com readers shared my article about the common habits of successful people–on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. That was pretty cool–and it got me thinking: What about the other side?

We all aspire to be like the really successful people we know, but how do we avoid thebad habits that unsuccessful people demonstrate? This is about those woefully pathetic souls–and we all know them–who squander every opportunity, then complain loudly about how their lives have turned out.

Here are the 13 most common behaviors they share. Let me know what other habits I’m missing here, and we might add them to another column.

1. Procrastinating.

We’re all human. We all procrastinate sometimes. Heck, I’m writing this column at 11:30 p.m. However, pathetically unsuccessful people take it to the extreme, living by the mantra, don’t do today what you can put off until tomorrow (or later). There’s always an excuse, always a distraction–and somehow things never get done.

2. Blaming.

Blaming others, that is. The sadly unsuccessful among us can always point the finger at someone else. And after they’ve spent so much time and energy blaming others, they still haven’t accomplished anything.

3. Minimizing.

Other side of the coin: It’s not just that extremely unsuccessful people blame others for their failures, but they talk down other people’s achievements. Whatever other people accomplish, these are the folks who are there to talk about how it wasn’t actually so great.

4. Consuming.

There’s a smart saying–if you want to be successful, spend more time producing and less time consuming. From scarfing fatty junk foods to spending hours watching mindless television and trashy pop culture, the pathetically unsuccessful among us spend a lot of time consuming.

5. Talking.

…and talking and talking and talking. Where successful people spend time making an effort to actively listen to others, the ridiculously unsuccessful among us believe they already know it all. Clearly, they have no need to infuse their knowledge with others’ experience.

6. Assuming.

Closely related to talking too much, wholly unsuccessful people make assumptions left and right. Often, they’re wrong; often they miss opportunities as a result. (They’re just so certain that things will be doomed, or too difficult to be bothered with.)

7. Naysaying.

It’ll never work; that’s a crazy idea; the deck is stacked against us. These are the typesGeorge Bernard Shaw had in mind when he said, “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.”

8. Malingering.

They talk big about the things they’re going to accomplish. Then, suddenly, they’re “sick.” They’ve got a cold, or a phantom health issue they have to take care of, or an allergy you’ve never heard about before, and they’re a last-minute scratch–not able to participate. They never win gold, silver, or bronze–they’re perpetually in the “DNF” category, for “did not finish.”

(Clearly, some people have legitimate medical conditions. We’re not talking about those people here; we’re talking about the perfectly healthy folks who always seem to make up “convenient” maladies.)

9. Loafing.

Relaxing is important. We all have times when we need to just kick back, but the ridiculously unsuccessful among us are the slothful lurches who seem always to be lying down, letting time pass by, and accomplishing nothing.

10. Equivocating.

You were counting on them to do something for you? (Oh, you must have misunderstood.) You were sure they were passionate about following their dreams? (Meh, you must have been reading into it.) No matter what these people say, you can be pretty sure they’ll be backing off it later.

11. Safeguarding.

There are legitimate times to cut your losses or be cautious. However, the chronically unsuccessful among us are so cowed by the fear of losing what little they have, that they never have the courage to try anything great.

12. Sour Graping.

Whatever it is that they couldn’t accomplish–well, they later spout off a reason why they didn’t really want it. The project their team really needed them to accomplish? It wasn’t all that important to begin with. The love interest they never had the guts to pursue? He or she probably wasn’t that great anyway.

13. Quitting.

Whatever goal they might have set for themselves, they decide later that it’s too hard, or it’s too unlikely to succeed, or it’s just not worth the effort. Suddenly they have other priorities–not that those other priorities wind up coming to fruition either. It’s pathetic. By definition, truly unsuccessful people can be trusted to do only one thing consistently: fail.

Abraham’s Tomb, another example of Herod the Great’s building genius

The following are some of my pictures of Abraham’s tomb, located in Jerusalem. As you would probably deduce this tomb would not have been built for Abraham upon his death, there would not have been this kind of architecture in this location at this time. The tomb, also described as a fortress, was built by Herod the Great, about 3,000 years after Abraham lived.

01_3This is my picture of Abraham’s tomb, obviously not a product of 3,000 BC. I found it incredibly fascinating that Herod the Great built not just this, he rebuilt the temple, a huge feat in and of itself. He built Masada. He built an amazing fortress on the top of a man-made “mountain”, which, I can’t find any pictures of and I’m very upset. Herod was called “the Great”, because of his amazing architectural accomplishments. I’m not aware of any other rulers who were honored with “Great” because of their building.

Obviously the significance of this “fortress” is not about Herod, but for the reason that this structure was built here. I found a good description of this by Bruce Feiler in his book “Walking The Bible” and the following is his description on pages 67 and 68.

“The fortress that I was about to enter is said to exist on the exact spot where Abraham buried Sarah. It was built two thousand years ago, perhaps by Herod the Great. Despite its scale, the building uses no mortar. Inside, it contains a courtyard and two colonnades containing memorials to Abraham, Sarah and Jacob. The memorials to Isaac and Rebekah are in an adjacent room.”

This is located in an area that is Muslim, and has been divided between Muslim and Jewish. Both Islam and Judaism, as well as Christianity, recognize Abraham as their “Father”, Judaism through Abraham’s and Sarah’s son Isaac, Islam through Abraham’s and Hagar’s son Ishmael.

The following are more of my photographs:

02_4

03_5

This picture is of one one of the “cells” containing a tomb. I can’t tell who would have been buried here though. 04_6

07_908_100 This final shot showing part of a Muslim worship area.

El respeto a Jesús, uno a Efesios 5, Marcos 7 First St Johns 23 de agosto 2015

[For the audio of this please click on the above link]

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo y los que escuchan y respetan la Palabra de Dios y no del hombre dijo … AMEN!

El plan de Dios es tan perfecto, que es una especie circular de la situación, que no quiere decir, como siempre, que obtenemos lo que queremos todo el tiempo, parece que no entienden esa relación no es “bueno saltar a través de aros para mí y luego tal vez te amaré “. Esto es lo que tenemos en la sociedad actual y por qué existe esta infelicidad generalizada y profunda, e incluso el resentimiento. A todos nos sometemos a Jesús. Presentar a su marido, porque él es el que está llamado a amar a su esposa y no sólo nuestra especie blanda de amor, pero el mismo amor que Jesús tenía para la iglesia! Jesús murió por el amor de su iglesia, los hombres son llamados a amar a sus esposas, el amor ágape, hasta el punto de sacrificar a sí mismos. Si su marido lo hará por usted, no hace que sugieren respeto y sumisión a él?

Oh baby, nadie predicando en Efesios 5: 21-33 solo se puede sentir el hielo grietas alrededor de sus pies. ¡La espada! OHHHHH, a nadie le gusta “S”, S es por supuesto “submit, sumisión”. Oh no! En el mundo de hoy, todo el mundo es un experto, todo el mundo lo sabe todo, somos la sociedad más igualitaria en la historia de la tierra. Al parecer, si has nacido un americano, usted es un experto inmediato en todo y cualquier cosa. Cada vez más estoy empezando a ver que actitud bastante cínica. A mi edad, uno pensaría que me hubiera convertido en casi irreparablemente cínica y sin embargo, cada vez más me encuentro darse cuenta de que cuando me someto a Dios como su ministro, a su pueblo, Él trabaja a cabo conforme a su voluntad . Romanos 8:28 parece conseguir un entrenamiento, “Y sabemos que para los que aman a Dios, todas las cosas les ayudan a bien, para aquellos que son llamados conforme a su propósito.” ¿No es esto parte de lo que la vida cristiana es ¿todo sobre?

Cuando decimos “para los que aman a Dios”, no amar a alguien significa someter a Él con el fin para el bien de todos los interesados? Sumisión no significa, simplemente tirar la toalla y sin pensar siguiente. Lo que significa, en algún momento sólo hay que confiar en que la persona.

Ciertamente, los ambientes militares y corporativos son una lección de esas áreas. Hay un montón de veces en las que no está seguro acerca de algo que se tiene que hacer, que desea quejarse sobre él un poco más, pero en algún momento es obvio que tienes que hacer lo que está confiado a hacer, hazlo a el mejor de su capacidad, por lo que no habrá éxito. Si esto es lo que está guiado a hacer, puede que no sea perfecto, pero se convierte en su responsabilidad para que sea tan perfecto como puede ser.

El profesor Jeffrey Oschwald observa el cambio de capítulo 6 al capítulo 7. Las personas se están ejecutando a Jesús, el pueblo: “corrió sobre toda la región y comenzaron a traer a los enfermos en sus camas a donde oían que estaba. ESV Marcos 6:56 Y dondequiera que llegó, en pueblos, ciudades o zonas rurales, ponían a los enfermos en las plazas y le imploró que les dejase tocar siquiera el borde de su manto. Y los que lo tocaban quedaban sanos. “Oh, sí, ellos querían que Jesús entonces. Sermón de la semana pasada después de que Jesús alimentó a miles y luego dijo: Bien, ahora que usted tiene el estómago lleno, vamos a hablar cosas de verdad, tienes que comer mi cuerpo y bebe mi sangre para llenar tu alma, para tener la vida real. Sí, no eran mucho en eso y decidieron recoger y dejar. En la lectura de hoy, las personas están acudiendo a él y Jesús ha sanado a varias personas, ¿qué sucede? Los fariseos y los escribas le enfrentan sobre un pequeño problema ticky pegajosa sobre los discípulos se lavan las manos. Obviamente estos chicos están tratando de provocar una confrontación. Está a unos 90 millas de Jerusalén, donde han venido desde, hacia la parte norte del Mar de Galilea, que no van a hacer ese viaje a la ligera, se sienten amenazados y han decidido encontrar cualquier pequeña cosa que pueda con el fin para recoger una pelea con Jesús, para desacreditarlo alguna manera. Por supuesto que puede ver la frustración de Jesús. “Aquí estoy, Dios Hijo, mira todas estas cosas que he hecho. Estoy tratando de llegar a ver la vida real y lo que estás haciendo? Levantarse en mi parrilla sobre un pequeño problema ticky pegajosa sobre el lavado de manos? ? De verdad “:” ESV Marcos 7: 6 Y él les dijo: “Bien profetizó Isaías de vosotros, hipócritas, como está escrito:” Este pueblo me honra con los labios, pero su corazón está lejos de mí; ESV Marcos 7: 7 en vano me honran, enseñando como doctrinas, mandamientos de hombres “. ESV Marcos 7: 8 Usted deja el mandamiento de Dios y mantienen fieles a la tradición de los hombres “. ESV Marcos 7: 9 Y él les dijo:” Tienes una buena manera de rechazar el mandamiento de Dios para establecer vuestra tradición! “Jesús se refiere a la cita en la lectura de hoy de Isaías:” ESV Isaías 29:13 Y el Señor dijo: “Porque este pueblo se acerca con su boca y me honra con los labios, pero su corazón está lejos de mí, y su mi temor es un mandamiento dictado por los hombres, ESV Isaías 29:14 por tanto, he aquí, volveré a hacer cosas maravillosas con este pueblo, con asombro a extrañar, y la sabiduría de sus sabios perecerá, y el discernimiento de su exigente los hombres se esconden “.

Obviamente Jesús se siente frustrado y les está diciendo a obtener un control. ¿Vas a pegarse a sus sutilezas pequeñas tradiciones o vas a ver lo que está pasando aquí. Dios Hijo ya está aquí! Es el momento de someterse a su voluntad, dejar de preocuparse por las cosas insignificantes y ver lo que realmente está pasando! ”

Dr Oschwald observa: “Si tuvieras la oportunidad de una audiencia privada con Jesús, ¿te discutir sobre la forma correcta de lavarse antes de una comida … los adversarios de Jesús parece tener completamente perdido de vista lo que realmente importa ante Dios. La forma en que piden a su pregunta sugiere que la raíz del problema es que han empezado a poner las preocupaciones humanas antes y por encima de lo que es importante a los ojos de Dios. Nuestra simpatía inicial con la preocupación de los fariseos sobre las manos limpias en la mesa va a la derecha por el desagüe cuando empezamos a ver el verdadero problema en toda su seriedad “Nosotros, ustedes y yo, a menudo tenemos que parar y preguntarnos a nosotros mismos.; vamos a comenzar una pelea sobre las cosas triviales o nos miramos a nuestro alrededor y ver lo que Jesús está haciendo, qué grandes cosas están sucediendo a nuestro alrededor. Cómo para señalar, a contribuir a ese enfoque en lo que el Espíritu Santo está haciendo y hacerlo a su gloria, la gloria de la iglesia de Jesús. ¿Cómo nos proclamamos al mundo lo que está pasando en su servicio, para su gloria?

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom.

The “S” Word Ephesians 5 Mark 7 First St Johns Church Aug 23, 2015

[For the audio version, please click above link]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and those who hear and respect God’s Word and not man’s said … AMEN!

God’s plan is just so perfect, it’s a circular sort of situation, that doesn’t mean, as always, that we get what we want all the time, we seem to not understand that relationship is not “hey you jump through hoops for me and then maybe I will love you”. This is what we have in society today and why there is this widespread and deep unhappiness and even resentment. We all submit to Jesus. Submit to your husband, because he is the one that is called to love his wife and not just our squishy kind of love, but the same love Jesus had for the church! Jesus died for the love of His church, men are called to love their wives, agape love, to the point of sacrificing themselves. If your husband will do that for you, doesn’t that suggest respect and submission to him?

Oh baby, anyone preaching on Ephesians 5: 21-33 can just feel the ice cracking around his feet. The “S” word! OHHHHH, no one likes to “S”, S being of course “submit, submission”. Oh no! In today’s world, everyone is an expert, everyone knows it all, we are the most equalitarian society in the history of the earth. Apparently if you are born an American, you are an immediate expert on everything and anything. More and more I’m beginning to see that attitude rather cynically. At my age, you’d think that I would have become pretty much irreparably cynical and yet, more and more I find myself realizing that when I submit to God as His minister, to His people, He does work it out according to His will. Romans 8:28 does seem to get a workout, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Isn’t this part of what the Christian life is all about?

When we say “for those who love God”, doesn’t loving someone mean submitting to Him in order for the good of all concerned? Submission doesn’t mean, just throwing in the towel and mindlessly following. It does mean, at some point you just have to trust that the person.

Certainly the military and corporate environments are a lesson in those areas. There are plenty of times where you’re not sure about something that has to be done, you want to fuss over it a little more, but at some point it’s obvious you have to do what you’re entrusted to do, do it to the best of your ability, so that there will be success. If this is what you’re led to do, it may not be perfect, but it becomes your responsibility to make it as perfect as it can be.

Professor Jeffrey Oschwald observes the shift from chapter 6 to chapter 7. People are running to Jesus, the people: “ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ESV Mark 6:56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.” Oh yeah, they wanted Jesus then. Last week’s sermon after Jesus fed thousands and then said OK, now that you have a full stomach, let’s talk real stuff, you have to eat my body and drink my blood to fill your soul, to have real life. Yea, they weren’t so much into that and decided to pick up and leave. In today’s reading, the people are flocking to him and Jesus has healed a number of people, what happens? The Pharisees and the scribes confront Him over a ticky-tack little issue about the disciples washing their hands. Obviously these guys are trying to provoke a confrontation. It’s about 90 miles from Jerusalem, where they’ve come from, to the northern part of the Sea of Galilee, they’re not going to make that trip lightly, they feel threatened and have decided to find any little thing they can in order to pick a fight with Jesus, to somehow discredit Him. You can certainly see Jesus’ frustration. “Here I am, God the Son, look at all these things I’ve done. I’m trying to get you to see real life and what are you doing? Getting up in my grill about a ticky-tack little issue about washing hands? Really?”: “ESV Mark 7:6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘ This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; ESV Mark 7:7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ESV Mark 7:8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” ESV Mark 7:9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!” Jesus is referring to the quote in today’s reading from Isaiah: “ESV Isaiah 29:13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, ESV Isaiah 29:14 therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

Obviously Jesus is frustrated and is telling them to get a grip. Are you going to stick to your quibbling little traditions or are you going to see what’s going on here. God the Son is here! It’s time to submit to His will, quit worrying about the petty stuff and see what’s really happening!”

Dr Oschwald observes: “If you had the opportunity for a private audience with Jesus, would you argue about the proper way to wash up before a meal?… Jesus’ opponents seem to have completely lost sight of what really matters before God. The way they ask their question suggests that the root of the problem is that they’ve begun to put human concerns before and above what’s important in God’s eyes. Our initial sympathy with the Pharisees’ concern over clean hands at the table goes right down the drain when we begin to see the real problem in all its seriousness.”[1] We, you and I, often have to stop and ask ourselves; are we going to pick a fight over the trivial stuff or do we look around us and see what Jesus is doing, what great things are happening around us. How to point to, contribute to, focus on what the Holy Spirit is doing and do it to His glory, to the glory of Jesus’ church. How do we proclaim to the world what is going on in His service, to His glory?

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.

[1] Rev Dr Jeffrey Oschwald   Concordia Pulpit Resources Vol 25, Part 3, Series B p 39