Category Archives: Uncategorized

Prayer our all powerful resource from God Luke 11 First Saint Johns Church July 24, 2016

Leave a reply

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 know that their refuge is in God the Father through prayer said … AMEN!

God gave His church the most powerful tool in the universe, PRAYER! Jesus gave His disciples, those who asked Him to teach them how to pray and His disciples all the way to you, me, and those growing into disciples. There is no greater power in the universe. Through prayer we are given access to God the Father. Prayer puts us very much in His presence, His power and glory. Even for the biggest and toughest, to be in the presence of Abba, Daddy. He is not only the most powerful being in all of creation, also the most loving. No matter who you are, you can take in all the love, peace and comfort of God in the simple act of sitting down and following Jesus’ directions; “When you pray say: “Father,…” Matthew writes that we start “Our Father” The Greek in Matthew 6:9 says: “Pa,ter h`mw/n” Many jump on that as another “contradiction” in the Bible. Why does Luke just say “Pa,ter”, ? While Matthew says: “Pa,ter h`mw/n” In any human dialogue there’s dozens of reasons why we say, or hear something different. Matthew was there, he heard, “Pa,ter h`mw/n” I took French for seven years, I have a plaque in the office with the Lord’s prayer “notre pere”, of course, at First Saint Johns, many times the German “unser Vater” has been used in the 140 year history of this sanctuary. Whichever language, He is “our Father”, just as Jesus told His disciples. The Bible is the inspired word of God. The Holy Spirit inspired the remembrance of Jesus’ words for Matthew and whoever told Luke. I’d like to think that the Holy Spirit wanted us to know either way is good, that He wants us to know that He is my Father, that I can, even should address Him as “Pater, Vater, Pere, Father”, but that He is collectively our Father. Because I am born again in Christ, the Holy Spirit has made me that new creation in Jesus, that I am a born again son of the Father, that He is very much my own Father, but that He is also Father to billions. I have billions of brothers and sisters in Jesus right now and through the last two thousand years of history. Brothers and sisters that are in all parts of the world, all over the world, and in all the ages of the last two thousand years. We are so vastly different as people, but through prayer, through our Father, through our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ we are all the children of the same God, through whom all creation was made, sustained and will be restored to the perfection that was intended by Him at the beginning. We all pray the same thing, different languages, different countries, even at different points in history, but Father, our Father, He hears us all calling to Him as Father.

Prayer certainly does unite us, reminds us that people all around the world are saying Father, Our Father. One of the most unifying prayers is in 1 Chronicles 7:14. “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” By far the Gospel that is most focused on prayer is Luke’s, Luke makes constant references to Jesus going and praying, usually by Himself. That certainly is another model for us that we need time to be alone to focus on being in God’s presence, that there is nothing to distract us, to take us out of His presence, that nothing interfere with Him pulling us toward Him, uniting us with Him in our prayer. As His children we are entitled, we are expected to come before our Father, regularly, to be in His presence. Sure there will be times when we will come into His presence cowering, knowing what Ricky Ricardo used to say to Lucille Ball, “Lucy, you got some explaining to do!” Lifting up to God our repentance and asking for forgiveness. He does forgive, He certainly puts it on our heart that He expects better, that He is there, in prayer, to steer us away from the rocks and shoals that we launch ourselves onto and find ourselves stuck on. Through Him, in prayer, He reminds us of the things we need to stay away from and also that He is there, one short prayer away to keep us from hitting the bottom and damaging ourselves. More importantly He reminds us that He is our refuge. In his Psalms David refers to God as His refuge 46 times. In Psalm 64:10 David writes: “ESV Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!” We all have God as our refuge and are united in Him when we take refuge in Him together through our prayers. We ought to constantly go to His refuge, the place where He provides for all that we need.

Too often though we come to Him only in times of desperation, how much better it would be for us if we were constantly in prayer relying on His refuge. Robert Pase writes: “But God’s intent in giving us the gift of prayer isn’t that we wait to pray until all seems lost. God intends that prayer be an everyday, every moment part of the Christian life, including when life seems to be clear sailing, a pleasure cruise. The fact is that God rights the ship, keeps the world on an even keel, by the prayers of his Church. The saints on earth and in heaven are constantly praying, and God is constantly answering – with good weather, good crops, good health and all sorts of things we might take for granted. God invites us to pray about everything every day, not just as a last resort.”[1] You thought I was the only one who used sea metaphors. The point being that prayer is not just for times of distress, but is for all the time and certainly in those times when we want to be in His very presence. His refuge provides us with peace, safety, strength, knowing that no matter what, He is in control, it is all according to His will and the more we align ourselves with His will in prayer, the more we will realize that we need to let go of our fears and worries and to pray to be in His will and set our agenda aside. Our peace is always in God and in the fact that He will be there through our trials and at the end to welcome us as His good and faithful servant. That will only be reinforced and hardcoated into our brains through prayer, constant prayer. There are a lot of sea metaphors, the sea was a metaphor to the Jewish person of chaos and danger. If you are far from shore, at the mercy of the sea you have an acute understanding of the day to day lives so many of us live with, a feeling that there is nothing that we can really secure ourselves to. E Stanley Jones, quoted in Chuck Swindoll’s book writes “Prayer is surrender – surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boat hook from a boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Payer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.”[2] God has His line out to you through prayer. He is pulling you to Him, not the other way around. So long as we persevere in Him, He will be taking us to safety in Him.

Paul promises us in: “ESV Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Even in those times we just fall on our knees and have no idea where to begin, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He knows what is on our heart, what we need to pray and He will lift those prayers to the Father for us. But we can also look at the prayers that King David makes in the Book of Psalms. Psalm 86 is called a prayer of intercession where David is desperate for God’s attention, he prays: “ESV1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you- you are my God. 3 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. 4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. 6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. 7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. 12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. 15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

God is our Father, for those of us who are fathers, we would do whatever we could to provide for our children. We passionately want what is best for them. Yes it is often in a selfish way, but we don’t want to see our children hurt or struggling. I know my heart is often hurting for one of my children. Jesus puts it directly to us: “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent, of if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11: 11-13) Certainly for those of us who are fathers, we know well how much we want to help our children to live a life that glorifies God where they know who their strength, provision and refuge is. Our all powerful, all loving God knows that infinitely better than us and waits for our prayers, waits for us to ask, to seek, to knock so that He will pour out His love and strength on us. We here at First Saint Johns know the power that we have in prayer. Many of us have worked hard to provide many ways to lift up prayer and to keep us focused on being united to the Father in prayer. If we are ever in need of prayer, we know that we will be included on our weekly prayer list and those in the church, the Lord Jesus in whose Body we share, that we will be prayed for. A prayer room has been made ready by loving hands on the second floor as a place of peace, quiet and refuge. A group often meets after worship to join together to lift up others and themselves in prayer. We gather together for a monthly prayer breakfast for our individual needs, the collective needs of First Saint Johns, for our church and those outside of our church who are looking for support in prayer. That we are always looking for opportunities to come together in prayer and to encourage individual prayer. That we maintain an environment here that is a constant reminder to all of us of the strength and power we have when we go to the Father in prayer that our refuge is always in Him.

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

[1] Robert J Pase  “Concordia Pulpit Resources” Volume 26, Part 3, Series C p 17

[2] E Stanley Jones, quoted in Chuck Swindoll’s “Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes” p 453

Por encargo de Dios para hacer la obra que nos ha llevado a hacer Lucas 10 17 de julio de, el año 2016 Primera Saint Johns

Leave a reply

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 todos los que sirven a Dios para su gloria en su vocación dijimos … AMEN

Hay así que muchos de nosotros “Marthas”, así que eso es lo que voy, eso es lo que tengo que hacer, lo demás es bueno, pero esto es importante. Martha era una anfitriona, que era, sin duda, la dueña de la casa, era su responsabilidad, al menos como lo vio, para asegurarse de que la casa estaba siendo dirigido según el protocolo, a la hospitalidad. Jesús no está diciendo que haya nada malo en ello. Pero Él está diciendo a ella y para muchos de nosotros, hay otras cosas importantes. Estoy seguro de que Jesús valoró el zumo de granada recién exprimido que Marta puso a cabo, lo he tenido en Israel es tan bueno. Estoy seguro de que apreciaba la bandeja de comida poco, la colección de tentempiés que una buena anfitriona era responsable de. Siendo llevado a la bonita bien cuidada casa, probablemente en lugar de fantasía que Marta mantuvo, siendo llevado a la grande y bonita silla en la que reservado para los huéspedes importantes. Pero también sé que la otra cara también. Con demasiada frecuencia, tengo algo que realmente quiero compartir, para entrar en, estoy emocionado de sentarse y hablar y obtener la opinión y puntos de vista de todos los demás. Muy bien intencionados amigos, hombres y mujeres, querrá asegurarse de que toda la hospitalidad es allí. Es agradable, ciertamente aprecio su consideración, pero hay cosas que realmente quiero para bajar a. Para asegurarse de Jesús ciertamente aprecia la preocupación de Marta para su comodidad, pero sé y me siento así mucho, Mary estaba preocupado por lo que tenía que decir, lo que quería compartir con Lázaro, Marta y María. Ciertamente Jesús valoró el hecho de que María estaba esperando en lo que tenía que decir y compartir. Antes de empezar a organizar esto, yo había sido sólo a nunca olvidado barbacoa y sí, he estado tratando de llegar allí por un tiempo, aprecio barbacoa. Pero de inmediato me senté en la computadora porque estaba realmente inspirado en lo que quería decir hoy, como mi almuerzo en el recipiente de espuma de poliestireno se sentó a hacer frío en la mesa de la cocina. Jesús ciertamente no critica el deseo de Martha para servir en lo que podríamos decir es una forma práctica, pero nosotros como cristianos tenemos que recordar las palabras de Jesús para recordar a Martha que se quejó con él acerca de María: “” Marta, Marta, te ansiosa y preocupada por muchas cosas, pero una cosa es necesaria. María ha escogido la buena parte, la cual no le será quitada de ella “. (Lucas 10: 41-42 NVI) Estamos llamados a servir, sino que también están llamados a tener en cuenta lo que es eterno, mientras que servimos, lo que vamos a recordar diez años a partir de ahora y para la eternidad son las enseñanzas de Jesús. Si tienes a Jesús allí mismo, en su presencia, o si tiene su ministro listos para predicar y enseñar las palabras de Jesús, el “buena parte” es el Evangelio! En nuestra prisa, prisa mundo, hay tanto que nos rodea para estar preocupada y molesta por y todos podemos justificar las cosas que hacemos para trabajar en y para “arreglar” las cosas. Pero la respuesta a todo lo que siempre nos confrontamos ha sido, es, y será siempre, en las palabras de Jesús y no en las cosas que hacemos para correr alrededor y corregir.

Es esa línea media caminamos de muchas maneras. Lo he dicho cien veces, ya que me he convertido en un ministro del Evangelio. Me encantaría darle la forma en blanco y negro en todo, pero no siempre es tan clara. Tenemos las cosas que son claras, la Ley. La Ley nos convence de lo que hacemos y no debemos hacer. Jesús era clara, citando la ley levítica que debemos amar al Señor nuestro Dios con todo nuestro corazón y con toda nuestra alma, absolutamente! En el sermón de la montaña Se vuelve a estar libre, no hay que estar mirando a otro con lujuria, hemos adulteró con esa persona en nuestro corazón. No hay que llamar a otra persona un tonto, estamos condenando a esa persona y que no somos el último juez, Dios el Padre es el último juez. Se nos dice que reprender, decirle a alguien que no pueden seguir al pecado y violar la ley, pero Dios es el determinante final y en Jesús son perdonados de nuestros pecados. Hay muchas maneras en que podemos servir y sirvamos unos a otros y los que están en el mundo en el ejemplo de Jesús estableció para nosotros; recordar cómo Él lavó los pies de los discípulos? Sin duda, una forma cuidadosa y práctico para servir, lo que el sirviente gentil más bajo en el hogar haría. Jesús no nos está diciendo que no sirven, pero Él está diciendo que debemos ser exigentes. El Libro de Concordia es la doctrina de la fe, en la parte titulada la Confesión de Augsburgo, nuestra declaración básica fe es: “A la vanguardia de la Confesión de Augsburgo es una doble profesión de fe en la persona y obra de Cristo:” que enseñan que los hombres no pueden ser justificados ante Dios por sus propias fuerzas, méritos u obras, pero son justificados gratuitamente por amor a Cristo, a través de la fe. . . Esta fe Dios imputa por justicia delante de él “[4] -. Siempre hay maneras en que podría servir más o mejor, pero, por ejemplo, cuando el Evangelio de Jesús está siendo proclamada el domingo por la mañana, tenemos que elegir la mejor parte , que para nosotros que están en Jesús no será tomado distancia de nosotros y que es su Palabra, la buena noticia del Evangelio de Jesús.

Ahora que estamos de acuerdo en cuanto a lo que es la “buena parte”, siendo el Evangelio, las enseñanzas de Jesús. Yo sé que si Jesús apareció justo aquí y ahora, sin duda vendría abajo desde este púlpito, mi trabajo, y siento y espero en Jesús, para escuchar lo que tiene que decir. Del mismo modo, yo espero que a todos nos dejar a un lado las actividades y parar y esperar en él, para servirlo y lo más importante para escucharlo. Por supuesto, espero que si sabíamos que Jesús iba a estar aquí el próximo domingo, nos gustaría llegar a un lado de la barbacoa Domingo listo o ir al partido de fútbol el domingo en lugar de la iglesia y estar aquí para escuchar con avidez a sus palabras.

El título de mi sermón “, encargado por Dios para hacer la obra que le ha llevado a hacer”. Lo que quiero decir es que hemos sido puestos en nuestra vocación de servicio a los demás, Dios no necesita nuestro servicio, sino que nos ha puesto aquí para servir a los demás. Ciertamente queremos que el servicio que se honrando y glorificando a Dios, y un testimonio a los demás cómo servir al Señor. En nuestra lectura de Génesis vemos Sara y Abraham ambos sirven tres desconocidos. Resultaron ser de Dios, pero ellos no saben que, como en el servicio fiel a ellos, están glorificando a Dios que les ha llevado tanto hasta el momento y por muchas cosas. A través de sus ángeles, y sí que son ángeles masculinos, no femenino, Dios está diciendo a Abraham, que después de toda la espera, que tiene que esperar un año más en la fe y el servicio a Dios y Él se le dará al hijo que tienen tanto estado orando por, desde hace décadas. No siempre podemos esperar que se nos dará lo que queremos debido a nuestro servicio, e incluso si se responde a esas oraciones, puede tardar más años para ver las respuestas, pero será en el mejor momento, el tiempo de Dios.

Continuamos sirviendo en nuestra vocación, Dios bendiga el trabajo que hacemos. Puede no ser posible por mucho dinero o el estado, sino lo que hacemos que importa mucho a Dios sin importar lo que nuestra vocación, o servicio. Si estamos sirviendo a clientes domésticos como Marta hizo, o esperando en el servicio de Dios como Abraham, Sara y María.

Uno de los beefs básicos Martin Luther tuvo con la Iglesia romana fue la idea de que sea la vocación no le importaba a Dios, que había cosas mucho más importantes que preocuparse que de cómo obtuve mi pan de cada día, o de la existencia de diferentes niveles de vocación. Había en Cristiano vocación de servicio y esto fue designada para ser mucho más digno. Las personas religiosas; sacerdotes, monjas, monjes, otros en la iglesia, se observa que son mucho más dignos de su vocación, de los que trabajaban en el mundo secular. Que la persona religiosa tenía una vía rápida al cielo y prácticamente todos los demás estaban ranurado para tomar la pista más larga por el purgatorio.

Leif Grane en su comentario sobre la Confesión de Augsburgo escribe: “Lutero habla de ser como Cristo al prójimo; es decir, en servir al prójimo el cristiano no está sirviendo a Dios, sino que, por el contrario, estar unidos con Dios por la fe participa en la obra de Dios mismo. … Las obras de los cristianos, por lo tanto, son obras divinas, en virtud de la fe, a pesar de la pecaminosidad de la persona. Las obras que se van a hacer son aquellas obras previstas en la persona por su llamado. “Servir a los demás a lo mejor de nuestra capacidad está trabajando nuestra vocación, ya sea un abogado, mecánico de automóviles, dentista, el operador de restaurantes, la persona que hace sus impuestos, usted sabe lo que es una bendición que es encontrar a alguien que lo hace esto así, de manera justa y razonable. No importa cuál sea nuestra vocación, padre, ama de casa, dueño del negocio, pastor, contador, atleta, profesor, cuando realizamos bien estos papeles, cuando servimos con eficacia nuestro vecino, y cuando hacemos estas cosas de una manera que la persona que servimos sabe que estamos sirviendo ellos porque estamos trabajando con Dios, entonces la vocación particular no importa. Lo que importa es que Dios ha trabajado a través de nosotros para llegar a otra persona a través de nuestros esfuerzos diarios. Ciertamente, se puede ver que si hacemos nuestra vocación mal o Enriquecernos, otros pensarán menos de Dios y nos han fallado tanto nuestro vecino y Dios.

La vocación se le ha colocado en lo que es Dios obra a través de usted y de otras personas sobre una base diaria. Si esa es la voluntad de Dios ¿cómo puede ser cualquier cosa menos santo? Si es santo, queremos servir con el fin de señalar a otros a Cristo y glorificar a Dios en lo que hacemos a diario. Con demasiada frecuencia dejamos que Dios en nuestras vidas el domingo, ni siquiera un día, por la tarde del domingo, para demasiadas personas, que están de vuelta en el mundo vivo de acuerdo con la agenda del mundo. Grane escribe: “… la cuestión no es” especial “funciona, pero con fe para saber que Dios está presente en todas las circunstancias de la vida diaria.” Cuando recordamos que y tratar de servirlo, no para ganar algún modo el favor de Dios, sino a vivir nuestra vida en Él para su gloria e incluso en acción de gracias y también le sirven, sirviendo a los demás. Cuando nuestra vocación se centra en servir a los demás para glorificar a Dios, no importa lo que su trabajo es que es santo, sagrado y precioso para Dios y tan importante como cualquier vocación.

Marta servía realmente Jesús y Jesús no regañarla por eso. Ella estaba proveyendo para su familia y su invitado, sin duda encomiable y algo que todos debemos hacer. Nuestra porción es bendecido por Dios y sirven así como un testimonio de su bendición y gloria. Pero María fue elogiado. Con demasiada frecuencia parece que la persona que se sienta alrededor de leer, escuchar, participar de alguna manera está perdiendo el tiempo, pero ciertamente están recibiendo una “buena parte”. Dios nos ha puesto en nuestras vocaciones y servir en consecuencia. Eso no quiere decir que la vocación de la ministra, la predicación de su palabra y la administración de sus sacrmanets no es importante. Ayuda al pastor servir a la medida de su capacidad como ministro, le ayudan a servirle en su vocación y todos nos sirven unos a otros para alabar, levante y glorifiquen a nuestro Padre en el cielo que se complace en servir unos a otros en su nombre .

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

Commissioned by God to do the work he has led you to Luke 10 July 17, 2016

Leave a reply

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 serve God to His glory in their vocation said … AMEN

There are so many of us “Marthas”, well that’s what I’m about, that’s what I have to do, the other stuff is good, but this is important. Martha was a hostess, she was no doubt the lady of the house, it was her responsibility, at least as she saw it, to make sure the house was being run according to protocol, to hospitality. Jesus isn’t saying there’s anything wrong with that. But He is saying to her and to so many of us, there are other important things. I’m sure Jesus appreciated the freshly squeezed pomegranate juice that Martha put out, I’ve had it in Israel it is so good. I’m sure he appreciated the little food tray, the collection of munchies that a good hostess was responsible for. Being led into the nice, well kept, probably rather fancy house that Martha kept, being led over to the nice big chair she reserved for important guests. But I also know the flip side too. Too often I have something that I really want to share, to get into, I’m all excited to sit down and talk about and get everyone else’s opinion and insights. Very well- meaning folks, men and women, want to make sure that all the hospitality is there. It’s nice, I certainly appreciate their consideration, but there’s things I really want to get down to. To be sure Jesus certainly appreciated Martha’s concern for His comfort, but and I know I feel this way a lot, Mary was concerned about what He had to say, what He wanted to share with Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Certainly Jesus appreciated the fact that Mary was waiting on what He had to say and share. Before I started putting this together, I had just been over to Never Forgotten BBQ and yea, I’ve been trying to get over there for awhile, I do appreciate barbeque. But I immediately sat down at the computer because I was really inspired about what I wanted to say today, as my lunch in the Styrofoam container sat getting cold on the kitchen table. Jesus certainly isn’t criticizing Martha’s desire to serve in what we would say is a practical way, but we as Christians we need to remember Jesus’ words to remind Martha who complained to Him about Mary: “”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.” (Luke 10: 41-42 ESV) We are called to serve, but we are also called to keep in mind what is eternal, that while we serve, what we will remember ten years from now and to eternity are the teachings of Jesus. If you have Jesus right there in your presence, or if you have His minister ready to preach and teach the Words of Jesus the “good portion” is the Gospel! In our hurry, hurry world, there is so much around us to be anxious and troubled about and we can all justify the things that we do to work on and to “fix” those things. But the answer to all that we confront always has been, is, and always will be in Jesus’ words and not in the things we do to rush around and fix.

It’s that middle line we walk in so many ways. I’ve said it a hundred times, since I’ve become a minister of the Gospel. I’d love to give you the black and white way on everything, but it’s not always that clear. We have the things that are clear, the Law. The Law convicts us of what we do and shouldn’t do. Jesus was clear, quoting the Levitical law that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart and all our soul, absolutely! In the Sermon on the Mount He is again clear, we shouldn’t be looking at another with lust, we have committed adultery with that person in our heart. We shouldn’t call someone else a fool, we are condemning that person and we aren’t the ultimate judge, God the Father is the ultimate judge. We are told to rebuke, telling someone that they can’t continue to sin and violate the Law, but God is the ultimate determiner and in Jesus we are forgiven of our sins. There are so many ways we can serve and we should serve each other and those in the world in the example Jesus set for us; remember how He washed the feet of the disciples? Certainly a caring and practical way to serve, the thing that the lowest Gentile servant in the household would do. Jesus isn’t telling us not to serve, but He is saying that we should be discerning. The Book of Concord is the doctrine of our faith, in the part titled the Augsburg Confession, our basic faith statement is: “At the forefront of the Augsburg Confession is a dual profession of faith in the person and work of Christ: “they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith. . . This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight.”[4] –[1] There are always ways we could serve more or better, but, for example, when the Gospel of Jesus is being proclaimed on Sunday morning, we have to chose the good portion, that for us who are in Jesus won’t be taken away from us and that is His Word, the good news of the Gospel of Jesus.

Now that we are in agreement as to what is the “good portion”, being the Gospel, the teachings of Jesus. I know that if Jesus showed up right here and now, I’d certainly come down from this pulpit, my work, and sit and wait on Jesus, to hear what He has to say. Likewise, I’d hope that we would all put aside the activities and stop and wait on Him, to serve Him and more importantly to listen to Him. I sure hope that if we knew Jesus was going to be here next Sunday, we’d set aside getting the Sunday barbeque ready or going to the Sunday soccer game instead of church and be here to eagerly listen to His words.

The title of my sermon is “Commissioned by God to do the work He has led you to do”. What I mean is that we have been put in our vocation to serve each other, God doesn’t need our service, but He has put us here to serve others. We certainly want that service to be honoring and glorifying to God and a positive witness to others how we serve the Lord. In our reading in Genesis we see Sarah and Abraham both serving three strangers. They turned out to be from God, but they didn’t know that, and in faithful service to them, they are glorifying God who has led them both so far and through so much. Through His angels, and yes they’re male angels, not female, God is telling Abraham, that after all the waiting, that he needs to wait one more year in faith and service to God and He will be given the son they have both been praying for, for decades. We can’t always expect that we will be given what we want because of our service, and even if those prayers are answered, it may take more years to see the answers, but it will be at the best time, God’s time.

We continue to serve in our vocation, God does bless the work we do. May not always be for big bucks or status, but what we do does matter very much to God no matter what our vocation, or service. Whether we are serving household guests like Martha did, or waiting in service on God like Abraham, Sarah and Mary.

One of the basic beefs Martin Luther had with the Roman Church was the idea that either vocation didn’t matter to God, that there were far more important things to worry about than how I earned my daily bread, or that there were different levels of vocation. There were those in Christian service vocation and this was designated to be much more worthy. Religious persons; priests, nuns, monks, others in the church, were seen to be far more worthy in their vocation, than those who worked in the secular world. That the religious person had a fast track to heaven and pretty much everyone else was slotted to take the longer track through purgatory.

Leif Grane in his commentary on the Augsburg Confession writes: “Luther speaks of being as a Christ to one’s neighbor; i.e., in serving one’s neighbor the Christian is not serving God, but, on the contrary, being united with God by faith is participating in the work of God himself. … the works of the Christian, therefore, are divine works, by virtue of faith, despite the sinfulness of the person. The works which are to be done are those works laid upon the person by his or her calling.”[2] Serving others to the best of our ability is working out our vocation, whether that is a lawyer, auto mechanic, dentist, restaurant operator, the person who does your taxes, you know what a blessing it is to find someone who will does this well, fairly and reasonably. No matter what our vocation, parent, housewife, business owner, pastor, accountant, athlete, teacher, when we perform these roles well, when we effectively serve our neighbor, and when we do these things in a way that the person we serve knows that we are serving them because we are working with God, then the particular vocation doesn’t matter. What matters is that God has worked through us to reach someone else through our daily efforts. Certainly you can see that if we do our vocation poorly or to enrich ourselves, others will think less of God and we have failed both our neighbor and God.

The vocation you have been placed in is what God works through on you and other people on a daily basis. If that is God’s will how can it be anything but holy? If it is holy, we want to serve in order to point others to Christ and to glorify God in what we do on a daily basis. Far too often we let God into our lives on Sunday, not even one day, by Sunday afternoon, for too many people, they are back in the world living according to the world’s agenda. Grane writes: “…the issue is not ‘special’ works, but in faith to know that God is present in all circumstances of daily life.”[3] When we remember that and seek to serve Him, not to somehow earn God’s favor, but to live our life in Him to His glory and even in thanksgiving and to also serve Him, by serving others. When our vocation is centered around serving others to glorify God, no matter what your work is it is holy, sacred and precious to God and just as important as any vocation.

Martha was genuinely serving Jesus and Jesus didn’t scold her for that. She was providing for her family and her guest, certainly commendable and something we should all do. Our serving is blessed by God and we serve well as a witness to His blessing and glory. But Mary was commended. Too often it seems that the person sitting around reading, listening, engaging is somehow goofing off, but they are certainly receiving a “good portion”. God has put us in our vocations and we serve in them accordingly. That doesn’t mean that the minister’s vocation, the preaching of His word and the administration of His sacrmanets isn’t important. Help the pastor serve to the best of his ability as a minister, help him to serve you in your vocation and we all serve each other to praise, lift up and glorify our Father in heaven who takes delight in our serving each other in His Name.

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

[1] See more at: http://lutheranreformation.org/theology/christ-office-holy-ministry/?utm_content=buffera69b7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.jH8hLWBj.dpufhttp://buff.ly/29rSUgv

[2] Leif Grane  “The Augsburg Confession, A commentary” pp 201-202

[3] Ibid

What’s the Point?

Leave a reply

This is really good

beautybeyondbones's avatarBeautyBeyondBones

Walking around New York, I often find myself just realizing that, if I didn’t believe, I wouldn’t be able to see God anywhere.

I mean, if I weren’t looking for Him, God seemsnowhere.

Sure, I’ll walk past the occasional church that isempty, minus a few fanny-pack-wearing tourists snapping pictures on their iPads.

200

But, real talk:there just isn’t a lot ofGod out there to be found in our culture.

There’s just a whole lot ofother stuff to occupy our time and our minds: the Olympics, summer blockbusters, the NFL, the latest Kimye/Taylor drama, back to school shopping, the presidential election,you name it – our culture exists in a spiritual wasteland, if I’m being really honest.

And for as incredible as NYC is, truthfully, it exemplifies this hyper godless environment.

But sometimes, when I’m walking along, dodging Pokemon Go players and briefcase-touting-powerwalkers on the sidewalks…

giphy-9

…I sometimes…

View original post 783 more words

Walking/Working Together

Leave a reply

I am a pastor in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. I say that first because it’s very cool, I am very proud to be a minister of the Gospel and in the LCMS. This name might appear to be provincial, “Missouri”. I’m not from Missouri, was only there for seminary, I’m from Massachusetts very different from Missouri. The name may sound provincial but there is a national baptized membership of 2.1 million, a substantial number and fellowship with Lutheran churches all around the world. Other than Lutheran, named after Martin Luther who by igniting the Reformation and establishing the Christian Church that separated from the Roman Catholic Church, profoundly changed western civilization and the church of Jesus Christ. The other word I wanted to key on was “Synod”.

I never really thought about the meaning, assuming it was an arcane, otherwise out of use word. In the early times of the church in the United States there were a number of “synods”, there still is one other, Wisconsin Synod, an indication of the geographic center of the particular church. Despite the provincial, and old fashion sounding of the name, LCMS is rather compelling. Missouri indicating where the church started and Synod which is an interesting and has a rather contemporary usage. Since you probably don’t get the “Concordia Plans Magazine”, I going to share the article from Rev David Muench writing in the Concordia Plans Magazine he writes: “…’synod’ is take from the Greek words ‘syn (‘with’ or ‘together with’) and ‘hodos’, ( a going’, ‘a journey’, or ‘travel’). We have understood it within our denomination to mean ‘walking together’.” There were many ‘synods’ in the Acts and ancient church, so it is a very old usage and frankly I have a lot more confidence in the old usage of words, then in the pathetic literacy of today. But interesting enough, and since we know, as Gus Portokalos tells us “Give me a word, any word, and I show you that the root of that word is Greek”.(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259446/quotes) Gus is actually kind of right. English has a lot of influences, but Greek is definitely the biggest one. As Rev Muench points out, there is a Greek word used in the New Testament 13 times. “that word is ‘synergy’.” It’s from from ‘syn’ and ‘ergon’, which means ‘to do work, action, behavior or deed.’ Thus, ‘synergy’ is to ‘work together’ or ‘fellow workers’.” (Concordia Plans Magazine Summer 2016 p 4).

So while the church name may seem rather arcane, it is the basis of a very profound concept that has a very contemporary importance. Having worked in the corporate world and other parts of society for the twenty years, the word ‘synergy’ is still a very important and rather compelling concept. While a lot of the world seems to be losing this concept, and I’m going to say it, for those who are serious, want to genuinely accomplish things and know they have to pull people together to do it, the word ‘synergy’ has as important a meaning as ever.

Of course in this day and age, something so old and arcane would just be pooh-poohed, because we’re oh so busy abusing the language (like, you know, calling a man or a woman a male or female. Really? Female what? A Female human is a woman!) Yes, I kind of vent when I hear insipid usage of language. But to be a part of a ‘synod’, a one that dates back to antiquity, that means “walking together”, in the sense that I’m walking together with Lutherans today, but also Christians all through the past 2,000 years of Christianity. But that’s not all, so closely associated to a word that is oh so chic today, synergy, working together, a concept that while chic the practice is disappearing in society. It’s very inspiring that our church name has so much to do with walking and working together. So thanks Pastor Muench for giving me the inspiration for writing this and being inspired by our church name. Now, if we can actually walk and work together, led by the Holy Spirit, God’s Word and being disciples of Jesus, let’s keep that in continuous prayer.

Whatsa mattah wid you Galatians?

Leave a reply

I guess I just didn’t get it. I just started reading the epistle to the Galatians again and just realized how much grief and aggravation Paul had to deal with. Paul gave both of these churches the straight scoop and both of them just kind of gratuitously blew him off. I guess I need to give both churches a little slack. There wasn’t a lot of history, writing/teaching, they were just getting Paul. Having said that Paul certainly was in a position to know what he was talking about. Sure both churches couldn’t readily know that, however. They chose to give a lot of others a platform and seemed to exercise little if any discernment as to whether the others were for real or pretty much making it up. Seems that they should have known they were not getting the correct story.

Having said that, I can readily identify with Paul. Here Paul is giving them the straight story and, as we see with many “churches” today, seemed to think that this was more in terms with what they liked/didn’t like, versus who here is really giving us the consistent narrative of God’s word. They all seemed to agree that it was about Jesus, but…. the others seemed to ignore the Christ’s full atonement of all sin and, like most other Christian churches today, seemed to tie it to the things that were still necessary. Jesus’ sacrifice was good and got you up to the finish line, but then, well you just had to add a little to it to push you over the line of salvation.

Yes, we have the consumer mentality, not so much what is right, what I need, but what I like, make me happy. Either that or follow the crowd, as if God saves you in Jesus according to the polls.

And for those who like to make the New Testament all goody, sweet and sparkly, we see Paul lighting up the Galatians, as he did the Corinthians. Here are some of Paul’s comments to these shallow end of the pool, listeners:

ESV Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-ESV Galatians 1:7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ESV Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. ESV Galatians 1:12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

ESV Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. [Put another way, “what’sa mattah wid you, you stupid or something?”]
Are you really going to believe these snake oil salesmen, risk your salvation just because they’re telling you a more appealing story? I’m not interested in what you like, I’m telling you what you need to hear in Jesus.

Paul’s not exactly using gentle words, wasn’t being our smiley, good-time Charlie, pretty please pastor of today. Now,  now, you shouldn’t do that, but Jesus still loves you. Ya Paul is the direct approach, “cut the nonsense and you need to cut it out now, we’re not playing, this is for real and you better get yourselves together and get with the true ministry of Jesus and not what these other guys are trying to dissemble and embellish. I’m telling you the way it is, I got it straight from the source, this is what Jesus wants you to know!

Paul was angry, frustrated, and I believe genuinely fearful of the lack of discernment on the part of these people and frightened for their eventual fate. Paul cared what happened to these people, to the Corinthians to all the many people he ministered to, helped build churches with. Not telling them what they wanted to hear, but telling them what they needed to hear and having no compunction to push them if they were choosing not to get it.

That is a real pastor, not the sickly sweet posing we get today. I can hear Paul saying, I am desperately in fear for you, that you drift so far away from Jesus that you end up on the nice smooth, wide road and gently drift into hell, to death, eternal separation from Jesus. I’m going to do everything I can think  of to prevent that and if it requires yelling or whatever, I can’t let you keep drifting down. That is a pastoral heart, not worried about whether he’s liked, popular the true pastor is scared to death that one member of his flock ends up lost to eternity. The pastors of today should take note, they will have to answer and I do not want to explain why I just waved goodbye with a smile to someone who was condemning themselves. Take the pastey smiles off, the nice guy “I want everyone to love me” attitude and note what Paul had to do with the Galatians and Corinthians and no doubt a lot of others. Focus on what you’re doing and get over your desperate need to be loved. There will be plenty of that in the resurrection from people who wouldn’t be there if you hadn’t been so determined to be used by the Holy Spirit to effect their salvation.

Ame a su vecino en la autopista al infierno Lucas 10: 25-37 10 de julio de, el año 2016 Primera Saint Johns

Leave a reply

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 todos aquellos que sirven a su vecino en la carretera dijimos … AMEN

Estoy seguro de que, al menos para aquellos de nosotros que somos de la misma edad, que recuerdo la canción “Highway to Hell”, ya que estamos hablando del buen samaritano estar en lo que probablemente fue un principal, por así decirlo, “autopista” , durante ese período, no es difícil que preguntarse si los hombres que dejaron el hombre que mueren en el camino, nosotros le llamamos “vecino”, si aquellos hombres eran en realidad en una autopista al infierno. Hoy en día, alguien, un oficial de policía, ambulancia, va a llegar y hacer lo necesario para obtener ayuda “vecino”. No es el caso en Israel del primer siglo, no había ninguna patrulla de la carretera, nadie encargado de patrullar las carreteras para tal situación. Al pasar por ese hombre impotente, sin detenerse para ayudar a él bien podría ser una sentencia de muerte. Luteranos, saben que pecamos por lo que hacemos y lo que no hacemos. Caminar por este hombre en tal condición lo iba a dejar morir, y es nuestro pecado de omisión.

Highway to Hell de AC / DC es bastante perspicaz para lo que estaba destinado a ser la parodia. Hago lo que quiero, cuando quiero, no ayudo a nadie, que no necesito la ayuda de nadie, no es necesario razón, no es necesario rima, una y otra vez, sí, la receta exacta para el infierno, la condenación eterna . elección por completo de esa persona. Eso no es amor, sin embargo, tiene muchos hoy en día que dicen exactamente lo contrario, que es totalmente amoroso para que una persona haga lo que ellos quieren y donde quieren ir en su propio tiempo. Eso no es Dios, eso no es amor, eso es caminar por esa persona en la carretera, cruzando de modo que usted no tiene que interactuar con esa persona y seguir adelante en su vida, su orden del día.

Jesús le pregunta al abogado: “¿Quién crees que resultó ser un vecino del hombre que cayó en manos de los ladrones?”, Respondió el abogado, “El que tuvo compasión de él”. Samaritanos eran tan odiados por Judios en ese momento, el hombre ni siquiera podía obligarse a reconocer que un samaritano se extendería como la bondad, pero admitió que sí mostró misericordia en el cumplimiento de la orden levítico: “… sino que amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo: yo soy el Señor “Dios se aseguró Moisés sabía hacer hincapié,” yo soy el Señor “Gran yO sOY, el que le está diciendo a mostrar esta bondad a” vecino “.. Algo que el abogado, el sacerdote o el levita simplemente no / no lo haría. Ellos esperan que la persona que deje de ellos, pero la verdad es que en el “Highway to Hell”, “nadie me va a frenar”. No en términos de ellos de pasar a proveer a sus propias pasiones y deseos, y ciertamente no en términos de ayudar a otra persona. Eso es lo que siempre va a diferenciar los cristianos y todos los demás. Estamos bajo el mando de “amar al prójimo”, no siempre podemos hacerlo, no siempre podemos hacerlo bien, pero nos recuerda a medida que avanzamos a lo largo de la carretera, que el resto del mundo no es en virtud de un mandato de este tipo. Claro que puede dejar de vez en cuando para ayudar, pero a menudo esperar algo a cambio, o cualquier número de motivaciones, pero no por amor, y el amor es siempre ser la motivación de los cristianos.

Tenemos un montón de gente hoy en día cree que el amor es acerca de lo que reciben. Ponen a otras personas en una cinta de correr, esperando que seguiremos proporcionando para ellos, en realidad nunca dar nada, pero esperando que alguien más se supone que es mostrarles “amor cristiano” sobre una base continua. Eso no es “amor”, no se trata de mí pensando en nuevas formas en que se supone que deben hacer las cosas por mí, se trata de mí haciendo mi mejor esfuerzo para ofrecer, fortalecer, orar, estimular, proporcionar ayuda material en la necesidad física. Eso es amor, no es lo que muchos hoy en día quieren convencernos de que el amor es, nuestro hacer continuamente para aquellos que sólo quieren seguir tomando y nunca hace nada por sí mismos, o cualquier otra persona que les ayude a crecer y madurar. Los que menea el dedo a nosotros acerca de “amor”, son generalmente los que no hacen nada más que acusan a los demás y luego esperan ser previsto. Sin embargo, habrá otros como “vecino” que se encontrarán en tiempos de problemas, vamos a estar ahí para aquellos que, por causas ajenas a su propia, necesitan nuestra ayuda. Debemos intensificar para ayudar “vecino”. Los ladrones no van a ir a la dificultad para asaltar a alguien a menos que piensen que hay una recompensa. Está claro que “vecino” tenía medios e iba a lo suyo a la medida de sus posibilidades. Está claro que merecía ser ayudado por el sacerdote y / o el levita. Estos hombres eran probablemente miedo de que “vecino” estaba muerto y que podría hacerse impuro. Eso es legalismo, el legalismo no es una excusa para no ayudar a alguien. Hay quienes se han visto atrapados en los estilos de vida que son claramente pecaminoso. Como cristianos andamos continuamente esa línea fina entre la “habilitación” alguien en su pecado y ayudar a alguien que está en necesidad y está buscando ayuda para superar. Me encuentro aquí, en una iglesia del centro, teniendo continuamente para hacer esa llamada, con recursos limitados de tiempo, dinero, energía y la necesidad de contar a nadie entro en contacto con la buena noticia del Evangelio. Hacemos ejercer una gran cantidad de amor y compasión aquí, en primer lugar St Johns. Nosotros extendemos la mano en el amor para ayudar a los que podemos ayudar. Sin embargo, nuestra máxima expresión del amor es siempre decir a nadie que nos encontramos del amor de Jesús. Que Él murió en la cruz como pago por nuestros pecados y por medio de su justicia que nos pusieron en relación con Dios, nuestro todo santo, justo, Dios justo.

La canción de AC / DC, es una clara expresión de aquellos que simplemente no están interesados en el mensaje del Evangelio. Ellos están en esa carretera, y recordar las palabras de Jesús; hay un camino estrecho que conduce a la salvación, una carretera es amplia y rápida. Hay un montón de carreteras que he estado en que tienen un límite de velocidad de 55 millas por hora, pero a mi alrededor, los vehículos están zumbando en torno a los 65, 75 mucho más rápido que yo, que estoy tratando de mantenerse a salvo, pero conseguir puesto al día con lo que está pasando a mi alrededor me está poniendo en peligro a las personas y el zoom son completamente insensibles por el hecho de que me están poniendo, nadie más conmigo y ellos mismos en peligro. Podemos tratar de mantenerse al día con los que están en esa carretera al infierno, o podemos seguir haciendo lo correcto. Jesús dijo: “Si me amáis, guardaréis mis mandamientos” (Juan 14:15). Podemos enfocar por el vecino en la carretera, literal o metafóricamente, o podemos hacer todo lo posible para proporcionar un lugar seguro para decirle, y otros, la verdad y la gracia de Jesús. Gerhard Grabenhofer en su libro Dios lo quiera, un devocional basado en los escritos de CFW Walther cita Walther: “La tarea de cada iglesia cristiana que produce justamente este nombre es el de proporcionar consuelo eterno … Y aún para [nuestra conciencia acusadora] Dios ha establecido la santa iglesia cristiana. Debe ser un jardín de cielo en la tierra llena de resortes que viven en el cual el peregrino cansado terrenal puede descansar y de los cuales se puede extraer la comodidad que cura su conciencia herido y lo llena de la esperanza de vida eterna. Una iglesia que no ofrece esta comodidad, uno que actúa en su lugar como una escuela de la moral, la predicación sólo los derechos de uno, despertando el temor servil de Dios y dejando de Dios y dejar lugar a dudas la salvación sobre eterno, es una iglesia en único nombre “Esto. es lo que vemos hoy en día, muchas iglesias que toman una posición “moral”, políticamente correcto, que es verdaderamente legalista, que está a punto conforme a las posiciones del mundo, como el sacerdote y el levita. Más preocupado por ir a través de los movimientos de aparecer “derecho” en lugar de ser ese lugar del verdadero amor, que el amor ágape, que nos pone en contacto verdaderamente con un Dios que nos ama desesperadamente. El Padre quiere tanto para nosotros conocer su Hijo Jesús ya sabemos que somos salvos sólo a través de él, no a través de nuestras actividades políticas / sociales, sino al que murió para salvarnos. Que nuestra fuerza es siempre a través del amor, la gracia, la fe que tenemos en Cristo y no la nuestra. Sí, nos hemos encontrado con muchos aquí en nuestro centro de la ciudad, que tratan de decirnos lo que debemos estar preocupados con, cada uno tiene su orden del día. En Levítico, Dios está diciendo a Moisés: “… no hagas como lo hacen en la tierra de Egipto, donde vivió y no haréis como hacen en la tierra de Canaán, a la cual los llevo … En pos mis normas y mis estatutos y andando en ellos. Yo soy el Señor tu Dios “(Lev 18: 3-4). Tenemos un montón de gente que nos dice que es una noticia vieja, tenemos que conseguir con el nuevo mundo. Las cosas que estaban sucediendo en Egipto y Canaán, eran muy parecidas a las cosas que nos rodean hoy en día. La gente que era ajeno a lo que Dios ha querido y que hacían lo que querían. Dios les dice a Moisés: “. … Seréis razonar francamente con su vecino, para que no se incurre en el pecado a causa de él” (Lv 19, 17) No podemos perder en el que necesitamos para ser y de pensar de alguna manera es amante de permitir personas en su pecado. No es, somos conscientes de lo que es amar; “Dios, que es el amor eterno, no quiere ni una sola persona que se pierde, sin embargo”, citando Walther. El embargo es si esa persona ignora a Dios y choses la carretera al infierno. Se presenta a Cristo en el amor, vemos herido “vecino” que pone al borde del camino y tratar de prestar ayuda, pero si nos despide, lo dejamos, pero él, o ella mantenemos, en la oración constante.

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

Loving Your Neighbor on the Highway to Hell Luke 10: 25-37 First Saint Johns July 10, 2016

Leave a reply

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 serve their neighbor on the highway said … AMEN

I’m sure, at least for those of us who are of an age, you remember the song “Highway to Hell”, since we are talking about the Good Samaritan being on what was probably a main, as it were, “highway”, during that period it is not hard to wonder if the men who left the man to die on the road, we will call him “neighbor”, if those men really were on a highway to hell. Today, someone, a police officer, ambulance, will come along and do what’s necessary to get “neighbor” help. Not the case in first century Israel, there was no highway patrol, no one charged with patrolling the highways for such a situation. Walking past that helpless man, not stopping to help him could well be a death sentence. We Lutherans know that we sin by what we do and what we don’t do. Walking by this man in such a condition was leaving him to die, and is our sin of omission.

Highway to Hell by AC/DC is rather insightful for what was intended to be parody. Do what I want, when I want, I don’t help anyone, I don’t need anyone’s help, don’t need reason, don’t need rhyme, on and on, yea, the exact recipe for Hell, eternal condemnation. Entirely that person’s choice. That’s not love, yet you have many today who say the exact opposite, that it’s entirely loving to let a person do what they want and go where they want in their own time. That’s not God, that’s not love, that’s walking by that person on the highway, crossing over so that you don’t have to interact with that person and moving on in your life, your agenda.

Jesus asks the lawyer, “who do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” The lawyer answered, “The one who showed him mercy”. Samaritans were so hated by Jews in that time, the man couldn’t even bring himself to acknowledge that a Samaritan would extend such kindness, but conceded that he did show mercy in compliance with the Levitical command: “…but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” God made sure Moses knew to emphasize, “I am the Lord” the Great I AM, the One who is telling you to show this kindness to “neighbor”. Something the lawyer, the priest or the Levite just didn’t/wouldn’t do. They would expect someone to stop for them, but the truth is, on the “Highway to Hell”, “nobody’s gonna slow me down”. Not in terms of them moving on to provide for their own lusts and desires, and certainly not in terms of helping someone else. That is what will always differentiate Christians and everyone else. We are under command to “love our neighbor”, we may not always do it, we may not always do it right, but we are reminded as we move along the highway, that the rest of the world is not under such an injunction. Sure they may stop once in awhile to help, but they often expect something in return, or any number of motivations, but not out of love, and love is always to be the Christian’s motivation.

We have a lot of people today who think that love is about what they receive. They put other people on a treadmill, expecting them to keep providing for them, never really giving anything, but expecting that someone else is supposed to show them “Christian love” on a continuous basis. That’s not “love”, it’s not about me thinking of new ways people are supposed to do things for me, it’s about me doing my best to provide, strengthen, pray for, encourage, provide material help in physical need. That’s love, not what many today want to convince us that love is, our continually doing for those who just want to continue to take and never do anything for themselves, or anyone else that will help them to grow and mature. Those who wag their finger at us about “love”, are usually the ones who do nothing else but accuse others and then expect to be provided for. But there will be those like “neighbor” who will find themselves in times of trouble, we are to be there for those who, through no fault of their own, need our help. We should step up to help “neighbor”. Thieves aren’t going to go to the trouble to mug someone unless they think that there is a payoff. Clearly “neighbor” had means and he was going about his business to the best of his ability. Clearly he deserved to be helped by the priest and/or the Levite. These men were probably afraid that “neighbor” was dead and they might make themselves ceremonially unclean. That is legalism, legalism is never an excuse to not help someone. There are those who have found themselves caught up in lifestyles that are clearly sinful. As Christians we continually walk that fine line between “enabling” someone in their sin and helping someone who is in need and is looking for help to overcome. I find myself here, in a downtown church, continually having to make that call, with limited resources of time, money, energy and the need to tell anyone I come into contact with the good news of the Gospel. We do exercise a great deal of love and compassion here at First St Johns. We do reach out in love to help those who we can help. But our ultimate expression of love is always to tell anyone we encounter of the love of Jesus. That He died on that cross as a payment for our sin and through His righteousness to put us in relationship with God, our all holy, righteous, just God.

The AC/DC song, is a clear expression of those who just aren’t interested in the Gospel message. They are on that highway, and remember Jesus’ words; there is a narrow road that leads to salvation, a highway is wide and fast. There are plenty of highways that I’ve been on that have a speed limit of 55 miles per hour, but all around me, vehicles are buzzing around at 65, 75 much faster than me, I’m trying to stay safe, but getting caught up with what’s going on around me is putting me in jeopardy and those zooming by are completely callous to the fact that they’re putting me, anyone else with me and themselves in jeopardy. We can try to keep up with those who are on that highway to hell, or we can continue to do the right thing. Jesus said “if you love Me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). We can zoom by neighbor on the highway, literally or metaphorically, or we can do whatever we can to provide a safe place to tell him, and others, the truth and grace of Jesus. Gerhard Grabenhofer in his book God Grant It, a devotional based on the writings of CFW Walther quotes Walther: “The task of every Christian church that rightly bears this name is to provide eternal comfort… To still [our accusing conscience] God has established the holy Christian Church. It should be a garden of heaven on earth full of living springs at which the tired earthly pilgrim can rest and out of which he can draw the comfort that heals his wounded conscience and fills him with the hope of eternal life. A church that does not provide this comfort, one that acts instead like a school of morals, preaching only one’s duties, awakening a servile fear of God and leaving of God and leaving doubt about eternal salvation, is a church in name only.”[1] This is what we see today, too many churches who take a “moral”, politically correct position, that is truly legalistic, that is about conforming to the world’s positions, like the priest and the Levite. More concerned about going through the motions of appearing “right” instead of being that place of true love, that agape love, that puts us in genuine relationship with a God who does desperately love us. The Father wants so much for us to know His Son Jesus and to know that we are saved only through Him, not through our political/social activities, but Him who died to save us. That our strength is always through the love, grace, faith that we have in Christ and not our own. Yes, we have encountered many right here in our downtown area, who try to tell us what we should be concerned with, everyone has their agenda. In Leviticus, God is telling Moses, “…you shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you…You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God.” (Lev 18: 3-4) We have a lot of people telling us that’s old news, we need to get with the new world. The things that were happening in Egypt and Canaan, were much like things around us today. People who were oblivious to what God wanted and who did what they wanted. God goes on to tell Moses: “…you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.” (Lev 19: 17) We can’t lose where we need to be and to somehow think it’s loving to enable people in their sin. It’s not, we are well aware of what is loving; “God, who is the eternal love, does not want even one person to be lost, however” quoting Walther. The however being if that person ignores God and choses the highway to hell. We present Christ in love, we see wounded “neighbor” laying by the roadside and try to render assistance, but if he dismisses us, we leave him alone, but keep him, or her, in constant prayer.

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

[1] Gerhard Grabenhofer quoting CFW Walther “God Grant It” p 582

Los cielos cuentan la gloria de Dios Salmo 19 First St Johns 3 de julio de, el año 2016

Leave a reply

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 todos aquellos que saben que toda la creación glorifica a Dios, dijo … AMEN!

Tuvimos que permanecer constantemente calificada en el guardacostas, aun siendo a tiempo parcial. Uno de los títulos a que se estaba llevando a cabo en diferentes áreas, nocturnas, diurnas, durante todo el año. Muchas veces nos estarían saliendo a las 8 pm en enero debido a que tuvimos que coger las horas de marcha. No, no me gusta ser frío, pero hay que hacerlo. Allí están, muy lejos de la costa, sin otra luz que te rodea, sobre todo cuando no hay luna. Incluso en el cielo sobre el océano a 18 grados, hay muy poca humedad en la atmósfera, el cielo está despejado y oscuro, y mirando hacia el cielo, las estrellas son brillantes y nítidas, la Vía Láctea es tan prominente, se sentía como si podría alcanzar y cepillar mi mano a través de la Vía Láctea. El número de puntos de luz en el cielo es asombrosa, nosotros que estamos tan acostumbrados a ver el cielo de la noche en medio de la iluminación artificial, el material que entra en la atmósfera, que tiene muy poco de la visión total, incluso en las mejores circunstancias, hay muy poco que vemos a simple vista. La mayor parte de lo que vemos es la galaxia que nos encontramos, lo que conocemos como la Vía Láctea. Cuando proclamamos que Dios creó el universo, que nuestro todo creativa, de gran alcance, todo lo que Dios sabiendo que nos hizo a su imagen y nos fijamos en este universo, nos dio toda su creación, muchos se nos acuse de presunción: “¿Cómo se puede pensar que en este inmenso universo que somos las únicas personas en esta masiva, universo? Tiene que haber otras personas. “Hay complicados cálculos de estimación de cuántos otros planetas están poblados por seres como nosotros. Considero que si confía en las matemáticas complicadas y haces los cálculos de todos los factores que intervienen para explicar el hecho de que estamos aquí, se vería que nuestra presencia aquí está más allá de cualquier estimación de la posibilidad científica. Si usted realmente desea para justificar nuestra existencia a través de la ciencia hay que reconocer que hay un Creador todopoderoso y trascendente del universo. Para nosotros estar aquí es, en virtud de las leyes de la probabilidad, más allá de cualquier posibilidad estadística. Si somos estadísticamente imposible, incluso en este universo masivo, la “probabilidad”, la palabra científica, por otras formas de vida está más allá imposible. Además, si Dios nos crea a su imagen, crea un ambiente que no sólo es “compatible” nuestra existencia, nos mantiene con vida, pero sobre todo nos permite florecer y crecer a pesar de nuestra constitución más bien frágil, sobre todo en un universo que consiste en tales extremos en términos de temperatura, radiación, el agua, la atmósfera, y muchos otros factores, que Dios nos proporcionan un entorno muy singular para nosotros vivir. La perspectiva cristiana es que Dios es todo amor, todo el suministro y todo poderoso en todos los aspectos de la creación, para su pueblo. ¿Por qué no nos, su pueblo, su creación, y para los de Jesús, sus hijos dar. ¿Por qué no nos dan una enorme, magnífico, inmenso universo?

Dios sí creó el universo, la opinión científica predominante es que el universo fue creado como resultado de la gran explosión. Curiosamente, la teoría del Big Bang fue formulado por un cura católico. “Esta idea sorprendente apareció por primera vez en forma científica en 1931, en un artículo de Georges Lemaître, un cosmólogo belga y sacerdote católico. La teoría, aceptada por casi todos los astrónomos hoy en día, fue un cambio radical de la ortodoxia científica en la década de 1930. Muchos astrónomos de la época eran todavía incómodos con la idea de que el universo se está expandiendo. Que todo el universo observable de las galaxias comenzó con una explosión parecía absurda. “Es interesante que la ciencia convencional en ese momento era que el universo había sido siempre, esto se llama la” teoría del estado estacionario “que todo lo que siempre fue, y siempre lo sería. Tomó un clérigo cristiano para señalar al resto de la ciencia convencional de que “estado estacionario” no era sólo la realidad. Ningún científico en este día y edad creen en el “estado estacionario”, debido a una serie de factores, uno de ellos que el universo no es sólo un poco de allí sentado, que el universo es en realidad tirando de diferenciarse. En algún momento, millones de años a partir de ahora, el universo se han retirado tan lejos que la gravedad ya no será capaz de controlar, que todo en la creación será un trozo de materia sólida congelada. Ya no va a haber ningún calor, ya que el calor es un factor de gravedad.

Padre Lemaitre, el formulador de la gran explosión es citado en el sentido de decir que si Dios el Padre escogió para crear el universo en una enorme explosión rayo rápido, un destello brillante que así sea. Los cristianos han sido efectivamente a la cabeza de los descubrimientos científicos desde el comienzo, la gente como Louis Pasteur, sin duda el más brillante matemático Blaise Pascal para nombrar unos pocos que eran devotos cristianos. Muchos creen que Galileo demostró que el sol era el centro del sistema solar. En realidad, un clérigo católico llamado Nicolás Copérnico demostró que el sol, la tierra no estaba en el centro. Una teoría siempre completada por otra devota cristiana Johannes Kepler. El argumento se ha hecho que los cristianos son mucho mejor equipado para los científicos desde el paradigma para el universo es lo que Dios ha establecido, que el Dios de la Escritura es muy racional. Pablo escribe en 1 Corintios 14: 33: “Porque Dios no es Dios de confusión, sino de paz. El universo es una prueba para la orden. Hay momentos en los que sentimos que el mundo está fuera de control. Pero entonces nos damos cuenta de que el trastorno es lo que creamos, lo que hacemos como una cuestión de nuestro pecado. El orden que mantiene el universo, lo que Dios ha establecido, para que no se puede debilitar, que el sol brilla, el ciclo del agua continúa, de que estamos protegidos de las duras condiciones que nos rodea; frío extremo y el calor, la radiación, la falta de agua, los extremos de la gravedad. Nuestro medio ambiente, lo que está alrededor está, es tan equilibrado, tan controlado, tan adaptados a nuestras necesidades muy específicas, lo que quiere decir que todo esto es un accidente se acaba viviendo en la negación a un extremo.

La afirmación es que es la ciencia contra la fe, pero la fe se ha demostrado una y otra vez desde el principio, en contraste con la ciencia que ha sido refutado una y otra vez. Mientras que la iglesia fue la creación de las universidades, la formación de personas para enseñar y hacer investigación en la Edad Media, la ciencia secular era todavía mucho más preocupados con la alquimia y la astrología, las áreas condenado la iglesia. Si al estar justo es arrogante que así sea, considero que ser arrogante es mucho menos de un pecado que estar equivocado, o tomar una posición debido a lo que los demás quieren que usted crea, porque es popular, porque es el mundo alrededor de nosotros que viven en negación, que sí, supongo que voy a ser arrogante. Es más importante tener la razón que sea popular.

Como cristianos sabemos que se debe a la voluntad de Dios que no sólo son los seres humanos conscientes en el medio de la creación de Dios, reconociendo que la complicada e intrincada universo que nos rodea no podría haber sido un accidente, pero en este Día de la Independencia, los cristianos reconocido la mano de Dios en lo que tenemos en nuestras libertades hoy en día, en los Estados Unidos. En la forma final de Thomas Jefferson, escribe: “… a los que las leyes de la naturaleza y del Dios de la naturaleza les da derecho …” reconociendo que no sólo que las complejidades complicadas de nuestro mundo, en la naturaleza, ha sido creada y controlada por Dios, sino que también se trasladó a los hombres y mujeres de hace 240 años para crear una nación que sigue siendo el más fiel de Cristo en el mundo, sino también fiel a las directrices verdaderos y la inspiración de la Biblia. Negar que es estar en la negación de la historia tanto como muchos están en la negación de la ciencia y la probabilidad.

Y, por supuesto, la parte más citado de la Declaración: “Que todos los hombres son creados iguales”, es decir hay un Creador, que no conseguimos aquí por accidente, nos pusieron aquí intencionalmente, como el escritor de Ester afirma: ” para un momento como este “.

Que Dios no sólo nos ha creado, sino que dotó a su pueblo en su creación, con ciertos derechos inalienables: “… que éstos están la vida, la libertad y la búsqueda de la felicidad”, sí que hemos tendidos esos “derechos” Salir al impío , pero sabemos que no sólo crea, sino que también nos dio la dignidad y responsabilidades de su creación en Él como testigo de Dios. Jefferson terminó declarando que los miembros del Congreso Continental que representan a todos los que están en los Estados Unidos; “… Apelando al Juez Supremo del mundo, por la rectitud de nuestras intenciones”, es decir, hacemos un llamamiento a Dios para que confirme nuestro curso de acción, que sentimos que se nos confirma en ese curso, o que Él debe intervenir con el fin para nosotros para ser llevado de vuelta a su voluntad. Para los estadounidenses el poder creador de Dios no es sólo en términos de todo el universo, sino también en nuestra muy pequeña parte de ese universo, guiados por su Suprema, incluso en estos días en los que parece no seguimos su voluntad.

Craig Blaising y Carmen Hardin escribir: “El salmo XIX presentes tres leyes en armonía unos con otros”, citando a Teodoreto. Y “También presenta un reproche de ateísmo.” Citando a Diodoro. Ellos van a decir, citando a varios autores: “El pslam comienza proclamando que Dios, como diseñador de los cielos, es conocido por su diseño. La creación no es por casualidad. Más bien, las cosas creadas son criados para nuestra instrucción. Es el espectáculo de creación que habla, dibujo una respuesta de nosotros que glorifica al Creador. Eso … “Dios se revela especialmente en el orden de las cosas. Porque está claro que las reglas de la razón a través del orden natural … Esta orden se forma la música original del cosmos. Esta revelación natural constituye un mensaje de la grandeza del Señor … su providencia es un mensaje de su amor … en un libro abierto para todo … declarado en un lenguaje universal “.

En verdad Dios es grande, Él revela todo lo que necesitamos saber que Él está en control. Que Él nos ha dado la vida y vida más abundante a través de Su Hijo. Que incluso en este universo que está tan hundido en el pecado, que Él nos da la promesa de salvación y resurrección por medio de su Hijo Jesucristo. Todo para nosotros que si tenemos en cuenta la inmensidad de la creación y el aún más masividad de Dios, que Él ha provisto para nosotros en muchos sentidos, sigue ofreciendo para nosotros y nos da la promesa de la vida eterna en la nueva creación en Jesucristo . Sólo alguien que está verdaderamente en Cristo o la predicación de Cristo puede saber que este mensaje es verdaderamente en su corazón.

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

The heavens declare the glory of God Psalm 19 First Saint Johns July 3, 2016

Leave a reply

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 know that all creation glorifies God, said … AMEN!

We had to stay constantly qualified in the Coast Guard, even being part-time. One of those qualifications was being underway in different areas, night-time, day-time, all year round. Many times we’d be going out at 8pm in January because we had to get the underway hours. No I don’t like being cold, but you have to do it. There you are, far away from shore, no other light around you, especially when there’s no moon. Even in the sky over the ocean at 18 degrees, there is very little humidity in the atmosphere, the sky is clear and dark, and looking into the sky, stars are bright and sharp, the Milky Way is so prominent, it felt as if I could reach up and brush my hand through the Milky Way. The number of points of light in the sky is staggering, we who are so used to seeing the night-time sky in the middle of man-made lighting, the stuff that gets into the atmosphere, we have very little of the total view, even in the best circumstances there is very little that we see with the naked eye. Most of what we see is the galaxy that we are in, what we know as the Milky Way. When we proclaim that God created the universe, that our all creative, powerful, all knowing God made us in His image and set us in this universe, gave us all His creation, many will accuse us of presumption: “How can you think that in this immense universe that we are the only people in this massive, universe? There has to be other people.” There are complicated calculations estimating how many other planets are populated by sentient beings like us. I submit that if you do rely on complicated mathematics and you do the calculations of all the factors involved to account for the fact that we are here, you would see that our presence here is beyond any estimate of scientific possibility. If you really want to justify our existence through science you have to concede that there is an all-powerful, transcendent Creator of the universe. For us to be here is, under the laws of probability, beyond any statistical possibility. If we are statistically impossible, then even in this massive universe, the “probability”, the scientific word, for other life is beyond impossible. Further if God creates us in His image, creates an environment that not only “supports” our existence, keeps us alive, but more so allows us to flourish and grow despite our rather fragile constitution, especially in a universe that consists of such extremes in terms of temperature, radiation, water, atmosphere, and many other factors, that God did provide us an extremely unique environment for us to live. The Christian perspective is that God is all loving, all providing and all powerful in all respects of creation, for His people. Why wouldn’t He give us, His people, His creation, and for those in Jesus, His children. Why wouldn’t He give us an enormous, magnificent, immense universe?

God did create the universe, the prevailing scientific opinion is that the universe was created as a result of the Big Bang. Interestingly, the Big Bang Theory was formulated by a Roman Catholic priest. “This startling idea first appeared in scientific form in 1931, in a paper by Georges Lemaître, a Belgian cosmologist and Catholic priest. The theory, accepted by nearly all astronomers today, was a radical departure from scientific orthodoxy in the 1930s. Many astronomers at the time were still uncomfortable with the idea that the universe is expanding. That the entire observable universe of galaxies began with a bang seemed preposterous.”[1] It’s interesting that conventional science at the time was that the universe had always been, this is called the “steady state” theory that everything always was, and always would be. It took a Christian clergyman to point out to the rest of conventional science that “steady state” was just not reality. No scientist in this day and age believe in the “steady state” because of a number of factors, one being that the universe isn’t just kind of sitting there, that the universe is actually pulling itself apart. At some point, millions of years from now, the universe will have pulled so far apart that gravity will no longer be able to control, that everything in creation will be a lump of frozen solid matter. There will no longer be any heat, because heat is a factor of gravity.

Father Lemaitre, the formulator of the Big Bang is quoted to the effect of saying that if God the Father chose to create the universe in one huge, lightning fast bang, one brilliant flash then so be it. Christians have actually been in the lead of scientific discovery since the beginning, people like Louis Pasteur, arguably the most brilliant mathematician Blaise Pascal to name a few who were devout Christians. Many believe that Galileo proved that the sun was at the center of the solar system. Actually a Catholic cleric named Nicholas Copernicus showed the sun, not the earth was at the center.  A theory expanded upon by another devout Christian Johannes Kepler. The argument has been made that Christians are far better equipped to be scientists since the paradigm for the universe is what God has established, that the God of Scripture is very rational. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14: 33: “For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace.    The universe is a testament for order. There are times when we feel that the world is out of control. But then we realize the disorder is what we create, what we do as a matter of our sin. The order that maintains the universe, what God has established, order that we can’t undermine, that the sun shines, the water cycle continues, that we are protected from the harsh environment that surrounds us; extreme cold and heat, radiation, lack of water, extremes of gravity. Our environment, what is around is, is so balanced, so controlled, so tailored to our very specific needs, that to say that this is all an accident is just living in denial to an extreme.

The claim is that it’s science versus faith, but faith has been proved over and over since the beginning, in contrast to science which has been disproved over and over. While the church was setting up universities, training people to teach and to do research in the Middle Ages, secular science was still far more concerned with alchemy and astrology, areas the church condemned. If being right is arrogant then so be it, I submit that being arrogant is far less of a sin than being wrong, or taking a position because of what others want you to believe, because it’s popular, because it’s the world around us living in denial, than yes, I guess I’m going to be arrogant. It is more important to be right than to be popular.

As Christians we know that it is because of God’s will that not only are we aware human beings in the middle of God’s creation, recognizing that the complicated, intricate universe around us could not have been an accident, but on this Independence Day, Christians recognized God’s hand in what we have in our freedoms today, in the United States. In Thomas Jefferson’s final form, he writes: “…to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them…” recognizing that not only that the complicated intricacies of our world, in nature, has been created and controlled by God, but that He also moved the men and women of 240 years ago to create a nation that is still the most faithful in Christ in the world, but also faithful to the true guidelines and inspiration of the Bible. To deny that is to be in denial of history as much as so many are in denial of science and probability.

And of course the most quoted part of the Declaration: “That all men are created equal”, that is there is a Creator, we didn’t get here by accident, we were put here intentionally, as the writer of Esther states: “For such a time as this.”

That God not only created us, but that He endowed His people in His creation, with certain inalienable rights: “…that these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, yes we’ve stretched those “rights” out into the ungodly, but we know who not only created, but also gave us the dignity and responsibilities of His creation in Him as a witness to God. Jefferson ended by stating that the members of the Continental Congress representing all those in the United States; “…appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, for the rectitude of our intentions”, that is we appeal to God to either confirm our course of action, that we feel we are confirmed in that course, or that He should intervene in order for us to be brought back into His will. For Americans God’s creative power is not just in terms of the entire universe, but also in our very tiny part of that universe, guided by His Supreme will, even in these days when it seems we don’t follow His will.

Craig Blaising and Carmen Hardin write: “The nineteenth psalm present three laws in harmony with one another”, quoting Theodoret. And “It also presents a rebuke of atheism.” Quoting Diodore. They go on to say, quoting various writers: “The pslam begins proclaiming that God, as designer of the heavens, is known by His design. The creation is not by chance. Rather, created things are servants for our instruction. It is the spectacle of creating that speaks, drawing a response from us that glorifies the Creator. … That “God is revealed especially in the order of things. For it is clear that Reason rules through the natural order… This order forms the primal music of the cosmos. This natural revelation constitutes a message of the Lord’s greatness … His providence is a message of his love … in a book open to all … declared in a universal language.”[2]

Truly God is great, He reveals all that we need to know that He is in control. That He has given us life and life more abundant through His Son. That even in this universe which is so sunk in sin, that He gives us the promise of salvation and resurrection through His Son Jesus Christ. All for us who when we consider the vastness of creation and the even more massiveness of God, that He has provided for us in so many ways, continues to provide for us and gives us the promise of eternal life in the New Creation in Jesus Christ. Only someone who is truly in Christ or preaching in Christ can know that this message is truly on their heart.

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

[1] This is an excerpt from COSMIC HORIZONS: ASTRONOMY AT THE CUTTING EDGE, edited by Steven Soter and Neil deGrasse Tyson, a publication of the New Press. © 2000 American Museum of Natural History.

[2] Edited by Craig Blaising and Carmen Hardin  “Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture Old Testament VII p 146