Sunday, October 19, 2014

The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2014. Matthew 22:34-46.
The Lord Said to My Lord




The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2014


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson


Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time


The Hymn # 239     Come Thou Almighty King                        2:72
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       
The Gospel              
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #269            O Lord Our Father                  2:56   
  

Justification Throughout the Bible


The Communion Hymn # 315:11-15            I Come O Savior             2:66
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #651               Be Still My Soul               2:17

KJV 1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.



Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We are poor, miserable sinners; we know Thy will, but cannot fulfill it because of the weakness of our flesh and blood, and because our enemy, the devil, will not leave us in peace. Therefore we beseech Thee, shed Thy Holy Spirit in our hearts, that, in steadfast faith, we may cling to Thy Son Jesus Christ, find comfort in His passion and death, believe the forgiveness of sin through Him, and in willing obedience to Thy will lead holy lives on earth, until by Thy grace, through a blessed death, we depart from this world of sorrow, and obtain eternal life, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Justification Throughout the Bible


KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.

The religious opponents of Jesus are historically true, and the polemic continues to this day. But the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees also represent the spirit of justification by works and reliance on the law, which is dominant in the visible church of this day.

We can view the religious opponents as allegories of the eternal struggle between faith and unbelief. When an unbeliever hears the Gospel, he often reacts against it. People find an endless array of expressions where they can remain in unbelief and yet use the language of faith. 

On the academic side, the academic theologians reward those who do not believe in Christ and who dance around that topic. They know and understand that the faith words are just there as structure for the philosophy being presented. They hail this as creative, refreshing, exciting, and groundbreaking.

The modern Lutheran theologians who teach faith are almost non-existent. Their disciples gather around and bow to their greatness, chattering about these fellow apostates as "Confessional." If anyone dares to dispute this, the response is exactly the same as the scribes and Pharisees. Thus Carl Braaten rejected all the articles of faith in the Creeds, the most basic ones, and he is called a "confessional Lutheran" because he has expressed dismay with ELCA, an organization he helped create with a lifetime of false teaching in ELCA schools. Worst of all, he helped write a dogmatics textbook that rejected Christianity while using some words of faith rather selectively.



When the Gospel is rejected, the Law must replace it. Moses is the savior. Of course, this is  not the Law of the Bible, but the Law of man. One must obey all the laws of human tradition in that organization or be banished with an excommunication more horrible and swift than any carried out legitimately. As Father Richard Neuhaus said, when liberals excommunicate, they excommunicate for life. He was always a liberal, but became a little less liberal over time. That was not allowed, so he was banished and attacked in public - even though he helped shape ELCA through Seminex, their portable mini-seminary.

Jesus had silenced His opponents, so the battle was on. They would defeat Him with a question He could not answer.

35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Tempting is such a good word to use here. One could say, testing, or even trying, but the idea is to trap Jesus with a question. Many people do this when they want to hear the "wrong answer" so they can pounce. Church officials are nimble in always answering ambiguously or in changing the subject so their unbelief is not exposed.

The right way to deal with opponents is to answer clearly and plainly. If there is an error in communication or in understanding, they can be worked out. If the intention is false and deceptive, it is all the more reason to answer from faith rather than trying to be pleasing or diplomatic.

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

This is where Jewish leaders will say, "All the Jewish scholars agree with this. Nothing new here." I have gone to the Jewish Encyclopedia many times, to get their perspective on various issues. The main idea is this - Jesus was a rabbi like many other rabbis. What He taught and did was common for that time, including miracles.

That will always be the rationalistic response, which refuses faith and and cannot see anything revealed by the Holy Spirit as a mystery. Many modern Lutherans exist happily and blindly in that same mode. Thus they will always grasp some form of law because of their unbelief.

Of course this word love is connected with faith. Love is the result of trusting the Word, which reveals the true nature of God. As the new book will show, the Holy Trinity is taught throughout the Bible, from Creation to the Heavenly Jerusalem in Revelation. The true nature of God is mercy, love, and forgiveness. So we fallible, weak, and stumbling humans look to God with love because of His gracious and loving nature.

This statement also shows us the result of loving God - loving our neighbor and caring for our neighbor's needs. That is so enjoyable and fulfilling. We like our roses outside. Our neighbors like them inside. Pruning them the right way means we have more in bloom outside and they enjoy theirs inside. 

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.

Jesus answered their question correctly, so there was nothing more to say about that. But He asked the ultimate question leading to faith. Who is the Messiah? Whose son is He?

The correct answer, beyond dispute, is - David's. That is the one word answer in the Greek text. The KJV adds "The Son of" to make it clear. In conversation we would probably be just as concise, saying "David's."

This is leading them into a response, which is typical of the rabbi-audience dialogue. The audience asks difficult questions and the rabbi asks them stumpers as well, a good tradition for thinking and teaching.

A good question leads to an inevitable meeting point, whether it means agreement or opposition.

43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

This response always confused me when I was very young. Many portions of Scripture are plain and clear so that no one can miss their meaning. This seems so convoluted. As adults we learn that faith untangles these passages.

David - in the Spirit - has faith and calls his descendant "Lord" because he believes in the coming Messiah, centuries to come.

Son suggests a subordinate position, which is common in human families. Everyone wants to be equal to the great patriarch. But David was the model king, the great leader of history, yet he called his descendant Lord.

Since the response demanded an answer from faith or rejection of faith, the opponents were afraid to answer. 

Unbelievers hair-split and use ambiguities to make their answers pleasing to both sides. But faith makes us bold to respond with God's Word rather than man's wisdom.

Unbelief will not stop opposing faith. The worst comes from the great, the wise, the honored spiritual leaders who cover up for criminals and may have a criminal past of their own. They know the visible unity of the church requires public relation falsehoods, while the truth of God's Word sparks revolutions. 

God delights to do His work through the insignificant members of the church while the great and mighty parade in their best clergy costumes.


Saturday, October 18, 2014

Canadian Lutheran Leader Deals with Child Abuse the Right Way - Tells Police

"He spoke as a guest speaker about problems with cohabitation at the 2011 Getting Real About Sexuality conference at the Concordia University College of Alberta."


http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Edmonton+Lutheran+pastor+faces+child+pornography+charges/10298927/story.html

EDMONTON - An Edmonton pastor has been charged with possessing child pornography following an investigation that began with a complaint to a church official.  

Richard John Docekal, 58, was pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church — located at 13850 119A St. — in early September, when an individual brought allegations of child pornography to Don Schiemann, a regional president of the Lutheran Church-Canada. 

Schiemann passed the complaint on to police the next day. The Internet child exploitation unit of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) opened a month-long investigation.   
Docekal was arrested on Oct. 9 and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography. ALERT’s forensic teams are currently analyzing a significant number of electronic devices seized from Docekal’s home. 

Police seized dozens of manual drawings depicting sexual assaults against children, said Sgt. Mike Lokken. There is no evidence that any sexual contact was made with any children.
“They were depicting some pretty horrific stuff in these images,” Lokken said. “Anybody that’s attracted to this material, it’s disturbing.”

According to a biography on an archived version of his former church’s website, Docekal had been pastor at the Carlisle neighbourhood church since 2007. The American-born pastor graduated from a Lutheran seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1994 and pastored in Oklahoma and Ohio before coming to Edmonton in 2001, gaining Canadian citizenship in 2007. Initially, he was a regional vacancy and supply pastor for the Lutheran Church-Canada. 

According to his denomination’s website, he also served as chaplain of Faith Lutheran School in northeast Edmonton.

The Winnipeg-based Lutheran denomination released a statement Friday. Docekal officially resigned from the church and denomination on Oct. 2, a day after a meeting with Schiemann about non-criminal activities that were part of the complaint, which were “of concern regarding his role as a pastor.” 
The denomination is co-operating with the authorities and Schiemann will provide pastoral care to Docekal’s former church. 

“Because the matter is now before the courts, Lutheran Church-Canada is unable to make further comments at this time, other than to pray for God’s guidance and mercy in what is a difficult time for many,” the statement said. 

Docekal also worked with the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, the Lutheran Layman’s League and the Good Samaritan Society. He spoke as a guest speaker about problems with cohabitation at the 2011 Getting Real About Sexuality conference at the Concordia University College of Alberta.

Burke's Law - Conservative Cleric Removed by Leftist Jesuit Pope Frank



http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/conservative-us-cardinal-demoted-by-pope-he-tells-buzzfeed/ar-BB9OCXz


Cardinal Raymond Burke, the conservative American who holds the top position in the Vatican’s justice system, on Friday told BuzzFeed he was being demoted.
Burke, a former archbishop of St Louis, has publicly challenged Pope Francis on issues including abortion and homosexuality.
A preliminary report from the church’s extraordinary synod on the family, released on Monday, signalled a readiness to adopt a more conciliatory attitude towards homosexuality, divorce and other “irregular” family situations.
More than 200 bishops contributed to the report, which said: “Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community: are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities?”
A day later, Burke expressed concern, and said a great number of synod fathers had objected to the contents of the report. He told the Catholic World Herald Francis was “long overdue” in making a definitive statement about suspected changes in the Catholic church.
“The pope, more than anyone else as the pastor of the universal church, is bound to serve the truth,” Burke told Buzzfeed. “The pope is not free to change the church’s teachings with regard to the immorality of homosexual acts or the insolubility of marriage or any other doctrine of the faith.”
Burke told Buzzfeed he was being transferred from his position as prefect of the supreme tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura to be patron of the sovereign military order of Malta, though he said he had not received a formal order. He assumed his role as chief guardian of canon law in June 2008, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI.
Benedict also appointed Burke to the Congregation for Bishops in 2009. Four years later, Francis removed Burke and 13 other bishops from the 18-man group. Days after he was removed from that post, in December 2013, Burke criticised Francis in an interview with the Catholic broadcaster EWTN.
“One gets the impression, or it’s interpreted this way in the media, that he thinks we’re talking too much about abortion, too much about the integrity of marriage as between one man and one woman,” Burke said. “But we can never talk enough about that.”
When National Catholic Reporter asked Burke who told him that he was being removed from the Vatican’s justice system, he replied: “Who do you think?”



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GJ - Related - the big Catholic meeting is turning into a major rebellion against the pope. Stay tuned.

Here is more information.
WELS and Missouri have been playing
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back for decades.

Friday, October 17, 2014

How Is Hillsong's Child Abuse Cover-up Different from LCMS-ELS-WELS?
Why Were Hochmuth and Others Never Reported?

Frank and Hazel Houston, Hillsong Church
Press conference
Note this new story about globral Hillsong's changing stance on homosexuality.

http://boz.religionnews.com/2014/10/17/hillsong-church-abuse-unreported-perpetrator-rewarded/

Disturbing news surfaced last week that the founder and senior pastor of one of the largest churches in Australia, and a church well known in this country for its worship music, failed to report his father for sexually abusing children. Brian Houston of Hillsong Church, told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse that in October of 1999, he learned that an adult had reported being sexually abused as a child by leading Pentecostal pastor, Frank Houston.   The elder Houston was permanently suspended from preaching and given a “retirement package”. The victim was sent $10,000.00.   The church eventually uncovered up to eight more cases of child sexual abuse by Frank Houston before he passed away in 2004.   None of these cases were ever reported to law enforcement.
Does any of this pass the “smell good” test?  An adult comes forward to disclose being sexually victimized as a child by an influential minister who happens to be the father of another well-known minister.    The son’s immediate response to hearing about this crime is not to contact the police, but to confront his father who immediately confesses.  Even after the confession, Brian Houston doesn’t call the police, but instead attends a meeting with his father, an attorney, and the church CEO, where it is decided to offer the victim $10,000 as “final payment”. (Undoubtedly, a condition to receive this money would have been that the victim agree not to seek legal action against Houston or the church.)  When he was recently asked why he didn’t report this crime, Brian Houston remarked, “This is one of the things that made it complicated.  He was adamant he didn’t want any kind of police investigation or even a church investigation, he just wanted it dealt with and he just wanted to know that justice was going to happen.” The fact that a victim is an adult when they disclose being sexually assaulted as a child does not relieve those in leadership of the moral duty to report the crimes.  Think about it, what if an adult had stepped forward to report that as a child they witnessed a pastor commit murder?  What if there was evidence that this same pastor had actually murdered 8 other people?  Would there be any hesitation by church leaders to report these crimes to the authorities?  Even if the witness had requested them not to report?  Interestingly, Brian Houston never provides a reason for not reporting the other 8 cases of abuse perpetrated by his father.
Hillsong Church service - courtesy of Kristofer Palmvik via Flickr  (http://goo.gl/ZUGOnz)
Hillsong Church service – courtesy of Kristofer Palmvik via Flickr (http://goo.gl/ZUGOnz)
One of Houston’s victims told the Royal Commission, “I was so ashamed of the abuse that I kept it inside for many years and did not tell anyone.”  Survivors silenced by years of shame are often empowered to come forward and report after finding out about child sexual abuse investigations and learning that they are not alone.  The failure to report this crime certainly prevented the God ordained authorities in Australia and New Zealand from identifying and helping others who may also have been sexually assaulted by this confessed child molester.   Not only do child sexual abuse investigations empower survivors to come forward, but they often result in finding additional victims.  Recent reports claim that the number of boys sexually victimized by Frank Houston could be in the hundreds.  The failure to report these crimes means that we may never know the degree and extent of the crimes against children committed by this church leader.
Reporting this admitted abuse 14 years ago not only would have helped to identify more victims of Frank Houston, but it would have also provided the opportunity to provide the survivors much needed support and professional assistance.
Brian Houston recently said,
“We probably don’t know now many [victims].  We may never just how far it went.”
What he fails to acknowledge is that his calculated decision not to report these crimes is why we will never know the full extent of abuse and harm perpetrated by his father.    What he fails to acknowledge is that his calculated decision not to report these crimes fourteen years ago left untold numbers of abuse victims stranded and alone.   What he fails to acknowledge is that his calculated decision not to report these crimes ignored the lives of untold numbers of victims who lived through the dark and painful horrors of childhood abuse and are now drowning without hope as adults.
Brian Houston recently told the media that he had “never hidden it [abuse] from the church.”  That statement is hard to reconcile with the fact that in 2001, the Assemblies of God sent a letter notifying pastors that Frank Houston had been suspended because of committing a “serious moral failure”.  At no time was this “serious moral failure” ever identified as the rape of a child.  Even more concerning, the letter went on to say, “We cannot see any reason for this to be announced to your church or further afield.”  Isn’t the intentional use of vague words to mask a dark truth consistent with hiding abuse?  Isn’t a directive to keep silent consistent with hiding abuse?  One can only wonder why Brian Houston and other church leaders believed they had the authority to withhold such child endangering information from the very people who needed to know about it – parents and children.
The failure to report this crime to the authorities, offering money to the victim, giving the perpetrator a retirement package, and the hiding all of this from church members, was a seemingly very convenient way to make the whole matter go away.  Fortunately, survivors don’t go away.  God carries their cries to bring light and truth into the dark places – especially in the Church.
One of the lesser-known horrors of this nightmare is that Brian Houston comes from a “Christian” culture that seemingly prefers to remain silent when learning about children being sexually abused by a pastor.  The Daily Telegraph reports that the Assemblies of God in New Zealand “revealed that 50 of its pastors had known of Frank’s sex abuse.  None of them went to the police or did anything about it.”  Should we be surprised that Brian Houston reacted any differently when he found out?   Yes.  I think we should always be surprised when one who professes to follow Jesus turns his back on the vulnerable who have been exploited and abused.  The Jesus I know actually runs towards the vulnerable and gave His life for them.
Brian Houston recently commented that he was “very pleased” with the way he handled the disclosure of his father’s abuse.  Pleased? Really?  In a well-known scripture passage, Jesus tells us, “…whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” [Matthew 18:6]   Instead, Frank Houston is given a retirement package, a victim is thrown $10,000 to keep quiet, a church is not told the truth, and perhaps hundreds of other victims are left unknown.   Pleased?  Really?
In his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning writes,
“The choice usually presented to Christians is not between Jesus and Barabbas.  No one wants to appear an obvious murderer. The choice to be careful about is between Jesus and Caiaphas.  And Caiaphas can fool us.  He is a very “religious” man.”
When we fail to report the heinous crimes against children, we fail to choose Jesus.  It’s time for churches to stop making the wrong choice.
Pleased? Really?
- See more at: http://boz.religionnews.com/2014/10/17/hillsong-church-abuse-unreported-perpetrator-rewarded/#sthash.keD6D3A0.dpuf

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Wormhaven Gardening Book Preceded This Article by Decades

That is not me in the back yard,
just some Amish farmer stealing my secrets of Creation gardening.
The Wormhaven Gardening Book - free PDF, share it with anyone.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/10/the-amish-farmer-replacing-pesticides-with-nutrition/380825/?single_page=true

“In the Second World War,” Samuel Zook began, “my ancestors were conscientious objectors because we don’t believe in combat.” The Amish farmer paused a moment to inspect a mottled leaf on one of his tomato plants before continuing. “If you really stop and think about it, though, when we go out spraying our crops with pesticides, that’s really what we’re doing. It’s chemical warfare, bottom line.”

Eight years ago, it was a war that Zook appeared to be losing. The crops on his 66-acre farm were riddled with funguses and pests that chemical treatments did little to reduce. The now-39-year-old talked haltingly about the despair he felt at the prospect of losing a homestead passed down through five generations of his family. Disillusioned by standard agriculture methods, Zook searched fervently for an alternative. He found what he was looking for in the writings of an 18-year-old Amish farmer from Ohio, a man named John Kempf.
Kempf is the unlikely founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture, a consulting firm established in 2006 to promote science-intensive organic agriculture. The entrepreneur’s story is almost identical to Zook’s. A series of crop failures on his own farm drove the 8th grade-educated Kempf to school himself in the sciences. For two years, he pored over research in biology, chemistry, and agronomy in pursuit of a way to save his fields. The breakthrough came from the study of plant immune systems which, in healthy plants, produce an array of compounds that are toxic to intruders. “The immune response in plants is dependent on well-balanced nutrition,” Kempf concluded, “in much the same way as our own immune system.” Modern agriculture uses fertilizer specifically to increase yields, he added, with little awareness of the nutritional needs of other organic functions. Through plant sap analysis, Kempf has been able to discover deficiencies in important trace minerals which he can then introduce into the soil. With plants able to defend themselves, pesticides can be avoided, allowing the natural predators of pests to flourish.



According to Kempf, the methods he developed through experimentation on his Ohio farm are now being used across North and South America, Hawaii, Europe, and Africa. The entrepreneur promises clients higher-quality crops, bigger yields, better taste, and produce that carries a lucrative “organic” label. Kempf, however, considers his process as an important improvement upon standard organic farming methods. “Organic certification is a negative-process certification,” he explained, “You can do nothing to your field and become certified. In contrast, we focus on actively restoring the balance found in natural systems.”


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GJ - In case you missed it in the caption, here is your free copy of The Wormhaven Gardening Book. I may rewrite it with the newest information in it.

Table of Contents


The summaries parallel the material here, in Teaming with Microbes -

In the human world, we send in the National Guard, to hold the line against criminals . But in soil, the levels of inorganic fertilizer being used, or the constant applications of toxic pesticide sprayed, mean the National Guard of the soil has been killed, too. We have to purposefully restore the beneficial biology that has been lost. Where will the new recruits come from? You have to add them—bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, earthworms, microarthropods— back to your soil. Roots of plants feed these beneficials, but to make sure that the beneficials get reestablished, care packages may need to be delivered. 

Soil Foodweb , Inc., helps people rapidly reestablish the biology that creates the foothold for health to come back into these systems; and this book describes these hardworking members of the front line of defense for your plants . Where do they live? Who are their families? How do you send in lunch packs, not toxics, to help the recruits along? 

Win back your soil’s health. Put nothing on your soil if you don’t know what it will do to the life under your feet . If there is “no information” about how something impacts the life in your soil, or if the material has never been tested to determine what it does to the organisms in your soil, don’t use the material. If you have already purchased the product, test it yourself.

Lewis, Wayne; Lowenfels, Jeff; (2010-09-10). Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition (Kindle Locations 50-60). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 


The article on the Amish farmer shows a poor grasp of the concepts, but a good idea about the results.

Modern agriculture, promoted by the federal government, has turned agricultural land into a toxic chemical waste dump. Gardening centers promote the same ideas and warn against natural methods of the past. 

As I wrote before, I avoided chemicals at the start because they cost so much. The gardener who talks up natural methods will generate donations of useful material, whether from horses, rabbits, or newspapers. Many projects have been funded by free materials. I needed a lot of newspapers for mulching the fence line, and I got them.

They get roses in return, so no one is short-changed.

Our helper said, "I worry about how we are going to do all this, but you read all the time. The bush bloomed, just like you said." He was referring to the second bloom of the crepe myrtle bush. Now it is producing seed and going dormant, so it will be a feeder and shelter for birds a storage locker for insect larvae.

The Amish article focuses on adding certain minerals to fix plant problems, certainly a good idea on a farm where the soil was once soaked in toxins. 

My approach has always been to create healthy soil, the foundation for healthy plants. If plants have everything they need, insect damage and plant disease will be minimal. 

The Rodale Press organic gardening books were my introduction to Creation gardening. The soil food web material is my second stage of education, far more detailed about life at the microscopic level. I am in a continuous state of wonder about the interaction of fungi, bacteria, protozoa, and nematodes.

Here is a summary of damage I saw while gardening without chemicals:
  • Cutworms on the borage, so I tossed the plant away. Roses were not affected.
  • Some chewing on the sunflowers, which was trivial once they grew more.
  • Some bugs in several gourds. All the rest were perfect.
  • A little eating on the white rose blooms, but no other roses.
  • A bit of black spot (a fungus) on two roses.


Pole beans and tomatoes were prolific. Roses were - and are - the talk of the town.




Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Classic Ichabod from 2011 - Jeske's New Age Huberism



AC V has left a new comment on your post "Readers Respond to the Wizard Mark Jeske: WELS LCM...":

Time of Grace layin' it all out there:

Time of Grace on Facebook:

Jesus is already pure, and now he says you are too. Do you look at yourself as pure? Or does your guilty conscience endlessly remind you of what a piece of trash you are? You are pure. He made purification for you! When you lay your head on the pillow tonight, you can say, "I am pure." Not on the basis of your own performance, but on the basis of HIS performance.

http://www.facebook.com/timeofgrace

That kind of theology is exactly what the orthodox Lutheran theologians at Wittenberg condemned Samuel Huber for only 15 years after the Book of Concord was published:

“And to make his (Huber) opinion plain enough to us, he then asked us, how we would deal with people, if we came to a place, where nothing had been taught about Christ before. Then we answered him that we would start with the Law; make it clear to them that they were poor sinners and under the wrath of God, which they should recognize with penitent hearts. If they now were sorry for their sins, God offers through the Gospel His grace and remission of sins in Christ, wishing to make them righteous and saved, as far as they would accept it in true faith. To this Dr. Huber responded: No, this would not be the true way to preach to the unbelievers, but he would begin by saying this: You have the grace of God, you have the righteousness of Christ, you have salvation. - Concilia Theologica Witebergensia, Frankfurt an Mayn 1664, p. 554.

Link - from Bethany Lutheran College!, E. Teigen's course:

http://hans.blc.edu/~eteigen/Theology_&_Church_History_files/Justification%20and%20Easter.pdf



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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Readers Respond to the Wizard Mark Jeske: WELS LCM...":

Another Time of Grace gem:

One of the great gifts that our Bethlehem birthday boy came to bring is to switch on the lights for people, then and now, who are blind and stumbling around in darkness. - "Messiah is Coming"

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150369746438006&set=a.461286403005.263920.186323323005&type=1&theater



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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Readers Respond to the Wizard Mark Jeske: WELS LCM...":

Medical quacks partners with Time of Grace? Posted under "We're excited to share this great video with you from Dr. Tom Potisk, friend and partner of Time of Grace and a member of Pastor Jeske's home church. Enjoy!"

Martha Torreson As an RN, ND who practices with significant emphasis on spiritual care, I was interested in what Dr. Potisk had to say...much good to encourage healthy living. But am somewhat concerned that he doesn't seem to accurately reflect a medical model (I understand he comes from a chiropractic practice), and of more concern is the subtle mixture of some New Age religious beliefs in his wholistic approach...lacking in glorifying God in these beings (our lives) that He created and that He redeemed, and that He will raise to live eternally in the New Heaven & New Earth! Just trying to add to this "healthy" discussion in Christian love, most sincerely!!

http://www.facebook.com/timeofgrace


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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Readers Respond to the Wizard Mark Jeske: WELS LCM...":

Censorship at Time of Grace:

We're excited to share this great video with you from Dr. Tom Potisk, friend and partner of Time of Grace and a member of Pastor Jeske's home church. Enjoy!

Time of Grace, Spiritual Growth for You and Me www.youtube.com
http://www.wholehealthhealing.com/?p=478. Time of Grace is my favorite Christian spiritual growth media source.
Like · Comment · 7 hours ago ·

Debbie Johnson, Hannah Arneth, Jane Sternberg and 5 others like this. 2 shares

Tom Potisk Thanks TOG! My intention with this video/article is to introduce my fans to your wonderful mission. Keep up the fantastic work! 7 hours ago

Nancy-Elizabeth Wentzel Dr. Potisk, I see from your blog post on your website that you have a book called "Wellness Wins!" that promotes many of your holistic health philosophies. http://www.wholehealthhealing.com/?p=478

I was just wondering if all the spiritual wisdom in your book is strictly speaking from a Christian point of view, or if you draw on ideas from other faiths as well (I noticed a mention of Deepak Chopra, for example.) Thanks for any info you can provide! 4 hours ago

Elizabeth Woodfin Moll Thank you for your post, Emily - you are not the only one with serious concerns. 3 hours ago

Nancy-Elizabeth Wentzel Hey, where did Emily's post go? 3 hours ago

Craig Gerke Thank you for your previous post, Emily. It was deleted. I thought Time of Grace's social media policy was to engage in conversation. Apparently certain conversations are not welcome. Sad. 2 hours ago

Nancy-Elizabeth Wentzel Yes, I don't understand why Emily's post was deleted. It seemed like she was just raising some legitimate questions/ concerns about Dr. Potisk's teachings and spiritual stance. Would someone from Time of Grace be able to address this...? about an hour ago

Time of Grace Our policy, shortened, is to "Support each other as together we share the love of Jesus Christ" and to "promote community and HEALTHY discussion". We try to be very understanding with posts and opinions and comments, but if you do not adhere to that policy (i.e., supporting each other with healthy conversation) then we will remove your comments to protect the rest of our ToG family who is adhering to that policy with respect and Christ-like love. about an hour ago

Craig Gerke Thank you guys for the response! I'm not sure what the previous poster Emily said that was unhealthy?

http://www.facebook.com/timeofgrace

Parlow, Jeske, Kelm, Patterson.

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AC V has left a new comment on your post "Mark Jeske, Time of Grace: Samuel Huber's False Do...":

Lest we lose the direct link to the UOJ "Messiah is Coming" book, here it is:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150380994913006&set=a.461286403005.263920.186323323005&type=1&theater



And lest someone retort with a "But that's Subjective Justification," here's Time of Grace's mission as published on Facebook:

About
ToG is a non-profit outreach media ministry that was founded in 2001. The sole mission is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible through the most advanced technology available.

Prepping for Edible Pod Peas

Directions for dragon claws are here - can be used for salads.

 In Midland I put chicken wire around the entire garage for supporting edible pod peas, and I made a teepee to support more. Needless to say, longing turned to loathing during the harvesting season, which was extended by picking them (more flowering, more fruiting, just like beans and roses). Our members from Hong Kong got two large sacks of dragon claws for their soup, a real delicacy for them. I said, "Don't worry. We will have even more tendrils because I harvested these." And we did.

The rabbits ate vines galore too.

I am planning on repeating this along the fence. Our helper came by looking for a project. I had a wheelbarrow full of soggy newspapers, which are ideal for laying down. I was only needing some organic paperweights, like mushroom compost, soil, or mulch.

Sassy and I went out to do some errands that would necessarily take us by Lowe's, so I decided to pick up some then. Lowe's welcomes dogs, and she loves the attention she gets there. I take her in without a leash each time. She obeys hand signals and voice commands.

We walked in together and I saw straw bales. I had a conversation about when they would be available in the spring and how much they cost - $6 for large ones. Many use them for Halloween displays, but that is not a holy day in our house. The worker said stray bale gardening was really growing in the area.

I ordered some mulch and mushroom compost. Instead of relying on a phone message (not always effective at Lowe's if a teen gets it) we went out looking for guys with big carts. Sassy was excited so she walked around with her happy bark. That got immediate attention in the back and I showed them my receipt.

"Do you have a truck?" I said, "I have a Lincoln Town Car."

We walked back and found the clerk squatting low to the ground with her arms out for Sassy. Our wonderdog wiggled all the way there and loved getting petted and praised. "Oh, you are the most beautiful dog!" Once the cart came toward us we went to the car. Sassy waits at crossings and crosses with me. She got in the car and we soon had our load.

The store could be fussy about dogs, but they welcome dogs without leashes. Sassy has often has a meet and greet with other loose dogs shopping in the garden department. The clerks are unusually welcoming and she knows she is welcome.



Peas love cold weather and can be planted before the last snow fall. Snow peas, right?

They are shallow rooted and enjoy sweet soil. I had them thrive in gravely (limestone) soil.

Men Overboard - Robin Steinke Installed as the First Female President of Luther Seminary.
Liberian Leader Attends

Robin Steinke came to install the new female head of the Berkeley ELCA seminary,
which has very few students but very valuable land.
The seminary has merged with California Lutheran U.,
so Boss Bloomquiest is merely a dean.




This ELCA pastor preaches herself and really likes the word "like." She's like saying like whenever transitioning to another, like, story about her favorite topic, her amazing life.

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Feel free to watch the installation of Robin Steinke as president of Luther Seminary, where Jack and Robert Preus attended.

I found the entire service to be strained, awkward, and weird. This is the largest seminary for Lutherans, but the church was not full. The school is located in the Twin Cities, where one ELCA congregation alone has 10,000 members. Those attending seemed mostly to be seniors - not seniors in seminary, but elderly and possibly stunned.

The choir was small; the orchestra accompanying it was every bit as good as a high school band.

One of the opening songs was African, so Steinke can be seen rocking back and forth a bit. The new ELCA presiding bishop, Liz Eaton, is petite and mannish. Robin Steinke is large and mannish, wearing slacks, heavy boots, and preaching from the chancel holding a notebook. The face mike reminded me of Ski's attempts to be cool.

The pulpit was nearby but empty. Everything is in code. The radical Left knows what the language and symbols mean. Pacing about in the chancel is a message, like Ski preaching in his car repair clothes. Words about new horizons and reaching out to the marginalized  - that means their radical Left activism that will leave liberal mouths hanging open in dismay.

If you want to study bumbling sermons, try to listen to Steinke. Everything seems to say, "We finally got to take over the ELCA institutions, and now it is not so fun."

I could not find a news story about the event, which should be a major bragging point. The gay Left was thrilled with Eaton taking over ELCA. Reconciling Works, their home base, bragged about Eaton, who is safely married to a man. Why not Steinke? Her domestic status is never mentioned. That may account for the sullen reaction to her installation - but I am only speculating.

Karen Bloomquist is the new dean of the transplanted California seminary.
Her obedient husband Bill is on the right.
The old campus had a spectacular view - they will miss Sodom-by-the-Bay.

This pot on the head dance was part of the Bloomquist installation.
Where do they get these clowns?


Try to read her Leftist mumbo-jumbo below.
She is not speaking in tongues.
She is speaking in gay Marxist rhetoric.

Karen Bloomquist

I am a constructive theologian/ethicist, pastor and administrator, committed to preparing the people of God to discern critically and work collaboratively with others to further God’s liberating mission in pluralistic, multi-faith contexts.  Given the global horizons within which I have been networking, teaching and writing over the past decade, I am eager to find ways in which my experience, expertise and perspectives might be drawn upon in the preparation of religious and other leaders in settings throughout the world.  Throughout my career, my passion has been relating to, analyzing and actively seeking to change situations of injustice and furthering God’s mission in the world.
The preacher at the Bloomquist installation was a long-term friend,
and has a doctorate in feminist theology.

Education
Ph.D., Theology, Union Theological Seminary [The Devil's Playground], NYC
M.Div., Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
B.A., Sociology and Religion, St. Olaf College
Professional History
Director, Department for Theology and Studies, Lutheran World Federation
Associate Professor of Theological Ethics, Wartburg Theological Seminary
Director for Studies, Division for Church in Society, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Assistant Professor of Church and Society, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
Pastor, Lutheran Church of St. Philip, Brooklyn, NY
Pastor, Faith American Lutheran Church, Oakland, CA

Chairman of the Board