An Evening with Coffee, Hummingbirds, and the Military Gardening Group[

 

This evening, Ranger Bob showed up to meet the FedEx truck delivering his truck parts. We order on the computer (RockAuto and Summit Racing), usually half the price of auto parts stores. 

We brought Christina and Sassy out to enjoy the relatively cool evening. PFC could not be there.

First off, a hummingbird decided to scan Bob's face, and it was not the first time. The thrill is there each time, to see a tiny bird with blurred wings hovering two feet away. What made me laugh was the bird doing the same for Sassy - now enrolled on the Hummingbird Friends List. Sassy ignored the honor. 

We had Ethiopian pour-over coffee, one of my favorites. PFC likes acid-free Sumatra, which I like, too. We keep that especially for him.

This morning I watered the Rose Garden and the Calla Lilies - they are in bloom a-gain, really they are, and need the water. Tomorrow will mean more watering since rain will not arrive until Saturday.

The house is suffused with the fragrance of flower arrangements for Christina. She is enjoying them. Bob said, "Wow!"

This is today's gratuitous kitty photo.

Temperature To Rise to 95 Today - Real Feel, 212. Face to Face Again with Hummingbird

 

I opened the door into the brilliant morning light yesterday and found a hummingbird a few inches away from my face, hovering - but doing his up/down left/right movements. I figured he was mapping my face for the Humming Friends List. 

We have a number working the flowers at once. They have been enjoying Joe Pye and Bee Balm. Next, the large plantings of Hosta will be blooming - front yard, backyard, and next door. Hosta flowers attracted hummingbirds so easily that I decided they were a good plant to increase in number. 

I am watering the front and back gardens today, hoping they will thrive or survive until Saturday. 

Floods are everywhere in the world and in places here. I am "watching the water," a warning issued some time ago.

Laurence Vance Has Discovered the Center of the KJV Universe

 

From - King James, His Bible and Its Translators:

The Bible has 1,189 chapters, 31, 102 verses, and 788,258 words.

The verses are even, so the center must include two verses. They are -

Psalm 103 King James Version

103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

The Worst Pick the Worst - Biblical Litmus Test

 

These two men secretly created their own Greek New Testament and slipped their version to the 19th century Revision committees working on the KJV. I have their book, which was widely rejected in shock and dismay - no notes to explain any of their erasures. 

All our modern translations rest on the foundation of three lying frauds - 

1. Count Tischendorf, whose claims for Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are clearly false.
2. B. F. Westcott - the senior member of the pair of university professors.
3. F. J. A. Hort - the more fanatical member, though both loathed the Traditional Text.

I was thinking of my own editing yesterday. People give me detailed reports of what is going on. They often use key words that give away their identities. The easiest edit is to erase certain words or use pronouns to replace names and details.

Secondly, notes can take away the validity of a passage. I often use verbatim quotes from the worst false teachers (not just WELS, but ELS, LCMS, and ELCA) and connect their declarations to a Biblical or Luther passage refuting them.

Is it not odd that the invented rule - "the difficult passages are preferred" - is turned upside-down by these slack-jawed, glory-seeking snake oil salesmen? For the modernists, the most difficult passages are those declaring the divinity of Christ.

KJV

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

The Greek is very clear - this is the faith that belongs to Jesus, not faith in Jesus (which is found often in the New Testament.

How do the Modernists, Objective Justificationists, the Ecumenists, the Rationalists translate the Greek?

Romans 3:22 δικαιοσυνη δε θεου δια πιστεως ιησου χριστου [through faith of Jesus Christ] εις παντας και επι παντας τους πιστευοντας ου γαρ εστιν διαστολη.

KJ21

even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all those who believe. For there is no difference,

ASV

even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that believe; for there is no distinction;

AMP

This righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all those [Jew or Gentile] who believe [and trust in Him and acknowledge Him as God’s Son]. There is no distinction,

AMPC

Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction,

BRG

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

CSB

The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction.

CEB

God’s righteousness comes through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who have faith in him. There’s no distinction.

CJB

and it is a righteousness that comes from God, through the faithfulness of Yeshua the Messiah, to all who continue trusting. For it makes no difference whether one is a Jew or a Gentile,

CEV

God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ.

DARBY

righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ towards all, and upon all those who believe: for there is no difference;

DLNT

And it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all the ones believing! For there is no distinction,

DRA

Even the justice of God, by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe in him: for there is no distinction:

ERV

God makes people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. He does this for all who believe in Christ. Everyone is the same.

EHV

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all who believe. In fact, there is no difference,

ESV

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

ESVUK

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

EXB

·God makes people right with himself [L This righteousness comes] through ·their faith in [or the faithfulness of] Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because ·all people are the same [there is no distinction/difference; C between Jews and Gentiles]:

GNV

To wit, the righteousness of God by the faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all that believe.

GW

Everyone who believes has God’s approval through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no difference between people.

GNT

God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all:

HCSB

—that is, God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe, since there is no distinction.

ICB

God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all are the same.

ISV

God’s righteousness through the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah— for all who believe. For there is no distinction among people,

PHILLIPS

But now we are seeing the righteousness of God declared quite apart from the Law (though amply testified to by both Law and Prophets)—it is a righteousness imparted to, and operating in, all who have faith in Jesus Christ. (For there is no distinction to be made anywhere: everyone has sinned, everyone falls short of the beauty of God’s plan.) Under this divine system a man who has faith is now freely acquitted in the eyes of God by his generous dealing in the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. God has appointed him as the means of propitiation, a propitiation accomplished by the shedding of his blood, to be received and made effective in ourselves by faith. God has done this to demonstrate his righteousness both by the wiping out of the sins of the past (the time when he withheld his hand), and by showing in the present time that he is a just God and that he justifies every man who has faith in Jesus Christ.

JUB

the righteousness, that is, of God by the faith of Jesus, the Christ, for all and upon all those that believe in him, for there is no difference;

KJV

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

AKJV

even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

LEB

that is, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For there is no distinction,

TLB

But now God has shown us a different way to heaven—not by “being good enough” and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us—declare us “not guilty”—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like.

MSG

But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.

MEV

This righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and upon all who believe, for there is no distinction.

MOUNCE

It is the righteousness · of God available through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. (For there is no distinction,

NOG

Everyone who believes has God’s approval through faith in Yeshua Christ. There is no difference between people.

NABRE

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;

NASB

but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction,

NASB1995

even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

NCB

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. No distinction has been made.

NCV

God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same:

NET

namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,

NIRV

We are made right with God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. This happens to all who believe. It is no different for the Jews than for the Gentiles.

NIV

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

NIVUK

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

NKJV

even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;

NLV

Men become right with God by putting their trust in Jesus Christ. God will accept men if they come this way. All men are the same to God.

NLT

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

NMB

Without doubt, the righteousness which is good before God comes by the faith of Jesus Christ, to all and upon all who believe. There is no difference.

NRSV

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,

NRSVA

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,

NRSVACE

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,

NRSVCE

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,

RSV

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;

RSVCE

the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;

TLV

namely, the righteousness of God through putting trust in Messiah Yeshua, to all who keep on trusting. For there is no distinction,

VOICE

This redeeming justice comes through the faithfulness of Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King, who makes salvation a reality for all who believe—without the slightest partiality.

WEB

even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction,

WE

God puts people right with himself when they believe in Jesus Christ. He does this for all who believe. They are all alike.

WYC

And the rightwiseness of God is by the faith of Jesus Christ into all men and on all men that believe in him; for there is no parting. [Soothly the rightwiseness of God is by the faith of Jesus Christ into all and on all that believe into him; forsooth there is no distinction, or parting.]

YLT

and the righteousness of God [is] through the faith of Jesus Christ to all, and upon all those believing, -- for there is no difference,

***

GJ

Many have recognized and retained the concept of the faith of Jesus, which is also in Galatians and Philippians.

But look at those intoxicated by the 

• NKJV (ELDONUTs, CLC), 
• NIV (LCMS-WELS-ELS), the pedestrian NIV,
• EHV (WELS, also called the Brug),
• and the supposedly superior ESV (LCMS, ELDONUTs)...

Yes, they all willingly and willfully embrace a bad translation. The more difficult (for them) is the faith belonging to Jesus.

Vance - Essential KJV Book - King James, His Bible and Its Translators

 Laurence M. Vance, King James, His Bible and Its Translators

One bonus in getting The Bible Book out early was to have books recommended. I was already a fan of Vance's The Other Side of Calvinism. That book massively proves the inherent contradictions of famous Calvinists - who as a group - have denounced on aspect of TULIP or another. 

So I knew Vance could document his arguments.

I will be posting more about the book above, later today.

Laurence Vance - The Other Side of Calvinism

Everything But Faith - Statistics, Analysis, Anecdotes, Wry Commentary - Just No Faith!

 

ELCA bishops also partner in ministry with Thrivent.

 

 This actual ELCA ordination photo suggests many new roles for pastors, growth in recruitment.

The pickle-faced pundits of the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau Online Forum finally grabbed my attention.

Seminary enrollment figures are sinking faster than Jakarta, Indonesia. The copy and paste below is from the ALPB Online Forum on the topic of church workers in decline.

LCMS -

In the past 14 years church worker recruitment has declined:

1. Our 2 seminaries have experienced a combined decrease of 55% of those

enrolled in the Master of Divinity degree.

2. There has been a 59% decrease in our pre-seminary Concordia University

System enrollment.

3. There has been a 61% decrease  in our Lutheran teaching program enrollment.

To counteract these trends the LCMS National Convention in 2019 embarked on an

aggressive , comprehensive Church Worker Recruitment Initiative. 

[GJ - Aggressive - that will reel them in!]

ELCA 

In 2008, the ELCA seminaries graduated 271 with M.Div. Degrees.

In 2016, the ELCA seminaries graduated 173 with M.Div. Degrees.

https://www.livinglutheran.org/2017/02/seminary-status-check/

Several ELCA schools are already making major changes. Gettysburg Seminary, the oldest of the ELCA theological schools, is merging with the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia—a union contemplated as long as 50 years. This year the two schools will become United Lutheran Theological Seminary, with campuses in Philadelphia and Gettysburg.

• Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, is merging with nearby Capital University, an ELCA school, in a union that will be completed this year.
• Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif., merged with the ELCA’s California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. The seminary will sell its aging and expensive-to-maintain campus and is moving downtown near Berkeley City College and the University of California.
• Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C., is now affiliated with Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C.
• School officials see these moves as not only cost-saving but also as ways to expand the seminary experience.
• “For some time, many seminaries had become monastic in nature,” said Wayne Powell, president of Lenoir-Rhyne. Today, he said, “seminaries are becoming more interactive with the real world, which, of course, provides the students with a more practical education.”
• Cooper-White said the Gettysburg union with the Philadelphia school was not just a “merger, but a new approach to formation and leadership development.”

From the ELCA pastor Journalist -

"On almost all statistical measurements, the ELCA and LC-MS have been in parallel, that is, almost equal decline in recent decades. My former synod has closed or put in hospice care almost 20 percent of its congregations in the last 20 years."

+++

Jon Alan Schmidt, LCMS Layman

"We believe, teach and confess that by conserving the distinction between Law and Gospel as an especially glorious light

with great diligence in the Church, the Word of God is rightly divided according to the admonition of St. Paul." (FC Ep V.2)

***

GJ - The Formula of Concord statement (above) was left alone, perhaps because no one wants to deal with the apostasy of ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS. They are at war against Luther, Justification by Faith, the divinity of Christ, and the King James Version of the Bible. Their hymnals are dreadful and getting worse.

No Faith - High Church

The great escape for these dolts is worship. This can be found in equal doses of stench in the Episcopalians, smells-and-bells Lutherans, mainline ministers, and their most excellent models the Roman and Orthodox priests. They can talk all day long about the nuances of worship, incense, robes, miters, copes, and church calendars - all a substitute for faith in Christ.

Ft. Wayne is a great example, following the model of No Faith - High Church. David Scaer rails against Justification by Faith but walks down the aisle in a trance for Holy Communion. Magicians do the same thing, but admit it - misdirection of the eyes.

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity, 2021. The Faith of Jesus - Weeping Over Jerusalem

 

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity, 2021

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn # 376                                      Rock of Ages

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

As for me, I will call upon God; 

and He shall hear my voice: 

He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.

God shall hear and afflict them, even He that abideth of old: 

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.

Psalm. Give ear to my prayer, O God: and hide not Thyself from my supplication.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

O God, who declarest Thine almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity, mercifully grant unto us such a measure of Thy grace that we, running the way of Thy commandments, may obtain Thy gracious promises and be made partakers of Thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of the eye: 

hide me under the shadow of Thy wings.

V. Let my sentence come forth from Thy presence: 

let Thine eyes behold the things that are equal. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. O Lord God of my salvation, 

I have cried day and night before Thee. Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #613          Jerusalem the Golden

The Faith of Jesus - Weeping Over Jerusalem

The Communion Hymn # 246          Holy, Holy, Holy                   

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 #447                               Fight the Good Fight

In Memory

Carl Roper

• One year ago, Carl Roper passed into eternal life at the age of 76, mourned by his wife Lynda. "I AM - the Resurrection and the Life."
• In therapy and treatment, Randy Anderson; Pastor Jim Shrader, Kermit Way. Medical issues - Marie Way, Chris Shrader. John Hicks - hospitalized for treatment needed.
• Ongoing tests: Pastor Shrader, Kermit Way.
• Christina Jackson continues in medical care, #301.

KJV 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

KJV Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. 45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. 47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, 48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

Tenth Sunday After Trinity

Almighty and everlasting God, who by Thy Holy Ghost hast revealed unto us the gospel of Thy Son, Jesus Christ: We beseech Thee so to quicken our hearts that we may sincerely receive Thy word, and not make light of it, or hear it without fruit, as did Thy people, the unbelieving Jews, but that we may fear Thee and daily grow in faith in Thy mercy, and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Background for the Sermon, Luke 19:41ff.

The Fall of Jerusalem is very important in Bible, because of the history of the nation and the warnings inherent in the narrative. Jesus, the Son of God, knew what would happen. After Rome took over as the "peace-keeper," those who dreamt of the glory days of King David were moved to revolt later and thus invited the armies of Imperial Rome to attack Jerusalem. 

Rome was not flexible and never lost a campaign, except for the guerilla war waged by Herman the German. The result in Jerusalem was famine, destruction, and looting for gold. That led to the Temple being leveled - the search for gold hidden somewhere. The warnings apply to us today, since we have ignored the basics of the Constitution, which assumed divine guidance as the guarantor of our peace and prosperity.

 

The Faith of Jesus - Weeping Over Jerusalem

KJV Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

Jesus knew what was coming, both for Him and Jerusalem. And yet, He was not calling down wrath on the holy city, but expressing His compassion. They longed for a glorious soldier Messiah, who would rid them of the Roman tax collectors and bring unparalleled prosperity and abundance to them. 

The address is ironic, because Jeru-salem means a place of peace in Hebrew.  Combining the religion (some version of it) and a renewal of the Maccabean era, when Israel was free for a short time. This was a materialistic view of their situation, one which ignored the presence of the Redeemer, whose miraculous works gathered thousands but frightened the religious and secular leaders.

Jerusalem is a place of peace, and Jesus is the Savior (in Hebrew) and therefore Jesus  is the ultimate peace-giver. But when people are blinded, all their wrongful efforts make them even blinder.

43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

This warning is a perfect description of Rome's conquest of Jerusalem. They built a wall around the wall to prevent people from leaving or coming in. The city was bulging with pilgrims, but they had access to all the water they needed. The problem was food and the diminishing stores of it. 

Rome had an unlimited supply of slaves, plus soldiers to do the work on the wall. All our politicians have impressive walls around their homes, so they must trust in walls, too. Some have the walls strengthened and built higher - just in case. 

When people are afraid, they will act in a state of panic. That happened in Jerusalem. The horrible details are found in Josephus, who told the Roman guards he wanted to help their side - and he did, as one of the first public relations expert for a regime. Fear leverages fear, and the city was insane with fear. They were trapped and food was running short.

It was a waiting game that only Rome could win. When they swept into the city, they looked for treasure everywhere and overturned the massive Temple, which was still new. "Not one stone left on another." They pried the massive stones apart to look for gold. If people were suspected of swallowing jewels...

There were so many captives, that they shipped them elsewhere to keep the price of a slave at a decent price. That meant a scattering for Judaism and fertile ground for the Gospel. The Christians (First Lutheran Church, Jerusalem) had already been persecuted out of there - so they were spared. The earlier persecution was a blessing.

45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 

The Temple courtyard was like church narthex's today, but far larger. Today a church will have:

• Bake sales.
• Slave sales.
• A parking lot fund.
• Bowls to pay for the coffee and cookies.
• Thrivent flower calendars.
• Thrivent napkins. 
• Photo albums to give to the agent, because it is "his/her church" for soliciting business. Has Schwan's Food thought of that?

I understand having ways to fund missionaries. In the 19th century women's church group socials supported world missions. People were confident they could spread the Gospel throughout the world and had a magazine, The Christian Century, for that. But that is known as the most Left-wing magazine (if read at all) today.

I often talk to people about the state of congregations today, especially the mainlines. They have lots of huge buildings with huge endowments and 40 people worshiping on Sunday. That old church in Milwaukee that tries to burn down every so often - they have a splendid building and an attendance lower than 100.

46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.

This is the prophetic message for the Christian Church today. The first part is the intention. The second part is the reality.

The only purpose of the Christian Church is to teach the forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ. That is the Chief Article of Christianity - and all else follows.

The message about Christ must be the same as the Sacred Scriptures teach. No matter how learned and experienced the minister is from all his studies, the Bible judges all books and is judged by no books or human decrees.

Someone can see this violated in every possible way. One evasion is to teach forgiveness without faith, calling that grace, even though Paul plainly said, in Romans 4 - This must be by faith so it can be by grace.

Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

So we have an era where "grace" means universal pardon and salvation, and some even cite Romans 4 (a hilariously bad mistake) to justify themselves. There is an entire regiment of Preus's who do that and constantly deceive others as much as they are deceived themselves.

But this is not just a Midwestern fetish - it belongs to all mainline churches and many who consider themselves conservative, confessional , orthodox, or traditional.

The Gospel is "from faith to faith," which is mysterious to many. That is because the modernists have wiped out "the faith of Jesus" from Romans 3, Galatians, and Philippians. We are justified by faith of Jesus - not only faith in Jesus - but primarily faith in Jesus.

This lesson is a clear example. What impresses us most about Jesus before Jerusalem, looking at the place where He would be arrested, tortured, abandoned, denied, and crucified? That walk to Jerusalem required faith in God the Father.

The modernists reject the divinity of Christ, but in their milquetoast, thin gruel paraphrases (NRSV, NIV, ESV) they change the obvious and remove the humanity of Christ from justification, which tends to make people ignore that He is God and man. "Faith in Christ" is what we have when the Gospel moves us to faith through the Holy Spirit in the Word. The faith belonging to Christ is what allowed Him to face the most terrible and cruel end. That is why (Gospel of John) He shook all over when He saw the stone grave of Lazarus, so much like His future resting place for a short time.

There is only one message, so those who depart from teaching faith in Christ, and the faith of Christ, will go as far off track as Amelia Earhart did. 

The business model used today is so tacky that one wonders how much longer the same institutions promoting will last.

but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Teaching falsehood with brazen confidence is bad enough, but many of these leaders have no faith at all. They only know "what works" (an odd reversal of the efficacy of the Word, the only thing "that works. Even the Greek word means that the Word works).

Even worse are those cynical crooks who know that the right manipulations will generate the desired results. One Church Growth promoter said, "Do this and you will have a lot of happy campers." He said it so often that I wondered what his purpose was, other than manipulation.

Wake up America - the apostates have stolen your denominations, pension funds, church properties, and seminaries. They will never give them back. They may even be stunned at how much worse their successors are. But - hey - that is the way they were trained. And they hate hearing they are wrong according to the Scriptures. They are a den of thieves - WELS, ELS, LCMS, CLC - adding their crimes to ELCA, the Methodists, liberal Baptists, United Church of Christ, and Calvinists.

47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, 48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

Jesus remained teaching until the end, which was delayed by His popular support. But betrayal did the work for their Father Below.