Four Hours of Music for Sleeping - Faux-Lutherans Also Asleep.Others Are Alert and Awakened

Classical music is like brussels sprouts, ignored and avoided for no reason.

The Lutheran world is like this drought. Nothing much is expected when the forecasts insist on too much sun and too little rain for the future. Many people are watering just to keep the plants alive, and they catch glimpses of the hardiness of Creation.

Rainwater is a precious commodity now. Name With-Held likes to kid me about my rain-barrels, poised to catch every drop from the roof. They are bare, except for a few dead leaves and two filled with stored water for safer watering.

One inch of rainfall will green up the grass, revive all the plants, and give animals a chance to drink and bathe, often in the same water.

I am starting to see genuine expression of love for the King James Bible. I read a little about its history each day. People write to me about their long-held love for the KJV. 

One author answered why Moby Dick - a strange novel - continues to be praised in American literature. The novel expresses the music and poetry, the grandeur of the King James Bible and Shakespeare. Our English language comes from only two sources - the almost anonymous scholars of the KJV and the Earl of Oxford, pseudonym - Shakespeare.

Today's children are sheltered from both and will largely grow up discussing social media stars, ignorant of the skies above them and the libraries abandoned but close by them.

Quality has a way of lasting, because that is a property of God's Creation. 

"What could be more full of meaning?—for the pulpit is ever this earth’s foremost part; all the rest comes in its rear; the pulpit leads the world. From thence it is the storm of God’s quick wrath is first descried, and the bow must bear the earliest brunt. From thence it is the God of breezes fair or foul is first invoked for favourable winds. Yes, the world’s a ship on its passage out, and not a voyage complete; and the pulpit is its prow."

“In this world, shipmates, sin that pays its way can travel freely and without a passport; whereas Virtue, if a pauper, is stopped at all frontiers....

“...being an anointed pilot-prophet, or speaker of true things and bidden by the Lord to sound those unwelcome truths in the ears of a wicked Nineveh, Jonah, appalled at the hostility he should raise, fled from his mission, and sought to escape his duty and his God by taking ship at Joppa. But God is everywhere; Tarshish he never reached. As we have seen, God came upon him in the whale, and swallowed him down to living gulfs of doom, and with swift slantings tore him along ‘into the midst of the seas,’ where the eddying depths sucked him ten thousand fathoms down, and ‘the weeds were wrapped about his head,’ and all the watery world of woe bowled over him.

“Yet even then beyond the reach of any plummet- ‘out of the belly of hell’- when the whale grounded upon the ocean’s utmost bones, even then, God heard the engulphed, repenting prophet when he cried. Then God spake unto the fish; and from the shuddering cold and blackness of the sea, the whale came breeching up towards the warm and pleasant sun, and all the delights of air and earth; and ‘vomited out Jonah upon the dry land;’ when the word of the Lord came a second time; and Jonah, bruised and beaten- his ears, like two sea-shells, still multitudinously murmuring of the ocean- Jonah did the Almighty’s bidding.

“And what was that, shipmates? To preach the Truth to the face of Falsehood! That was it!

“...Delight is to him, who gives no quarter in the truth, and kills, burns, and destroys all sin though he pluck it out from under the robes of Senators and Judges. Delight,- top-gallant delight is to him, who acknowledges no law or lord, but the Lord his God, and is only a patriot to heaven. Delight is to him, whom all the waves of the billows of the seas of the boisterous mob can never shake from this sure Keel of the Ages. And eternal delight and deliciousness will be his, who coming to lay him down, can say with his final breath- O Father!- chiefly known to me by Thy rod- mortal or immortal, here I die. I have striven to be Thine, more than to be this world’s, or mine own. Yet this is nothing: I leave eternity to Thee; for what is man that he should live out the lifetime of his God?”

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville
Chapter 9 - The Sermon

Fuhrman Has the Key to Food Craving. No More Dessert Zombies

I saw that look when we ran out of chocolate cream-filled berliners. "YOU ARE OUT? When will you have more?"

The overall Eat To Live argument is sound, because Joel Fuhrman replaces the processed salt-fat-sweeteners of the American menu with the old-fashioned greens, beans, and fruit of common sense nutrition - God's Creation.

Some have asked, "What about craving food?" I got to know that while dropping down to 195, after being at 224 and higher. At 195, I would grab a bag of kettle corn (sugar, salt, fat, high glycemic popcorn) or crave PBJs (sugar, salt, fat, bread). In a few days the scale screamed 198, or did I?. 

I realized I hated salad dressing - not plain fresh spinach, which is crunchy and good, loaded with nutrition, a super-food. Now I am eating spinach early in the day, no matter what, and eating a huge crisp apple as dessert several times a day.

1. Packed full of vitamins

It is a challenge to find other plants that can compete with spinach in terms of the range of valuable vitamins and minerals they contain. For example, spinach is an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, and iron. It also serves as an excellent source of vitamins A, B6 and C and niacin and folate. This is far from a complete least of all the important elements that spinach brings to healthy bodies. Another significant fact about spinach is that it has a very low amount of fat.

2. As good as a gym for muscle building

The cartoons illustrate how eating spinach causes Popeye to develop huge muscles on his arms. The physical transformation of spinach eaters lacks this drama in real life, but the cartoonist's association between spinach and muscle building is not simply a whim of fancy. Spinach contains a compound called Factor C0-Q10 that has muscle-strengthening properties. This could help those arm muscles develop, but scientists find that it is especially beneficial for the heart muscles. C0-Q10 is already in use for certain heart disease treatments.

3. The vegetable that helps improve vision - lutein - tomatoes have it too

If you ask people to name a vegetable that is good for eyesight, the carrot is the one they are most probably going to mention. Folk tradition contains the belief that carrots help you see in the dark, but maybe spinach has comparable properties. Researchers have discovered that it contains lutein and other elements that protect against vision loss. There is scientific evidence that eating spinach can stop the progress of the Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) that damages the vision of the over 60's age group.

Returning to pure spinach salad, I have now gone down from 198 to 191, with craving stopped by spinach, fruit alone, or spinach and fruit. Pineapple is a superb late night dessert and not loaded with sugar. Oranges are just as delicious. Ripe pears, papaya, blueberries, and other fruits are always available in variable amounts. 

Sugar-grease-pastry desserts actually numb the mind. I know, because I observed so many dessert zombies come into the donut shop and ask for donuts, Danish rolls, cookies, fudge, and peanut brittle - that hollow, vacant eyed, possessed look.

The cost is never an issue for the dessert zombie. Restaurants thaw frozen desserts from a service, so they talk about "getting it ready," which means warming it up. 😁 Desserts cost many times what the meal does, if people just take a look at size, cost, and value per ounce. 

Panera bread is another example: sweet bread and desserts to attract - salads for virtue signaling.

Since good foods are medicinal, we should carefully consider, with a doctor's supervision, over-the-counter remedies. I stopped daily Benadryl (allergies, sleep inducer) when I saw that it increased blood pressure and eye pressure. Blood pressure went down and sleep was easier. I slept better and no longer have antihistamine hangovers.

Unsolicited Email - The King James Version

We had to forego the leather binding and gold-plated hardware, but The King James Version is illustrated by Norma A. Boeckler, full color.

I would like to receive a copy of The King James Version you offered in a post.  My address is:

_________.

I enjoy reading your posts every day, and your sermons every week.  Again, you have helped me learn so much, even though I've been a ---S teacher and ---S since birth.  

So, thank you for all your good hard work!  You are a good, faithful servant!

***

GJ - I regret to inform you that I only send out two at a time, one to read and keep, one to give away. No charge.

If I have missed anyone from the list, please let me know at greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com

 The King James Version

Everyone Together - Repeat - The Meaning of Polls

The meaning of all polls - in one easy lesson.

1. Published polls are purchased to influence people - they have no factual value. Example - Fuller Seminary loves the polls it buys from the Barna Group - Barna's "Robbing the Egyptians" is a term lovingly repeated by David Valleskey, originally from Augustine. WELS cannot even make up their own slogans.

2. Private polls are intended only for the entity paying for them. They are not published but may be hinted at. 

What did we learn today, class? 

Answer - "Every published poll in the media has enormous potential for laughter."

 "But we were robbing the Egyptians! We spent millions of your money to revolutionize our shrinking, abusive sect. Cut us some slack!"

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

 

 A message from our sponsor, the KJV

The Triumph of the Weak and Despised, The Doom of the Vindictive Bullies.

The garden is quite the battleground, and so are the gardening spaces along the fences and behind the house. 

Weeds love rich soil and take over as soon as they can. I caught a squirrel burying his food under a rose bush. Someone asked, "Why would they do that?" I said, "Sunshine, water, and a prickly guard will allow his future nut tree to be firmly established  and possibly take over. If I pull the weed tree I will uproot the rose." 

However, the bully plant will show its colors and find itself snipped into exhaustion.

I am reading a classic book about the Roman Catholic persecution and slaughter of Huguenots, Vaudois, and other Protestants. From the beginning, Christianity has grown through those paradoxical methods. At the same time, the establishment of the visible church has meant the deadening and final apostasy of many prosperous church bodies.

The great and wise among Protestants in America and England sought to ditch the KJV and replace it with their Revision of the KJV, which lasted as long as the Hula Hoop.

The current KJV-Never crowd includes WELS-ELDONA-ELCA-LCMS-ELS. They may politely disagree with the Message, the various Livings, but they heap scorn on the masterpiece of all translations, the KJV. To prove their feigned nobility, they treat the KJV with silence, lest a sarcastic face-plant leave them looking like the fools they are.

William Tyndale was not only a brilliant translator, but he also associated with the Lutheran Reformation, printing many of his English Bibles not far from Luther's stronghold. He was murdered for his crime of translating, but soon after, the KJV of 1611 was established by another fluke of history (or was it?) 

That Bible became the Scriptures of the English speaking world - the British Empire and the American Republic.

Sceptics of the past and present - like Mencken and Harvard - acknowledge that nothing compares to the KJV. 

Gardens grow in beauty because the gardener watches for the weeds and gently nurtures the  new plants. In one place I look up at the mighty Joe Pye Weed and wait for the butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees to arrive. In the back I hope for the same plants, new and starving for rain, to survive the scorching sun and establish its roots.

American denominations have nurtured the weeds and rooted up sound doctrine wherever they can. Bishop-for-Life Jim Heiser was frightened of Waldo Werning's power (ha!) and did not publish a review of the great phony's work. Why? It was well known that WW would pursue his critics out of the LCMS and beyond. 

I challenged the lying Waldo on the phone and quoted him as a Fuller agent - from the notes I took in my DayTimer. He flew into a rage but he died a Facebook friend. 

Lots of "conservative" Lutherans have disowned and shunned me. They like to rage anonymously against me, and they respond in horror to what I publish in my own name (not afraid of their Father Below). They give me time and energy to work with those few, those happy few, those band of brothers who find a common cause in the Word of God.

Tyndale and Luther - Or Westcott and Hort?

 Apparently not - but wave some Thrivent money at them and they will nod back - "Yes, ma'm, right away. What were your pronouns?"

 "We never could have accomplished so much without that curious, shadowy stranger who encouraged, praised, and supported us."

Graduation, 1972. Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, Now Much Smaller as Martin Luther University Seminary.

 

Black and white photograph of Waterloo Lutheran Seminary graduates and faculty members in the Seminary chapel. Left to right, back row: Delton Glebe, Eric Howes, David Granskou, Ragnar Teigen, Eduard Riegert and Unknown. Centre row: Gregg Jackson and Gil Scharf. Front row: Guenter Dahle, Laurie Van Kleek, Paul Schweitzer, Bill Wade, Unknown (Ron Mulberger) and Dave Hardy. 1972.

The faculty from this photo have passed away, except for Richard Crossman (Unknown), who became the next seminary dean or principal. Crossman was a Tillich fan who took 20 more years to finish his doctorate. Crossman retired, replaced by a lady dean.

Ulrich Leupold, PhD, was the dean and New Testament professor before Delton Glebe became dean, making the curriculum all about counseling. Leupold died of a degenerative brain condition. I told him where I planned to go and he gestured happiness with his shaking hand. The faculty and students encouraged me - in their own way. Another Leupold taught much earlier at Cap Seminary, Columbus, Ohio (Loy, Leupold, Lenski).

 This building included Waterloo Seminary's  chapel, a few seminary rooms, and the MSW program. Now it is mostly a counseling training center with a few seminary students and fewer seminary faculty. 

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 2022

The Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Permanent Video here now.

The melodies are linked in the hymn name. 

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The melody site is linked here.
• TLH Lyrics site is linked here.

The Hymn # 452                      The Son of God  
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 #528:10-15  If God Himself Be For Me

A Simple Guideline

The Communion Hymn # 308       Invited Lord  
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 

Prayers and Announcements

•  Kermit and Maria Way, Pastor Jim and Chris Shrader, Callie, her mother Peggy, and her father Calvin, C.
• The doctor gave Lynda Roper good news.
• Esther Estrada will arrive in Minnesota on July 20th. Glen Kotten and Esther will be married on July 23rd.
• Norma Boeckler's son has experience with church broadcasting and has ideas about the sound.
• The Bible Book came out last year, and a much improved The King James Version, the newest book, is reaching new people. Email if you or someone else wants one or two.

KJV Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

KJV Luke 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.

Fourth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, who art merciful, and through Christ didst promise us, that Thou wilt neither judge nor condemn us, but graciously forgive us all our sins, and abundantly provide for all our wants of body and soul: We pray Thee, that by Thy Holy Spirit Thou wilt establish in our hearts a confident faith in Thy mercy, and teach us also to be merciful to our neighbor, that we may not judge or condemn others, but willingly forgive all men, and, Judging only ourselves, lead blessed lives in Thy fear, through Thy dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

A Simple Guideline

 

KJV Luke 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 

Basic to the Bible is the revelation that God is merciful. The parallel qualities follow adding to the initial powerful statement - Be merciful. Why? Because God is merciful, not judging, not condemning, but forgiving.

As Lenski points out in his unique, grammatical way, be merciful does not mean be merciful once, but be continuously merciful, always merciful. Lenski, Luke, p. 372.

This relationship can be found in another form in John 15, Jesus as the True Vine. He is continuously bearing fruit, so we as, as the fruit  of the Vine, obtain those qualities from faith in Him. That is the way we obtain grace, through faith in all the work of Jesus Christ but primarily in His Atonement, Resurrection, and Ascension.

The Gospel-dominant emphasis in the Bible is often ignored or misunderstood. Our human temptation is to dwell on the Law and merge the Law and Gospel together, as if we cannot be forgiven unless we are perfect.

The opening of this passage is also teaching us that we should be as forgiving toward others as God is toward us.

38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 

This passage has been promoted by hucksters like the one who had a money machine. He worked on cruise lines long ago. He had a machine that converted ordinary dollars into $100. As I recall, he sold many copies of this machine, which was engineered to work that way.

Verse 38 is a remedy for those who cannot let go and forgive, who will not help others, who have no time for others, who want to keep everything for themselves, including their time.

Instead, when we give - of ourselves and what we have to share - we should have no fears about God giving to us far more than we give to others. What we share goes out and comes back in other forms.

Many times I have built up Lutheran, Biblical book collections and given most of them away, so others can enjoy them and gain from them. Lately I have received a lot of those titles back, while mailing three boxes away for free. 

Money and time are like roses, which grow more productive when shared with others. That is often missed by visitors. They are pruned so they can be even more fruitful, John 15.

Time is our most precious commodity because it is extremely limited, day by day, and in the long view (which gets shorter all the time). God wants us to share time with others because those moments may be the last ones we have.

If shunning worked for the betterment of mankind, we would be in Paradise now. America has so many classes, levels, and types of shunning, to enforce a code no one can comprehend, that many fear using the "wrong" word or going to the "wrong" gathering or having the "wrong" opinion.

39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 

Many are completely blind spiritually and are praised and protected as great leaders. One can follow their landings in the ditch, followed by their disciples (whom they made) who are just as blind. I will not mention Fuller Seminary and their blind followers (think of the $100 machine). 

For example, Westcott-Hort created their own Greek New Testament (GNT), snipping and clipping and pasting with glee. Today's modern scholars of the GNT realize that 160 years later, they still only have the Westcott-Hort GNT (in effect), whose theories have been completely destroyed as wrong, delusional, and a massive joke. The "modern, scholarly" GNTs continue to blind new students while the majority of Bible readers stick to the Byzantine, Majority Text and the King James Version.

40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

We should always keep in mind that everything in the Bible is about Jesus the Son of God. I had a class quiz on each special happening in the Exodus , calling on confirmands - Burning Bush, the bronze serpent raised up, blood on the doorposts, the lamb without spot, bread from heaven, etc - one student said when I asked him about one event - "I am not sure but the answer is probably Jesus."

This is a verse about Jesus. We should strive to be like Jesus. The fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 are in several cases the descriptions of Jesus - meek and lowly, etc. 

KJV Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

KJV Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

And the Beatitudes are based upon Christ Himself. 

Everything is conditioned upon keeping Jesus Christ as our center, our foundation, and "our hero" as Luther wrote. Someone who wants to change, dilute, or reject the Gospel (and there are many) will have disciples like them, who are the little Antichrists follow their master, their Father Below.

41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.

This is always where we need to start when examining the faults of others. In the Age of Woke, we have much more blaming, shunning, and demanding repayment for mistakes made, even if the slight is imaginary.

Watch the KJV Quotations Change on the Masthead.Get Free Copies of The King James Version: Apostolic Texts, Precise Translation versus Fraudulent Texts and Heretical Translations

H. L. Menken, 

Famous Journalist and Agnostic 

“It is the most beautiful of all the translations of the Bible; indeed, it is probably the most beautiful piece of writing in all the literature of the world. Many attempts have been made to purge it of its errors and obscurities. An English Revised Version was published in 1885 and an American Revised Version in 1901, and since then many learned but misguided men have sought to produce translations that should be mathematically accurate, and in the plain speech of everyday. But the Authorized Version has never yielded to any of them, for it is palpably and overwhelmingly better than they are, just as it is better than the Greek New Testament, or the Vulgate, or the Septuagint. Its English is extraordinarily simple, pure, eloquent, lovely. It is a mine of lordly and incomparable poetry, at once the most stirring and the most touching ever heard of.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956).

The quotation above is in the masthead. The blog will keep changing the quotation (all from The King James Version) from time to time, enticing readers to obtain the entire list.

Those who want copies of The King James book - printed in full color - can email me at greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com

There is no cost and no salesman will drop by. 

 Norma A. Boeckler, our award winning artist, 
illustrated the book and covers.

Open Letter from Tom Fisher

Dear Pastor Jackson,

Please publish this open Letter to all Lutherans.  May Christ give us all ears to hear the correct understanding of Justification by Faith.

Tom Fisher

tomfisher99@yahoo.com

"All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. Ànd the light shineth in darkness and the darkness Comprehended it not." John 1:3-5

Reasoning, that puss sack of sin and unbelief, has engulfed Lutherans in a false understanding of the chief article of the Christian faith: justification by faith.

"The overly chipper opponents of Justification by Faith want to tell the entire world that God is no longer angry with them, no longer viewing them as sinful and faithless.  By starting with the wrong inference about reconciliation, the opponents of the Chief Article draw the wrong conclusion, repeatedly saying, 'God has declared the entire world righteous, forgiven of sin.' " (Pastor Gregory Jackson, PhD, The Path To Understanding Justification, ISBN 9781072530428, pg. 62).  Pastor Jackson goes on to explain that "this false assurance is the foundation of modern antinomianism.  Every Biblical sin is absolved in advance, except denying this strange dogma, which crime results in excommunication, shunning, and an avalanche of slander. (Gregory Jackson, PhD, The Path to Understanding Justification, pg. 62, footnote 21)

We must teach our children the correct understanding of Justification by Faith by using the King James Bible, Luther's Small Catechism pocket edition, and Pastor Greg Jackson's The Path To Understanding Justification.

Be Balm and Spread the Content

A group of students finished their project and almost followed my directions. I use Word's tool for the table of contents, which updates the page numbers.

The paper began - Table of Content.

I liked that typo and kidded them about contentment. This morning I looked at two examples of Bee Balm. One is the area around the mailbox, where I caught the carrier cutting away the flowers around the box.

He did not realize that the Bee Balm blossoms attract several kinds of bees that care only about the pollen. They are like him, taking their predestined packages where they will be useful and appreciated.

The little stand of Bee Balms grew to several hundred around the mailbox, so I trimmed back the ones closest to the box.

The Military Gardening Group enjoys watching the bees work on the balm closer to the porch. It is peaceful and no one gets stung. I even added some red Bee Balm closer to the porch, saving rainwater just for them.

Balm is an generic word for soothing - Is there no balm in Gilead?

KJV Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?

**

***

The other Bee Balm patch began in a weak state, but I was confident, even content. I dug up some and planted them against side of the house getting the most sun - and often the most weeds, from crabgrass to comfrey (knitbone).  I planted in the fall, knowing the roots would do their work during winter and spring.

Bee Balm has the advantage of waiting patiently to show off - just when the roses and other flowers are beaten down by too much sun and too little rain. The handful of balm from last fall grew into a patch of several hundred flowers in the Butterfly Garden for July. Now the blooms are nodding and bending from a host of bees sampling their food. 

KJV 1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

I was required to visit people daily when I worked at St. Peter's in Kitchener. I got to see many retired people and enjoyed every minute. They were the living history of the congregation and the area. One Croft told me about the relative who went to America ("no good" she smiled). He changed his name to Kraft and did very well in the food business. He was the Schwan of cheese.

For sceptics and The Lutheran Librarian - "Born in Stevensville, Ontario, Canada in 1874, James L. Kraft immigrated to the United States in 1903 and started a wholesale door-to-door cheese business in Chicago; its first year of operations was "dismal", losing US$3,000 and a horse. However, the business took hold and Kraft was joined by his four brothers to form J.L. Kraft and Bros. Company in 1909. As early as 1911, circulars and advertisements were in use by the company.^[12]"

One lady did not like those people who countered her health problems with theirs, which were far worse. She said, "Your pneumonia won't cure my cold!" She had many quips like that. 

Our world is becoming crazier. I even resist my favorite independent news sources now. However, God uses the foolish, greedy, and evil to accomplish His will. Pardon the homey example, but one judo practitioner told me, "Use the opponent's strength against him and he will fly through the air, which is what that brown belt did to you."

7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

That is a Greek New Testament pun that translates well. Luther used it too - He is as anxious for us and we are for Him.

Luke 15

Matthias Loy's The Augsburg Confession. From the Lutheran Library Publishishing Ministry, Alec Satin - The Lutheran Librarian

Newsletter from The Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

In This Issue

The Augsburg Confession: An Introduction and Exposition by Matthias Loy Jehovah's Witnesses: A Counterfeit Christianity by Joseph Stump [Journal Article] New Gospel Sermons by Richard C. H. Lenski Eisenach Old Testament Selections by Richard C. H. Lenski Columbus Theological Magazine Vol. 9 by Matthias Loy

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The Augsburg Confession: An Introduction and Exposition by Matthias Loy “Sincere believers of the truth revealed in Christ for man’s salvation have no reason to be ashamed of Luther, whom God sent to bring again to His people the precious truth in Jesus… The whole purpose of the book is practical. It steadily pursues the aim of helping our Lutheran people to a better appreciation of their Church and its precious heritage, and to a firmer stand and a more zealous labor to maintain them and make others partake of the blessings of the Reformation…” — Matthias Loy. Level of Difficulty: Intermediate: Some subject matter knowledge helpful. Book Contents Preface. Part I. Introduction To The Augsburg Confession. 1 Historical Survey. 2 The Confessing Church 3 The Fundamental Principles 4 Confessional Authority 5 Relation To Our Other Confessions 6 The Condemnations 7 The Banner Of The Church 8 Loyalty To The Banner 1 We Must Have Faith 2 Faith Works By Love 3 Faith Manifests Privately and Publicly 4 Faith Stands With Other Christians 5 Faith Joins Churches into Synods 6 Salvation Is Only In Christ’s Kingdom Part II. Exposition Introduction Article I. Of God. Article II. Of Original Sin. 1 Sin Is Universal. 2 Our Confession Sets Forth The Nature Of This Sin. 3 This Appetite Is Really Sin 4 The Consequence Is Eternal Condemnation and Damnation For All Who Are Not Born Again 5 Current Errors Article III. Of The Son Of God And Of The Holy Spirit. 1 The Lord’s Person According To The Scriptures 2 The Reconciliation And Sacrifice For All Actual Sins of Men 3 The Application by The Holy Spirit Article IV. Of Justification. 1 Sinners Are Justified 2 The Scriptural Ground of Justification By Faith 1 That Man Needs Justification Was Not A Subject Of Contention In The Battles Of The Reformation 2 Our Confessors “Teach That Man Cannot Be Justified Before God By Their Own Powers, Merits, Or Works” 3 Our Churches Teach That While “Men Cannot Be Justified Before God By Their Own Powers, Merits, Or Works,” They “Are Justified Freely, For Christ’s Sake, Through Faith” 3 Justification Is By Faith 1 It Is Needful, First Of All, To Understand What Is Meant By The Word Faith, Or Believing 2 Some Believe That Faith Fulfills All God’s Requirements 3 The Faith Which Embraces Christ Is The Gift of God 4 The Faith Which The Holy Ghost Works In Our Hearts Is The Only Means Whereby The Righteousness Acquired For Us By The Vicarious Work And Suffering Of Our Savior Can Be Appropriated. 5 The Faith Which The Holy Spirit Works By The Gospel And Which Appropriates The Righteousness Of Christ Presented In The Gospel, Is A Living Power In The Realm Of Grace Article V. Of The Ministry Of The Church 1 God Has Instituted Means of Grace To Execute His Saving Purpose On Earth 2 These Means Of Grace Are The Word Of God And The Holy Sacraments 3 The Holy Spirit Works The Faith Which Embraces Salvation in Christ Through Means 4 The Answer To Those Who Believe The Holy Spirit Is Given Apart From The Word Article VI. Of New Obedience. 1 Of Course Good Works Ought To Be Done God’s Commandments Are The Test of Good Works Faith Brings Forth The Good Fruits Required 2 Doing Good Works Is God’s Will 3 Salvation By Faith Not Works Is The Teaching Of Scripture and Of The Church From The Beginning Article VII. Of The Church 1 The Product of Human Reason 2 Restoration Occurs Here On Earth 3 Why “In Which The Gospel Is Rightly Taught and The Sacraments Rightly Administered” Was Added 4 Right Understanding of The Test 5 True Unity Depends On The Doctrine of the Gospel And Administration Of The Sacraments 6 The “One Holy Church Is To Continue Forever” Article VIII. What The Church Is. Article IX. Of Baptism 1 Baptism Is Necessary To Salvation. 2 “Children are to be baptized, who by Baptism, being offered to God, are received into God’s favor.” 3 Our churches therefore rightly “condemn the Anabaptists, who reject the Baptism of children, and affirm that children are saved without Baptism.” Article X. Of The Lord’s Supper. I. The True Body and Blood 1 Communicated and Received 2 “Truly Present” 3 “Under the Form” 4 “Communicated” II. Proofs of the Doctrine III. Those Who Teach Otherwise Article XI. Of Confession. I. Absolution must be retained in the churches. 1 Those To Whom Absolution Is Distasteful 2 The Heavenly Consolations of the Gospel II. Pastoral Care 1 Confession and Absolution Prior to Lord’s Supper Predates the Papacy 2 The Lutheran Church Did Not Reject The Ancient Usage Article XII. Of Repentance. 1 The Right of Absolution to Fallen Christians Who Repent 2 What is Embraced in True Repentance 1 The Soul’s Awareness of Sin 2 Contrition is Not Atonement 3 The Proper Fruits of Repentance 4 The Errors Which Faithful Christians Must Condemn Article XIII. Of The Use Of The Sacraments. I. The Nature and Design of the Sacraments. 1 Not Only Marks of Profession 2 Their Higher Purpose II. The Necessity of Believing The Gospel III. Not The Work Done Article XIV. Of The Ecclesiastical Office. Article XV. Of Ecclesiastical Rites. I. External Rites are Unavoidable 1 Distinguishing Between Divine and Human Rites and Ceremonies 2 Distinctions in Human Ordinances II. Adminitions In This Article 1 Liberty and Love Article XVI. Of Civil Affairs. I. Civil Government Is A Divine Institution. 1 Human Equality and Individual Liberty 2 Civil Government is a Divine Institution 3 Scriptures Do Not Prescribe The Form of Government 4 An Ordinance of God 5 Subjection “not absolute” 6 Sometimes Christians Must Refuse II. More Regarding Civil Affairs 1 False Notions of Holiness 2 The Affairs of Life in General Article XVII. Of Christ’s Return To Judgment. I. The Consummation is Not Yet 1 The Lord Will Come Again 2 The Object of His Coming 3 The Resurrection of the Dead 4 The Full Enjoyment of Eternal Life 5 Eternal Torments For The Ungodly II. Two Specific Errors Condemned 1 Anabaptists 2 The Chialists [Millenialists] Article XVIII. Of Free Will. I. Civil Righteousness 1 Man’s Essential Atttributes 2 The Will Is Still Free 3 Man’s Freedom To Act Limited II. The Righteousness of God 1 Spiritual Righteousness 2 Inability of Man to Attain Spiritual Righteousness 3 Free Will Cannot Work The Righteousness of God by Faith III. Pelagianism Condemned 1 The Pelagian Spirit 2 The Obligation To Condemn Error Article XIX. Of The Cause Of Sin. I. God Is Not The Cause of Sin. 1 God creates all nature. 2 He who made all things preserves them all. 3 Sin Is Never The Will of the Holy One. II. Sin’s Cause Is The Will of the Wicked. 1 Will Enables An Intelligent Creature To Fall Into Sin. 2 The Sinning Creature Turned Away from The Creator. 3 How Did Wicked Persons Enter Into The World? 4 How Could Man Created In The Image of God in Righteousness and True Holiness Choose to Disobey? Article XX. Of Good Works. II. Justification by Faith Alone Cannot Be Abandoned. 1 The One and Only Way of Salvation. 2 Salvation by Faith is the Fulfillment of the Law. Article XXI. Of The Worship Of Saints. I. Proper Honors To The Saints II. No Invocation To Saints II. Articles In Which Are Recounted The Abuses Corrected. Article XXII. Of Both Kinds In The Lord’s Supper. Article XXIII. Of The Marriage Of Priests. Article XXIV. Of The Mass. Article XXV. Of Confession. Article XXVI. Of The Distinction Of Meats. Article XXVII. Of Monastic Vows. Article XXVIII. Of Ecclesiastical Power. Order a Printed Copy Print Copy: The Augsburg Confession: An Introduction and Exposition by Matthias Loy - “Lutheran Librarian” edition Download the eBook PDF EPUB - [Apple, Kobo and other devices] MOBI+AZW3 - [Kindle] If you request an EPUB or MOBI version, you can expect to receive it within a few hours. If you don't hear back by the next day, check your spam or junk mail folder. This is especially true for yahoo mail. You can also request a copy of this or any Lutheran Library e-book by sending an email with the title and format you'd like. Enjoy the book! Publication Information Lutheran Library edition first published: 2020 Copyright: CC BY 4.0 Read more

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