Saturday, August 27, 2022

Bundle Nutrition Expensively - Or Eat Nutrition Frugally.
God's Creation Pharmacy







Nothing intrigues me more than the expense of over-the-counter (OTC) concoctions versus the nutrition in greens, beans, fruit, and nuts. 

I favor supplements but I am wary of most of them. For example, no concoction is going to cure diabetes if the basics are ignored - overweight, pancreas warrantee fading, lack of exercise. There is a "vitamin" promoted and it might help a bit, but so will cutting back ice cream to only two scoops per meal.

Vitamin E pills promise energy, but like many other pills, charge a fortune for an unbalanced promise which could be less than healthy.

Joel Fuhrman pointed out that fish oil is often rancid, which may explain the foul belches and the lack of beneficial results. "I read in a ladies' magazine  - barrupp - that it helps."

One couple said they ate fish once a week even though they disliked it. Companies market tilapia fish as special when it is the crabgrass of fish! Walnuts are ideal in reducing bad cholesterol and they taste great.

Calcium sounds good, but vegetable calcium is far better than questionable pill calcium. Ditto Vitamin C. 

Some things are beneficial in the short run but easily available in the God's vegetable garden - potassium and magnesium. I took potassium after being low on my blood test. Not drinking so much caffein is also a cure, and so is a typical plant-based habit of eating.

Multi-vitamin pills are sold for high prices, and the trace elements may be good - not found in pizza, KFC, or ice cream. I still use multi-vitamins but get the ones from Furhman.





If there is an Internet ad featuring a supposed doctor with a wild expression on his face, the cure promised is doubtless rubbish. I followed one set of "free" messages just to see one person's cure for diabetes. The cure is hyper-expensive pills of dubious merit hyped by wild claims.

God's Creation Pharmacy
I do not know what happened, but several months into eating greens, beans, fruits, and vegetables (with some meat and no ice cream) - my hands stopped causing me extreme pain by 90%. I used to wiggle my fingers and take aspirin. Now I move my fingers in disbelief and take no aspirin. Weight loss increased my energy, dropped my A1C to normal, BP to normal.

This must be the greatest prank of all time - our farm grandparents had great nutrition from grandma's vegetable garden. But now Americans eat meals of bread, fatty-salty meat, real butter and margarine, fatty milk, fatty-salty cheese, ice cream (guilty!). And they leverage all that with sugary salty desserts (guilty!). 

What is harder to digest and almost entirely lacking in food value? Answer - fast food and pizza-cheese-sausage washed down with beer.

Lest people get healthy with raw vegetables like green peppers, celery, and carrots, party hosts provide bowls of fatty-salty salad dressing. Even better - they have fatty-salty salad dressing for greasy fried chicken enhanced with hot sauce and no lack of salt.

I love all those foods, growing up where Chicken Delight was a treat and donuts were omnipresent. My classmate defined the attraction of the first chicken meals home-delivered as "the crisp, the salt, and the grease." 

I could fill up on the wrong foods, with so many enablers encouraging me, but I was writing checks my pancreas could not cash. 

Now, when I buy something new in the fruit or vegetable category, I look up the nutrient values, protein, and unusual trace elements. The cost is hilariously and the varieties are endless. I can skip turnips (yuk) but turnip greens are great. I can avoid root crops and eat really cheap greens. 

How many old movies show poor people handling that plow? They wear rags but have Schwarzenegger muscles without the steroids. Now we have high-tech kids who cannot guide a gas lawnmower.

Most of my food costs come from frozen vegetables ($2 packages) and canned vegetables ($1 cans). 



Friday, August 26, 2022

Take the Spinach Challenge - Filling Up without Calories - Loaded with Nutrition



When the doctor scared me into dropping ice cream as a significant factor in meals, I began to drop various fat-forming foods:

  • Bread with butter
  • Desserts in general, cookies, candy
  • Processed meat with lots of salt and fat
  • Eggs and cheese, both satisfying and fattyfying.

I lost 35 pounds but stalled below that level. I knew from daily weighs that a raw spinach day meant losing a pound a day, but I also backslid, a typical reaction to losing weight and celebrating the wrong way.

Fuhrman's positive response is to fill up on spinach and similar greens, which are super-beneficial and almost calorie free. I bought spinach boxes at Walmart and forgot to use them daily.

So I have switched to morning spinach (no blobs of dressing on top) and a huge apple for dessert. My childhood loathing of salad dressing returned and rewarded me with a simpler spinach response.

My first trial was this - I was very hungry and wanted a binge reward. I had none at home, due to poor planning. "Maybe I can get stuffed on fresh, raw spinach," I told myself. 

I got the largest bowl out and packed it with very fresh spinach. As I ate, I felt a mild euphoria and no hint of stuffiness. The spinach almost immediately extinguished my hunger, without my feeling stuffed and guilty (as in PBJs). 

Today I began with black coffee and waited to feel a bit hungry. Beans and veggies could have been rustled up fast, but that removes the spinach effect.

I got out a huge serving dish and filled it with fresh spinach, about 1/3 the box. I put a large apple on top for dessert. Both were delicious and fun to eat. The famine switch is reversed and my energy is very good.

Spinach 101: Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits

The nutrition facts for 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of raw spinach are (1Trusted Source):

  • Calories: 23
  • Water: 91%
  • Protein: 2.9 grams
  • Carbs: 3.6 grams
  • Sugar: 0.4 grams
  • Fiber: 2.2 grams
  • Fat: 0.4 grams

Carbs

Most of the carbs in spinach consist of fiber, which is incredibly healthy.

Spinach also contains small amounts of sugar, mostly in the form of glucose and fructose (1Trusted Source).

Fiber

Spinach is high in insoluble fiber, which may boost your health in several ways (2Trusted Source).

It adds bulk to stool as food passes through your digestive system. This may help prevent constipation.

Spinach is an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals, including (3):

  • Vitamin A. Spinach is high in carotenoids, which your body can turn into vitamin A.
  • Vitamin C. This vitamin is a powerful antioxidant that promotes skin health and immune function.
  • Vitamin K1. This vitamin is essential for blood clotting. Notably, one spinach leaf contains over half of your daily needs.
  • Folic acid. Also known as folate or vitamin B9, this compound is vital for pregnant women and essential for normal cellular function and tissue growth.
  • Iron. Spinach is an excellent source of this essential mineral. Iron helps create hemoglobin, which brings oxygen to your body’s tissues.
  • Calcium. This mineral is essential for bone health and a crucial signaling molecule for your nervous system, heart, and muscles.
  • Spinach contains several important plant compounds, including (4Trusted Source5Trusted Source6Trusted Source7Trusted Source89Trusted Source10Trusted Source):

    • Lutein. This compound is linked to improved eye health.
    • Kaempferol. This antioxidant may decrease your risk of cancer and chronic diseases.
    • Nitrates. Spinach contains high amounts of nitrates, which may promote heart health.
    • Quercetin. This antioxidant may ward off infection and inflammation. Spinach is one of the richest dietary sources of quercetin.
    • Zeaxanthin. Like lutein, zeaxanthin can also improve eye health."
  • APPLES - Popular and Satisfying 

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Hymn - Jerusalem, My Happy Home



"Jerusalem, My Happy Home"
by F.B.P., c. 1580


1. Jerusalem, my happy home,
Name ever dear to me,
When shall my labors have an end?
Thy joys when shall I see?

2. When shall these eyes thy heav'n-built walls
And pearly gates behold,
Thy bulwarks with salvation strong,
And streets of shining gold?

3. Oh, when, thou city of my God,
Shall I thy courts ascend
Where evermore the angels sing,
Where Sabbaths have no end?

4. Apostles, martyrs, prophets, there
Around my Savior stand;
And soon my friends in Christ below
Will join the glorious band.

5. Jerusalem, my happy home,
When shall I come to thee?
When shall my labors have an end?
Thy joys when shall I see?

6. O Christ, do Thou my soul prepare
For that bright home of love
That I may see Thee and adore
With all Thy saints above.

Hymn #618
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 42:2
Author: F.B.P., c. 1580
Cento 1801, alt.
Composer: Alexander R. Reinagle, 1836
Tune: "St. Peter"


Hymn - In Thee Alone, O Christ My Lord

 
 
"In Thee Alone, O Christ, My Lord"
by Johannes Schneesing, ?-1567
Translated by Arthur T. Russell, 1806-1874

Tune - Allein zu dir - linked here

1. In Thee alone, O Christ, my Lord,
My hope on earth remaineth;
I know Thou wilt Thine aid afford,
Naught else my soul sustaineth.
No strenghth of man, no earthly stay
Can help me in the evil day;
Thou, only Thou, canst aid supply.
To Thee I cry;
On Thee I bid my heart rely.

2. My sins, O Lord, against me rise,
I mourn them with contrition;
Grant, through my death and sacrifice,
To me a full remission.
Lord, show before the Father's throne
That Thou didst for my sins atone;
So shall I from my load be freed.
Thy Word I plead;
Keep me, O Lord, each hour of need.

3. O Lord, in mercy stay my heart
On faith's most sure foundation
And to my inmost soul impart
Thy perfect consolation.
Fill all my life with love to Thee,
Toward all men grant me charity;
And at the last, when comes my end,
Thy succor send.
From satan's wiles my soul defend.

Hymn #319
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Romans 3:25
Author: Johannes Schneesing, 1542, ab., asc.
Translated by: Arthur T. Russell, 1851, alt.
Titled: "Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ"
Harmony: Johann S. Bach, 1750
Tune: "Allein zu dir"
1st Published in: separate print
Town: Nuernberg, 1541


Hymn - I Know of a Sleep in Jesus' Name (O Day Full of Grace tune)




"I Know of a Sleep in Jesus' Name"
By Magnus Brostrup Landstad, 1802-1880


1. I know of a sleep in Jesus' name,
A rest from all toil and sorrow;
Earth folds in her arms my weary frame
And shelters it till the morrow;
My soul is at home with God in heaven,
Her sorrows are past and over.

2. I know of a peaceful eventide;
And when I am faint and weary,
At times with the journey sorely tried,
Through hours that are long and dreary,
Then often I yearn to lay me down
And sink into blissful slumber.

3. I know of a morning bright and fair
When tidings of joy shall wake us,
When songs from on high shall fill the air
And God to His glory take us,
When Jesus shall bid us rise from sleep, --
How joyous that hour of waking!

4. Oh, that is a morning dear to me,
And oft, o'er the mountains streaming,
In spirit its heavenly light I see
As golden the peaks are beaming.
Then sing I for joy like birds at dawn
That carol in lofty lindens.

5. God's Son to our graves then takes His way,
His voice hear all tribes and nations;
The portals are rent that guard our clay,
And moved are the sea's foundations.
He calls out aloud: "Ye dead, come forth!"
In glory we rise to meet Him.

6. O Jesus, draw near my dying bed
And take me into Thy keeping
And say when my spirit hence is fled,
"This child is not dead, but sleeping."
And leave me not, Savior, till I rise
To praise Thee in life eternal.

Hymn #592
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Rev. 14: 13
Author: Magnus Brostrup Landstad, 1861, ab.
Translated by: composite
Titled: "Jeg ved mig en Soevn i Jesu Navn"
Composer: Christoph E.F. Weyse, 1826
Tune: "Den signede Dag"
Editor: Travis Cartee

Hymn - Hark a Thrilling Voice




"Hark, a Thrilling Voice Is Sounding"
by unknown author, c. 900
Translated by Edward Caswall, 1814-1878


1. Hark, a thrilling voice is sounding!
"Christ is nigh!" we hear it say;
"Cast away the works of darkness,
O ye children of the day!"
2. Startled at the solemn warning,
Let the earth-bound soul arise;
Christ, her Sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.

3. Lo, the Lamb, so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from heaven.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all, to be forgiven,

4. That, when next He comes with glory
And the world is wrapped in fear,
He may shield us with His mercy
And with words of love draw near.

5. Honor, glory, might, dominion,
To the Father and the Son,
With the everlasting Spirit,
While eternal ages run!

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #60
Text: Romans 13:11
Author: unknown, c. 900
Translated by: Edward Caswall, 1849
Titled: "Vox clara ecce intonat"
Tune: "O der alles"
1st Published in: _Nuese geistreiches Gesangbuch_
Town: Halle, 1705

Hymn - Awake Thou Spirit Who Didst Fire

 Catherine Winkworth translation

Tune - All Ehr' und Lob - linked here

"Awake, Thou Spirit, Who Didst Fire"
by Carl H. Von Bogatzky, 1690-1774
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878

1. Awake, Thou Spirit, who didst fire
The watchmen of the Church's youth,
Who faced the Foe's envenomed ire,
Who witnessed day and night Thy truth,
Whose voices loud are ringing still
And bringing hosts to know Thy will.

2. Lord, let our earnest prayer be heard,
The prayer Thy Son hath bid us pray;
For, lo, Thy children's hearts are stirred
In ev'ry land in this our day
To cry with fervent soul to Thee,
Oh, help us, Lord! So let it be!

3. Oh, haste to help ere we are lost!
Send preachers forth, in spirit strong,
Armed with Thy Word, a dauntless host,
Bold to attach the rule of wrong;
Let them the earth for Thee reclaim,
Thy heritage, to know Thy name.

4. And let Thy Word have speedy course,
Thro' ev'ry land be glorified,
Till all the heathen know its force
And fill Thy churches far and wide.
Oh, spread the conquest of Thy Word
And let Thy kingdom come, dear Lord!

Hymn #494
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:1
Author: Carl H. von Bogatzky, 1750, cento
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1855, alt.
Titled: "Wach auf, du Geist der ersten Zeugen"
Tune: "All Ehr' und Lob"
1st Published in: Kirchengesangbuch
Town: Strassburg, 1541


Remember This - The LCMS Clergy Worship the Synod - Not the Savior.
They Cannot Even Get the Chief Article Straight

 Rev. Richard Anton Bolland

Farewell Missouri 

Rev. Richard Anton Bolland 

The first thing I'd like to address to the Missouri Synod before I leave her is my sincere gratitude. What I mean by that is my deep gratitude for the last 60 years of my life having been grounded in the theology of The Book of Concord of 1580 as the correct exposition of the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. 



The Ft. Wayne graduates are not only completely muddled by Objective Justification and professorial grandstanding; they are also inflated by adopting the gigantic but unearned egos of the professors.

While many in the Missouri Synod have minimized this treasure of the Church, and others have abandoned our theological heritage almost totally, there remain many more who have continued to embrace the true Lutheran/Christian faith without apology and will keep their ordination vows to the death if it should be required of them. For exposing me to this treasure, for teaching me, and providing me a seminary education at our Fort Wayne seminary that was a world class preparation for the Office of the Holy Ministry, I will remain eternally grateful. I am also profoundly grateful for the thousands of faithful laymen and women who have shown me how the Christian faith lives in the lives of God's saints. In many ways I learned more from you than I did at the seminary. 

As I part ways with the LCMS, I would offer a few words of advice to this, my beloved Synod. First, (and this is addressed primarily to the leaders of our Synod, but it applies to all who are servants of the Church,) remember that an earthly institution of the Church must have, as its primary objective, the maintenance of pure doctrine. Without the singular focus on this most significant aspect of our faith and our lives together, the Synod simply cannot remain a Synod in any meaningful sense of the term. Without a catholic agreement among us regarding what we believe, teach, and confess, there can be no true fellowship, no true agreement, and no true ability to be a manifestation of the true, visible Church on earth. 

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod cannot be merely an association of congregations, pastors and other church workers that is held together by the benefits of the Concordia Plans. For that, any insurance company would do. Our Synodical “Walking Together” is fundamentally grounded on our common, catholic doctrines of the Christian faith. If it is the Synod's primary focus to simply maintain the stability of the institution (as it often seems to be), then we have lost our way. 

What I have observed over the more than 60 years as a member of the LCMS is a slow deterioration of our commitment to the maintenance of our catholic faith. It seems that when false teachers arise among us, we are reticent to actually deal with them unless the unblinking light of publicity forces those in authority to finally take action against the false teacher. We have rostered workers who openly advocate for the ordination of woman into the Office of the Holy Ministry. We have rostered workers who publicly give testimony that they have and intend to continue to participate in unionist and sometimes in syncretistic worship services with those with whom are not in doctrinal agreement. We have rostered workers who openly and publicly espouse the current “New Measures” of the Church Growth Movement who have abandoned our historic liturgies and who no longer rightly administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. These examples are merely illustrative, not exhaustive. 

And why has the LCMS continued to permit such blatant false teachers to continue to poison their congregations and the Synod with their aberrant teachings? The only reasonable explanation is that those ecclesiastical supervisors whose sacred duty is to safe guard the unity of our pure doctrine either agree with the error themselves or they value the maintaining of institutional stability more highly than they do the maintenance of pure doctrine. If the maintenance of a false “peace” in Missouri is built upon the foundation of the toleration of false teaching, then the Synod simply cannot survive as anything other than a loose confederation of congregations without a common faith. Indeed, such a church body has become what Walther describes as a heterodoxy church body. 

The second piece of advice I would offer is specifically to the Council of Presidents. I know some of you personally and some of you are good, faithful servants of the Word. Others I have come to know as men of political ambition who have actively sought the office you hold. Some DP's consider themselves to be officers of the institution first and conduct themselves accordingly while others understand they are servants of the Word of God first and institutional officers in a secondary sense. I would hope that those who have sought out the high offices [!] of the Synod and its Districts would repent of their prideful sin and resign their post. I would hope that those of you who see yourselves as a sort of “Prince” of the Church would do the same. Missouri needs leaders who hold the Scriptures and The Lutheran Confessions above the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod. Wherever the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod prohibit taking biblical actions they need to be changed. We are a Synod in which we believe in Faith Alone, Grace Alone, and Scripture Alone; and the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod cannot be permitted to inform the doctrines and practices of the Church. It must be the other way around. 

My third piece of advice is for the recent crops of Confessional Lutheran men graduating from our two seminaries. I love your zeal for all things Lutheran and traditional, but you need to check your egos at the church door. What I have observed is a dismissive arrogance from some of you, not all, that is an embarrassment to the office you hold. Some have conducted themselves as though there have never been “real” Lutherans in our Synod prior to your arrival. Those who came before you are often treated like men who have nothing to offer you when we could have served as a valuable resource for you. I have seen some of you disrespect the voters of your congregations changing fundamental practices of the congregation without ever doing the hard work of patiently teaching your people why such changes are good, right, and salutary and without even giving a thought about seeking the permission of your congregation's voters for your proposals thereby making these changes as a congregation rather than as just the pastor desiring it. I have observed a disregard for a congregation's Constitution and Bylaws that are the agreement the congregation has made about how it will conduct the ministry God has called them to do. If you believe that the congregation's Constitution and Bylaws require revising, then there is a process to go through to achieve that end. Don't just ignore them and do whatever you want. At times, other people's opinion have just as much value as yours. 

So, I must bid my time with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod farewell. I am not leaving for another Synod. I'll admit I have considered that option a number of times as I saw things happening in the LCMS that seemed to be ignored when it should have garnered action by our appointed ecclesiastical supervisors. I am leaving for the Church Triumphant. My doctors have told me that my cancer is not curable and that, after a time of travail, I will draw my last earthly breath. My 75 years of this earthly life will come to an end. Soon I shall rest in the arms of my Lord and stand before His throne of grace. 

Thank you Missouri for all you have given me in my decades of service to God's people as a Lutheran teacher, a school principal, a Director of Christian Education, and as a pastor. A more wonderful life I could never have wished for. Be faithful Missouri. It's not about the institution, but the maintenance of the treasure of the Church, her pure doctrine. As former Synodical President Al Berry [GJ - Ha!] rightly said, “Keep the message straight, Missouri.” 

Rev. Bolland is a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church (LCMS), Pagosa Springs, Colorado.



 "Mommy, why does Holy Mother Missouri teach the same as Holy Mother ELCA?"



 Mother Missouri began to go downhill sharply when the Objective Justification forces canonized Walther, Pieper, and the 1932 Brief Statement.


Wednesday, August 24, 2022

The LCMS and WELS, Priest and Levite - The Parable of the Good Samaritan



KJV Luke 10: 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

If anyone has read Luther, he knows the Good Samaritan is not a social worker trying to establish man-man justice or a social activist who should have made the road to Damascus safer. The Samaritan is Jesus.

But who are the priest and the Levite today?

The Missouri Synod and its tag-along ELDONUTs are the priest, walking experts and advocates of all the adiaphora. Like the colorful priests of the Old Testament, they are passionate about matters of indifference and indifferent to the truth. 

The Missouri Synod started with Justification by Faith, just as the Old Testament began with true prophetic words (example - the largely forgotten Genesis 15:6 passage, also cited in Romans 4). False prophets like CFW Walther, Edward Preuss, and F. Pieper promoted the false teaching of forgiveness without faith, which is essentially the ELCA position. 

The Wisconsin sectarians are the Levites, all about the Law, or rather, the constantly changing Law. One year they are alone in loving the KJV, unlike "those liberal Lutherans" - who use the NIV and RSV. But - WELS turns around, mocks, and gets rid of pastors who use the KJV.

The ELDONUTs did the same, 100% of them holding Objective Justification a treasure, later pivoting to Justification by Faith. Much like the WELS, they hold the best translation - the KJV - in low esteem, using the ESV (a Calvinist first cousin to the RSV) or admiring the New KJV (which uses frequent footnotes to honor the ESV-NIV-RSV apostasy).

Although Missouri clergy and laity pride themselves on shunning other Lutherans, WELS and ELDONA have taken that attitude to a new, lower level.

The Man Left for Dead

The congregations of Missouri and WELS are the man left for dead, wounded and bleeding along the road, where so many robbers practice their trade.

Jesus fed the multitudes with bread and fish, but the loving/denying Church Growth "conservative" Lutherans feed the laity popcorn, peanuts, and soft drinks during the entertainment [worship] service. The clergy delight in starving their members spiritually while insisting on the need for more expensive materialism to attract even more superficial audiences.

Jesus only taught one thing - faith in Him as the only access to God's grace (KJV Romans 5:2). Everything in the Bible points back to this Gospel and the applications of this message.

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Hundreds of Plants, Thousands of Flowers, Millions of Creatures

 

 Butterfly Weeds have long-lasting orange flowers.

Sassy and I always enjoy the front yard in the afternoon. The shade favors our side, and the driveway serves as a good place for combing the dog, guarding the street, and trimming the grassy weeds.

Most of the plants are packed up and growing together by this time. The ones I thought were weak begin to shoulder the others aside. Various blooming cycles repeat - wild strawberry, mints, and many more. Millions of creatures handle several jobs. The omnipresent wild strawberries feed the birds, and extra foliage add to the soil, just as their tiny roots do.

One minute a plant is mostly growing fruit, then it is dropping leaves to replenish the soil. The birds love berries and distribute them with alacrity. 

I stand inches from the Joe Pye Weed blooms so I can watch the tiniest flower flies and butterflies do their work. 

Sitting on the driveway is the best way to avoid chiggers and other lasting surprises. Stings are almost completely absent and only come from the red wasps that rarely attack but seldom hurt. 

Sassy comes over for petting and finger-combing on the driveway. She yelps about brushes but loves having that undercoat shedding gone. One her lovey battery is replenished; she walks over for a better view of her cul-de-sac properties. 




Someone Noticed This Screen Grab


Christina and I were enjoying our time together, late last summer. The symptoms were obvious but managed well with medicine. When I went to the chapel - across the hall, the spare room in our rented house - I said, "Do not walk over. I am afraid of you will fall."

Christina nodded solemnly and said she would stay there. She was especially prone to falling. I shut her door and the chapel door to keep the broadcast sounds from clashing. Everything was all set.  A bit later, I was seated when the chapel door opened, Christina grinning from ear to ear. My stomach was doing cartwheels and round offs, and she enjoyed my shock.

At the hospice, not long after, she said, "I LOVE you Maria!" to her sister. I phoned Andrea's parents and gave Chris the phone. Andrea said, " I LOVE YOU! Grammie Chris!" and my wife grinned just as wide as at the chapel. Christina was not talking anymore, but she fell asleep that night with that same enormous smile. Andrea's parents drove from California to let Christina enjoy time with them, Andrea especially. 

 Sassy thought the ice cream treat was for her. Andrea's father was impressed with the freezer full of Schwan ice cream, Easter 2021

The time has passed quickly, as many have mentioned on Facebook. I am thankful to God for our life together, 55 years from the first day of freshman English class at Augustana, when I told my brother I met a redhead I wanted to date and maybe marry. That got enormous laughs from everyone years later, so when she bragged to store employees that we were married "over 50 years," I said, "Please stop complaining in public." 



No matter how evil the apostates were, Christina never wavered in her faith in Jesus Christ. Doubtless the great and important (in their minds) were especially peeved that she spent so much time and energy with the sick and disabled. They forgot the overturned Thrivent table in the Temple (Surfer Dude New Testament) and - "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Matthew 25

 

Monday, August 22, 2022

One Year Ago


Bethany Joan Marie loved resting in her mother's arms. Once she had a tantrum because her mother was not there. I said, "Is that how you get your way around here?" Bethany stopped crying and grinned.

We went out to the cemetery today. I packed two vases with Enchanted Peace roses. 

Enchanted Peace


Today the Rose Garden was bejeweled with rose blooms. Christina said, "Grass is boring. Turn the front yard into a rose garden." So I did.


 Erin Joy earned her middle name, bursting into laughter for jokes, spills, nurses cussing, and family members "getting into trouble." 

Blooming today were Enchanted Peace, Queen Elizabeth (for Bethany and Erin), Fragrant Cloud, Veterans Honor, and Rugosa. A praying mantis, having breakfast, rested on one rose bloom, so I let it hop onto a new bush to finish the meal.

  Nurse Ida and Bethany adored each other.

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Heiser's Deluxe Episcopal Finery

C. H. Almy, bishop's cross, $1632.

 C. H. Almy - $900 house cassock.



 Miter (fish hat) - $716. Crozier - $300+.


EvangelCatholic said: 
Interested in opinions on the mitre, the headgear some of our bishops wear. It seems that in some Lutheran synods/ national bodies the mitre is conspicuously not worn. The Church of Denmark/ Norway/ Iceland and probably most of Germany are examples. While bishops in the Church of Sweden/ Finland/ Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Jordan, India and some countries in Africa do wear mitres.

In north America it is a mixed bag. For example, I have never seen a photo of the presiding bishops in the ELCA/ ELCC wearing mitres but some synod bishops do. Same story in the LCMS.

Any opinions or is this a silly topic?

Heiser wrote about Dugin. It was interesting that he was on the news recently with an assassination attempt. 


The Tenth Sunday after Trinity, 2022


The Tenth Sunday after Trinity, 2022


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson






The Hymn # 376                                Rock of Ages
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Introit
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
Collect
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       
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 Work of the Spirit


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

  • Two years ago, Carl Roper passed into eternal life at the age of 76, mourned by his wife Lynda. "I AM - the Resurrection and the Life." Their son Roy has been diagnosed with cancer.
  • Last year, at this time, Christina Elizabeth Jackson, passed into eternal life.
  • In therapy and treatment, Randy Anderson; Pastor Jim Shrader. Medical issues - Kermit and Marie Way, Chris Shrader.  

 Christina Ellenberger Jackson, 1948 - 2021




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.

The Work of the Spirit


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.

Pagan religions have many expressions of divine worship and ecstatic behavior. They are too numerous to describe, and many are quite appalling. Anything religious and popular is attractive to the uninformed, so there are always waves of new religion, which are not so new after all. World religion classes - which I no longer teach - would yield an outspoken pagan priestess every so often. There were not that many; they seemed more interested in promoting their cause than learning religions of the world.

The Apostolic Age was a time when the Christians were a tiny minority surrounded by every possible pagan religion, given Rome's Empire and connections via their roads and small ships. Augustine was amused by people who would throw ropes and chains around their idols, so their gods did not leave them defenseless. 

Paul's reference to Gentiles means pagans who did follow dumb (silent) idols. In contract, God speaks to us directly and consistently through the Scriptures.

The converts from Judaism were not involved in paganism, but there was a mix and the outside influence was bound to attract the interest of some who were not as educated in the Old Testament. We should not be surprised. I joined a new website for traditional Catholics, because the Jesuit Pope is so predictable. The priest writing today said he was trained this way by his grandmother - If he could not get through the gates when he died, he could go around to the back entrance, where Mary would let him in. 

When Paul writes "concerning" something, he is answering a letter from the congregations asking for some doctrinal or behavioral guidance.

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.

Our country has been conquered by clever clergy who despise the Scriptures and offer their own paganism as a solution to life's problems. Just like the Bible paraphrases (supposed translations) they erase those words that do not please them. They find it so easy to corrupt the faithn (Bible) by omissions rather than confessing their own unbelief:

  • The Virgin Birth of Jesus - "not an important issue."
  • Paul Tillich published a Christmas article where he sashayed into Christmas is all about babies. The Lutheran magazine, LCA. It is now called The Living Lutheran, a magazine for a dying denomination.
  • The Resurrection of Christ - "the Easter faith of the disciples," code for the disciples imaging an empty tomb meant Jesus actually rose from the dead.
  • The Ascension - those people had no concept of the stratosphere. They lived in a flat world.
This one verse has a lot to say in a few words. No one in a state of ecstasy, like Pentecostalism today, can call Jesus accursed and claim that comes from the Holy Spirit. 

Note that this is a key, toxic factor in our society, especially because of the use of recreational drugs. It is claimed to be true if something is "true for you." We had an ancient history teacher in college who did not know the topic and used her professor's note cards. She confused one definition and made it the opposite of what the textbook said. When I pointed that out, she said, "In my class, this is the right definition." I was just trying to help!

The counter to the error, in Paul's words were that no one can say "Jesus is Lord", except by the Holy Spirit. This emphasizes that confessing the divinity of Christ is the act of the Spirit through the Word of God. It is not based on logic and experience and philosophical proofs, but only on the revelation of God the Holy Spirit. 

We have so much confusion today because any "truth" - except the revealed truth of the Bible! - is true and something to be defended.

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 [Greek - efficacy], but it is the same God which worketh [Greek efficacy] all in all.

The great marvel of Christianity is the variety of gifts given by the One Spirit.  God parcels them out (Lenski's term) so that everyone has a gift or gifts, and they vary in each person. That means the work of Jesus Christ the Lord is performed in many different ways and is blessed by being faithful to Him and His Word.

People like to glorify themselves and they identify with glorious structures and decorations that fill others with awe (especially plaques with their names). They get carried away with the outward trappings while ignoring fidelity to the truth. God blesses people with artistic skills so they can honor His Name with their talents. Others are gifted with musical skills. 

I keep running into clergy who are smitten by someone's corporate plans, which are promised to be "effective," showing numerical growth. They end up telling God what to do and when to do it. When God does not bow to their orders, they are crushed and despairing. Those who are full of themselves rush around until the bubble pops and their follies are exposed. 

Virtually all the denominations have reached that point through using the same business-oriented guidelines, so they are failing together. As one Church Growth expert said, defending his own sect, "The Masonic Lodge is losing members too!" - an ironic statement, using the Lodge as metric. "As the Lodge goes, so do we."

Most clergy have been caught up in that, because it is taught so thoroughly. Luther was a certified member of the world's largest and richest corporation. But he saw it was the opposite of what is portrayed in the Scriptures. 

If the gifts are discerned and used as God directs, then God's will becomes fulfilled over time and the blessings follow, sooner and later. There is no telling what God can do, because, as the children say, "God can do anything."

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

The elderly veteran in the neighborhood, distributing food and Bibles, suffers from various illnesses and troubles. He gave me boxes to give to someone else and gave away Bibles so he could give more away.

Today, even rarer, is to give the gift of time spent with someone. 

When people look for something positive to offer, and God motivates them, then the results will be favorable for everyone.

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 (Greek efficacy] of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

Those who wanted to dominate in Corinth with the Spirit, as they saw it, thought tongues were the only sign and they were the prize-winners. That is one reason why Pentecostalism became a fad in America. When the American Pentecostals identified speaking in tongues as the Chief mark of the Christian Faith, they made it the ONLY mark and everyone had to follow their rules. Paul - in 1 Corinthians 11, 12, 13 - is tamping down this fad and pointing the members toward a Scripture-based set of gifts.

Missouri and WELS became increasingly rationalistic, due to their reliance on dead dogmatics books and seminary lectures, ideal for those who loved to march in order and rank, right off the cliff. The dead dogmatics led to thirst for Pentecostalism and they formed little cells all over. One "conservative" magazine editor defended this and praised it, eying me with genuine animosity.

Believers do not need to buy copies of How To Grow Churches by Dancing on the Pews. They can remain faithful to the Word and pray for God's guidance rather than the latest, greatest, most praised materials.

11 But all these worketh [Greek - efficacy] that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

When people focus on themselves and what they favor, division follows. When they begin with the One-ness of the Triune God, they work in the same direction with different gifts.