Hebrews - Daily Verses

KJV Hebrews 1 

1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Explanation - God spoke to the fathers by the prophets in the past, at many times and at various places. At the end of time, He has spoken to us through His Son, appointed the Heir of the universe, the Same who created the worlds.

GJ - I am going to be quoting Hebrews with brief explanations. Hebrews is as complex in language as the Fourth Gospel is simple; both are eloquent.

 

The Entire Student Body of Bethany Lutheran Seminary - Home of the Schwan Chapel -Ten (10)!

 

Notice the identical graphic for their Teigen lectures. Kilcrease has a Jesuit PhD and also taught at a Jesuit school plus a Catholic convent school.

 In two years they could not conjure up an ELS professor? They loathe WELS

Having Fun with Falsehoods

 

KJV Romans 5: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

I saw a post on Facebook which was from Romans 5. I was curious because he was an advocate of Objective Faithless Justification and used to be an atheist. He did not include the first few verses of Romans 5, so I could imagine him going over the same nonsense as before, excluding the Apostle Paul verbatim to prop up the OJ of Pietism at Halle University. Most remember that Halle University moved quickly from Biblical Pietism to Rationalism. The Rationalists are the stars of ELCA eggheads. Fortress Press even had a series of books honoring them.

WELS-LCMS-Seminex-ALC: Jungkuntz pollinated the Lutheran sects and as chair of the Concordia Seminary split, sponsored the gay seminary at their location - Metropolitan Community Church. The irony is - WELS tossed him out when they were false exegetes and false teachers on steroids,.

 Rambach - Halle University - Easter grave absolution of the world. 

If Romans 4 is the perfect discussion of Justification by Faith based on Abraham, the Father of Faith, then the opening of Romans 5 must frame the ultimate conclusion.

The answer is simple - faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is access to grace. That forgiveness gives us peace.

The "former" atheist quoted Romans 5 from verse 5 on, excluding Romans 5:1-4.

The thrice-blessed-holier-than-the-Bible LCMS Brief Statement of 1932 teaches that Romans 4 is Objective Justification! They have been hanging onto this falsehood for almost 100 years. Thanks be to their Father Below, they have consolidated this OJ claim as pure Gospel in the LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) and ELCA.

But -

KJV Romans 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Ever since, the OJ cults (listed above) have taught verse 25 by itself, excluding what is clearly revealed in verse 24 - the righteousness of Christ is imputed if we believe.

Lenski

Our congregation is very involved in knowing more about RCH Lenski. In looking up his bio in Wickedpedia, I noticed a bizarre form of editing, footnotes without the context in the main part.

By the way, a Google search of Lenski's name picks up the cover of Lutheran Library's Kings and Priests, published by LL.

Lenski is accused of not having sympathy for the Calvinists (James White) and therefore being an Arminian. The humorous definition of Arminian is "someone who disagrees with Calvin." The entire Wiki post is a rave against Lenski, using the label Arminian repeatedly and with rancor. 

This is less subtle than the typical OJ repeat-after-me dogmatics (Webber, Rolf Preus, Scaer, etc). Both OJ errors are examples of using a phrase or a concept to obscure what the Scriptures reveal. 

OJ Lutherans will toss out the term Arminian as derogatory because they cannot get their lying lips to say "He believes in Justification by Faith - I don't!"

 Mrs. Kilcrease is rather fond of this graphic.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - "Bring in Hither the Poor, And Maimed, And Blind, And Lame."

 

Click here for the Complete Second Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

23. Just in this very manner our Papists still excuse themselves and say:

The doctrine is right, of course, but we must still adhere to the Church and her orderly government. Again, we must above all things maintain obedience to the worldly power, so that there may be no disturbance and insurrection. Thus they are troubled just like the Jews. If they would accept the Gospel, they fear they might lose their Church and government, whereas the Gospel alone builds up the true Christian church, and prevents all injustice, violence and insurrection. Besides covetousness is also present; since they see nothing in the Gospel but mere poverty and persecution, so that it goes as it does here, that they simply and without fear refuse to obey the Gospel and say, they have taken wives and cannot come, and still they want to be Christians and claim to have done just right, and want to be regarded as pious bishops, good princes and good citizens.

24. But how will it go with them? Just as it did with the Jews. They held so long to their law, priesthood, kingdom and treasures, until they at last went to destruction, and lost one after the other; so that now they dwell here and there and have their homes under foreign princes as if living in a swing.

This is the reward for which they labored. For they desired not this supper, and preferred their kingdom, priesthood and houses, rather than the Gospel. Therefore they lost all three, and received the sentence that none of them should taste of this supper, and thus be deprived of both, of temporal things here on earth, and of the everlasting feast in heaven. The same will also certainly be the fate of our adversaries.

25. Thus Christ our Lord lectured this sharp doctor and his associates at the table, and showed them how they stood before our Lord God, namely, that God was angry at them, and would look out for other guests, as follows: “Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servants, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor, and maimed, and blind, and lame.”

26. As though he would say: Very well, inasmuch as this must be done, that you must examine your land and oxen and take unto you wives, and on this account neglect my supper, that is, you want your priesthood, kingdom and wealth, and will let me and my Gospel go, hence I will let you go, too, that on this account you will lose all, and I will provide me other guests. Therefore go forth, my servant, into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor and crippled, the lame and blind. This was also done among the Jews. 

 The Byzantine - also known as the Apostolic or Traditional Text.
The modern Greek New Testament - Tischendorf, Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland - is a cut and paste joke.

Flowers for the Road Crew, Part 2

 

Maria Shriver is not only pure white but also more perfumed than any rose I have grown. I did not say anything about that, but the father will know in the car as he drives home!

The road crew was even closer today, running fiber optic cable underground, just off the curb. I asked, "Anyone need more flowers?" Several guys said no, but one said, "I gave my wife your flowers yesterday, and my daughter said - No flowers for me? She is seven." 

I said, "I will get some for her right away." I had lots of Enchanted Peace and also Maria Shriver.

I have cups ready all the time, so I filled one with water and went looking for the best roses. I brought them out, and he was so happy. I said, "I always have roses, so come on by when you have a need."

We talked a little, and he told me his crew were all bachelors and not looking for flowers. I said, "Get some roses and you will have wives."

The color of Enchanted Peace makes the rose look as if it were illuminated from the inside. It has some fragrance, unlike the original Peace rose, and grows tall, loaded with blooms, long lasting.

Your Thrivent Managed Money Is Recruiting on the Net for ELCA Seminarians

 

If you are reading this blog regularly, you already know that there are no costs and no ads, no commercial agenda. Moreover, many non-profit sources are linked so that more information is available about... 

1. The Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry, 
2. Norma A. Boeckler's Christian art, 
3. Scriptural sources, 
4. The Church of England, and
5. Lutheran apostate sects.

Rev. O'Rear States...

ELCA Research and Evaluation shows pastors are retiring in record numbers, and there has been a sharp decrease in seminary enrollment. The result is a shortage of ministers—a growing problem. [Boo hoo!]

To help stem that tide, the seven ELCA seminaries are now working together through a new website designed to enlarge the pool of qualified candidates prepared to answer a call to ministry. Through grants from the Richard Hay Barkalow Charitable Fund at InFaith Community Foundation, elcaseminaries.org launched this past summer.

“We want to see the pool of candidates for ministry increase to meet the needs of the church and God’s mission in the world,” said Matthew O’Rear, assistant to the president for strategic initiatives at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. O’Rear is also the executive director of the ELCA seminaries’ InFaith grant.

“Before [the new website] there was no central place to allow the seminaries to showcase campuses, scholarships and other resources,” O’Rear said. “The seven seminaries reflect the larger church, and as the church is facing a decline in attendance, so are the ministries. We have a common mission together and this is a unified spot.”

Editor's mistake - this is the recruiting video for WELS' Martin Luther College. And it worked well - everyone in the video received a divine call.

 

 

Nothing To See Here - Gettysburg Seminary Campus Selling Off Property - The ELCA Shuffle

 

 Nothing to see here - move on.

Thumbnails of the Dwindling ELCA Seminaries - 

"Supported by the Richard Hay Barkalow Fund managed by Thrivent Charitable Impact &        Investing®"

ELCA is in the property selling mode of institutional meltdown.

Gettysburg - merged with Philly to form the oddly named United Lutheran Seminary - just sold a chunk of the campus to the town library.

Luther Seminary in St. Paul has sold off property.

Southern Seminary merged with a college campus.

Trinity Seminary also merged with a college campus.

Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago sold their pipe organ to Catholics and packed up to rent some space at a Chicago Roman Catholic campus.

Pacific Seminary sold their unique campus to a Muslim school and went downhill, literally, for office space.

Wartburg Seminary in Iowa got a large gift. They have full-time online seminary students who "do ministry" locally. Probably all of the seminaries do that to pump up their statistics.

The ELCA is trying hard to maintain the seminary names, lest anyone notice the rapid, nation-wide sell-off of properties. I noticed the change in seminaries at the ELCA level, but one must give credit to their leaders. ELCA has seen the radicals completely take over their synod, just as WELS and Missouri have let the Church Growthers take over their own abusive sects.

"We are one in the Thrivent, we are one in the merge..."

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 2 - "And They All with One Consent Began To Make Excuse."

 

Click here for the Complete Second Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

18. The Jews acted and excused themselves thus: Oh, we cannot accept the doctrine, for it is opposed to the priesthood and to the law, which God himself has given us through Moses. Besides it also creates divisions in our kingdom which God has confirmed. We must see how to maintain our own affairs! Thus the first one excuses himself with his land, the second with his oxen, and both think they do well; the third does not even excuse himself at all, he simply refuses, and says he cannot come.

19. These are the excuses of the Jews as well as our own, which we prefer against the Gospel, for we are no better than they were. They first pretended that the law of Moses had to remain, and because the Apostles preached against the law, that neither their law, temple nor priests were necessary, for a greater priest was present, Jesus Christ, of the tribe of Judah; they would not tolerate such preaching, but held to their law as they still do. Thus it has come to pass that they still wait at the present day, and must wait until the last day for their Messiah to come, and they hope that he will prepare all things, the old priesthood anti kingdom as it was in the time of David, when he will give them everything in the greatest abundance.

20. For Christ here treats of these three parties. The first says: I want to see my farm. These are the foremost and best among them, among the Jews they were the entire priesthood and the chief rulers. These said: We priests must work, cultivate and harvest the land, that is, we must rule the people, and wait upon the priesthood God has entrusted unto us, as Christ also calls ministers cultivators of the soil who sow the Gospel. But as the teachings of the Apostles are opposed to this, it is wrong, and we are justly excused when we do not accept their doctrine.

Fiber Optic Road Crew Gets Flowers for Their Wives

 

 Enchanted Peace blooms rapidly, grows tall, stays fresh in the vase, and has fragrance.

The cul-de-sac has been packed with construction crews and the ditch-witch. They are installing ATT fiber optic in the front, even though we have Ozark Electric fiber optic in the back.

I was outside with my shears, looking for a few items, so I thought, "Why not share the flowers with the crew?" Earlier a salesman was stunned by the garden, birds, bees, and butterflies.

I filled two large party cups with water and added Enchanted Peace, Butterfly Weed, and a red rose. I walked them across the street and offered them to anyone with a wife or girlfriend. Two of them asked and one said, "My wife will really love this."

I do a tiny bit of weeding each day, but that is mostly to prune away the wilting flowers and the deadwood. Growth is so great this year that I am editing some plants to let more sunlight in for the starters (Honeysuckle, for example). 

That also leads me to say to myself, "Odd flower. I wonder if I planted it or a bird got it started." One recent surprise was mullein, and now I have three mulleins in the area. That got me singing, "Come to me my mullein-coly baby." 

 Mullein grows its flower spike the second year.

National Weed Your Garden Day, 2023 - A Fierce Rebuttal

 

Weeds - Guardians of the Soil is considered a classic in gardening, for good reason.

Written by a Journalism Graduate!

"One of the best gardening tips is to stay in control of your garden. Unfortunately, weeds grow fast, very fast. With inattention, they can soon become overwhelming. Giving daily attention to your garden makes it easier to maintain. Weeding 5 or 10 minutes each day will make the job seem bearable. It might even be enjoyable. This way you will be in control, and the weeds will not!"

The Rebuttal

Almost all weeds improve the soil and benefit wildlife. Some are annoying, but their bad habits can be tamed with an eye to Creation rather than the gardening center's chemical Chernobyls. 

Deep roots (dandelions, Joe Pye, Pook Weed) break up soil, improve the soil, and drill downward to let rain penetrate further.

Shallow roots like wild strawberries fill in bare spots and bloom in the darkest shade, providing tiny brilliant red strawberries for the birds, who respond with free planting chores aided by fertilizer.

Prolific seeds serve as food for wildlife, and they can be tamed, like the dreaded crab grass. The hated crab grass was brought over as a grain producer. When I had a patch where it was growing promiscuously, I laid down cardboard and bales of straw on top. Crab grass ended its monopoly by turning into compost on the spot. Now bee balm and other desirable plants flourish there.

Rank weeds can often be crowded out by clumps of attractive flowers. Once they are established the unwanted weeds can be squeezed out automatically or simply cut low enough to despair of becoming dominant.

Likewise, an unproductive area, such as shallow soil around a maple, can be beautified by the right kind of spreading herb. I am using bee balm under the maple because of shallow tree roots and shallow soil.

Mountain mint defies everything else, so I am letting some flourish while crowding out what I do not want.

Poke berry - that hideous strength or a bird feeder that multiplies? My rules are - 

1. Cut poke off at the soil level in the front gardens.
2. Let them loose to grow in the back gardens, with hosta, Joe Pye, and some Clethra.

Jesus, the Lord of Creation, engineered all the plants and animals to work together. Not unlike our bodies, which are far more complicated, plants swap, share, improve, smother, beautify, and fructify everything. 

I leave most stalks up for the winter. My mother asked why, in Minnesota. I said, "Most birds will land on corn and sunflower stalks to have a safe spot above the snow for spotting food. Meanwhile the roots rot into the soil and improve it."

So I leave with this question - Which is more dangerous ugly?

1. A dandelion herb, which provides lining for the hummingbird nest, wine for the wine-bibber, and a root converted to a coffee substitute?

OR

An angry, desperate gardener storming down the hardware store aisles for the most toxic and long lasting poison he can find. Take a moment to inhale that herbicidal aisle. 

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - “And They All with One Consent Began To Make Excuse.”

 

Click here - Complete Second Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

16. Now when the hour came to go to the table, that is, when the time came for our Lord Christ to be born, to suffer and rise again from the dead, then the servants went out, John the Baptist and the Apostles, and said to those who were bidden, to the people of Israel: Dear people, hitherto you have been invited, now is the time to come, now the supper is ready! Your Lord Jesus Christ, your Messiah is already born, has died and rose again, therefore do not remain away any longer, come to the table, eat and be happy, that is, accept your promised treasure with joy, who has according to promise delivered you from the curse and condemnation and has saved you. And this message was brought especially to the leaders of the people, who held high places in the spiritual and civil governments. But what did they do with it? “And they all with one consent began to make excuse.”

17. This was a lesson for those guests who sat with Christ at the table, and especially for the good-for-nothing babbler, who wanted to master Christ and preached much about the bread in the kingdom of God; blessed is the man who eats bread in the kingdom of heaven! Yes, Christ answers, do you want to know how blessed you are? I will tell you. The bread is now on the table and the supper prepared. John the Baptist was here, I and my Apostles invite you now to come to the supper; but you do not only stay away, you let the host sit at his great and glorious supper, but you even want to excuse yourselves and yet be pure. Hence it is a twofold sin, not only that you despise the Gospel, but even claim to be doing right, and to be even holy, pious and wise; this is a very grievous sin. It were already too wicked not to believe in the Word of God our Lord; but as they go further and despise it, and yet want to be just besides, is going entirely too far. As our young noblemen also do, who have disgraced and blasphemed the Sacrament and have given to us erring creatures only one part, and at the same time excuse themselves, and claim thereby to have done right. Yea, they also condemn us, and oppress us with all kinds of martyrdom, murder and drive away the people who truly desire to enjoy the whole Sacrament. But let them only pour out their rage hot enough, who knows, who will yet be compelled to sweat in this bath?

Tom Fisher and John 10

 

 Black eyed Susie and her mother

Dear Pastor Jackson,

Today I will again focus on Christ our good Shepherd in John 10 and highlight Luther's comforting thoughts from his book Bondage of the Will. These comforting words of Luther are very precious to me because they bring me close to the Shepherd and Bishop of my soul, our Lord Jesus Christ. "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree that ye being dead to sin should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye are healed. For ye were as sheep going astray but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." (1 Peter 3 )

 I also want to share a true wonderful story of a little cuddly ewe lamb I named Black Eyed Susie, cared for by her mother named Misty. This true story lead me to think of my own mother teaching me to pray the Lord's prayer, and to believe in God my Heavenly Father and in His holy infant child Jesus. It also lead me to think about my grandmother reading Luke 2 to all of us grandchildren every Christmas. All of us grandchildren would gather around the old round oak table as our grandmother read Luke 2 to us by the flickering light of the old coal oil lamp:

"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God,  and saying,  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:1-14

And so my grandmother and my mom constantly taught me God's Word so now I believe in God my Heavenly Father and in His holy infant child Jesus. 

I am pondering in amazement about how God's grace, God's kingdom, and God's Word all came to me by my mother and grandmother:

*Bringing me to be baptized into Christ and receive the entire Christ and His righteousness in the name of God the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

*Praying the Lord's prayer with me every night and then answering all my 'God questions' (My brother and I became skilled in spontaneously asking never ending  questions about God until finally our mother would tossel our hair and tell us it was now time to go to sleep trusting God our Heavenly Father )

*Reading God's Word to me from the King James Bible and then later having my brother and I read the King James Bible out loud. My grandmother would have my brothers and I look up Bible passages from Portals of Prayer and then read them from her old dog eared King James Bible.

*Bringing my brothers and I to church every Sunday and then asking both of us to explain what we learned from the sermon. When we visited our grandmother on her farm our whole family would go to her church: St. John's Lutheran Church. Grandmother would give us a 'chicklet' to chew on reminding us to sit still and listen. Here I learned to love the King James Bible liturgy from the red hymnal at a very young age. I also observed the blessing, strengthening, and peace my mother and grandmother received at holy communion. I perceived it was not empty but abundantly full of God's blessings, and a peace that was beyond understanding.

*Consistently teaching my brothers and I the 10 commandments through out the day. 

*Teaching my brothers and I to be happy especially as we worked. I can still hear my mother singing as she did the laundry and the endless menial tasks that tend to make us feel sorry for ourselves. My mom grew up on a farm during the 1920's and 1930's. They had no electricity, no running water, no indoor bathroom, no air conditioning, no centralized heating, but they all had the one thing needful: to listen to, read, and ponder God's Words. This gave all of them true happiness and peace as they did all those menial labor intensive chores on the farm. My mom would often tell me how she could hear her mother singing 'What a Friend We Have In Jesus' as she carried two buckets of milk from the barn to the house. 

*Teaching my brothers and I to endure hardships, sickness, failures, disappointments, trusting God''s Fatherly merciful care. 

God has mother's care for the greatest in the kingdom of God: little infants, and little children.  Their angels do always behold the face of their Father in heaven. Wow! This should make every mother join with the virgin Mary saying:

"My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever." Luke 1:46-55

So women preach to us too, especially when we are little. They bring us to Jesus our Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. "And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein. " Luke 18:15-17 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father in heaven. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine that went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones perish. Luke 18:10-14

Ringo watches the sheep.

Just one little lamb with a black eye brought all of these thoughts to mind. Black Eyed Susie had a rough start. I found her way at the other end of the pasture yelling her head off for her mother Misty.  She was still wet as I carried her back to her mother. Misty immediately started to lick her off. I thought everything was going good until Ringo, my guardian dog kept playing with this little lamb,  preventing it from nursing. I had quite a time keeping Ringo away from Black Eyed Susie. Finally Ringo got the message and I was sure she had nursed. It takes about five days for new lambs to latch onto their mother. Until then they do not know their mother's voice and easily get lost. The grass is tall so little Black Eyed Susie easily got lost and separated from Misty her mother.  I would often find little Black Eyed Susie lost in the tall grass at the far end of the pasture. I would pick her up and begin to carry her back to Misty.  At first she would squirm and kick a little. Then she would snuggle down and enjoy the journey through the pasture. Black Eyed Susie is the most special, cuddly and snuggly little lamb I have ever carried. Christ our Shepherd carries us too!

It is so comforting that Christ our Lord calls us lambs when we are little and sheep when we are older. Christ here shows how precious we are to him. He is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls!!

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one " John 10:27-30

Our old nature, reasoning, and our old will constantly add sneaky, subtle works righteousness to our justification. Luther constantly corrected this error that is around all our necks, firmly pushing us back to Christ the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. Do it yourself 'christianity' runs full throttle here in America and throughout the world adding our own will power, decisions, endeavours, and emotional devotion to our justification. This eternally fatal error is engrained in the Bible Belt especially among Baptists who insist you must make a decision for Christ and come forward to the alter to accept him into your heart. Oh how they despise God's work, will, name, and power in Baptism. Smart aleck LCMS pastors, seminary professors, and laymen further undermine and corrupt justification by faith in Christ. They teach universalism they cleverly call objective justification (everyone is already forgiven without faith). Then they add synergism calling it subjective justification (man must decide to accept their false dogma that everyone is already forgiven without faith in Christ). Be sure to read page 169 of Pastor Jackson's book, The King James Version: Apostolic Texts, Precise Translation versus Fraudulent Texts and Heretical Translations; and also page 11 of The Path To Understanding Justification. Perhaps all of these sneaky errors could be described by the term 'free-will'. Luther called it a lie  Now a word from Luther from his wonderful book, Bondage of the Will. Every Christian should read it and reread it because here Luther grinds our highest powers of reasoning, will, endeavouring, and devotions into less than dust. 

"As to myself, I openly confess, that I should not wish "Free-will" to be granted me, even if it could be so, nor anything else to be left in my own hands, whereby I might endeavor something towards my own salvation. And that, not merely because in so many opposing dangers, and so many assaulting devil's, I could not stand and hold it fast, (in which state no man could be saved, seeing that one devil is stronger than all men;) but because, even though there were no dangers, no conflicts, no devils, I should be compelled to labor under a continual uncertainty, and to beat the air only. Nor would my conscience, even if I should live and work to all eternity, overcome to a settled certainty, how much it ought to do in order to satisfy God. For whatever work should be done, there would still remain a scrumping, whether or not it pleases God, or whether he required any thing more; as is proved in the experience of all justiciaries, and as I myself also learned to my bitter cost, through so many years of my own experience. 

But now, since God has put my salvation out of the way of my will, and has taken it under His own, and has promised to save me, not according to my working or manner of life, but according to His own grace and mercy, I rest fully assured and persuaded that He is faithful, and will not lie, and moreover great and powerful, so that no devils, no adversities can destroy Him, or pluck me out of His hand. "No one (saith He) shall pluck them out of my hand, because My Father which gave them me is greater than all." (John 10:37-28). Hence it is certain, that in this way, if all are not saved, yet some, yea, many shall be saved; whereas by the power of "Free-will," no one whatever could be saved, but all must perish together. And moreover, we are certain and persuaded, that in this way we please God, not from the merit of our own works, but from the favor of His mercy promised unto us; and that if we work less, or work badly, He does not impute it unto us, but as a Father, pardons us and makes us better. This is the glorying which all the saints have in their God! (Martin Luther,  On The Bondage Of The Will, Associated Publishers and Authors, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1971, pg 148-149)

Time has gotten away from me again  It is time to do chores. Ringo will be waiting for me and if course I need to make sure little Black Eyed Susie is doing well.

Pastor Jackson please add your comments or corrections as you wish. If possible please publish the photo of little Black Eyed Susie and Misty her mother. [Done!]

I just got in from chores and I am happy to report that Misty and little Black Eyed Susie are doing great. They were both nibbling on lush red clover at the far end of the high pasture.

Tom Fisher

Brief Notes on Nutrition

 

Food choices have definitely changed for me since I found Eat To Live in my own library. The first part was eliminating colas, sweetened/fake-sugar drinks, and fast food. I began a daily vegetable stew with chick peas, chopped greens, walnuts, blueberries, onions and green/red peppers, tomato paste, and sesame seeds.

For fruits I began experimenting with fresh apples, oranges, pineapple, and pears.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman is correct - that combination reduces weight steadily and creates a craving for the foods listed above.

I am no expert - I ignore trademark brands, such as Keto. They all stress something too much when our bodies were created to mix and blend the ingredients from the first chewing to the final leg of the journey. 

Digestion is far more complex than anything I imagined, so I have learned that most of the medicine I need is administered by poor people eating vegetables, greens, and fruits, while the weight problems come from using the high priced, fad-centric, diets.

I ate meat post-Fuhrman, often from high-salt, high-fat Schwan frozen foods. Now I am eating a small amount of sausage meat with the vegetable stew, plus eggs with toast for a morning breakfast.

Those who have trouble with blood sugar (diabetes), blood pressure, heart issues, and overweight - start with Fuhrman's Eat To Live.

Why didn't anyone tell me to eat greens, vegetables, and fresh fruit?

My parents did? I meant someone who did not grow up on farm and eat those things fresh. That doesn't count.

Southern Babtists Have Extended the Left Boot of Fellowship to Rick Warren, DMin Fuller Seminary. We Visited Warren by Accident, Not Purpose Driven

Rick Warren, DMin Fuller Seminary, Southern Babtist, denied he was influenced by Robert Schuller. 

It all began with a trip that had nothing to do with Rick Warren. I was attending an insurance conference with Christina, so we drove from Phoenix. We were looking for a hotel when we went past a sign that said Purpose Driven Street.

We never let a once-in-a-lifetime meeting go by, so we parked the car and went into the church. I was shocked to see an outdoor baptismal pool. "Did you know he was Babtist?" Neither one of us did. Later I asked various Lutheran pastors the same thing, and they were also surprised. Warren was hotter than Georgia asphalt in WELS - at that time.

We listened to Warren ad lib at a paid conference he presented in his church auditorium. We listened in the back, grew tired of the jibber-jabber, and left. Later we were invited to a very exclusive and gated development where a husband and wife wanted to show everyone their success. The husband asked me what I thought of Rick Warren and immediately guessed my allergy to the phony. He said, "We are members. We think he is great."

Warren reminded me of Robert Schuller's emptiness and steroidal ego. WELS and the LCMS have the same problem, completely ignoring the Scriptures, bashing the KJV and TLH, always chasing the latest fad and folly. Lacking Scriptural knowledge and loathing Luther, they rely on boasting about Holy Mother Synod and they wrinkle their noses about their almost identical cousins.

WELS is way ahead of Rick Warren's dogma and practice.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 2 - "And They All with One Consent Began To Make Excuse."

 

 The Great Supper - Tintoretto

Click here - Complete Second Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

10. Following this address one of them who thought himself much more learned than Christ the Lord, begins to say: “Oh, how blessed is he who eateth bread in the kingdom of God.” As though he would say in his great wisdom: You make yourself unprofitable enough by your preaching! If it would depend on preaching, I can do that, too, even better than you; for I consider this a truly great sermon: “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.”

11. Christ replies to him: Yes, says he, I will tell you how blessed you and your comrades are: “A certain man made a great supper, and bade many,” and they despised it and would not come. This blow was meant for him. As though he would say: You say much in the words, that he is a blessed man who eats bread in heaven! Oh, but you are in very great earnest! What an excellent holy man you are, namely, you are one of those who are invited and yet do not come. These are hard, sharp and terrible words when rightly considered; for he is speaking to real thorough-going rogues, who sat about the table, not because they wanted to learn anything, but in order to observe him closely to see by what means they might come to him and take him. To those he spoke this parable: “A certain man made a great supper.”

12. This man who prepared this supper is our Lord God himself. He is a great and rich Lord, who also once prepared a feast according to his glorious majesty and honor, and it was such a supper which is called great and glorious not only on account of the host, who is God himself, for it would be a glorious supper if he had only given a vegetable broth or a dry crust; yet the food is beyond all measure great and costly, namely, the holy Gospel, yea, Christ our Lord himself. He is himself the food, and is offered unto us through the Gospel, how he has made satisfaction by his death for our sins, and has redeemed us from all the misery of eternal death, of hell, of the wrath of God, sin and eternal condemnation.

13. This preaching of Christ is the great and glorious supper with which he feeds his guests and sanctifies them through his holy Baptism, and comforts and strengthens them through the Sacrament of his body and blood, that nothing may be wanting and a great plenty may be at hand and all become satisfied. Thus this supper is justly called a glorious, great supper on account of the fare and food, so costly and richly prepared that no tongue can describe it and no heart sufficiently grasp it. For it is an eternal food and an eternal drink, by partaking of which a man shall nevermore thirst nor hunger, but be forever satisfied, his thirst is quenched and he becomes joyful; and this not only for one man, but for the whole wide world, even if it were ten times wider, they would all have sufficient. For it is an inexhaustible food and an everlasting drink, as our Gospel says: He who believeth on this Lord Jesus Christ, that he was born for us of the Virgin Mary and crucified for out’ sins under Pontius Pilate, died, descended into hell, and rose again from the dead and sitteth at the right hand of God, etc.; he who believes this, eats and drinks truly from this supper. For to believe in Christ the Lord means to eat and to drink, from which the people become satisfied, fat and stout and strong, so that they are joyful forever.