Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 5 - Second Sermon - "What diligence, money and effort many a father and mother have bestowed in order to rear their son to honor and virtue, and that with a hope and confidence as great as if (to use a common expression) he were to become an angel. And yet he has become nothing but a notoriously willful and prodigal child."

Luther's Sermons - 
Fifth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon. Concerning Faith, The Care of God, And Our Daily Occupation.

20. The example before us in this Gospel should teach and admonish us that we may learn to believe, and thus experience through faith, that God cares for his children and provides for them to such an extent that they need not worry and condemn themselves with cares or covetousness. And yet, though cares and covetousness are forbidden, it should be borne in mind, as I have already said, that no one dare cease from labor. The world turns these two things upside down, as it usually does with all the words and ordinances of God. To care and to strive for the obtaining of gold and goods is something it is determined to do. Such care, however, concerns God alone, and for himself alone has he reserved it. And yet the world is willing enough to let God attend to the work which it has been commanded to do; yea, all the aim of its cares and covetousness is to be set free from working in the sweat of its face. God wants just the opposite. He wants us to keep the work and to leave the care with him. By doing this we shall do our part, and, with moderate labor and no care, we shall soon come into possession of all we need.

21. When Christ wished to bestow his gift upon Peter and others he did not cause the fish to leap into the boat without labor or nets, as he very well might have done. But he commanded them to put out into the deep and let down their nets. That is, they should engage in the handicraft they understood and had learnt and were accustomed to, and should act as fishermen. Christ keeps aloof from the lazy, unfaithful idlers who will not do as they have been commanded, and will not keep their hands and feet from straying. Thus he teaches a twofold lesson, that he will not give us anything unless we work for it, and that the things we obtain do not come from our work, but only from God’s help and blessing. You are to work, but you are not to depend upon that work, as if that which resulted therefrom were of your own accomplishment.

22. In short, our work produces and bestows nothing. Yet it is necessary as a means through which we may receive what God gives. The disciples must use their hands to let down the nets and to draw them in, if they wish to secure anything, and must be willing to do so. Yet they are obliged to acknowledge that their labor did not bring about the result, otherwise they would have succeeded, in the first place, without Christ. He therefore permits them to make a sufficient trial, and to discover by experience that the toil of this entire night has been in vain and to no purpose.

23. This he teaches us by daily experience in all sorts of affairs and doings and governments on earth. Very often he permits us to labor long and arduously and without results, till it becomes bitterly painful to us, and we are forced to complain with Peter: “We toiled all night, and took nothing.” This he does that we may not venture to depend upon our labor, but may know that he must grant it success, and that we have not secured this through our own effort, skill or diligence.

24. What diligence, money and effort many a father and mother have bestowed in order to rear their son to honor and virtue, and that with a hope and confidence as great as if (to use a common expression) he were to become an angel. And yet he has become nothing but a notoriously willful and prodigal child. On the other hand, many a poor and forlorn orphan, upon whom very little effort and diligence have been expended, has grown up so surprisingly well-bred as to make us think that it just happened so, and did not depend upon any diligence or care of our own.

 Luther always connected faith with righteousness, as the Scriptures teach.

Do King James Only Churches Post Their Sermons on Thou Tube?

 

"Of course!"

Medical Analysis of the Alleged Presidential Debate

 

Trump was very good for veterans. Every vet knows that, and I have several people serving at the Fayetteville VA now.

I wrote what I thought to one person and checked what FreeRepublic guys were thinking. Team Biden hinted that they had to tweak him just right for the debate. These are the apparent results:

1. His eyes did not look normal because he is probably seeing things via a lens. They were abnormally black and unblinking - weird.

2. The eyes are not attached to the brain - they are brain. Therefore, drugs are going to affect the eyes and the thinking process.

3. The second helper is an ear bud that relays suggestions and warnings, such as the time he turned away to his left, a common quirk caught many times. He seemed to stop and go back to the correct position. The camera seemed to move to a favorable position. 

4. Some suggest that Biden or a twin was using a face mask.

5. The brain has to process a lot at once, no matter how many helpers are there (journalist soft touch plus his own staff). Biden could not handle it - and provided proof he is incompetent to be President. There are rumors that he will be replaced, and there is already a Democrat/media chorus chanting "Article 25" of the Constitution - removing the Biden due to his obvious impairment.

6. Trump did well and gathered a lot of humor.

Are the Walther Faithless Four Facing the Facts?

 

The Walther Faithless Four are deep into denial. Matt the Fatt already earned his ticket for another term by creating a scarecrow called Alt-Right! All we need to know is that he held a 30th Anniversary for the Purple Palace last year. I have heard of clergy managers (they don't lead) worshiping their buildings, but that seems to be more like "Please fund this Pink Elephant financial fiasco!"

Mirthless Mark Schroeder is up for another term of sweeping the scandals under the rug. His friend said it was more like daily explosions, and no one should be surprised. Repudiating the Chief Article of Christianity - Justification by Faith - is bound unleash all the demons of Hell, including covering them up and denying it ever happened.

"We didn't listen, and now where are we?"

All four Walther sects are entering the saga of fewer students to be followed by even fewer. They burdened the students with tuition, room, and board to keep the managers in the money. 

I went to seminary in 1970 with a semester tuition charge of $75 and a married couple apartment for $100 a month with utilities. Needless to say, it was not a burden and both of us went to work right away. 

At Yale Divinity, tuition was $2,000 for the year, which made one of my students ask, "How long ago was that!?" The class erupted in laughter.  We paid a pittance for rent and we both had jobs at Yale Medical School. 

Notre Dame was free and also gave me a dissertation allowance that really helped. I was also a pastor.

Throwing loans at students has been wonderful for teachers and administrators, but that boat is now sinking fast. It is too late to recruit from a fading pool of students, which will be followed by even fewer students. 

l am pointing out the figures because they prove how the synodical systems once provided for the students and now scare the students away. Read about the greed of the clergy in Luther's sermons and note how much loot the presidents and administrators get, plus lots of free Thrivent treats and expenses paid. 

Pastor's wives are expected to support the congregation by working outside the home, another bonus for the mission board.

I anticipated the Fuller Seminary fad and earned a real PhD instead. I wore this to WELS events and enjoyed the sour-faced responses. 

A Pastor Said

 

"Just picked up the box with the Luther's sermons - Lenker. When I opened it up was like a kid at Christmas. Can't thank you enough for these treasures!"

One of the sour pusses in the Appleton circuit berated the numbers of people liking this particular graphic. He said - with knowledge greater than God's - that it only happened because the post was associated with something about Roman Catholicism and Mary.

The best put-down by a synodical blowhard was dismissing our little congregation's worship as "just the spare room in a rented house."

Some seminary graduates missed out on the mustard seed, the sower and the seed, and the seed growing secretly. Correctly me if I am wrong - isn't the idea to cast the Word freely and let God bless the result?

Maybe they should repudiate the Fuller-Willow Creek-Trinity Divinity beehives and rely on the efficacious Word.

Fourth Gospel Contributions

 

YouTube

1. The symbol of John is an eagle, because "he soars above all the rest." Luther.

2. Modernists (apostates) argue the Fourth Gospel was Gnostic and written 300 years later.

3. John's Gospel is clearly the capstone of Matthew-Mark-Luke. Touching on some events (baptism, Lord's Supper), more detail on others - Jesus's sermons.

John 1:32; after Judas left John 13:31

4. John is the clearest example of "sermons based on the original Scriptures." The first three Gospels do the same, using the Old Testament texts.

5. Genesis and John start the same same - In the beginning, and teach Creation, and the Trinity. The Four Gospels are not a four-volume dogmatics set, but a delicate tapestry of pictures, events, and sayings.

6. The Fourth Gospel is full of Jesus' sermons.

7. The Faithless Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) teach against faith in Jesus Christ. John's Gospel is especially clear about faith in Him -

KJV John 6: 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. [Note how two major themes overlap in a  few verses.]

8. The Trinity is very clear in John's Gospel and the Holy Spirit is emphasized more than Matthew-Mark-Luke. We can say that the Fourth Gospel enlarges the first three and teaches what we take for granted - the three-year ministry.

9. The empty tomb is especially clear and so are His resurrection events.

10. We can never get enough of the insights in the Fourth Gospel. The text is the simplest in vocabulary in the New Testament and also the most profound. John is more easily translated in all other languages. Virginia R. said, "I think that was on purpose." Yes, anyone who wants to learn a foreign language will start with the Fourth Gospel in that language. 

 

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 5 - Second Sermon - "If the money fiend has taken possession of a pastor’s or preacher’s heart, so that he, like the rest of the world, only aims at securing for himself great riches, then has he already, like Judas the traitor, fallen into the jaws of the devil, and is prepared, for a few pieces of silver, to betray Christ and his Word and his Church."

 

Luther's Sermons - Luke 5:1-11.
Fifth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon. Concerning Faith, The Care of God, And Our Daily Occupation.

16. We see from daily experience what shameful and accursed vice covetousness is, and what harm it does, especially in high office, whether clerical or lay. If the money fiend has taken possession of a pastor’s or preacher’s heart, so that he, like the rest of the world, only aims at securing for himself great riches, then has he already, like Judas the traitor, fallen into the jaws of the devil, and is prepared, for a few pieces of silver, to betray Christ and his Word and his Church. Thus has the Pope, in order to secure and maintain his riches and dominion, introduced, in the name of God and the Church, all sorts of idolatries and abominations, and has openly led multitudes of souls to the devil, so filling men with the false terrors of his ban that no one dares to say a word against it.

17. How harmful it is in civil governments when lords and princes are dominated by this shameful vice, aiming to appropriate everything to themselves. Thereby they forget to exercise their princely office so as to be of help to the land and people over whom, for this purpose, they have been placed as lords, and thus they forfeit the commendation and love which, with all honor and praise, they should receive as the fathers of their people and country. They do not concern themselves about the spread of God’s Word, the administration and support of churches and schools, the proper instruction of the people, or the maintenance of law and order among their subjects. They permit destitute pastors, with their children, widows and orphans, to suffer injustice, violence and want. In the meantime they go about with their tax lists, and only consider how they may collect money enough for their excessive expenditures and pomp. And when this does not suffice, they flay and tax their poor subjects to such an extent that they themselves fall into perplexities and difficulties which must bring poverty and ruin upon themselves, their land and their people. Or if, in their avarice, they have already accumulated enough to make them think they are quite rich, then, in order to carry out their undertakings, they involve themselves in manifold strange dealings and affairs that finally, to their own punishment, they bring upon themselves great burdens and ruin.

18. What a dreadful disaster and ruin has been brought upon Germany merely by the shameful and accursed usury which has everywhere gotten the upper hand, so that there is no longer any check or restraint to it, especially as those who should check it are themselves mixed up in it.

Nowadays every one who has the power, by means of his money, impoverishes his neighbors, and thereby sets God and conscience aside.

Thus, with open eyes, and with an evil, self-accusing conscience, he speeds off to hell, burdened with the curse that has been pronounced upon the abominations of covetousness, — the curse, that he shall not himself enjoy such property in peace and tranquility as has been gained by usury, but either himself shall lose it by God’s visitation or it shall not descend to his heirs. Upon such un-Christian doings must come the fearful wrath and punishment of God, which alas! we have long ago greatly deserved; and the time must come when he will turn us out of doors, together with the Turks and other terrible plagues, so that, since we would not heed his Word and admonition, he himself may put a forcible end to this godless business.

19. This the believer avoids and escapes who, with good conscience and godly fear, occupies his station in life peacefully and quietly, and is satisfied with the things that God gives him. He does not expose himself to the dangers of temptation or snares. If the money fiend has taken possession of a pastor’s or preacher’s heart, so that he, like the rest of the world, only aims at securing for himself great riches, then has he already, like Judas the traitor, fallen into the jaws of the devil, and is prepared, for a few pieces of silver, to betray Christ and his Word and his Church.

The ELCA Seminaries Only Occupy a Floor of a Building, Not a Campus, Not Even Their Own Building

 

The 55 year old Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago was sold off for around $17 million.

WE’VE MOVED!

The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago has moved into our new home located at 5416 S. Cornell Avenue, fourth floor, Chicago, Illinois 60615. Please update our address in your records to reflect this change. 

The meltdown into one floor of a building is the new Pacific Seminary. It once had acres and buildings at the top of the hill. 

Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus Ohio also did a major shrink after coughing up $90 million from a lawsuit after they ordained a known pedophile. Capital University absorbed Trinity, noting that they did it without adding to the cost. In other words, the seminary had to accept its lowly new role.

There are other examples and likely plans for shrinkage. For some reason the recruits are not lining up to be like this seminary, who received a call upon graduating from Luther Seminary in St. Paul.

This man danced for his friends at the Luther Seminary chapel. They laughed - and he received a call upon graduating. Remember, according to Herb Chilstrom, the first ELCA Presiding Bishop, they had been working toward those goals before the merger happened. 

ALPB Ovaltines Say - The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, June 25th, Is All About Benke's "It's OK To Pray" at Yankee Stadium

 

They had hats too - church merch before its time.

Former DP Dave Benke

Benke made a point about the Augsburg Confession anniversary's date this year - by linking it with his defenestration as a Missouri Synod district president.

Now that thread is boiling over with discussions about Benke and who did what when.

I know Benke's OK To Pray was used as an excuse by ELDONUTs, to storm out of the LCMS. Of course, that was after Bishop Heiser's LCMS benefits were vested. One must be a steward of his benefits when shaking a fist at the LCMS.

Super Stew - Packed with Flavor and Nutrition - Satisfying And Delicious

 

Charlie Sue loves her sausage slices.

I began working at the Melo-Cream Donut Shop very young. The owner, my father, stressed nothing but the best ingredients in his products. He boasted that he saw about 200 bakeries go out of business, all guaranteed to make a ton of money, but lacking in quality and hard work.

We live in a Bizarro world (see Superman comics) where everything is upside down. People complain about food prices, but they buy processed foods at hideous prices and have them delivered. Those foods are the worst possible for health, but they are addicting - fats, lots of sugar, and plenty of salt. 

Super Stew for You

Many variations are possible. This is one I developed over time by making it for lunch every day, sharing with Charlie Sue, the Patterdale-Chihuahua. The ingredients are based on Doctors Joel Fuhrman and Michael Greger, seeing food as effective and inexpensive medicine.

I am going to list the way I make it. Feel free to plagiarize or improve.

Two-quart pan for the stove, starting with a bit of filtered water.

Blueberries go in first, as a super-food, plenty of antioxidants, low in sugar, anti cancer.

Sausage slices - a small amount is the base for some meat, either beef or pork or chicken. Charlie gets some during cooking and her portion later. Meat is not high in nutrition but some meat provides balance.

Walnuts - a small handful daily will remove bad cholesterol from the body. The blood chemistry convinced me when sugar and fat were way up with ice cream, but cholesterol was way down. I stopped ice cream completely. Those allergic to walnuts can try almonds.

Ground seeds and spices - 

1. Ground flax seed is very cheap, good against cholesterol and for the intestines. 
2. Ground mustard is added to help the blanched (frozen kale). 
3. Ground black pepper helps the turmeric, the ginger spice having oxidants and spice. (Go very easy with mustard and turmeric.) 
4. Allspice - would probably make a good bakery product - sob. Cumin is bean soup flavoring. 
5. Ground cardamom - aromatic and a memory of Mom, who never used any of these spices, but kept them for decades. 
6. Curry powder reminds me of cooking in India. Fennel and anise are seeds that add flavor.

I vary this group often and look up nutrition values with the Michael Greger website. Charlie has given me the evil eye about some of my concoctions so I go easy with the experiments.

Frozen greens have the advantage of being superstars in nutrition, filling, almost absent calories, and champions of fiber, which we need yet ignore.

• Kale is the daily champion. I resisted it but came to enjoy it, Greger said, "Nothing tops kale," so consider that. I use a lot each lunch.
• Spinach is the daily supplement. Variety is good in all the ingredients, because every plant has some variety, perhaps more than we know.
• Turnip greens are much like spinach.
• Collards are associated with bulking up future athletes who have little money.

At this point I add a variety of favorites.

Mushrooms daily - they are supposed to be anti-cancer. I have used them canned but would rather use frozen. Check them out with Fuhrman and Greger.

Lima beans or other legumes - they all have protein and fiber plus other nutritional values. Beans are satisfying without becoming stuffed. 

Onions and green peppers. They are nutrition and very low calorie. I get the mixed frozen package and use some every day.

Chick peas/Cicero beans. Cicero is one of Rome's most famous orators. His name is the Roman name for chick pea. This legume is neutral in flavor, inexpensive, and packed with nutrition and protein and fiber. I use one can every day. 

Here is the nutritional list for chick peas.

Chick peas also provide a variety of vitamins and minerals, as well as a decent amount of fiber and protein. A 1-cup (164-gram) serving of cooked chickpeas offers (1Trusted Source):

• Calories: 269
• Protein: 14.5 grams
• Fat: 4 grams
• Carbs: 45 grams
• Fiber: 12.5 grams
• Manganese: 74% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Folate (vitamin B9): 71% of the DV
• Copper: 64% of the DV
• Iron: 26% of the DV
• Zinc: 23% of the DV
• Phosphorus: 22% of the DV
• Magnesium: 19% of the DV
• Thiamine: 16% of the DV
• Vitamin B6: 13% of the DV
• Selenium: 11% of the DV
• Potassium: 10% of the DV

 https://nutritionfacts.org/

ELCA Lost Members and Congregations Galore with Church Growth - You Can Too!

 

ELCA began with 10,000 congregations and 5.3 million members in 1987. Compare that to the latest  numbers and tell it not in Gath. They are doomed and their lesser Thrivent church partners are shrinking at the same rate. The current numbers below are certainly inflated.

About the ELCA

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with nearly 3.3 million members in more

 than 8,900 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 5 - Second Sermon - "These two things are clearly seen in the world. Those men are at rest and in peace who content themselves with the things that God provides. They journey onward cheerfully and courageously, whatever their calling may be."

 

Luther's Sermons - Luke 5:1-11.
Fifth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon. Concerning Faith, The Care of God, And Our Daily Occupation.

12. These two things are clearly seen in the world. Those men are at rest and in peace who content themselves with the things that God provides. They journey onward cheerfully and courageously, whatever their calling may be. They have enough to live on, and all their necessities are so well supplied that they must say to themselves: “No evening yet have I gone hungry to sleep,” although it appears as if affliction and want are at their very doors, as, according to our text, was the case with Peter. They have this benefit from their confidence and faith in God, that they need not fret and wound themselves among the thorns (cares for the body), or be stung and injured by them, but can, so to speak, sit amid roses in a garden of pleasure. As Solomon says in Proverbs 15:15: “He that is of a cheerful heart hath a continual feast.”

The others, however, who plant themselves among the thorns of avarice, and seek after great possessions, must suffer the consequences of being stung and torn and must fall, not only into manifold temptations and dangers, (which would be a mercy, if it only remained at that), but also into snares wherein they are so thoroughly caught that they sink to a temporal destruction and eternal damnation from which they can never again escape.

13. Of this we see daily examples in those who boast of the Gospel and their Christianity. Everywhere we find robbery, oppression, assessment, usury, etc. , to such an extent that even God and conscience are set aside for the sake of a miserable penny. Then, as if such a fall were not deep enough, they harden themselves, and keep on their course defiantly and sacrilegiously, until they sink so far as to become enemies of God’s Word, become blind and deaf, yea, become so unblessed and accursed that they are of no service in any station, and can do nothing that is wholesome and good or useful to the pleasure and improvement of others. All they can do is to cause and bring harm, misfortune and misery upon land and people.

14. All comes from this, as St. Paul says, that men are bent on being rich.

For such covetousness and cares do assuredly keep company with a pride that makes men aim at being something great and powerful. Covetousness would appropriate everything to itself. It begins at first by saying: “Would that I had this house, this field, this castle, this village,” etc. Thus it grows greater and greater till it becomes a dragon’s tail that draws everything after it. And where covetousness has once become rooted there it daily brings forth cares of a hundred different kinds, as it seeks to obtain still more goods and gold. There the human heart boils and bubbles with countless insatiable lusts, and desires, that serve no other purpose than its own destruction, and spring from no other source than man’s fall from faith, and thence from one temptation and snare into another. It is a dreadful plague that has taken such thorough possession of men that, on account of it, they can do nothing good or useful in their station, and no longer ,an have any thought of serving God or man.

15. When one has scraped together a great deal, he has no less trouble in retaining and protecting it. He must then try to gain favor and friendship, and in all sorts of ways seek to prevent the loss of his property. In the meantime he brings upon himself hatred and envy and troubles of many kinds, from which he cannot escape; and thus, as St. Paul shows, there is nothing left but disturbance and sorrows of conscience, and a veritable hell, into which the man has cast himself. Upon the covetous man the plague and curse have already been pronounced that he shall never be satisfied, and, furthermore, that he must endure all sorts of misfortune and heartgriefs through the very things he has coveted to his everlasting destruction and damnation.

16. We see from daily experience what shameful and accursed vice covetousness is, and what harm it does, especially in high office, whether clerical or lay. If the money fiend has taken possession of a pastor’s or preacher’s heart, so that he, like the rest of the world, only aims at securing for himself great riches, then has he already, like Judas the traitor, fallen into the jaws of the devil, and is prepared, for a few pieces of silver, to betray Christ and his Word and his Church. Thus has the Pope, in order to secure and maintain his riches and dominion, introduced, in the name of God and the Church, all sorts of idolatries and abominations, and has openly led multitudes of souls to the devil, so filling men with the false terrors of his ban that no one dares to say a word against it.

17. How harmful it is in civil governments when lords and princes are dominated by this shameful vice, aiming to appropriate everything to themselves. Thereby they forget to exercise their princely office so as to be of help to the land and people over whom, for this purpose, they have been placed as lords, and thus they forfeit the commendation and love which, with all honor and praise, they should receive as the fathers of their people and country. They do not concern themselves about the spread of God’s Word, the administration and support of churches and schools, the proper instruction of the people, or the maintenance of law and order among their subjects. They permit destitute pastors, with their children, widows and orphans, to suffer injustice, violence and want. In the meantime they go about with their tax lists, and only consider how they may collect money enough for their excessive expenditures and pomp. And when this does not suffice, they flay and tax their poor subjects to such an extent that they themselves fall into perplexities and difficulties which must bring poverty and ruin upon themselves, their land and their people. Or if, in their avarice, they have already accumulated enough to make them think they are quite rich, then, in order to carry out their undertakings, they involve themselves in manifold strange dealings and affairs that finally, to their own punishment, they bring upon themselves great burdens and ruin.

Gardening with Charlie Sue. Cooking with Fuhrman.

 

Patterdale-Chihuahua Charlie Sue is a constant delight.

We are having a real drought here, and it is quite hot in the afternoon. Charlie Sue manages me skillfully. She loves to see me put on my clodhopper shoes to go outside. We go out together and she practices leaping at me. When I have a heavy shirt on, she jumps up to gently clamp on my forearms, grinning about her nimble running, leaping, and teething. 

She has a lot of friends along the north (doggie day care), south (DustMop and Porchie), and west (Pug). Patterdales are sociable and bossy with other dogs and cats. 

Even our weeds are drooping, so I did some extra work today. I made sure she had fresh water in a clean dish and brand new rigid play pool, just like the old one with cracks. An even older pool was was torn apart by Charlie. I soaked all the roses yesterday and expect rain tonight. 

I hosed the Joe Pye Weed and Poke Weed. Joe Pye will soon be blooming for the hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. The hummingbird feeders are so busy I can take them apart with bees sipping the ports (no stinging, they know who loves them). 

The pesticide salesman was impressed by the magnificent splendor of all the large flowers and shrubs. All the large and small plants work to shelter the beneficial insects fashioned by the Creator at the beginning of time. Imagine the predators taking billions of years to wait for the prey. They would have starved much sooner than that. 

Animals can teach us about our food too. They only eat plant-based and raw meat foods. The meat comes from nasty little bugs that eat my roses. The beneficial bugs prosper where the damaging insects are having a riot. Soon the populations balance. The elegant roses provide branching stems that make wonderful nets to hold the spiders' webs. Those roses have almost no damage.

Can anyone imagine animals eating large amounts of fat, sugar, and salt in their diets? Those are the main ingredients in our grocery store foods. I only buy fresh produce, frozen vegetables and greens, and a small amount meat for the week. 

Charlie digs her own, besides getting Science Diet. She rushes into the garden before the sun is up. Creatures rush out. 

I finally caught on to the Crash Diet program, which has increased the weight of anyone who tries it. Certain foods are eliminated, such as all ice cream and candy. Weight drops immediately and that loss continues, until the craving comes roaring back, doubling the previous delicacies to come back to the norm and beyond, even way beyond. Crash Diets have paved the way for many medical types to earn fortunes as they process the Crash Du Jour plans.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman gave me his ideas about craving. It is bad to take away everything - or too much - only to lose a lot and get it all back. Many are the pour souls - like me - who decide they have sacrificed enough and now want vengeance upon that aching, empty stomach and general lack of energy. Race to the top! of the biggest weight gain of the past.

I have learned to take away one temptation at a time, over two years, close to 45 pounds (with many small ups and downs). Here is my list  of fat-makers, weight-gainers, health-wreckers:

All Dairy Products

Ice cream in particular - fat and sugar.

Any form of cheese - fat city.

Butter - the hardest to give up, the best to excommunicate.

Eggs - fat bombs with choline, which is bad.

All Sugar Products

Candies - betcha can't eat just one.

Chocolate - delicious but a fat product.

Candies with nuts and chocolate.

Fruit juices - a burst of pure sugar, not healthy at all.

Meats

All drive-through fast foods - grease, sugar, salt, cheese.

Fish - high in grease and pollutants.

Too much meat at home because of fat and salt content.

Prepared Meals

Driven to your house - guaranteed expensive, fat, salt, sugar.

Frozen at the grocery store - pizza, various "meals," easy to eat puddings, yogurts.

Restaurants and bread palaces.

Sugary Fruity Fails

Caramel apples - guilt and health balanced in the process.

Apple and fruit sauces - huge sugar, no fiber.

Orange juice - no fiber at all, often has corn syrup added (Paul Newman)

All juices - no fiber, lots of sugar, no excuse for "sugar free."

Big Bucks for Horrible Food

In conclusion, all the processed food is expensive and loaded with excessive fat, salt, and sugar. Eating from the simple foods at home is far less costly and truly delicious. I will post more on the good foods. I reached the lowest weight so far because I cut out almost every thing on the list above, a certain amount at a time, a few steps backward, weighing and charting every day.

Food is medicine. Bad food is toxic medicine. The pharmacy and the Over the Counter fakes will reduce symptoms but few of them actually heal. 

A nutritional choice in foods is healing, as revealed in my blood tests. I tested diabetic and got serious in 2022. All my tests came back normal over time. I am working on blood pressure now. Our bodies sent out capillaries to feed and manage our blubber. Ove time that pushes the blood pressure higher, but it can go down when its extra mileage is gone from weight loss.

Presentation of the Augsburg Confession - Anniversary Today, June 25th, 1530. The Faithless Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) Will Celebrate Their Cupidity.

 

This blog, which nobody reads, has been calling attention to the Faithless Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) - for many years. One aspect of confessing the truth is to compare one's concept with the other's. They refuse to do this, calling on their positions, excessive salaries and perks, and DNA to prove they are correct. However, that does not even begin to address the actual content of the Augsburg Confession.

The air was charged with so much chance for murdering Luther that he was kept in safety. The lay leaders insisted on signing their names, at the risk of their lives, because they wanted it to be their own confession too.

If we look at the Walther Faithless Four - LCMS, WELS, ELS, CLC (sic) - they are one in depravity with their lust for denying Justification by Faith, the Chief Article of the Christian Faith. 

ELCA is separated from the Faithless Four because the biggest sect of all cares  only about their gay ordinations, gay bishops, gay promotions, gay conferences, and much, much more. The Faithless Four joyfully works with ELCA and share the loot coming from Thrivent and other sources. Imagine how proud Thrivent is - to license the churches' own greedy charitable annuity salescritters - to make them all rich, while robbing widows and orphans of their estates. 

Notice how often the date is mentioned - every year! - and yet no one wants to explain the importance of the Augsburg Confession. I am leaving some graphics so the lazy clergy can actually read what they supposedly celebrate.

Compare to the Faithless Four - 

Who Eat This Up

***

From the ALPB Ovaltines

Today at 05:23:45 PM

June 25th, 2024 is the 22nd Anniversary of the imposition of my suspension from the ordained roster of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in 2002.  The supervisor in charge of my case deemed it an auspicious date for that imposition, listing not just the date but the churchly occasion in his letter.

My assistant at the time had opened and read the letter as part of her duties, and said words to the effect, "You're not going to believe this!"  I was running in and out of the office (on the Concordia Bronxville campus) that day on my way to my cardiologist, having suffered a heart attack forty days before September 11, 2001 and still under relatively close watch.  So I grabbed the letter, muttered a few syllables, jumped in the car, headed into Manhattan, walked into the cardiologist's office and said, "I would like you to take my blood pressure right now.  I've just received news that I've been convicted of heresy."  It was normal.  Not the news.  The blood pressure.

Yes, I should write a book.

Dave Benke

GJ - Benke forced himself into the Yankee Stadium pan-religious event after "911."

They had no chair for him, so they had to find one. His prayer either did or did not invoke the Savior's Name. Nevertheless, breaking into the pagan group and praying for them and the entire stadium was excessive, even for ELCA.

Today Benke identified himself with the anniversary of the Augsburg Confession. The irony is deep with this one.

He has "It's OK to pray" on his Ovaltine posts, which are frequent and informative about LCMS colleges going down hard. He even wore the hat in a successful effort to become District President again. Wallace Schulz was fired for writing that letter when a cautious Preus would not. The LCMS motto then and today is - "When in doubt, doubt."

Contributions of Mark's Gospel

 

YouTube 

Mark's Gospel was the favorite of the apostate scholars who came from Halle University and from England. Note the Westcott-Hort Greek New Testament Mark 1:1 - This is the beginning of the Gospel  of Jesus Christ [omitted - the Son of God].

They also loved to end Mark with 16:8 - 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. 

[Their Gospel ends with gar - for.]

They were also allergic to miracles.

1. Mark is associated with Peter. His Gospel is the shortest and emphasizes the miracles.

2. Mark is concise when Matthew and Luke are more detailed - usually - in covering the same topic. Unique - Mark has the seed growing secretly. Q is a scholarly hoax with no proof.

3. The Passion of Christ is about 25% of this Gospel, which is roughly what the other Gospels have in relation to the entire Gospel.

4. "Scholars are divided." That means avoiding the issue.

5. That is a "hapax." It is only found once, so they cannot compare it to a similar passage.

6. Mark is a "simple Gospel for simple people who believe in miracles." The 19th century adored rationalism - note the hallowed attitude toward Evolution, scorn about Creation and miracles.

7. Benefits - a shorter Gospel is easier for reading or copying the entire book.

8. Being concise is useful in comparison with the longer Gospels.

9. One can buy a copy of all four Gospels in parallel columns - interesting and educational.

10. John's Gospel - Thursday - hints at Jesus' Baptism and Holy Communion, but read carefully what is revealed. One might say that John is supplemental and therefore only touching upon topics.

The pigs were so demonic, they signed up for Fuller D.Mins degrees.