When will Zoom start?
Friday at 11 AM Central - God willing.
ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I AM the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I AM that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
18. From this it now appears what a misleading calling that of the monks and priests is, in that they wish to merit heaven through their works alone, and they also bind the people to do good works, in order that they may thereby merit heaven, which is a cursed and godless service. Hence, as already stated, the law is to be only an exercise to prove our love; otherwise, aside from love, God never inquires about works, no matter how excellent they are.
19. You can now see how many people know what the law means: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself. Surely they are few who know it, and fewer still who keep it. How can they keep that which they do not know? We are blind and our nature is totally blind, and so is also human reason. It knows nothing so imperfectly as that which the law of God requires.
20. Now here Christ shows the Pharisees and the Scribes a twofold kindness. In the first place, he dispels their blindness and teaches them what the law is. In the second place, he teaches them how impossible it is for them to keep the law. Their blindness he dispels, in that he teaches them what the law is, namely: that love is the law. Human reason cannot comprehend this nowadays any more than the Jews did then, for if it had been possible for human reason to comprehend it, the Pharisees and Scribes, who at that time were the best and wisest of the people, could have understood it; but they thought it consisted alone in performing the external works of the law; in giving to God, whether it be done willingly or unwillingly; but their inward blindness, their covetousness, and their hardened heart they could not see, and thought they thoroughly understood the law and were fine fellows, holy and pious people; but they stood in their own light. For no one is able to keep the law unless his nature is thoroughly renewed.
21. Therefore consider it an established fact that reason can never understand and fulfill the law, even though it knows the meaning of the law. When do you do to another what you want him to do to you? Who loves his enemy from his heart? Who loves to die? Who willingly suffers disgrace and shame? Dear sir, point me to a man who enjoys to have a bad reputation or to live in poverty! For nature and human reason flee entirely from this, are afraid, terrified and shocked; and if it were possible, as far as it were in their power, they would never suffer such misfortune. Human nature alone will never be able to accomplish what God in this commandment requires, namely, that we surrender our will to the will of God, so that we renounce our reason, our will, our might and power, and say from the heart: Thy will be done. And indeed, nowhere will you find a person who loves God with his whole heart and his neighbor as himself. It may indeed happen that two companions live friendly together; but even there hypocrisy is hidden, which continues until you are wounded by him; then you will see how you love him, and whether you are flesh or spirit. This commandment therefore requires me to be friendly with all my heart to him who has offended me; but when do I do this?
22. Thus Christ desires to show us that we preach the law rightly, only when we learn from it that we are unable to fulfill it, and that we are the property of the devil. This we learn from experience, and it is shown now and then in the Scriptures, especially by St. Paul when he says in Romans 8:7-8: “Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be,” and it follows, that they who are in the flesh cannot please God.
23. Hence, take to thyself this commandment: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and think upon it, contemplate it, and search what kind of a law it is; how far you are from fulfilling it, yea, how you have not yet even made a beginning to suffer and to do from the heart what God demands of you. It is pure hypocrisy, if anyone wants to creep into a hiding-place and think: Oh I will love God. Oh, how I do love him, he is my Father! How gracious he is to me! and the like. Yes, when God does our pleasure, then we can easily say such things; but when he sends misfortune and adversity, we no longer regard him as our God, nor as our Father.
24. True love to God does not act in this way, but in the heart it thinks and with the lips says: Lord God, I am thy creature; do with me as thou wilt; it matters not to me. I am ever thine, that I know; and if thou desirest, I will die this very hour or suffer any great misfortune; I will cheerfully do so from my heart. I will not regard my life, honor and goods and all I have, higher and greater than thy will, which shall be my pleasure all my days.
But you will never find a person who will constantly regulate himself according to this commandment; for the whole life you are living in the body, in the five senses, and whatever you do in your body, should all be so regulated as to be done to the glory of God, according to the regulations of this commandment, which saith, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind.” As if Christ said: If you love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, then nothing will be lacking; you shall experience it in your daily life, namely: when everything you do, whether you wake or sleep, whether you labor or stand idle, whether you eat or drink, is directed and done out of love to God from the heart. In like manner your mind and thoughts will also be directed wholly and entirely to God, so that you will approve of nothing you are not certain is pleasing to God. Yea, where are those who do this?
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There he goes again. I am providing background for the latest fiasco. Notice that the LCMS President loses a vast amount of weight before big events. That happened once again at Missouri's latest election. He had instant weight gain live at the convention but the photos - before and after - suggested massive weight loss.
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Does anyone recognize the drain on resources at the Missouri Synod Vatican? |
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KJV John 6:22 The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;
23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)
24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
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. [Objective Faithless Justification - demolished]
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.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I AM the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
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Ruby spice |
I was gathering roses for yesterday's service when I was stopped by a powerful, intense, and unexpected fragrance. I was used to various delights during the summer, but this was...could it be? Yes, my biggest Clethra, now a giant shrub, was sending out the sweetest, most cinnamon aroma. The tiny flowers were gone, but the butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees had enjoyed their stay. No wonder they are called
For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Colossians 2:1-15
Make sure that no one leads you astray with an empty and deceitful philosophy that depends on human tradition[a] and worldly principles, and not on Christ.
God Has Given You Life in Christ. 9 For it is in him that the entire fullness of deity dwells in bodily form,[b] 10 and you share this fullness in him who is the head of every ruler and power.
Read full chapterThe words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Psalms 12:6,7
Wow!! I will trust God and His Word rather than men no matter how smart, erudite, and scientific they appear to be!!!! Away with your 'older more accurate manuscripts' footnote nonsense. Doubt creating footnotes are NEVER found in the Bibles (TEXTUS RECEPTUS, King James Bible, Luther's Bible) chosen by God. God's Word is pure, certain, and eternal. Away with your dynamic equivalent paraphrasing. God's Bible translations (King James Bible, Luther's 1545 German Bible, etc) are exact, literal translations of the Greek Text (TEXTUS RECEPTUS) and Hebrew Masoretic Text. Away with your older, more accurate, scientific Greek Texts (Vaticanus, Sinaticus, Nestle-Aland, United Bible Society etc.). God REJECTED all of these corrupted Greek texts and CHOSE the Greek TEXTUS RECEPTUS to be the foundation of all translations ( King James Bible, Luther's 1545 German Bible, etc) for the reformation of the world.
Perhaps Colossians 2:9 is an isolated occurrence. Let's take a look at all the English translations and see how many omit that precious little word 'God' from 1 Timothy 3:16:
και
ομολογουμενως μεγα εστιν το της ευσεβειας μυστηριον θεος εφανερωθη εν
σαρκι εδικαιωθη εν πνευματι ωφθη αγγελοις εκηρυχθη εν εθνεσιν επιστευθη
εν κοσμω ανεληφθη εν δοξη 1 Timothy 3:16 Stephanus 1550 Greek TEXTUS
RECEPTUS (God chose this text for the reformation and rejected the
Vaticanus text) Here is a corrupted Greek Text God rejected during the reformation: 16 καὶ ὁμολογουμένως μέγα ἐστὶν τὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον· [a]Ὃς ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί, ἐδικαιώθη ἐν πνεύματι, ὤφθη ἀγγέλοις, ἐκηρύχθη ἐν ἔθνεσιν, ἐπιστεύθη ἐν κόσμῳ, ἀνελήμφθη ἐν δόξῃ. Read full chapterFootnotes
θεος (pronounced 'Theos' :God) Here is the ultra corrupt Westcott-Hort Greek Text: 16 και ομολογουμενως μεγα εστιν το της ευσεβειας μυστηριον ος εφανερωθη εν σαρκι εδικαιωθη εν πνευματι ωφθη αγγελοις εκηρυχθη εν εθνεσιν επιστευθη εν κοσμω ανελημφθη εν δοξη God did not want anyone to doubt the text of His Word so He only allowed one reformation text to be used and flourish during the reformation: the Greek TEXTUS RECEPTUS and all the translations (King James Bible, Luther's German Bible of 1545, etc) emanating from it. So the TEXTUS RECEPTUS, King James Bible, and Luther's Bible of 1545 reigned supreme and were the ONLY reformation Bibles published for over 300 years until wicked Westcott-Hort created their own corrupted Greek Text in 1881, followed by the corrupt Nestle-Aland Text in 1898. See Pastor Jackson's book (The King James Version, Apostolic Texts, Precise Translation versus Fraudulent Texts and Heretical Translations, Gregory L Jackson, PhD.; ISBN 9798429093451) beginning on page 170 for a detailed history of how the Bible was corrupted by evil wicked men. Now I must become very CONFRONTATIONAL against you wicked, evil Lutheran 'pastors' who stubbornly continue to create doubt in the text of God's Word by using corrupt Bible translations (NIV, ESV, RSV, NKJV, NASB, Beck's, etc). Doesn't it bother you that the ESV, NIV, NKJV, NASB, RSV, etc, all bracket or footnote Mark 16:9-20 as most likely not being in the text at all? Why aren't you alarmed that the word 'God' is omitted from 1 Timothy 3:16? Has your wicked vile reasoning completely destroyed your faith and blinded your understanding to the point you don't even care that the word "Godhead" is omitted from Colossians 2:9? You are all lying and deceiving by God's name by promoting and using corrupt Bibles that create doubt in the very text of God's Word. All I hear from you blasphemous vipers is: "God's Word only exists in the original autographs. The autographs are gone, therefore all Bibles contain some errors and omissions." You vile liars and deceivers. God has promised to preserve His Word that He inspired the prophets and apostles to write. He has perfectly preserved His Word that He inspired the prophets to write in the Greek TEXTUS RECEPTUS and the literal translations (King James Bible, Luther's German Bible of 1545, etc) emanating from it. Why do you show such vile satanic hatred against the TEXTUS RECEPTUS, King James Bible, and Luther's 1545 German Bible?? Obviously God clearly CHOSE these Bibles and REJECTED all the corrupted Bibles (Vaticanus, Sinaticus Nestle-Aland, United Bible Society, NIV, ESV, RSV, NKJV, Beck's, etc) that you continue to use and promote. You are lying and deceiving by God's name and Word. Even worse you openly and fearlessly blaspheme God the Holy Ghost who has obviously attached Himself to His pure Word in the TEXTUS RECEPTUS, King James Bible, Luther's 1545, etc). REPENT!! You have fallen from grace. Your vile, wicked reasoning has completely destroyed your Christian faith. There can be no doubt in the text of the Word of God. The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Psalms 12:6,7 Here stands the invincible Word of God. We must believe God and His Word rather than you vile, wicked Lutheran pastors who lie and deceive by God's name and Word.In Christ, Tom Fisher |