Dr. Phil Giessler - From 2008

Phillip B. Giessler, previously a Missouri Synod pastor, previously the Major Domo of the Beck Bible revision boondoggle, previously married twice, is Otten's expert on Creation.

Otten said on the phone, "Phil Giessler was here the other day with his wife."

I said, "His third wife?"

Otten sputtered, "Third?"

I reminded him - "You said he left his first wife for his mistress and his putative son, when his wife made him choose. After he excommunicated himself and left Missouri, he ran out of money. You told me his second wife left him and told him the boy was not his. That would mean the wife he brought in was either a reconciliation or a third wife."

Otten, in a voice of wonder, "You are right!"

The GOP set a new record by having three presidential candidates with three wives: Gingrich (always in the wings), Fred Thompson [correction below], and Mayor JulieAnny (the first transvestite candidate). That is bad enough, but when the clergy are sporting their new wives, why should anyone pay attention to them?

God instituted marriage by His command. One indication of people accepting this as natural law is the world-wide institution of marriage. I got one man to marry the mother of his three children by saying, "If you love the Word of God, you will marry the mother of your children. Otherwise you are telling your daughters that you despise the Word." That truly shocked him. The Word fell on him like a boulder and crushed his pretensions. He asked to be married and to take instructions in the faith.

When someone pretends to teach the Word and violates the Word at the same time, he is leading by example - bad example.

I teach hundreds of college students each year. Most of the women are divorced or never married. The new line is, "We are married five years, together eight." Or, "I am in a new relationship." If I tell them I have been married 39 years in November, they gasp as if I told them I swallowed gravel for breakfast each day.

We should not wonder that things are going downhill fast when Christian News takes no notice of the serial monogamy of its writers. The guard dog has become a lap dog.

***

GJ - Don W. thought Senator Fred Thompson had only one marriage. According to Wikipedia and other sources, his wives include:
1. Sarah Elizabeth Lindsey (when he ws 17). To his credit, he married the mother of his child and worked his way through school.
2. Jeri Kehn, whom he met in a grocery store line.

I thought he had three wives, so the average between Don's figure and mine is correct - two.

More Pastors Should Garden

Cow vetch, a legume, grows naturally in my yard.
Budgies and other birds love the seed and spread it.

Mark 4:26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Borage is the cousin to comfrey and
has a similar but smaller growth habit.

Borage is either pink or blue, an edible herb.

More pastors should garden, because then they would would understand all the parables related to the growth of plants and how these stories apply to their work.

I looked up one of my garden weeds and found it was cow vetch, loved by birds. They planted it for me, and some grew up the back fence, creating a beautiful waterfall effect of purple flowers.

The borage flowers above are also called bee bread, because they constantly flower, generate pollen and nectar, drop seed and grow again. All of the sudden, there is a new borage plant growing - the seed growing secretly. Borage is so robust that this happens all summer.

That reminds me of how the living seed of the Word sprouts and grows secretly. That is why I do not believe in trying to persuade people or  to appeal to them. The ministers who do not trust the Word think they have to make it appealing. Synods think they have to grow, without thinking about the only thing that is required of stewards, that they be found faithful.

The CLC (sic) is a sect that lives by, "Why didn't he join us 60 years ago, as he promised?" Meanwhile, Missouri and WELS think extending the Left Foot of Fellowship is their prime directive. Anyone who experiences a hint of that should extend the Right Foot of Exit, because shunning is Pietism at its core. "We are superior and anyone who disagrees must be shunned and expelled as an evil-doer."

We were mulching some of the new roses yesterday. We went through our cardboard and 15 bags of mulch. Our helper kept mentioning the lack of grass. I said, "We are on the cutting edge. Grass is last century, and we are re-inventing rose gardening!"

Before photographs were taken yesterday and should be posted fairly soon.

Bride's Dream rose has the largest bloom and plant.
I got two from Gurney's for $5 each.
It's fun to order blindly for bargains and find
classics that normally sell for $20 each.

Roses only require being:

• Planted
• Pruned
• Watered
• Mulched, and
• Earthwormed.

A $20 rose bush grows more than enough flowers to pay for itself in retail value the first summer. One good hybrid rose is worth $5 at a flower shop.  A dozen roses will sell for $60. Many hybrid tea rose bushes will yield a dozen roses the first year, each bloom far better and longer-lasting than flower shop roses.

Many "Conservative" Lutheran Leaders Could Not Get Hired.

Bishop Burnside, like the Episcopalian female bishop,
drove drunk, killed a fine person, and fled the scene.

One insurance agency had a simple rule. When someone wanted to work there and had a DUI, they said, "No thanks." The general agent received a big bonus from the company for hiring, but the general agent figured a DUI signaled a habitual, out of control drunk.

Blood and urine tests are common, even for hiring $9 an hour employees. They reveal whiskey enzymes in the liver (heavy drinking) and various illegal drugs. "Sorry, kid, we can't use you."

Many ecclesiastical pests would no longer be around if the SPs said, "We can't risk you running down some kid's mother or father and that story being in the news. Besides that, you have problems and need help."

Cook was installed as bishop three sheets to the wind - and with a DUI record.
She wiped out this family man, who was biking.
Two young people in my Sturgis congregation
were killed by drunk drivers, devastating their families.

I have worked with alcoholics - it a long, hard road to recovery. I do not think they are being manly men for using up the family income to pummel their livers and endanger lives. The financial and social cost for all that drinking is enormous.

Several readers have emailed to say that WELS is indeed a drunken culture with all the attributes.

1. One is being super rigid and hyper about any criticism.
2. Another is the low level of thinking and problem solving. One official was known for his drinking and inability to deal with any practical mission problem. He simply issued edicts.
3. Finally, what looks like incompetence is really drinking on the job, inability to get work done, and confused thinking under the influence.

One reader said his or her school faculty was completely alcoholic, which led to repentance and leaving whiskey river behind. Ever wonder about all the child abuse stories in WELS, and most are suppressed? Alcoholism excuses or explains a lot.

Why is it suddenly so popular to have a "bar ministry" in WELS? What better way to indulge and cover it with noble words! At one gathering, a pathetic LCA drunk offered to buy everyone drinks if they would stay and drink with him. One old drunken pastor had a younger woman offer to drive him back to his hotel room. An LCA mission boss was so drunk on the phone, calling from headquarters, that he was completely incoherent. 

But drunks cover for drunks. Smash your car up a utility pole while drunk? "We have a foreign mission for you."

I drove around on small town looking for a notorious drunk, to take him to the VA Hospital for needed treatment. His family member was at the wheel. We got the alcoholic in the car and took him to the treatment center. He said, "I'm not a drunk. I'm just nervous."

Two bishops knew, but enabled the drunken bishop Cook,
who Consecrated Under the Influence.

Bishop Katie seems worried that Cook will fall over.

UOJ and Antinomianism - From 2012

The Little Sect on the Prairie is too small for Stormtroopers,
so they have Dark Helmet as their mascot and protector.

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Brett Meyer Address the Synodical Conference Spin ...":

One can see that UOJ and SJ are just Calvinism sandwiched together with Lutheranism. The OJ is Calvinism and SJ is Lutheranism, except that Calvinism is its own system and is not compatible with the Biblical system of salvation, aka, Lutheranism. Sandwiched together, OJ and SJ amount to gross antinomianism. Calvin counter-balanced justification before faith with the idea of limited atonement and DP so that the antinomianism implicit in justification before faith would be balanced by idea that if you act like an unbeliever, maybe that's because you actually are one. UOJ-type Lutheranism has no such counter-balance to fend out antinomianism since Lutherans believe in unlimited atonement and deny that God reprobates anyone. Therefore, some over-assured Lutherans end up getting in trouble in various sins and with the law, but for most the theoretical antinomianism results in a largely unregenerate and life and many sins of omission (a non-dedicated, non-rigorously religious life) that the UOJer Lutheran doesn't feel any guilt over.

***

GJ - UOJ unifies the Synodical Conference (tm) and its scattered parts.We know Richard Jungkuntz was dedicated to UOJ because his essay is lovingly preserved in the Holy of Holies, the WELS Essay Files, even though they kicked him out of WELS. From there he did his liberal work in the LCMS, a real star of Seminex, as the chairman of the board of the first gay Lutheran seminary. Seminex was the official seminary of the Metropolitan Community Church.

Jungkuntz went on to serve as provost of an ALC college. He was written up favorably in the NY Times.

He argued for women's suffrage, conceding it was the same argumentation for women's ordination.

UOJ was the common thread in all his denominational affiliations. UOJ unites all the mainline Protestant denominations. Their motto is - "Everyone is forgiven and saved by the grace of God." Since they have given up the significance of creeds, hymns, sermons, and liturgy, they are vulnerable to every radical leftist fad.

For instance, the Episcopalians preserve the historic liturgy and creeds, and still hold solemn worship services, but they say, "We also have a contemporary service in our parish for the young people." (David Virtue, Virtue Online) Bad money drives out good, so that concession means the traditionalists will soon give way to the Fuller crowd, as all the rest have.

The Antinomian part is the most enjoyable. Anyone can do anything, as long as Holy Mother Church is not offended. If a man runs off with another woman, he will be restored as a pastor because "Who are you to judge?" That also goes well with communing a wealthy man  living openly with his mistress, which Dale Redlin of the CLC (sic) argued for at a pastors' meeting. The other pastors were appalled, but there were many other things they were happy to overlook.

UOJ has nothing to say about the complete erosion of the family, the treatment of children (from conception on), and the culture of hedonism.

"When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith?"

That question suggest that the End Times will be dominated by a complete lack of faith in the Savior. Not surprisingly, that is the siren song of UOJ - forgiveness without faith.

Richard Jungkuntz, UOJ advocate:
WELS, LCMS, Seminex, ALC:
Chairman of the Board, 
First Gay Lutheran Seminary in America.

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The false gospel of Universal Objective Justification was leaned on heavily by departing (W)ELS president Karl R. Gurgel in 2007. The man who knows where the $8Million dollars of Synod money went but has never confessed.

"Then, as if out of nowhere, comes another truth that is not self-evident. A perfect life and an innocent death—not ours but the Savior’s—liberates us from our sentence of death and makes us eternally happy.

This truth can only be perceived and received by faith in God’s Son, our Savior, Jesus. This is the saving truth we’re privileged to proclaim: God’s pardon for sinners, the eternal peace of sins forgiven.

Notice the already existing forgiveness of sins by God to be perceived.

His statements can be read here: http://www.wels.net/news-events/forward-in-christ/july-2007/self-evident-truths?page=0,0

A self evident truth is that in order for Synod Leadership - Synod President, the Council of Presidents, the District Presidents, the Circuit Pastors, the church Pastors, the church councils and elders all have continue to promote the false and utterly unsubstantiated, Anti-Scripture, Anti-Christ and Anti-Lutheran Confessions gospel of Universal Objective Justification or face the enormous mountain of shame and guilt that comes from the whole world realizing they've decieved their members concerning Scriptures Chief and Central doctrine - Justification by Faith alone.

For the sake of their own souls may God grant them Godly contrition and the Holy Spirit's faith to trust alone in Christ and to lead and direct Christ's Church to the one true Christian faith and away from the New Age Antichrist's religion of justification before God without faith in Christ which is essentially belief that they are their own god - creating their own way to righteousness and the forgiveness of sins.

Did WELS Always Teach UOJ? Definitely Not. From 2011

This hissing cockroach is not as disgusting as false doctrine.


A pastor did a comparison of catechisms today in preparing for a lesson on the Third Article (I believe in....the forgiveness of sins). He has a number of catechisms [Luther's obviously being the one and only] on his shelves. He was interested if there were any shifts in the presentation of material [questions, selection of supporting passages, phraseology) between the WELS "Gausewitz"(Copyright 1956) and the WELS "Kuske" (Copyright 1982, 1989, 1998). In the following K=Kuske, G= Gausewitz. The "#'s" refer to the respective editions. His comments are in [ ].

His reason for doing the comparison is that the Gausewitz version was the catechism used for his own confirmation classes in the early-mid 1970's. However, the Kuske version has been the official one since the early 1980's. That means a majority of the current WELS pastors who still teach catechism would have used the Kuske version. If they are younger WELS pastors, they would themselves have been instructed along its line, maybe never knowing anything at all about the Gausewitz.

Kuske 253. How many people did God declare righteous? God declared all people righteous. (objective justification) [2 Corinthians 5:19 is offered as a proof passage but not Romans 3:28]

Gausewitz 261. To whom does God forgive sins? God forgives sins to me and all believers. [Romans 3:21-28 is cited as a Scripture reference; Romans 3:28; Romans 10:4 is cited as the Scripture passages. He underlined the divergence between the two. This clearly proves a stated shift. Also note how Gausewitz sticks to Luther's phrasing in the answer.]
______

Kuske 255. Why is it important, then, that the Holy Spirit work faith in me? It is important that the Holy Spirit work faith in me so that I do not trust in my own works but only in the righteousness God gives me by grace in Christ. (subjective justification)

Gausewitz 260 Why do we say that the Holy Ghost forgives sins, whereas we are made righteous before God through the redemption of Christ? The Holy Ghost brings the righteousness of Christ to us by the Gospel and gives us the faith to believe it. [Note that "the righteousness of Christ" is linked with "the faith to believe it." The two are not bifurcated and isolated, by default, from each other.]

______

Gausewitz 262. Where are sins forgiven? Sins are forgiven in the Christian Church on earth. (Ministry of the Keys)

[No similar question is asked in the Kuske catechism. In the UOJ scheme, there is salvation outside the Christian Church? Yes, and apart from the Means of Grace entrusted to the Church!]
______

Gausewitz 263. Why do we say, In the Christian Church on earth? We say this because Christ has given the Gospel to His Church on earth; in the Gospel we have the forgiveness of sins.

[No similar question is asked in the Kuske catechism. In the Gospel, then necessarily implies through the Means by which it is conveyed. Massive, airy universal absolutions apart from the Means rob them of the grace God intends to give through them. Therefore, our confidence of salvation would be divorced from the very Means of Grace God intends to use to create and sustain "justifying faith" as the Confessions put it.]

The above quotations are proof of a discernible shift in WELS catechisms.

***

GJ - Many people are doing research about this topic. This is an excellent example of what many of us suspect - that the UOJ position of WELS hardened and began to dominate. Departures like this are difficult to trace, but WELS members and pastors can figure this out.

The Gausewitz catechism was the normal version for a long time. As I recall from an essay by Slide, it had all the correct attributes for a WELS catechism.

When the new Kuske catechism came out, WELS made that the normative version, and WELS pastors tend to be robotic in accepting new improved whatevers, like the 100 proof hymnal from James P. Tiefel.

See if you can find a Gausewitz and do your own comparison with Kuske. Comments are most welcome.

This is why I have never used a catechism except Luther's own. I do not like Talmudic editions with hundreds of questions and answers. Like the original Talmud, they can be used to obscure the Word of God in the name of teaching it.

WELS pastors have shown repeatedly that they do not grasp the meaning of the Eighth Commandment, how it applies to their own behavior, how it does not apply to addressing false doctrine.

I noticed in reading the new book that the Seminex crowd liked crying Eighth Commandment too. WELS leaders like to brag about how superior they are to Missouri, but they have used the same dishonest or ignorant tactics to advance their own false doctrine.

Apologia pro Vita Sua - Or - "Not So, Ottenites! Keep Your UOJ, Your Ever-Changing Paraphrases of the BibleAnd Your Adulterous Pals

Shaping the facts is the Christian News
answer to sound doctrine.

Pastor Otten likes to shape the facts so I seem to be some evil creature in cahoots with the apostates in his own synod - which excommunicated him.

Otten claims Beck's Bible does not drop the ending of Mark's Gospel, but that translation has gone through more revisions than Hillary Clinton's face.

I was around when God's Word to the Nations Bible Society was being run by an adulterous friend of Otten's, spending gushers of money on himself - all grants from the adulterous St. Marvin Schwan. When the Schwan money ran out, the mistress left  Phillip B. Giessler. Well, they were married, because Mrs. Giessler made Phil choose between her and the mistress. He chose the mistress and thought the boy was his. When one of my members saw Phil in a park with the boy, she said, "Is that your son?" in a friendly way. Pastor Phil said, "No, no!" in a way that really made her wonder.

Although Phil was lying, he was right after all. The former mistress said that was not his son, as he was told. So wife #2 was gone, and he he married a third time.

And yet good old Phil is still a pastor and has been featured in Christian News like a regular good guy.

Dr. Phil now - he calls himself Dr. Phillip B. Giessler.

DR. PHILLIP B. GIESSLER 
Missionary to Africa Dr. Phillip B. Giessler has been a Lutheran day-school & high school teacher; a parish pastor & Bible teacher in excess of 40 years; Christian author; an Instructor of students at Concordia Theological Seminary—Ft. Wayne, IN; CEO of God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society; and Editor of the New Evangelical Translation (NET) of the NT. Currently, he is a commissioned missionary professor to seminary and evangelistic students in Kampala, Uganda; Yambio, Sudan; Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. Dr. Giessler is on his fourth missionary journey to Africa. This journey brings him to: Pretoria, South Africa; Mwika, Tanzania; Meru, Tanzania; Nairobi, Kenya; Kisii, Kenya; Entebbe/Kampala, Uganda; Gulu, Uganda; Arua, Uganda; Lira, Uganda; Mbale, Uganda. Pr. Giessler’s ministry primarily involves teaching seminary students, local pastors and missionaries wherever they can be gathered. Pr. Giessler often has to cover the traveling expenses of those who come to be equipped for outreach in their local areas. Dr. Giessler has visited Peace the last several years and receives financial and prayer support from our members.

Wikipedia:
In 1978, it was decided that Beck's translation would be revised. Phillip B. Giessler, a pastor from Cleveland, Ohio, then formed a committee and revision work began in 1982. The work of Giessler's committee (although it was—much like Dr. Beck's earlier work—essentially a "one-man" translation team with a single English reviewer) yielded another translation of the New Testament that was released in 1988 titled New Testament: God's Word to the Nations (GWN) This work was later renamed the New Evangelical Translation (NET) in 1990. (Important note: Beck's AAT, according to Rev. Hackbardt, only served as a basis for "English style.") In early 1992, according to Hackbardt, all the earlier New Testament work was abandoned by the Society and an entirely new Bible translation based on the best Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek texts and using the translation principle "closest natural equivalence"—beginning with the Old Testament—was completely re-translated by the Society's five scholars, 17 technical reviewers, and four English reviewers. In early 1994 the translation was renamed GOD'S WORD prior to being turned over to World Bible Publishers in October 1994 for publication in March 1995.

Back to the Giessler issue. Nobody knew? He was cheerfully running a Bible society as a pastor and spending money on his mistress? How many times will Missouri repeat the Bishop Stephan example? Nobody knew! And yet when finally everyone knew, he was still a pastor albeit in a more Pietistic sect that does not - officially - accept divorced and remarried pastors. He sold the dishonest Rich Food Plan, too.

Exactly what did this Beck translation accomplish? As far as I can see, it ended up in the hands of a lying adulterous spendthrift, then morphed into one more liberal translation. The final results? Nobody cares. 

Did the original Beck drop the ending of Mark? Part of the booklet was written 16 years ago when I owned a Beck. Since I check my sources, the ending was probably dropped into a footnote. Likewise, the original RSV changed the Virgin Birth of Isaiah 7 and then reversed itself when a cry went up from mainline denominations about denying the Virgin Birth - as the RSV clearly did. But they could then say, "No we don't." But look at the passage in a traditional RSV. The footnote says, "Or a young woman." 

The results are the same. Footnotes can be so useful.

David Beck's Reading Comprehension Is Zero - And He Substitutes Ad Hominem for Wit.

I am used to being called a liar when I am telling the truth. Pastor Otten is a proven liar, as all UOJists are. He gloated to me about working with Paul McCain to get Al Barry elected. McCain sent early copies of Barry material so they all came out early in Christian News. McCain also bragged to me about doing this with Otten. Both of them heatedly denied working with each other, and Otten put his denial in Christian News. If the truth had been known, Barry would not have been elected, and McCain would have had to work for a living as a pastor. 

The LCMS Seminary tuition scandal - bonus link here. << This link works.

The Becker headline is Gregory L. Jackson Lies about Christian News.

It's a lie that Otten always praised Concordia St. Louis as the greatest seminary in America? I read that countless times, even when Johnson was seminary president and kissing up to Otten. I was there when a Johnson fax came through to Otten. Herman was delighted.

When I met Johnson it took about two minutes to identify him as a certified apostate. He saw how I trapped him and backed away from his gushing about Karl Barth (the Swiss Commie adulterer). Funny how often adultery comes up with false doctrine.

The next point is where I wrote about the Purpose-Driven Life being required reading at St. Louis - and that Luther's sermons were not even suggested reading.

Becker: "Jackson also complains that Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life” was required reading at CSL at one time. There is nothing wrong being at least aware of this book."

The seminary is excused. Rick Warren is excused. But I am a liar? Who omitted the crucial comparison of Warren required and Luther not even suggested? Becker did. He has no reading comprehension (the kindest possible explanation). This is not a matter of "being aware of this book" but saying it was so important to the LCMS that It. Must. Be. Read. By. All. Students.

Calling Becker a lightweight in theology would be an insult to all the lightweights, the DPs and seminary professors.

Lightweight - destined to be a DP or seminary professor.

000

Norma Boeckler's Art Featured Twice - Ichabod Called a Liar - 4/18/2016 Christian News

Christian News featured this booklet cover by Norma Boeckler twice in the new issue.

David Becker called me a liar for identifying the radical nature of UOJ blowing the LCMS apart.

Someone concerned about bad translations asked me to write about "making disciples," so I wrote the booklet.

More later. Film at 10.

Turning Green into Gold in the Garden - With Little Work Involved

The new and older roses have enjoyed two sessions of rain in the front yard. Everything looks a bit jumbled right now. Each rose location has clay heaped around it or perhaps needs a little filler soil.

The new roses are planted in the midst of clover, dandelions, and grass - all doing very well from the rain and sunshine. Clover seems to have had a banner year. The remainder of the backyard grass is almost completely clover, an excellent crop for beneficial bugs. Beneficial insects like tiny flowers and often need pollen and nectar in their adult stage. Clover is also known for fixing nitrogen in the soil.

Rhizobia are bacteria that must have a plant host to let them fix nitrogen. Atmospheric nitrogen, an inert gas, is useless to plants in that form but becomes the foundation of life in compounds. This relationship was discovered in 1889, and now we understand in part how fungi also contribute to this vast exchange of nutrition through soil microbes - bacteria, protozoa, fungi, nematodes, and more.

Legumes like clover, beans, mesquite, and carob fix nitrogen in their root nodules, and many are turned under (plowed! rototilled!) to provide green manure for the soil. The Creation gardener avoids turning soil upside-down, but there is nothing wrong with turning the green into gold with mulching.

A sunny day today means we will place cardboard, newspaper, and shredded wood mulch over the green grass, clover, and dandelions in the front yard. The royal rose does not like competition. Some tiny plants--garlic chives, garlic, or low-growing beneficial hosts--are tolerable, but not a mass of plants greedy for sun, soil, and water. The green grass and clover will become compost.

When the blanket of cardboard, newspaper, and wooden mulch is applied, the sunlight is shut out from the low-level plants and they begin to die. Thus the grass, dandelions, and clover become green manure. The bacteria attack the soft material and turn it into compost. The roots are tougher, so the fungi can dissolve them with their tubular dissolving and transportation power. Each microbe has its own jurisdiction and carries out its duties according to conditions.

At first the grass and clover become a blackened mat of organic matter, the nitrogen in the green converted back into soil compounds. Once the decomposition is complete, the soil is soft, dark, and easily penetrated by rose roots.

The mighty earthworm mixes the combination at the end of the decomposition cycle. This is the ideal situation for plants grown in clay. The tiny size of clay particles allows more electrical charges and therefore more ion exchange of minerals. This is a version of the water softener process. The traditional water softener is loaded up with ordinary salt. Ion exchange takes the insoluble salts out and replaces them with soluble salt. Ion exchange in the soil means plants get the minerals they need.

Clay is also good for holding rainwater. Fill a partial hole in the clay soil with water - nothing happens in 30 minutes. That can be good but we also want soil that lets the rain in rather than just bouncing it away. Mulch itself soaks up an enormous amount of water and holds it in place for the soil creatures. When earthworms and their buddies work that damp mulch into the soil, they create thousands of tunnels for the rain and soften the soil for plant roots.

My experiment in Midland with compost on top of clay showed that the clay was mixed with compost over time, making it easy to work. Soil moisture will also make a difference. Mixing compost into clay with a shovel is extremely heavy work - and why? The earthworms will do the job better in time and enjoy jolly meals while multiplying like crazy.

Plantain was called White Man's Footprints
by the Indians. Some people use it as an herb.
Those who use no weed killers will be happy to eat the
weeds they deem worthwhile.

Weeds? Make Them Compost
My first weed patch came from using wood mulch without a newspaper base. The crab grass, which was originally brought over as a grain crop, grew splendidly through the wood, basking in the sunniest part of the yard. We simply covered that with newspaper and mulch, after mowing it. Another layer of cardboard and mulch will make it the tomato garden this year.

I had another sunny areas filled with plantain. I simply mulched the area and  planted it with blackberry canes, which are growing well.

If weeds grow well, so will plants. Some of the weeds are valuable for birds and beneficial insects, so do not be too quick to get rid of them.

Pokeweed or Pokeberry -
hate it or love it for being prolific.
Birds love it the attractive, toxic berries.

Irony Alert
I was busy planting various berry plants last year and cut down pokeberry 8 feet tall. The pokeberry is loved by all birds and clearly planted by birds wherever they rest.

Beautyberry is planted for the birds to enjoy,
late in the season.

What Is Justifying Faith? 2012 - Augsburg Confession Apology versus WELS-ELS

Faith is that my whole heart takes to itself this treasure. It is not my doing, not my presenting or giving, not my work or preparation, but that a heart comforts itself, and is perfectly confident with respect to this, namely, that God makes a present and gift to us, and not we to Him, that He sheds upon us every treasure of grace in Christ.

Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Part 3. What is justifying faith?

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "What Is Justifying Faith?":

The Huberites have this to say about the Holy Spirit's faith - the righteousness of Christ.

WELS Siegbert W. Becker:
"Faith does nothing more than accept the forgiveness proclaimed in the Gospel. It is not a condition we must fulfill before we can be forgiven. It is not a cause of forgiveness on account of which God forgives us. The forgiveness comes first. Faith is merely the response to the message. God says to us, “Your sins are forgiven.” This is objective justification, and God’s message to us is true whether we believe it or not. Faith makes God’s message its own and says, “My sins are forgiven.” This is subjective justification. The whole doctrine is just as simple as that." Page 12, The Place of Faith
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BeckerJustification.PDF

WELS Our Great Heritage states, "And yet many Lutherans still labor under the delusion that God does not forgive us unless we believe. Instead of seeing faith as nothing more than the spiritual hand with which we make the forgiveness of God our own, they see it as a reason why God forgives us. They believe that Christ has indeed provided forgiveness for all men, that God is willing to forgive them, but before he really forgives he first of all demands that we should be sorry for our sins and that we should have faith. Just have faith they say, and then God will forgive you. All the right words are there. The only thing wrong is that the words are in the wrong order. God does not forgive us IF we have faith. He has forgiven us long ago when he raised his Son from the dead." (p. 59)" WELS MLC President Mark Zarling, "Faith does nothing more than receive the forgiveness which is offered in the Gospel. It is not a condition we fulfill nor is it a cause of forgiveness. We are already forgiven. God's message of justification in Christ is there whether we believe it or not. Faith then receives the blessings." And, "Faith that accepts the good news of universal justification is the work of God the Holy Ghost." Page 7
http://www.wlsessays.net/files/ZarlingJustification.pdf

WELS AZ/CA DP Pastor Jon Buchholz
"Faith doesn’t bring anything into existence that doesn’t already exist. Faith doesn’t cause something to happen. Faith simply grasps— trusts—something that already is in place." Page 14
http://archive.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2617&collectionID=1161&contentID=76707&shortcutID=26388

August Pieper, third volume of the Quartalschrift , "But whoever molests the doctrine of justification stabs the gospel in the heart ...even if he ever so much emphasizes justification by faith."

(W)ELS sister Synod the CELC
Faith is like the empty hand of a beggar, which receives the gift that someone puts in it. If the beggar refuses to accept the money, which is given to him, he gets no blessings from it. Yet it is not the beggar who creates the gift. The gift is already there and it is reached out to him without his cooperation. In the same way it is with faith.
http://www.celc.info/home/180010197/180010197/docs/2008JustificationThemeOutreachMessage.pdf?sec_id=180010197


From Another Reader:

The other is from WELS's Meditations, March-May 2014, for Monday, 17 March 2014.  The howler is in the second column which reads:  "No matter what you did yesterday -- or failed to do -- and no matter what you will do tomorrow, God has forgiven you."

I Got Me a Chrysler, It Blooms about 20, So Hurry Up and Bring Your Jukebox Money. Chrysler Imperial Rose from Walter Lammerts, Creation Scientist

I Got Me a Rose, It's as Big as a Whale.

Wikipedia

'Chrysler Imperial' is a strongly fragrant, dark red hybrid tea rose cultivar. This variety was bred and publicly debuted by Dr. Walter E. Lammerts of Descanso Gardens, La Cañada Flintridge, California, USA in 1952. Its stock parents 'Charlotte Armstrong' (cerise pink) and 'Mirandy' (dark oxblood red) are both 'All American Rose Selections'-roses (awarded in 1940 and 1945).

The elegantly tapered buds open into high-centered blossoms with a diameter of about 11 – 13 cm (5 inches) and can have up to 45-50 petals (which is a high number for a hybrid tea rose) with a rich, deep, velvety red color. The cultivar flushes in a chronological blooming pattern throughout its local season, starting in late spring until fall. The long-stemmed rose flowers are long lasting and showy and make excellent cut flowers.

The rose bush reaches 75 to 200 cm (30 to 72 inches) height, and a diameter of 60 to 120 cm (24 to 48 inches). The shrub has an upright form with very thorny canes and semi-glossy dark green foliage. It is not a cold hardy rose (USDA zone 6b through 9b) and needs good sun exposure. Without good air circulation it is susceptible to mildew and blackspot, particularly in cool climates.^[1][2]

Cultivar (PP01528), United States Patent No: PP 1,167.

Official association with Chrysler Corporation (producers of the Chrysler Imperial automobile)[edit]

In the 1954 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, 25,000 Chrysler Imperial roses in individual refreshment tubes of water covered the base of the float entered by the City of Detroit, Michigan, US and Chrysler Corporation. The theme of the float was Life of an American Workman, as Chrysler Corporation founder Walter P. Chrysler had titled his autobiography. The center of this float featured the figure of an American Workman striding out from the pages of a book to strike a heavy hammer upon an anvil from which floral "sparks" flowed, their trains leading in several directions to various Detroit signature products: an automobile, a truck, an airplane, a tank, and a boat.^[3]

Walter Lammerts, PhD, genetics

Walter Lammerts

Dr. Walter Edward Lammerts (Born::September 25, 1904-Died::June 4, 1996) has a doctorate in genetics, and is well known as a prominent breeder of roses. He reportedly produced 46 new varieties of roses between 1940 and 1981 including the famous Queen Elizabeth. Twenty-five percent of his roses were chosen by the All-American Rose Selection for the years top rose variations. As a result of his efforts the American Rose Society created an entirely new class of rose known as the Grandiflora.

It would not be inappropriate to state that Walter Lammerts is one of the fathers of the modern creation science movement. He was the first president of the Creation Research Society (the first creationist organization in the U.S.), which was founded by 10 scientists in 1964. Dr Lammerts was also the editor of the Creation Research Society Quarterly (CRSQ) from 1964 to 1968. Most notably, he was an active researcher for several decades in biological and geological sciences, and much of his work was published in the CRSQ.

Lammerts' Queen Elizabeth Rose
created a new category of roses - the grandiflora.

*** 

GJ - Lammerts was in contact with Pastor Herman Otten about Creation Science and the need to fund it. As Luther noted in his Genesis commentary, there have been many theories about Creation, and this continues to divide those who reject evolution, which is worthy of rejection.

Red Wiggler's Frequently Asked Questions

Where did you grow up?
Uncle Jim's Worm Farm. I was still young when I was mailed to the Jackson Rose Farm, where I have been working ever since.

How would you describe yourself?
I am all muscle, just one long tube of muscle, devoted to tunneling through soil. Bristles on each segment of muscle allows us to pull through the earth.

What do you do for the soil.
My cousins and I contribute in many ways. We are part of the soil food web. We tunnel through the soil and deposit our casts - we are always eating.

That sounds rather me-centered, or worm-centered. How is that good?
The effect of what we must do is good for all the creatures.

A grand statement - explain.
To live and reproduce, we have to tunnel through soil. These are our talking points:

• Tunneling loosens the soil, so roots can grow more easily.
• Our movement also allows more air to reach the soil and lighten it. 
• Our digging means rain and tap-water can penetrate the lower levels better instead of running off.
• We are good for clay because we mix organic matter with it and loosen it.
• We are good for sandy soil, because we add organic matter to it, to hold more water.
• We concentrate the nutrition plants need in our casts, which are effective but gentle on plants.
• Our casts make the soil hold together better.
• We also excrete nitrogen products through our custom kidneys.
• We multiply rapidly and spread our eggs throughout the soil.
• We like sweet soil, but we also sweeten it more by adding Caltrate (TM) to the soil with our calcium carbonate glands. Most plants like sweet soil.

It is said by Lowenfels that you "graze on bacteria." Can you justify this behavior?

We survive that way. The bacterial we consume work on all that organic matter we swallow and pass through our digestive system. The bacteria break down the materials, releasing the nutrition for everyone to use. When it comes to eating bacteria, blame the protozoa for that, but they let bacteria thrive and also keep them in check by eating them. It's a complicated relationship.

Indeed. You sound like a harmless and yet beneficial creature. Do you have any enemies?

We have many, due to our astonishing fertility and muscular build:

1. Robins hunt us all the time, and yet people cheer for the robins.
2. Moles consume us as they tunnel through the soil, but they like grubs too.
3. Beetles and lizards eat earthworms.
4. Centipedes hunt us.
5. Ants bury our departed. So they say. They dine on us, to be frank.
6. And fisherman dote on us, then dangle us in the water for fish to grab.

So how do you fit into the soil food web you mentioned?
We are the obvious sign of soil fertility. You cannot see the bacteria and protozoa, which are very important. Fungi are also microscopic. Fungi do the heavy lifting in breaking down organic matter like wood and bark. Compared to all the microbes, we are giant freight trains, moving bacteria and other microscopic life around. We are individually small, but we add up to monstrous size and weight per garden, always working and fertilizing. You dig a hole and call it heroic. We turn over all the soil - routinely.

What are your turn-ons?
We like organic matter on top of the soil. That gives us darkness for working it into the soil - we react against sunlight. We also like the moisture held in the soil, so mulch does both for us. We also like fallen leaves, plant material, and grass clippings.

What are your turn-off?
We hate all poisons. They kill us and they slaughter our food sources. Rototillers are sick, babaric imitations of what we do. They osterize the soil and kill us.

What is the latest book you have read?
The Wormhaven Gardening Book. There is a sequel coming out later - Creation Gardening.

Promised to a Young Mother - Luther's Sermon on "A Little While" for Jubilate Sunday. John 16:16-23

Luther's First Sermon for Jubilate -  the Third Sunday after Easter; John 16:16-23


KJV John 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? 18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. 19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. 23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

A Sermon by Martin Luther; taken from his Church Postil.

[The following sermon is taken from volume III:73-85 of The Sermons of Martin Luther, published by Baker Book House (Grand Rapids, MI). It was originally published in 1907 in English by Lutherans in All Lands Press (Minneapolis, MN), as The Precious and Sacred Writings of Martin Luther, vol. 12. The pagination from the Baker edition has been maintained for referencing. This e-text was scanned and edited by Richard P. Bucher, it is in the public domain and it may be copied and distributed without restriction.]


I. What Moved Christ to Deliver This Sermon of Comfort

1. Here in this Gospel we see how the Lord comforts and imparts courage to his children whom he is about to leave behind him, when they would come in fear and distress on account of his death or of their backsliding. We also notice what induced the evangelist John to use so many words that he indeed repeats one expression four times, which according to our thinking he might have expressed in fewer words. There is first of all presented to us here the nature of the true Christian in the example of the dear apostles. In the second place, how the suffering and the resurrection of Christ are to become effective in us.

2. We also see that Christ announces to his disciples, how sorrowful they should be because he would leave them, but they are still so simpleminded and ignorant, and also so sorrowful on account of his recent conversation at the Last Supper, that they did not understand at all what he said unto them; yea, the nature of that which Christ presents to them is too great and incomprehensible for them. And it was also necessary that they should first become sorrowful before they could rejoice, even as Christ himself was an example to us that without the cross we could not enter into glory. Hence he says in Luke 24, 26 to the two, with whom he journeyed to Emmaus: "Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?" If therefore the dear disciples were to have joy, they must first of all pass through great sorrow. But this joy came to them through the Lord Jesus; for it is decreed in the Gospel, that without Christ there is no joy; and on the other hand, where Christ is, there is no sorrow, as is plainly stated in the text. Hence when Christ was taken from them, they were in great sorrow.

3. And these words here in this Gospel Christ the Lord spake unto his disciples after the Last Supper, before he was apprehended. Let us look at them:

"A little while and ye behold me no more, and again a little while and ye shall see me, for I go to the Father."

II. THE SERMON OF COMFORT ITSELF.

A. Contents Of This Sermon.

4. "A little while," he says, "and ye behold me no more," for I shall be taken prisoner and they shall deliver me to death. But it will not last long, and during this short time ye shall be sorrowful, but only remain steadfast in me and follow me. It will soon have an end. Three days I will be in the grave; then the world will rejoice as though it had gained a victory, but ye shall be sorrowful and shall weep and lament. "And again a little while, and ye shall see me; and, Because I go to the Father." That is, on the third day I will rise again; then ye shall rejoice and your joy no man shall take from you, and this will not be a joy of only three days, like the joy of the world, but an eternal joy. Thus the Evangelist John most beautifully expresses the death and resurrection of Christ in these words, when Christ says, "A little while, and ye behold me not; and again a little while, and ye shall see me; and, Because I go to the Father."

5. An example is here given us, which we should diligently lay hold of and take to heart; if it went with us as it did in the time of the apostles, that we should be in suffering, anxiety and distress, we should also remember to be strong and to rejoice because Christ will arise again. We know that this has come to pass; but the disciples did not know how he should be raised, or what he meant by the resurrection, hence they were so sorrowful and so sad. They heard indeed that they should see him, but they did not understand what it was or how it should come to pass. Therefore they said among themselves, "What is this that he saith to us, A little while? We know not what he saith." To such an extent had sadness and sorrow overcome them, that they quite despaired, and knew not what these words meant and how they would see him again.

6. Therefore we must also feel within us this "a little while" as the dear disciples felt it, for this is written for our example and instruction, so that we may thereby be comforted and be made better. And we should use this as a familiar adage among ourselves; yea, we should feel and experience it, so that we might at all times say, God is at times near and at times he has vanished out of sight. At times I remember how the Word seems neither to move me nor to apply to me. It passes by; I give no heed to it. But to this "a little while" we must give heed and pay attention, so that we may remain strong and steadfast. We will experience the same as the disciples. We cannot do otherwise than is written here; even as the disciples were not able to do otherwise.

7. The first "a little while" in that he says, "A little while, and ye shall behold me no more," they could soon afterwards understand, when they saw that he was taken prisoner and put to death, but the second "a little while" in that he says: "And again a little while, and ye shall see me," that they could not understand, and we also cannot understand it. Yea and when he says: "Because I go to the Father," that they understand still less. Thus it also goes with us: although we know and hear that trials, misfortune and sorrow endure but a little while, yet we see that it constantly appears different than we believe. Then we despair and waver, and cannot be reconciled to it. We hear and we know very well that it shall not last very long, but how that result shall be accomplished we can never understand, as the disciples here cannot understand it.

8. But since they are unable to understand it why does Christ relate it to them or why is it written? In order that we should not despair but hold fast to the Word, assured that it is indeed thus and not otherwise, even though it seems to be different. And although we do at times depart from the Word, we should not therefore remain altogether away from it, but return again, for he makes good his Word. Even though man cannot believe it, God will nevertheless help him to believe it, and this he does without man's reason or free will and without man adding anything thereto. Yea, the Evangelist tells us that the disciples could not understand the words the Lord spake to them; how much less could they understand his works which followed afterwards. So very little does the free will and understanding of man know of the things pertaining to the salvation of the soul. These temporal things the free will can perceive and know, such as the cock crowing, which he can hear and his reason can also understand it; but when it is a question of understanding the work and Word of God, then human reason must give it up; it cannot make head or tail of it, although it pretends to understand a great deal about it. The glory thereof is too bright, the longer he beholds it the blinder he becomes.

9. This is presented very plainly to our minds in the disciples who, though they had been so long with the Lord, yet they did not understand what he said to them. Well, neither will we be able to learn nor to understand this until we experience it; as when we say, Such and such a thing happened to me; this I felt and thus it went with me, then I was in anxiety; but it did not last long. Then I was encompassed by this temptation and by that adversity, but God delivered me soon out of them etc.

10. We should take to heart and firmly hold fast to these words and keep them in mind when in sorrow and distress, that it will not last long, then we would also have more constant joy, for as Christ and his elect had their "a little while," so you and I and everyone will have his "a little while." Pilate and Herod will not crucify you, but in the same manner as the devil used them, so he will also use your persecutors. Therefore when your trials come, you must not immediately think how you are to be delivered out of them. God will help you in due time. Only wait. It is only for a little while, he will not delay long.

11. But you must not lay the cross and sorrow upon yourself as some have indeed done, who chose for themselves death and imprisonment, and said, Christ willingly entered into death; he willingly permitted himself to be apprehended and delivered. I will also do the same. No, you dare not do this. Your cross and suffering will not long delay coming. These good people did not understand it. The dear disciples also said in Mt 26, 35 that they would remain with Christ and die with him. Peter said in John 13, 37 he would not deny Christ, or would give his life for him; but how was it in the end? Christ went into the garden, trembled and quaked, was apprehended, put to death; Peter however forsook him. Where was now this great confidence, this boldness and courage of Peter? He thought Christ would die with joyful courage, and he would also follow him, but alas he was badly mistaken.

12. Here you easily see that the sorrow and sufferings, in which we expected to remain permanently, were of our own choosing, but when the hour finally comes, of which you never thought before, you will hardly be able to stand, unless you become a new man. The old Adam despairs, he does not abide, he cannot abide, for it goes against his nature, against his purpose and against his designs. Hence you must have your own time, then you must suffer a little. For Christ withdraws himself from you and permits you to remain in the power of sin, of death and of hell. There the heart cannot accomplish very much to calm the conscience, do whatever it will, for Christ departs and dies. Then you will have the refrain, "A little while, and ye shall not behold me." Where will you go? There is no comfort. There is no help. You are in the midst of sin; in the midst of death; in the midst of hell. If Christ would not come now independent of any merit of your own, then you would be compelled to remain in this tribulation and terror eternally, for thus it would have happened also to the disciples, if Christ had not risen from the dead and become alive. Therefore it was necessary for him again to arise from the dead.

13. Now this everyone must experience and suffer, either now or upon his deathbed when he dies, but how much better it is to experience it now, for when at some future time we shall be cast into the fire for the sake of the Gospel and be counted as heretics, then we shall see of what profit this is; for if the heart is not strong at such a time, what shall become of us, for there our eyes shall see the torture and the terror of death. Whither shall we go? Therefore if Christ is not present, and if he should then withdraw his hand we are already lost; but if he is with us to help, the flesh may indeed die, but all is well with the soul, for Christ has taken it to himself. There it is safe, no one shall pluck it out of his hand. Jn 10, 28.

14. But this we cannot accomplish with words, an experience is here needed for that. Well it is for him who experience this now, then surely it will not be hard for him to die. It is very perilous indeed if we must learn this upon our deathbed, namely, how to wrestle with and conquer death. Therefore it was indeed a great favor and mercy of God, which he showed to the holy martyrs and apostles in whom he had first conquered death, then afterwards they were prepared without fear to suffer everything that could be laid upon them.

B. This Sermon Of Comfort Explained.

15. All this is presented to us in our Gospel, but since the disciples could not understand what he meant in that he said "A little while" and he noticed that they were desirous to ask him, he continues and explains it to them in these simple words and says,

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy."

16. This is spoken to all Christians, for every Christian must have temptations, trials, anxieties, adversities, sorrows, come what may. Therefore he mentions here no sorrow nor trial, he simply says they shall weep, lament, and be sorrowful, for the Christian has many persecutions. Some are suffering loss of goods; others there are whose character is suffering ignominy and scorn; some are drowned, others are burned; some are beheaded; one perishes in this manner, and another in that; it is therefore the lot of the Christian constantly to suffer misfortune, persecution, trials and adversity. This is the rod or fox tail with which they are punished. They dare not look for anything better as long as they are here. This is the court color by which the Christian is recognized, and if anyone wants to be a Christian, he dare not be ashamed of his court color or livery.

17. Why does God do this and permit his own to be persecuted and hounded? In order to suppress and subdue the free will, so that it may not seek an expedient in their works; but rather become a fool in God's works and learn thereby to trust and depend upon God alone.

I8. Therefore when this now comes to pass, we shall not be able to accommodate ourselves to it, and shall not understand it, unless Christ himself awakens us and makes us cheerful, so that his resurrection becomes effective in us, and all our works fall to pieces and be as nothing. Therefore the text here concludes powerfully, that man is absolutely nothing in his own strength. Here everything is condemned and thrust down that has been and may still be preached about good works; for this is the conclusion; where Christ is not, there is nothing. Ask St. Peter how he was disposed when Christ was not with him. What good works did he do? He denied Christ. He renounced him with an oath. Like good works we do, when we have not Christ with us.

19. Thus all serves to the end that we should accustom ourselves to build alone upon Christ, and to depend upon no other work, upon no other creature, whether in heaven or upon earth. In this name alone are we preserved and blessed, and in none other. Acts 4, 12 and 10, 43. But on this account we must suffer much. The worst of all is, that we must not only suffer shame, persecution and death; but that the world rejoices because of our great loss and misfortunes. This is indeed very hard and bitter. Surely it shall thus come to pass, for the world will rejoice when it goes ill with us; but this comfort we have that their joy shall not last long, and our sorrow shall be turned into eternal joy. Of this the Lord gives us a beautiful parable of the woman in travail, when he says:

"A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come, but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish for joy that a man is born into the world."

C. This Sermon Of Comfort Is Illustrated By A Parable.

20. With this parable be also shows that our own works are nothing, for here we see that if all women came to the help of this woman in travail, they would accomplish nothing. Here free will is at its end and is unable to accomplish anything, or to give any advice. It is not in the power of the woman to be delivered of the child, but she feels that it is wholly in the hand and power of God. When he helps and works, then something is accomplished, but where he does not help, all is lost, even if the whole world were present. In this God shows to the woman her power, her ability and her strength. Before this, she could dance and leap; she rejoiced and was happy, but now she sees how God must do all. Hereby we perceive that God is our Father, who also must deliver us from the womb and bring us forth to life.

21. Christ says here to his disciples, So it will also go with you. The woman is here in such a state of mind that she is fearful of great danger, and yet she knows that the whole work lies in the hands of God; in him she trusts; upon him it is she depends; he also helps her and accomplishes the work, which the whole world could not do, and she thinks of nothing but the time that shall follow, when she shall again rejoice; and her heart feels and says, A dangerous hour is at hand, but afterwards it will be well. Courage and' the heart press through all obstacles. Thus it will also be with you, when you are in sorrow and adversity, and when you become new creatures. Only quietly wait and permit God to work. He will accomplish everything without your assistance.

22. This parable of the woman is a strong and stubborn argument against free will, that it is entirely powerless and without strength in the things pertaining to the salvation of our souls. The Gospel shows very plainly that divine strength and grace are needed. Man's free will is entirely too weak and insignificant to accomplish anything here. But we have established our own orders and regulations instead of the Gospel and through these we want to free ourselves from sin, from death, from hell, and from all misfortune and finally be saved thereby. A great mistake.

23. Here you see in this example, that if a man is to be born the mother must become first as though she were dead; that is, she must be in a condition as though she were already dead, she thinks it is now all over with her. Thus it shall be also with us. If we want to become godly, we must be as dead, and despair of all our works, yea, never think that we shall be able to accomplish anything. Here no monastic life, no priest-craft and no works will be able to help; but wait thou patiently and permit God to do with you according to his will. He shall accomplish it; permit him to work, We shall accomplish nothing ourselves, but at times we shall feel death and hell. This the ungodly shall also feel, but they do not believe that God is present in it and wants to help them. Just as the woman here accomplishes nothing, she only feels pain, distress and misery; but she cannot help herself out of this state.

24. But when delivered of the child she remembers no more her sorrow and pain, but is as though she had become alive again. She could not before even think that her sorrow and pain should have an end so soon. Thus it is also with us in the trials of sin, of death, and of hell; then we are as though we were dead; yea, we are in the midst of death, and Christ has forsaken us. He has gone a little while from us. Then we are in great pain and cannot help ourselves; but when Christ returns, and makes himself known to us, our hearts are full of joy, even though the whole world be to the contrary.

25. This no one can realize unless he has once been encompassed by death. He who has once been delivered from death must then rejoice; not that such a person cannot again fall and be sorrowful at times, but since this joy is at hand he worries about nothing. He also fears nothing, no matter by what dangers he may be surrounded. This joy can indeed be interrupted, for when I fall again into sin, then I fear even a driven leaf. Lev 26, 36. Why? Because Christ has departed a little while from me and has forsaken me; but I will not despair, for this joy will return again. I must not then continue and cling to the pope, nor endeavor to help myself by works; but I must quietly wait until Christ comes again. He remains but a little while without. When he then looks again upon the heart and appears and shines into it, the joy returns. Then shall I be able to meet every misfortune and terror.

26. All this is said and written that we may be conscious of our weakness and inability, and that as far as our works are concerned all is nothing, all is utterly lost. But this joy is almighty and eternal when we are dead; but now in this life it is mixed. Now I fall and then I rise again, and it cannot be eternal, because flesh and blood are still with me. Therefore Christ says to his disciples:

"And ye now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."

27. All this David has described in a psalm in a most masterly and beautiful manner, when he says in Psalm 30, 1-8: "I will extol thee, 0 Jehovah, for thou hast raised me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 0 Jehovah, my God: I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me. 0 Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol, thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise unto Jehovah, 0 ye saints of his, and give thanks to his holy memorial name for his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime; weeping may tarry for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled. I cried to Thee, 0 Jehovah; and unto Jehovah I made supplication." Where is now the man who just said: "I shall never be moved?" Well, he replies, when thou, Jehovah, of thy favor didst make my mountains to stand strong, then I spoke thus. "But when thou didst hide thy face, I was troubled," I fell. If Christ were continually with us, I really believe we would never be afraid; but since he occasionally departs from us we must therefore at times be afraid.

28. In this Psalm is beautifully portrayed to us how to recognize and experience a good conscience, for here David considers the whole world as a drop, and is not the least afraid of it, even though it should storm and rage against him, for he has the Lord with him. He has made his mountain to stand strong, but when he fell and the Lord hid his face from him, then he was afraid. Then were heart, courage, and mountain gone. Then was he afraid of a driven leaf, who before was not afraid of the whole world, as he also says in another psalm unto the Lord: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Ps 23,4. Likewise in Ps 3,6 he says: "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people that have set themselves against me round about." Passages like these can be multiplied in the Psalms, all of which show how an upright good conscience stands, namely; when God is with it, it is courageous and brave, but when God has departed, it is fearful and terrified.

29. Here we rightly understand now what the words of Christ signify, "I go to the Father." Before this no one understood them, not even the disciples. But this is the road: I must die, he saith, and ye must also die. Peter vowed boastfully; for according to the old Adam he wanted to die with the Lord, and we all think we want to die with Christ, as all the other disciples said that they would enter into death with Christ. Mt 26,35. But all this must perish in us. You must come to the moment of trial, when Christ does not stand by you and does not die with you, when you cannot help yourself, just like the woman in travail. When this takes place, then you come to the Father. That is, you are filled with his power, and be makes a new man of you, who thereafter is not afraid, whose character is already here a heavenly character, as St. Paul calls it in Phil 3, 20; and this has its beginning here, by faith. Then you become courageous and brave, and can say as the prophet in the Psalm, "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people," and "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil." Why all this? Because you have come to the Father. Who can now overthrow God's omnipotence? No one. Aye, then no one can do anything to you or cause you any harm.


30. This no one will understand until it has come to pass. Have you been encompassed by death and been delivered from it, then you will say, I was in death, and if the Lord had not delivered me, I would have remained in death's grasp forever. The entire thirtieth Psalm refers to this, which you will do well to examine thoroughly and consider faithfully.


31. Here you have now the fruit and the example of the death and the resurrection of Christ, and how free will is nothing, and everything reason concludes regarding these things, which pertain to our salvation. May God give grace that we may lay hold of it and regulate our lives accordingly, Amen.