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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.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Someone Forwarded This New Evangelism Program from WELS.
Sic Added
The Divine Power of the Word
KJV Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
This passage shows that the Word of God always has divine power, the power and efficacy of the Holy Spirit.
By comparing the Word of God to snow and rain, the prophet revealed that the Word have no effect is an impossibility. Especially in the desert, snow and rain always cause growth. In the Midwest, people will water their lawns during a dry spell, but one rainstorm will accomplish what all the sprinkling cannot – green up all the lawns at once. Snow also has that effect, blanketing the earth, keeping it warm and moist, melting down into growth-producing water.
“It shall not return unto Me void” is a double-negative making any exception impossible. No one can say, “Sometimes the Word is powerful and effective, sometimes it is not.” That is why the Holy Spirit cannot be separated from the Word, because the Word is always God’s and always has divine power.
In addition, this power and effectiveness is declared in three ways, reminding us of the Trinity:
1. It shall not return unto Me void.
2. It shall accomplish that which I please.
3. It shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Nothing is said about man making God’s Word effective.
In the Parable of the Sower, (Matthew 13 and Mark 4) man broadcasts the seed, which is the Word. Like seed, the Word is already alive with divine power.
Another comparison is Hebrews 4:12-13 -
KJV Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
This means the very teaching or preaching of the Word has the power of the Roman two-edged sword. That is why preaching the pure Word has an effect on all audiences. Some riot because of its effect. Some repent and believe, overcome with the truth of the Word. Some harden their hearts against the Word, as anti-Christian cultists at door do when they hear the Gospel spoken to them.
The Word of God belongs to Him alone, not to man:
KJV 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
BibleWorks 10 - First Impressions
When being a Christian was a crime against the Roman Empire, believers used the fish symbol to identify other followers. If strangers met along the way, one would draw part of a fish on the ground, using his staff or perhaps a sword. A curved line by itself meant nothing. The other person would complete the fish to show that he too was a Christian.
BibleWorks 10, when first opened, will dazzle and confuse anyone, including those (like me) who used the earlier versions. I think I had version 4, so opening BibleWorks 10 was like being promoted from Kindergarten to graduate school.
However, do not let that intimidate any serious student of the Bible, including those without Biblical language training. This program is the equivalent of owning all the important reference works on the Bible and all the translations and versions.
Clergy are known for having plenty of books, and using printed works will never go out of style. However, keeping a lot of books open and in order is a major problem when pursuing an issue. The advantage of computer research is the orderly search accomplished and the results saved where they will not be lost.
English Only Students
Those who only know English at this stage will enjoy comparing translations and looking up examples of various terms and doctrinal issues. This kind of research, in the Word alone, is the best way to grasp the unified Truth of the Word.
Too many stay in the "about mode" - as described by Paul Holmer of Yale University. The about mode means reading a famous expert's opinion and keeping those opinions as filters by which everything is interpreted. For example, the official academic version of Shakespeare is that the actor wrote the plays and sonnets. If one assumes that position, countless puzzles spring up, such as "How did this actor, who owned no books, know so much about the classics, the law, history, and English court rituals?"
Dr. Malherbe at Yale is a great scholar who always emphasizes the text itself and not the theories. He took us through examples of "faith" used in the New Testament, to show that a single word had various meanings, depending on the context. A student of the Bible learns that only by searching and reading, not by reading about the topic and remembering what someone wrote.
Malherbe also showed us how to use the little embedded references in the text, which were equivalent to the same kind of search, but with broader implications.
All this points to the real meaning of Biblical studies for everyone - the Holy Spirit teaches us through the Word.
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Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 280. Pentecost Sunday John 14:23-31.
When the sectarians argue that they know a secret teaching of the Bible revealed only to them - and contrary to the plain meaning - the individual can learn from the best professor of all, the original Author - the Holy Spirit.
Biblical Languages - Beginning and Advanced.
BibleWorks 10 is superb for the Biblical languages, because the extra dictionaries, grammars, and lectionaries are included in the program.
I will write more about that later.
Mrs. Ichabod Commissioned This Rose Portrait
The photo above is the Little Chef himself in a baby picture. To the right is Little Ichabod holding his first-born daughter. The coffee pot and roses are resting on a very large world literature book, which I used at the local college. The blue cup is for measuring Sassy's food. The drawers are from Hobby Lobby.
The front rose is Falling in Love. The orange rose is Easy Does It. The reddish one is probably a KnockOut. Another Falling in Love is hiding in the back.
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| This shows the stunning white/pink of Falling in Love. I have not seen a Net photograph as good as this one, and I give credit to Canon for that. |
Navigation for BibleWorks 10 Review Articles
I am starting the review of BibleWorks 10, so this page is featured in the left column of the blog and contains the links to all the articles about BibleWorks.
Congregations should consider buying this for their pastor. Nothing is more powerful in accomplishing God's will than teaching His Word.
Review Articles
One Sample of the Power of BibleWorks
First Impressions of BibleWorks 10
Forgot That One Little Detail - Creation Is All About the Details
I set up the coffee maker and began going through the news at 5:20 AM. I check the Drudge Report first, because he drives the broadcast news with 1 billion views per month. I am extremely disappointed in poor writing on the American Spectator and other blogs. My favorite round-up for news is Free Republic, because they link the most important stories and features - good and bad - with the actual titles, followed by commentary.
Free Republic got me started in blogging when they kicked me off for posting that George W. Bush is a liberal. They erased all my posts, some of which were commended as best of the day (quips) or unusually insightful (about Bill Clinton's early connections).
I look for the overnight statistics on Ichabod and check Facebook for birthdays and new developments.
Time for fresh coffee. What? Nothing there. Fresh coffee grounds in the basket - check. Water in the tank - check. Plugged in - check. Power on..... I missed one little detail.
I do this every so often. I complete the early morning coffee making instructions but omit one detail. The loss of any given detail means no coffee - or worse - coffee all over the floor because the pot was not empty when I started it.
Creation Details
No one can list all the details in Creation, since a plant operates like a cluster of chemical factories at the cellular level. In growing roses, I may do less than 1% of all the work involved - and that may easily be boasting.
I do not do more work than other gardeners, but I aim the work to be in harmony with Creation rather than defying the way God made our world, engineered each part, and manages it now.
These are the Four Noble Truths of Rose Gardening
- Mulching - roses need moist soil and a supply of rotting organic matter.
- Watering - rain is not enough, and stored rain is the ultimate booster.
- Pruning - roses love to be pruned and grow even bloomier with extra pruning. John 15:1ff.
- Earthworming - red wigglers do the most obvious work of gardening, but not all of it.
The first three are ongoing tasks. The last one should be once for all time, but it is fun to buy some additional earthworms and share them with neighbors. I often give them red wigglers before I share plants.
Weeding is greatly reduced by mulching with organic matter. More important is leaving the soil alone. No one would transplant their favorite rose every few weeks, because we know about roots being left behind and the shock of moving the plant.
But people gladly move the soil all the time and buy huge machines to toss more soil around per second. I stopped at one yard sale where the owner had a mega-tiller for doing just that. And he had a very large tank for spraying herbicides on his lawn. "I don't spray any more because my neighbors have dandelions, so I have to start all over again." I said nothing but thought about four years of leaving the dandelions alone and having almost none. Dandelions are herbs, help the soil, and provide birds with nesting material. Where is the crime, the indictment, the evidence against them?
My wife and I are happy about a wedding invitation for December, a young couple I taught at the local college. Both were home-schooled and excellent students. The bride began college with 40 advance credits toward graduation. One staffer asked me, "Do you know how smart she is?" I responded, "Did I notice the 1,000 watt bulb in the room? Yes." I made the arrangement below for them, but realized they should see it live, not just as a photo. December is too late, unless we have freaky weather this year. So I am taking a new arrangement over in a few days, when they are done with choir tour.
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