Saturday, January 15, 2022

Night Prayers

 Otto H. W. Heick taught at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary and befriended us. He took us out to dinner and ate at our apartment

First of all, I thank God for placing in my life so many Lutheran leaders who were incompetent, apostate, and just plain dishonest. Some were laity, too. I can name them and match their paradoxical influence with things I learned from the Scriptures, Luther, and the Book of Concord, which they pretended to know. If everything had gone well instead awry, I would have been a placid, no-nothing, blander than milquetoast manager of sorts, very comfortable. 

Secondly, I thank God for Christina, from the first day of college to her first day in eternal life, 55 years - almost to the day. The funny-hilarious-dramatic-genius moments with her are not so painful to recall now. She had everything to do with many blessings for me, her children, members, her friends - especially those almost friendless or overlooked. 

I am thankful to God for this far-flung congregation and group of readers. Yes, I  welcome and am thankful for those who read the blog out of fear, anger, or curiosity. Some have been angels unaware, thereby converted to the truth of the Scriptures, Justification by Faith, and the Means of Grace. 

Someone asked the Yale philosopher-theologian Paul L. Holmer why he was a Christian. They expected something deep, cryptic, and incredibly complicated. He said, "My mother taught me." I can say the same thing. I remember my mother teaching me the 23rd Psalm (KJV). When she was dying in our house, 90+ years old, I said, "You taught me this, Mom." And I read it to her. She breathed deeply and passed into eternal life.

Ultimately, the Scriptures taught me, and I had my mother's deep knowledge of science and nature plus her trust in the Word of God. There was no contradiction. 

The Book of the Holy Spirit is wiser than any man or book, so I feel like I just discovered a KJV at my doorstep because of the effect of defending and promoting this translation. In fact, a KJV did show up at our doorstep, the lectern Bible that rests on the stand which I built from an Amazon kit.


 Paul L. Holmer, Guggenheim Fellow,
Yale philosopher-theologian.


 Nils A. Dahl was head of the Yale New Testament department, devoted to the text, not the theories.

 He was selected by Dahl to teach at Yale.