Upcoming Books - In Order

Some Lutheran Books made available by Alec Satin.

The current books  have been ordered for the intended readers. That does not mean they have all arrived. In another week, if you feel like an actor whose name was not announced at the Oscar's, let me know. Amazon's method of printing and delivery can only be interpreted at Delphi.

Priority

Luther's House Postils are the priority now, and Volume 1 is close to being sent to Janie Sullivan. They will be available in color, black and white, free PDF, and combined PDF with the House Gems. Thus Luther fans could search 11 volumes of Luther's Sermons from two free (color) PDFs. Thanks to WM for suggesting the House Sermons and Alec Satin for jumping on the project.

Next Two Books

I will writing the Ichabod Lutheran Dictionary next, a way to explain basic concepts in one volume.

Saddened by the pathetic Biblical knowledge of the Lutheran leaders, I am putting together exegesis of the Justification by Faith passages. The LCMS convention starts on Mrs. Ichabod's birthday, July 20th, so I want the exegesis out and available before then, hoping the McCain-Otten-Harrison triumvirate will be allowed to retire with dignity, grace, and contrition for their grave doctrinal sins.

Future Projects

Another request came in, over the transom - a history of American Lutheranism. I countered with a doctrinal history, because pure history gets rather tedious and does not lead anywhere by itself. Many church historians are atheists or indifferent.

Other things may develop.

Q Reports - The D:5 Avalanche Has Started - Nothing Can Stop It

The purpose of the Mueller Report was to attract attention to a hunt for a lot of snipes. The opponents thought it was building to get rid of President Trump through impeachment or a failed re-election bid.

Instead, the top floor of the FBI building was cleared of its corrupt members. Several agents turned into federal informants and gave a lot of information up.

Meanwhile, Sessions and Huber were starting up federal Grand Juries to hear evidence about a host of crimes - but in top secrecy, in contrast to the leaks from Team Mueller and House Member Adam Schiff.

Others in the Justice department were identified as participating in the Steele Report, which was a piece of fiction from the beginning. Bruce and Nellie Ohr, the wife who is connected directly to the Steele Report.

Besides treason and sedition, much more is involved, such as drug and body part trafficking, teen and child trafficking, and even worse. Much of this has been in front of people, who do not really know it. The effort to normalize Satanic and occult practices began decades ago, and Hollywood played a large role in wallowing in it and promoting it.

The Nexium sex cult - protected and financed by the Bronfman Sisters ($150 million worth) - is already in the news. Jeffrey Epstein's Pedophile Island is well known to news junkies. The Clintons flew on Epstein's plane, nicknamed The Lolita Express.

The Bronfman family is not only connected to liquor (Seagrams) but also to a notorious criminal family from Phoenix, Arizona - Senator John McCain's father-in-law, Hensley. When John married Cindy Hensley, he made the family respectable to high society. The family made him rich and gave him all the connections he needed to become a US Senator.

The mainstream news is mostly irrelevant. The best way to learn what is happening is to follow a number of independent news sources. Sometimes we watch CNN for belly laughs. Anderson Cooper worked for the CIA; no one leaves the CIA.

 Rabbit-hole is a common expression among the Q Anons. We follow various names and events to see how they are connected. Liquor, the Mob, and politics are closely related. It takes some time to get past the myths of various families and learn the truth.

David Scaer LCMS - Surviving the Storms - Another Sad Example of False Doctrine, Political Intrigue, This Self-Styled Martyr Should Apologize to the Walter Maier Family

David Scaer -
Read his confessions post here.

David Scaer is selling his autobiography Surviving the Storms through Lulu.com for $35.

I knew, met, or heard talks from the following, who are mentioned in the book:

Fr. Wayne President Dr. Robert Preus +, and his brother
LCMS Synod President Dr. Jack Preus +
Pastor Rolf Preus - see Rolf Trashes Sainted Pastor
ALC Synod President David Preus - cousin and friend of Robert and Jack.
Rev. Waldo Werning +
LCMS Synod President Ralph Bohlmann +
Walter A. Maier II (known as WAM II)
Ft. Wayne Professor Kurt Marquart +
Ft. Wayne Professor Heino Kadai +
Pastor/Editor Herman Otten
Father Richard J. Neuhaus + (LCMS, AELC, ELCA, Rome)
Robert Wilken (LCMS pastor, Roman Catholic layman)

WAM II taught what his father (and Luther taught) Justification by Faith and the inerrancy of the Scriptures. What kind of a fraud makes Justification by Faith a crime, a reason to suspect WAM III (now at Ft. Wayne)? "Dr. Walter A Maier II, Pastor Maier's father, Dr.Paul Maier, Pastor Maier's uncle, in blue Pastor Maier, and on his left is Walter A Maier III, Pastor Maier's brother."

I took a class from Scaer in the summer school, when I was leaving the LCA. I also heard lectures from Marquart and Preus. I went to a class with Jay Webber to hear Scaer and Kadai. Dr. Kadai, a liberal, did not like my repetition of a favorite Barth description - "Preaching with a newspaper in one hand, a Kalashnikov in the other, while standing on the Bible." Webber was angry with me for making Kadai upset. Barth was a Marxist adulterer and plagiarist - I was being too kind.

Scaer can be provocative and funny, but he is also rude, insulting, and tyrannical. Unfortunately, Ft. Wayne encouraged a cult following for Scaer, Preus, and Marquart. Students follow Scaer around the campus and sigh about how great he is. I asked Scaer a question in class, and a student answered it, as if he had to fend off anything threatening to his idol.

Ingredients for P. Hale's Ignorant Book - Scaer's Anti-Lutheran, 
Non-Christian, Bait-and-Switch Dogma

I used to be weary of the Objective Justification salesmen. But now I am intrigued that so many can teach the Book of Concord (like Scaer), the New Testament (like Scaer), and Dogmatics (like Scaer) while dodging the obvious, explicit, often repeated teaching - we are justified by faith alone.

I am going to take readers through Scaer's chapter on Objective and Subjective Justification, page by page, paragraph by paragraph.

Excursus XIII, Objective and Subjective Justification, p. 251-258.

 Scaer claims that Objective Justification is unique to the LCMS - so funny - when Knapp's textbook was being used before Bishop Stephan and Pope Walther landed in New Orleans. Adventists say - "Universalism is avoided by bifurcating justification into objective and subjective categories." WELS says that, too.

Page 251
P. 1 - Scaer used Pieper to make the (Halle Pietistic) claim - God justified the world at the resurrection of Christ. Does he name the "contrary claim" - No. Does he mention the Chief Article from the Book of Concord? - No. Does he cite or quote Genesis 15:5 or Romans 4 in defining Justification? - No. Instead he listed some modern theologians who teach that "faith makes justification effective." Maybe they do, but that is not the definition of Justification by Faith (Name it not! - as John Sparky Brenner seems to think; Sparky swerves from the phrase with "individual appropriation of forgiveness, which would make Romans 5:1 much clearer, nicht?).

P. 2 - Objective Justification did not arise from arguing with the Ohio Synod, Scaer's strikingly fraudulent claim. Perhaps Scaer is simply ahistorical and cares little for the known facts, easily researched. Walther caught OJ from Bishop Stephan, who doubtless learned it as a Pietist. Stephan studied at but never graduated from Halle University or anywhere else. Fact - Stephan taught Walther UOJ. Another fraudulent claim is that Walther's Election without Grace, which he used to break up the Synodical Conference, was a remedy for synergism. Excluding faith is soooo Calvinistic, that most veterans of Calvinism recognize it right away. Synergism really applies to "making a decision for" - language found in Walther and JP Meyer - see the graphics below. Justification by Faith is not synergism. Walther violated Article XII of the Formula of Concord with his foolish and divisive speculations. The end result of Walther's Election war was that he was the sole dictator of doctrine in his group, now rid of "false teachers." Note that Scaer made Luther a Synergist! Radio genius Todd Wilken calls Justification by Faith Calvinism - with a chuckle.

 Walther - "must accept by faith..." sounds like synergism to everyone but the Waltherians.

The OJ salesmen are make-a-decision synergists.

Page 252

P. 1 - Already we can see Scaer is a dabbler in the Scriptures and unable or unwilling to teach the plain meaning of the Word. Professor Shallow decided to make Lenski his pin-cushion, even though Lenski wrote widely admired commentaries on all the New Testament books. Like WELS, Scaer attacks Lenski for finding Justification by Faith in Romans. But he does not say those words in blue, which are universally known for defining the Reformation, Luther, Romans, and Galatians.
P. 2 - The "other side" is a virus introduced by the Great War, the growth of English in a German synod. LCMS Pastor showed that Missouri taught Justification by Faith officially in its German catechism in 1905, and in English after. Radicals in Missouri and WELS forced OJ onto everyone, a nifty weapon to unite their cabal and exclude others.
P. 3 - "If subjective justification completely defines..." This confused and double-tongued paragraph uses SJ to attack Justification by Faith. One is an invention of Calvinists, Adventists, and Pietists (SJ). The other is Biblical - Justification by Faith. God creates faith by the Gospel Word - it is monergistic, not synergistic. OJ/SJ is a synergistic combination - one implies the other. They go together like Stephan and syphilis.
P. 4 - This is funny, reminding me of how Mormons brag about being weird. Unique dogmas cause difficulties, like papal infallibility, thus OJ causes problems for Missouri. Scaer did not realize that his analogy condemned his OJ/SJ, which is invented - it is Enthusiasm - just like papal infallibility. The analogy also fails because all mainline denominations teach OJ, and so do the Adventists. Unique? Hardly - OJ is the chief article of mainline and cult religion.

 The Pietist argument from false exegesis, 1 Timonthy 3:16 is that God justified mankind when Jesus rose from the dead, absolving everyone of sin.

 Look up P. Leyser's history and see if he has more credibility than Scaer and Walter.

Page 253

P 1-5 - Scaer takes us on a false narrative about OJ, which comes from Pietism, clearly stated by Rambach, above, but attempted before by Samuel Huber, a "former" Calvinist at Wittenberg. Huber was defeated and kicked out. Norwegian Pietists were naturally attracted to Walther's Pietism. Rolf Preus likes to wear Herman Preus I around his neck, his perpetual relic of an OJ martyr and saint. But Herman lost his call for only a few days and returned to his pulpit to continue teaching OJ.
The loyalty of Jack and Robert Preus to OJ came from Pietism, not from the Bible, Luther, the Confessions, Chemnitz, or Gerhard. Both men moderated the toxic effect of OJ. Jack translated Chemnitz (rather than Baier? how significant!). Robert  repudiated OJ in Justification and Rome.

 As chairman of the board of Seminex, Jungkuntz approved his school for training future Metropolitan Community Church (gay) pastors. Many Seminex leaders were graduates of Northwestern College (WELS), where he taught earlier.

Page 254

P1 - 3 - As John Sparky Brenner acknowledges, Walther promoted Election without Faith to prop up his OJ. Walther's predestination claims, so similar to Calvinism, drove away those who understood Justification by Faith and made CFW the Pope of the remnant. As many have observed, Walther's exclusion of faith excommunicated the Means of Grace, too. But Jack and Robert Preus took this seriously, unlike cousin David. Scaer attempts to blame ELCA's apostasy on The ALC's failure to embrace OJ. But the Seminex gang, led by Jungkuntz (OJist) shaped the merger commission with quotas and efforts to remove Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (The Trinity won on a vote of 33-30. Whew!)
I wrote to David about communion with the Reformed. He made fun of the Real Presence in his response. The ALC-LCA leadership was pathetic, but Missouri longed to unite with them. The years since have shown that ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC sic are in the same abyss of OJ apostasy and pan-sexuality.

P4 - Now we begin to smell the pot roast. The Maier Family! Woe, woe, thrice woe. Jack Preus called WAM II to teach at Springfield (which moved to Ft. Wayne). As Scaer says, after four years on the same campus, Jack should have known what WAM II. "The students did!" I can hear the sound of ominous thunder in the background - no facts - but scary, dreadful sound effects.

P5 - When Jack was elected LCMS President, with vast help from Herman Otten's Christian News, people ached for something to be done about the blatantly liberal Concordia Seminary faculty, St. Louis. Many of us knew that WAM II was the logical alternative to replace Jack if he did nothing. WAM II did not have Jack's carpet bag baggage. According to Scaer, WAM II remained an alternative to Jack Preus as synod president.

Page 255

P1 - WAM II was so respected by his students that they wrote out notes on his lectures, which were available to Scaer. Though he is glib in making WAM II a false teacher, he did not bother to study them or give the reader his impression. He had access to Maier's dissertation, but "lacked the fortitude to wade through" all the materials available.

P2 - Scaer passed over the disgraceful Jack and Bob tag-team clobbering of WAM II, but conceded WAM II was a threat to Jack's tenure as synod president.
Jack and Bob could (get this) accept the "denial of Objective Justification" by Dr. Maier, WAM II, and - oh noes - WAM III, being called to Ft. Wayne. I and III earned Harvard doctorates - but I am not sure of WAM II's.
The faculty worried that III agreed with II and I. Note this Scaer quote verbatim - "Neither understood this doctrine according to traditional Missouri Synod definitions." The Scriptures? The Book of Concord? Luther? Chemnitz? No mention is made, and Justification by Faith is left unheralded. LCMS is the Church of Rome, Missouri franchise, which is why so many pastors join the Real Thing.

P3 - This was "not a minor issue" for Jack and Bob. Ralph Bohlmann was looking at the issue. Missouri had been "Protestantized" and was becoming Arminian. Justification by Faith is the Chief Article, but it is Arminian? For the innocent - Bohlmann was 100% political and a dedicated liberal, backed by Otten to follow Preus.
P4 - Scaer's jealousy of the Maier family knows no bounds. This is his description of Dr. Walter A. Maier, who virtually invented radio evangelism, taught Justification by Faith as the capstone and inerrancy as the cornerstone of Christianity. Scaer: "Here was a potentially deadly potion of historical, theological, political, emotional and family issues."

P5 - Robert Preus - who is raised by Scaer to the level of greatest Lutheran theologian in this book - went to the Calvinists for support for his position. Preus knew the Calvinists had OJ, but it was a different OJ than Lutheran OJ! But I thought that OJ was born during the conflict with the Ohio Conference. Please do not use Scaer's book as a history of doctrine textbook.

Page 256

P1 - Scaer wrote "The Sides of Justification" for Christianity Today during the extended roast of WAM II. Wally Schulz told him twice that he was not at his stellar best, and "he obviously did not approve..."
"It may show that Maier II's views were representative of a large group in the Missouri Synod, even those who saw themselves and were seen as conservatives." Aha, so Justification by Faith makes someone a liberal. However, there is a decided lack of detail in this paragraph, only a brotherly shiv in the back for Wally.

P2 & 3 - WAM III's interview for a position "raised the same concerns about the son that they had with his father."
P4 - "Walter III's appointment to the faculty would assure that what the faculty once saw as an aberrant doctrine on justification could be perpetuated for another generation." Scaer is Henry II shouting, "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?"

P 5 - Scaer reverted to the WAM III case and said they forged a compromised based on 1 Timothy 3:16, which Scaer found contrived.

 Kilcrease is the OJ fanatic who also co-authors with Scaer. Kicrease, who teaches at a Catholic school, became famous on this blog by posting lame arguments and erasing his comments soon after. Therefore, "Kilcreasing became a verb for erasing." He teaches at the ELCA online seminary where Jay Webber finally got an STM.

My Intuition about the LCMS-WELS Fake Solution

This is said today by OJists correcting, they imagine, Justification by Faith - "We are justified BY GRACE! through faith."

That may be the formula Bob Preus urged onto WAM II, because it could be seen two ways. The phrase might not seem wrong by itself, since it reminds us of the Scriptures, but it allows the OJists to say, "Ah yes, everyone is declared forgiven because of God's grace, and this is accepted by faith in the universal absolution."

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Parsing the sentence stops OJ from creeping in on little cat feet. "Saved through faith" belongs together. Paul contrasts grace and works, faith and works.

Lenski: "God accomplishes his purpose of delivering the Ephesians when by the power of his grace and the means of this grace (Word and Sacrament) he kindled faith in their hearts. Faith is not something that we on our part produce and furnish toward our salvation but is produced in our hearts by God to accomplish his purpose in us. Col. 2:12 states this directly: "through the faith of the operation of God." One often meets careless statements such as: "Grace is God's part, faith ours. Now the simple fact is that even in human relations faith and confidence are produced in us by others, by what they are and what they do; we never produce it ourselves." Ephesians 2:8-9

Pastor/Editor Herman Otten - Please Read the Back of Your Book and Apologize to the Maier Family. Rolf and the Preussian Reunion - You Are Next

 This is the front of the book, which Scaer says was based on Otten's research essay. Scaer said STM, but I thought Wash U. MA. Otten was close to the Dr. Maier's widow and the family.

 This is the back of the Otten book. The OJists would have us believe that everyone in the LCMS always believed in OJ. CFW Walter caught it from Bishop Stephan, but it was not as contagious as the bishop's syphilis, which he gave to many young girls in his sex cult. Missouri's 1905 German catechism and later KJV catechism only taught Justification by Faith.

 Walter Maier II is a jolly guy. I met him at the Rutz funeral.  This group picture seems to be 4 earned doctorates out of 4, maybe 3 out of 4, a good return. Have you noticed how grim and angry the OJists are? Brrr. The anti-Gospel cowardly Universalism of OJ bears no fruit. Hence, LCMS-ELCA-WELS-ELS-CLC sic have "fallen into ruin."

 Scaer's jealousy of the Maier family knows no bounds. This is his description of Dr. Walter A. Maier, who virtually invented radio evangelism, taught Justification by Faith as the capstone and inerrancy as the cornerstone of Christianity. Scaer: "Here was a potentially deadly potion of historical, theological, political, emotional and family issues." (p. 255, Surviving the Storms. Ha. [Referring to Dr. Walter A. Maier, who earned a Ph.D. in Semitics at Harvard. Scaer failed his doctorate in Germany and came home to get one at Concordia, St. Louis.]

ELDONA - Home of the Whopper. Heiser Graduated from Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Without ever Hearing Objective Justification?Fellow Alumnus Verified David Scaer Taught OJ in Dogmatics

 The Right Reverend James Rodham Heiser, STM, has no credibility when it comes to Justification by Faith.
ELDONA has a strange passion for beards.

Mars Society Presentation




Note on the video above -

1. Rydecki knew there were pastors who actually taught the Chief Article 16:50;
2. ELDONA certainly had pastors who were loudly UOJ and ones like Heiser who knew the difference, but gladly worked with Rolf Preus;
3. Bishop Heiser gulped (17:03) when he lied about "not being cognizant of this heresy"  UNTIL Pastor Rydecki was booted from WELS, 2012. Heiser was quite aware in 2000. He refused to deal with the issue for 12 years, so ELDONA was not a swarm of OJ deniers, as he claims. An alumnus of Ft. Wayne verified that Scaer taught OJ in Dogmatics class. Scaer mentioned OJ twelve times in his autobiography.
4. The video at 5.20 is fun, all kinds of excuses for not knowing OJ was wrong in seminary. Nobody mentions who troubled the waters of OJ while they were still comatose - moi.

What did he know and when did he know it?

 "Bishop Jim Rodham Heiser - what did we teach you at Concordia, Ft. Wayne? Bob Preus and I hammered OJ into you. You were upset at the Norfolk conference that someone "denied OJ", your words. Have you forgotten so soon?"

First, Pastor Paul Rydecki (formerly WELS) speaks about DP Buchholz lying to his congregation. All the WELS DPs are liars - Buchholz is just especially inept.

Rydecki was in the WELS Intrepid Lutherans (sic), a blog I suggested for group discussion of doctrine. They argued and were divided over Justification. At first, Rydecki argued for Objective Justification. My blog posts got them debating the origin of OJ, and Doug Lindee on that blog and now in ELDONA, I think agreed that OJ came from Halle Pietism.

Note this post on Pietism and OJ in particular - and the date - 2011.

Heiser's claim, 16.44 on the tape - that he "first became aware" of OJ during the Rydecki-Buchholz battle - is a blatant lie. He became aware when he read and sold copies of Thy Strong Word in 2000, which anyone can read for free here. He sold the first edition in 2000 and also told me he discovered how bad OJ was from my OJ quotations there. Before that, as a typical Ft. Wayne student, he thought OJ was fine. However, like many, he assumed OJ meant the Atonement - another deception by the OJists.

I challenged Heiser when he aligned with the Rolf Preus Synod and pretended nothing was wrong. He said, "We will get rid of Rolf later." I told him he would have to deal with Justification eventually, and that happened only with the prospect of Rydecki's congregation and property joining ELDONA and Kneprath's group also joining.

I gave up on Heiser when he decided to link up with the Rolf Synod, but I was encouraged when he was motivated to teach the Chief Article, even if a decade later. They did get rid of Rolf, as planned, but the rest of the tiny group ran back to the Little Sect on the Prairie, sobbing on Pope John the Malefactor's shoulder, hoping the terms of reconciliation would not be too harsh (Krauth reference). Rolf was not alone in his OJ fanaticism. His group agreed with him completely.

Rydecki conveniently skips the fact that he and I were in contact about Justification by Faith. Through a WELS friend, I put him in contact with the Latin works of Hunnius, which he translated.

 Most ELDONUTs are from Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne.
That may explain their attitudes and poor education.

Unfortunately, the OJ seminaries of WELS-LCMS-ELS teach their students to play political games and venerate their immaculate sect. OJ is the fuel that energizes deception - a habit that is hard to break.

How does one leave the greatest seminary ever - Bethany or Mordor or the Concordias - and not know what the Chief Article is? Please someone explain that to me.

 Fuller Seminary alumnus, Mordor President, destroyer of congregations.

Greek Students - Let Me Know You Are In Class. No Salesman Will Call.

Let me know if you are taking the Greek class using the Gospel of Mark. It is the same whether live or recorded. One student let me know the save was bad, so I published the autosave version.

Just send a note to greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com.

I plan to have a navigation page for all the Mark videos, as they develop.

Midweek Lenten Service - 7 PM Central Daylight Time.Jesus Was Tempted

Mid-Week Lenten Vespers, 2019

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Central Daylight Savings 

The Hymn # 240             Father Most Holy     
The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41

The Psalmody            Psalm   14                           p. 124
The Lection             
  
The Sermon Hymn #179   On My Heart  

         

Jesus Was Tempted

The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer                         p. 44

The Collect for Peace                                           p. 45

The Benediction                                                   p. 45

The Hymn # 558            All Praise to Thee

Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Jesus Was Tempted - Compassionate and Merciful

From time to time the question comes up about the meaning of - The Father is greater than I. How are the members of the Trinity equal but the Father is greater?

Chemnitz answered in his Apology of the Book of Concord (against the Calvinists) - Compared to Jesus' human nature, the Father was greater in not being affected by physical harm. Jesus was subject to all our human failings, emotions, pain, and joy. Nevertheless, because the two Natures (divine and human) were and are united in Him, He did not give in to temptation.

Denying the temptation or trial is denying His human nature. Hebrews is such an eloquent summary of the entire Bible that it captures the meaning of His human nature and temptation perfectly.

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.14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

So we can see from this example that the temptation of Jesus, even in this brief form in Mark, can be understood in the message of the Gospel.

In His divinity, we see the power of the Son of God, from the Creation to Final Judgment. But in His humanity, there is nothing we face that He has not already faced as the God-Man Jesus.

Temptations are carnal and also inward. As James explains brilliantly, sin begins with the thought. Invisible sins often start with coveting (two commandments!). Coveting leads to actions that are carnal sins, which are self-justified by various excuses. There is so much of this that people become weary of it all.

A basic tenet of all counseling is that people help others when they have suffered the same temptations and problems. Jesus is that counselor. He has suffered the same temptations. He understands and helps the healing, which begins with forgiveness.

The first step is acknowledgement of sin. The second is trusting in the atoning death of Christ. The cross can be seen two ways. One is to see our sins on the cross. The second is to see them paid for on the cross. long before we existed. God set up a plan, knowing that man having freedom would sin. He promised Adam and Eve a Savior. She was so convinced of this that she said, "I have given birth to a man - God." That is the Hebrew pure and simple, because she believed the Messiah was already born. More importantly, she believed in the Savior, though He was to come much, much later.

Noah was a preacher of righteous, 2 Peter 2:15. That meant he preached the coming of the Savior. So did Moses and the prophets.

Abraham trusted he and Sarah would begin, beyond all human imagination, a line that would lead to the Messiah. He believed God's Promises and it was counted as forgiveness. He was Justified by Faith.

The journeys with the disciples for three years proved one thing for all readers. Those disciples were fallible men. They failed in the worst ways possible. They had little faith. They wanted places of honor in heaven. They ran away during the trial of Jesus. Worst of all, Peter denied Him three times, just as Jesus predicted.

But just as Peter denied Jesus three times before a charcoal fire, so he was absolved three times by Jesus before a second charcoal fire, John 21, when the risen Lord reminded them He would feed them - apart from the miraculous catch He delivered into their hands again.

One of the formal prayers says "God's power is chiefly shown in His mercy."

Luther called it "drowning our sins in an ocean of God's grace."

He emphasized being daily forgiven of all our sins, through faith.

But some say, "What about promising never to sin again, and failing? and failing again?"

No one can conquer sin, not even the most trivial. But God's healing power in Christ provides the greatest remedy possible. Rather than praising our own strength, we see the empathy of Christ, His suffering with us. When we see our life as one of constant forgiveness from God, it moves us to first see ourselves as sinners and to show the same graciousness with others. We cannot compare with His mercy, but we can use that as a guide.

Third Greek Lesson - Gospel of Mark - After the Midweek Service, Wednesday, 7 PM Central Daylight Time

Helps -

Parser - tells us the I.D. of the word

Lenski's Commentary - download as a PDF

Copy and paste a Greek word into Google, add "Strong" and "Thayer" - you will get an instant word study about that Greek word. This is modestly called "The Ichabod Greek Treasure Hunt."

English derivatives of Greek words

9 και εγενετο εν εκειναις ταις ημεραις ηλθεν ιησους απο ναζαρετ της γαλιλαιας και εβαπτισθη υπο ιωαννου εις τον ιορδανην

Hemerocallis - beautiful for a day; ephemeral

10 και ευθεως αναβαινων απο του υδατος ειδεν σχιζομενους τους ουρανους και το πνευμα ωσει περιστεραν καταβαινον επ αυτον

11 και φωνη εγενετο εκ των ουρανων συ ει ο υιος μου ο αγαπητος εν ω ευδοκησα

12 και ευθυς το πνευμα αυτον εκβαλλει εις την ερημον

13 και ην εκει εν τη ερημω ημερας τεσσαρακοντα πειραζομενος υπο του σατανα και ην μετα των θηριων και οι αγγελοι διηκονουν αυτω

14 μετα δε το παραδοθηναι τον ιωαννην, ηλθεν ο ιησους εις την γαλιλαιαν κηρυσσων το ευαγγελιον της βασιλειας του θεου

15 και λεγων οτι πεπληρωται ο καιρος και ηγγικεν η βασιλεια του θεου; μετανοειτε και πιστευετε εν τω ευαγγελιω

Roses in the Creation Garden - Some Basics

 Easy Does It blooms often and steadily in sunset colors, and it has a sweet fragrance.

Ranger Bob knocked on the door, then made scratching sounds. Sassy began barking her hello. She waits at Bob's home for him to come out, when we go on walks. Her look says, "This is my guy."

Bob said, "You better get some sunshine. It's raining tomorrow." I was already getting some things ready for planting roses. They came just before our mini-blizzard, two inches of snow, followed by zero degree temps. I had bare root roses arrive before the bad weather, sitting in barrels inside, water covering the roots. I moved them outside and added rainwater.

Roses can soak a long time, and they looked fine. Some even had green leaves on them.

 Veterans Honor is fragrant, lasts in the vase, and has spectacular blooms. We bought ours to honor cousin and veteran Peter Ellenberger

Why are roses such a good deal? When we plant them, it is their third year - leap year for many plants. When we buy small plants, which cost less per plant, they do very little the first year, a bit more the second, then really grow the third year: year 1 plant, year 2 sleep, year 3 leap.

Bare root roses will bloom one month after planting. Potted roses at the nursery are already blooming. One good, fresh rose sells for $5, sometimes less. One bush can cost $15 - $30. That is a good return, and everyone loves roses.

 Falling in Love is fragrant, pink and white, loved by our friend at the college, also by the couple who met in my classes. I cut two roses for their engagement, and we went to both weddings (the staffer's too).

I delivered cut daffodils to two neighbors. They look good but are not much in the vase until they are giant ones (in my opinion).

Sassy came outdoors to provide perimeter security while I planted. She does this with neighbors when I stop and talk. She positions herself for a view of the street, watches all movement, and shifts around for full coverage.

Bare root roses are easy to grow. I definitely believe in soaking shipped roses for two days, because they need to rehydrate. Mine had a long soak, so I wanted them in the garden before the rain, which supposedly starts at 4 am on the morrow.

Rain is free, safe, liquid fertilizer. Those who love roses will save rainwater or let tap-water stand 24 hours before using, to let the chlorine bleach evaporate out. Chlorine kills microbes, so we want  that gone from the plants when used. Rain has usable nitrogen dissolved in the water.

Our clay soil was damp, and rain was coming, so I did not add water.

I dug holes where I thought they would fit, pruned the canes and roots back, to spur growth, and filled in the soil plus Stinky Peat - peat moss plus manure, aka Peat Compost. I found red wiggler earthworms in the Stinky Peat, even though the bags were left outside all winter.

Meanwhile, I also pruned some of the roses from previous years, to get them started faster. Pruning them energizes their roots and branches. They love prunes.

I will watch the new roses in the coming weeks to make sure they have enough water, mulch, and pruning. Green leaves popping out are a good sign. Some established roses die, no matter what. I dig them out right away. Their empty places are good for new plants of some kind. A few may have gone wild, which means their wild roots are alive but the grafted hybrid tea rose top has died. I will get one set of dark red wild roses from them and dig them out. Wild roses only bloom once a year, and those much ballyhooed old roses are no different. Hybrid roses were able to blend perpetual blooming roses with the larger tea roses for the ones we enjoy today.

We met a gardener at the oncology clinic who did not know about the cure for Japanese beetles or the way beneficial bugs work.

Queen Elizabeth, front and center, is free of scent, but magnificent. Walter Lammerts, a Creationist PhD, developed this rose and Chrysler Imperial. The second rose outlasted the car. Too bad the Concordia Seminary St. Louis faculty has never gardened seriously. They might learn something about Creation, and the Bible has some good things to say about the concept.