Rest in Peace - Rev. Rex Bullock - Moline High School 1966 - Pastor, Singer, Friend

 

Rev. Rex Bullock, MHS 66, passed into eternal life on January 11, 2023. This is a photograph of one of their family reunions. 

Krauth - Essential Reading for All Lutherans - Especially Objective (Faithless) Justification Advocates.

 

Newsletter from The Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

In This Issue

Of the Church in General: The Lutheran View, Romish, Reformed by Guericke and Krauth [Journal Article] Lutheran Fundamentals: A Simple System of Scripture Truth with Applications for the Common Man by George Gerberding Gospel Truths: Presenting Christ and the Christian Life by John Edwin Whitteker The Table Talk of Doctor Martin Luther: A Selection The Passion for Life by Joseph Hocking

Featured

Of the Church in General: The Lutheran View, Romish, Reformed by Guericke and Krauth [Journal Article] “The conception of the Evangelical Lutheran church proceeds from the inward spiritual essence of the church, as a communion of faith, love, the Holy Ghost, knit together by means of the word of God and the sacraments, but which also forms itself into a body in an outward manifestation. “In this outward manifestation, she is to be recognized by word and sacrament, as the outward conditions of what is within, and by confession, whose purity and unity, as in the case of word and sacrament, suffice for the true unity of the church. “Thus there is a visible-invisible, an invisible-visible church, of which the visible is the manifestation, as the condition of the invisible.” — Heinrich Guericke Level of Difficulty: Intermediate: Some subject matter knowledge helpful.   Book Contents Of The Church In General: The Lutheran View, Romish, Reformed. Translator’s note. The Roman and Greek View Zwingli and Calvin The Arminian and Socinian Views Mennonites and Quakers The Swedenborgian View Download the eBook PDF Apple/Kobo EPUB Kindle AZW3 Legacy MOBI (If EPUB or AZW3 won’t work on your device) You can expect your book to arrive within a few hours. If you don't find it, check your spam or junk mail folder. You can also request a copy of this or any Lutheran Library e-book by sending an email with the book's title and format. Enjoy the book! Publication Information Lutheran Library edition first published: 2020 Copyright: CC BY 4.0 Read more

Recent Books and Articles Published

Of the Church in General: The Lutheran View, Romish, Reformed by Guericke and Krauth [Journal Article] “The conception of the Evangelical Lutheran church proceeds from the inward spiritual essence of the church, as a communion of faith, love, the Holy Ghost, knit together by means of the word of God and the sacraments, but which also forms itself into a body in an outward manifestation. “In this outward manifestation, she is to be recognized by word and sacrament, as the outward conditions of what is within, and by confession, whose purity and unity, as in the case of word and ... Read more Lutheran Fundamentals: A Simple System of Scripture Truth with Applications for the Common Man by George Gerberding “The Church needs to restudy, to re-accept, to reaffirm, to re-experience justification by faith… Has not a large part of the Protestant Church practically lost this Reformation doctrine? …Is she not unconsciously drifting back into the old Romish heresy of justification by works, by service, by doing? Is she not, unconsciously perhaps, drifting into the Rationalistic and Unitarian idea of justification by self-made character? “The doctrine of justification by faith ... Read more Gospel Truths: Presenting Christ and the Christian Life by John Edwin Whitteker “This little volume of sermons has been prepared in response to repeated appeals from the people who heard them from the pulpit… they have been chosen from a cabinet of upwards of two thousand discourses. “In their preparation for pulpit use, two thoughts were constantly kept in mind: to preach Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, with all their redemptive significance, and to implant in the minds and hearts of those who listened to their deliverance, those principles ... Read more The Table Talk of Doctor Martin Luther: A Selection “Another quality that strikes us… is Luther’s unfailing sense of humor. Reformers are usually deficient in humor. Their earnestness seldom permits them to laugh. Luther was the most earnest man of his century, and lived in more earnest times than any Europe had witnessed since the close of the first century. But his merry laugh rings through the entire solemn drama of his life. He relieved himself and others by permitting himself glimpses at the ludicrous aspects which human nature ... Read more The Passion for Life by Joseph Hocking Frank Erskine is just at the start of his career when he is given less than a year to live. He moves from London to the Cornish coast in an effort to find peace before the end. And there his adventures begin. Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter knowledge needed. About Joseph Hocking Joseph Hocking was a faithful Welsh minister. A prolific and popular writer in his lifetime, Rev. Hocking considered the novel an ideal platform for exploring Christian spirituality and the deeper ... Read more Miracles by Theophilus Stork [Journal Article] “There has always been a secret prejudice against miracles…there is still a reluctance in many minds to admit these departures from the order of nature predicated in miracles… A modified form of this feeling may be seen in many honest believers in their disposition to overlook the miracles as the wonders of a distant age, answering an important purpose in the first introduction of Christianity, but of little use now as evidences of their religion. “But those who ... Read more Columbus Theological Magazine Vol. 4, Matthias Loy, Editor This volume contains the three part series, “The Nature of the Will,” “The Liberty of the Will,” and “The Bondage of the Will,” all by Prof. Matthias Loy. Other articles include, “He Shall Baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with Fire,” and “The Power Of God’s Word, According To The Lutheran And The Reformed Systems”. Much good reading! Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter knowledge needed. Matthias Loy served as ... Read more May God cause his face to shine upon you and bring you peace. From Your Lutheran Librarian editor@lutheranlibrary.org

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One Small Step for a Man - One Giant Leap for Planet Fitness.Sugar Storage Must Give Way to Fat Burning

 

I was going to Planet Fitness before the Branch Covidians took over. But I only saw the Silver Sneakers note a short time ago at the gym. That is part of many Medicare plans, paying the basic cost for gym use. The odd thing is, the silversneakers.com website is less reliable than the weather. It took me five attempts to earn my lifetime, very long number for getting the modest gym fee paid. Today I brought in the printout and signed it digitally on the computer screen, about 10 times. When I was done, I said, "One small step for a man, one giant leap for Planet Fitness." He laughed, a surprise to me that he knew the reference.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman got me going to the gym because he wrote in his books that exercise is essential, just as important as a change in food habits. I knew that, but I lapsed a long time ago due to the number of medical appointments. Fuhrman also points out that exercise strengthens bones, one of the pitfalls of being older than references to moon landings. 

I knew the importance of short-term glycogen (sugar) storage versus high energy fat-burning. I have attended many diabetic conferences, lessons, and suggested food samples. As one friend said so succinctly, "I know all that. It's the doin' that's hard."

I finally woke up to the building block or the stumbling block to weight loss and energy. We build and use short-term glycogen storage, which is like running on stale gasoline. If we major in sweets and high glycemic foods (white potatoes, corn, white rice, white flour), they will give us a quick high and a quicker low. 

Nibbling at crackers, snacks, candy bars, so-called protein bars, etc - that will continuous feed the glycogen storage without using the high- octane fat-burning that God created for us.

I go to the gym before eating anything, then wait for a veggie-fruit lunch or I just have a few fresh fruits - oranges and pears - a total of 3 so far today. Exercise without breakfast will burn fat far more effectively. Once used to it, we feel the fat burning energy soon and the disappearance of craving more sweets. 

Counting calories and named food fads are a cry for help - or a way to say, "I am really trying." The giveaway is the festive end of the diet when people eat a banana split enhanced by a large mocha with fake cream in it, fake whipped cream on top. Plus a cherry.

The big change for me was 1) a scary blood panel; 2) opening up a never-read copy of Eat To Live.

Pears for Spares

 

The nutrition doctor, Joel Fuhrman, advocates three to six fruit servings a day. Most of us love fruit desserts, but we can enjoy the fruit without adding sugar, whipped cream, and ice cream. 

Fruits have plenty of sugar, but it is locked up in fiber. Some juicers save the sugary juice and separate out the fiber. However, fiber tamps down the sugar rush and also provides for digestion. Fast-acting sweet products give us a quick rush and then a face-plant when insulin provides the sugar blues. That is also a reason why people eat all day. The repetition of small this-won't-hurt snacks keep the digestive systems ready to eat more. 

I have certainly experienced craving and answered it with fast-acting, delicious food. Fuhrman suggests high-volume low-calorie food to satisfy the rush to the kitchen. Apple, oranges, pears, and pineapple are perfect for replacing the crave with a healthy, loaded with nutrition, complete fruit.

Pears start out hard and not very tasty. I put the first ones out on the western kitchen window. Day 1 - eating cork. Day 2 - better. Day 3 - juicy, sweet, and fun to eat. 

I usually eat several large apples at a time, four a day, or a bowl of oranges. I did not like pineapple straight, so I now trim the triceratops armor off and pop the juicy parts into the vegetable dish. No icks aloud! Some of you love Hawaiian pizza - cheese, pineapple, bread. Each slice is two portions of fat, salt, and white bread - tons of fun.

Fruit can be very good with vegetables. Because fresh blueberries are good for blood pressure but seductive in seeking out muffins, syrup, and pie, I dump them in with the vegetables too, but not at the same time (so far). 

Here is a simple rule - the most nutritious foods are also the most filling ones. The food promoted and sold is the most fattening, sweet, and salted and the least nutritious. McDonalds quarter pounder with cheese and bacon. I rest my case.

Giving up the super-fattening combinations is a bit tough at first but not as difficult as surgery, medicine with bad side-effects.

These are my daily requirements as I head down below 190 and perhaps land at 180:

Must - chopped greens, whether kale, spinach, turnip, or collards. Almost zero calories and easily blended with the vegetables.

Must - low salt beans, the best being chickpeas, or garbanzo when they are out. Busch beans are four times saltier than WM organic ones, and so are other enhanced, bacony beans. Chickpeas and garbanzos are loaded with protein, fiber, and nutrition, so they calm the craving for the wrong foods.

Yes! and good for us all - Onions/peppers - they add flavor and are anti-cancer.

Yes! taste good and not fattening - sweet peas.

Yes! blueberries are delicious with vegetables and reduce blood pressure.

Must - walnuts remove dangerous cholesterol. A handful a day has many benefits. Remove the ice cream from under the nuts or just make that dessert every so often. Almonds are a good substitute if walnuts cause allergies.

Learn to love - broccoli is actually a flower but it is also an anti-cancer and wondrous super-food. I like the tinier lumps of this vegetable, the same with cauliflower in the same super-food category.

Some vendors are ricing things like cauliflower and also flavoring them with salt and seasoning, doubling the price. I say "Man up and chew it to a liquid before the teeth are gone!"

 

Miracles by Theophilus (God-loving) Stork - From the Lutheran Library

 

 Link here

“There has always been a secret prejudice against miracles…there is still a reluctance in many minds to admit these departures from the order of nature predicated in miracles… A modified form of this feeling may be seen in many honest believers in their disposition to overlook the miracles as the wonders of a distant age, answering an important purpose in the first introduction of Christianity, but of little use now as evidences of their religion.

But those who unite in this fervid exclamation forget that miracles are fundamental to the very existence of objective Christianity. And although in their spiritual apprehension and experience of its blessed truths, they may not feel the necessity of miracles to confirm their faith in religion, still they are, in fact, the ultimate basis upon which the whole system rests."

The rationalists of the National Council of Churches have reduced the miracles to primitive minds and faulty Scriptures. Their miracle is reducing the population of believers at an astonishing rate, with the "conservative" sects following in their wake. "What could be more full of meaning?- for the pulpit is ever this earth’s foremost part; all the rest comes in its rear; the pulpit leads the world. From thence it is the storm of God’s quick wrath is first descried, and the bow must bear the earliest brunt." Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 8.

Rain and Snow Predicted for Today

 

Last night we had a heavy rain and a bit of hail. Today we have rain and snow predicted. My computer has an icon for weather, so I saw it claiming "temp plummeting" when that only meant a few degrees colder.

This kind of weather is my hardest working time for the garden - not that I lift a finger. I look out the window or sit on the porch to watch the garden green up. I know that hundreds of hundreds of bulbs will bloom in the near future. They extended their roots soon after planting in the fall. Now they have reached up to burst into bloom when the bulbs, more reliable than the meteorologist, sense it is time to flower.

Daffodils and grape hyacinths flourish and bloom a long time, increasing their numbers a little bit each year. The bulb catalogs for 2024 arrive with the advent of the blooms. They know many of us are too weak to resist buying just a few more bulbs for the next spring - to remind us of the currently blooming flowers. The murmuring breezes say, "Don't you want your neighbors to fall over in a faint, enjoying more of the colorful, exotic, bizarre, and graceful bulbs?"

One member said about our congregation, "Just a few here and there." I responded, "It only takes one here and there, over time. And we have no way of knowing." One printed, full-color book was recently delivered to an individual 9,000 miles away. Others travel over the Internet, thanks to ones and zeroes, PDFs that mimic an entire book yet arrive for free. There is no way to measure them.

 Matthias Loy is now easily accessed at the Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry.

Alec Satin has put together over 300 books online with more than 70 of them in print form - and low in cost for the print versions. Many of them are rare, fragile, and very difficult to find. A good way to start is at lutheranlibrary.org. 

That site with no ads outranks the LCMS version, with their small collection costing $300. Oh my! The LCMS has created a free site for various books and essays. Their "ultimate package" of printed books is valued at $539! - for nine books!

Readers have told me that they never heard of the efficacy of the Word of God until they began reading materials from this blog. If the leaders would learn and teach Isaiah 55, and make it a priority, they could flourish. 

 Luther always taught the efficacy of the Word and cited God's Creation by the Word, so why do Luther-ans (sic) ignore Biblical efficacy and Creation?