Thursday, June 07, 2007

Life Ring
by Matt E.
When the towels are needin' foldin',
And there's kiddies runnin' round,
I'll toss me wife a life ring,
To ensure she doesn't drown.
But who would get a life ring,
In the middle of the sea,
Throw it back onto the ship
And say "You didn't toss like me?"

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Life as a Vapor

I was working on a long post when the computer froze... now I am out of the time I set aside. Check back next year.

Bye!

Friday, December 22, 2006

My Utmost for His Highest: December 21st

EXPERIENCE OR REVELATION
"We have received . . . the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." 1 Corinthians 2:12

Reality is Redemption, not my experience of Redemption; but Redemption has no meaning for me until it speaks the language of my conscious life. When I am born again, the Spirit of God takes me right out of myself and my experiences, and identifies me with Jesus Christ. If I am left with my experiences, my experiences have not been produced by Redemption. The proof that they are produced by Redemption is that I am led out of myself all the time, I no longer pay any attention to my experiences as the ground of Reality, but only to the Reality which produced the experiences. My experiences are not worth anything unless they keep me at the Source, Jesus Christ.

If you try to dam up the Holy Spirit in you to produce subjective experiences, you will find that He will burst all bounds and take you back again to the historic Christ. Never nourish an experience which has not God as its Source and faith in God as its result. If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions you may have had. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you try to lord it over Him? Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord? He must be Lord over you, and you must not pay attention to any experience over which He is not Lord. There comes a time when God will make you impatient with your own experience - I do not care what I experience; I am sure of Him.

Be ruthless with yourself if you are given to talking about the experiences you have had. Faith that is sure of itself is not faith; faith that is sure of God is the only faith there is.

Yes, I talk about my experiences way too much. I have done this and that, felt this or that, seen this and this, blah, blah, blah. What are they in comparision to Jesus, His life, death, resurrection and knowing Him?

My experiences are only paths carved so that I may know Him better.

Monday, October 23, 2006

So tie me to a tree...

Show You Love
by Jars of Clay

Speak
say the words that no one else will ever say
Love
love like the world we know is over in a day

I'm gonna show you love in every language
I'm gonna speak with words that need no form
I'm gonna give you what you've never had before

You're beautiful
and I am weakened by the force of your eyes
So shime
bright to seperate the truth from the lies

I'm gonna show you love in every language
I'm gonna speak with words that need no form
I'm gonna give you what you've never had before


So tie me to a tree and let the smoke and ash collect
No, I won't regret to let love do what love will let
We can drown in mixed emotions
or walk across an angry sea
This is the cost of being free

I have no idea what Jars of Clay had in mind when they wrote and recorded this song. All I know, is that it stirs something deeper in me than what most might hear. It is probably just the way God wired my brain, but I seem to be extra sensitive to anything that has phrases like, "every language" in it.

Read these lyrics from the eyes and heart of a missionary. Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael or Jim Elliot could have written this song. How about world changing revolutionaries like William Tyndale and Martin Luther? I can hear them proclaiming their convictions:

I'm gonna show you love in every language
I'm gonna speak with words that need no form
I'm gonna give you what you've never had before

And that they did. And some died for the cause of Christ, screaming:

So tie me to a tree and let the smoke and ash collect
No, I won't regret to let love do what love will let
We can drown in mixed emotions
or walk across an angry sea
This is the cost of being free


What does love "let" sometimes? Love lets pain, heartache, tragedy, disaster, persecution, famine, nakedness, beatings and loneliness to show the world what true love is. True love for humanity exists in a life that is fully surrendered and in love with God, thus compelling that soul to spread the name of Jesus to those who have yet to experience His glory. Many a surrendered soul has faced persecution or death at the hands of those who were being shown love.

This is the cost of being free.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

For the Love of Luther: Project Wittenberg

Where would we be without the sacrifice, determination, faithfulness, passion, conviction, time, energy and obedience of Martin Luther. If you have never studied this man, his life and legacy, I encourage you to do so. Your Christianity today would not be what it is without this man. Read books about him, watch the amazing movie Luther and read the material he penned.

Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther
on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences
by Dr. Martin Luther (1517)

Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.

In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.

2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests.

3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh.

4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

5. The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his own authority or by that of the Canons.

6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God's remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven.

7. God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest.

8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to them, nothing should be imposed on the dying.

9. Therefore the Holy Spirit in the pope is kind to us, because in his decrees he always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.

10. Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.

11. This changing of the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory is quite evidently one of the tares that were sown while the bishops slept.

12. In former times the canonical penalties were imposed not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.

13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they are already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be released from them.

14. The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity, great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear.

15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.

16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ as do despair, almost-despair, and the assurance of safety.

17. With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror should grow less and love increase.

18. It seems unproved, either by reason or Scripture, that they are outside the state of merit, that is to say, of increasing love.

19. Again, it seems unproved that they, or at least that all of them, are certain or assured of their own blessedness, though we may be quite certain of it.

20. Therefore by "full remission of all penalties" the pope means not actually "of all," but only of those imposed by himself.

21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;

22. Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this life.

23. If it is at all possible to grant to any one the remission of all penalties whatsoever, it is certain that this remission can be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to the very fewest.

24. It must needs be, therefore, that the greater part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and highsounding promise of release from penalty.

25. The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish.

26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession.

27. They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory].

28. It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone.

29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.

30. No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much less that he has attained full remission.

31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.

32. They will be condemned eternally, together with their teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation because they have letters of pardon.

33. Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him;

34. For these "graces of pardon" concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man.

35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia.

36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.

37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.

38. Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised, for they are, as I have said, the declaration of divine remission.

39. It is most difficult, even for the very keenest theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the abundance of pardons and [the need of] true contrition.

40. True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but liberal pardons only relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at least, furnish an occasion [for hating them].

41. Apostolic pardons are to be preached with caution, lest the people may falsely think them preferable to other good works of love.

42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.

43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons;

44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty.

45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.

46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons.

47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment.

48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.

49. Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.

50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter's church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.

51. Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope's wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold.

52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.

53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order that pardons may be preached in others.

54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word.

55. It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons, which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell, with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.

56. The "treasures of the Church," out of which the pope. grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ.

57. That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident, for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so easily, but only gather them.

58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man.

59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were the Church's poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.

60. Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given by Christ's merit, are that treasure;

61. For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient.

62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.

63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last.

64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.

65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches.

66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.

67. The indulgences which the preachers cry as the "greatest graces" are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote gain.

68. Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross.

69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence.

70. But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own dreams instead of the commission of the pope.

71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed!

72. But he who guards against the lust and license of the pardon-preachers, let him be blessed!

73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons.

74. But much more does he intend to thunder against those who use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love and truth.

75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God -- this is madness.

76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned.

77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope.

78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii.

79. To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy.

80. The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk to be spread among the people, will have an account to render.

81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity.

82. To wit: -- "Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial."

83. Again: -- "Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"

84. Again: -- "What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul's own need, free it for pure love's sake?"

85. Again: -- "Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?"

86. Again: -- "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?"

87. Again: -- "What is it that the pope remits, and what participation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition, have a right to full remission and participation?"

88. Again: -- "What greater blessing could come to the Church than if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now does once, and bestow on every believer these remissions and participations?"

89. "Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?"

90. To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the Church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christians unhappy.

91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist.

92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace!

93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross!

94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell;

95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations, than through the assurance of peace.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

A Comfort in Timelessness

Have you ever pondered the reality of God existing outside the restrictions of Time? He does not need time, nor is He governed by it. For us, time is a guide, yet He is self-guided and self-sufficient. Time denotes a form of limitation that schedules our lives, and because God is all powerful, He cannot be limited by His own creation.

He sees everything as an ever-present NOW.

Think about it. Since God is outside of time, not being governed by it, but creating it and guiding it, and seeing all things as an ever present NOW, then all of humanity from Creation to Destruction has, to God, already happened. He sees Moses as clearly as He sees us now and as perfectly as He sees the future. His knowledge no one can fathom, including His knowledge of, what appears to us to be, the past, present and future.

Some might argue, then, that we are mere robots, acting out a script to God's blockbuster movie. If God knows all and sees all, He knows who will believe in Him and who will not. He knows about the disasters, wars, famines, diseases and murders that will plague humanity while it exists. He knows the joy, laughter, pleasure, delight and excitement that will ring throughout the ages.

Still, I find God's timelessness atribute to be incredibly comforting for me. He knows all. He sees all. There is no need for me to worry about the timing of events in my life. He has them planned and designed before I was physically created. Can I make more of myself? No, He deserves the glory! Should I sin in carelessness? No, He deserves the glory!

The more I "understand" of God, the more I realize that He is a Paradox. There are things that I will never understand about Him because the two opposing sides seem to so perfectly compliment eachother. Lion. Lamb. Grace. Mercy. Wrath. Redemption. A desire for none to perish, but a knowledge of who will. Master above all, but close friend. Outside of time, but for 33 years was confined by it. Divinity. Humanity.

One last thought, from Miss Ann Marie, to blow your mind... if God is Timeless, then He must be Spaceless too. If He cannot be confined by Time, then He cannot be hindered or measured by Space. Therefore, any size object to Him would appear to be the same in relation to each other. We are all small, mountains are small, galaxies are small when measured by the measureless God.

If, in your ponderings about God He seems to shrink, my dear friend, you are being deceived. Do not try to conform God to human logic. It is terribly dishonoring.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

A Week Lacking Oswald Chambers

A week lacking My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers is synonomous for a string of gloomy days. My copy of this magnificent book was left at our church, an hour and a half from my home, and awaited my return today. As I sit in my brother's office, listening to him and the members of the "worship team" practice for Sunday, I am attempting to read the last four days of brillance from Mr. Chambers.

September 22nd-
"To have a master and to be mastered is not the same thing. To have a master means that there is one who knows me better than I know myself, one who is closer than a friend, one who fathoms the remotest abyss of my heart and satisfies it, son who has brought me into the secure sense that he has met and solved every perplexity and problem of my mind."

To be mastered involves a certain amount of conquering between two opponents. The weaker of the two, more than likely, will be the one who is forced into submission. The one who is mastered will probably not look upon the "master" with favor. Thinking spiritually about mastery, when I view my relationship with God as Him overtaking me, I struggle all the more with obedience. Yet, God is Master, not because He has conquered me into submission, but because He knows all. He is my Master whether I recognize Him as such or not. He sees the depths of my heart and loves me the same. He has all knowledge and can solve all of my finite problems. Why would I not want Him as Master?

"He wants us in the relationship in which He is easily Master without our conscious knowledge of it, all we know is that we are His to obey."

This is the highest form of obedience and one that I strive for every day- to obey without knowing it because I am His child and want to please Him in all I do. Why do I not live this way when I want to? Is it beacuse I do not know what I should do? No, for I know the good I ought to do and do not do it, therefore sinning. The reason, so many times, that I do not obey is because I lack belief in the promises of God. If I believed God as I should there would be no hesitance in my obedience. His promises proclaim Him to be trustworthy. His promises show His faithfulness from age to age. It is only my self-centered foolishness that hinders me. Praise Him for His mercy and grace.

September 23rd-
"We start with Christ and we end with Him- "until we all attain to the stature of the manhood of Christ Jesus," not to our idea of what the Christian life should be. The aim of the missionary is to do God's will, not to be useful, not to win the heathen; he is useful and he does win the heathen, but that is not his aim. His aim is to do the will of His Lord."

What is my aim? Do I focus my energy on being the Christian that the Christian society demands from me? Or do I pour my life into doing the will of God? Those are hard questions to answer, not because of the questions themselves, but because they are so close it is hard to seperate which is which. There is a point where I can focus on being the "best Christian ever" and lose sight of doing God's will. Yet, when I pursue the will of God, the other will automatically happen.