And to wait for his Son from heaven

My original intention was to write on the references to the second coming in 1 & 2 Thessalonians. I ran into two problems: (1) there is so much there (and I guess I get long winded), and (2) I couldn’t get past chapter one. So, here is just chapter 1

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10  
9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;  
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

This passage gives us an insight into what Paul preached, what kind of invitation he presented, and their conversion.

First, the content of Paul’s preaching. I think it is safe to say that he preached against idols, declaring there is only one living God; that Jesus is the Son of God; that Jesus was raised from the dead; that Jesus is coming back; and finally, there is coming a day of the wrath of God against sinners (probably the day of judgment). Interestingly, I have pretty much summed up the Apostles’ Creed!

Does this tell us anything about the invitation he offered? I think so. Repentance, faith, and conversion. We are so confused today about these terms and mix them up.
Repent – this refers to a change of mind, a change in the way you think. They were idol worshipers, so he told them to repent: Stop regarding your idols as gods, as living, and accept the one true God. Change your mind about Jesus and your future. There is a dreadful day of judgment coming and despite what you think, you are not ready.
When repentance is truly preached it naturally leads to faith in Christ. Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus was raised form the dead, He is coming again and will rescue you from the wrath to come. Believe in Him!
Conversion – this is the word that means, to change, to turn around. “Your idols are not real, stop worshiping them and worship the living God through Jesus His Son.”
He told them to repent, to abandon their idols and turn to God, and to believe in Jesus.

Now the meat of the passage, their conversion:

ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God – Amen! They didn’t simply give up their idols, they turned to God. He told them about the living God, the true God, the Creator, and they turned to him! This is conversion. [It is the actual word that is translated be converted and turn to (Acts 3:19-20, 9:35, 11:21, 14:15, 15:19, 26:20).] They turned to God so they could serve Him. This doesn’t mean they all went into the ministry. No, to serve the Lord means to live for Him, to obey Him. They stopped trying to please their idols and began to do those things that please the Lord (1 Thess 4:1). Again, Amen!

And to wait for his Son from heaven – this is quite a picture of early Christianity, Serve God and wait for Jesus! This word wait includes expectancy. Am I still waiting for Jesus to come? Do I still have expectancy? Am I looking and longing for his return? When North Carolina played in the ACC Tournament, I marked my calendar and set my alarm. I got up early just to watch the game. I was waiting for it. Am I waiting like that for Jesus to come again?

whom he raised from the dead, Jesus – Amen! Our faith is not in an ideal, or in our ability to live better lives, or in a long dead hero. We believe in Jesus, who was raised from the dead! He died and was raised again and that power is at work in us who believe! He was raised from the dead!!!

which delivered us from the wrath to come – there is a lot of hullabaloo going on today as people openly question and reject the idea of wrath to come. Paul clearly preached it, warned them of it, and told them Jesus would deliver them from it. Wrath to come is a somber, sobering reality. And Jesus delivers from it. I love how he puts it here, who delivered us from the wrath to come. When I believed in Jesus, when I repented and turned to the Lord, I was then delivered from the wrath to come! As he says in chapter 5, For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.  Amen! Salvation is deliverance from the wrath to come, but it is so much more than that, it is living together with him: having fellowship with him now by the Holy Spirit and then in his presence!! Praise the Lord, with the Spirit and the understanding!


Now I have to apply this to my life. Have I repented and turned to God by believing in Jesus? Am I serving the Lord? and, Am I waiting for Jesus – expecting him, looking for him, longing for him?

The Bible ends with this note:
Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Did you know that even so is the Greek word for yes? So, it could be translated like this

Surely I come quickly. Amen. Yes (with a hand pump!), Come, Lord Jesus.

What is the goal of the gospel?

I have read several articles lately about the “relevance of the Church and the Christian faith to the culture.” The position that most of these folks have taken is, Christianity is no longer relevant to the culture and must change in order to remain or regain relevance. And the proposed change is a fundamental one: change what we believe and practice so that we are more in line with the latest scientific creeds and cultural mores, and more acceptable to the current generation. Otherwise, this generation will leave the Church and abandon the Faith.

After reading the articles and taking part in a few discussions, I asked myself, “What is the goal of the Gospel?” I came up with three possibilities:

- take over the state

- “Christianize” the culture

- call out a people to be a community within the community

Are we CALLED to take over the state? If so, are there any instructions on how to do this: how to rule? how to run a campaign or otherwise assume control? or what laws to establish and how to enforce them? Is there a “Christian” form of government? Which is biblical, a monarchy or a democracy? (Actually, a monarchy was the Old Testament norm, but what Christians promote this?) Well, we search the New Testament in vain for any instructions. This is clearly not our CALL. This does not mean we can’t be involved in politics, you know: vote, run for office, support a candidate or cause etc. But there is no Christian party or form of government that requires our loyalty or support. Sadly, history reveals that when the Church gets involved in politics it just creates a mess. Besides, our politics is the kingdom of God, and the kingdom already has a King!

Are we COMMISSIONED to christianize the culture? If so, are there any guidelines for this? As in, what art is acceptable? what form of education is to be pursued? How is it to be funded? And concerning finances, what about the stock market, savings, taxes? What percent of our taxes should be spent on the military, on education, on roads? How should the poor be taken care of? What about music? What about fashion? So many cultural questions! We would need a much bigger Bible! Obviously, we have not been commissioned to impact the culture. Again, this doesn’t mean we cannot and will not have an impact. There may be Christians who will take the kingdom into the music and art worlds, who will open a business and attempt to operate it by biblical values and priorities. And the values and principles of the Gospel will affect how we dress, what we listen to, what we watch, etc. There may be Christians who will operate an orphanage (George Mueller), rescue girls from slavery and prostitution (Amy Carmichael), help the cast-offs (Father Damien) etc. and do so using kingdom values and principles and have an impact on the culture. But this can be done in ANY culture. This would be the fruit of seeking the kingdom of God.

Or is the goal of the Gospel to call out a people for his name? Are we COMMANDED to preach to and invite people to come to Christ? Do we find instructions on who to preach to? Do we find guidelines for the community of believers created by this preaching? Are there any examples of reaching individuals and forming these communities? Yes. THIS is the goal of the gospel – calling people to believe in Jesus and then forming a community within the larger community. That is the church. We get into trouble when we cross the line and attempt something not commanded by God. Consider, if the goal of the gospel is the state or the culture we have the equivalent of an un-funded mandate!

What about Adam and Eve, did not God tell them to have dominion over the earth? Here is the actual command, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ” Yes, He did. But this is not a government mandate, a mandate to establish a government and rule over other people – there were no other people at the time! This speaks to mankind’s responsibility toward creation and our relation to it. A little later on, after the flood, God did institute government, but nowhere in the Bible is there a required form of government.

What about the kingdom of God in Israel? You will search in vain for a single time God reproved the nations for failure to submit to the house of David. He allowed them to have a human king, as a sort of concession, and then established the house of David and promised that the Messiah would come from the house of David. And God did rebuke and chastise Israel (the 10 tribes) for their failure to submit to the house of David, but never the nations. Of course, Messiah will come and set up this kingdom on the earth and will require submission to the government of God. But that is His job, not ours.

The plan of God for the church is to call out a people for His name and form them into a community, separate from the world. A community waiting for the return of Christ. Therefore, we do not have to worry about being culturally relevant. I mean, we don’t have to change the Gospel, or alter the Faith, or edit the Bible to be culturally acceptable. We have never been acceptable. In fact, Jesus told us to expect the world to hate us and persecute us. We don’t have to be obnoxious for this to happen, just be faithful to the Gospel and the kingdom and we will experience it. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

For a much better explanation of this, go here It is all pretty good, but especially section v and on.

The question now is, What do we do when the whole community turns to Christ? Or if a large majority of the community is Christian? Nothing. Obviously, there will be an influence, an impact. A Christian going into business or politics or music will himself live by the gospel and if there are enough involved in the thing there will be influence and impact. But this does not change the goal of the gospel – make disciples.

The world is a sinking ship. We are charged with warning people and telling them of the way of rescue. Those who grab hold of the Life Preserver we form into a community, the church, and together we walk in the Spirit and wait for Christ. Maranatha! Does this mean we just sit back and wait? No, we seek first the kingdom, live the kingdom, do the works of the kingdom. But our hope is always this, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Yes, come, Lord Jesus. 

Maranatha, Maranatha, the Master's comin' home,

We must prepare our hearts so we can meet Him

Maranatha, Maranatha, the Lord is comin' back

We must be filled with love to truly greet Him

                                                              (Maranatha by Chuck Girard)

How I Spent My Three Days Off

A couple of weeks ago I had three days off in a row. Love it! Sunday I watched Duke pull off a HUGE upset and beat the Tar Heels in the ACC Championship game. Monday we set off for a day in Augusta to visit Mary K, Daniel and Lucca K. That’s when the fun began.

We were just cruising along I-20, listening to a CD, drawing nigh to Augusta. Suddenly there was this loud sound. I turned the CD off to try to locate it. It was us! So I pulled over to the shoulder. Mary’s car has this message center and it said, “Check Transmission.” That is not good. So I turned off the car, got out and opened the hood. I don’t know why, maybe if it was bleeding I could fix it? Ha! Since I didn’t see anything different that the last time I looked, I closed the hood and returned to the car. When I tried to re-start the car, nothing. Here we are on the side of the interstate in the middle of nowhere – great!

Mary had the foresight to get roadside emergency coverage with the insurance so she set about calling them and getting help. And help came even quicker than they promised! A nice guy. He towed us to Aiken, SC. Now I can scratch Aiken off the list of Things I’ve never done and places I’ve never seen.

We got to Wayne’s Automotive and got the bad news – “It’s the transmission and we won’t have it fixed until sometime next week.” They arranged for us to go to a car rental place to rent a car. This was nice and it was Enterprise, so we thought, This is great! There is an Enterprise in Rock Hill; drive the car home and turn it in there . . . WRONG! They were quick to tell us they don’t rent one way. So we rented the car, went for a wonderful visit with Mary K and Lucca, and drove home. The next day we drove BACK to Aiken to return the car. So my days off were spent mostly on the road.

Fast-forward to this week. Wayne’s called and said the car was ready. So Wednesday morning we took Erica’s car and head off to Aiken, once again. I worked Tuesday night so I was sleeping a little on the way down. About an hour into the trip, Mary said, “Uh-oh. What does this mean, Jeff?” The battery light had come on, then the ABS light. I, with great wisdom and insight said, Pull over. We need to go back. She pulled over and the car stopped. And would not re-start. Honestly, we looked at each other and said, What is this? I jokingly said, Who have we made mad? I walked up the road to check the mile marker, got back and Mary called roadside emergency. Only this time, they had no idea where we were! A state trooper pulled up behind us and told me it was most likely the alternator and that we were closest to Ridgeway. So we hung up on Allstate and he called his fellow who came and towed us to Ridgeway. A nice enough place, only VERY small.

The guy checked the car and confirmed, It’s the alternator. Won’t be ‘til this evening that I can get it fixed.

My son-in-law Keith said he would come down and get us and then offered to take us to get our first car in Aiken. I should say, I had already determined to rent a car to go get the Taurus! But Keith took us and we got back and I finally go to bed about 3! Then on Thursday we went down to Ridgeway to pick up Erica’s car. Without incident!! Yeah!

I am thankful that we weren’t in an accident and that there was help available. This did cost an arm and a leg. I asked Mary if there was anyway to sell back the plane tickets to Ohio – No. If there is some kind of lesson, it hasn’t been revealed yet. I do know this, it is scary standing on the side of the road with cars and trucks whizzing by at 80 mph!!

A man hadde twei sones

John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English in 1382. But the English back then looked and sounded differently than it does today. Here is Luke 15:11-32, first in the original form, then with modern spelling. As you read the original, it is better to read it aloud. And keep this in mind, every vowel was pronounced (seide = sayd-eh; sone = son-eh etc). The vowels were pronounced differently than today as well, but we will leave that alone. You can see French coming into the language and it would still retain the french sound (porcioun would be por-see-ohn instead of portion etc). Hope you enjoy it, but most of all, hope you are blessed!

Wycliffe original
11 And he seide, A man hadde twei sones;
12 and the yonger of hem seide to the fadir, Fadir, yyue me the porcioun of catel, that fallith to me. And he departide to hem the catel.
13 And not aftir many daies, whanne alle thingis weren gederid togider, the yonger sone wente forth in pilgrymage in to a fer cuntre; and there he wastide hise goodis in lyuynge lecherously.
14 And aftir that he hadde endid alle thingis, a strong hungre was maad in that cuntre, and he bigan to haue nede.
15 And he wente, and drouy hym to oon of the citeseyns of that cuntre. And he sente hym in to his toun, to fede swyn.
16 And he coueitide to fille his wombe of the coddis that the hoggis eeten, and no man yaf hym.
17 And he turnede ayen to hym silf, and seide, Hou many hirid men in my fadir hous han plente of looues; and Y perische here thorouy hungir.
18 Y schal rise vp, and go to my fadir, and Y schal seie to hym, Fadir, Y haue synned in to heuene, and bifor thee;
19 and now Y am not worthi to be clepid thi sone, make me as oon of thin hirid men.
20 And he roos vp, and cam to his fadir. And whanne he was yit afer, his fadir saiy hym, and was stirrid bi mercy. And he ran, and fel on his necke, and kisside hym.
21 And the sone seide to hym, Fadir, Y haue synned in to heuene, and bifor thee; and now Y am not worthi to be clepid thi sone.
22 And the fadir seide to hise seruauntis, Swithe brynge ye forth the firste stoole, and clothe ye hym, and yyue ye a ryng in his hoond,
23 and schoon on hise feet; and brynge ye a fat calf, and sle ye, and ete we, and make we feeste.
24 For this my sone was deed, and hath lyued ayen; he perischid, and is foundun. And alle men bigunnen to ete.
25 But his eldere sone was in the feeld; and whanne he cam, and neiyede to the hous, he herde a symfonye and a croude.
26 And he clepide oon of the seruauntis, and axide, what these thingis weren.
27 And he seide to hym, Thi brother is comun, and thi fadir slewe a fat calf, for he resseyuede hym saaf.
28 And he was wrooth, and wolde not come in. Therfor his fadir wente out, and bigan to preye hym.
29 And he answerde to his fadir, and seide, Lo! so many yeeris Y serue thee, and Y neuer brak thi comaundement; and thou neuer yaf to me a kidde, that Y with my freendis schulde haue ete.
30 But aftir that this thi sone, that hath deuourid his substaunce with horis, cam, thou hast slayn to hym a fat calf.
31 And he seide to hym, Sone, thou art euer more with me, and alle my thingis ben thine.
32 But it bihofte for to make feeste, and to haue ioye; for this thi brother was deed, and lyuede ayen; he perischide, and is foundun.

Wycliffe modern spelling, by Terence P. Noble
15:11 And he said, A man had two sons
15:12 and the younger of them said to the father, Father, give me the portion of chattel, that falleth to me. And he parted to them the chattel.
15:13 And not after many days, when all things were gathered together, the younger son went forth in pilgrimage into a far country; and there he wasted his goods in living lecherously
15:14 And after that he had ended all things, a strong hunger was made in that country, and he began to have need.
15:15 And he went, and drew him to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his town, to feed swine.
15:16 And he coveted to fill his womb of the pods that the hogs ate, and no man gave to him.
15:17 And he turned again to himself, and said, How many hired men in my father’s house have plenty of loaves; and I perish here through hunger
15:18 I shall rise up, and go to my father, and I shall say to him, Father, I have sinned into heaven, and before thee;
15:19 and now I am not worthy to be called thy son, make me as one of thine hired men.
15:20 And he rose up, and came to his father. And when he was yet afar, his father saw him, and was stirred by mercy. And he ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
15:21 And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned into heaven, and before thee; and now I am not worthy to be called thy son.
15:22 And the father said to his servants, Swiftly bring ye forth the first
stole, and clothe ye him, and give ye a ring in his hand, and shoes on his feet;
15:23 and bring ye a fat calf, and slay ye, and eat we, and make we feast.
15:24 For this my son was dead, and hath lived again; he perished, and is found. And all men began to eat.
15:25 But his elder son was in the field; and when he came, and nighed to the house, he heard a symphony and a crowd.
15:26 And he called one of the servants, and asked, what these things were.
15:27 And he said to him, Thy brother is come, and thy father slew a fat calf, for he received him safe.
15:28 And he was wroth, and would not come in. Therefore his father went out, and began to pray him.
15:29 And he answered to his father, and said, Lo! so many years I serve thee, and I never brake thy commandment; and thou never gave to me a kid, that I with my friends should have eaten.
15:30 But after that this thy son, that hath devoured his substance with
whores, came, thou hast slain to him a fat calf.
15:31 And he said to him, Son, thou art evermore with me, and all my things be thine.
15:32 But it behooved to make feast, and to have joy; for this thy brother was dead, and lived again; he perished, and is found.

Earthquakes, 2012, and the end of the world

The other night, this guy comes in and after his purchase he makes a comment about the earthquake in Japan. I don’t remember what he said but it was about 2012 and the end of the world. He asked me, Do you believe the world will end in 2012? I said, No. He replied, “Well, I believe in signs. That’s scientology, right?” (I think he meant, Sign-tology). I said, “I don’t know much about scientology but Jesus gave us the signs that would tell us about the end.” He said, “You mean, like, in the Bible?” He then made reference to a church that is saying the rapture will happen this May. Ignoring that error, I said, “Listen, when Jesus comes back the game will end. He will blow the whistle and the game will be over. He will divide everyone into two groups. He will say to those on his right, You are in; and to those on his left, You are out. What you need to do is be sure you hear, You are in.” He nodded thoughtfully and walked out the door.


What about the signs of “the end of the world”? Jesus, when he was asked this, said:


Matthew 24
Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.


Jesus spoke of three periods of time:
the end is not yet – a period marked by wars and false Christs.
Then, the beginning of sorrows – wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes. Earthquakes are a sign of the end times. About earthquakes, a friend of mine wrote:
“In this age of communication when we immediately hear the news of everything that happens around the world almost instantly, we are aware that we are living in a time when there are indeed “earthquakes in various places.”
“Overshadowed by the quake in Japan, on the same day, a moderately strong earthquake left 25 dead in southwestern China.  More than 127,000 people were displaced.
Now some would object and say, “Well there have always been earthquakes. There were earthquakes in Jesus time and before.” And that’s true. But there is a difference, and that is that earthquakes are becoming both more frequent, and more severe.
John Wesley White, in the book,  Re-entry, gives these statistics.
In the 14th century there were 137 major earthquakes.
In the 15th century there were 174 major earthquakes.
In the 16th century 253 major earthquakes were recorded.
In the 17th century 378 major earthquakes.
In the 18th century 640 major earthquakes.
In the 19th century 2119 major earthquakes.
And in the 20th century over 3000 major earthquakes were recorded.”


Finally, then shall the end come – this is marked by persecution of Christians, false teaching abounding, and the gospel being preached in all the world.
And about these false prophets, this same friend wrote, “I am amazed that people will not believe in Jesus Christ and even more amazed at what they will believe in.” I agree. (See 2 Thess 2:8-12)


The end is called the great tribulation: then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 
And now the really good news:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 


Amen! We watch for the signs but we are waiting for the coming of our Lord Christ!


Another sign of the end, spoken of by Jesus in Luke 21:24
...Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
The times of the Gentiles is the period of time spoken of in Daniel 2 and 7. This is a period of time marked by Gentile domination of Jerusalem. When these times end or are fulfilled, Jerusalem will once again be free. Hey, that looks a lot like today! Could it be the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled?
One last note on Jerusalem, Zechariah 14 tells us:
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh . . . 
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 
Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations…
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives . . .
. . . and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.  (1-5)
Jerusalem will once again be attacked, and that will be terrible. But then something exciting happens Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations… And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives… This is clearly the second coming! And notice who it is who comes, the LORD my God. Zechariah is telling us that Jesus is God! Not just a god, but the LORD, Yahweh!


One last sign is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;  


Actually, two signs. A falling away and the antichrist. We have clearly been in the midst of the falling away for many, many years! Every church and movement that proclaims they are trying to restore or return to the church of the New Testament is evidence of this falling away. And the really big one: antichrist. Paul could not have been more emphatic, that day shall not come, except…that man of sin be revealed. Jesus is coming again. But before he does, there will be a great battle with the man of sin, the antichrist.


There are several signs of the return of Jesus Christ. But I would say the three most important ones are:


And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 


… Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.


…for that day shall not come, except . . . that man of sin be revealed…


So, is the end of the world near? I think so, but remember, before He returns: Jerusalem will be freed, antichrist will rise, and the gospel will go out to all the nations. Therefore, Keep your eyes on Jerusalem. Be ready for antichrist. And be a part of the gospel going forth to all the world. Apparently, we can hasten the coming of Christ! Maranatha!


Am I ready for the end of the world and the coming of Christ? Will I hear
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world
or
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels

This is your day

- Prepare -

Jesus is coming soon!

St. Patrick's hymn

The Breastplate of St. Patrick -- a morning prayer

The original of this is a kind of rhymed or half rhymed utterance. The language of the poem is very old Gaelic. (This is one of three of Patrick’s writings that we still have – this, his Confession, and a letter requesting the release of a slave.) It is called the “Lorica” and also “The Deer’s Cry.” According to tradition, St. Patrick uttered it while on his way to Tara, where he was for the first time to confront the power of the Pagan High-King of Ireland. Assassins were in wait for him and his companions, but as he chanted the hymn it seemed to the hidden band that a herd of deer went by.
stanzas I-X are Gaelic; XI Latin

I
I bind to myself today
The strong power of an invocation of the Trinity
the faith of the Trinity in Unity
the Creator of the universe

II
I bind to my self today
the might of the incarnation of Christ with that of his baptism
the might of his crucifixion with that of his burial
the might of his resurrection with that of his ascension
the might of his coming on the judgement day

III
I bind to myself today
the power in the love of the seraphim
in the obedience of the angels
in the ministration of the archangels
in the hope of the resurrection unto reward
in the prayers of the patriarchs
in the predictions of the prophets
in the preaching of the apostles
in the faith of the confessors
in the deeds of righteous men

IV
I bind to myself today
the power of heaven
the brightness of the sun
the whiteness of the snow
the splendor of fire
the speed of lightning
the swiftness of wind
the depth of the sea
the stability of the earth
the firmness of rocks

V
I bind to myself today
God's power to pilot me
God's might to uphold me
God's wisdom to teach me
God's eye to watch over me
God's ear to hear me
God's word to give me speech
God's hand to guide me
God's way to lie before me
God's shield to shelter me
God's host to secure me
against the snares of demons
against the seductions of vices
against the lusts of nature
against everyone who meditates injury to me
whether far or near
whether few or with many

VI
I invoke today all these virtues
against every hostile merciless power
which may assail my body and my soul
against the incantations of false prophets
against the black laws of heathenism
against the false laws of heresy
against the deceits of idolatry
against the spells of women and smiths and druids every power of the enemy
against every knowledge that blinds the soul of man

VII
Christ protect me today
against poison, against burning
against drowning against wounding
that I may receive abundant reward

VIII
Christ with me, Christ before me
Christ behind me, Christ within me
Christ under me, Christ above me
Christ at my right, Christ at my left
Christ in lying down, Christ in sitting
Christ in rising up

IX
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks to me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me

X
I bind to myself today
the strong power of an invocation of the Trinity
the faith of the Trinity in Unity
the creator of the universe

XI
Salvation is of the Lord
Salvation is of the Lord
Salvation is of Christ
May Thy salvation, O Lord, be with us forever.

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The hymn we used to sing was:

Christ Be Beside Me
 
Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,
Christ be behind me, King of my heart.
Christ be within me, Christ be below me,
Christ be above me, never to part.

Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,
Christ all around me, shield in the strife.
Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising, light of my heart.

Christ be in all hearts thinking about me,
Christ be on all tongues telling of me.
Christ be the vision in eyes that see me,
In ears that hear me Christ ever be.

James Quinn, adapt. from St. Patrick's Breastplate, 8th cent.

Saint Patrick

St. Patrick (340-440)

I still remember when I “discovered” St. Patrick. Oh, growing up an O’Rourke I knew about the day, you wear green or get pinched. And I heard the story of how he chased all the snakes out of Ireland. But that was pretty much it.

Then I read up on the man. I was blessed and amazed by what I learned! He was a true-blue believer (duh, Saint Patrick, but the day seemed to be just about green beer…what can I say?), he was a missionary, he was the apostle to Ireland, and the conversion of Ireland under his ministry had a profound impact on western Europe for years to come (both spiritually and in learning).

When I was pastoring I used to emphasize St. Patrick’s Day with articles in the newsletter, we would sing the song he wrote (more on that later this week), and eventually we used an adapted form of the Celtic Liturgy for our communion service.

In the early days in York we had a wonderful brother named Stan. Great guy. He was married to Sue. She was Catholic and attended the Catholic church. Once, when the newsletter came out with the usual story about Patrick, she asked Stan, “Doesn't he know he was Catholic?” I sent word back to her that I did. I have no problem with Patrick – check out his statement of faith below. And his ministry. God was with that man! Besides, he was of the earlier, more apostolic catholic rather than the later Roman kind.

Here is the short version of his life: he was born into a Christian home in Roman controlled Britain (it was still Celtic, the Anglo-Saxons had not come yet). His father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest. When he was a teenager he was captured by Irish raiders and taken back to Ireland where he was a slave for 6 years. While there he was genuinely converted to Christ. Through several visions/dreams he was led to escape. A few years after he escaped he had another vision (not an uncommon part of his spiritual life):

“…in a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as if from Hibernia [his name for Ireland] with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: "The Voice of the Hibernians", and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: "We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us." And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I awoke.”

After much effort he was commissioned and sent to Ireland to preach the Gospel. He did and won the island to Christ!

“I am greatly God's debtor, because he granted me so much grace, that through me many people would be reborn in God, and soon after confirmed, and that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the masses lately come to belief, whom the Lord drew from the ends of the earth, just as he once promised through his prophets: 'To you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited naught but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.' And again: I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the uttermost ends of the earth.'
So for that reason one should, in fact, fish well and diligently, just as the Lord foretells and teaches, saying, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men' …So it behooved us to spread our nets, that a vast multitude and throng might be caught for God, and so there might be clergy everywhere who baptized and exhorted a needy and desirous people….And in Hosea he says: 'Those who are not my people I will call my people, and those not beloved I will call my beloved, and in the very place where it was said to them, You are not my people, they will be called Sons of the living God.'
So, how is it that in Hibernia, where they never had any knowledge of God but, always, until now, cherished idols and unclean things, they are lately become a people of the Lord, and are called children of God; the sons of the Irish [actually his word is Scotti, and Scotland was named after the Irish tribe (Scotti) who migrated there] and the daughters of the chieftains are to be seen as monks and virgins of Christ.”

Amen! Isn’t that awesome? And by the way, why is March 17 his day? Because that is his birthday - by that is meant, that is the day he died (that was your birthday in the early church). I mentioned earlier his confession of faith. Here it is:

“For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father, indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name.
And likewise the Lord says in the Gospel: ‘On the day of judgment men shall render account for every idle word they utter.’ So it is that I should mightily fear, with terror and trembling, this judgment on the day when no one shall be able to steal away or hide, but each and all shall render account for even our smallest sins before the judgment seat of Christ the Lord.”

Again I say, Amen! So, this St Patrick’s Day, as you enjoy your corn beef, cooked cabbage and Irish soda bread, remember: this is not what this day is about, or green beer and certainly not drunken festivities. It is about a man who brought the gospel to Ireland!

We still have three things Patrick wrote, one of them is his Confession. I would encourage you to read it. It’s not very long. I can send it to you or you can click here

Good stuff!

What did Jesus say about hell?

Last week I read articles and blogs about hell. There seems to be a ruckus surrounding a new book coming out by a man named Rob Bell. In this book Mr. Bell is suspected of denying the existence of hell. All of the articles made claims about what the Bible says and doesn’t say, but no one really quoted it. In response, I thought I would go through the New Testament and make notes about what the Bible actually says about hell.
I have only made it through Matthew. But I tell you first off, it was so good to hear Jesus speaking and not people telling me what he said! Jesus is very clear on this subject. It is frightening and uncomfortable, but here is what Jesus said:

2:1-12 ok, this is not Jesus, it is John the Baptist, but he baptized Jesus!
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

5:22  But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
.
7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

13:24-30 the parable of the sower
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

13:36-43 Jesus explains the parable of the sower
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

24:46-51 on being prepared for the coming of Jesus
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

25:1-13 parable of the 10 virgins
10 …the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

25:14-30  For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country…
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant… enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

25:31-46  When the Son of man shall come in his glory…
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

To sum up what Jesus taught us:

While we talk about heaven and going to heaven etc, Jesus talked about the kingdom. The kingdom is something real, prepared by God for the righteous. It is something entered into. It is something to gain.

Destruction (7:13-14) or hell is also as real as the kingdom. The essence of hell seems to be separation from God – depart from me. What could be worse than to be separated from Him who is life and light, health and joy? This state of being away from God is a place. And there are very vivid descriptions of it: outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, everlasting fire, everlasting punishment.

Hell is as real as the kingdom. And existence in hell lasts as long as the bliss of the kingdom: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Everlasting is the same Greek word as eternal. If we decrease the everlasting of punishment we diminish the eternal of life as well.

Finally, as if all this wasn’t offensive enough, Jesus has the audacity to say:
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Not only is hell a place to avoid and God assumes the right to cast people into it, God is to be feared!

I don’t need to go through the rest of the New Testament. These are the words of Jesus and the apostles will not contradict Him. I confess, I don’t like this. This is uncomfortable. But I believe in Jesus and I go with what He says.

On The Outside Looking In

he came in from the cold and dark
a long time ago. Heard the call,
said, yes. it was nice. warm, friendly
and there was love all around

there was plenty to eat
bread, milk and meat, water
abundant, honey so sweet
he ate and drank til he was full

he was part of the family
his forehead glistened with oil
and out of his belly the
promised rivers did flow

today it is different
there's not much joy within
no oil on his head, no river
he's on the outside looking in

he still loves the Anointed One
and the gifts and calling of God
are without repentance, but it's
hard to be heard through the window

he sees the flaws, can't feel the warmth
still burns with desire to teach, but
can't be heard. that's how it is when
you're on the outside looking in

he spoke to me the other night
I understood, knew I was right-
he wants in from the cold, he's tired
he's on the outside looking in

Dell, Windows 7, and Me

Recently, my old faithful computer suffered a fatal problem. The back light for the monitor died. I took it to the Geek Squad and they told me I could buy a new laptop for the same thing it would take to fix the light. I was bummed. I have had that computer for many years and even replaced the hard drive. We were buddies! But with assurances that I could still use the hard drive, I began the process of buying a new computer.

My search led me to Dell. I decided I didn't need a lot on a computer and I found Dell. They had a great sale for President's Day, so I bought an Inspiron 14-R. Me and Dell have a history that goes back to when I bought a laptop for Mary K, but I swallowed hard and bit the bullet. Shortly before it was supposed to arrive I got a call from Dell. Well, I didn't know it was from Dell - you see I don't answer phone calls from numbers I don't know - but they left a message which said, "This is Dell. sorry to say, your purchase has been back ordered and will arrive later than promised." Or something like that! But it wasn't much later and I am now in possession of a new computer!

Early on I realized that anything would be better than the one I had and this is. It is faster and brighter, bigger and stronger. It is kinda neat, it has a camera and came with Skype so, when I get around to it, I can talk to Anne in Ohio and Erica in Korea. It has a much longer battery life. And the sound system! This is actually exciting, I like to listen to my music and the speakers are good. And I can control the volume right on the keyboard! I like this. I have to get used to the "feel" of the keyboard and stuff, but I like the new computer.

Windows 7. This computer came without Word or even Works. Minor bummer. Biggest thing is this: Windows 7 is not compatible with a lot of software that came before it! Why would they do this? So my beloved QuickVerse Bible program doesn't work on it. Neither does my SeedMaster Bible and I cannot find my (very expensive) BibleWorks program. I am a technology anachronism - when I find something that works, I don't want the newest/latest version!

A brief aside, in my research into QuickVerse 4 I discovered  there is no fix for this. It is owned by a different company and they no longer support this. I contacted them and they told me:

"Thank you for your email and support of QuickVerse... Unfortunately we no longer sell or support the older QuickVerse 3 & 4 versions. The QuickVerse 3 & 4 version will not be compatible with Windows Vista or 7 (32/64 bit). We are currently on the QuickVerse 2011 (version 15)... The only thing I can offer is an upgrade to the QuickVerse 2011 version. You can upgrade for a discounted price... just $49.95 plus $9.95 S&H or to the larger QuickVerse 2011 Deluxe for just $149.95 plus $9.95 S&H. "

OUCH! The BibleWorks people told me I could get a replacement CD for just $5. And, I contacted the creator of QuickVerse, he has a program for $14.95. Meanwhile I went with the free e-sword Bible.

Back to Windows 7. I don't like the Windows Media player (I'm still sorta lost in it) and some other features. But, you know what, I'm glad I have a computer that works. It plays my music and once I get this Word processor and Bible software thing worked out, I will be fine. I do like being able to listen to my music again!

Isn't your day better now that you know all this?

A Deeply Personal, Difficult Prayer

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.  (Matt 6:9-12)

A friend of mine, a Baptist pastor, taught from this passage a few weeks ago. I was impressed. I don’t know what he said or if they prayed this together or if he urged them to pray this. But, I thought it was cool that he at least taught from it.

Jesus said, After this manner therefore pray ye. I believe he meant us to actually pray this prayer. Tertullian, in his work On Prayer, said, "How many duties are simultaneously discharged! The honour of God in the Father; the testimony of faith in the Name; the offering of obedience in the Will; the commemoration of hope in the Kingdom; the petition for life in the Bread; the full acknowledgment of debts in the prayer for their Forgiveness; the anxious dread of temptation in the request for Protection. What wonder? God alone could teach how he wished Himself prayed to." Amen!

There are seven petitions in this prayer. I only want to focus on one: forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Actually, I am only thinking about the last part of this petition, as we forgive our debtors.

First, Jesus calls sin a debt. Sin as debt? This is the proper translation of the Greek word. A few of the older English Bibles translated it trespass (Tyndale was one, and the Anglican / Episcopal church appears to have followed him). Some of the modern translations go with sin or guilt. But the word is debt (Jesus went with this idea again in Matt 18). The Anglo-Saxon Bible had: "forgyf us ure geltas swa swa we forgyfeð ure geltenden." This surely clears it up! The word Jesus used means debt. Just ask the person sinned against, they will make it clear - you owe them something. Even if it is just the right to be mad at you, you owe them something. Now, to make it personal, the person who has sinned against me, owes me. I may not even be sure what it will take to make it right, but they owe me. Very few of us are that honest about it, and we may even be unaware of this, but it is true. Otherwise Jesus would never have said anything about it. And I repeat, Matthew 18 is a commentary on this idea.

Second, Jesus taught us to pray: as we forgive our debtors. Forgiveness of those who have wronged us is one of the chief Christian virtues. This word for forgive means to cancel or forgive, to let go. If I forgive you it means I let it go, you don't owe me any more. This is sweet. This is powerful. This is supernatural!

This is also more precious and rare than one might think. Do you know how hard this is? The more grievous the sin, the deeper the hurt, the more precious and rare forgiveness is. We are reluctant to give up our right to be repaid! We often make an outward profession of forgiveness, yet in many ways, in our attitude and in remarks we make, this is still held over the offender.

Is it just the people I have sinned against who have this problem? I think not. I struggle with this as well. There are people I have offended. There are people who have offended me. We each have to learn to live this. What do I do if I have asked forgiveness and it has not been granted? What do I do if those who have offended me never asked me to forgive them? These are tough questions and I have to be able to answer them.

If I have asked forgiveness and nothing has come of it, I have done my part. I can pray for them but there is not much else I can do. If they have never asked me for forgiveness, I still have to forgive them in my heart. I can't grant the forgiveness, but I have to let it go in my heart. And this is where we need the grace of God.

The power of forgiveness can be seen in a powerful way in Jim and Elisabeth Elliot. They were missionaires to Ecuador. While there they came up with a plan to reach an unreached tribe, the Auca Indians. In January 1956, in an attempt to contact these people, Jim and four other men were killed by Aucas. Elisabeth and her 10 month old daughter remained in Ecuador to minister to this tribe. Two years after her husband's death, Elisabeth and her daughter moved into the village of the men who killed her husband, in order to teach them the Gospel! That is forgiveness! I want to live like that. By the way, several of the men who had helped to kill Jim Elliot and his friends became Christians. One of them, when giving his testimony, counted on his fingers and said, “I have killed twelve people with my spear. But I did that when my heart was black. Now Jesus’ blood has washed my heart clean, so I don’t live like that anymore.” God’s love had changed his life! God's love as revealed in Christ and manifested in Elisabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint, in forgiving those who killed their husbands. And they did this in their hearts, way before the offenders confessed this and asked for forgiveness.

forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. My walking in this grace will probably not be as dramatic as this, but it will bear fruit in my life: in my walk with God and in the lives of those around me. May God so work in me that this virtue abounds in my life.


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A petition for pardon is a full confession; because 
he who begs for pardon fully admits his guilt. Tertullian