The Family, From the CEC Convention

Motion five has passed by a majority of clergy and members.  The Puritan Church hereby declares that the family is headed by the father as Christ is head of the church.  Marriage is between one man and one woman.  Children do not belong to the parents or community but are gifts from God and for their entire life belong to God and to no human.

THE CHIEF PURPOSE
Before we get into the dos and don'ts of family life, we shall look at the big picture. What is a family for? Now, the Bible clearly says the family is a God-given institution-and not something cave men stumbled into over millions of years. If God created and blessed the family, it must have a purpose.
What is it?
Romantics make family into a sort of salvation. A husband or wife or kids will solve all your problems, answer all your critics, meet all your needs, and pretty much create a heaven on earth. When this doesn't happen, people wonder why it fell short.  This overly romantic view has increased divorce rates.
The Puritan view doesn't fit into the accepted categories: it isn't liberal or conservative or traditional or reactionary. The best word for it is Christian. The purpose of marriage is not to make you happy or to have legitimate children or to build society or to prepare for retirement (though these are often byproducts of matrimony). No, to our way of thinking, what the family is for is the glory of God. Benjamin Wadsworth wrote,

"Every Christian should do all he can to promote

the glory of God.and the well ordering of matters

in particular families, tends to promote [it]".

Most Americans are not interested in theory. What difference does it make what the family is for as long as it's happy or peaceful or productive?  Christians and Puritans know better: The goal of family life will determine its priorities and practices.
For example, if the family's aim is to glorify God, will the husband and father work eighteen hours a day? Or, will the wife nag her husband into being the spiritual leader? Or will the parents neglect their kids? Or abuse them?
Keep this in mind and your family life will be dramatically better. The destination determines the road you take to get there. The purpose of the family is to glorify God. Very few couples start there. And it shows.
HUSBAND AND WIFE

A well ordered Gospel believing home is run by the man of the family. Husband and father imply authority. Not brute strength, but a God-given right to govern wife and children. And not just a right to do it, but a responsibility. William Perkins wrote,

"The husband is he that hath authority over the wife,

the two being one flesh, but he is also the head

over his wife".

On this point, the Puritans believe exactly what the Bible teaches. The husband is in charge of the home-not because society says so or tradition or religion. It is God who says so,

"The husband is the head of the wife".

If the husband has authority over his wife, it must mean he can do pretty much whatever he pleases and she has no say at all-right? Wrong. John Robinson says the husband must rule with

"Love and wisdom. His love must be like Christ's

for His Church: holy for quality and great

for quantity".

Benjamin Wadsworth emphasizes the tenderness of the husband's rule,

"A good husband will make his government of

her as easy and gentle as possible, and strive

more to be loved than feared".

Samuel Willard even goes farther, saying the husband ought to rule his wife with such love and wisdom that,

"His wife may take delight in it, and not account

it as slavery, but a liberty and privilege".

Brothers, do we so rule our wives as to make them thankful for it? If you've turned your wife into a drone in the name of godliness, repent of your sin and taking the Lord's name in vain. Remember this: The better you rule your wife, the freer she will be.
You know what a truly liberated woman is? One who's husband leads her in love and wisdom.
If "the husband is the head of the wife", then some would say the wife has no say around the house-except for "yes sir!" Christians and Puritans know better than this. They understand that ruling your wife includes explaining things to her (not just issuing orders) listening to her, deferring to her when she knows more than you do, and accepting her criticism.

"A man must support his cause from the Scriptures

and lay before her sufficient conviction of her duty"

(Samuel Willard).

In other words, "Because I said so" may be good enough for children and servants, it's not good enough for your wife. You should not only tell her what to do, but explain things to her from the Bible.  It is not easy if she's quarrelsome. But easy or not, it's the right thing to do.
In his diary, Samuel Sewall said he turned the family finances over to his wife because,

"She has a better faculty than I

at managing affairs".

On the same point, John Milton adds,

"Particular exceptions may have place, if she exceed

her husband in prudence and dexterity, and he

contentedly yield, for then a superior law comes

in, that the wiser should rule the less wise,

whether male or female".

The Puritan way of thinking, micromanagement is mismanagement. If your wife knows money better than you do, let her manage it-and do what she says with a good attitude.

But what about criticism? Does a wife have the right to correct her husband? To tell him he's wrong?

Let's define our terms: If by "correct" you mean scold him or despise him or nag him to death, then, no, she doesn't. But if the correction is offered in humility and love, then she has every right to do it.  As Cotton Mather noted:

"Women may and must privately exhort

others.they may also privately admonish

men.she is not so subject but she may

admonish and advise her husband if

she is sure the things she speaks against

are sinful or hurtful".

One more thing: Why does the man have to be in charge? Why can't everything be done with the consent of both husband and wife? In my family, most things are done that way. Maybe 99% of things. But once in a while, the most agreeable couple disagree. 

Somebody has to make the call. Now there are only three options: Either the husband has to do it or the wife has to or they take turns. Taking turns is ridiculous, because it would cancel everything.

Schooling is important. But what my wife and I disagreed on it. The first decision is mine: We're sending them to Christian school. The next decision is hers: We're homeschooling them. Then it's my turn again: Christian school, then hers.on and on it goes. And no decision is made.

A word to wives who think it's unfair: Would you want to be married to a man who didn't have the guts to make a decision? Who deferred to you on everything? You might love the man or pity him, but you'd never respect him.

It is logically necessary for someone to have the final say. And when the husband doesn't have it three bad things must follow: the man feels rotten about himself, the wife holds him in contempt, and the Lord is dishonored.

PARENTS AND CHILDREN

The Puritan view of parents and children.
The Puritan big idea can be summed up in one word: stewardship. Our children are not ours, but God's. What parents are required to do, therefore, is to bring them up for Christ.

"The children born in our families are born

unto God. God leased them out to us".

(Deodat Lawson)

This means we're responsible to God for what we do with our kids. They're not ours, but His. Therefore, they're to be brought up the way He says, and not the way we think best.

What do parents owe their children? Puritans insist on three things:
We must provide for their physical needs.

"If others suffer need, yet the children will surely

be taken care of, for as long as there is anything

to be had".

We must provide for their future. According to Cotton Mather every father is required to see that his children are instructed,

"In some honest, lawful calling, labor,

or employment, either in farming or

in some other trade profitable for

themselves and the commonwealth".

In other words, parents have to teach their children how to work for a living. This includes the basics of taking orders, cooperating with people, starting on time, being there until time to leave, even when you're not feeling perfect, and so on. 


And also vocational training or a professional education. Teaching them to work is every parent's duty. Benjamin Wadsworth stressed the importance-even if they didn't need to the money,

"If parents train their children to be serviceable

in their generation, they do better for them than

if they should bring them up to be idle, and

yet leave them great estates".

In other words, it's better to leave your kids nothing, but teach them to work than to let them be idle and leave them a fortune!
The Puritans agree with the Jewish proverb,

"The man who does not teach his son to work

teaches him to be a thief".

Insofar as we can do it, we must provide for their eternity. Cotton Mather also notes,

"Before all, and above all, is the knowledge of the

Christian religion that parents are to teach their

Children. The knowledge of other things, be

it ever so desirable for them, our children

May arrive in eternal happiness without it.

But the knowledge of the godly doctrine of Jesus

Christ is a million times more necessary for them".

CLOSE

There's one more subject to explore and that's the discipline of children.

1. Family is for-the glory of God.
2. Family is to be governed-by the husband and father who rules in love and wisdom.
3. Parents owe their children-a decent life, a promising future, and in as much as lies within you, eternal life. 
4. All discipline therefore is rooted in love, not anger, wrath, or vengeance.

May God bless our families and make them what they ought to be. A kingdom Christ's people.

Meet Our New Pastor

New Pastor, Rev. Werner Stradlater

Hello folks I am the new pastor for Highland Meadows Church and Miyazaki Ministries.  My name is Werner Stradlater and I have been the associate pastor here since September 2011 when Rev. Daniel founded the church and ministry.  We shall still minister to the Japanese Christians and the homeless here in Dallas.

I am originally from Birmingham, Alabama.  I graduated from Southeastern Baptist Seminary and then studied Japanese and Japanese Religions at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.  My wife Chieko and I welcome you and hope to see you all soon.  Please come, rest, and heal at our church.

Presbyter Daniel and Deacon Itsuko shall have a farewell service with a reception to follow December 29 at 5 pm.  The service will be in Japanese with communion.  Hope to see you all there as we say farewell and wish Presbyter and his wife the best with their new mission in Nagoya, Japan.

Presbyter Daniel and Deacon Itsuko leave DFW for Nagoya on January 7 at 11 am.  We shall have a final blessing for them at 7 am at Highland Meadows Church as they leave.  

A Prayer on September 11

There is no doubt that September 11, 2001 changed our nation.  Since that horrific day we have seen the unity that emerged fall into bitter hate between "liberals" and "conservatives".  We have seen debate degenerate into name calling and slander simply because others dare to disagree with us.  At root is the knee jerk to make those responsible "pay" and to root out enemies.

We must remember that what happened Sept. 11, 2001 was carried out by 19 men that at any moment could have backed out.  They could have refused.  Instead they chose willingly to kill over 3000 innocent people who had absolutely nothing to do with their situations and had done nothing to deserve the murder they suffered.  Nor did those who suffered in the aftermath.

To blame governments, politicians, religions, and dictators is to diminish the holocaust that 19 men inflicted.  They are the ones guilty.  Osama Bin Laden may have provided the opportunity and training, but those 19 men carried out the murders.

We must also remember we live in a fallen world.  We live in a world where sin has strong power and is capable of turning human beings into means to an end.  A world that Satan and his minions have strong influence and power.  One only need to read the Epistles of James, 1 Peter, and Romans to see that human sin and sinful desires are what motivate fellow humans to do such horror.

As Christians we must take to heart what Jesus says our response should be.  We are to forgive our enemies, those who wish us harm, and those who hurt us.  We are to pray for their forgiveness and their conversion.  We are to allow God the vengeance and to plead our cause.

September 11 happened because 19 young men looked at their fellow humans as less than human.  They saw humanity as enemies instead of as brothers and sisters.  They saw 3000 innocent people less deserving of life than they.  They allowed their hate to distort their hearts and corrupt their love.  We as Christians allowed our need for revenge to paint our response with violence.  Forgetting that "those who live by the sword shall die by the sword."

May we find the courage to forgive those who hurt us and wish us harm.  May we allow God to be our strength, our salvation, and our refuge in trouble.

Hymns For Sunday Sept. 1

Opening, Blessed Assurance, Hymnal #108
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IUMTJoH-PQ

Benediction, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Hymnal #347
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDbllO1LrvM

Two Kingdoms

Reading the gospels it is easy to notice that two kingdoms dominated the world Jesus lived in.  One was the Roman Empire, which controlled much of the world at the time of Christ including Israel.  the second is the Kingdom of God.  Each kingdom had a role to play in human affairs, and both still do today.

The Gospel writers describe several events in Jesus’ ministry that brought him face to face with politics. For instance, shortly after Jesus’ baptismat about the age of 30, the Devil offered him the position of world ruler.  Later in his ministry, a crowd wanted to make him their king. Still later, people tried to turn him into a political activist. How did Jesus react? Let us consider these events. The Gospels state that the Devil offered Jesus rulership over “all the kingdoms of the world.” Think of how much good Jesus could have done for suffering mankind if he had wielded the power of a world ruler.  What politically oriented individual sincerely concerned with mankind’s advancement could resist such an offer? But Jesus refused it.—Matthew4:8-11.

Many of Jesus’ contemporaries were desperate for a ruler who could solve their economic and political problems. Impressed by Jesus’ abilities, the people wanted Jesus to join the political process. What was his reaction? Gospel writer John states: “Jesus, knowing they were about to come and seize him to make him king, withdrew again into themountain all alone.” (John 6:10-15) Clearly, Jesus refused to become involved in politics.

Note what happened days before Jesus was put to death. Disciples of the Pharisees, who favored independence from the Roman Empire, joined by Herodians, members of a political party favoring Rome, approached Jesus. They wanted to force him to take a political position. They asked if the Jews should pay taxes to Rome.  Mark recorded Jesus’ response:

Why do you put me to the test? Bring me a denarius to look at.’ They brought one. And he said to them: ‘Whose image and inscription is this?’  They said to him: ‘Caesar’s.’ Jesus then said: Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but give to God what belongs to God.’ ” (Mark 12:13-17)

Jesus refused to act the part of a political messiah and carefully established both the boundary of Caesar and that of God.  The same holds for today.  The church has a clear boundary as do the governments.  

Problems such as poverty, corruption, and injustice did not leave Christ unmoved. In fact, the Bible shows that he was deeply touched by the pitiful state of the people around him. (Mark 6:33, 34) 

Still, Jesus did not start a campaign to rid the world of injustices, although some tried hard to get him embroiled in the controversial issues of the day. Clearly, as these examples show, Jesus refused to get involved in political affairs. But what about Christians today? What should they do?

Christians today should not participate in politics. Why not? Because they follow Jesus’ example. He said about himself: “I am not of the world.” Regarding his followers, he stated: “You are not of this world.” (John 15:19; 17:14) Consider some reasons why Christians should not become involved in politics.

1. Human ability is limited

The Bible states that humans have neither the ability nor the right to govern themselves. “It does not belong to man who is walking,” wrote the prophet Jeremiah, “even to direct his step.”—Jeremiah 10:23. 

Just as humans were not created to fly successfully on their own strength, so they were not created to rule successfully by themselves.  Speaking about the limits of government, historian David Fromkin noted: “Governments are composed of human beings; therefore they are fallible and their prospects are uncertain. They exercise a certain power, but only a limited one.” (The Question of Government) No wonder the Bible warns us not to put our trust in man.  Psalm 146:3.

2. The influence of  Satan

When Satan offered Jesus world rulership, Jesus did not deny that the Devil had the power to offer him all the kingdoms of theworld. In fact, on a later occasion, Jesus called Satan “the ruler of the world.” Some years later the apostle Paul described Satan as “the god of this system of things.” (John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4) Paul wrote to fellow Christians: “We have a wrestling . . . against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Behind the scenes, wicked spirit forces are the real rulers of this world.   How should that fact influence our view of politics?

Think of this comparison: Just as small boats are swept along by powerful sea currents, human political systems are pulled along by powerful, wicked spirit forces. And just as the sailors in those boats can do little to change those powerful currents, politicians can do little to change the influence of those powerful spirit forces. Those forces are bent on corrupting humans beyond reform and on causing “woe for the earth.” (Revelation 12:12) 

Therefore, real change can be brought about only by a person who is more powerful than Satan and his demons. That person is Jesus Christ himself.—Psalm 83:18; Jeremiah 10:7, 10, Revelation chapters 19 and 20.

3. Christians should give allegiance only to God’s Kingdom. 

Jesus and his disciples knew that at a set time, God himself would establish a government in heaven to rule over the entire earth. The Bible calls this government God’s Kingdom and reveals that Jesus Christ has been appointed as its King.(Revelation 11:15) 

Since that Kingdom affects all humans, Jesus made “the good news of the kingdom of God” the main subject of his teachings. (Luke 4:43) He also taught his disciples to pray: “Let your kingdom come.”

Why? Because under that Kingdom, God’s will is sure to be done in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 6:9, 10.)

What, then, will happen to man-made governments? The Bible answers that the governments “of the entire inhabited earth” will be destroyed. (Revelation 16:14; 19:19-21) If an individual truly believes that God’s Kingdom is about to remove all man-made political systems, he logically would refrain from supporting those political systems. After all, if he tried to prop up doomed, man-made governments, they would, in effect, be taking a stand against God.

Why Bad Things Happen

Luke 13:1-9

We read in the newspaper that people have been murdered and maimed in Boston or that an accident has taken the lives of several in West, Texas.  As people we are inclined to search for causes, explanations, and assign blame. People did the same thing back in Jesus’ day. Of course, they had no nightly news or daily newspapers, but news, being news, has a way of spreading and spreading fast. It seems to have been true then as it is true now that when the number of people killed, killed either by intent or accident, is large the shock of the injustice increases proportionately. The more people involved, the greater is the shock.

The first thing that usually happened after the first shockwave is that people turn rather philosophical and ask rather profound questions regarding the event. We ask why or why God permits or causes such evil. We wonder what is happening to the world and say things like, “When I was younger these things were unheard of,” or “What is the world coming to?” We discuss these happenings with whomever will listen- while waiting for transportation, at work, on breaks, with friends and even strangers “Did you hear about…?” “What do you think about…?” “Isn’t it a shame about…?”We play temporary philosopher and offer our observations about the state of the world, human nature, the evil in people and the uncertainty of the time or manner of death.

The next thing that usually happens is that something else happens to take our mind off the latest news, the latest plane crash, the latest terrorist strike, the latest whatever. We forget about it and move on to something else. Deep down we know such tragedies, be they intentional or accidental, will occur again and again. We deal with these very “un-routine” events rather routinely and they indeed become routine, despite the element of surprise they contain and evoke.

Jesus teaches us to handle such events differently. He knows that all experiences of wonder, including religious experiences that evoke conversion, begin with surprise. However, the surprise need not be pleasant. It can even be ugly and horrible, like a great massacre or accident. Jesus teaches us that even the horrible experiences that happen to others can be opportunities for us to think twice, to think in the light of eternity, and to change our ways and our lives. No matter the circumstances of our deaths, our deaths are inevitable. Then, the question, the only question, is, “What happens next?” 

The more philosophical questions of why or even how we died become irrelevant. No matter the answer, we are still dead. The answers to those and similar questions do not change our status. The Lord is saying that the pertinent question is not how we died or why we died, but how we lived and why we lived. The deaths of others have meaning in and of themselves, meaning for the person who died and for his or her loved ones. But, the deaths of others have meaning for all of us, for they are prophecies of our own deaths and therefore messages from God. The deaths of others, daily occurrences, let us know that we also will die and that the circumstances of our deaths, be they by disease, by the aging process, by some accident, by the evil intent of others, by whatever means, pale in importance when compared to our lives. It is how we lived, not how we died, that will be the deciding factor in where and how we live for all eternity.

Jesus tells us to view the deaths of others and the tragedies that befall us all as prophecies, as messages from God, regarding our own deaths. If we interpret these experiences in the light of eternity they will motivate us to reform our lives rather than fear our deaths or the manner of our deaths. To simply turn philosophical and wax eloquent on the brevity of life and the uncertainty of the future is to attempt to escape the real message and meaning that God constantly is teaching us through the signs he gives us. Every event is potentially a sign from God, containing both his presence and his message that we can and should change. There is always something within our lives that needs changing. Even the deaths of those not close to us should be interpreted by us not only as proofs of the evil in the world but also as signs of the necessity to reform and reform now.

Everything that happens is not God’s will. God tolerates evil, for a greater long-term good, but he does not will evil or send evil upon humans.

Sin happens all the time and sin, by definition, is not God’s will.

Murders, massacres, and accidents are not God’s will.

Even bad things can be interpreted in the light of eternity and good results can follow.

No one is exempt, no matter what his or her disabilities, from living a life of fruitful love.

God and Evil: We do not have to live for very long to realize that many bad things happen to, what we would consider, good people. We become rather philosophical and ask why. We wonder why God would allow such injustice. We can even wonder if injustice in the world proves that God does not really exist, but has been made up by clever human beings to explain the unknown and to justify injustice. Why did God let those fellows who were worshipping him in the Temple be massacred unjustly? Why did God let those beams fall on those men who were working on construction, men with families to support? The answer to these and similar questions can be found in the very word we use to ask them, that is, “let.” God does let these things happen, but that does not mean that he wills them to happen. “Let” means “allows” or “tolerates,” much as a parent “lets” a teenager do things, the parent does not fully approve of, like staying out late or spending a weekend away from home. The parent hopes the child is mature enough to apply all he or she has learned at home in situations where the parent is not there to support the child’s personal decision. God tolerates evil because he wills that his children freely will or choose to live with him and according to his ways. He will not force anyone to “stay at home,” so to speak, if that person chooses to go off on his or her own. Those who do so cause a lot of trouble in the world, even long after they have died. However, God is willing to pay that price, even to let his good children suffer innocently, rather than have an eternal household of captured children, too scared to disobey him. So, yes, there is evil in this world, a lot of it, not because God wills it, but because he lets it be so for a greater and eternal good. 

Procrastination: One day it will be too late to reform our lives and freely decide to live according to God’s ways. That’s the message of the murdered worshipers and the killed construction workers, as well as the message of the parable of the fig tree. If we look at our lives by the light of eternity we do not have much time and so we are motivated to use well every moment and to live every day as fully as we can. If we lose sight of eternity we can be lulled into thinking that we have plenty of time, that we can reform later, and that for now we can do as we please. We certainly are prone to procrastinate and to justify it by saying to ourselves that we can do later what we could just as well do now.

Parasites: The fig tree that year after year produces nothing good, but only takes up space, time, and natural resources is a symbol for unproductive human beings. These are the takers, the consumers, the parasites. They take out of the environment, but put nothing back in. The world and people exist simply to meet their needs. The Galileans and the Siloam construction workers may have died by malice or chance, but the fig tree will die expressly because of inactivity and counterproductive  This is the “greater sin.” We will be judged according to the opportunities we have had and taken. The parable teaches that nothing will survive that merely takes out and gives nothing in return. That is the definition of a parasite. 

True, we all draw strength and sustenance from a soil not our own God’s grace, but we are to bear fruit so that others may draw from us. The parable teaches that we may get a second chance, or a third, or more, but eventually comes the final chance. And we will not know which chance is the final one, so we had better shape up before then, long before then, now. The time to get serious about the future is not in the future, not tomorrow, but today. Amen.

Easter Blessings

A very blessed Easter.  May the risen Lord bless you today and always.

The Battle of the Two Me

Romans 7:14-25

This passage of scripture seems to be pretty straight forward.  Paul is battling two people.  The inner Paul who seeks to do good, and the Paul of the human who seems to do wrong no matter how hard he wishes to please God.  It seems the classic struggle of flesh vs spirit that dominates scripture especially in the Old Testament.

Further reading though seems to bring a different view.  Each time one rereads this passage a new insight seems to come to mind.  The first time I read this passage I admit that the classic flesh vs spirit struggle was plain to see.  Then on second reading it seems what Paul was writing is that one side we have the saved Christian struggling to do good in a world dominated by temptations.  It is only the grace of Christ that saves us.

A third reading brought something new and fresh to me.  I asked this, "Who is the I Paul is speaking of?"  It does not seem to be the saved Paul who is apostle and witness of Jesus.  It seems Paul is addressing someone other than himself.  With this I broke down verse by verse and this is the result.  I think it a very solid meditation for Lent.

Paul is not describing his Christian experience or his pre-Christian experience, then he must be describing a non-Christian experience.  However, it cannot be simply any non-Christian whom he is describing; the "I" of 7:14-25 is too specifically defined for that to be so.  Also, the non-Christian whom Paul describes seems to have a rather Christian understanding of the inability of the law to bring about obedience to that law.  I believe that at this point Gerd Theissen's comments about Paul's use of the fictive "I," are helpful here.  The non-Christian whom Paul describes is not any one person or grouping of people; rather, he is a figment of Paul's imagination.  The "I" of whom Paul speaks is a non-Christian as seen through Paul's eyes, which explains why such a person would have such a Christian view of his non-Christian condition.

But still he is not just any non-Christian.  At this point I must disagree with the suggestion put forward by many that Paul is envisioning humanity as a corporate Adam.  While I do agree that Paul would quite firmly depict all humanity apart from Christ as being "fleshly, sold under sin," the imaginary non-Christian whom Paul is viewing through Christian eyes is much too aware of the importance, if not the true function, of the law to be simply any Gentile who lives "apart from the law" (Romans 2:12).  I believe rather that Paul is musing about the condition of his fellow Jews, who lay claim to the law without understanding what its real purpose is, who try to do the good while all the time missing the point of justification by faith in Christ, not by works of the law.  

Of course, the Jews themselves are not thinking this way any more than did Paul think this way before he trusted Christ.  His description in 7:14-25 is not a psychological depiction of the agony the Jew feels while trying to obey the law; if it were, the entire Jewish nation would have been rushing to faith in Christ for relief from their struggle!  Paul's description is more pointedly the Christian awareness of the inability of humanity apart from God to do what is good, which, in the final analysis, would be to come to Christ on our own and by our own efforts.  The purpose of the law is to lead people to Christ for justification (cf. Galatians 3:23- 24), and the ultimate irony and tragedy of the power of sin is its leading people to look to their own "lawfulness" for justification instead.  It is much like confusing a highway exit sign on I35 that reads "DALLAS NEXT 13 EXITS" with the city itself; the sign points to the destination, but it is by no means itself the destination, and to pull to a stop and chain oneself to the sign is in fact to miss the destination.  And, Paul would say, the ultimate tragedy is that the people who have chained themselves to the sign (and who are thereby blocking the road for others) aren't even aware that they have missed the whole point of the journey, which is the main reason why he grieves so earnestly for his fellow Jews in 9:1 and wishes that somehow he could take their place so that they might know the justification which God had always intended for them. 

       Verse 14: "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin."  When Paul says, "I am fleshly," he is describing the non-Christian as he or she is seen by the Christian.  The contrast between the spiritual and the fleshly is here just as certain as it is in Romans 8:5-11, where Paul insists that to be in the Spirit makes it impossible for one to be in the flesh also, and vice versa.  The condition of being sold under sin refers not to observable misdeeds but rather to the most central truth about a person outside of Christ.

        Verse 15: "For that which I am doing I do not know; for I am not practicing this 

thing which I wish, but I am doing this thing which I hate."  Rather than being a confession of bewilderment over why one goes on committing "the same old sins" even as a Christian or a non-Christian's lament over his inability to keep the law, this statement reflects a truth which is hopelessly invisible to the person outside of Christ.  It is not that "I" do not understand what "I" am doing; "I" don't even know what "I" am doing.  In "my" striving to fulfill the law "I" am completely oblivious to the fact that "I" am failing to do what "I" in fact want to do, which is to fulfill the law by coming to faith in Christ.  "I" end up doing what "I" hate without even realizing it.  "I" am not misinformed; "I" am blind.

        Verse 16: "But if I am doing this thing which I do not wish, I agree with the law that it is good."  Since the person in Paul's mind wants to fulfill the law, even if in his own distorted way, his failure to do so is his unwitting testimony that the law is indeed good, since his failure is the performing of the very evil that he seeks to avoid.

        Verse 17: "But now no longer am I doing it, but sin which dwells in me."  Only a Christian could make a statement like this; no one of his or her own flesh could conclude that they are under the total mastery of sin, for the deception of sin is that it is possible to overcome sin by trying to keep the law.

        Verse 18: "For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for to will is at hand in me, but to work the good is not."  Paul is not here stating that there is a duality within the non-Christian about whom he is musing, for "flesh" is not merely one part of a person apart from Christ but rather is all that the person is.  The will to please God is short-circuited by the presence of sin to such an extent that the person is completely unable to do what he wishes -- and he or she doesn't even know it.

        Verses 19-20: "For I am not doing the good which I wish, but I am practicing this evil which I do not wish.  But if I am doing this thing which I do not wish, I am no longer doing it but sin which dwells in me."  Here Paul restates what he has already pointed out in verses 15 and 17, thereby forming an inclusio around verse eighteen, which is the heart of the human condition apart from Christ.

        Verse 21: "I find then the law, in me who wishes to do good, that evil is at hand with me."  "Wishes to do good" are no match for the law of evil and indeed only fuel that law, since the "wishing" is going on "in the flesh," in the whole person enslaved to sin.

        Verses 22-23: "For I rejoice with the law of God according to the inner humanity, but I see another law in my members at war with the law of my mind and imprisoning me to the law of sin which is in my members."  This statement must not be taken to indicate that there is a "spark of good" even within sinful humanity, for the rejoicing with God's law that is mentioned is a rejoicing that, as Paul says in 10:2, "is not according to knowledge."  Rather, it is according to the law of sin which imprisons the would-be God-pleaser.

        Verses 24-25a: "I am a wretched man; who will deliver me from the body of this death?  But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"  Again, no non-Christian in his zeal for the law would say this.  More likely, he would say with Paul the Pharisee that, according to the righteousness of the law, he was found blameless.  The wretchedness of humanity apart from God is not apparent to that humanity; only the Spirit can enlighten one that Jesus Christ alone can liberate a person from the unsuspected prison of sin.

        Verse 25b: "Consequently, then, I myself with the mind am serving the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin."  The pathetic state of religious and non-religious humanity apart from Christ becomes obvious.  The non-Christian truly believes that he or she is serving God, while in reality it is sin that is the master, wreaking its destruction through the person's flesh, which, for humanity apart from Christ, is all there is.

As people who are "spiritual," not "fleshly," we need not fall helplessly before the onslaught of sin (which was our life before Christ) but may with full confidence place our trust in Christ, through whom we have been freed from sin.  Whereas before we had no choice but to go on doing the evil that we hated and not the good that we wished, now there is a choice.  If we should go on living as if we did not know Christ, as if we had not been freed from sin, then this does not mean that we are expressing our deepest nature, because our deepest nature is now that of Christ, not sin.  Rather, we would be living as people who were "nearsighted and blind, forgetful of the cleansing of past sins" (2 Peter 3:9).  

This observation brings us back to where we started, for the second epistle of Peter warned us at the beginning that some things in Paul's letters are difficult to understand!  Nevertheless, one thing is certain: because of Christ, we may, as people freed from sin, "not let sin exercise dominion in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions" (Romans 6:12); instead, we may "present ourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and our members to God as instruments of righteousness" (6:13).  This is both the hope of joyful service to God and the guarantee thereof. 

Living Under Authority

Second Sunday in Lent

Gospel Reading Matthew 10:24-39

Our Gospel reading clearly shows Christ came to establish the proper order of authority.  Looking back to the Laws of Israel they were divided into four areas.  One, The Ten Commandments or natural law.  These commands are universal and perpetual.  They found the basis for God to establish His people and His kingdom.  They are what would be the basis for civilized society for the rest of human history.  Second, the sacrificial laws.  These laws cover the rites the Levites would follow in their sacrificial duties.  These laws are limited.  They were meant to be temporary from Israel to its fall.  They were completed and ended upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Third is the dietary laws.  Under the Apostles these laws were also set aside.  We see this in the Acts of the Apostles and the Apostolic Epistles.  Finally, are the civil laws.  These had to be revised when Israel began their royal lineage.  For the most part these were implemented by the Emperor Constantine in Rome after he became Christian.  Along with The Ten Commandments the civil laws were the basis of Augustine's The City of God to take Rome from its fall to the establishment of the Church as the seat and all law for Christendom.

In today's Gospel and with what I have said before, the order of authority established by God's law and therefore, His authority is as follows:

1. God - Jesus Christ
2. The Sacrficial Law, now the Church
3. The Family, with the father/husband at its head
4. The Civil Law, now Government (Caesar in the Gospel)
5. Masters, now Employers

This is the order established by Christ.  Jesus Christ is the head of His bride the Church.  The Church is to help the family as Christ helps the Church.  Fathers are to love their wife and their children as Christ loves the Church, and as to support their families as the Church supports families.  Employers are to be as honorable to their employees as Christ is to the Church, as the Church is to families, as fathers are to their children.  This is the order of authority as established by Christ.

Our problems today arise from people not following this order and therefore refusing to live under authority.  Make no mistake, you do not have to agree to be under God's authority, you already are.  All the universe is under God's authority whether agreed to by humans or not.  God who creates, sustains, and guides needs not the agreement of creation to be under the Creators authority.  That is the message from Genesis to Malacai, and from Matthew to Revelations.  From Genesis to Revelations; from "In the beginning" to "Amen. Come Lord Jesus" the message is clear - God IS THE AUTHORITY from which all other authority is granted.

The Church decides through God's laws who gets ordained, and who does not.  The Church through Christ's authority decides who is granted matrimony.  Ordination and matrimony are not rights to any man or woman, they are gifts bestowed by the Church through the authority of Jesus Christ.  No person has a right to sacramental ordinance.  Homosexuals have no more a right to ordination than an Atheist.  Homosexuals have no more a right to matrimony than a man or woman already married.  The right to sacraments are decided by the Church from the Gospels of Christ.  The Church has no more a right to ordain or allow homosexual matrimony than it has a right to allow the ordination of a Wiccan to Christian ministry or to join in matrimony two turtles.  Both are equally sacrilegious.  What Caesar does is Caesar's business.  But Caesar had better be careful when his laws go against the authority of God.

Like it or not to the chagrin of Gloria Steinham and Gloria Allred, the husband/father is the head of the family.  Husbands are to love their wife as Christ loves the Church.  Wives are to love their husbands and to submit.  Submit does not mean to be a slave.  That is a feminist corruption of the word.  For a wife to submit is as a priest submits to the law of God and the ordinance of Christ.  That is what is meant.  It has NEVER been an open license for a man to abuse his wife.  That is just as abhorrent in God's eyes as the corruption of His Sacraments.  When one abuses their authority they incur the wrath of God.  When authority goes against God's law and the Gospels it is not law then but sin, and sin is to be rejected.

Today, government is taking Christ off the throne and placing Caesar there, again, will we ever learn from history?  The Church is being replaced by courts.  Family is being replaced by handouts.  Government is becoming The Authority.  President Obama is wanting Government to be all and to be the sole authority.  Obama has created his cult and has called himself "messiah".  Obama has said repeatedly the Church has no place above government.  Obama has repeatedly said this, "For the single moms out there, I'll be your husband, I see you get support."  As one who calls himself a Christian he knows better.  As a supposed Christian he knows the blasphemy he spews.  A Christian would NEVER defile Christ's authority and His Church and seek to corrupt the family with crude jokes.  These are not jokes to Obama, or to God, these are Obama's challenge to God given authority, and make no mistake; like Nebuchanezzar, Caesar, and others before him, Obama will fall to God.  Let me repeat, Obama will fall to God.  One day Obama's knee will bend to God.  Just as all knees will.  Be careful when you challenge God's authority.

All of this is outlined in scripture.  The Gospels outline Christ's and the Church's authority.  See Matthew 28:18-20, John 27:1-2.  Read 1 Timothy 3:10,13; Acts 20:17,28; 1 Peter 5:1-2; Hebrews 13:17.  The authority of the family is lined out in Ephesians 5, 1 Peter 3:7, and Romans 1.  Government is to have no authority over God, the Church, and is to have limited authority over the family.  When government makes laws contradictory to Christ's Gospels then these laws can be ignored.  This has been the standard from the Apostles, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Employers are to pay fair wages to their employees and employees are to be respectful to their supervisors.  This is set out in the Gospels and in Ephesians 6:5-8, Colossians 3:22-25.

Our society is headed to certain disaster unless we return to living under authority.  Christians must put Christ back in our churches.  We must put Christ at the head, "Take the royal diadem and crown Him King of all." Amen.

Bearing Fruit

It is continually assumed, falsely, that the USA was founded to be a Christian nation.  It is also assumed, even more falsely, that the USA is a Christian nation today.  Both assumptions are made owing to the fact that evangelical Christians contort logic and the facts to try to "prove" both points.  As Jesus told us in Matthew 7:16, we know a tree by the fruit it bears.  The tree of the USA shows anything but being a Christian nation.

Look first of all at the founding fathers.  They knew quite extensively about other faiths apart from Christianity.  Great Britain being a vast empire all over this earth gave a vast knowledge of the world outside Europe and the culture of white people.  Thomas Jefferson wrote for the majority at the Constitutional Convention what Freedom of Religion means, "The Constitution shall provide protection equally to the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindu and Infidel of every denomination.  No religion is to be favored and none is to be demeaned by laws enacted by congress."  Clearly the Founding Fathers were not setting out to found a Christian nation.  Even if they were, today laws have been enacted to change that.

Let us look at fruit that has been bore since by the US government.  People of color have been discriminated against, tortured, subject to genocide, and murdered since the US became independent of Britain.  A great number of Christians stood against slavery, genocide of Native Americans, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and Jim Crow laws.  These Christians were also subjected to beatings, lynchings, investigated of being subversive, and imprisoned.

Today, a majority in Congress identify themselves as being "pro-life" yet the scourge of abortion remains.  In 1994 to 1996 the Republicans and conservative Democrats in Congress had the chance to submit a bill to reverse Roe v. Wade and the Supreme Court was more conservative at any time in US history, yet Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House at the time said when Sen. Bob Dole and others wanted to submit such a bill, "Right now our focus must be on regaining the White House.  Abortion simply is not important right now,  We need the vote of women to get back in 1600 Pennsylvania."  So much for leading "by faith" as Gingrich said would be done during the 1994 campaigns.  By the way, Gingrich would resign in disgrace after a sexual scandal involving him emerged after he witch hunted President Clinton for over three years.

Right now both parties are against a rise in the minimum wage.  The argument being that such a rise would have no benefit for the working poor.  Really, well tell that to the father working at a big box retailer and at a fast food to provide for his family after losing his "real" job.  Tell that to the mother who counts out what little loose change she has at the grocery store.  Tell that to the children who go to school hungry because their parents earn just enough to keep them from a free breakfast at school.  Tell that to the over 7 million Americans who work in the service industry out of need, not choice.  Tell that to the food servers making $2.13 an hour because they are "tipped", and yet still have a difficulty paying rent, much less affording such luxuries as health insurance, paying utility bills on time, school lunch for their children, and filling up the car just to get to work.  Tell that to the working poor that they would not benefit from making $9 an hour instead of $7.85.  No one is asking for these employees to have the benefit packages or the pay or even the bonuses of the executives of the corporations, they are merely asking for another $1.15 an hour.

The USA is not a Christian nation.  There is absolutely nothing to show the US is by its treatment of its poor, its benevolence to the weakest in society,  its commitment to life, or how the US advances the principles of Christ's gospels.  The US is now and always has been a secular-humanist nation with a majority of Christian population.  Being a nation OF Christians does not equate to be a Christian nation.  The USA simply bears no Christian fruit.  The USA does bear the fruit to show it is a secular nation that advances humanist morals and values.

During this Lenten period if you wish to show you are a Christian then show the fruit of being a Christian.  Stand for the principles of the gospels.  One does this by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, and visiting those sick and imprisoned.  Whether the US is a Christian nation is not important, what is important is what the Christians in the US do for the poor, the weak, and the oppressed.  As Jesus said, "You know a tree by the fruit it bears."

Our Lenten Journey

Lent is seen by many to be a time of remorse and guilt.  A time to burden ourselves with past sins.  Actually this is far from what Lent is meant to be.  Lent is meant to be a time to focus where our priorities lie and what the values we hold dear mean.  A time to ask, "Why do I call myself a Christian and what does being a Christian mean?"  "Is the message of Christianity of importance today and is it important in today's culture?"  Summed up in a single question, "What does Christianity mean to me?"

It is very important to take time to question our belief and to ask why we believe what we do.  Not doing so leads to confusion and simply compromising our beliefs to "fit" with current trends and to avoid "upsetting" others.  It is important to look upon the gospels of Christ for guidance.  That is why the Sermon on the Mount is our Lenten readings.  We see in Christ's own words what it means to be a Christian and the importance of our faith and its relevance in today's culture.

More to the point consider these, we mourn, and we should, every September 11 for the 3000 people who were murdered by terrorists.  People who were innocents going about their daily lives.  Yet, we have no day to mourn the 200,000 innocent babies murdered yearly by abortion.  We fluctuate our markets with news of unemployment yet we do nothing for those unemployed and decry any assistance offered on the basis it is wasting tax money.  Many of us have gone in debt supporting lifestyles we could not afford yet do nothing for the homeless and impoverished among us.  This what we should be focusing on during Lent.  The suffering Christ among us in the faces of those who suffer today.  Finding solutions in our faith to help and make differences.

Christ ministered to real people and we should have our focus on real people as well.  To see the value our faith can have to end poverty, abuse, and disrespect of all God's children.  We must see we are the solution. We are the hands and love of Jesus Christ to a hurting world.  That is what Lent is meant for.

Taking Responsibility

Luke 10:25-37

As a small child I remember hearing my father say, "Your past cannot be allowed to dictate your future."  I do not remember why he said this but the words have always stuck with me.  In fact, I have repeated this often through my life to others and to myself.  In many ways this was the message of Jesus, and even this reading reflects this sage advice.

The expert of the law really was not asking for instruction as much as he was testing Jesus.  Jesus then relays to the expert exactly that his past could not dictate his future.  The expert in the law as Jesus was aware that being an expert in the law he could in no way come in contact with blood lest he become unclean.  The expert would then have to undergo the cleansing rituals laid down by God to Moses.  The expert in the law would look upon the man robbed and beaten and simply pray, he would take no direct action fearing becoming unclean by the victim's blood.  Jesus relays the expert in the law was putting ritual above human life.

Samaritans and Jews at the time of Jesus were bitter enemies.  A Samaritan helped the man where the Jewish expert did not, and even a Levite did not.  The message is clear, Jewish priests and Levite put the law above humanity and for Jesus this had to change.  There had to be responsibility for humanity above the mindless following of law.

For the Jews of Jesus' age the message was not to let the past traditions and rituals to dictate their relationship with God.  This message was met with resistance toward Jesus and His followers,and even was used to put Jesus to death.  For us today the message is to put aside past hurts, fears, and rivalries and to see all as our neighbors deserving of respect.  The reason is clear, all of us are children of the Father.  We are to "go and do likewise".

The Desire of Our Hearts

Pastor Daniel

If the heart be chiefly and directly fixed on God, and the soul engaged to glorify him, some degree of religious affection will be the effect and attendant of it. But to seek after affection directly and chiefly; to have the heart principally set upon that; is to place it in the room of God and his glory. If it be sought, that others may take notice of it, and admire us for our spirituality and forwardness in religion, it is then damnable pride; if for the sake of feeling the pleasure of being affected, it is then idolatry and self-gratification.

Men have a great deal of pleasure in human knowledge, in studies of natural things; but this is nothing to that joy which arises from divine light shining into the soul. This spiritual light is the dawning of the light of glory in the heart. There is nothing so powerful as this to support persons in affliction, and to give the mind peace and brightness in this stormy and dark world. This knowledge will wean from the world, and raise the inclination to heavenly things. It will turn the heart to God as the fountain of good, and to choose him for the only portion. This light, and this only, will bring the soul to a saving close with Christ. It conforms the heart to the gospel, mortifies its enmity and opposition against the scheme of salvation therein revealed: it causes the heart to embrace the joyful tidings, and entirely to adhere to, and acquiesce in the revelation of Christ as our Savior.